Evil Spirits Carrying A Coffin

Chapter Three: Strange Tales

However, to my surprise, I had barely returned home when I received news that my father had gone abroad. Apparently, something had happened at the family's overseas headquarters, though my father hadn't told me.

I, who had been fretting about what excuse to use to leave, suddenly felt excited. Surely there wouldn't be any surprises now; perhaps it was fate that had destined my trip to the Yellow River.

A few days later, I received a call from Li Yuan, saying everything was ready and we could meet at the train station.

Thinking about finally seeing the Yellow River, I was naturally too excited to sleep that night. However, just then, a hazy sleepiness enveloped me, and I quickly drifted off to sleep.

That night, I had many dreams. Dreams are nothing special, but one dream gave me a glimpse into my journey along the ancient Yellow River.

In the dream, on a turbulent Yellow River, Li Yuan and I were in a small boat, tossed about by wind and rain, and behind the boat floated a red coffin. Seeing the red coffin, both of us were terrified. At that moment, Li Yuan suddenly transformed into a bizarre monster and, catching me off guard, pushed me into the river.

This startled me awake.

In this era, few people believe in feng shui or ghosts. However, I deeply understand that while you may not believe in these things, you cannot lack reverence.

“Zhou Yu!”

In front of the train station, Li Yuan, carrying a huge package, waved to me. Seeing him, I immediately ran towards him.

“Why are you so late?”

The train station was crowded, so Li Yuan's voice was loud, but even so, I could barely hear him.

“I got stuck in traffic.”

After a brief explanation, Li Yuan didn't seem to mind and pulled me towards the ticket checkpoint. Despite the large package he was carrying, he ran much faster than me.

After showing our tickets to the ticket inspector, we boarded the train bound for the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in Shandong.

The train was crowded. Besides those seated, there were also people in the aisle who hadn't bought standing tickets, filling the air with an unpleasant smell.

However, thankfully, two sweet-looking kids sat opposite us, adding a touch of liveliness to the journey.

Li Yuan possessed a natural, special charm; he could quickly strike up a conversation with almost anyone, regardless of who they were.

Therefore, the two sweet-looking kids opposite him quickly struck up a conversation, while I, of course, was utterly ignored.

Of course, "ignored" was just a joke. After all, how could a young person in this new era survive without a talent for banter?

However, perhaps because I don't talk much, the two students and I weren't very close. On the contrary, Li Yuan and the two of them acted like old friends who hadn't seen each other for years. If they weren't children,

he might have even kowtowed and sworn brotherhood with them. Through their introductions, I learned that one of them was Yuan Li, a slender girl with an oval face, and the other was Li Xin, a slightly baby-like and very cute girl. They were both from a vocational high school in Beijing,

majoring archaeology.

Hearing this, Li Yuan immediately became interested. After all, archaeology students were much luckier than us children of tomb-raiding families. We were generally not allowed to approach ancient tombs, as the regulations were very strict these days,

but archaeologists often had the opportunity to enter ancient tombs.

So, Li Yuan began to subtly inquire whether the two students had ever been to ancient tombs before, or encountered anything strange.

Surprisingly, when Li Yuan asked if they had encountered anything strange, the two students seemed to remember something and hesitated for a long time before slowly telling Li Yuan what had happened.

Several years ago, coincidentally, what the two students described was almost exactly where we were going. According to them, the Yellow River was in its dry season at the time, and the entire riverbed was almost exposed.

In the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, there's a custom: during the dry season, the river workers would reinforce the dikes and dredge the river channel in preparation for the flood season.

That year, during the Yellow River's dry season, about a hundred river workers were diligently reinforcing the dikes when, at that moment, the workers cooking on the bank heard screams of agony from below the dike.

This startled everyone cooking on the bank.

However, at lunchtime, the workers who had been building the dike climbed up from the bottom of the Yellow River. The cooks asked them if they had heard any strange noises, but the workers all shook their heads, saying they hadn't heard anything.

The cooks told the dike-reinforcing workers about the terrible incident. Although the workers were terrified, none of them admitted to hearing anything, which gave everyone a bad feeling.

The cooks were also very frightened. After all, people living along the Yellow River had a long-standing superstitious belief that the river was teeming with water ghosts. The Yellow River was considered humanity's mother river, and countless people had drowned themselves in it in search of their mothers throughout history.

If those hundred or so screams weren't from the workers, then there was only one possibility.

Thinking this, the cooks all felt a chill, but no one considered quitting. After all, working on the Yellow River, while arduous, was very well paid.

Besides, people die for wealth, birds die for food; everyone harbors a sense of wishful thinking, hoping that whatever bad things happen, they won't be the ones to suffer.

Therefore, not many people held this belief, and the day passed in this way. Nothing strange happened during this time, and the hundred or so tragic cries were gradually forgotten.

Days passed in this manner, until the last day of dredging the Yellow River waterway. Then, something strange finally occurred.

Around noon, when the workers climbed out of the Yellow River waterway to eat, someone discovered a person inside. The workers immediately forgot about their meal and rushed to search for him.

After all, although the Yellow River waterway was dry, there were still hidden currents. If that worker had fallen in, it would be extremely dangerous.

After searching for a long time, all they found was a dry riverbed and some debris at the bottom; there was no sign of a person, let alone any hidden currents.

Just as people were about to give up, one worker suddenly tripped over something. Another worker rushed over to help him up, but was stunned by what he saw.

Right where the worker had tripped, a head with its eyes rolled back lay in the sand, its hair and nostrils filled with sand, and a sinister smile seemed to be playing on its horn.

This terrified the first worker.

"Damn it, come help me up!"

Unfortunately, the person who had tripped had probably twisted his ankle and couldn't get up immediately. Turning around, he saw his colleague staring blankly at something.

This infuriated him.

After cursing, he glanced casually at the spot where he had tripped, and that glance made him jump in fright.