Volume One: The Cemetery of Eight Coffins Chapter 27: A Hero Rescues the Maiden

Even with his head battered like that, Chen Wanli only hesitated for a moment before charging toward me again. The remaining half of his ruined face looked even more terrifying.

I stood in the middle of the passage, flashlight aimed at the two advancing corpses, my heart as lifeless and gray as their decaying skin.

Suddenly, the sound of the flute shifted, transitioning from a fevered peak to a gentle lull. At the same time, the two corpses slowed, fixing their dead gazes on me.

By now, I understood it clearly—the persistent, lingering flute was the source controlling the movements of these two corpses. The tune was no random melody, but an actual song: sometimes soaring, sometimes tranquil, at times ethereal or hauntingly graceful, with all the rises and falls of a true composition.

Taking advantage of the softer flute passage, I called out to Liang Yue again, “You’re overthinking this. I’m no hero, and I’m not here to rescue anyone. You need to leave—find help to save me…”

As I spoke, I realized there was no response behind me.

Perplexed, I turned around and discovered that Liang Yue had vanished without a trace.

A bitter taste crept into my mouth. Here I was, foolishly playing the hero, while she’d already taken off without even a word of courtesy. It seemed I was doomed to be trapped in this underground lot tonight.

Suddenly, the gentle flute tune soared once more. Alarmed, I spun around.

As expected, the two corpses renewed their assault, their chilling aura pressing in as they lunged toward me.

Instinctively, I hurled the flashlight in my hand at the female corpse ahead. It struck her squarely, but my palm was slick with cold sweat. I’d thrown it too hard; the flashlight slipped from my grip.

It bounced off the corpse, clattered to the floor, and the batteries spilled out. Instantly, the beam was extinguished.

Everything plunged into pitch darkness.

A sharp pain stabbed my shoulder—a powerful force slammed into me and sent my body flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

Clutching my shoulder, pain flooded through me. Was my bone broken? I wondered.

I had no time for other thoughts. My original plan had been to delay them, buying Liang Yue time to get help. But things hadn’t gone that way. With my lack of skill and bare hands, I was no match for these walking corpses. The situation felt like something from a zombie film. And since Liang Yue had run off, there was no reason for me to play the martyr.

In the darkness, I heard footsteps approaching. Ignoring the pain, I cradled my arm and ran in the opposite direction.

But I’d never tried to move in total darkness before—and after a few steps, I realized how hard it was. Human instinct makes the blackness ahead feel like a wall, as if obstacles lurk in every shadow. If you can’t overcome that mental barrier, you can’t run at full speed.

The two corpses behind me, however, weren’t hindered by sight. Judging by their steps, the darkness didn’t slow them at all.

Just as I was reaching the end of my rope, a beam of light appeared off to my side, and a voice called, “Over here…”

It was Liang Yue. I hurried toward the light.

Even that faint glimmer let me run much faster. After tangling with the corpses for so long, I’d noticed—they only walked, knees never bending, so they couldn’t run. Their movements were swift, but not as fast as a person in a full sprint.

Panting, I stumbled up to Liang Yue and saw she was standing in front of a small room. As I darted inside, she slammed the door behind me.

She shone the flashlight into my face. I raised a hand to block the glare.

The motion pulled at my shoulder, making me grimace in pain.

Liang Yue asked with concern, “Are you hurt?”

I nodded. “Got hit in the shoulder by one of those things.”

She grew anxious. “Is it serious?”

I shook my head. “Much better now; I don’t think the bone’s broken.”

She glanced at me and smiled. “Didn’t expect you to be so manly when it counts.”

I nodded. “Everyone who knows me says that.”

Liang Yue shot me a glare. “Getting cocky already, are you?”

I retorted, “Why did you run off without a word?”

She replied, “I looked around and remembered there was a security office here that monitors the parking lot. I wasn’t sure, so I ran over to check, and sure enough, I found it.”

By the light of her flashlight, I saw one wall of the room was lined with surveillance monitors. But with no power, they were all dark.

I was about to search for something useful when a loud bang on the door startled us both.

A series of thuds followed—the two corpses had chased me to the door and were now battering it.

The blows were powerful, the door trembling under the assault.

