Chapter 16 High Stakes

Seeing the fatty's worry, Jiang Cheng comforted him, "Don't be too concerned. After all, it's not just Yu Chengmu, Jia Jinliang, and their team, plus our two. There are also Chen Hao and his group of four. Yu Chengmu and the others won't focus all their attention on us."

The fatty thought about the appearance of Chen Hao and his team, and couldn't help but sigh, "Doctor, I don't think they'll be much help. Those four look too clean."

Having experienced so many crises, the fatty had developed his own knack for identifying teammates in missions. Chen Hao and his group looked too ordinary. Among them, only Chen Hao and that Lei Mingyu seemed capable. The remaining one was an ungraduated college student, and the other was a pale-faced online novelist who seemed a bit socially awkward, unable to carry or lift anything.

Jiang Cheng frowned and looked at the fatty in surprise, "Why do you think that?"

The fatty was taken aback, "Think what?"

"Why do you think that online novelist is weak?" Jiang Cheng retorted, "With the current strict regulations, how can a horror writer still survive by writing books and not starve to death? Is that an ordinary person?"

The fatty thought for a moment and seemed to understand, "So...Chen Hao and the others are also genuinely skilled?"

Jiang Cheng sat in the chair and continued his analysis, "Look, this world should be the door of the ghost bride on the bus, and the ghost bride is one of the few managers on the bus, so I have a guess."

"Chen Hao's group and Yu Chengmu, Jia Jinliang's group, they're not on this bus for the first time." After a pause, Jiang Cheng said in a low voice, "It's unlikely that newcomers would be targeted by the managers right away. They, like us, are veteran passengers on this bus."

The fatty was secretly shocked. Recalling the hardships of the previous instances, if what the doctor said was true, then Chen Hao's group, who survived other instances on the bus, must be extraordinary.

"This is a high-level game." The fatty perked up, a sense of honor rising from nowhere, feeling he was qualified to compete with the high-level players on the bus.

Although Jiang Cheng was a psychiatrist, he could never figure out the fatty's thought process. He was frightened just now, but now he was pursing his lips with a mysterious smile on his face.

It was a high-level game, but what did it have to do with him? He was just a moocher who hitched a ride to rank up.

...

"That old man named Yu Chengmu is a tomb robber?" Pang Xiaofeng asked in surprise.

In the first厢房(xiāngfáng, side room), three people gathered around a table. Lei Mingyu glanced at Pang Xiaofeng, his face full of impatience, "Can you be quiet? Are you afraid that group won't hear us?"

"No, you..." Pang Xiaofeng leaned forward, lowering his voice, "How do you know he's a tomb robber?"

Lei Mingyu sniffed, and said disdainfully, "He has a rotten bone fragment smell on him, as well as his two apprentices, all three of them are cut from the same cloth, it’s impossible to not smell it.”

"But how come I can't smell it?" Pang Xiaofeng looked like he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you. You just got on the bus. There are many dangers here. Remember not to act alone and stick close to us, or you'll be dragged away by ghosts. By the time we find you, it'll be good if half your body is left." Lei Mingyu said, trying to scare him.

Pang Xiaofeng's face turned pale.

Chen Hao leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest, his brows furrowed. "Don't scare him. Everyone has a first time." After a pause, he continued, "This mission seems to be related to folk funerals, which is very advantageous for Yu Chengmu and the others."

"Moreover, Yu Chengmu and his group are not just three people. Jia Jinliang and A Biao are also part of their group." Chen Hao's face grew even more worried. "I've observed them, they're communicating with codes."

Lei Mingyu turned to look at Chen Hao, "How is it? Can you decipher them?"

Chen Hao slowly shook his head, "Not yet. They communicate too little, and that A Biao next to Jia Jinliang is very skilled, with strong anti-reconnaissance awareness. I just glanced at him and he noticed me."

Pang Xiaofeng couldn't help but feel a little discouraged, "It would be great if we were outside. Brother Hao is a policeman, he could contact the police and wipe out this group of tomb robbers, and it would be a great achievement!"

"This group of tomb robbers is not ordinary, they are well-organized. The two teams are operating in the open and in secret. More importantly, they have noticed us. There's no time to deal with us now that the mission has just started, but they'll probably attack us when the mission is about to end." Chen Hao recalled A Biao's eyes. The chilling murderous intent made him understand that this person definitely had blood on his hands.

He had already remembered the faces of these people. After he got out, he would report to the higher-ups and strive to...

