DT |Chapter 4: Nineteen Coffins Part Four (Revised)

Sheng Feng sat at the dining table, slurping a big bowl of noodles in front of him, while the Ghost King, who claimed to have countless souls under his command, lay on the empty table beside him, looking innocently at Sheng Feng as he picked up noodles with his chopsticks. This gave Sheng Feng a sense of superiority. Although he couldn’t see the ghost’s face, he could guess that it must be wearing a pitiful expression. At this moment, Sheng Feng was glad he possessed a basic human skill—empathy. “Captain Sheng, after you finish eating, could you burn this marinated egg for me? Or burn something else, anything edible will do.” Sheng Feng held a marinated egg, tapping it lightly on the table, and took a sip of soup, feeling quite pleased. “Weren’t you very powerful just now? Didn’t you want to strangle me earlier? Your Highness the Ghost King, are you really giving in just because of a little marinated egg?” “I…” “That won’t do! You’re already a mature ghost, some things you have to bear yourself, including… hunger.” Sheng Feng picked up the bowl and finished the soup and noodles cleanly. “Besides, you’re a ghost from the Xiyi Realm, you can even touch tea leaves and water, drink tea, tea can fill you up too.” Ignoring the ghost’s tantrums, Sheng Feng refused to give him any food, leaving the famous Ghost King of the Xiyi Realm curled up on the sofa, hugging a large tea mug of Silver Needle tea while watching soap operas, occasionally shedding a few tears for his tragic fate. Sheng Feng thought that since he would have to work with this guy for a while, it might be silly to shout “Your Highness the Ghost King” in public, and he might even be sent to a mental hospital. Sheng Feng decided to let the Ghost King give himself a proper name. After explaining, Sheng Feng went back to his room to catch up on sleep. Just as he was about to fall asleep, the ghost suddenly phased through the wall, shaking his arm. “I remembered my name.” Sheng Feng squinted at his phone. Well, it had only been an hour, and this guy had spent the whole time thinking of a name. He closed his eyes, listening intently, curious about what earth-shattering name the ghost had come up with in an hour. “Shen Yan, the sun rises and the day is clear, how about it?” Not great. Sheng Feng didn’t even open his eyes, snuggled back into his blanket, turned his back to the Ghost King, and waved his hand, indicating he could do whatever he wanted, he was going back to sleep. Then he quickly blocked out all external disturbances and sank into his dreams. Shen Yan didn’t continue to tug on Sheng Feng’s arm. In fact, he hadn’t spent much time thinking about the name. He was never a nameless wild ghost; he just hadn’t used this name for a long time, and it took some time to recall it. However, for now, this was the only name he remembered. He slowly stood up, his entire demeanor and appearance becoming almost clear. His long hair cascaded down to his waist, tied with a silver crown, his posture upright and graceful, paired with a face that could astonish the world, truly deserving the phrase “a peerless gentleman.” Shen Yan leaned slightly closer to the sleeping Sheng Feng, his gaze falling on the snake tattoo on Sheng Feng’s neck, where there was a noticeable scar, later covered by a tattoo artist to form a snake’s head. His expression was complex, thoughtfully extending his right hand, which was empty. But earlier that morning, when he had tried to strangle Sheng Feng, he felt a sharp pain in his fingers, forcing him to let go instantly. “Could it be that you not only have Yin-Yang eyes but also hide other secrets?” Shen Yan’s eyes were filled with amusement and coldness. He leisurely twirled the long tassel of the jade pendant at his waist, slowly circling the large bed, surveying the entire bedroom, and chuckled lightly: “It seems there’s more than just you here, someone else is hiding in the shadows.” Shen Yan glanced at the sleeping Sheng Feng, not intending to meddle further, he phased through the wall into the living room, picked up the tea mug, and continued watching his show. As the sunset spread like wildfire, inch by inch, pressing down the scorching sunlight, students from Yunhai University went out in pairs for dates and meals, complaining about how long it was taking