Boîte corporelle

Chapitre 70

"What do you mean?" Yu Guang and Wu Yong were astonished. Zhao Lianpu lay on the sofa and slowly recounted the whole story. Old Chen's name was Chen Jialiang, and he was the elderly overseas Chinese Zhao Lianpu had met when he came to Haiti. He had stayed in Haiti for a long time, and with his knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine and excellent cooking skills, he had made many friends among the locals, and even befriended several Voodoo priests.

When Zhao Lianpu arrived, he was simply reading novels in Chen Jialiang's lighthouse. At the time, Chen Jialiang was a kind and helpful person. Things changed one day when a coup d'état occurred in the area. Chen Jialiang happened to be out when a stray bullet struck his leg.

Lying in bed recuperating, Chen Jialiang pondered many things. He had lived half his life in Haiti, and only now did he have a place to lie down and think. He was already quite old, yet he had no savings, no money, and no woman. He felt he had wasted half his life, and everything had to change! So he decided to return to China with Zhao Lianpu. At this time, Zhao Lianpu had just finished writing his first book.

Zhao Lianpu's book was a great success, and he found a place called Evil Curse Village to continue writing his new work. In this remote village, there was a custom called night burial, and out of curiosity, Chen Jialiang also went there.

Somewhere along the way, Chen Jialiang suddenly felt dizzy, weak in his limbs, and his heart was racing. He only regained his senses with the sound of Wang Laomo's clapper. Chen Jialiang thought back and realized what it was. It was a poisonous plant that could produce neurotoxins. He had taken a look at it during the day, and it turned out to be the bewitching plant he had previously thought only existed in Haiti! So he searched everywhere to see if there were any more poisonous plants. When he reached the back mountain, he discovered it was a sea of bewitching plants, and even more abundant were wild poppies!

Haiti is an agricultural country, but due to a very low rate of scientific literacy, it has never had a good harvest. Driven by profit, farmers have turned to poppies, which is their only way to get rich.

Through his interactions with the locals, Chen Jialiang had become intimately familiar with the entire process of drug manufacturing. Looking at the wild poppies and vast fields of physalis, a brilliant idea suddenly struck him. He first used crude processing methods to extract crude opium from the wild poppies, then mixed it into Zhao Lianpu's food, thus controlling him. Strangely enough, under the influence of opium, Zhao Lianpu's inspiration was ignited, and he wrote several more best-selling books. This brought Chen Jialiang even greater economic benefits, as Zhao Lianpu was now completely under his control, like a slave.

Next, he extracted a neurotoxin from the bewitching herb, using a traditional method he had learned in Haiti. However, he had never personally tested how to turn a living person into a zombie before. So, during a night burial, under the cover of darkness, he released the toxin onto Wang Mingsheng's brother. The toxin was a gas contained in a large gourd, with only a faint, fishy smell. The first time he used it, he lacked experience and didn't control the dosage properly. On the way to the burial, Wang Mingsheng's brother smelled it and involuntarily made a sound. The next day, the toxin spread throughout his body, and he died in a cornfield. The locals believed it was an offense against an evil spirit and dared not pursue the matter, simply giving him a hasty burial.

After several experiments, he finally mastered the dosage of the drug, and successively anesthetized several strong young men in the village, turning them into living corpses. He then forced them to grow and package opium for him day and night.

Because of his leg problems, he couldn't personally go out of the mountains to meet with drug dealers. So, under the pretext of exchanging wild game and delivering manuscripts, he was coerced into going out of the mountains to sell the refined and packaged high-purity heroin.

Lü Guihua's husband had also been turned into a living corpse by Chen Jialiang. To avoid arousing Lü Guihua's suspicion, every time Zhao Lianpu was sent out, he was instructed to send her a letter in her husband's name. However, Lü Guihua was a woman with some education, and she noticed that the postmarks on the envelopes were always from nearby. She asked the village head, Wang Laomo, about it, but the muddle-headed Wang dismissed it. So she went to the Zhao family mansion to consult Zhao Lianpu. Upon hearing this, Chen Jialiang was greatly shocked and decided to eliminate Lü Guihua.

After Lü Guihua left, Chen Jialiang released the poison behind her. However, he hadn't expected that the dose, usually targeted at young men, would be too strong for a woman. Lü Guihua died outside the Zhao family mansion. Chen Jialiang then dragged Lü Guihua's body into the pond and forged a letter claiming her husband had fallen in love with someone else. Just when he thought everything was foolproof, Yu Guang and his group arrived in the Cursed Village to investigate the phenomenon of night burials.

