Deep in the Living

Chapter 173 Coffin in the Forest
The man-made asphalt road stops extending when it reaches the center of the island.
Through the car window, you can see an extremely dense primeval forest ahead.

Tall trees and soil,
Flowers and flying insects,
There are warning signs placed every ten meters at the edge of the woods, prohibiting any visitors from entering the area without permission.

Not only may it threaten one's own personal safety, but if it causes ecological damage to a nature reserve, the offender will be punished according to the highest standards.

As the vehicle entered a dirt trail through the woods, the passengers could notice the light getting darker.

The main reason is that the dense branches and leaves block a large part of the sunlight, and it is sunset now.

Since the island is not affected by corners, the forest does not have any lighting system, maintaining its most original state.

The documentary team has already started filming by sticking to the car window.

Luo Di, who was sitting by the window, also began to observe the primeval forest. He could indeed see a lot of poisonous insects. Compared with the large number of insects, there were very few animals living in the forest.

It was not easy to see a sika deer passing through the woods.

Just as he was trying to search for other animals, he unexpectedly caught a glimpse of a strange object placed in a hard-to-see place deep in the forest.

Even though Luo Di, a Chinese, couldn't see it clearly, he recognized it immediately.

"coffin?"

The voice just fell,

Luo Di felt something very light crawling onto his body.
The little sister with eyes actually crawled over from the other end along her sisters' thighs, and finally squatted on Rody's thighs and put her eyes on the window.

"It's... a coffin."

Perhaps he heard the discussion among the young people in the back row.

The bald guy sitting in the front turned his head and gave an explanation:

“It is said that the natives living on this island have the habit of [coffin burial]. After everyone is over fifty, they will spend a long time designing their own coffin and call on their family members to help make it.

After his death,
The villagers would carry him and the coffin to a "designated" place, then fill the coffin with soil, completing the so-called "coffin burial."

This kind of coffin will not be buried in the ground, but just placed in the woods.

In their view, digging would destroy the island and bring misfortune.

Cremation is a desecration of one's own humanity, and it is a voluntary abandonment of one's qualifications to be a human being in the next life."

Hua Yuan pretended to be curious and asked:

"A designated place? Was it designated by the deceased during his lifetime?"

When the prettiest girl started asking questions, the bald guy immediately became interested.

"Little sister seems to like this kind of knowledge very much. We can add contact information later. You can always ask me any questions."

"No, I want to know now."

These words made the other party feel itchy, "Well, the burial place is not designated by the deceased, but the location given by the gods. As long as they are buried in the corresponding location, their next life will be prosperous."

"God?"

“No matter where in the world, indigenous people who have been separated from society and have no technological development have the habit of worshipping gods. The indigenous people of this island are no different.

Before they died, they would cut off a small piece of flesh from their body and personally offer it to the gods.

It is said that this will give them instructions from God on where to bury them.

Of course, I only read about it in books, and I don’t really know how to offer sacrifices or how to get the exact location.

This time we came here to understand the detailed process of worship and to film these things into a documentary.

If you are interested, you can join us."

"Okay."

Hua Yuan's friendly smile was hard to resist, and even made the other person's body, who was already in his middle age, react. The other two middle-aged men who were traveling with him also looked over, their eyes full of fascination.

But having said that, this group of people does know a lot, and the information they provide is indeed interesting.

As the vehicle got closer to the destination, more and more coffins could be seen in the woods, and just as the bald man had said, these coffins were of different styles.

Or decorated with bones, fur, metal or with some unknown mysterious runes engraved on the surface. "Black... coffin..."

Sister Yan spoke again, and everyone looked in the direction she was looking, but they didn't see anything.

The so-called black coffin seemed to be located deep in the forest, and only her visual ability could capture it.

Hua Yuan immediately started asking questions again: "My friend seemed to have seen a black coffin, what is that?"

This made the bald man look confused, "That shouldn't be the case. How can you see the black coffin? Do you have special night vision binoculars? That's the coffin used by the young villagers who died abnormally.

Because they are young, they are not yet old enough to make coffins.

Sudden death,

Or contracted some serious illness,
Or encountered an accident.

In this way, the young villagers who died would be put directly into the black coffin. "

"Does the place also need to be designated by the gods?"

"It is said that the villagers would cut off a large piece of meat from the dead body and use it as an offering. After all, it is the flesh of a dead person, so it may be more effective if it is a little more.

The gods will then give you a location off the main road, deep in the forest.

The villagers who died abnormally were buried in a relatively deep place. Firstly, it could isolate the "abnormal death energy" of the deceased, and secondly, it could let them stay in a quiet place to slowly eliminate their obsession with remaining in the world and enter the reincarnation sooner. "

"Oh, that's interesting."

The bald man's face suddenly darkened. "You better not run around. It is said that if a living person gets close to the black coffin, the corpses inside that have not yet been reincarnated will smell the odor and turn into zombies. Especially young people like you... it might be bad!"

"Oh! Stop it, it's scary."

Seeing Hua Yuan was frightened, the bald man looked satisfied and said, "Don't be afraid. Uncle will drink some wine with you tonight to give you courage."

"Okay."

Luo Di's eyes were fixed on the window, and he didn't pay attention to the interaction inside the car.

But the information provided by the bald guy is indeed interesting.

Such a strange "coffin burial" and the corresponding village behind it may really be related to the monster corresponding to the wanted poster in the corner.

Due to the winding and rugged forest road, the entire journey took an hour and a half.

A primitive village that has been rooted on this island for who knows how many years gradually appeared in front of the windshield.
The scattered wooden houses form winding village paths.

The walls are mostly made of mud and wood, and some wooden roofs are covered with straw. However, due to the intervention of the Mercury Group, the village has more or less been exposed to the outside world and has tasted a lot of modern conveniences.

Electric wires have been connected to every household, and various modern lighting devices are lit in every house.

Some rooftops even have signal receivers installed, and probably even have some basic TV equipment.

When the vehicle stopped, more than a dozen villagers immediately rushed out.

They were wearing clothes produced by modern industry and looked not much different from ordinary people, except that they looked a little more rustic and a little older.

Just as Luo Di and others were about to get off the bus,
The tour guide, who had been silent the whole time, stood up and blocked the exit.

“Dear passengers, please wait for a moment. The villagers will hold a welcoming ceremony for us outside the bus. You can get off the bus only after the ceremony is over.

This is the local custom, please follow it.

When you enter the village later, I will continue to explain the relevant customs and regulations. Please be sure to follow them in the next day and experience this primitive journey. "

Rody looked out the window.
A total of thirteen villagers surrounded the bus.

They made a very strange hand gesture with their hands in front of them, maintaining almost 100% movement synchronization, and bowed to the vehicle three times.

It was said to be a welcoming ceremony, but everyone could sense something strange.

"The ceremony is over. Everyone, please follow me into the village! There is one more good news I need to inform you of. Today is the village's monthly worship day. Everyone can participate."

(End of this chapter)