Ghost Stories

Chapter 3

Gu Feng wiped his face with his sleeve and quickly retorted, "No, no, I'm just hot."

Shi Xin gave a thoughtful "Oh" and said, "Since you've already thanked me, and you look so hot, why don't you go take a shower?"

Gu Feng nodded blankly, then turned to leave.

Shih-hsin laughed and said, "Remember not to use cold water right away!"

Gu Feng nodded and said, "Oh, I understand."

The promotion exam went very smoothly, and by 3 o'clock we had already reached the red belt level for the first rank.

After washing away the ancient style and changing into a new Taoist robe, he watched from the sidelines. When it was Zhuang Yu's turn to perform the kicking move, he shouted, "Zhuangzi, good luck!"

Zhuang Yu raised his index finger and declared confidently, "Watch me!"

As a result, Zhuang Yu, despite three months of hard training, still couldn't break through the wooden board he had hated for a year.

Gu Feng laughed and said, "Don't worry! There will be another chance next time."

Another person said, "You really know how to embarrass yourself. You're the only one in our class who doesn't even have a black belt. You're dragging us down."

Zhuang Yu retorted, "Your legs smell good, who would want to drag them!"

Just then, several construction workers covered in mud rushed in from outside.

The president quickly realized that they would break their previous agreement. The fact that they rushed into the clean Taekwondo club so nervously, covered in dirt, meant that something important must have happened.

Before the person even got close, the two workers shouted, "Coffin! Coffin! A coffin has been unearthed from under the foundation!"

He Feizhi asked, "What happened?"

One of the workers said, "When we were digging the foundation, we found a coffin. After we pulled it out, there was a dark pit underneath. A kid didn't know the danger and was standing by watching. He slipped in and is still trying to get him out."

The president said in a deep voice, "That's true. Let's go out and take a look."

The exam was temporarily over, and since everyone has curiosity, and the club president had said so, there was no reason not to go out and see. Gu Feng followed the crowd to the construction site behind the judo club and found A Mao and Xiao Bing there as well. He went up to them and asked, "How did it go? Did you pass the exam?"

Both of them laughed and said, "With our stature, how could we possibly fail? What about you, Brother Feng?"

Gu Feng said, "Of course! Have the people down below been rescued?"

Ah Mao: "They are using a crane to lower the ropes down."

Gu Feng asked, "Is the person alright?"

Ah Mao said, "It should be fine. I could still hear him shouting just now."

Xiaobing suddenly grabbed Gu Feng's hand and said, "Brother Feng, come here."

Gu Feng asked curiously, "Where are we going?"

Xiao Bing said, "Let's go take a look at that ancient coffin."

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Volume 1, Chapter 4: The Watcher

Ah Mao said, "Although we both want to see, we have limited courage. We should wait for Brother Feng to come along."

Gu Feng asked, "Where should we put the coffin?"

Xiaobing: "I saw the workers carry it into the shed over there."

The three gradually left the crowd and walked towards the simple shed.

The air was filled with the smell of "old" earth, which seemed to be mixed with some musty and rotten smells.

The unpleasant smell was clearly coming from the work shed. Gu Feng frowned and asked, "Is that coffin very new?"

Xiaobing: "It's very old. The wood creaked and groaned when the workers lifted it, like it was about to break."

Gu Feng said, "I recognize this smell; it should be the smell of a dead person rotting. But since the person has been dead for so long, how..."

"Hey, where are you going?" Gu Feng was startled when someone suddenly patted him on the back. It was Shi Xin.

Ah Mao pointed to the shed and said, "Let's go inside and look at the coffins!"

Shixin asked curiously, "What's so interesting about a coffin?"

Xiaobing: "I can't explain it to you. How about we go together?"

Ah Mao laughed and said, "Don't count on it, she's a girl!"

Shi Xin waved her hand and said, "Hmph! Who said I wouldn't dare to watch? I'm going anyway."

Gu Feng smiled and gradually moved closer to the work shed.

That can indeed be called an ancient coffin; its decayed and rotten appearance suggests that it is quite old.

Although the wood around the coffin was rotten and crumbling, an ancient painting could still be faintly seen, though its contents were barely discernible. The coffin lid was slightly ajar, and a foul, putrid odor seeped out, making one want to vomit.

Gu Feng moved a little closer to the coffin, as if he was about to open it.

Shi Xin covered her mouth in discomfort, staring at Gu Feng with terrified eyes. She was curious to see what was inside the coffin, but also fearful that she had to leave immediately.

