Chapter Three: The Coffin Corpse Worships the Moon

I frowned, watching the anxious expressions on everyone’s faces, unsure what to do. As I was trying to think of a solution, suddenly two loud bangs echoed from downstairs. The sound startled Pudgy, who was trembling so much the wooden stick in his hand shook.

“Let’s go down and take a look. There’s no exit on the second floor, so we have to risk it. Isn’t there an old saying that the most dangerous place is the safest?” I shouted to everyone.

“We’re just a bunch of kids, had to come to this damned place, and now we can’t even get out. Are we all going to die here?” wailed the boy who had been crying earlier.

I drew my brows tighter and said to him, “So what do you suggest we do? We’re already here, should we just sit and wait for death? If you think there’s no hope, you can stay here. We may not be adults, but we’re boys, and when trouble comes, crying won’t solve anything.”

The boy stopped crying, and I spoke to them again: “Let’s go. We’ll go down together—there’s strength in numbers…” But before I finished, another heavy bang echoed from downstairs, this time dull, and I couldn’t tell what it was.

Hearing the sound, my face grew grim. Was that uneasy feeling in my heart about to come true? I swallowed hard and glanced at everyone. They all nodded in fear, agreeing to go downstairs with me—even Pudgy surprisingly agreed.

Leading them, we tiptoed to the staircase. After descending a few steps, I saw the windows flanking the main door on the first floor had inexplicably shattered, letting moonlight flood in. Iron Pillar, beside me, grew excited and said, “Look, the windows are broken! We can get out. Hurry!”

I breathed a sigh of relief and was about to lead everyone out, but the moment I stepped onto the first-floor boards, the sound of knocking wood came from nearby. Due to the broken windows, moonlight poured in, revealing the scene on the first floor.

We turned to look, and the sight nearly scared our souls out of us: rows of coffins with peeling paint were arranged in the center of the floor—dozens of them by rough estimate.

Pudgy saw so many coffins at such close range and, already rattled from earlier, suddenly shouted, “Oh, mother!”

I quickly covered his mouth. Everyone else was so frightened they leaned against the walls, finally unable to hold back their screams. Some classmates wet their pants; others began to cry, calling out for their mothers. Seeing this, my anxiety grew.

I was about to try to calm them when all the coffins behind us suddenly burst open with tremendous force. Turning around, I saw dozens of corpses dressed in Qing dynasty clothing springing out, hopping toward the courtyard. My mouth hung open, my face paled, and my legs turned to jelly. But deep inside, I told myself: Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid.

Steeling myself, I ran over to Iron Pillar and the others, covering their mouths and whispering, “Stop screaming. Do you all want to die here?”

They quieted down, gazing ahead. The corpses seemed not to notice us, hopping out into the yard on their own. I whispered, “Stay quiet. We’ve run into something. Don’t panic—they haven’t seen us. When they leave, we’ll slip out. Don’t cry out.”

After I finished, everyone listened carefully, seeing my fearless expression as if they’d found a backbone, obediently following my instructions. We leaned against the wall, watching the last corpse hop out. A moment later, we stood up and cautiously edged toward the door. I was the first to peer outside, seeing the corpses standing in neat rows, bowing repeatedly to the moon.

Sam, crouched behind me, saw the scene and trembled as he spoke: “Lin Xuan, aren’t those outfits just like in that movie? And the sign above the courtyard says ‘Righteous Manor’—isn’t that something from movies, too? If there really is a Righteous Manor in this world, doesn’t that mean…”

He swallowed and continued nervously, “Doesn’t that mean there really are ghosts and immortals? Lin Xuan, have you not been lying to us—you really can see ghosts?”

Finishing, Sam glanced at me, as if recalling something. Pudgy, Iron Pillar, Doggie, and the others looked surprised, staring at me with incredulous eyes. I suddenly felt several pairs of eyes on my back; turning, I saw them all gazing at me as if I were some kind of miracle.

After a while, Iron Pillar grumbled, “You idiot, if you’d remembered sooner, we wouldn’t have come in. Every time at the crucial moment you mess up. Who can stand this, running into these things at night?”

Sam, a bit aggrieved, replied, “How could I think of all that? I just wanted to look around, who knew we’d run into movie stuff for real?”

Watching them bicker, I patted them and whispered, “Quiet! Didn’t I tell you not to make noise? Now’s not the time for fighting. Save it for when we get back.”

They both shut up. Clearly, my words still carried weight in situations like this. Doggie then softly asked, “What now, Lin Xuan? You can see ghosts, right? You must know what to do. Hurry, think!”

I inwardly scorned him: Are those things outside ghosts? I’ve never encountered zombies before—who knows what to do?

But I kept those thoughts to myself. Hiding behind the door for a moment, I finally said, “Got it. In movies, if you hold your breath, zombies can’t smell you. Let’s try. When I count to three, stick to the wall and go out—don’t look at them or make a sound.”

Everyone hesitated, uncertain about my suggestion. Anxiously, I looked outside. Unease grew—those zombies seemed ready to return at any moment.

