Chapter Forty-Two: Ghosts Bear the Coffin

This was a trap with no escape. From the moment Guo Ting’s living soul was captured, Lin Ran was destined to step into this deadly snare. Whoever orchestrated this seemed to know Lin Ran’s character intimately, certain he would never abandon Guo Ting to her fate. All that was needed was to set the trap and wait for Lin Ran to walk right into it. If Lin Ran were truly heartless, he could have left Guo Ting to die and all the scheming would have been for nothing. But the mastermind knew Lin Ran would never do such a thing—he was absolutely sure of it.

Lin Ran glanced at his phone. It was already 9:40 p.m. In twenty minutes, at ten o’clock, the city gates would open. Lin Ran planned to slip into the City of Unjust Death during that window, find Guo Ting, and bring her living soul out.

Seconds ticked by. Lin Ran hid in a corner, eyes fixed intently on the two tightly shut gates.

A resonant clang echoed through the night—the hour had struck! Lin Ran’s nerves tightened. The massive gates slowly creaked open.

He expected a surge of ghostly shadows, but instead there was an unnatural silence. Not a single ghost appeared. Lin Ran frowned. What was happening? Even the wandering spirits that usually roamed the streets were nowhere to be seen.

He waited a while, but nothing came out. Had his calculations been wrong? He whispered to himself. If nothing came out, he would go in. Resolute, Lin Ran rose and headed toward the city gate. Just then, a strange sound stirred at the entrance. He quickly halted and slipped back into the shadows, watching the gate closely.

Soon, a group of figures drifted into view. Lin Ran squinted, discerning five headless ghosts. One led the way, while the other four flanked it, carrying a huge coffin. Five ghosts bearing a coffin! Lin Ran’s face changed. Someone in the City of Unjust Death could command such a ritual? The Ghosts Bearing Coffin were famous, tasked with escorting the living to the underworld; whoever was taken by them was never an ordinary person.

According to folklore, the Five Ghosts Bearing Coffin originated when a prominent official sent them to escort a local tyrant whose influence reached everywhere. The tyrant, a ruthless killer, chopped off the heads of the five officers. Failing their mission, the officers died with strong resentment and became vengeful spirits. They bound the tyrant to the coffin and carried him directly to the underworld.

The judges of the underworld were furious, condemning the tyrant to the deepest level of hell. The five wrongful-death officials were sent to serve in the City God’s office, tasked with escorting the most wicked and evil souls.

Now Lin Ran understood why he hadn’t seen any ghosts earlier—the way was being cleared for the Ghosts Bearing Coffin. With this realization, he felt slightly relieved; some heinous villain was about to be taken away.

As the Ghosts Bearing Coffin reached the city gate, they paused as if searching for direction. After a short wait, they suddenly turned and began drifting toward Lin Ran’s hiding spot.

Lin Ran was stunned. How unlucky could he be? He’d picked a hiding place right in their path. Helpless, he kept muttering apologies under his breath and sidestepped several paces. Colliding with the Ghosts Bearing Coffin would bring disaster no mortal could bear.

He found a new hiding spot and crouched down, watching the gate and the ghosts. The Ghosts Bearing Coffin paused again, seemingly confirming their direction, and once more turned toward him, drifting lightly in his direction.

At this moment, Lin Ran realized he couldn’t pretend to be ignorant—these ghosts were clearly targeting him! As they drew closer to his hiding place, he couldn’t stay calm any longer; he broke into a run.

With his head down, Lin Ran sprinted back the way he’d come, hoping to shake off the Ghosts Bearing Coffin as quickly as possible. The ritual was too chilling, too extraordinary. Lin Ran racked his brain—he’d never committed any heinous crimes, so why were the ghosts after him?

He ran for a while, noticing the buildings thinning out around him—he must be nearing the edge of the ghost city. Surely he’d left the Ghosts Bearing Coffin far behind now? He glanced back and nearly lost his soul—the ghosts were trailing him, barely ten meters away, and the coffin exuded a chilling aura.

Lin Ran wore a bitter expression and ran in silence. Suddenly, the gentle face of his third aunt flashed through his mind, smiling at him. At that moment, Lin Ran found her smile infuriating. It was she who had led him onto this path, and now sorrow welled up in his chest—since taking this road, nothing but misfortune had followed him.

First, he’d wandered through the woods and stumbled into a mass grave, kicked a burial mound and collided with a female ghost. Then Guo Ting and Fan Beixiao were poisoned by corpses, and Guo Ting’s living soul was captured. He came to the ghost city, was teased by a lascivious female ghost, and now was being hunted by the Ghosts Bearing Coffin. Lin Ran felt he had never been so unlucky.

At this moment, resentment toward his third aunt flared up inside him. He’d walked this path all because of her! His eyes reddened, his mind on the verge of madness. He stopped abruptly, turned to face the approaching Ghosts Bearing Coffin, and gripped the mourning stick in his hand.