After the police cars and ambulances left, Manager Xue looked exhausted. Seeing my strange gaze, he quickly explained that dozens of people had died, and he was numb from paying compensation. If more people died, he would have to jump off a building.
Old Xue made a not-so-funny joke, but it also illustrated a point: he was not only rich but also very influential. If so many people had died on an ordinary construction site, it would have already made headlines.
Not only did it not make the news, but there wasn't even a whisper of it through the grapevine, which showed how powerful his backing was.
The construction site gate had been opened by the police. The location where the coffin was dug up was in the southwest corner, enclosed by blue iron sheets with a door secured by a heavy lock.
Halfway there, Manager Xue stopped. I looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he meant.
Manager Xue gave an awkward smile. "Mr. Song, I'll give you the key, and I won't go any further. I have old people and young children at home. If anything... I mean, if anything happens, my family will be ruined."
"Tch, afraid of a little risk! What kind of person is my brother? He's a renowned Yin Gua Master, not comparable to those disciples who perform exorcisms. Besides, you have a family, and so do I, yet I came along too?"
Sun Chuang spoke up for me, which surprised me. But thinking about him being the middleman, I understood his intention. He was probably trying to curry favor with me, hoping to get a share of the benefits later.
However, I had no intention of letting him have his way. I smiled at Manager Xue and said, "Since you're scared, don't go any further. Give me the key and wait here at the entrance. We'll go in and take a look first. If anything happens, we'll need you to handle it."
Manager Xue's face lit up, his smile almost reaching his ears. He handed me the key and said he would wait nearby. "If you need anything, just ask." He then stepped back a bit and found a clean spot to stand.
Seeing that Manager Xue wasn't going in, Sun Chuang opened his mouth, then gave an awkward laugh. "How about I don't go either, brother? It's easy for me to cause trouble for you. I'll stay here and keep an eye on Old Xue. It wouldn't be good if he ran away." Without waiting for my consent, he trotted over to Old Xue.
Watching them chat and laugh, I cursed them as cowards in my heart. What was there to be afraid of in broad daylight? Could the malevolent spirits jump out of the coffins and bite people?
Taking two steps forward, I noticed that Zhang Dabiao hadn't followed but was staring blankly at Sun Chuang.
"What's wrong, Brother Zhang?"
Hearing me call him, Zhang Dabiao snapped back to attention. "Oh, it's nothing!" He quickened his pace and, after confirming they couldn't hear us, Zhang Dabiao continued, "Don't you find Manager Xue's behavior a bit strange?"
"Strange?" I frowned and thought for a moment, but I couldn't pinpoint anything strange about him.
Seeing my confused expression, Zhang Dabiao explained, "Why didn't people die earlier or later, but only when we arrived? And most importantly, how he handled the situation. He dared to secretly bribe the police in broad daylight in front of so many people. That's a bit hard to explain!"
His reminder made me feel that it was indeed a bit unbelievable. After all, both Zhang Dabiao and I were outsiders. Meeting for the first time, and he dared to bribe the police right in front of us without any hesitation. The police, on the other hand, readily accepted the money and treated us as if we were invisible.
"You mean they were putting on a show for us?"
"Yeah! Did you notice the dead person?"
I shook my head, indicating I hadn't. At that time, I was too focused on Manager Xue's bribery to pay attention to the deceased.
"I suspect the person inside isn't actually dead."
I looked at Zhang Dabiao in surprise. "How do you know he's not dead? If he's really not dead, why go to all this trouble to invite us, treat us to good food and drink, just to put on a show for us? If that's the case, they're too bored, aren't they?"
"In any case, it's always good to be cautious. Being careful is never wrong."
I nodded in agreement. Last time, I had trusted Sun Chuang too much and almost got myself killed. This time, if it weren't for him holding my lifeline, knowing I needed a lot of money, I wouldn't have anything to do with him again.
Taking out the key Manager Xue had given me, I unlocked the padlock. The moment it turned, the iron sheet door was blown open by the wind, slamming against the side with a loud clang. The noise startled me. If Zhang Dabiao hadn't pushed me, I would have been hit by the door.
"Such potent malevolent energy."
Zhang Dabiao looked up at the sun, which was obscured by dark clouds, and then turned his gaze to me. His meaning was clear: even in the daytime, the malevolent energy was this strong. Should we still go in?
I hesitated for a moment and said, "Since we've come this far, we have to go in and take a look. It's broad daylight, so there shouldn't be any major problems."
"As you wish."
This was a separate corner. After a few steps, I saw a large pit that was about two stories deep. At the bottom of the pit were scattered excavation equipment and some shoes that someone had lost.
The most striking feature was the seven slightly smaller pits at the bottom of the pit, some of which were already filled with water.
"Shall we go down?"
I shook my head, deciding not to go down yet. I wanted to check the simple houses nearby first. Manager Xue had said that the workers had died in the simple houses, so perhaps I could find some clues there.
The simple houses were built with color steel tiles, which were not only light and durable but also easy to disassemble and reuse. However, the doors of the houses were all open, and the contents were scattered everywhere, along with some blackened bloodstains.
There was a hole about the size of a bowl on the door, and the bloodstains above it had turned black.
"Good heavens, the main entity in the coffin must have transformed into malevolent energy. No wonder those disciples who perform exorcisms were unwilling to take this job." I sniffed, the smell of blood making me want to sneeze.
Zhang Dabiao was also an experienced hand. He looked around, kicked the door a couple of times, and then said, "How did you figure that out? You can tell from the hole in the door that the main entity in the coffin has transformed? You're too amazing."