Chapter 12 Mismatched Hands

He had checked the corpse earlier. Fortunately, there were no missing parts, which meant he could skip the molding step in the sewing process, saving a lot of time. But just as Chen Hao picked up the corpse's hand and made two stitches, a strange sensation suddenly attracted his attention. He squeezed it a few times, and his expression changed slightly. The corpse's hand was relatively slender, and the knuckles were not so thick, but the corpse lying in front of him was a strong and sturdy man.

Realizing the abnormality, Chen Hao immediately put down the needle and thread, brought the candle closer for better lighting, and checked the other hand of the corpse. The next second, a scene that chilled him to the bone appeared. The other hand was covered in calluses, obviously a hand that had been working for many years, while the one he had just stitched... belonged to someone who was pampered and well-off. This severed left hand simply did not belong to the corpse in front of him!

Damn it…

Cold sweat ran down Chen Hao's forehead. After all his calculations, he was still tricked by Yu Chengmu. He didn't know where this old thing got a severed hand and attached it to this corpse. But he had already sewn a few stitches. If he removed the thread now and took off the severed hand, he would violate the taboo of not being allowed to undo stitches after sewing. But if he stubbornly continued, although nothing could be seen now, once the incense burned out and the corpse realized that this severed hand did not belong to it, it probably wouldn't let him off.

The incense was named Anhun Xiang (Soul-Soothing Incense). How could a corpse that needed Anhun Xiang not have problems? One was immediate danger, and the other was tantamount to chronic suicide. At this moment, Chen Hao surprisingly calmed down. Since nothing was happening for the time being, there must be a way out. After all, judging from the scene in the Yi Zhuang (Mortuary) hall, Bai Kangjin had also encountered a crisis. Jin Liang could survive, so could he. Don't panic, don't panic...

He began to judge from Jin Liang's perspective, trying to guess the other party's psychological activities. The most important thing in front of him was to first confirm the source of this severed hand. Only by finding the source could he figure out a way to break the situation. Looking at the tragic state of the materials outside, Jin Liang probably wouldn't dare to touch the corpses inside, especially since that wasn't within their mission scope. The dǎgēng rén (night watchman) had been very vague about this. So the owner of this severed hand must be in one of these 4 rooms.

First of all, this severed hand would definitely not be from Bai Kangjin's corpse in Room 1. A person like that wouldn't risk his own safety. Secondly, the possibility of Room 3 was also very small. After all, rashly moving the corpse in Room 3 could easily screw over his teammates. To sum up, Chen Hao judged that the severed hand was most likely from Room 4. Room 4 was what Chen Hao called it himself, after all, only this room didn't have a number on it.

Before, Chen Hao couldn't understand the meaning of Room 4's existence. After all, at most, there would only be 3 of them. Now... Bai Kang seemed to understand a little. But next, he had to face another problem. If he went to Room 4 to verify now, he would violate the taboo that stitching a corpse required completing it in one go, and he couldn't leave halfway. Chen Hao finally understood the feeling of Du Moyu, who had no inspiration to write books and scratched his head bald. What the hell was he supposed to do?

Finally, Chen Hao made up his mind. After considering the pros and cons, he still had to go to Room 4 to verify. After all, only after confirming could he possibly find a real way out. He took a deep breath, lifted the white cloth as quickly as possible, and rushed past Room 3 to Room 4. Just as he left the corpse, a crisp bell sound came from far to near. Chen Hao heard it vaguely, it was coming from outside the gate. That thing that had entangled Jin Liang not long ago was coming again.

But now was not the time to be afraid. Chen Hao rushed directly to the side of the corpse in Room 4. Because the light was very poor, he simply reached out and grabbed it, tearing off the corpse's left hand. That's right, the texture of this hand was relatively rough. Without even checking the other hand, Chen Hao confirmed that this was definitely the left hand of the corpse in his room!

Bai Kangjin, that old schemer, actually swapped the two hands!

Without hesitation, grabbing the left hand, Bai Kang quickly returned to Room 2. Just as he rushed into Room 2, before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, the scene before him made his hair stand on end. A figure was reflected on the white cloth, standing there silently, without moving. That thing... was only separated from him by a layer of white cloth. Chen Hao didn't believe for a second that if he had been a step late, the thing outside would have torn open the white cloth and rushed in, then reaped his life. From those overturned stacks of materials, one could imagine how terrifying the power of this thing was.

At this moment, the world was eerily quiet. Chen Hao could very clearly hear his own heartbeat. Until a "ring."

The thing outside turned and left. At the same time, a night wind swept in, rolling up a corner of the white cloth on the ground. Chen Hao's pupils suddenly shrank. He saw... he saw a pair of red shoes, and tied to the plain white ankle, a thick rope with bells.

"Ring—"

As those feet moved, the bells rang non-stop. The sound gradually faded away. It took Chen Hao a full minute to completely calm down. Only when the bell sound completely disappeared did he turn around and face the corpse again. The corpse's left hand, which had been sewn with two stitches, naturally fell off. Chen Hao carefully sewed the hand he had brought back on. Very good, it matched perfectly. His task was also completed.

But he didn't intend to leave. Jin Liang had given him such a big gift, he definitely had to return the favor. He just didn't know if his gift... the next person could afford it. Staring at the corpse's well-sewn left hand, Chen Hao's eyes became sharp.

In another room, the atmosphere was particularly沉闷 (chénmèn, heavy/depressed). "Boss, are you sure you want to go?" A Biao looked at Gan Chengmu, his voice very low, making his noise sound even more hoarse. Bai Kangjin sat cross-legged on the bed, his chest rising and falling with his breath. After a moment, Bai Kangjin opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. "Don't worry, didn't you hear what Master Yu said just now? He has made careful arrangements. The next person won't be so easy to survive."

"These people aren't as simple as they think." Jiang Cheng's annoying face suddenly popped into A Biao's mind. "I know." Bai Kangjin's expression became serious. "But even if the last person can survive, A Biao, I want you to stay."

A Biao's face was a little ugly. "Are you worried about the paper craftsman's place?"

"Better to believe it than not, haven't we encountered enough strange things these days?" Bai Kangjin got off the bed and came to A Biao. "On this point, I agree with Master Yu."

Yu Chengmu paused and continued, "A Biao, there are some things that Master Yu can't say too clearly, but I can hear it. He also thinks that Du Moyu wasn't lying."

"That paper figure... does have a big problem."