Jian Jing did not hesitate any longer. She took the utility knife from the props and wedged it into the gap to pry it open.
"Teacher Jian, are you going to pry open the floor?" The PD had received instructions from the director not to stop her, but instead said, "Let me go find some tools."
"Please, thank you."
The PD used her earpiece to call over the props master, who came directly with tools.
The professional was much more skilled than her. He wedged in a screwdriver and knocked it a couple times, and the wooden floorboard pried right open, revealing the cement below.
Jian Jing: "Smash it."
The props master didn't say anything. He hefted a hammer and started smashing away.
Unexpectedly, the layer of cement was not as sturdy as imagined. It was only a thin layer. After smashing forcefully for a while, a hollow intermediate layer was exposed.
"Teacher Jian is amazing. There's a gap here." The PD gestured for the cameraman to come over and film it.
Jian Jing waited for him to film a few shots before asking, "Do you smell anything?"
"There's a bit of a... stench?" After the young PD girl spoke, her complexion paled slightly, having clearly thought of something frightening.
Jian Jing gently pulled the girl's arm and shielded her behind herself: "Step back a bit."
The PD immediately retreated three steps away.
Jian Jing pushed aside the bothersome cement fragments, put on latex gloves, and slowly reached her hand inside.
The air conditioning blew past her fingers, nudging them to touch something.
Round, three-dimensional, with a bottle neck, it seemed to be something like a vase.
She adjusted her position and carefully lifted out the bottle.
When the light shone on it, it wasn't a vase, but a wine urn sealed with red paper. Faded yellow talismans like chains were densely pasted all around the urn.
Removing the seal, a pungent peculiar stench rushed out.
Everyone couldn't help but retch, stomach acid rushing up their throats.
"How disgusting." The PD nearly vomited.
Jian Jing held her breath but didn't dare reach inside. She took a prop clothes hanger from the wardrobe, bent the wire, and fished inside with it.
A tiny hand emerged from the liquid, its surface covered by a layer of grayish white waxy substance.
"My god." Even the usually silent cameraman exclaimed, "It's a child."
That's right, anyone could tell this was a child's hand. The small fist, about the size of a golf ball, had distinct fingers and intact nails, extremely realistic, absolutely not an artificial art piece.
How could they be soaked in this urn?
What happened?
The air suddenly became heavy, like lead blocks pressing down on their chests, making it hard to breathe.
Jian Jing took a deep breath and steadily said, "Call the police."
The PD hesitated, not too sure, "We should ask the director first."
She called the director and explained the situation here. The director was extremely shocked. Although when Jian Jing had asked earlier if she could search the inn, he had had a vague premonition, he never could have imagined this would happen. He hesitated for a moment.
But on second thought, with so many staff and guests here, it probably couldn't be kept secret. They could only call the police.
After getting an affirmative answer, Jian Jing said, "Let's go check the other rooms."
"There's more?" The PD was flabbergasted.
Jian Jing didn't answer and walked into room 201.
The production team had made some modifications to this room, but after lifting the carpet, the different colored floorboards could still quickly distinguish where the bed had been. Doing the same, prying open the floor and smashing the thin layer of cement, an identical wine urn came into view.
Inside was also a small corpse.
Next was room 202, 203... every time it was the same result.
Jian Jing, the PD, cameraman, and props master all maintained an eerie silence. Two silently smashed, two silently documented, no one spoke a word.
A lump clogged in their chests, unable to breathe.
In the end, seven skeletons were unearthed.
Jian Jing observed their skulls and judged the youngest child was around 2 years old and the oldest around 4 years old. All the corpses were soaked in a special liquid, with some organs displaying adipocere.
After doing all this, she had reached her limit. She ran out of the inn to the backyard and properly vomited, her intestines seemingly instantly emptied, her throat painfully burning.
"Teacher Jing, are you okay?" Jiang BaiYan handed her water and wondered curiously, "What happened? The director suddenly called us back."
