Chapter 27: Seeing a Coffin Brings Fortune

"What?"

Hearing this, I was momentarily speechless, wondering if I had misheard him. He had just gone through such a harrowing ordeal, and his first reaction upon waking was to ask if I had finished the chicken leg? I couldn't help but admire his priorities from the bottom of my heart.

I pushed him aside. "Er Pang, we agreed to dig a grave, so why were you swinging a shovel at me?"

Hearing this, Er Pang blinked, dazed, and then rubbed his eyes as he looked around. "I was digging, but I don't know how I ended up falling asleep."

Forget it. I let out a long sigh. After being possessed, Er Pang wouldn't have had any awareness of his actions. It seemed the tomb owner had already been dealt with. That meant I didn't need to worry about anything else regarding the coffin fungus; I could focus entirely on digging.

I quickly said to Er Pang, "You get some rest and recover; I'll start digging!" Time waited for no one, and since he had just woken up, he definitely needed a break. During this time, I had to pick up the pace.

I stepped into the pit Er Pang had started and began to swing the shovel.

*Thwack!*
*Thwack!*
*Thwack!*

The sky had turned completely black by now; it must have been around eight o'clock in the evening. I doubt many people have had the experience of digging a grave under the moonlight. It was truly back-breaking labor. Within ten minutes, my arms were already aching. It was no wonder Er Pang had so much brute strength.

*Clang!*

A metallic sound rang out. More gold? I stopped shoveling and began to probe the earth with my hands. Sure enough, I felt something that seemed round, yet irregular. I pried it out with effort, and under the candlelight, a glimmer of silver caught my eye.

Taking a closer look, I realized—good heavens! A silver ingot! This was ancient currency, and a large one at that! It was about the size of a palm; it could probably buy quite a few chicken legs back in the day. It seemed this county magistrate really had some assets. I wondered if the old widow's family, who had been poor for so long, had any idea that their ancestral grave held such treasures. They probably died without ever knowing.

"Well, fate is hard to defy. I suppose I'll just have to keep it for you," I muttered, slipping it into my pocket.

Sometimes a person's life is already predestined. If you aren't fated for great wealth in this life, even if you win the lottery, you'll lose it, or end up dying in an accident. In short, if something isn't meant for you, you aren't fated to enjoy it.

I kept digging for a while longer. By now, I was about three meters deep. Usually, people of status were buried at a depth of five and a half feet. At this depth, I should be hitting the top of the coffin soon. I didn't need to dig the whole thing out—just enough to open the lid.

Just then, Er Pang walked over. "Let me do it. I've recovered enough. With your scrawny frame, this work will take forever." He snatched the shovel away and buried himself in the work.

I took a break on the side, my mind racing. If there really was coffin fungus in there, how would I transport it to the female corpse? Was I really going to have to pass it mouth-to-mouth all the way to the mountaintop? That wouldn't just be disgusting; it would be exhausting enough to kill me.

I pondered for a moment and quickly came up with a solution. Since we couldn't change where the fungus originated, we could definitely change the destination! I felt like a fool for not thinking of it sooner. I could carry the female corpse down and place it right next to the Liu family's ancestral grave. The corpse couldn't move, but I could hold the fungus in my mouth and feed it to her directly! That way, it wouldn't be nearly as disgusting or tiring.

Thinking of this, I urged Er Pang impatiently. "Are you done yet? We should be able to see the coffin lid any second now, you—"

I hadn't finished my sentence when I heard a dull thud. The shovel had struck something. That had to be the lid.

Er Pang's voice came from the hole: "Tiangang, look! I hit the coffin board!"

I was overjoyed. I rushed over and peered into the pit. A weathered wooden edge was visible, the wood so decayed it looked ancient. I took the shovel from Er Pang, skillfully cleared the dirt from around the edges, and brushed the soil off the top. A dark red coffin lid was fully revealed before us.

Some of the painted patterns had flaked off. I didn't know what kind of paint or carving techniques they used in ancient times to make it last so long, but whatever had been drawn was no longer recognizable; it was too badly damaged. But I had no interest in the art. I checked the perimeter of the coffin and saw nothing growing on the edges. The fungus must be growing on the remains inside.

We had to open the coffin. It would be a lie to say I wasn't nervous. I’d lived for eighteen years and never opened a dead person’s coffin. But there was no turning back now. I took a deep breath and said to Er Pang, "Open it!!!"

Er Pang stared at me with wide, bovine eyes. "You’re not just digging up their ancestral grave; you’re going to open their ancestor's coffin too? Tiangang, what on earth are you doing?"

"Oh, I don't have time to explain! Go to that side, I'll take this side, and on the count of three, we pull together!"

I didn't give him the details. He sullenly moved to the foot of the coffin, while I stood at the center, wedging the head of the shovel into the gap.

*Creak—*

The coffin lid shifted slightly. Normally, coffins were sealed with nails, but the wood had rotted so badly that the nails were useless. With that one movement, the lid looked ready to slide off at any moment. The shovel remained wedged there, suspended in the air.

I moved to the head of the coffin and looked at Er Pang, swallowing hard. It wasn't because I was hungry for the remains; I just prayed that the tomb owner had already been dealt with and that a thousand-year-old mummy wouldn't spring out the moment we opened it. That would be enough to scare a man to death.

Er Pang was nervous too; sweat was pouring down his forehead. I muttered under my breath, "Seeing a coffin brings wealth, seeing a coffin brings wealth, evil spirits begone, evil spirits begone..."

Hearing me mumble, Er Pang asked, "Tiangang, are you casting a spell?"

I looked up at him and said seriously, "I'm hypnotizing myself."

Er Pang was speechless, his expression verging on tears. "How did I end up knowing a freak like you? I don't even know why I'm helping you with this. When I get back, my dad's going to kill me..."

"Alright, enough talk! I'm counting to three, and then we open it!" I shouted at him.

Knowing there was no escape, Er Pang gritted his teeth and nodded. I held my breath and focused.

"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"

*Crash!!!*

Before I even put in any effort, the coffin lid was shoved aside by a massive force. I was shocked and stared wide-eyed into the coffin, but it was pitch black inside, and I couldn't see a thing. I noticed the coffin was tilted, clearly pushed by Er Pang. I hadn't even pushed yet.

Er Pang looked at me and asked, "Tiangang, why didn't you push?"

I was on the verge of tears. "I hadn't finished counting! You scared the life out of me!"