The Labyrinth of the Monsters

The five of them followed behind the crowd and arrived at the west side, crossing a field and climbing up a mountain forest to reach the so-called burial hill.

There were many tombstones scattered on the mountain, with a few made of cement and surrounded by small fences. There were two cedar trees planted in front of the tomb, with incense burning on them. Most of the tombstones were just mounds of soil, overgrown with weeds and ignored by people.

The pallbearers carried the coffin to a pre-dug grave, and the Taoist priest performed a ritual. The "family members" continued to mourn, while gongs and drums were played and cannons were fired. Four men carried the coffin into the grave, and then quickly buried it with shovels.

The villagers watched for a while and then dispersed, each returning home. Only four burial personnel and an old man in charge of the affairs, who was the village chief responsible for collecting money, remained.

He directed them, "Bury it quickly, don't go past eight o'clock, and compact the soil a bit."

Officer Huang made a gesture, and the five of them walked over together.

Officer Huang took the lead and picked up an extra shovel, helping to shovel the soil. Master Wu recognized Officer Huang and walked up to him, offering him a cigarette. Officer Huang took the cigarette and placed it behind his ear.

"Officer Huang, don't blame me either," Master Wu sighed. "I also hope the case will be solved quickly, but Hua's family can't delay the funeral. While the villagers still have some spare time, if the matter drags on, even I, as the village chief, won't be able to persuade them. Then Hua's family will truly become wandering spirits."

"I understand," Officer Huang continued shoveling the soil. "The autopsy report is out, burying the body won't affect the investigation."

"That's good, that's good," Master Wu nodded repeatedly.

During the burial process, when Master Wu wasn't paying attention, Officer Huang secretly handed his shovel to Qing Ling. Qing Ling raised her hand slightly, and the shovel quickly flew to a tree behind her, disappearing without a trace.

In less than twenty minutes, a new grave was piled up.

During this time, Gao Yang and Officer Huang didn't inquire any particularly useful information. In the end, they followed Master Wu and the four men back, bidding farewell at the village entrance.

The five of them pretended to leave the village and returned to a small grove, where they began to discuss their plans.

"Why did you ask me to hide the shovel just now?" Qing Ling asked Officer Huang.

"To dig a grave," Gao Yang blurted out. He had already discussed it privately with Officer Huang.

"Dig a grave?!" Chubby Jun was frightened.

Officer Huang smiled and took out the cigarette that Master Wu had given him, sniffing it but not daring to smoke. "When it gets dark and we avoid attention, we'll go dig a grave."

"Is it worth it?" Chubby Jun looked hesitant.

"No matter what, we must bring this to an end today."

Officer Huang looked at everyone and said, "Let me explain mine and Gao Yang's plan. For the time being, we'll rest here and try not to waste any physical strength. When it gets dark, we'll go dig a grave first and see if we can find any clues."@@novelbin@@

Officer Huang sat down against a tree. "If there are clues, we'll see. If things don't go well, we'll stick to the original plan and take the initiative. We definitely won't stand a chance fighting the entire village's beasts head-on. We'll sneak attack, going from house to house in the dark. Hopefully, we can force the mastermind behind this out."

"Sneak attack?!" Wang Zikai looked disappointed. He was still looking forward to a big battle. "That's not honorable!"

"Wang Zikai, people's physical abilities can't be generalized," Gao Yang immediately started to flatter him. "You are the chosen one with innate divine power, stronger than us. You'll definitely be fine. But we are currently weak and facing great danger... When you're fighting, you won't be able to protect us. You wouldn't want to win alone and have all your teammates buried, right?"

Wang Zikai felt comfortable with this round of flattery. He waved his hand, "Sigh, I really can't do anything with you guys! Fine, let's go with the sneak attack! But let's make it clear, I must deal with the final boss."

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"Naturally."

Officer Huang and Chubby Jun looked at Gao Yang with admiration. "You're really something, like a 'beast tamer'!"

...

Around 7 o'clock in the evening, it was dark. Officer Huang woke up the four resting people and quietly went to the burial hill on the west side of the village.

During the day, they didn't feel it, but once it was night, the graveyard became eerie and oppressive. Chubby Jun was timid, his face pale, trembling all over. He walked in the middle of the crowd, still scared, jumping at the slightest movement.

Qing Ling raised her hand, and the shovel flew back into her hand from the treetop. "Who's there?"

"I'm here!" Wang Zikai took the shovel and went to Hua's grave, digging with effort.

While digging the grave, the other four stood guard on the side. If any villagers came by at this time, they would have to kill them.

Fortunately, no one appeared.

Wang Zikai, with his innate divine power, quickly finished the task. He threw the shovel aside, sweating profusely. "It's done!"

Everyone walked to the edge of the pit. The moonlight was quiet, and the coffin covered in soil looked ghostly and cold. Everyone looked at each other, none daring to open the coffin."What a bunch of cowards." Wang Zikai was eager to take action, "Move aside! Let me do it!"

"No need." Gao Yang stopped him, unsure of what was inside the coffin, it was better to be cautious. He picked up a shovel, inserted it into the gap of the coffin lid, then quickly retreated, looking at Qing Ling: "Can you do it?"

"It's too heavy, let me try."

Qing Ling stretched out her hands: "Metal!"

The shovel inserted into the coffin lid trembled slightly, driven by an invisible force to pry it open. At this moment, Officer Huang drew his gun, and Gao Yang also took out his dagger, ready for any potential danger.

"Bang!" The coffin lid was finally pried open by the shovel.

Everyone instinctively took two steps back, their hearts in their throats.

A few seconds of silence passed, but the anticipated danger did not occur. The coffin in the pit was very quiet, there wasn't even the stench of a decaying corpse.

Everyone exchanged glances, slowly approached, and peered into the coffin, all of them were stunned.

The coffin was not empty, but there was nothing supernatural inside. The bodies of Hua's family were all in the coffin, but... they had all turned into skeletons.

Gao Yang shone a flashlight inside, deliberately counting, there were only four skull bones, it seemed that the bride's head was still missing.

"Is that it?" Wang Zikai was disappointed, "I thought it would be more exciting!"

"Weren't Hua's family just dead less than ten days ago?" Qing Ling asked, "How did they all turn into skeletons?"

"The police only sent the bodies back three days ago," Officer Huang frowned, "It's only April now, even if the bodies decayed quickly, they couldn't possibly turn into skeletons."

"Could it be... the bodies were eaten?" Chubby Jun boldly guessed.

Gao Yang shook his head, "This doesn't look like bones left after being eaten."

"Yes, it looks like..." Officer Huang paused, "They've been dead for a long time."

A cold wind blew, the leaves rustled, and Gao Yang felt a chill down his spine!

"Let's go." Gao Yang said.

"What?" Qing Ling looked at him.

"Let's leave here first," Gao Yang's face was serious, "I think... I might know what's going on."

"What about this, should we restore it?" Officer Huang asked.

"Forget it." Gao Yang just wanted to leave immediately.

The group didn't dare to stay long and left the graveyard immediately.

Around 8 o'clock, many houses in Ancient Village still had lights on. The group carefully avoided the villagers and sneaked into Hua's house. Gao Yang immediately blocked the doors and windows, this time he didn't even dare to turn on the flashlight.

"Bro, what's going on, don't keep us in suspense!" Wang Zikai was anxious.

"Let's get to the point." Gao Yang lowered his voice, "We didn't time travel back to the Ancient Village of thirty years ago, nor did we come to any parallel world or dream world."

In the darkness, everyone held their breath, waiting for what was next.

Gao Yang took a deep breath, "This place, is the Ancient Village of that year."