When Chen Jialiang discovered Wu Yong and Chen Tian's contact with Wang Mingsheng, he overheard their conversation. He knew Wang Mingsheng was already suspicious, but suspected a certain man of having ulterior motives towards Lü Guihua. Coincidentally, he had just received a large order from a drug lord outside the mountains and was short-handed. Therefore, he decided to target Wang Mingsheng, poisoning him and turning him into a living corpse. He knew Wang Mingsheng's disappearance would arouse Wu Yong's suspicion, so to frame him, he wrote "The village chief is a pervert" on the cigarette box Wu Yong left behind.

Unexpectedly, just as he was leading Wang Mingsheng's zombie out, Lü Tugen arrived. He had come after receiving a message from Wang Mingsheng saying there was something amiss with his sister's death. Seeing the cigarette box left on the table, he flew into a rage and wanted to kill Wang Laomo. Fearing trouble if he acted too soon, Chen Jialiang quickly removed the curved knife from the gourd and used poison to incapacitate Lü Tugen. However, the dosage of poison was incorrect, and Lü Tugen failed to follow him. Consumed by rage, Lü Tugen, stimulated by the poison, became half-zombie, lurking in the shadows, waiting for his chance to assassinate Wang Laomo. Finally, he killed Wang Laomo with a single blow near the tomb. As he prepared to kill Shen Tian, he suddenly heard Weng Beibei crying. He instantly remembered his sister; Weng Beibei's sobs sounded exactly like Lü Guihua's voice. He froze. Just as he froze, Shen Tian delivered a fatal blow from behind.

When Chen Jialiang brought the lifeless Wang Mingsheng back to the gate of the Zhao family mansion, he found that Lü Guihua's son was waiting outside. He had been sent by Lü Tugen to deliver the message, so he had no choice but to bring the child into the mansion as well.

Fearing the child might have gone to the village chief's house, he coerced Zhao Lianpu into leaving the house that night after entertaining Yu Guang and the others. There, he cut the telephone line and hid a section of it. To create an alibi, he made Zhao Lianpu pretend to make a phone call, which was actually just a recording.

The mud-walled house was the tunnel leading to the back mountain. To prevent others from getting close, they even used a sound-playing device to pretend there was a vicious dog inside.

The excuse of the thieves in the back mountain was to gain Yu Guang and the others' trust so he could release the voodoo to incapacitate them. Unfortunately, since Yu Guang and his group included both men and women, the dosage of the poison was difficult to control, so he had to add it to the minced meat. Unexpectedly, because of Weng Beibei's vomiting, they lost their appetite and only ate vegetables, failing to turn into zombies but simply falling into a deep sleep.

Unexpectedly, this unexpected turn of events gave Yu Guang and Wu Yong an opportunity. As Chen Jialiang and Zhao Lianpu carried Shen Tianweng Beibei out the door, Zhao Lianpu, taking advantage of Chen Jialiang's inattention, splashed cold water on Wu Yong's face, hoping to wake him up sooner. He also left a flashlight and a steel pipe under the bed for self-defense. After hearing Zhao Lianpu's account, Yu Guang and Wu Yong couldn't help but gasp. They never imagined that old man Chen Jialiang could be so vicious and heartless! "By the way, how did you get in? Where's Chen Jialiang? Did he see you?" Zhao Lianpu asked.

“He was knocked unconscious by Wu Yong’s blow, and he’s probably still fast asleep in that little house upstairs. Don’t worry!” Yu Guang replied.

"Not good!" Zhao Lianpu exclaimed, "It's not that simple. People who practice voodoo are as strong as oxen. Even if you cut his chest with a knife, it will only leave a few white marks. A steel pipe can't keep him lying there for long. You guys hurry up and check on him, then give him another blow." Sitting in a rosewood chair, Wu Yong gripped the steel pipe tightly, tapping out the rhythm of his heartbeat. As the chair slowly rose, he saw the empty hut. Where was Chen Jialiang?

Section Sixteen

37

Yu Guang helped the weak and immobile Zhao Lianpu up the chair to the small house on the ground. Just as the three of them were wondering where Chen Jialiang had gone, they suddenly heard a commotion outside the door.