Thinking of this, Chen Hao's eyes suddenly went blank. It took him a long time to realize that he had been caught up in the Nightmare Assault, so he didn't have the energy to continue working in the criminal investigation team. He had resigned not long ago.

But it didn't matter whether he wore the police uniform or not. What mattered was that in his heart, he was always a policeman, and that was enough.

"Du Moyu, what are you doing?" While they were chatting enthusiastically, Du Moyu was lying alone in the inner bedroom, looking as if he had no will to live. Pang Xiaofeng couldn't help but stick his head in and ask.

Du Moyu didn't move or answer.

"Du Moyu?!"

"Ah?" This time, Du Moyu finally reacted and got up from the bed, looking at everyone in surprise.

He wasn't asleep, just lying down resting and spacing out.

"Tell us, our great author, what are your thoughts?" Lei Mingyu put down his rolled-up sleeves. Night was gradually deepening, and the weather was getting colder.

Surprisingly, both Chen Hao and Lei Mingyu were looking at Du Moyu with serious faces, as if what he said next was very important.

"I...I wasn't thinking about the issues you were talking about. You've pretty much covered Yu Chengmu and Jia Jinliang." Du Moyu pulled the quilt up and wrapped himself tightly, "I was thinking about that Jiang Cheng."

Chen Hao hesitated for a moment and nodded, "His self-introduction was indeed impressive."

"He's faking it." Du Moyu said affirmatively, "He seemed normal at first, but after listening to the villagers' introduction, his attitude changed. He must have discovered something."

"Also, have you noticed that Jia Jinliang and A Biao are more interested in those two than in the four of us? I suspect that those two have also seen through the identities of Yu Chengmu and Jia Jinliang. And in terms of the threat assessment of Yu Chengmu and the others, those two are ranked higher than the four of us. I don't know why, but the result is like that."

"And finally..." Du Moyu drew out the words, and then suddenly stopped speaking.

"What's the last point? Tell us quickly!" Lei Mingyu was short-tempered and had already decided that when they got out, he would help Du Moyu change his habit of only saying half of something. This kid was obsessed with writing.

Du Moyu smiled embarrassedly, "The last point is a bit idealistic. That person gives me a very unusual feeling. The things in his eyes are different from ours, and also different from Yu Chengmu and A Biao."

"If I had to describe it, it's like a traveler who has trekked through darkness and despair for countless years. Coming to a place like this is far from torment for him."

"What is it then?" Pang Xiaofeng couldn't help but ask. Du Moyu's strange description made him feel uneasy.

Du Moyu turned to look at him and said faintly, "Home."

"Home..." Chen Hao lowered his head and slowly savored Du Moyu's words. After a few seconds, he raised his head, "I don't quite understand what you're saying, but I don't feel any malice from this person, at least not yet."

"Yeah." Du Moyu nodded, "Neither do I."

Chen Hao took a deep breath, "Then how about this? Let's look for clues first. If it's really necessary, we can choose to try to contact those two."

"Finding clues is the top priority. Even if we have a conflict with those two groups in the future, with Lei Mingyu around, we won't necessarily suffer." Chen Hao turned to look at Lei Mingyu and said in a low voice, "How's your door?"

"It's still the same as before, it hasn't reacted since I got on this bus." Lei Mingyu couldn't help but sigh. He had injuries on his face and body, "And the last time I took care of those people, I swallowed two doors in a row. My body can't take it. It will probably take at least two more days before I can fight."

"Then let's try to get through these two days, it shouldn't be a problem." Chen Hao looked out the door with some worry. It was very dark outside, and what made them even more uneasy was that since they entered this mansion, there was no other sound outside. The whole village was as quiet as a stagnant pool.

...

In another厢房(xiāngfáng, side room), Jia Jinliang sat astride a chair in a commanding manner, his face gloomy, a far cry from the smiling, affable look he had worn before.

"A Biao, what do you think?" Jia Jinliang picked up a teacup and took a sip of tea.

A short, brown-skinned man sat opposite him. Even in this environment, the muscles under his clothes were taut. "Chen Hao and the others have noticed us. Our identities...have been exposed." A Biao said in broken Mandarin.

Jia Jinliang put down his teacup and shook his head, "I'm not asking about them, I'm asking about Jiang Cheng and Wang Fugui, what do you think of them?"

"I've been watching that Chen Hao, Jiang Cheng...I haven't paid attention to him." A Biao said in a hoarse voice, "Boss, I remind you to pay attention to that Chen Hao, he's a policeman."

