Chapter 88: The Funeral Banquet
Night had completely swallowed Huzzang Village.
The four of them followed the sound of firecrackers through the winding stone paths. Every step they took seemed to pull them deeper into a nightmare.
Shen Yu led the way without hesitation.
Lucian stayed close behind him.
Mohan and Taishan exchanged uneasy glances before reluctantly following.
No one spoke.
Only the crackling of distant firecrackers echoed through the darkness.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Finally...
The sounds stopped before a large courtyard.
The moment Shen Yu looked inside, his pupils contracted.
The courtyard was brightly illuminated by rows of white funeral lanterns.
Dozens of round banquet tables filled the open space.
Each table was occupied.
Not by ordinary villagers...
But by the horrifying Tombstone People.
Their gray stone skin reflected the lantern light while stiff smiles remained frozen on their faces. They sat perfectly upright, motionless, like guests patiently waiting for a wedding feast.
At the center of the courtyard—
A large burial pit had already been dug.
Inside rested a crimson coffin.
Its lid remained open.
A shriveled corpse wearing a groom’s wedding robe lay inside.
His body had long since dried into little more than skin stretched tightly over bone.
Yet beside him...
A young woman in flowing red bridal robes trembled continuously.
She curled into herself, desperately trying not to cry.
Shen Yu’s breathing stopped.
Above the young woman’s head...
A familiar golden heart floated quietly.
[Capture Target: Yun Han]
[Current Affinity: 30]
"..."
"What..."
Shen Yu’s scalp went numb.
Hours earlier...
Yun Han had still been a frail little girl.
Now...
She looked around nineteen or twenty years old.
She was lying inside a coffin.
About to be buried alive.
Joint burial.
His mind immediately pieced everything together.
During the day...
That little boy had arrogantly declared Yun Han was his future wife.
Now...
Years had passed.
The boy had died young.
And according to the twisted customs of Huzzang Village...
Yun Han had been forced to accompany his corpse into the grave.
"We..."
Shen Yu muttered.
"We crossed time."
His voice was almost inaudible.
"This isn’t another location..."
"This is another era."
His heart pounded violently.
The dungeon wasn’t simply trapping people inside a village.
It was dragging them back and forth across different points in history.
No wonder...
Nothing had made sense.
No wonder Yun Han already trusted him.
They had already met.
Not once.
Not twice.
But across countless repeating timelines.
...
Mohan stared around the courtyard, his expression equally grim.
"So many Tombstone People..."
"During the day..."
"The villagers looked completely normal."
He frowned deeply.
"So..."
"They only transform after night falls?"
Instinctively, he closed his eyes.
His ears emitted a faint silver glow.
Future Echo.
The familiar voices instantly flooded his mind.
"You dare sit at the fish-head seat?"
"You’re courting death."
"The fish-tail seat is forbidden too."
"You forgot the pig heart."
"You’ll all die."
Mohan suddenly opened his eyes.
His face lit up.
"My ability..."
"It’s back!"
"At night!"
"Our talents return after nightfall!"
He repeatedly activated Future Echo.
Every sentence sounded strangely familiar.
As though...
He had heard them countless times before.
Yet he couldn’t remember when.
His brows furrowed.
"...Why does it all feel like déjà vu?"
Unable to understand, he simply turned toward Taishan.
"Come."
"We’re going inside."
Without waiting for anyone else, Mohan confidently walked into the courtyard.
Taishan silently followed.
They chose a banquet table near the edge of the courtyard.
A table already occupied by several Tombstone People.
Lucian looked toward Shen Yu.
"What now?"
Shen Yu nodded.
"We follow."
The two quietly approached another nearby table.
Only two seats remained empty.
The head seat.
And the tail seat.
Just as Shen Yu was about to sit—
Click.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Every Tombstone Person in the courtyard simultaneously turned their heads.
Hundreds of dead eyes locked onto him.
The atmosphere instantly froze.
Above Yun Han’s head—
The golden heart suddenly flickered.
-10
-10
-10
Her affinity plummeted.
Shen Yu immediately stopped moving.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
"Lucian."
"Don’t sit."
She froze instantly.
