The Village Elder couldn’t say a word. He started to sweat, but all he could do was shake his head.

I was afraid he would go crazy if the overall mood kept boiling up this way.

I shoved my way through the crowd, shouting, “Guys, calm down. We need to listen to the Village Elder.”

Immediately, a hot-tempered villager barked, “Who are you? This is our village’s business, and you’re an outsider. Why do you care?”

“He said something about being a merchant and collecting strange items…”

“Shsss, don’t mess with him! He looks very capable. If you offend him, I’m afraid you won't have nice days later,” Old Wu advised the other villagers.

Everyone stopped talking as soon as he said that; they looked at me with frightened and respectful eyes. I made signs for them to sit down and asked Li Mazi to bring a chair for the Village Elder.

Then, I said with a righteous tone, “Village Elder, your Wuyan Village has been suffering for years due to paranormal activities, and it’s all because of the abandoned tomb in that forbidden area! You must come clean in front of everyone if you want to solve this problem thoroughly and prevent more tragedies from happening.”

The Village Elder looked at me for quite a long time.

Eventually, he sighed. “Kid, you’re not wrong. I unearthed the tomb in the past. We were suffering from natural disasters back then, and we couldn’t harvest any crops. The entire village was struck hard by famine. One day, I went to join a meeting in another village where I heard about people robbing tombs. Some of them even got rich. I couldn’t help but think, what if the tomb in our village also had some treasures? I made up my mind and carried out a plan to dig the big tomb in the forbidden area, only daring to include my son in this. We decided to dig the tomb at night; the idea was to collect all the valuable items that could be exchanged for food. Unfortunately, Xiao Mei overheard our conversation while we were planning. She thought it was fun, and instead of being frightened, she secretly tagged along, taking the madwoman with her to join in the fun on the mountain. My son and I had to spend the whole night digging, just to finally be able to pry the coffin open.”

“What was inside the coffin?”

“I’m sure it was silver and gold jewelry. Otherwise, how could the Village Elder’s family have two donkeys?”

The villagers sneered. Their clamor didn’t seem to faze him.

He continued the story. “Except for a bronze mirror and some small grave goods, there was only a skeleton inside. It was the first time my son and I had done something like that. We were terrified, so we just took a couple of things. I didn’t know that Xiao Mei had also gone to the mountain with the madwoman until she came to us. Xiao Mei liked the bronze mirror, so she asked me to give it to her. I couldn’t persuade her, and I thought that the mirror didn’t have any real value, so I eventually gave it to her…”

Before he finished, the old fellow bellowed angrily, “What happened to my daughter? What made her go crazy?!”

One of the villagers chimed in, “Does it need to be said? I’m sure the Village Elder didn’t want people to know that he had robbed the tomb so he scared the girl. She was just a little girl back then, of course it would be too much for her. That’s why she went crazy…”

The old fellow shot up from his chair, roaring and storming toward the Village Elder. “You are a black-hearted dog! And here I thought you were a good man! You harmed my daughter and drove her mad!”

The two began to scuffle, but the other villagers hurried to stop the fight, pulling the old fellow and the Village Elder apart.

The Village Elder’s clothes were torn, and his nose was bleeding.

Some comforted the old fellow, “Uncle Wang, don’t be mad. The Village Elder’s daughter also went missing. Perhaps there’s some mystery here.”

While I witnessed the scene, I managed to learn that our aging host was called Uncle Wang.

Uncle Wang 

panted

, shooting malicious looks at the Village Elder. His look clearly implied that if the Village Elder didn’t give him a reasonable explanation, he would stake his life to fight with him!

The Village Elder looked as though he had aged ten years in just a blink. He answered tiredly, “Actually, our Xiao Mei never went missing.”

“What? Where is she?” The villagers were surprised.

The Village Elder used his sleeve to wipe his bleeding nose. He turned and walked to a closed mud-walled room. He called, “Xiao Mei, come out.”

Soon, a bony figure walked out of the room. The entire yard became dead silent the moment she appeared in front of them. They had even forgotten to breathe.

The woman looked slender, and her hair was sparse and brownish. However, the most terrifying feature was her face. It looked as if her face was burned in the past as many scars remained. A small bit from a corner of her mouth was missing. My skin crawled at the very first sight of her.

The Village Elder pointed at her. “This is my daughter Xiao Mei…”

Those present were baffled. They couldn’t believe their eyes; some even rubbed them to be sure. I got a hold of myself quickly, even though I was equally startled.

The skin on Xiao Mei’s face had been destroyed because she had looked at her image in the mirror!

The Village Elder said, “To avoid getting discovered, my son and I closed the coffin and buried it again. However, I suddenly heard my daughter Xiao Mei screaming in the distance. Xiao Mei was unconscious and bleeding badly when we got there. The madwoman stood next to her, staring in fright. She was so scared that she couldn’t utter a word. I was also frightened, as I was worried that the consequences of our sin had affected my daughter. My son told me that the mirror was evil, so he asked me to put it back in the tomb. I took Xiao Mei home in secret. As I knew that people in the village would say she was a monster after ending with such an appearance, I decided to hide her away. Xiao Mei was also struck hard emotionally… She hasn’t said a word ever since. She’s been living as if her soul had been taken away.”

Everybody exchanged looks, but no one uttered a word.

Uncle Wang was baffled. He had never thought that the cause of his daughter’s mental issues stemmed from such a terrifying event.

The Village Elder sounded regretful. “My son then sold the goods we took from the grave. We couldn’t exchange for much food at that time. No family could make ends meet during that year, so most of you came to my house to borrow flour and rice… Where did you think that came from? We were able to get that food thanks to that money. And then, not even a year had passed when my son went to the mountain. He tripped and died, leaving me alone to take care of Xiao Mei.”

The other people looked at the Village Elder with sympathy in their eyes.

“What did you do to the bronze mirror?” I asked the Village Elder.

He thought for a bit and answered, “I buried it on the spot as my son had suggested.”

I couldn’t help but frown. 

How did that mirror return to the coffin?

I shuddered after recalling Zhang Qinghai’s hand posture when he died.

Did that mirror have a spirit already? It was returning to the coffin after skinning the faces of its victims.

If that were the case, this otherworldly item would be tough to deal with…

The Village Elder assessed me. “Kid, I’m done talking. Now, it’s your turn.”

After he said that, the other villagers shifted their eyes at me. 

I cleared my throat. “I’m not going to lie to you. Four young people traveled to this village a while ago. Except for Zhao Wuyang, who is right next to me, the other three had their faces skinned. The reason is the same… All of them saw their reflections in the mirror. That thing is the source of all the problems; we need to deal with the mirror if we want to solve this.”

“What did you just say?” The Village Elder was scared. “They dug out that tomb?”