Wu Yong rushed to the door and looked outside, only to be horrified. The zombies outside had already stood up, swaying unsteadily.

They staggered towards the hut. These zombies were pale-faced, drool dripping from their mouths, their eyes seemingly spitting fire, and their throats gurgling. They were a group of mindless living dead! Now, under Chen Jialiang's instigation, they were about to launch a terrifying attack on Yu Guang, Wu Yong, and Zhao Lianpu inside the hut! What to do? Wu Yong was terrified. In desperation, he slammed the wooden door shut. But how could this thin wooden door possibly withstand these crazed zombies?

"Have the zombies started attacking?" Although Zhao Lianpu couldn't see or move, the clamor of the zombies outside said it all. He coughed to clear his throat, then opened his mouth and began to sing a song.

The song's melody was quite strange, with a fast tempo and ornate vocals; the language was one that Yu Guang and Wu Yong had never heard before. It must be reggae music sung in the local Haitian dialect. To be honest, Zhao Lianpu's voice might not be that great, and his pitch might not be perfect, but his grasp of rhythm was excellent. Listening to it, Yu Guang and Wu Yong could almost see Haiti's beautiful blue skies, white clouds, and golden beaches. In that moment of reverie, they realized that the drumming noise outside the door was gradually fading.

Wu Yong slightly opened the door and peeked out. The zombies were already lying on the ground, panting heavily, motionless. "Mr. Zhao, do you also know witchcraft?" Wu Yong exclaimed in surprise.

“No,” Zhao Lianpu replied. “I don’t know how to cast or undo spells. Voodoo cults control people with their voices, which is the most mysterious aspect of the cult. I’ve spent a lot of time with Chen Jialiang, so I’ve often seen him casting and undoing spells on the undead. Casting spells uses incantations, while undoing them uses Haitian reggae music. Each type of spell has a different music to undo it. The spells he casts on these undead are the simplest, because he often assigns them new tasks, so Chen Jialiang has set the same song for undoing all the spells. I’ve heard it so many times that I can imitate it. Just now, I simply re-enacted the song that Chen Jialiang usually sings to undo spells, and it actually worked!”

"That's great! As long as you're with us, Chen Jialiang can't do anything to us!" Yu Guang exclaimed excitedly.

"Don't be too happy yet. As I said before, each type of witchcraft has a different way to break free. Chen Jialiang must have gone to the back mountain now. Your two companions, Weng Beibei and Shen Tianzheng, are being held there. When Chen Jialiang left, he said he would cast the spell when the sun breaks through the horizon at dawn. He's definitely planning to cast the most terrifying type of witchcraft in Haiti, called the Sun God Witchcraft. Once cast, the resulting zombies will be unstoppable, and only specific music can break the spell. The difference between this type of witchcraft and other witchcraft is that you must never try to break it with the wrong song. If the song is sung incorrectly, the witchcraft power will increase exponentially, the zombies will lose control, and they will attack everyone." Zhao Lianpu frowned.

"What should we do then?" Yu Guang asked, deeply worried.

"The only way is to thwart Chen Jialiang's plan before he successfully plants the seed of the witch. You must go to the back mountain immediately to stop his plot."

"Us? Aren't you coming with us? Even if you have trouble walking, I can carry you." Wu Yong was a little surprised.

"No, I can't go. Zhao Lianpu has been putting drugs in my food and cigarettes to control me. I have to take heroin at certain times. I feel like it's time now..." As he spoke, Zhao Lianpu's face turned pale, his lips turned purple, and large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. Suddenly, with a "thud," he collapsed to the ground, his whole body trembling and convulsing, foaming at the mouth. Yu Guang and Wu Yong were shocked: "What are we going to do?"

Yu Guang instructed, "Go to the table outside and get some heroin."

"...Is this appropriate?" Wu Yong hesitated.

Yu Guang was speechless. After all, giving heroin to someone addicted to drugs seemed somewhat inhumane, especially since the real purpose of giving it to Zhao Lianpu was to get him to help deal with Chen Jialiang's witchcraft. Although it was to save someone, it still seemed a bit unreasonable. Struggling on the ground, Zhao Lianpu mustered his strength and shouted, "Don't give me heroin! I've hated this damned stuff for ages! I want to quit drugs! Don't let me touch that awful thing again!"