to renovate the school’s dating spot, unaware that there were actually a dozen dried corpses lying there. The phone rang suddenly. Unfortunately, Sheng Feng was experiencing sleep paralysis. This time, the sleep paralysis was stronger than ever, lasting for more than half an hour. He was fully awake, hearing the phone ring beside him, but he couldn’t open his eyes, let alone move. The ringing in his ears, accompanied by a sense of suffocation, overwhelmed Sheng Feng’s mind, leaving him in a state of extreme dizziness. “Captain Sheng, why aren’t you answering the phone?” A familiar voice broke through the ringing. As the voice came, the pressure on Sheng Feng vanished instantly, and the world became clear again, with control of his limbs returning to him. It was over. Sheng Feng slowly opened his eyes, ignoring Shen Yan who had phased through the door, turned to pick up his phone, and pressed the answer button. “What’s up?” His voice was still a bit hoarse. A voice from the other end of the line said: “Captain, something’s wrong! Something happened with Hong Dechang! We’re heading to his private villa, I’ll send you the address.” Sheng Feng didn’t ask further, enduring the dizziness, he threw off the blanket, jumped out of bed, and headed for the door, bumping into Shen Yan, who was no longer hidden in the mist. Shen Yan’s calm face showed a moment of surprise, blinking. “Something happened?” Shen Yan twirled a jade flute in his hand, seemingly pleased with Sheng Feng’s reaction to seeing him, his mood visibly improved. Sheng Feng quickly adjusted his expression, noticing the amusement on Shen Yan’s face, he walked through Shen Yan to open the door, putting on his coat as he said: “The president of Yunhai University is in trouble.” With that, he hurriedly put on his shoes, grabbed his keys, and ran out. Shen Yan unconsciously touched his face, realizing that sometimes being good-looking was an annoying advantage. With this extreme sense of superiority, he followed Sheng Feng out the door, shaking his imaginary helicopter tail. Hong Dechang’s private villa was far from the city, but as Sheng Feng rushed from his neighborhood, he hit the evening rush hour, with people and cars jammed like a string of candied hawthorns. “Who is Hong Dechang?” Shen Yan poked his head out from the back seat. Sheng Feng glanced at his face, feeling uncomfortable, he leaned towards the door to keep some distance, shifting as he replied: “He’s the president of Yunhai University. Two months ago, he heard rumors from students that there might be ancient tombs buried under Yunhai University. Some even said that Yunhai University, nestled by the mountains and water, was an ideal yin residence. So the first thing he did after taking office was to locate the tombs within the university.” “What he dug up wouldn’t happen to be those red coffins you mentioned to the Underworld, would it?” Sheng Feng sighed: “A total of nineteen red coffins were unearthed, but only eighteen bodies were found. The last coffin was empty. Last night, these eighteen bodies were manipulated by some strange worms to rise, but I don’t recognize those worms, maybe they’re something from your Underworld.” Shen Yan pondered, while Sheng Feng took a sip of water, looking at the long line of traffic on the overpass, feeling speechless: “After discovering the red coffins, various strange incidents began happening at the school. First, students were inexplicably possessed by ghosts, running to the school’s pond in their sleep. Fortunately, they woke up quickly and climbed ashore without drowning. Such incidents kept occurring, but President Hong wasn’t alarmed and didn’t report to National Security until a student hanged himself in an empty dormitory, then he got scared and called the police.” Shen Yan showed a slightly disgusted expression after hearing this, looking at Sheng Feng with a hint of fear: “This sounds quite eerie. To be honest, Captain Sheng, although I’m a ghost, I’ve always been a rule-abiding, reasonable ghost. I’m used to being a vegetarian, I don’t even dare to kill a chicken.” Sheng Feng listened to his nonsense, and the previously serious and tense atmosphere was instantly shattered by Shen Yan. Sheng Feng glanced at the “good ghost” who claimed not to dare kill a chicken, remembering how he almost got strangled by him on the