Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 8: Kill it, there is a way
He stared with wide eyes, watching the small yellow croakers being thrown into his pocket one by one. He felt that what were thrown in were not small yellow croakers, but big rocks, pressing down on his whole body and making him unable to move.

Hearing the old lady's words, Xiao Ran's face became even uglier.

The three words "money to buy your life" reminded him of some sorcery his grandfather had told him about. He deliberately threw money on the ground, and when he opened it, there was a note rolled up inside, saying something like "buy ten years of your life".

But that's just a rumor or heresy in the world. What's more, the money he picked up has to be spent before it counts.

But now he was even more domineering and just stuffed it into his pocket, which made Xiao Ran's face turn pale.

When it came to the eighth gold bar, the old lady looked at Xiao Ran's pale face, weighed the eighth gold bar in her hand several times, and finally took it back.

She chuckled and said, "Young man, you are lucky. You are worth seven gold bars at such a young age. It's a pity that you are not an expert, otherwise the little gold I have would not be able to hold you back."

After the old lady finished speaking, Xiao Ran suddenly felt his body lighten, and the heavy weight just now seemed to disappear in an instant.

"Ah! Cough cough cough..."

Xiao Ran's legs went limp and he sat on the ground, gasping for breath. He wanted to take out the small yellow croaker from his pocket and throw it away immediately, but he didn't expect that the small yellow croaker that had just fallen into his pocket was now gone.

Seeing that the small yellow croakers were gone, Xiao Ran looked up at the old lady in annoyance.

"Don't be upset, don't be upset, kid. I'm not trying to hurt you. Those gold bars are real. Once you help me, they will naturally fall into your hands again. Seven gold bars are enough for you to spend half your life. You won't lose out."

"What if I don't want to?"

Xiao Ran's face darkened, the evil fire in his heart was jumping up, and one hand was already grasping the dagger in his pocket.

However, the old lady was not angry when she heard this. She just raised her fingers, and the suffocating feeling that had just subsided immediately pinched Xiao Ran's throat.

"It's over, it really is the money to buy my life!"

Xiao Ran was shocked and felt very disappointed. He had taken the other party's money and his life was in his hands. Now his life and death might depend on the other party's decision and he would not be able to resist at all.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran smiled at the old lady and said, "Old lady, please take back your money. I won't ask you for any help I can give you."

"That won't do. We are decent people. We can only do things with money. If you don't take the money, I won't feel at ease."

Xiao Ran cursed the old witch in his heart. She was indeed an old thing. But on his face, he could only praise her with a fake smile: "Old lady, it would be great if people outside were as particular as you."

"Hehe, that's right, our way is the most particular."

Seeing that Xiao Ran had given in, the old lady's smile grew wider and she nodded to Tao Ge'er.

Upon seeing this, Tao Ge'er and three or five other people immediately came forward, helped Xiao Ran up, and took out the prepared clothes for Xiao Ran to put on.

Xiao Ran took a look and found that this was a shroud.

When a living person wears funeral clothes, he is treating himself as a dead person.

But now his life is in the hands of the old lady, and he can only let Tao Ge'er and the others control him.

Xiao Ran stood stiffly, letting Brother Tao and the others manipulate him. His eyes rolled around as he asked the old lady, "Old lady, didn't you ask me to help exorcise the evil spirits? What are you doing?"

In response to Xiao Ran's question, the old lady just smiled kindly and did not explain.

This undoubtedly made Xiao Ran's heart skip a beat. If he didn't say anything, it would clearly mean that he had no intention of letting him live.

After the funeral clothes were put on, Tao Ge'er and a few others lifted Xiao Ran's shoulders and walked towards the coffin.

"Wait, what are you going to do!?"

Looking at the coffin getting closer and closer, Xiao Ran's face became uglier and uglier. He turned around and stared at the old lady sitting on the chair, his eyes full of bloodshot as he cursed loudly: "There is no such thing as an evil ghost. You are the biggest evil ghosts!!"

After hearing Xiao Ran's words, Tao Ge'er was stunned, and then they looked at each other and let out a shrill laugh.

"Hahaha, this kid isn't stupid!"

Brother Tao smiled and said, "Boy, if you don't take the road to heaven, you will break into hell. Don't worry, after the matter is done, we will give you a grand funeral, erect a monument for you, write a biography, and find you a wife, so that you can live more comfortably than the living."

As he spoke, the coffin was opened and a foul stench came out. Xiao Ran took a closer look and saw a man's body lying in the coffin. The body did not look seriously decayed, but someone had chopped off his head.

Without saying a word, everyone threw Xiao Ran into the coffin.

Another villager picked up the backpack that he had just taken off Xiao Ran's body and threw it into the coffin. He couldn't help but say with envy: "Brother is so lucky. Not only did he get a living body, but he also got such a young and handsome man."

"Hey, what's the big deal? When big brother gets this body, he will be able to walk out. What kind of body do you want in the future?" Tao Ge'er said with a grin.

Xiao Ran was lying in the coffin. After hearing what the two said, his heart suddenly sank.