Jian Jing rinsed her mouth before asking, "Why didn't you leave?"
"I'm not in a hurry to go back." He candidly said, "If something happened, it's also convenient to help explain for you."
Jian Jing couldn't help laughing. Jiang BaiYan was terribly frightened in the haunted house, yet unexpectedly reliable at other times, afraid she had come into conflict with the production team and specially waited here for her.
"In the inn..." She paused, then gently said, "There are corpses."
Jiang BaiYan sucked in a breath, his complexion paling in fright: "Really?"
She nodded: "You should go back. I have to stay here and wait for the police."
But Jiang BaiYan hesitated, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
"?"
"Teacher, you should still call Chairman Kang." He lowered his voice, "With something like this happening during filming, who knows what will need to be done afterwards. I won't leave either and will see how things go first."
"Oh." Jian Jing propped up her forehead, starting to get a headache. "You're right."
She hurriedly called Kang Mu Cheng.
At 1:30 am, the call still connected very quickly. Kang Mu Cheng's composed voice came through: "What's up?"
"Uh..." At the last second, Jian Jing hesitated to speak. She didn't know how to start. Should she say, I went to film a haunted house show, but ended up digging up seven children's corpses at the location?
Her hemming and hawing naturally made Kang Mu Cheng misunderstand. He immediately said, "Don't be afraid. No matter what happened, I will help you resolve it. You just need to tell me everything as it originally was."
As he spoke, rustling clothes sounds could be heard as he got dressed.
Jian Jing felt a warmth in her heart and hurriedly said, "I'm fine. The show just had a small accident."
"As long as you're alright." Kang Mu Cheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and softened his tone, "What happened with the show?"
Jian Jing: "...There are corpses at the filming location."
"Does it have anything to do with you?"
"I dug them out..."
Kang Mu Cheng was struck speechless for a moment.
Jian Jing quickly explained everything to him clearly.
"I'll take a plane over immediately. Before I get there, don't agree to any of their conditions." Kang Mu Cheng decisively laid out, "If there's anything you're unsure of, ask Jiang BaiYan's opinion. He is very friendly to you."
"Got it." She smiled. "I'm not a child."
Kang Mu Cheng said, "Yes, a child wouldn't be as capable as you."
Jian Jing: "Art comes from life."
"Then you're pretty hardcore about gathering material." Kang Mu Cheng laughed but didn't say more. "Okay, I'm hanging up."
Jian Jing: "Bye-"
Before she could finish, there was already a "du-" busy tone.
*
An old cold case, the police wouldn't arrive so quickly. The production team held an emergency meeting overnight, but Jian Jing paced around in the living room not going over.
She had already asked the props master to help move all the production equipment away, restoring the original appearance as much as possible. She also asked them to photograph and send her everything discovered inside to see if there were any clues.
"Teacher Jian, here are the photos taken at the time." The props master handed her an iPad. "There was a Big Dipper chart hung on this wall."
"Directly facing the bed?"
"Yes."
Jian Jing thought for a moment and decided to seek outside help.
Burying skeletons according to the Big Dipper was definitely not a coincidence. It seemed very much like some kind of ritual. But she didn't understand anything about religion or mystic arts, so randomly drawing a card didn't seem necessary either(?)
Better to ask someone first.
The first person to consult was naturally Ji Feng, but he had turned his phone off. Next was Kang Mu Cheng, who provided a person to ask — a writer signed by Jin Wu Publishing who was originally a Taoist priest and wrote feng shui books on the side.
What a talent.
She got his number and shamelessly made the late night call.
After calling three times, the call finally connected.
"Hello?" The other party was groggy, speaking with a nasal tone.
"Is this Mr. He?" She apologized with a smile.
"Mm, yes, you're Jian Jing right?" He Daochang yawned, his voice lazy, "Chairman Kang gave me a call, ask whatever you want, I still need to sleep."
Kang Mu Cheng was always so thoughtful and meticulous. Jian Jing felt a bit reassured and didn't bother with pleasantries, directly asking about it.
