Chapter 60: A Fake?

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: A Fake?

After separating from Luo Qingya and her group, Sui Sui and Yizhou finally put their plan into action.

They chose to infiltrate the temple in the afternoon, when the temple had grown busier and there were more people moving about.

With so many people coming and going, it would be easier for them to slip inside without drawing attention.

They followed one of the monks into the temple, and once they were inside, Yizhou cast a spell that concealed their presence.

Keeping close behind the monk, they listened to the conversations of the other monks until they finally found the place they were looking for—the coffin room.

The moment they stepped inside, Sui Sui’s expression changed.

Rows of coffins filled the room, arranged one after another in varying shapes and sizes. The room itself was dim, illuminated only by the weak flickering light of a single oil lamp.

Shadows stretched between the coffins, making the already cramped space feel even more oppressive.

A faint, foul odor lingered in the air.

Sui Sui immediately covered his nose.

"Ugh... what’s that smell? It’s so bad. Is that the smell of a corpse?" he whispered.

The sight of the coffins alone was enough to make him uneasy. Wherever he went, coffins were always associated with death, and seeing so many gathered in one place was unsettling enough.

Coupled with the cold atmosphere and the lingering stench, Sui Sui found himself struggling to keep his stomach from turning.

"It does seem similar to the scent of a corpse. However, the smell shouldn’t be this strong if there’s only one corpse."

Yizhou glanced at Sui Sui before continuing, "Just stay over there. I’ll inspect them."

Seeing that Sui Sui was already struggling with the smell, Yizhou sent him to a corner farther away and cast a spell to ward off the stench–although it really did not completely mask the odor, before beginning his inspection.

There were ten coffins in the room, each one tightly closed. With no way of knowing which contained the body they were looking for, Yizhou could only check them one by one.

He had just reached the final coffin when a faint noise suddenly came from outside.

It sounded as though someone was approaching the room.

Sui Sui looked at Yizhou in panic, and Yizhou immediately understood the meaning behind his expression. Before Sui Sui could even react, Yizhou moved swiftly, pulling him toward a place to hide.

The next moment, the door creaked open.

Judging by the footsteps, there were two people outside. Sui Sui and Yizhou held their breath as faint voices drifted into the room.

"Another one. This should be enough, right?" a man’s voice asked.

"Should be. We can refine a few bottles with this, enough to last a few months," another voice replied.

"Good. Let’s transfer this, then. We can submit the next batch tomorrow."

Inside the coffin, Sui Sui could hear his own breathing growing heavier as the sound of something heavy being moved echoed outside.

There had been almost no time to find another hiding place, so Yizhou had pulled him into one of the coffins. It was cramped enough that there was barely any room for the two of them.

Sui Sui was pressed tightly against Yizhou, lying almost entirely on top of him, with Yizhou’s arm securely around his waist. His face was tucked against the crook of Yizhou’s neck, leaving them so close that their posture looked rather questionable.

Sui Sui could feel the warmth of Yizhou’s body through their clothes. The close proximity made him suddenly remember the embarrassing scene from that morning, and his ears grew warm.

He shifted slightly, intending to find a more comfortable position.

Before he could move any further, however, he felt Yizhou give his buttock a quick pinch, a clear warning to stay still.

Sui Sui froze immediately.

Feeling the pinch, Sui Sui nearly let out a startled cry, but he quickly clamped down on it before any sound escaped. He raised his head and glared at Yizhou in the darkness.

Although he could barely see his face, Yizhou seemed to sense the glare. The faint amusement in his expression was unmistakable in the dark.

Outside, the sound of something heavy being moved finally stopped. The two people began to walk away, their footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Even after the door closed, neither of them immediately moved. They waited in silence for several more moments, just to make sure the two people had truly left.

Only then did Yizhou give Sui Sui another light pat, signaling that it was safe to come out.

Sui Sui carefully lifted the coffin lid and climbed out, steadying himself as he stepped down. The moment he emerged, the foul stench from the room hit him again, and he instinctively covered his nose.

Once Yizhou climbed out, he straightened his clothes and glanced at Sui Sui before casting another spell to dispel the stench from the air.

After carefully returning the coffin lid to its original position, the two of them turned their attention back to the final coffin they had yet to inspect.

This time, Sui Sui stayed close to Yizhou’s side. After what had just happened, he was wary of anyone else entering the room without warning. If they were discovered again, at least staying close to Yizhou would allow them to hide quickly.

When Yizhou opened the final coffin, a man’s corpse lay inside.

Sui Sui’s heart jolted at the sight. This was the first time he had ever seen a dead body, and he instinctively stepped behind Yizhou, using him as a shield while cautiously peeking over his shoulder.

"Is... is this it?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Fortunately, the corpse was not nearly as gruesome as Sui Sui had imagined. There were no obvious signs of a violent death. The body simply looked unnaturally cold, its skin pale with a faint violet hue. It was dressed in white funeral garments, lying motionless inside the coffin.

Yizhou stepped closer to examine it.

Sui Sui remained close behind him, his gaze fixed nervously on the corpse. Then, as he watched Yizhou inspect it, he suddenly remembered something.

"Ah? But didn’t we hear them taking something while we were hiding?" he asked. "What could it have been? Was there another corpse they took?"

He quickly glanced around the room. That couldn’t be it. There were still ten coffins in the room, the same number as before. Yizhou had already opened all of them except the last one since the two monks intercepted them, and every other coffin he checked had been empty. If the two people had taken another coffin, there should have been one less, but now there were still ten.

This means they took something here but Sui Sui was not sure what

"So what exactly did they take?" Sui Sui wondered aloud, his unease deepening.

Yizhou finally finished his inspection. He withdrew his hand and turned toward Sui Sui, his expression noticeably more serious than before.

"Wrong. There’s something wrong with this."Yizhou spoke under his breath, clearly confused about something

Sui Sui’s heart tightened. "Ah? What’s wrong with it?" he asked, his voice growing more nervous.

Yizhou’s brows drew together as he looked back at the corpse. "This doesn’t seem to be a real body at all."