"What?"
"Those seats..."
"They’re traps."
Lucian immediately closed her eyes.
Her special ability activated.
Fragments of forgotten memories resurfaced.
A little girl.
A dining table.
An angry slap.
A harsh voice shouting—
"Girls aren’t allowed to eat with us!"
Lucian suddenly opened her eyes.
"I understand."
"The memory isn’t mine."
She looked toward the coffin.
"It belongs to Yun Han."
Shen Yu immediately understood.
Of course.
Yun Han had been trafficked into the village.
She wasn’t considered one of them.
She had never been allowed to sit at the family table.
"But..."
Lucian whispered.
"There are women sitting at these banquet tables now."
Shen Yu’s gaze swept across the courtyard.
He quickly noticed something.
Those women...
All possessed the same lifeless expressions as the Tombstone People.
They were no longer truly alive.
Only Yun Han—
The outsider—
Was different.
Which meant...
The rules targeting her memories no longer fully applied here.
Instead...
The dangerous seats belonged to someone else.
His eyes shifted toward a little boy happily swinging his legs beside him.
A smile appeared on Shen Yu’s face.
He crouched down.
"Little brother."
The boy blinked innocently.
"What?"
"Big Brother will help you get more delicious food."
Before the child could react—
Shen Yu effortlessly lifted him into his arms.
Then calmly sat down in the boy’s seat.
The moment he did—
The affection meter above Yun Han stopped dropping.
The numbers stabilized.
Success.
The Tombstone People slowly turned their heads back toward the feast.
The crisis passed.
The little boy merely blinked in confusion.
Behind him...
The stone figure standing silently suddenly revealed a terrifying smile.
Its cracked lips stretched almost to its ears.
"Heh..."
"You escaped once."
"I wonder..."
"...how long you’ll survive."
Across the table...
Mohan watched everything carefully.
Every action Shen Yu took...
Matched another fragment Future Echo had shown him.
The familiarity became stronger.
It felt as though...
He wasn’t witnessing the future.
He was reliving something that had already happened.
Before he could think further—
A Tombstone Person beside him suddenly slammed both hands onto the table.
"Where is the pig heart?"
Its neck twisted nearly one hundred and eighty degrees.
Its enormous mouth split open.
Rows of jagged stone teeth filled its grin.
Its empty eye sockets locked directly onto Mohan.
"Junior..."
"Did you bring the pig heart?"
Its body elongated like a snake.
The upper half of its torso crawled across the banquet table toward him.
The horrifying face stopped inches from Mohan’s own.
Cold air brushed against his skin.
Mohan’s face instantly turned pale.
Fortunately—
Future Echo had already warned him.
Without panic...
He calmly walked behind Taishan.
"Sorry."
Before Taishan could react—
Slash!
Mohan drew the small knife and sliced a fist-sized chunk of flesh from Taishan’s shoulder.
Blood splattered everywhere.
Taishan merely frowned.
"...Leader."
"Could you at least warn me first?"
Ignoring the complaint, Mohan immediately tossed the bloody meat onto the table.
The Tombstone Person’s eyes brightened.
"A pig heart..."
"Hehehe..."
Every Tombstone Person at the table immediately lowered their heads.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
They greedily devoured the fresh flesh.
Blood dripped from their stone mouths.
The terrifying atmosphere immediately eased.
Mohan secretly exhaled.
"So the warning was true..."
"But..."
He looked toward Shen Yu once again.
"No..."
"This still feels wrong."
"If Future Echo only predicts the future..."
"Then why does every prediction feel like a memory?"
Meanwhile—
Shen Yu quietly observed everything without speaking.
Another puzzle piece had fallen into place.
Night restored everyone’s supernatural abilities.
But...
Night also restored the village’s true form.
The Tombstone People.
The funeral banquet.
The strange customs.
Everything hidden beneath daylight finally revealed itself.
Just then—
A small tug pulled at Shen Yu’s sleeve.
He lowered his head.
The little boy he had carried earlier was staring up at him pitifully.
His stomach growled loudly.
The child puffed out his cheeks.
"Big Brother..."
"I’m hungry."
"I’m really hungry."