Wu Yong was still hesitating when Zhao Lianpu shouted again, "Don't worry about me! Hurry! Go to the back mountain and save your companions! There's not much time left until dawn!" Yu Guang and Wu Yong glanced at Zhao Lianpu rolling on the ground, gritted their teeth, turned around and left the hut. Their two figures disappeared into the passageway.

38

The passageway was very long. The two men, holding steel pipes and carrying flashlights, walked for an unknown amount of time before finally seeing the end. It was a door covered with sheet metal, the metal covered in rust.

Pushing open the door, the two could hardly believe their eyes. It was nearing dawn, yet the earth was in its darkest hour. Through the haze, they saw a large open space outside. The space was filled with plants, blooming with incredibly beautiful flowers. The flowers were planted so densely that there was no room to even step, and the air was filled with an eerie fragrance that made them feel slightly dizzy upon first whiff.

“It’s poppies!” Yu Guang warned. The two covered their noses and walked among the flowers and plants. The most important thing now was to find where Weng Beibei and Shen Tian were hiding. They guessed Chen Jialiang wasn’t on guard yet; he probably thought the zombies had trapped them. After all, so many zombies were no ordinary person’s task. They were currently in the shadows, and Chen Jialiang wasn’t in the open either, because no one could be sure of his exact location. Looking up, in the center of the open space, there was a wooden platform. In the dim dawn light, only a silhouette was visible, like a medieval guillotine, chilling and terrifying. Two figures were vaguely visible, one tall and one short—who else could it be but Weng Beibei and Shen Tian?

"They're there!" Wu Yong exclaimed. He rushed towards the wooden frame, his eyes darting around. Looking up, he saw Weng Beibei and Shen Tian tied to a platform at the top of the frame. They had regained consciousness, but their limbs were firmly bound to the frame's handrails, their eyes were blindfolded, and their mouths were stuffed with cloth.

Wu Yong was about to climb the wooden frame when Yu Guang stopped him: "Be careful, this could be a trap!"

Wu Yong shouted, "Teacher Yu, it's no use saying anything now. Dawn is about to break. Even if it's a conspiracy or a trap, we have to fight. I can't just watch Beibei and Shen Tian get tied up there and die!" He swung his arm and climbed up the handrail. Helpless, Yu Guang followed him onto the wooden frame.

Pulling away the blindfold and the gag from her mouth, Weng Beibei saw Yu Guang and Wu Yong in front of her, and tears immediately streamed down her face.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Uncle is here to comfort you." Yu Guang patted her shoulder to reassure her.

The ropes binding them were untied, which took several minutes. Now, the most important thing was to get out of the rice rack and find a way to escape this terrible place! Just then, sinister laughter suddenly rang out from all around them.

"Hahahahahahahahahaha..." The sinister laughter echoed and lingered around Yu Guang and the others, but it was impossible to tell which direction it came from.

Turning around, one sees a dark valley behind the mountain, where the darkness before dawn once again shrouds the gloomy world.

"Hahahahahahahahahaha..." The laughter continued, seemingly coming from exhaustion, as if the person laughing maniacally had witnessed the most ridiculous thing in the world. Without a doubt, this laughter was coming from the deranged madman Chen Jialiang. "Chen Jialiang! You demon, where are you? If you have the guts, get out here and let's fight one-on-one!" Wu Yong roared, gripping a steel pipe.

"Hahaha... Am I stupid? You want to fight me one-on-one? In a few minutes, the sun will shine through the trees into the valley behind the mountain. At that time, I will release a catalyst I made, and the poppies and bewitching herbs all over the mountain will emit strange olfactory molecules, the so-called floral fragrance. The fragrance of these two plants will mix together to produce the most powerful voodoo toxin. Add my voice incantation, and even if you scream your lungs out, even if the King of Heaven himself comes, he won't be able to save you! Hahahaha..." The voice echoed eerily in all directions.

"You bastard!" Yu Guang roared, "You'll die a horrible death!"

"Hahahaha... What does it matter if you die a good death or a bad one? As long as you live a wonderful life. I originally thought I could only make two zombies, but I didn't expect that you, Professor Yu, would also bring your last student to walk into my trap. Hahaha... You four high-quality zombies are definitely worth all the other zombies. I will make good use of the four of you in the future, hahahaha..." The voice suddenly lowered.

Looking towards the horizon, a glimmer of light appeared on the dim sky; dawn was about to break free from the shackles of night, and light was on its way. Light, which should be such a beautiful thing, had become a tool for death at this moment. What a tragic irony! "Quickly, knock on the steel pipe!" Yu Guang shouted.