first day they met, and felt a surge of anger. Such a beautiful person, but with a mouth full of nonsense. “How have you not been beaten to death with that mouth of yours?” Sheng Feng wondered, “Could it be that you were poisoned to death because you were too annoying when you were alive?” “Hey~ you can’t say that, Captain Sheng,” Shen Yan waved his hand, then looked up with a pitiful face, “I’ve heard that Captain Sheng, you’re kind-hearted, decisive, and a hero of your time, never discussing the past lives of your subordinates. How can you talk about my past life like this?” “Such drama.” Sheng Feng rolled his eyes, almost to the sky, seeing the car in front finally move, he shifted gears and drove forward. Shen Yan wasn’t paying attention, and the whole ghost was thrown to the back seat. Seeing his awkward state, Sheng Feng laughed openly. … Tian Nan Di Bei drove with the paper bride and their logistics team member, Luo Han, to the scene. Luo Han was a young man in his twenties, quite handsome, a bit reserved, a new recruit for National Security Group 7, having just started his internship a week ago. Outside Hong Dechang’s villa, many police officers had already gathered, with a cordon surrounding the villa, and no one dared to act rashly. The entire villa was shrouded in a depressing and gloomy atmosphere. The paper bride squinted her almond-shaped eyes, still wearing a handmade embroidered cheongsam, graceful and with a good figure, attracting the attention of several police officers as soon as they got out of the car. Fortunately, Tian Nan Di Bei had told her to dress more conservatively before leaving. “National Security Group 7, what’s the situation inside?” Tian Nan Di Bei showed his credentials, lifting the police tape to enter. He was about to get closer to observe the villa when a police officer stopped him. “Comrade from National Security, don’t get too close to this villa. We just sent in two or three police officers, and it’s been half an hour, they haven’t come out yet.” The officer whispered to Tian Nan Di Bei. The paper bride, with excellent hearing, walked over in her high heels: “Maybe they’ve been ambushed, why don’t you send more people in with guns to check?” The officer quickly waved his hand: “No, no, no, we can’t send more people in, this house is not clean, there’s something dirty inside!” The paper bride exchanged a glance with Tian Nan Di Bei. They had never heard anyone warn them that a place was unclean. Generally, if not seen with their own eyes, people nowadays wouldn’t believe in ghosts and spirits. “What did you see?” the paper bride asked. The officer was visibly stunned and said: “We saw a human head floating behind the curtains on the second floor.” Tian Nan Di Bei wanted to ask more details. Just then, there was a commotion on the distant road, as some reporters and cameramen, having caught wind of something, arrived late. The cameras were already recording, and the police guarding the cordon stopped them, but the reporters kept trying to squeeze inside. The police officer who had been talking to Tian Nan Di Bei also went over to maintain order. As the sun was about to set completely, the streetlights on both sides of the road automatically lit up. “Should we wait for the captain to arrive, or go in directly?” Luo Han clutched his backpack, his obedient demeanor making the paper bride want to pat him. As the sky darkened, the entire villa seemed covered by a gray veil, the summer heat blocked off, and the hot wind from the road turned into a cold breeze here. Without Sheng Feng, Tian Nan Di Bei dared not act rashly. Previously, National Security’s execution had always been efficient. The police thought that once National Security personnel arrived, they could go home early. Who knew these two men and one woman would just sit there without moving, showing no intention of entering the villa, making the police watching them increasingly impatient. “Why don’t we go in and take a look first?” The paper bride couldn’t stand the police’s stares and the mosquitoes everywhere, so she asked. Luo Han was also feeling the pressure. Being watched for so long made his ears turn red, and he even wanted to dig a hole to hide in. Tian Nan Di Bei hesitated, glanced at his watch, slapped his thigh, and made a decision: “Grab your gear, let’s go in and take a look.”