Thinking about how close he had been to that skeleton, Fatty couldn't help but shrink his neck.

But then he thought, he had been bowing to the statue quite a bit, maybe he had left a good impression on the River Goddess, so Fatty's face improved a bit.

Seeing Fatty frowning and then showing a mysterious smile, Du Moyu became even more convinced that this was a hidden big shot, thinking to himself that he was indeed pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger, and acting so realistically.

On either side of the temple, there were several paper figures, 7 in total.

But unlike the paper figures they had seen before, the faces of the paper figures in the temple were covered with masks.

Not far from the paper figures, there was a shelf on the ground, with masks placed on it in turn, the same as the masks on the faces of the paper figures.

After counting them, Du Moyu whispered, "There are 8 masks in total."

"There are 8 of us too, the numbers match perfectly," Lei Mingyu said.

Jiang Cheng observed that these masks were all made of paper, and the workmanship was not exquisite at all. They felt very rough to the touch, but since it was the arrangement of the mission, even if they were unwilling, everyone still had to put them on.

As the last person put on the mask, suddenly, a clapper sound rang out outside the temple, catching everyone off guard.

But that wasn't the end of it. Immediately afterwards, an even more terrifying scene appeared. The paper figures that had been lifeless just now actually moved at the same time. The 7 paper figures walked out of the temple gate with stiff steps.

Three in the left row and four in the right row, lined up on both sides of the blood-red coffin.

Everyone quickly followed, only to find that not only the paper figures, but even the 4 paper horses pulling the coffin began to move. The horses' hooves rubbed against the ground, and their necks raised, as if hissing at the sky.

However, there was only the occasional sound of wind in the night sky. All of this seemed like an illusion, or it was happening in another completely incomprehensible space-time.

At the very front of the team, there was also a figure standing.

It was also a paper figure, but it was taller. The paper figure was facing away from them, so they couldn't see its face, but the yellow-colored copper gong hanging from its waist was particularly eye-catching.

Based on his experience, Yu Chengmu instantly confirmed the identity of the paper figure, "It's a corpse driver..."

A moment later, the entire team began to move forward slowly, and Jiang Cheng and others followed at the end of the team.

It's hard to describe what it felt like to follow behind such a large team of people and horses. The night was as silent as death, and only their own footsteps echoed.

"What the hell is going on?" Lei Mingyu had a violent temper and couldn't help but lower his voice, "We were supposed to be the corpse drivers, what's with that one in the front?"

"And those guys, those paper figures... what are their identities, funeral objects?"

Lei Mingyu asked two questions in a row, both of which hit the nail on the head.

Yu Chengmu's face was also a little ugly. Tonight's events seemed to have exceeded his expectations, "That Huan Yin Gong (summoning yin gong) can't be fake, the paper figure in the front is indeed a corpse driver."

"Then what about the paper figures next to the coffin?" Lei Mingyu's face was tangled, suppressing his emotions, "This is the first time I've ever seen funeral objects that can walk on their own."

"If you want to figure out these things, you must first confirm what the hell is inside the coffin." Abiao stared at the coffin. The blood-red coffin gave people an unspeakable sense of weirdness in the night. He was sure that the red on it was not cinnabar, but blood, even though he didn't smell the strong bloody smell that should have been there.

"Judging from the specifications, it is indeed a joint burial coffin. The bones of the River Goddess should be in the coffin, and the other corpse in the coffin..." Chen Hao paused, "I'm afraid it's the night watchman."

Du Moyu's face turned pale, "Are you saying... the clapper sound we just heard, could it have come from inside the coffin?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone fell silent.

From the looks of it, this possibility was very high.

Calculating his steps, Chen Hao shook the Zhenhun Ling (soul-suppressing bell) from time to time, but because the bell was sealed with wax, it made no sound.

"Is this okay?" Abiao tentatively asked, "The Zhenhun Ling is completely silent."

"It's sealed with wax inside, I didn't want this either," Chen Hao's answer was very concise.

"Why didn't you take the sealant out in advance?" Jia Jinliang also joined in, with a hint of resentment in his tone towards Chen Hao, as if blaming him for a mistake that might harm everyone.

Chen Hao nodded, seemingly accepting the criticism, "Then... is it too late to take it out now?"

Jia Jinliang was overjoyed, but his face was much calmer, "It should be in time."

"Will there be any danger?" Chen Hao frowned.

"No, the Zhenhun Ling is a prop, what danger could there be?" Abiao snorted, disapproving of Chen Hao's caution.

"Is that so." Chen Hao handed the Zhenhun Ling over to the disapproving Abiao, "Then you do it, give it back to me after you take out the sealant." The whole process was smooth and flowing.

Now it was Abiao's turn to be embarrassed, but he reacted quickly and immediately sneered, "Why didn't you do it earlier? Why didn't you give it to me before? Now you're changing people at the last minute, are you trying to kill me?"

"Little friend Chen, this Zhenhun Ling is said to have the characteristic of recognizing its owner. I'm afraid only you can control it now." Yu Chengmu stared at the Zhenhun Ling in Chen Hao's hand, revealing a hint of envy, as if he regretted giving the bell to Chen Hao, letting Chen Hao pick up such a big bargain for nothing.

But he was not the only actor here. Jiang Cheng just glanced at it and knew that Chen Hao was probably fooled. Chen Hao also understood now, but it was too late.

Everyone was vigilant at all times, but everything was calm along the way. Chen Hao shook the bell from time to time, and the paper figure dressed as a corpse driver in the front occasionally knocked on the gong.

The sound of the Huan Yin Gong was much duller than that of an ordinary copper gong.

Gradually, with Chen Hao shaking it, the sealant inside the Zhenhun Ling gradually cracked and fell off. Finally, after the corpse driver paper figure knocked the gong for the 7th time, the Zhenhun Ling made a crisp sound.

Appearing at the same time as the bell sound was a faint cry.

"What sound?" Du Moyu looked around. He was sure he hadn't heard wrong, and the cry was very close, especially close, almost next to his ear.

Just as everyone was looking for the source of the mysterious cry, suddenly—

"Bang!"

A muffled knock rang out, and everyone was startled. But this time, everyone quickly determined the source of the knock.

It came from... inside the coffin!

Saying it was a knock was also not accurate. Fatty stared at the coffin, his breathing was disordered, and cold sweat dripped from his head, because according to his guess, the sound just now was more like someone was in the coffin, knocking on the coffin lid with their hand.

"Bang!"

Another sound.

This time everyone saw it clearly, the coffin lid trembled slightly.