Alex Johnson didn’t hold back: “The first day the police came, they opened the coffins to check. Inside each coffin was a nameplate, clearly stating the deceased’s name and hometown. Since these weren’t ancient coffins and there might still be relatives, the police didn’t confiscate them. Instead, they verified with the local authorities, found that all the deaths were natural, and handed the coffins over to us to return.”
Morgan Morgan, sitting in the passenger seat, let out a cold snort.
I ignored it and continued questioning Alex Johnson: “When you opened the coffins, did you see any remains?”
Alex took a deep drag on his cigarette. “We did. They were all wrapped in cloth. You might not believe this, but all four people in the coffins weren’t adults—they were children.”
“Children?” I could feel Tưởng Sương trembling violently in the back seat.
Alex sighed. “Yeah, it’s a real tragedy. Except for the empty coffin, the other four were not only nailed shut but also sealed with wax at the lid. It took quite a bit of effort to open them.”
Alex worked in construction, so it wasn’t his first time seeing things dug up from old sites.
The five coffins had clearly been deliberately buried under the flower garden exactly twenty years ago.
“Back then, this Jiaxing Shopping Center was bustling. When I was a kid, my family had to pull a lot of strings just to rent a stall here. Who would’ve thought something like this was going on behind the scenes?”
I pressed on, “Was there anything inside the empty coffin?”
Alex replied, “Yeah, there was—a piece of rotten wood, also wrapped in white cloth, but no remains.”
As we talked, we’d already gotten onto the highway. Maybe because it was just past noon, the road was scorching hot, and the air inside the car felt stifling.
I rolled down the window, but there wasn’t a hint of breeze outside. I closed it and turned on the AC.
Everyone in the car was feeling the heat, and after finishing off several bottles of water, it finally started to feel a bit cooler.
Suddenly, I caught that scent again—a woody smell, but the longer I inhaled, the more it turned greasy, like animal fat. I’d smelled this scent before—on the rooftop, when Summer Tang tried to take her own life. But when I asked her about it, the girl said she didn’t notice anything, and she didn’t use perfume either.
Just then, I glanced in the rearview mirror and caught Alex Johnson staring intently at me. But when I turned around, he quickly looked away, gazing out the window instead.
Something felt off. I tried to focus on driving. Suddenly, Summer Tang screamed, recoiling in her seat and pointing at Alex: “Stay away! Don’t come near me!”
Alex looked at her in confusion, not reacting to her scream, but then, out of nowhere, lunged toward the front seats, reaching for my steering wheel.
I gripped the wheel tight and swung my elbow, shoving him back. Alex groaned, clutching his face as he slumped back into his seat.
That’s when I remembered Morgan Morgan—the only one in the car who hadn’t reacted at all. I turned to look at him. His eyes were closed, his left hand forming a strange gesture, lips muttering under his breath.
I pulled out the spirit-striking whip and lashed it hard. The whip cracked through the air, and the scent in the car immediately faded.
Morgan yelped, clutching his swollen, red hand. “What the hell are you doing?!” he shouted.
I barked, “You dare pull tricks in front of me? Want me to toss you under the wheels?!”
Morgan instantly backed down, trembling. “Who’s pulling tricks? I was reciting a calming mantra! The car reeks of corpse stench—can’t you all smell it?”
His words made both Summer Tang and Alex Johnson go pale. I rolled the window down again, and a gust of wind swept in, carrying the scent away.
Alex stammered, “Just now… I don’t even know what happened. Suddenly, I felt like you all were out to get me, like you wanted to hurt me, and I just wanted to jump out of the car…”
Summer Tang hugged her knees, curling up tight. She’d been through this feeling countless times over the past three months.
I tried to reassure her. “It’s okay, Summer. Don’t be scared.”
Through the rearview mirror, she met my eyes, pressed her lips together, and nodded.
I shot Morgan a cold warning. “You’d better keep your hands clean!” "I don't care what your master told you to do. You're in my car, and if this trip doesn't go smoothly—if I don't catch your master—I'll take your life as compensation. Don't believe me? Try me!"
