As I was prying at the door, the flashlight slipped from under my arm.
I scrambled to grab it, but it was too late. The flashlight fell to the ground and rolled another two meters into the courtyard.
The light flickered, like a mischievous child blinking its eyes.
"Damn it, I hope it doesn't go out."
I prayed silently, hoping all the gods and Buddhas would bless it to "not go out!"
Right after I finished praying, the flashlight went out with a 'snap'.
I cursed inwardly. These old battery-powered flashlights are just not durable; they stop working as soon as they're dropped.
For some reason, there wasn't even any moonlight tonight.
Following the last position where the flashlight had been lit, I cautiously felt my way forward.
One step, two steps, my hand finally grasped the round flashlight.
I tapped it a couple of times, and the light still flickered.
Old flashlights had this problem: they'd lose contact after a fall and needed a few taps to work properly. After a few more taps, it lit up again. Sudancn.com
The moment the flashlight lit up, I found a face right in front of me. It was pale, its eyes vacant, the corners of its mouth slightly upturned, staring directly at me.
Our faces were less than ten centimeters apart.
My hair stood on end, my heart pounded, feeling like it might leap out of my mouth at any second.
"Ah!"
I screamed and swung the flashlight directly at the pale face.
With a 'bang', I felt a jolt in the flashlight, as if it had hit something.
This was followed by the sound of breaking glass.
I only held onto the flashlight, then scrambled back in the direction I remembered, running towards the main gate.
"Ouch!"
In my haste, I forgot the gate was closed and ran headfirst into it.
I stumbled back and fell onto the ground.
But I immediately got up again, leaning against the gate, tapping the flashlight hoping it would light up again while carefully sensing everything around me.
The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet. I could hear my heart pounding like a drum in my chest.
That white face had appeared so suddenly, catching me completely off guard.
Finally, with vigorous tapping, the flashlight lit up again.
The lampshade was broken from my efforts, and the bulb emitted a pale yellow light, not illuminating very far, but still enough to see about a meter ahead.
I tried to open the door again, finding it still unmoving, as if it were welded shut.
After a long while, there was still no movement from the white face.
"Could I have imagined it?"
With that thought, I picked up the flashlight and cautiously walked back to the spot.
I shone the flashlight beam to the previous location and saw an old black and white photograph there.
The photo was of an unfamiliar young girl with a long, dark braid, smiling, her eyes looking forward intently.
"Damn, that really scared me to death."
I cursed inwardly. Once my heart settled, I felt the pain in my knees and elbows.
I didn't need to look to know I had scraped my skin from scrambling around.
"A photograph? How could there be a photograph in this run-down courtyard?"
I shone the flashlight again and saw that the photograph was embedded in a coffin.
The coffin was vermilion, emitting a faint smell of paint, looking as if it had just been made.
I touched it; it felt slightly damp.
I rubbed my finger on it and found it a bit sticky.
I brought it to my nose to smell.
"There's cinnabar mixed in?"
"Strange, who would paint a coffin with cinnabar, unless inside is..."
Just then, the coffin moved.
"Bang!"
"Bang..."
It was as if someone inside was violently banging against the coffin.
This made me step back two paces.
Cinnabar has the effect of suppressing evil spirits. Normally, even if Sui Wan'er was suppressed within a cinnabar coffin, she wouldn't be able to move, let alone bang on it.
"Is... anyone... there?"
As I was still reeling from the shock, a voice came from inside the coffin.
This made me jump up on the spot, and the flashlight fell to the ground.
This was truly too terrifying.
I felt completely unwell, my hair standing on end. If the gate could open, I would have bolted immediately; I certainly wouldn't stay here.
"Bang..."
"Let... me... out..."
This time I heard clearly that there was indeed someone inside the coffin. Perhaps because the coffin was too thick, the sound was muffled.
Approaching the coffin, I used my Xuanmen energy to sense it. There was no lingering obsession or Yin energy within.
For safety, I tapped the coffin. "Who's inside?"
"..."
The voice was somewhat indistinct, and I couldn't make out what was being said.
I wanted to open the coffin, but I was afraid it might be an evil spirit luring me to open it so it could escape.
At this moment, there were a few more knocks from inside the coffin, though they sounded a bit weak.
"Is there anyone in there? Can you hear me?"
I searched for a way to open the coffin while tapping it.
Judging by the sound, the person inside was very weak, likely suffocated from being locked inside for too long.
The person inside tapped the coffin again and said something, but the sound was so faint I couldn't hear it clearly.
At this point, I was conflicted, unsure whether I should open it.
If it was a living person, it would be fine, but if it was some other ghostly entity, it would be disastrous.
After a moment of internal struggle, I decided to open the coffin. After all, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.
"If I die, I die."
When I found the lock mechanism, I saw it was just secured with a few twists of wire.
I placed the flashlight on the ground and, after much effort, managed to untwist the wire. I then tossed the chains wrapped around the coffin onto the ground.
After finishing, sweat beaded on my forehead. Some of it was from urgency, fearing the person inside would suffocate.
Some of it was from fear. After eighteen years of living, this was the first time I had done something like this. It would be a lie to say I wasn't nervous.
Just as I was about to push the coffin lid open, I felt a chill from behind me.
It was as if someone was leaning directly on my back.
This made my entire body stiffen, and my hands stopped involuntarily.
I dared not look back, because there were two flames on my shoulders. If I turned around rashly, I would blow out the Yang fire on my shoulders.
Instinctively, I dodged to the side, and a gust of Yin wind brushed past me, making me shiver.
"Bang!"
The Yin wind hit the coffin, making a sound as if a fist had struck it.
"You cannot open the coffin without my permission."
The voice came from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint its location.
"Who are you? Why did you lock someone inside?"
"Who am I? Don't you know? Have you forgotten me so quickly?"
At this moment, its voice changed, taking on the soft, sweet tone characteristic of Jiangnan.
My heart sank.
Sui Wan'er?
How could it be her?