"Sis, do you mean...?" Hearing Zhang Yihan's mention of the crippled man, I instantly recalled the Guo family mentioning a cripple who wanted to buy their house.
"Do you think the old man you saw might be the same cripple?" Zhang Yihan asked, excitement evident on her face.
"Both of you, search around this area. That old man is suspicious and might be pretending to be a ghost. Catch him and question him," Zhao Mingzhu ordered. "Move quietly. Your hazmat suits will help you blend into the fog. If he's really pretending to be a ghost, he's likely still around the house." Zhao Mingzhu whispered the last part, clearly wary of the old man overhearing us.
"Let's go!" Zhang Yihan nudged me with the skeletal hand again.
Since we hadn't removed our hazmat suits after returning, we headed directly out of the hall.
At the door, Zhang Yihan signaled for me to circle around the house from the right while she would go from the left, planning to meet at the back door.
Although fear gripped me, I forced myself to comply.
However, after circling the house clockwise and returning to the hall's entrance, I found no sign of Zhang Yihan. I considered entering the house to check if she was playing a trick on me, but just as I reached the door, a hand reached out from my right and grabbed my neck.
I instinctively touched the bony hand, thinking it was Zhang Yihan trying to scare me again. Annoyed, I swatted at the hand and said, "Sis, stop messing around. You're going to scare someone to death..."
Before I could finish, the hand tightened its grip. Reflexively, I grabbed the hand with both of mine.
To my horror, I realized the hand was clothed. Shining my flashlight to the right, I saw the hand reaching out from a coffin.
The hand, now a skeletal hand with skin like parchment, had a grip of iron. I struggled to breathe, striking the wrist with my flashlight to no avail. The grip only tightened.
Just as I was about to pass out, a shadow flashed before my eyes, and Zhao Mingzhu's voice boomed, "Let go!"
He struck the hand with a stick, and it finally released me.
With a loud bang, the coffin lid slammed shut.
"Are you alright?" Zhao Mingzhu helped me to my feet.
Panting, I waved him off, unable to speak.
"Where's Zhang Yihan?" Zhao Mingzhu asked urgently.
"I don't know..." I shook my head, still dazed.
"Zhang Yihan?" he called out loudly.
The silence was deafening.
"Something's wrong. We need to find her," Zhao Mingzhu said, concern etched on his face.
I nodded, still catching my breath.
"Zhao, your leg is injured. Stay inside. I'll look for her," I grabbed the stick from him, knowing I needed some form of protection. While I was certain it was a human hand that had grabbed me, I also knew that people could be more terrifying than ghosts.
"Wait..." Zhao Mingzhu stopped me. He shone his flashlight at the beam, his eyes fixed on something above.
Following his gaze, I nearly fainted at the sight.
Hanging from the beam were two figures: Li Dapeng's mother and Zhang Yihan, clad in her white hazmat suit.
"What are you waiting for? Save her!" Zhao Mingzhu shouted, shoving me.
Shaking, I climbed onto the nearest coffin and reached for Zhang Yihan. But in my confusion, I mistakenly grabbed Li Dapeng's mother first. Her long, white tongue dangled in front of my face, her bulging eyes seeming to stare right at me.
Screaming, I flung her away and quickly turned to rescue Zhang Yihan.
Holding her in my arms, I checked for a pulse and was relieved to find it faintly beating.
"Is she alright?" Zhao Mingzhu asked.
"She's alive, just unconscious. You found her just in time," I replied, heart pounding.
"Revive her. Press on her philtrum," Zhao Mingzhu instructed.
Nodding, I pinched her philtrum, and after a few moments, Zhang Yihan stirred awake.
Her first reaction was to slap me across the face. "Why are you holding me?"
I had just saved her life, and this was her gratitude?
"Zhang Yihan, Xiao Lin saved you," Zhao Mingzhu interjected.
"Saved me?" she asked, bewildered. "What happened? Why did I need saving?"
"You were trying to hang yourself!" I snapped, frustrated and hurt.
"Hang myself? You're the one who's crazy!" she retorted angrily.
"Enough. Let's go inside and talk," Zhao Mingzhu urged.
Only then did Zhang Yihan get off me, and we returned inside, sitting around the fire to discuss what had happened.
According to Zhang Yihan, after we split up, she circled the house's left side but lost consciousness shortly after. She must have been knocked out and then hanged.
As for the coffin that had grabbed me, we theorized it was the old man's doing.
Despite our earlier ordeal, we decided to wait until morning, when the fog would clear, before searching for the old man.
That night, I stayed awake, too terrified to sleep. Zhang Yihan, who had promised to share the watch, slept like a log, leaving me alone to guard the fire. I couldn't wake her, and I didn't dare disturb Zhao Mingzhu due to his injury.
Finally, at dawn, the fog began to lift, improving visibility. Zhang Yihan woke up and immediately demanded, "Xiao Lin, why didn't you wake me for my shift? Hmph... Don't think sucking up to me will make me go easy on you. Now go fetch me some water."
Fuming, I cursed her under my breath but refrained from arguing.
"Xiao Lin stayed up all night?" Zhao Mingzhu asked, concerned.
"Yes, Captain. I wanted to let Sis rest. Women need more rest," I lied, trying to appear considerate.
But Zhang Yihan ruined it. "Don't pretend. I heard you trying to wake me. I ignored you because I never stay up late. It causes dark circles."
I could barely contain my frustration. This woman was impossible.
After a quick breakfast, we resumed our investigation. Searching the house thoroughly, we found no footprints or signs of disturbance, and Li Dapeng's mother's body had vanished again.
We then examined the coffins and discovered that each had a revolving bottom, concealing a dark tunnel below.
Gazing at the pitch-black holes, none of us spoke, until Zhang Yihan broke the silence, "Xiao Lin, go down and check those tunnels."
Check the tunnels? You've got to be kidding me!