Chapter 1 The Island

The island was surrounded by calm waters, and the small boat carrying everyone easily reached the shore. However, the question of how to deal with Zhang Qizheng's body became a problem.

The corpse had been quiet all the way, so quiet that it made everyone feel uneasy. Fatty, who was already ashore, even had a ridiculous thought: he hoped the corpse would move, just a little bit, so that everyone wouldn't have to keep their nerves so tightly stretched.

"We can't keep the body. I suggest we push the boat back into the lake with the body," Yao Shunyu said first, with a hint of urgency in his voice.

Hearing that he wanted to get rid of the boat as well, Fatty began to hesitate. "That's not appropriate, is it? Without the boat, how will we get back?"

"This is a dream, not reality. Believe me, the threat posed by that corpse is much greater than not having a boat," Yao Shunyu tried to convince everyone to agree with his point of view.

"Brother Yao is right, but Brother Fugui is also right. I think we should compromise. The corpse definitely has to go, but we need to keep the boat. You two don't argue, haha, there's no need for us to hurt our harmony over this little matter," Shao Tong stepped forward to mediate.

Yao Shunyu was already very wary of him, and sneered when he heard this, "It's nothing for us brothers to say a few words when discussing things. We don't need an outsider like you to interfere. If you have time, please explain how I fell down the hillside yesterday."

Shao Tong looked at Yao Shunyu with an exaggerated expression, "Brother Yao, I don't understand what you're saying. You fell down the hillside and mysteriously disappeared, not me. Are you...asking me to defend you?"

Seeing the argument escalating, Jiang Cheng spoke up, "Say a few words less. We can keep the boat, but what are you going to do with the body?"

Tang Qisheng looked around. The mist that had dissipated on the lake was gathering again. The lake was shrouded in mist, and if it weren't for the gloomy background, it could be called a fairyland on earth.

Yao Shunyu looked at Shao Tong. "Since you brought it up, you go on the boat and carry the corpse away."

Shao Tong didn't flinch at all, and nodded naturally. "Okay, I have a clear conscience, what am I afraid of?"

After saying that, Shao Tong took a deep breath, then jumped onto the boat alone, crouched down and crawled into the cabin. After a while, he actually came out with the corpse, not carrying it on his back, but holding it in front of him, supporting it with his hands.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, the neck of Zhang Qizheng's corpse was facing the shore, and his slightly cloudy eyes were slightly open, as if he was greeting his friends.

Watching the corpse approach him, Zhu Jie felt ants crawling all over his body, and said in panic, "Are you crazy? What are you doing bringing the corpse ashore? Throw it directly into the lake!"

Tang Qisheng seemed to understand and gestured for Zhu Jie to shut up. "Don't talk nonsense. Throwing that corpse into the lake might cause something weird to happen. Don't forget, we might have to take this boat back."

After Tang Qisheng's reminder, Zhu Jie suddenly remembered something. Not long ago, Jiang Cheng had retold the story of the antique shop owner. At the end of the story, the fishermen who were forced onto the boat encountered an extremely terrifying scene: the sound of knocking came from underwater.

If Zhang Qizheng came back on their way back, they would die all the same.

Shao Tong dragged the corpse to a slightly more distant place, and then began to dig a pit. Because Mr. Zhang had treated him well, Fatty also went to help. Fortunately, the ground was all sand, and after a while, the two of them dug a pit that was just enough to put the corpse in. Perhaps feeling regretful that he had taken the wrong path and boarded the Night Watchman's pirate ship, Shao Tong rarely bowed three times to Zhang Qizheng's burial place, and said some apologetic words.

Fatty couldn't help but change his view of Shao Tong. It seemed that this person was very sincere, and maybe he had misunderstood him. This time, he was sincerely defecting.

Influenced by Shao Tong, Fatty searched all over his body, but couldn't find anything decent to leave behind. In the end, he could only tear off a piece of cloth, tie it to a piece of wood, and insert it here, which could be regarded as Mr. Zhang's tombstone.

But he was stopped by Shao Tong, who stood up. "Don't leave any marks. There might be some ghosts on this island. Don't let them damage Mr. Zhang's remains."

Fatty nodded repeatedly. He didn't expect Shao Tong to be so meticulous. With the corpse buried here, as long as there was a high tide, the traces of the excavation would soon be smoothed out by the waves, and no one would know that there was a corpse buried underneath.

After securing the boat, Jiang Cheng silently observed his surroundings. The island was very humid, and there were all kinds of unnamed plants everywhere. These plants were relatively short, but without exception, they were wet and dripping with water. The whole island felt like it had just emerged from the water not long ago.

The island was not very big, and the group soon arrived at the center of the island. It was only when they got closer that they realized how magnificent this ancestral hall-style building was.

Although it looked unusually old, the towering stone walls, the vermilion gates, and the stone carvings of strange beasts under the upturned eaves all showed the former prominence of this place.

Tang Qisheng obviously understood, and he nodded repeatedly. "That's right, the stone carvings here are all fierce and good at fighting exotic animals. This is the General's Temple! General Guo's living temple!"

Shao Tong looked up at the imposing building and couldn't help but sigh, "A general's temple is more imposing than the imperial palace. I really don't know what these villagers were thinking. Even if General Guo didn't die in the war, when the world is at peace, the emperor probably wouldn't tolerate him, and those civil officials in the history books would write black and white words to poke at his spine."

The group worked together to push open the heavy gate and stepped into the living temple. A sense of history permeated the air, making people feel suffocated.

Turning past a shadow wall and arriving at the location of the main hall, the scene in front of them caught them off guard. The building here had collapsed, and among the ruins stood a rockery, densely covered with heavy rice plants.

Before everyone could react, a cold wind blew past, bending the rice plants over, and then countless tombstones hidden under the rice plants were exposed. The tombstones were made of green stone slabs, all covered with traces of the years. Fatty couldn't help but shiver. He seemed to have misread them just now. He had actually mistaken these tombstones for wet, pale green faces.

"Is this...a living temple, or a burial?" A huge sense of crisis swept over him. The scene here was far beyond Zhu Jie's imagination.

"Those who are buried alive are not worthy of having so many tombstones," Tang Qisheng's breathing also became rapid.

Jiang Cheng's eyes looked up little by little, and he saw a pavilion on the top of the mountain, in which a black figure stood, with a long knife at his waist exuding a murderous aura.