When I woke up from my coma again, everything was pitch black.
The air was stuffy, faintly mixed with a smell of earth.
I was familiar with this feeling; I was in a coffin, already buried underground.
The wounds on my body had been treated and the bleeding stopped, but my limbs were soft and I couldn't exert any strength.
However, in this situation, even if my tendons hadn't been severed, I would still be helpless.
I lay in the darkness, but my desire to live grew stronger and stronger.
Grandpa had said before he left that our grandchild and I would meet again.
I didn't believe Grandpa had died just like that, and I absolutely couldn't die just like that!
If others were buried alive in a coffin, they might have already panicked, or even been scared to death, but for me, I was quite used to it.
I repeatedly recalled what happened at the Cao family several times, and finally, I found a glimmer of hope.
Immediately, I adjusted my state and began to hold my breath.
There was no sun or moon in the coffin.
I don't know how long passed, but I was startled awake by a "thud."
Then came a few more "thud, thud" sounds.
I suddenly realized that those should be the sounds of coffin nails being pulled out.
"You said Miss told us to bury him, and then suddenly told us to dig him out. What is she up to?" A faint human voice came from outside.
"Why do you care so much? Can we fathom Miss's thoughts?" Another voice said.
"That's true, but our Miss really is… really scary!" The previous person's voice trembled.
"Are you trying to die?! What nonsense are you spouting?" The other person hurriedly rebuked.
"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore."
The two continued to work, pulling out the coffin nails one by one, then began to push the coffin lid together.
"It's really damn heavy!" One person complained.
"You think that kid inside might be…" The other person said tremblingly.
"What kind of nonsense are you saying? He's been buried for seven days, you don't think he's still alive, do you?" The other person cursed.
"No, I'm not afraid of him being alive, I'm afraid… afraid of what might happen. I heard this Fentou Ridge is very eerie, and tonight is also the fifteenth day of the seventh month…"
"Just shut up, bad luck!"
Only a loud bang was heard, presumably the coffin lid being pushed open by the two.
Cao Xuerong had sworn at the time that she would make sure I could never reincarnate!
Since that was the case, she couldn't possibly leave me buried in the ground forever; she was always going to dig me out.
This was the slim chance of survival I was betting on!
Now it seemed I had bet correctly, but if it weren't for my special experiences since childhood, I wouldn't have been able to last seven days in the coffin.
It was as if it was destined.
"This kid's corpse looks a bit off, why isn't there even any lividity?"
When I was lifted up, one person exclaimed.
"Lividity my ass, hurry up and carry him!"
"Why do I have to carry him?"
"Look at your lack of ambition, how about we take turns?"
The two cursed and grumbled, carrying me down the mountain.
Not long after, a rumbling, muffled thunder rolled across the sky.
"What the hell kind of weather is this, why is it suddenly going to rain?" One person cursed.
"Brother Hao, didn't I just say this Fentou Ridge is very eerie? It's said that on every fifteenth day of the seventh month, there's always thunder on this mountain, without exception."
"Where do you get all this nonsense! Miss told us to nail this kid to a mulberry tree with ninety-nine nails, and it must be done before tonight. Time is tight, hurry up, hurry up!" Brother Hao urged repeatedly.
"My dear brother! Can you not say these things in front of the child? What if he gets excited and fakes death?"
"Fake death my ass…" Brother Hao turned around and cursed.
I slowly rolled my eyes white and grinned at Brother Hao.
The sky rumbled, and a flash of lightning streaked across.
"He's… he's faking!" Brother Hao shrieked and turned to run.
I opened my mouth and bit the ear of The person carrying me, and in The person's heartbreaking scream, I was thrown down by the other party.
The two scrambled and tumbled down the mountain.
I lay on the ground for a while, seeing some grass growing nearby. I crawled over, put it in my mouth, chewed it, and swallowed a bitter grass juice.
Until I couldn't eat anymore, then I started crawling towards the depths of the ridge.
The other party was only temporarily scared by me; if they came to their senses, they would definitely come back for me.
The mountain path was rugged, making even walking difficult, let alone crawling. With a slight misstep, I tumbled down, almost falling into the depths of the cliff.
My limbs were weak, so I even used my teeth, biting onto exposed tree roots, and only then did I manage to climb up using the leverage.
Occasionally, a muffled thunder rolled across the sky.
I was already extremely weak; if a heavy rain started, it would be a dead end.
In the darkness, I don't know how long I crawled. My physical strength was exhausted, and my consciousness was gradually becoming hazy.
"I still have to live a long life…"
I muttered, bit the tip of my tongue hard, and kept myself awake.
After crawling for a while longer, another flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and in the sudden light, a Small Temples abruptly appeared ahead.
I was both surprised and delighted, like a drowning person suddenly grabbing a lifeline. I struggled to crawl forward, but I was truly exhausted. Although the Small Temples looked close, it seemed as far away as the horizon.
Suddenly, I vaguely saw a person standing in front of the Small Temples, seemingly looking in my direction.
I opened my mouth to shout, but my voice was drowned out by the thunder.
When I finally crawled to the temple gate, by the light emanating from inside the temple, I could finally see that it was an old woman with gray hair, dressed in black.
She clearly saw me, but she turned expressionlessly and entered the temple.
I laboriously crawled to the temple entrance, but I couldn't get over the threshold. With effort, I felt a dizzy spell, and then a tightening around my neck.
The old woman appeared in front of me at some point and lifted me into the temple.