Chapter 23: Coffin

**Chapter 23: Inside the Coffin**

In the darkness, some people sobbed softly while others shivered. Every time they closed their eyes, a horrifying image would appear: a forehead pierced, blood splattering, and brain matter gushing out. It was like a nightmare, or a ghost, constantly haunting their minds.

It was hard to forget the sight of their classmates' tragic deaths. The gruesome splatters of blood, the unwilling despair, the unclosing eyes, and the young faces constantly appeared before them. Thirteen vibrant lives, after four years of shared schooling, had departed forever on the same day.

Although they were temporarily safe now, many people found it impossible to calm down; in fact, they were even more terrified. The images of their tragically deceased classmates and the monstrous divine alligator haunted their minds, perhaps never to be forgotten in this lifetime.

Inside the giant bronze coffin, it was pitch black. Female classmates sobbed, and male classmates sighed. Though they had escaped, the path ahead was vast and unpredictable.

Where were the Nine Dragons pulling the Coffin going? Where was the other shore, where was paradise? They had not yet seen light, but the sea of suffering was already boundless. Were they advancing along an ancient path trodden by deities? What kind of place was the deities' final resting place...?

It was a long time before quiet settled inside the bronze coffin. By Earth's time, it was already late night. Everyone was utterly exhausted and demoralized, and they all drifted into a heavy sleep.

Many still felt anxious and terrified in their dreams. They clutched the divine artifacts tightly in their hands, as if seeking reliance and support from them.

It was a night of torment; many found it hard to sleep soundly. They were often startled awake by nightmares, and some girls even awoke crying. It wasn't that they were cowardly, but that their experience was too terrifying. Whether true or false, if something is merely heard, no matter how horrifying, it's just a story. However, if one experiences it firsthand, it's an entirely different matter.

The daily lives of this group of urban men and women had been incredibly comfortable. Suddenly experiencing such a brutal event was an unimaginable mental shock. Having witnessed legendary demons devouring their companions' corpses and people around them dying one after another, how could they not be afraid?

Even a carefree person like Pang Bo found it difficult to sleep, not out of fear, but because he was constantly woken by those around him. Ye Fan was just like him, finding it hard to sleep, as people nearby occasionally mumbled in their sleep or cried out from nightmares, preventing him from resting peacefully.

After only five or six hours, most had woken up. It took another two hours for everyone's minds to calm down slightly. At this moment, no one knew where the ancient bronze coffin was traveling in the universe, and everyone began to ponder practical matters.

The bronze coffin was incredibly stable, without the slightest vibration, as if it had already come to a halt in a starfield. Was there a next stop? Perhaps, it might drift forever in the desolate depths of the universe.

"What kind of place will we arrive at?"

After crying and venting, even the naturally timid female classmates had to start contemplating this question.

"Will we reach the final resting place of the deities?"

The ancient star path was pioneered by their ancestors. Far ahead, there might truly be deities, and they might reach a mysterious world.

"Do gods really exist? We've seen the Nine Dragons pulling the Coffin, the legendary Great Thunder Sound Temple, and the mythical Alligator Ancestor; there should be no reason not to believe. However, I still find this reality hard to accept. In my understanding, deities might just be a race, perhaps even one that once coexisted with us on Earth."

As modern people, almost no one believed in the existence of gods, yet now they had to confront it. Hearing Wang Ziwen say this made it easier for people to accept.

"Perhaps, to us, those deities are not unfamiliar. They might be a result of human evolution, very possibly ancient figures we are all familiar with."

"Whether through evolution or as a special race, we must admit that divine beings do exist, and it's clear that ancient peoples have long been interacting with them."

At the summit of Mount Tai stood a five-colored altar, built by ancient peoples. Countless ages ago, the Three Sovereigns, Five Emperors, and Seventy-Two Kings ascended Mount Tai for the Feng Shan sacrifices. This alone was enough to signify something.

"Perhaps, those deities are our ancestors..."

The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were all god-like figures from antiquity; legends say they were deities themselves. Therefore, one could imagine that the Feng Shan sacrifices on Mount Tai were far from simple, with many possibilities.

Perhaps, they were calling out to life in the starry sky, transmitting some kind of message to the desolate universe.

Perhaps, they could truly fly through the sky and burrow through the earth. The ancient lands had made them feel restricted, not vast enough, so they ascended Mount Tai, left Earth, and entered the vast depths of the universe.

Perhaps, Earth was merely a stopover, a temporary resting place for those who were both human and divine, a segment of their long journey through life.

Perhaps...