Wu Yong immediately raised the steel pipe in his hand and began to pound it forcefully, at the rhythm of a human heartbeat. "Hahaha... Still pounding with a steel pipe? Useless! This can only deal with a small amount of a single bewitching herb. What I'm releasing in a moment is a mixture of toxins and poppy poison, no matter what you do, it'll be useless! Hahaha..." The perverted voice laughed hysterically, as if reaching the peak of madness. "Wu Yong, kill me! Hit my head with the steel pipe!" Yu Guang shouted.

No! Don't!

"Even if I die, I'd rather be a zombie!"

No! Don't!

"Quickly! Kill me! Hit my head with a steel pipe! That's an order!" Yu Guang shouted.

"Don't do this..." Weng Beibei sobbed, but what good was sobbing? In a corner of the open space, under a large banyan tree, stood Chen Jialiang, his face smug. A cigarette butt dangled from his mouth, his eyes were sinister, and a fire seemed to emanate from them. In his hand, he held a chemical sprayer, its steel showerhead pointing directly at the sky.

He turned to look at the mountains to the east, where the sun struggled to peek out, its first rays slowly drifting into the valley.

He chuckled, spat the cigarette butt from his mouth onto the ground, and whispered, "The time has come! My dear zombie, it's almost here!"

He pulled the trigger on the sprayer, and a strong spray of pesticide hit the field of poppies blooming profusely in the sunlight, filling the air with a faint, fishy smell...

39

Things often take a dramatic turn at the last minute, and this story was no exception. When Chen Jialiang pulled the trigger, the catalyst in the sprayer immediately sprayed across the poppy field. Just then, he suddenly felt a wave of heat and heard a crackling sound. He looked up in surprise and was utterly astonished.

On one side of the poppy field, near the tunnel exit, a raging fire inexplicably broke out. It was summer, the air was dry, and the wind fanned the flames, causing them to spread rapidly like a red line across the entire poppy field.

What's going on? Chen Jialiang was shocked.

He knew the fire was spreading so rapidly that it would engulf the poppy field in minutes. Poppies were pure gold; who was starting the fire? There were plenty of poppies on this hillside; burning one patch wouldn't hurt, there were plenty more. But this poppy field contained the wooden frames where Yu Guang and the others were being held. Once the fire passed over the field, the poppy's poison would be neutralized, rendering it useless. Thinking of this, Chen Jialiang felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath. Just as Yu Guang and the others on the frames were feeling desperate, they were banging on steel pipes, their heartbeats pounding in a desperate attempt to revive the situation, when they saw a blaze shooting into the sky.

Behind the flames, they saw a figure stumbling and spilling gasoline everywhere. It was the writer Zhao Lianpu! "Mr. Zhao! It's you!" Yu Guang exclaimed in surprise.

"Get down! Don't stay up there, it's dangerous up there!" Zhao Lianpu shouted. "I just took some heroin in the lobby to get here. I swear, this will be the last time I use drugs! Once we escape, you guys have to help me quit this damn stuff!" He continued to pour gasoline as he yelled. Yu Guang and the others climbed down the wooden frame along the handrail. The fire was at its fiercest. Fortunately, Chen Jialiang had pulled up the poppies around the base of the frame to create a small earthen circle, a safety zone. The fire didn't rush in; instead, it leaped and rolled around like a dragon, quickly devouring the poppies and the bewitching herbs. The firelight made their faces flushed, and large drops of sweat rolled down their faces. In this sea of fire, where was the bewitching herb's poison? There was no fishy smell either. They knew they were safe. Chen Jialiang stood under the banyan tree, his face filled with anxiety. He sighed, knowing that things were unlikely to end well today. Looking at the burning poppy field, he felt both anger and regret. He glared at the sea of fire and decided to leave.

The fire was spreading to the surrounding fields, like a giant dragon breaking free of its restraints, and the flames illuminated half the sky.

Chen Jialiang knew that the base he had painstakingly built was about to disappear. His heart was pounding. He could never forgive those who had destroyed his beautiful dream!

He said to himself, "As long as we survive, we'll always have something to do in the future." He turned and decided to leave.

Only he knew that besides the tunnel, there was another mountain path leading to the Cursed Village at the foot of the mountain. He had discovered this path by chance; by sliding down a gully carved out by a flash flood, one could reach the destination of the night burial: Dead Man's Gully!