I gave a bitter laugh. “If those things break in, we’ll have nowhere left to run. This is no better than being trapped in an elevator.”

Liang Yue said, “Don’t worry. That’s a reinforced security door. I don’t believe they can break through.”

I finally relaxed a little and slid down the wall to sit.

Liang Yue noticed something was off. “Let me see your wound?”

I shook my head. “It’s nothing. Just a scratch.”

She frowned. “Don’t be stubborn.” Without waiting for a reply, she began tugging at my clothes.

“Hey, you’re a woman—can’t you be a little less rough?” I protested.

“Stop talking nonsense,” she snapped, and with a few quick yanks, she pulled my collar aside, exposing my shoulder.

She shone the flashlight over it. I glanced down and was startled myself.

My right shoulder was swollen high with a massive bruise.

Liang Yue searched the room for a while, then sighed, “This place hasn’t been used in ages—there’s no medicine at all.”

I waved her off. “Forget it. It’s not fatal. Let’s just rest awhile. Save the battery. When they break down the door, we’ll have our hands full again.”

The sound of the corpses pounding the door continued.

Liang Yue sat down beside me, turned off the flashlight, and darkness engulfed us once more.

Darkness breeds fear, especially with those corpses ready to break in at any second. I forced myself to stay calm and found a topic to distract us. “You’re pretty agile—where’d you learn that?”

Liang Yue replied, “I was a bit of a tomboy as a kid, always climbing trees and getting into fights. My dad finally sent me to learn Taekwondo, then some kickboxing. I even won some prizes in provincial competitions. I wanted to go to police academy, but my mom refused—said it was too dangerous. So after graduation, I joined my uncle’s company.”

I was surprised. “Your uncle’s company? Who’s your uncle?”

“My uncle is Wu Tianyou.”

“President Wu… he’s your uncle?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Why are you so surprised?”

“I thought you were President Wu’s…”

“His what? Ah—I see what you mean! Hmph…” Realizing my implication, she huffed in annoyance.

I gave a wry smile. “Can you blame me? You’re so young and pretty, and being his assistant, it’s easy to imagine you’re his secretary…and more.”

“You’re injured, so I won’t argue with you now. But just wait until we get out—then I’ll settle the score. And your unreliable uncle too! You took our two hundred thousand, botched the job, and even got yourselves into trouble. Now I’m dragged into this mess because of you!”

“Hey, you chose to come along. But don’t worry, we haven’t seen my uncle yet—he’s probably working on a solution right now. He might be here to save us any minute.”

Truthfully, I was just comforting myself. I knew better than anyone how unreliable my uncle was. Every time I helped him with something, I ended up in a mess. This time was no exception.

As we spoke, Liang Yue nudged me and whispered, “Listen…”

I strained my ears. The banging outside had gradually stopped.

I quickly switched on the flashlight, approached the door, and pressed my ear against it. Silence—no sound from outside, not even the flute.

Liang Yue leaned in too.

We crouched by the door for more than ten minutes. Outside, all was as still as if nothing had happened.

I had no idea what was going on. I gripped the door handle and glanced at Liang Yue.

She held a dagger, nodded at me, clearly unwilling to stay trapped here and just as eager to know what had happened outside.

I signaled to her and began counting softly, “One, two, three…”

On three, I yanked the door open, and we both darted to the sides.

The door swung wide. Still, nothing happened outside; only a cold wind swept in.

I shone the flashlight outside and saw the two corpses standing as stiff as fence posts. Startled, I instinctively wanted to shut the door. But neither corpse moved. Hesitant, I shone the light again.

This time, I noticed something unexpected.

There were three figures standing at the door.

A glance was enough—a familiar silhouette stood among them.

“Uncle… Uncle Three?” I muttered under my breath.

Liang Yue heard me. “What? Your uncle? Where?”

I looked at the figure standing a little farther away—his outline was unmistakable. I knew that build anywhere. The longer I stared, the more certain I became, so I slowly stepped outside.

Liang Yue grabbed my arm, whispering, “Are you sure it’s him?”

I nodded. “I’ll go check. You stay here. If anything seems off, shut the door and don’t worry about me. This door’s sturdy—you should be safe till morning.”

(End of this chapter)