The young man had slender eyes and a high nose bridge.
It could only be said that the two looked nothing alike.
"This is my first time seeing a female security guard at a funeral home."
"You two are really brave."
"Must be tired in the middle of the night? Here, have a smoke to stay alert!"
Though the young man appeared cold, he was quite talkative.
He enthusiastically lit cigarettes for us, a strange fragrance filling the air:
"Why aren't you smoking?"
"Don't tell me you're looking down on me because of cheap cigarettes?"
The man's mood shifted like June weather. I smiled at him:
"Brother, we really can't smoke these."
These cigarettes were meant for the dead.
14
The tobacco was smoked with grave incense, stuffed with black cat tail hairs, and dripped with infant corpse oil.
These were ghost cigarettes, specially offered to wandering spirits.
If living people accidentally smoked them, it would extinguish their soul fire, making them vulnerable to possession.
The man's face darkened instantly:
"What do you mean? Looking down on me?"
Song Feifei immediately pulled out a golden pack of Liqun from her bag:
"Big brother, don't be angry! Try these! We brought our own!"
"Holy shit! Fuchun Mountain Residence!"
The man's eyes nearly popped out. My eyelid twitched.
Before coming to the funeral home, I'd asked Song Feifei to prepare cigarettes for socializing.
The rich girl immediately chose the most expensive ones - reportedly over 2,000 per pack.
The man's hands trembled as he held the cigarette box, overwhelmed by Song Feifei's display of wealth.
Money could make ghosts turn millstones.
Song Feifei enthusiastically stuffed the entire carton into the man's arms.
The man lowered his eyes, face shifting through emotions.
After a long pause, he gritted his teeth and whispered:
"This funeral home is... unusual."
"You two should return to the rest room. After 1 AM, don't come out no matter what you hear."
"Remember - if you value your lives, don't leave that room before dawn!"
With that, he fled with the cigarettes as if chased by demons.
Song Feifei and I stared blankly at his retreating figure, completely confused.
15
Funeral Home Rules:
1. Don't speak to corpses
2. Never visit the embalming room during night shifts
3. Ignore any people seen in mourning halls at night
4. Refuse any cigarettes offered in the vigil room
5. Beware of judicial police
We'd met the judicial police and accepted cigarettes in the vigil room.
The judicial police was mentally unstable, and the vigil room man also seemed peculiar.
After lengthy consideration, Song Feifei and I decided to check the mourning hall.
It was just past midnight - still early before the warned 1 AM deadline.
The largest mourning hall was decorated with classical elegance, clearly expensive.
I nudged Song Feifei:
"Tsk, rich people even die in style."
Song Feifei sniffed disdainfully:
"Still rather low-class for my status."
As we chatted, the hall lights began flickering madly.
"Lingzhu, look!"
The mourning hall was arranged like an auditorium, with a raised platform at the front for remains.
White-covered benches filled the back rows.
As the lights flickered, a blurry figure appeared on the front bench.
16
It was the back view of a young woman.
Dressed in bright red ancient wedding attire, waist-length hair styled in an elaborate updo.
The strobing lights and sudden appearance of this bizarre woman made even us veterans gasp.
Most importantly, I detected no yin energy from her.
She wasn't a ghost.
"Who are you?"
My loud question was answered by bell-like laughter echoing through the hall.
Exchanging glances with Song Feifei, we stepped forward - and she vanished.
The lights flickered again.
Next moment, the woman lay amidst flowers on the display platform.
Her face deathly pale, lips blood-red.
"Holy shit! What is that thing?"
"What are you doing here?" Liu Dazhuang came running, furious to find us in the hall. "Why do you keep wandering? Forgot my warnings?"
Strangely, Liu's arrival instantly normalized the hall.
I studied him:
"Captain, did you see that woman?"
Liu glanced around nervously before glaring:
"What woman? Only you two women here!"
"You girls are too bold! Disobeying me will get you in trouble!"
17
Liu Dazhuang evaded questions about the earlier incident in the dissection room.
He claimed high blood pressure caused his fainting spells, saying he woke up in the restroom.
Reiterating the funeral home rules, he ordered us back to our room.
His shifty eyes and contradictory statements revealed obvious lies.
After escorting us back, he helpfully brought two cups of water:
"I'll take the first watch. Sleep until 4 AM for your shift."
When Liu left in a hurry, I tasted the water - weird flavor:
"Liu Dazhuang's definitely suspicious."
Song Feifei tried the door:
"Locked. Probably double-locked."
Liu seemed anxious we might quit, hence downplaying the supernatural events.
Remembering the vigil room man's warning about staying in after 1 AM, we napped until the appointed time.
Picking the lock easily, we crept toward the embalming room - where unclaimed corpses were stored indefinitely...