On the bumpy, uneven ridges of the fields, Chen Jialiang limped along frantically. His leg injury had truly caused him a great deal of trouble.

He was getting closer and closer to the fork in the road that had been carved out by the flash flood. Looking back, he saw the fire slowly approaching him from behind. He thought to himself, "That was close. If I had just taken a few more steps, the fire would have been helpless against me."

Just as he was thinking, his foot suddenly slipped and he fell to the ground.

He tried to prop himself up with his arms, but when his palms pressed heavily against the embankment, the embankment inexplicably went limp. Unable to maintain his balance, Chen Jialiang fell again and tumbled into the nearby bushes.

When Chen Jialiang fell into the grass, he felt a slight pain all over his body; the barbs of the grass had pierced his flesh. He suddenly felt a wave of fear. He looked around and saw only dense clumps of bewitching grass, their narrow leaves swaying slightly. A faint, fishy smell filled his nostrils.

Chen Jialiang struggled to leave the bushes, but suddenly felt as if his body was out of his control. He knew it was the poison of the bewitching grass slowly flowing through his blood. His mind went blank; he tried to recite the incantation, but his blank mind was like a vacuum of memory, and he could no longer recall how to chant it. He turned back in despair, and the fire dragon slowly licked towards him.

The bewitching grass beneath his feet was crackling and popping. The fire was gradually engulfing him; he tried to pull his leg back, but the fire was faster than he could move. Flames licked at Chen Jialiang's trouser leg.

The flames instantly burst into flames. Because of the numbing effect of the bewitching herb, Chen Jialiang was completely relaxed, barely feeling the heat of the flames. He could only watch as the flames slowly spread from his trouser leg upwards. First, his leg hair, then his skin. Although there was no pain, he could smell a burning odor. Even as his senses gradually numbed, he still knew that this burning smell was the stench of his own body being consumed by the raging flames.

He was desperate, and he opened his mouth and screamed.

Due to the anesthesia, the vocal cords were paralyzed, making it impossible to produce sound. Even if a sound were made, it would be masked by the crackling sound of the bewitching grass burning in the flames.

Chen Jialiang's mouth gaped open, and a burst of flame erupted from it, instantly engulfing his entire body. In the instant the flames swept past, all that could be seen were Chen Jialiang's wide-open eyes, filled with pain and despair... Yu Guang and the others stood on the scorched earth, looking at the ravaged world, and let out a soft breath. Looking around, the poppies and the bewitching herbs had all turned to ashes, without a trace.

The large iron gate against the mountainside was opened, and Zhao Lianpu stood there smiling broadly at them. Faint voices drifted from afar; it was the villagers of Evil Curse Village, hurrying towards the back of the mountain to fight the wildfire. Yu Guang and Wu Yong wore happy smiles.

Section Seventeen

40

On the campus of a university in the city, an academic lecture had just ended, and thunderous applause resounded from the hall.

Amid applause, Yu Guang stepped down from the stage. A bouquet of flowers was presented, behind which stood Weng Beibei's youthful, radiant smile. Wu Yong and Shen Tian sat to the side, clapping their hands until they were red.

The presentation on the night burial customs of the Cursed Village was a great success, attracting countless students who were interested in their legendary experience. "Go see Mr. Zhao at the rehabilitation center; he needs our support right now," Yu Guang said with a smile to his three prized students. In the clean hospital room, Zhao Lianpu's complexion had improved considerably. The bedside table was piled high with fruit and nutritional supplements sent by readers.

He saw Yu Guang and the others enter the ward and couldn't help but smile happily. "Mr. Zhao, please take good care of yourself. Our school's detective fiction club is waiting for you to give us a presentation," Wu Yong said.

"Okay, okay, no problem. Once the doctor says I've recovered, the first thing I'll do is come to your association to give a report. Also, I want to be an honorary unofficial president of your association," Zhao Lianpu joked.

“Okay! It’s a deal.” Wu Yong was very happy.

Zhao Lianpu suddenly thought of something: "Xiao Wu, I've heard that you're a pretty good writer. Why don't you try writing a thriller/mystery novel yourself?"

Wu Yong replied, "Hehe, actually, that's exactly what I was thinking. I'm planning to write our experience in the Cursed Village into a suspense novel, maybe even titled 'Night Burial'!"

Zhao Lianpu exclaimed in surprise: "No! No! No! I want to write this story too!"