No one could clearly say what truly happened in that distant antiquity; everything was just "perhaps." Only one point was undeniable: the ancient peoples had already opened the gate to the starry sky, exploring deep into the boundless universe.

"Why aren't you speaking?"

The ancient bronze lamp had extinguished, and the copper coffin was pitch black inside. The group hadn't scattered too far, remaining close to each other. Right beside Ye Fan, a person leaned against the coffin wall, completely silent, which caught his attention.

"What's wrong? Still resentful that I beat you up?" Pang Bo was quite displeased, sneering, "You almost pushed Ye Fan off the five-colored altar and cost him his life. A beating was getting off easy; otherwise, throwing you into a pile of divine alligators wouldn't be too much."

"Hey, wake up, say something," someone next to him nudged him.

However, to everyone's surprise, the person not only didn't respond but instead toppled onto the ground with a thud.

"You... what happened?!" The person who pushed him was startled, stepping back repeatedly in fright.

At this moment, everyone sensed something was wrong. Even if deeply asleep, falling to the ground like that would likely wake someone. However, he remained motionless, lying quietly like a piece of deadwood.

"Wake up, quick, wake up!" Pang Bo stepped forward, nudged him, and seeing he didn't stir, he slapped his cheek. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "Why is his skin so cold? And his body is stiff!"

Hearing this, everyone felt a chill from head to toe, and a bad premonition arose in their hearts.

Ye Fan had a very bad feeling about this. He reached out and checked the person's mouth and nose. Finally, he looked stunned and said, "He's dead. He stopped breathing a long time ago."

"What?!" Everyone shrieked.

How could a living person suddenly die? Just a short while ago, he was still mumbling in his sleep, still tormented by nightmares. Now, he was silently gone. It was truly suspicious.

The giant bronze coffin immediately filled with tension and oppression. In the darkness, everyone breathed heavily, their bodies cold. This was too sudden and sinister, inexplicable. Everyone clutched the divine artifacts tightly in their hands.

"Turn on your phones; let's see how he actually died?" Ye Fan said, raising his own phone and peering forward with its faint light.

It was a pale face, with prominent, wide-open eyes. His mouth was slightly agape, and tiny trickles of blood seeped from the corners.

"He's really dead..." Everyone felt dejected and terrified. The sudden death sent shivers down everyone's spines; it seemed there was something terrifying inside this copper coffin.

A few brave classmates began to examine his entire body, trying to determine the cause of death.

"Look, his neck..."

His neck was covered in bruises, full of bloody marks, as if he had been strangled. The purplish-red marks were shocking to behold.

"Ghost... There's a ghost in the copper coffin!" a girl cried out, trembling with fear.

Hearing this, many immediately felt their scalps tingle. The purplish-red bruises looked exactly like the finger marks left by a vengeful spirit, very much like someone had been strangled to death.

Especially now that they were inside such a coffin, it gave rise to even more terrifying suspicions and associations. The nested coffin not far away looked like a gate to hell, chilling them to the bone, and many instinctively took a few steps back.

Ye Fan frowned, reaching out to touch the corpse's throat. He found the Adam's apple completely shattered; the area was soft, with only the skin still relatively intact and not torn. Tiny bloodstains marked his hand, looking eerily vibrant, sending a chill through his heart.

"It's not a ghost; he was murdered!" Just then, Liu Yunzhi, looking grim, uttered these words, his gaze sweeping coldly towards Ye Fan.

Pang Bo saw his gaze sweep towards Ye Fan and immediately shot him a sideways glance, saying, "What do you mean?"

"From the wounds, he was strangled to death," Liu Yunzhi said with a cold expression, staring at Ye Fan and Pang Bo. "Who could have done all this so silently? Only someone closest to him, with incredibly strong hands, could have done it!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the implication was clear: the accusation was aimed directly at Ye Fan. He was closest to the deceased, and his extraordinary physique and immense hand strength were well-known to everyone.

"You're spouting nonsense!" Pang Bo retorted angrily, picking up the Great Thunder Sound bronze plaque, intending to hit him.

Liu Yunzhi sneered, looking at him and saying, "Are you trying to kill me to silence me?"

Ye Fan held Pang Bo back, stopping his impulsive action.

"I say I didn't kill him. Do you believe me?" Ye Fan asked, scanning the group.

"Of course I believe you!" Pang Bo was the first to step forward.

"I believe you too!" Zhang Ziling also stepped forward.

Ye Fan then looked at the others, saying, "Don't you believe me?" His gaze then settled on Li Xiaoman.