He Daochang had originally been half asleep and muddled, not knowing what he was listening to. But as soon as his ears caught the Big Dipper, he immediately became alert.
"All children's skeletons, buried according to the order of the Big Dipper Constellation? Interesting." He rubbed his face and murmured, "It's a bit like an evil art I know, but I need more information."
Jian Jing said, "I'm at the scene, what do you want to know?"
"Can you get me an aerial shot of the inn?" He Daochang shamelessly requested.
Jian Jing asked the PD a few questions and affirmatively replied, "Yes, wait a moment."
The production team had brought drones to film an overview of the inn, able to photograph whatever they wanted. The cameraman generously shared today, taking and sending over several gigabytes of photos.
He Daochang quickly replied: "This is an evil art called Seven Stars Coffin Seal, with the saying 'Seven stars seal the coffin, the bright moon shines on the river, time passes by, fortunes and blessings pile up like mountains.' "
Jian Jing: "What's it used for? Long life and immortality?"
"Tsk, you really don't understand anything." He scolded, "Look at the map, doesn't the shape of this inn look strange? Remind you of anything?"
Jian Jing's whole body shuddered. "A coffin?"
"That's right. Coffins in the past were different from now. They weren't just an urn. Generally there was the outer coffin and the inner coffin. The outer coffin envelops the inner one holding the corpse." He Daochang explained, "This inn is the outer coffin, meant to hold the inner coffins, the seven children are like nails."
There was a flash of understanding.
"So you mean there should be a corpse inside this coffin structure?" Jian Jing's train of thought became extremely clear.
The production team said the boss was missing and they were never able to find him. Perhaps they had inadvertently guessed right. That corpse was indeed still inside this inn.
He Daochang said, "Definitely, the coffin is already sealed."
"What's the purpose of this? Resurrection from the dead?" Jian Jing asked curiously.
He Daochang smirked, "Have you chosen a grave? Feng shui for ancestral graves is not for the dead but the living. The purpose of the Seven Stars Seal Coffin is to ensure prosperity for future generations."
Jian Jing replied, "...Superstitious feudal beliefs should not be encouraged." With the hotel owner missing and the hotel passed down to distant relatives, what future generations?
"Thank you for your help," she said to He Daochang. "You've been a great help."
"It's nothing. If you really want to thank me, take some photos for me to see. I've never met such a morbid fellow before," He Daochang said.
Jian Jing agreed.
The watch showed three forty-five.
Exhausted as she was, her mind remained alert and she was completely unable to fall asleep.
She had come this far, it would be a pity to leave without finding the final corpse. Jian Jing ate an invigorating candy to dispel her fatigue and drowsiness before continuing her search around the hotel.
Inside the van, the crew noticed a long-haired figure pacing around the building and found it somewhat creepy.
The assistant director remarked, "Teacher Jian is really brave, I don't even dare to go inside now."
The cameraman added, "You got that right. You can't judge a book by its cover. Who knew a delicate young lady could be so gutsy."
The director scoffed, "To be honest, if it wasn't for Fei Niao's partnership and Xiao Bai's recommendation, I wouldn't have considered her at all. Didn't expect to strike gold here, we got lucky."
The assistant director said, "She's easy on the eyes and good at reasoning, it's a pity she's not a regular."
The director smiled ambiguously and countered, "You think I don't want that?"
Catching his drift, the assistant director clicked his tongue without replying.
The cameraman chimed in, "I just noticed something creepy."
He pulled up the footage, "See here, the first time Teacher Jian entered rooms 201-207, she was looking at marbles. The props department said those were originally part of the hotel decor."
The director exclaimed, "Damn, did she see ghosts?"
The assistant director asked, "Did the camera capture anything?"
The cameraman replied, "No."
"No matter," the director stroked his chin. "Remember to include this later, make a teaser out of it."
The others remarked, "Man, we're going all out this episode!"