This old lady's methods are hard to guard against.

Who would have thought that a small gold bar could cost one's life.

It’s too late to regret now.

As soon as Tao Ge'er and the others closed the coffin lid again, the light in the entire coffin suddenly dimmed.

Tao Ge'er looked at the closed coffin lid and patted the dust off his hands with satisfaction. Suddenly, he saw a few people nearby who were about to nail the coffin. His face suddenly changed and he kicked them to the ground.

"Idiot, now that the coffin has been nailed shut, how can Big Brother come out?"

Tao Geer cursed for a while, turned around and walked to the old lady, and immediately changed his face into a humble smile: "Old lady, everything is ready, let's get started, so as to avoid more trouble at night." "Yes!"

The old lady nodded. Although she didn't think there was anything to worry about, as the boy's life was important, she had staked her seven gold bars on it, so leaving him alone wouldn't make any waves.

Soon, the villagers gathered around the coffin, holding lanterns.

"Crash la la la..."

A handful of white paper money fell like snowflakes, and the villagers' eyes became hot under the lights.

"On July 7, the fairy and the god are paired together. Cow, cow, where are you? You stole the fairy's clothes. Wolf and sheep, the fairy has fallen into the mortal world and can never return to her dreamland..."

The strange singing voice echoed among the graves in the mountains and forests along with the whispers of the villagers.

"Boom!!"

Xiao Ran was lying in the coffin and vaguely felt the coffin shaking, as if someone was lifting the coffin, and the whole coffin became light.

Not only did the coffin feel light, but Xiao Ran himself also felt light.

In a trance, I heard someone calling my name suddenly.

Then my body seemed to be pulled up by a huge force and dragged down.

In an instant, his ears were filled with shrill screams. In the darkness, it seemed as if countless hands were reaching through the darkness to grab his body, wanting to tear him into pieces.

Xiao Ran wanted to struggle, but when he looked down, he found that there were seven small yellow croakers wrapped around his ankles. They were so heavy that it seemed as if two huge stones were tied to his body, sinking him into hell.

"It's over!"

Seeing this, Xiao Ran's heart sank to his feet.

It was at this moment that Xiao Ran suddenly felt a warm current coming, and then it felt like a hand was supporting him.

Faintly, a woman's shadow appeared beside him, supporting himself with both hands and rising up.

But when he wanted to see clearly, the woman's shadow had disappeared, but he could still feel the warm power surrounding him.

"what is that??"

Xiao Ran was surprised by the sudden change. He hurriedly looked for the source of the heat. He felt it all over his body and finally found that the source of the heat came from his pocket.

"In your pocket??"

Xiao Ran thought about it and realized that besides the fruit knife, there was only one other thing in his pocket.

Is that the diary?
Just as Xiao Ran was wondering, he heard a "bang!" sound of a night watchman. Then a ray of light pierced through the darkness, and a figure holding a gong and drum slowly walked towards Xiao Ran.

That person was none other than Li Ji, whom he met last night.

When the light shone on Xiao Ran, Li Ji didn't seem surprised at all. He just sighed lightly, "I told you long ago that you shouldn't come to this place."

Li Ji shone the light in his hand around Xiao Ran, and suddenly the darkness surrounding Xiao Ran receded like a tide.

Only then did Xiao Ran realize that he had returned to the village.

It was still the same intersection, and the scene looked familiar from last night.

However, Xiao Ran soon noticed the changes in his surroundings. The village in front of him was more dilapidated than before. The original few houses had turned into ruins, and the air was filled with a burnt and pungent smell.

"This..." Xiao Ran couldn't help but feel confused when he saw this.

Li Ji followed his gaze and nodded: "Perhaps, this is what this place originally looked like."

Hearing Li Ji's words, Xiao Ran was startled, and then asked: "So, those villagers I saw during the day, are they people or..."

Xiao Ran didn't say the last word "ghost" because he couldn't tell who was human and who was a ghost.

Li Ji understood what Xiao Ran meant. His eyes narrowed into slits as he explained to Xiao Ran, "They are human, but they are not human. They have been trapped here for more than a hundred years. They are almost rotten."

After saying that, Li Ji also shook his head and said with some melancholy: "Don't mention you, sometimes I can't tell either."

Li Ji took Xiao Ran up the hill, and when they reached an inconspicuous earth slope, he pointed downwards.

Xiao Ran looked down and saw that the villagers were surrounding his coffin, jumping and dancing as if they were performing a shaman dance. There was also a piece of cowhide covering the coffin.

"This group of people are trapped here, unable to get out and unable to die. The only way to escape is to become alive. You have been set up by that old lady. She wants to use your body to bring her son back to life."

Xiao Ran frowned upon hearing this, staring at the coffin with his eyes wide open: "So, there are no evil ghosts at all. They are beasts that are even more evil than evil ghosts."

"Then there is no other way?"

"Method?"

Li Ji pondered for a moment, then raised his finger and pointed at the golden toad in the old lady's arms. "See that toad? Kill it, and there will be a way."

(End of this chapter)