Chapter 957 924: 7 Days of Change
Yang Jian sensed the anomaly within the ancient house early and chose to entomb the old man. The following time was very calm.
Although the cold wind continued to blow outside the mansion, it was no longer as eerie as before, and the crying sounds had vanished. In the remaining time, everyone in the house managed to rest and no longer felt on edge.
Time passed quickly, and it was soon noon.
However, everything here remained unchanged from the night; the mansion was still very dim. The only difference was that the unspoken chilling aura within the house had dissipated significantly.
This change could only be felt, not described.
“Is the mansion safe during the day?”
With that thought in mind,
everyone dared to leave the room again, seizing this period to discover more secrets of the mansion.
In the main hall,
everyone gathered once more, discussing everything that transpired the previous night.
It was all for survival.
Even if there were conflicts, they had to be set aside temporarily.
“Marking the twelve-hour interval, the mansion is relatively safe during the 12 hours of daylight, but after nightfall, it becomes perilous. Last night, there were strange knocking sounds, wind howling like crying, and the old man’s corpse was moved, along with… an old wooden chair in the depths of the corridor being pushed forward.”
Fan Xing squatted on the ground, smoking and frowning, said, “There are as many as four supernatural phenomena, each representing ominous warnings. Fortunately, these phenomena were curtailed during the early morning.”
“Because by that time, the old man’s corpse had been entombed, placed into the red coffin.”
After speaking, he glanced into the distance.
The first to discover this was precisely Yang Jian.
Such untraceable supernatural manifestations were blocked by using this method; it was something no ordinary person would think of.
“So, everything happening in this mansion is related to the funeral of this old man? From the first day to the seventh-day resurrection day, every day we have to complete part of the funeral rites; otherwise, vengeful spirits will invade this mansion early, dooming us all?”
Zhou Deng approached and said to Yang Jian.
“That’s my hypothesis. If you have any better ideas, feel free to share,” Yang Jian said.
“No, it’s a very reasonable deduction, and since your method worked, the next step is to deduce the requirements for the second day to ensure the funeral proceeds smoothly,” Zhou Deng replied.
“If the first day was entombment, then the second day according to old funeral rites should be mourning?” The eagle frowned and expressed their opinion.
Fan Xing came over and retorted, “It shouldn’t be mourning. There were cries last night, so that matter should be past. I think the second day should be a vigil.”
“A vigil? Impossible, you think it’s that kind of Western funeral? If placing in the Coffin Nail was the first day’s task, then the second day’s task must be keeping vigil, meaning everyone stays in the main hall, and guards the coffin without leaving,” Wang Feng declared confidently.
“After the vigil, relatives and friends must be informed to attend the wake, which is also known as a vigil. After the vigil is hosting a banquet, which requires feeding the guests. Once the guests leave, it’s time for the funeral procession and burial,” Zhou Deng said.
“Aren’t you just talking nonsense? Calculating this way, the seventh day hasn’t even passed, and the person is buried? In some places, a corpse needs to be parked for three, five, or even seven days. According to common customs, the body is kept for seven days, and after the resurrection day, the burial follows; this adheres to tradition as well as science.”
“Because in the past, people could appear dead and might revive after a few days; hence, the resurrection day was introduced.”
“This place is haunted, and you’re still talking about science.” Someone unceremoniously refuted Zhou Deng.
Others also argued, presenting their opinions.
Nonetheless, through this discussion, they managed to ascertain some major points.
It was generally accepted that the second day primarily involves three tasks: keeping vigil, mourning, and vigil.
As for the funeral procession, burial, or seventh-day rituals, those were deemed the least likely to occur.
“Actually, we could try each task one by one and see which is effective before making a decision,” someone suddenly suggested.
The suggestion seemed good, relatively steady and conservative.
Attempting?
Yang Jian glanced at him coldly: “How many lives do you have to take such risks? If it’s a vigil, do you think we will be keeping vigil for the old man?”
“Having relatives and friends to mourn is just a manner of speaking. This old man is already dead; he doesn’t have any living relatives. If what arrives to mourn are vengeful spirits, and we miss the designated day, we’re the ones who will suffer. Didn’t last night’s supernatural phenomena suffice?” Fan Xing instantly interjected, supplementing the argument.
Clearly.
If instead of entombment, another action was taken, those supernatural phenomena would have spiraled out of control, turning into a supernatural event.
Once off course, further steps would follow in error.
This mansion would become a haunted house, and no one could survive such a scenario.
“There’s still time now. If you want to discuss, let’s leave it for the evening. We shouldn’t waste what daylight safety time we have. I think it’s more important to thoroughly explore the mansion first to identify which areas are dangerous, so we can prepare. Last night, it was too rushed. There were many places I didn’t get to check,” Zhou Deng said.
“Zhou Deng, you mean to steal supernatural artifacts,” Fan Xing remarked.
Zhou Deng widened his eyes: “How can you slander someone for no reason? What’s called stealing? Does this haunted place have a manager? I call it retrieval. I am a nominated team leader, and retrieving loose supernatural artifacts isn’t my duty? If I don’t take them, such supernatural artifacts may cause certain degrees of supernatural events.”
“I’m thinking for everyone’s safety, so this doesn’t count as theft, not at all.”
Good heavens.
It seemed his skin was thick; he’d already thought up a full range of reasons and excuses.
Yang Jian watched him and said, “The supernatural artifacts here must not be disturbed. They were placed purposefully before, and rash actions could disrupt the mansion’s balance.”
“Yes, what Captain Yang said makes sense,” Zhou Deng nodded.
However, words are words.
As everyone resumed their discussions, he found another chance to quietly slip away, heading toward the rear hall, which seemed more worth exploring for him.
The time quickly slipped away.
In a blink, the day had passed.
The seventh day’s first day, known as entombment, was confirmed without a doubt, as no unusual occurrences happened that whole day.
The situation for the second day remains undetermined, which is still up for discussion.
Soon.
Night fell.
The mansion still showed no obvious changes, except it inexplicably began becoming chilly and, as time passed, the chilling sensation gradually intensified.
Nighttime.
The wind picked up once more.
From nine o’clock onwards, the mansion began feeling abnormal.
The cold night wind continued to blow, and at ten, it turned into bursts of crying. By eleven, the crying became more pronounced. The prior supernatural phenomena hadn’t disappeared; instead, they re-emerged. But today, it seemed the most important wasn’t this wind sound, rather the mansion itself became peculiar.
It was as though something inside the mansion began making various strange noises.
Yang Jian stayed in the room, as before.
He heard a series of strange gnawing sounds coming from the depths of the corridor, along with the sound of a chair being pushed and scraping across the floor, and what seemed to be the sound of someone bathing in the adjacent room, splashing water…
“Is it here again?”
Yang Xiaohua looked somewhat numb; she curled up in the corner, holding that red balloon, and murmured a slight complaint.
After surviving the bus and the first day in the mansion, she seemed acclimatized, feeling not as frightened or anxious.
There was a form of growth.
After all, having become a messenger and successfully reaching the post office’s second floor showed she held some potential.
Yet, unease was inevitable.
Because new supernatural phenomena emerged, especially concentrated in the endless corridor outside the room.
No one dared go check out that area.
The time approached eleven-thirty.
Half an hour remained until the second day.
But this time, the anomaly occurred much earlier, seemingly blurring the day’s boundary.
That was certainly not good news.
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com