Morgan Morgan's eyes darted away, lingering on the spirit-striking whip in my hand before slowly looking elsewhere. "I... I get it. I wouldn't dare."
We drove until four in the afternoon, almost at our destination. But after drinking too much water, everyone needed a break, so I found the nearest rest stop to pull over.
The rest area was small, with only a mini-mart and a public restroom.
The sun was still blazing, the place quiet, a few drivers napping in the shade of the trees.
I told Summer Tang to use the restroom and to shout if anything happened—I’d be right outside.
The supermarket owner, a middle-aged woman with braided hair and a mole at the corner of her mouth, waved me over. "Driver, want a boxed lunch? We’ve got fresh ones in the shop."
I waved her off. "No thanks, we’ve already eaten."
I walked to the back of the truck to check the ropes securing the coffins.
A driver resting nearby asked, "Where you headed? Not many big trucks on this road."
"Going to Cooperstown, delivering some goods," I replied.
The driver frowned. "That place? Be careful you don’t get scammed. That village is famous for being lazy—nobody there farms or works. They say it used to be rich, and now they just wait for money to fall from the sky. Usually, they live off the bride price from daughters who marry out."
Curious, I asked, "So how rich were they back then?"
He waved a hand. "Who knows? The village is remote, hardly interacts with outsiders. Rumor has it they used to do some shady business."
Just then, Summer Tang came back from the restroom, head down, silent, and climbed straight into the truck.
"Are you hungry? The mini-mart has boxed lunches," I asked her.
She paused, her hand on the door handle, which clicked loudly.
Something felt off. "Summer, are you okay?" The girl slowly turned her head. Her face was blank—she had no features at all!
I hurriedly drew out the spirit-striking whip, but just then I heard Summer Tang scream from the direction of the restroom. Ignoring whatever was in front of me, I dashed straight into the bathroom.
There was no one in the women’s restroom. I rushed in and found Summer Tang in the last stall, pounding on the door in a frenzy. “Help me, Uncle Long, help! Let me out!”
I tried to pull the door open, but there was no handle—it was like a solid wooden board sealing her in.
I stepped back and kicked hard. The door flew open, but inside, Summer Tang was gone. The crying and pounding from just a moment ago had vanished as well.
“Summer Tang!” I called out, but there was no answer.
A chill ran down my spine, making me glance toward the window. There, not far away, stood Summer Tang, staring at me in a daze, her body slowly fading in the sunlight.
I was about to rush out when that faint, drifting scent tickled my nose again.
Something was wrong. I turned back to look at the restroom stalls. The door I’d just kicked open had somehow closed itself.
In the cramped bathroom, all five stall doors were tightly shut. A cloud drifted by, blocking the sunlight, and the light dimmed. The restroom stalls were gone—now, five coffins stood tall in the corner.
The bright red wood reflected off the floor, painting it the color of blood. I slowly turned around, drawing the spirit-striking whip.
Suddenly, a dull thud came from inside one of the coffins, as if someone had struck the lid. Then, all five coffins began to pound in unison.
“Uncle Long! Uncle Long, help me!”
Summer Tang’s cries echoed from all five coffins. I couldn’t tell which one was really her—or were all five her?
I gripped the spirit-striking whip tighter. Her cries grew weaker, more desperate, the pounding echoing straight into my chest.
Forcing myself to stay calm, I carefully examined the five coffins. At last, I spotted something odd: the coffin in the middle had no traces of wax sealing. Alex Johnson had said that, except for the empty coffin, the other four were all sealed with wax.
I hurried over and lashed the middle coffin hard with the spirit-whip. Sunlight streamed in, and the bathroom snapped back to normal.
I managed to rescue Summer Tang, who was unconscious in the middle stall. As I carried her out, the supermarket owner thought she had heatstroke and gave her water and some medicine. It took a while before Summer Tang finally came to, sobbing uncontrollably, her whole body trembling.
Once she’d recovered a little, I told all three of them to get in the car right away—we couldn’t afford to waste another second.