I urged them, and Pudgy spoke up first: “It’s our only option. Lin Xuan, if we make it back safe today, I’ll call you big brother whenever I see you. I’ll clear the way for you, never bully you again.”

Seeing Pudgy agree, everyone nodded. I peered outside—the zombies were still bowing to the moon. Raising my left hand, I slowly counted down from three to one. As my last finger fell, I pinched my nose and led the way out.

Everyone followed, covering their noses and mouths, sticking to the wall as we moved toward the door. My heart was pounding—messing around in a haunted place at night, running into zombies from movies, who wouldn’t be terrified?

We moved steadily, almost to the door, when someone—who knows who—kicked a jar in the corner. Its sharp clang shattered the silence. The boy who’d cried earlier screamed again, only covering his mouth after I glared at him.

But it was too late. The dozens of zombies heard the commotion, turned toward us, paused, then hopped over. Panic seized me, and everyone else, too, fled in chaos, screaming as they ran. If we were somewhere safe, I’d have slapped them all to vent my anger.

But there was no choice. Their shouts drove all the zombies wild, who raised their hands and jumped at everyone. I dropped my hand from my nose and yelled, “Stop yelling, damn it! Find somewhere to hide—don’t go inside, don’t breathe!”

Unfortunately, my shout drew most of the zombies toward me. Seeing a dozen zombie corpses hopping over, I bitterly muttered, “Great, now I’m really in trouble.”

I ran toward the door, but as soon as I reached it, the main door slammed shut. Instinctively, I bolted to the side, but something tripped me and I fell hard.

Lying on the ground, I looked back. The zombies were nearly upon me, and goosebumps covered my skin. I screamed and scrambled up, running through the courtyard until exhaustion forced me to stop, hands on knees, gasping for breath.

When I straightened up and looked back, all I saw was a pair of shriveled hands with long nails poised above my head. Fear shot through me as the zombie, having scented me, retracted and extended its hands, aiming for me. I crouched, covering my nose.

The zombie paused, sniffed the air, looked around, as if unsure. I thought I’d dodged disaster, but just as I tried to sneak away, it grabbed my shoulder, lifting me off the ground. Pain shot through me, as if its claws had pierced my flesh, and I cried out, pounding its desiccated arm.

The zombie must have sensed something because it suddenly hurled me aside. I crashed into the flowerbed at the center of the courtyard, coughing up blood, nearly fainting. My head throbbed as I watched the zombie hop toward me, powerless to move, incapable even of raising my hand.

It hopped to my side, picked me up, and I hung limp, neck tilted, as it let out a roar, exposing its corpse fangs, and lunged for my throat.

Seeing this, I thought, “This is it. I’m going to die here. Grandpa, Grandma, forgive your unfilial grandson, who can’t honor you anymore.”

With that, I closed my eyes, awaiting death. But after a long moment, I felt nothing. Slowly, I opened my eyes to see the zombie stopped just centimeters from my throat, a yellow talisman stuck to its forehead.

Stunned, I heard a deep voice from above intone, “He-he yang-yang, the sun rises in the east. I offer this blessing to sweep away misfortune. Let the Three Flames gather and blaze forth. By command—capture!”

As the voice finished, the talisman on the zombie’s forehead gleamed with golden light, flinging the zombie away. It landed in the distance and was engulfed in roaring flames, soon reduced to ash. Dropping to the ground, I saw a man standing before me: black trench coat, stubbled chin, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

He glanced at me and helped me up. Leaning against his arm, I weakly frowned and said, “Who are you? Please… please save my friends.”

The man smiled at my feeble state. “Thinking of others when you can barely save yourself? You’re quite something, kid. Let me draw out the corpse poison in you—don’t move, it’ll be quick.”

Suddenly, two beams of golden light shone on my shoulder where the zombie had grabbed me, bringing a searing pain. The man then slapped my back, and I lurched forward, vomiting onto the ground. Black liquid spilled from my mouth, reeking worse than anything. I retched for a long time before finally stopping.

The man, squatting beside me, cigarette nearly burnt out, said, “Good, spit it out. You’re fine now. I’ll go save the others—rest here.”

I nodded anxiously, watching as he walked over and, astonishingly, floated into the air. Forming a hand seal, he chanted, “Let all cursed perish, let all cursed die. The Great Way above protects me. By command—expel!”

As he finished, hundreds of yellow spirit talismans flew out of nowhere, forming a visible net of golden light in the air, pressing down on the zombies. Soon, wild roars echoed all around as the zombies were trapped in the golden net.

The survivors stopped running, watching as the dozens of zombies trapped in the net gradually dissolved into pools of black water.

The man in the sky, seeing the zombies destroyed, descended gently to the ground and approached me. Everyone gathered around, Iron Pillar panting, “Lin… Lin Xuan, are you alright? I thought I was going to die here.”

I shook my head to show I was fine. The man standing beside me said, “You kids are pretty gutsy, sneaking into a haunted place in the dead of night. If I hadn’t happened by, you’d have ended up just like those pools of black water—turned into zombies yourselves.”