Chapter 337 - Other Than Myself, They All Came
Chapter 337: Other Than Myself, They All Came
Jiang Ling held Fan Yu’s hand as she walked into the door. Chen Ge had no other choice. Compared to the Red Specter that was just faces, the world behind the door felt safer. The moisture in the air thickened, and a stale smell of blood hung into the air. Chen Ge’s sight was affected like he was standing in a world of fog.
This is different from the door in the Third Sick Hall.
This was the second time Chen Ge had entered the blood door. The world behind the door in Coffin Village was covered by a blood fog, and he could only see three meters before him.
“Be careful not to get lost. There are man-eating creatures in here.” Jiang Ling had completely shed her disguise. Her childish voice was laced with undeniable strength.
“Understood.” Chen Ge had a hard time believing this. “This is hard to process. A little girl who cannot hit me even if she jumps her highest is a powerful Red Specter.”
“Even if you’ve saved me, please watch your mouth, or I might need to repay your kindness only in death.” Jiang Ling looked at Chen Ge coldly. After entering the door, her dress started to change. The blood in the fog surrounded her like she was the master there. Chen Ge’s eyes twitched slightly because the words were very familiar. It reminded him of Zhang Ya’s love letter.
After Chen Ge got in, Jiang Ling closed the door. When she opened it again, the scene outside the door had changed. It was a blood red village, and the fog covered up the sky.
“The Red Specter will arrive soon. This door will not stop it for that long.” When the blood fog got close to Jiang Ling, it would seep into her body. However, probably because she was injured, she could not summon the fog on her own. With Jiang Ling leading the way, the three headed into the village. The closed door behind them shuddered slightly, and there were echoes of growling coming from behind it.
“Where are you taking us?” The blood fog had no effect on Jiang Ling, but it made Chen Ge and Fan Yu feel uncomfortable. It felt like they were submerged in a swamp.
“Be quiet.” Jiang Ling signaled for them to hide inside the small hut. They waited for several seconds, and a curious monster walked past them in the fog. The monster was large, and his arms were deformed. His facial features were twisted, and he wore a roughly-sewn coat. He looked around like he was searching for something.
The monster soon walked past them and disappeared.
“What was that?” Chen Ge pointed at the monster.
“The villagers.” The hatred in Jiang Ling’s eyes could not be eclipsed. “They are how the villagers look in my eyes.”
“The villagers in your eyes? The blood red world was constructed with your psyche in mind?” Chen Ge valued any information related to the world behind the door.
“I’m not sure how this world is formed, but this world is very similar to a nightmare that I once had. In that nightmare, all the villagers look like that, deformed and creepy. They’re constantly looking for me, trying to drag me back.” Jiang Ling did not continue. She changed direction and headed for the inner part of the village.
There was a blood red world behind the door, but even now, Chen Ge had no idea whether these worlds were connected or isolated. Based on the suicidal investigator, everyone had a door in their heart, and only at the most despairing moment could one push open the door.
The door at the Third Sick Hall was pushed open by Men Nan, and the world behind it reflected how Men Nan saw the world—the mummified patients, twisted doctors, and broken arms that formed from fear. The world behind Coffin Village’s door was covered by blood fog and populated by the villagers that wanted to capture her. This fitted the girl’s understanding of the village.
The world behind the door reflects the human heart? Is it a real nightmare? Chen Ge was reminded of the door at his own Haunted House. Then what about the door at my Haunted House? Who left that door behind?
The sound of fighting came from the fog. It was likely the society’s Red Specter fighting the villagers behind the door.
“Let them fight, we need to find something.”
Wading through the fog, Jiang Ling led Chen Ge and Fan Yu to the center of the village. The fog there was light, and in the middle of the village, a group of villagers were kneeling. Their bodies were heavily deformed, and their faces looked ugly. Even though they were wearing human clothes, they could not be considered humans.
“What are they doing?”
“Repenting.”
The monsters had their heads lowered, and their bodies were facing the ancestral hall. Right in front of it was a red coffin!
Different from real life, the coffin behind the door blocked the entrance to the ancestral hall. The hall was the place where the villagers sent respect to their ancestors, but the coffin blocked the entrance fully.
“We’ll be able to survive after we open that coffin.” Jiang Ling walked around the crowd to slowly head toward the ancestral hall. “Do not awaken these monsters.”
The three held their breath as they moved slowly toward the ancestral hall. The fog moved like it could sense the presence of living humans. Some of the monsters slowly raised their heads.
Fan Yu and Jiang Ling walked ahead, and Chen Ge covered them from behind. His heart chilled as he looked at the monsters on the ground. Red paper money covered the floor, and the monsters looked like they were attending a funeral. They were forced to make sad expressions, but the tears could not be forced out.
A funeral?
After Chen Ge entered the Coffin Village, he realized that the village had many traditions related to funerals, like the white lanterns that hung on the street, paper money, and coffins.
Both in real life and the world behind the door, there was a funeral, a funeral that had not ended until today. Chen Ge took out his black phone to take a look. Even after I entered the world behind the door, the phone didn’t say that the mission has failed. Looks like as long as I am inside the village, regardless of whether it is inside the door or outside of it, the mission is still in effect.
He looked for the mission message. He saw the name Coffin Village on the black phone. Initially, he had thought this name was weird, and he did not think much of it. However, after concluding the stuff that he saw at the village, he had some ideas.
The screen moved, and Chen Ge looked at the details provided by the mission. “That day, other than myself, they all came.”
The mission hint was short. Chen Ge slowly narrowed his eyes. He finally understood what it meant. These people came to ‘my’ funeral to cry on ‘my’ behalf. That is why there’s a myself. The hint is telling me that the key is the funerals.
Chen Ge turned to look at the ancestral hall, and Jiang Ling had already reached the red coffin.