The ancient-style hand touched the coffin; although it was decayed, the wood was still very sturdy.

"Crunch!"

Although it looked vulnerable, Gu Feng's strength couldn't budge it in the slightest.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

A coach rolled up the curtain and walked in. Gu Feng quickly stopped and said with a smile, "It's nothing, just came to take a look."

The coach recognized Gu Feng: "Oh! Isn't this Gu Feng who's not afraid of ghosts? What, do you suspect there's something evil in the coffin?"

Two more people dressed in white and wearing gloves walked in from behind him.

"Who are they?"

“They’re from the Municipal Bureau of Culture. Call them and ask them to check if this thing has any archaeological value.”

Upon seeing the coffin, the two men were clearly drawn to the strange patterns on it, and they pulled out large magnifying glasses from their pockets to examine it closely.

Seeing that they were looking at the exhibits carefully but showed no intention of opening it, Gu Feng couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Suddenly, a loud commotion arose outside, and someone could be heard shouting, "Come out! Come out! Hey, hey, bring the stretcher quickly!"

When Gu Feng and the others went out to take a look, they saw a young worker covered in black dust, his face ashen, being carried onto a stretcher and hurriedly driven to the hospital.

"Brother Feng, what's that black thing on that person's body?" Ah Mao asked, staring intently into the distance.

Gu Feng shook his head: "I don't know, it was probably brought up from the bottom of that cave!"

After the president of the company gave some instructions to a group of people, the group returned to the taekwondo gym.

Having passed the ancient style exam, he decided that being a spectator wasn't his thing, so he led the three of them to the edge of the large pit.

One of the workers warned, "Hey, don't get too close, or you'll fall down too."

Gu Feng nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."

The pit was pitch black, with only a little dry black dust oozing out from it; nothing else could be seen.

Gu Feng grabbed some in his hand; it was probably some kind of grass ash, but the smell was very strange, probably because it had been buried in the soil for too long.

Shixin looked at it curiously and asked, "What is that?"

Gu Feng frowned and said, "It should be grass ash."

I watched for a while longer.

At this moment, three people came out of the shed.

One of the cultural bureau staff members could be heard saying, "We have limited equipment today, so we cannot determine its age yet. However, we can ascertain that it has great historical value. Your museum should preserve it well. We will send someone to transport it to the laboratory for further research tomorrow."

Another said, "This place is damp and shabby; we should move it to a different location. Also, there might be some valuable burial items hidden in the coffin; you should send someone to guard it tonight."

The coach quickly replied, "Of course, of course, what about that pit on the construction site?"

"We will send colleagues over to excavate as soon as possible, so it won't affect your project too much."

"That's good, I'll see you off."

The coach walked over to Gu Feng and casually instructed him, "Since I've heard you're brave, you'll be in charge of watching the coffin tonight."

Ah Mao and the other two exclaimed in surprise, "Ah! No way!"

Gu Feng smiled and said, "I couldn't ask for more."

The coach patted him on the shoulder and continued to see the two people from the Cultural Bureau out.

Ah Mao said, "Brother Feng, didn't you yourself say there was something strange about that coffin? Why is it still there?"

Gu Feng said, "If there wasn't something strange about it, I wouldn't have gotten myself into this mess!"

Shixin suddenly said, "I'll stay with you."

Gu Feng was flattered and quickly waved her hand, saying, "No need, right? Although I don't believe in ghosts, you are, after all, a girl..."

Shixin interrupted, "So you look down on me?"

Gu Feng said, "How dare I?"

"That's obvious!"

8:15 PM.

The coffin has been moved to the judo club building and properly placed.

At nine o'clock, Gu Feng arrived at the dojo on time as instructed by Coach Gu. Shi Xin did not go back to her home in the city. Instead, she had dinner with Gu Feng and the other two at the club's canteen. After practicing Taekwondo for a while, she came here with Gu Feng.

The coffin was placed on one of the only two benches in the dojo reserved for instructors. Fortunately, the floor was clean and the temperature was not too low, so the two sat down on the floor against the wall.

Although the strange, rotten smell wasn't as strong as it was in the workers' shed, it could still be faintly smelled.

Gu Feng said, "I think you should give up and go home. This kind of thing is not suitable for a girl."

Shixin said, "Don't worry, I don't really believe in ghosts and gods anyway."

Gu Feng said, "But..."

"Hey! Feng, you guys are here so early!"

Ah Mao's greeting interrupted him.

Gu Feng asked curiously, "What's wrong with you today? Do you even want to keep me company?"