Hearing these words, Jia Jinliang instantly perked up, "Policeman?" He paused, seemingly realizing that this was the nightmare world, not the real world they lived in, and his face improved slightly, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." A Biao nodded with a gloomy face, "Not a criminal police officer, but a border guard. I've dealt with people like that in the Golden Triangle. I can tell with just one glance."

"Policeman..." Jia Jinliang narrowed his eyes, "What about the other three?"

"Probably not, but I can't be sure." A Biao reached out and grabbed the teapot, pouring another cup of tea for Jia Jinliang. The exposed arm was covered in scars, some knife wounds, and some round scars that looked like they were left by cigarette burns, "I've already notified the掌眼(zhǎngyǎn, appraiser) Yu. They'll be more careful in their actions. Appraiser Yu always handles things稳妥(wěntuǒ, reliably)."

"Let's find the clues first. After we find the clues, regardless of whether our identities have been exposed or not, this Chen Hao and the people he brought must die, or I won't be able to sleep peacefully when I get out." Jia Jinliang firmly believed in one thing from the day he entered the business: if you're not ruthless, you can't stand firm. If you want to make a living in this business, everyone has to go through fire and knives. Internally, you have to guard against your partners from sabotaging you, and externally, you have to guard against the police. If anyone dares to block his path to wealth, even the Heavenly King will be stabbed three times.

And this was the nightmare world. It was too convenient to kill people here, and he didn't even have to dispose of the bodies.

"A Biao, send a message to Appraiser Yu, tell him to keep a close eye on Chen Hao. We'll keep an eye on those two, Jiang Cheng." Jia Jinliang's mind conjured up Jiang Cheng's face, and his impressive self-introduction.

...

"掌眼(zhǎngyǎn, appraiser)." Zhou Qing said respectfully while holding his phone, "Boss Jia sent a message, saying that Chen Hao is a policeman, worried that he poses a threat to us, asking us to keep a close eye on the four of them, and it would be best to find a chance to kill them."

Yu Chengmu squinted his eyes, sitting cross-legged on the bed in the sleeping room, stroking his goatee, his brows furrowed, "Don't pay attention to him, he doesn't know anything. That Chen Hao is not to be feared, Jiang Cheng is the real threat!"

"That kid clearly knows our tricks, but the strange thing is that he doesn't have the corpse odor from the tomb on him, he doesn't seem like our同行(tóngxíng, colleague)." Zhang Junyu also said in a strange tone.

"There's something strange about this kid. Not only does he know about tomb burial, but he also knows a little about feng shui. He also noticed the severed head mountain in the center of the courtyard. To have this knowledge at this age, there must be a master behind him."

Yu Chengmu stretched out a withered arm, the back of his hand covered with dark brown spots, and pointed out the window, "This place is an陰宅(yīnzái, a residence for the dead) that has been modified. The *Zang Shu* (Book of Burial) says that vitality in the sky flows through the six voids, and on the earth, it generates all things. Qi is scattered by the wind and stopped by the water."

"Here, the water is filled in and the mountain is cut off, indicating that the owner of the house died a violent death. The most hateful thing is that these villagers actually dare to build a spiritual hall for others in such a place, and with floating corpses that have been thrown for who knows how long. Great misfortune among great misfortunes, it would be strange if the corpses didn't rise!" Yu Chengmu said bitterly, "If these villagers weren't hopelessly stupid, then there must be a master who has set up a formation here!"

Zhang Junyu and Zhou Qing had followed Yu Chengmu for some years and knew that the latter had real skills. Seeing that the always calm Yu Chengmu had this evaluation, they knew the danger of this place.

Zhang Junyu opened his mouth cautiously, "掌眼(zhǎngyǎn, appraiser), according to your old experience, can you tell what kind of formation this is?"

"A haunted house, a corpse-raising ground, floating corpses control water, this place should be related to water." Yu Chengmu stroked his goatee and said slowly, "I can only see these things for now. For the details, we'll keep vigil at the spiritual hall tonight, and we'll know as soon as we see it."

Zhang Junyu frowned slightly. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he heard a noise from outside.

"Dud - guang guang."

"Dud - guang guang."

"What's that sound?" Zhou Qing's ears perked up, his expression alert.

Yu Chengmu listened for a while, and seemed to hear the trick, and said in a deep voice, "The watchman is coming."

"I've heard the sound of the clapper, it's the咚咚(dōngdōng) kind, not...not like this." Zhou Qing couldn't help but say.

"The clapper is struck forward and backward. Striking it forward tells the time, and striking it backward drives away ghosts." Yu Chengmu listened to the sound of the clapper getting faster and faster, and suddenly frowned, "Not good, the watchman must be in trouble!"