“Do you think that umbrella would be in here?”

Ding Yi turned her head to look at Qin Yuan, who was gazing down at the red coffin with lowered eyes. “No. The mission stated that we have to locate the corresponding item and accurately identify its material, trace its origin, and return it to its original owner.”

“The original owner is clearly already dead. What we need to do is help her retrieve her skin and bones and bring them here.”

Qin Yuan raised his eyebrows with interest. “And then?”

Ding Yi frowned, her gaze returning to the nameless memorial tablet. “Find out her name.”

Qin Yuan nodded. “Got any ideas on how to do that?”

Mentioning this, Ding Yi suddenly felt a flash of insight, as if she’d skimmed through a long list of incorrect answers before finally landing on the right one.

“I remember,” Ding Yi said, her eyes fixed on the gilded character ‘Chen,’ a subtle smirk playing on her lips, “that old man mentioned last time that his surname was also Chen.”

Her moment of realization was abruptly shattered. The air around them suddenly thickened with a cloying, fishy stench, mingling with the familiar odor of burning paper money, causing her pupils to contract sharply.

“Run!”

With almost no hesitation, even before her conscious mind fully registered the danger, Ding Yi lunged towards Qin Yuan, grabbed his arm, and yanked him back towards the cave entrance.

Her impulsive actions were not entirely unprecedented, but it was the first time Qin Yuan had been on the receiving end. He didn’t have time for sentimentality or questions. He seized her arm in return and flung her forcefully towards the doorway.

The brief sensation of weightlessness allowed Ding Yi to pass incredibly close to the skin-covered little monsters she had encountered at the ancestral hall the previous day. Upon landing, she instinctively rolled to the side, looking up just in time to see a swarm of the grotesque creatures pouring into the miniature ancestral hall.

The little monsters surged inward like a relentless tide. In the blink of an eye, the latter ones couldn’t squeeze through the narrow opening. Those unable to enter scrabbled frantically to close the door, one of them even managing to press the half-peeled-off yellow talisman back into place amidst the chaotic frenzy.

“Bitch! You ungrateful bitch!”

“Don’t let her out! Don’t let her out!”

“Why aren’t you dead yet, you wretch!”

“It was her honor to offer her skin to Qingping Town! Ungrateful filth!”

“Die! Die!”

Amidst the incessant da da da sounds and the grating, high-pitched screeching, Ding Yi clearly discerned the shrill, repetitive curses directed at her.

“Qin Yuan!” She called out, her voice laced with urgency.

Hearing no immediate response, Ding Yi didn’t hesitate. While the monsters outside focused on blocking the door, she scrambled to her feet and sprinted frantically towards the cave entrance.

She remembered what she had seen earlier, the haphazard pile of debris just outside the cave…

She stopped abruptly just as she exited the cave’s mouth. A fleeting glimpse caught what she was looking for – dry branches and fallen leaves, a seemingly insignificant pile of tinder.

This was the subconscious reminder sparked by the ashes outside the miniature ancestral hall.

Before being thrust into this nightmarish new world, she had been blowing out birthday candles. The cheap lighter she had used to ignite them had been tucked into her sweatpants pocket the entire time. Even after yesterday’s brutal and disheveled battle, the pocket, located just below the gaping tear where fabric and flesh had been ripped open, still held the two-yuan lighter safely within its confines.

Without proper weapons to defend herself, fire was her best, perhaps only, viable option.

If it hadn’t been for the lingering image of those ashes, she would have forgotten entirely the lighter’s existence.

Although she consciously tried to suppress the rising tide of anxiety and fear, her heartbeat hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs.

She quickly stripped off her torn black short-sleeved shirt. After yesterday’s violent encounter, the fabric was riddled with rips. She grabbed the largest tear along her abdomen and pulled sharply, ripping open half the hem. With another decisive tug, the loose shirt that had initially covered her behind was instantly transformed into a makeshift crop top.

Putting the modified shirt back on, she tightly wrapped the torn strip of cloth around one end of a wrist-thick wooden stick she’d scavenged near the cave entrance. Taking out the cheap plastic lighter, just as she ignited her makeshift ‘giant match,’ a thick, cloying fishy stench and the familiar odor of burning paper money and candles erupted behind her without warning.

She didn’t need to turn around to know that the vengeful skinless woman was directly behind her.

“You want to burn those evil spirits to death, just like they did to me?” Surprisingly crisp and sweet, her voice held a deceptive gentleness, like the softest cotton candy.

“Okay. Let me help you.”

Ding Yi followed closely behind the towering skinless woman and the smaller, equally skinless monsters that resembled her, holding the two flaming torches aloft as she charged back inside the miniature ancestral hall.

She had already pieced together the identities corresponding to the three distinct types of monsters plaguing this instance. What she hadn’t anticipated was that they still retained fragments of their previous, tormented memories.

What kind of living hell was that for the victims? To be trapped in this cycle of violence and hatred?

The moment the skinless woman appeared in the doorway, the skin-covered little monsters that had been frantically blocking the entrance became visibly agitated, their grotesque bodies swelling with fury. They immediately turned their aggression towards the skinless little monsters, engaging in a chaotic, internal battle.

Ding Yi’s eyes were hard, her initial clumsiness with the torches giving way to a grim efficiency.

The intense heat radiating from her makeshift weapons forced back any skin-covered little monster that dared to approach. With both sides embroiled in their own brutal melee, few monsters had the time or inclination to pay her any attention. She charged towards the vermilion door with surprisingly little resistance and kicked it open with a resounding crash.

Behind the door, Qin Yuan, a battle-worn thug, his body covered in fresh injuries, a fierce glint in his enchanting light-colored eyes, wielded a long, sinewy limb torn from some unfortunate monster as a makeshift weapon.

Hearing the sudden commotion and seeing who had breached the entrance, his unnervingly bright eyes widened with a frightening intensity.

Ding Yi, too, was momentarily startled. The thick, cloying fishy stench emanating from within the sealed ancestral hall slammed into her brain through her nostrils, almost causing her to faint.

She raised her free hand and slammed it hard against the head of a monster lunging towards the doorway. The searing heat from the torch caused the struck monster to emit a shrill, agonizing scream.

The remaining monsters within the ancestral hall surged towards the open door, attempting to block her entry. Unable to push her way inside, she didn’t retreat either, holding her ground.

“Come out!” Qin Yuan’s voice, sharp and decisive, cut through the chaos.

He moved with surprising speed and unwavering determination, reaching Ding Yi and firmly taking the torch she offered. He used it to strike at the pouncing monsters with brutal efficiency.

Seeing him emerge from the miniature ancestral hall, Ding Yi didn’t hesitate. While still fending off the few remaining monsters that clung to her, she rapidly calculated the most viable escape route.

Just then, the skinless woman suddenly roared to the sky, her voice cracking, becoming rough and unpleasant. All the skinless little monsters immediately swarmed her, their small, grotesque bodies merging with her larger form.

In the blink of an eye, the skinless woman transformed into a towering giant, easily four meters tall, her massive hands rising and falling in a terrifying game of ‘whack-a-mole.’ Even so, the skin-covered little monsters showed no signs of retreating, instead attacking the giant skinless woman even more fiercely in coordination.

“Give me back my skin and bones!”

“Give them back to me!”

The skinless woman turned around, her massive palm slamming down beside Ding Yi, the force of the impact sending violent shudders through her body.

The skinless woman lost control and began to indiscriminately slap to death all living things smaller than her that moved.

Ding Yi gritted her teeth, running and dodging with every ounce of her agility, finally escaping the cave without sustaining any further serious injuries. But even after leaving the confines of the cave, the two didn’t dare to stop running until the sounds of the brutal fighting faded into the distance behind them.

The wounds that had been torn open again due to the excessive exertion were bleeding anew. The torch, which had extinguished at some point during the chaotic escape, was now used as a makeshift crutch for support.

Just as Ding Yi began to mentally review the whirlwind of events that had just transpired, a pang of regret hit her for not directly asking the skinless woman her name at the beginning. She suddenly heard Qin Yuan’s voice cutting through her thoughts. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

“Huh? What am I doing?” Ding Yi felt a wave of dizziness and nausea wash over her. “I’m walking, unless I’ve suddenly gained the ability to fly?”

“I should have told you, you just needed to run. I would have taken care of the rest.”

“Asking me why I saved you?” Ding Yi summarized and repeated his words, then said without thinking, “You saved me yesterday and just now, didn’t you?”

“When I woke up today, my wounds were covered with powder. I know very well what those wounds looked like yesterday before this powder was applied.”

Ding Yi took a sharp breath. “I probably got poisoned yesterday, right?”

“It was already late when we left the graveyard. Besides you, I really can’t think of anyone else who has the ability to find the antidote so quickly.”

“It was the same just now. Since you can save me, why can’t I save you?”

“You?” Qin Yuan’s tone held a hint of provocative disbelief. “How many lives do you have to save people?”

“Who says I don’t?” Ding Yi was bone-tired and aching all over, her voice flat and lifeless. “So can we call it even now? I risked my life for you just now, and you also think I’m weak. Considering how weak I am, let’s call it a draw now. I don’t owe you any favors anymore.”