I open a restaurant in Mysterious Recovery

Chapter 712 The First Night - Encoffining

As soon as midnight struck, Lin Yuan, who had just won the game, collected the three substitute dolls and then looked up with Meng Xiaodong, Zhang Bohua, and Li Qingzhi towards the doorway.

A cold, damp wind blew intermittently, causing the two large lanterns hanging on the gate to sway slightly.

At this moment, the two lanterns had changed from bright red to a ghastly white, and a jet-black character "奠" (meaning "offering sacrifice") was written on the lanterns.

The light inside the lantern was a pale, colorless white, which was quite eerie.

The two lanterns, as if guiding the souls of the dead, stood out conspicuously in this dark and oppressive world.

Meanwhile, the nearby old forest rustled, the breeze rustling the tree trunks and shaking the entire grove.

"It's finally time."

A hint of disappointment flashed in Meng Xiaodong's eyes, and he felt empty inside.

Just then, a figure slowly walked towards them from the distant path, causing He Yin'er, Liu Qingqing, Fang Shiming, and the others to look over warily.

Finally, the newcomer could be seen clearly.

This was an old man, his body decayed and his pupils pitch black. He was carrying a shovel and his body was covered in black mud, emitting a foul stench.

He walked towards us from a distance.

"Luo Qian? What's he doing here?" Meng Xiaodong looked at Lin Yuan in confusion.

It should be noted that Luo Qian is already dead, and even his endless graveyard has been moved by Lin Yuan to the basement of the Peace Hotel, becoming part of the Peace Hotel, providing functions such as e-sports rooms, laboratories, and Western medicine clinics.

Can a dead person come back to life?

Li Qingzhi is excluded, and Luo Wensong is also in this category, so it seems that Luo Qian's appearance now is not something that is hard to accept.

Luo Qian walked over like that, passing by the group without stopping at all, then went around the old house and headed towards the back door.

Li Qingzhi and the others immediately understood.

Luo Qian is going to that place to dig up Zhang Dong's grave.

"It seems Old Zhang has already made all the arrangements. Today is his first night away, so we should be doing something now. Would you like to go in and take a look?"

Lin Yuan looked at everyone present.

Meng Xiaodong hesitated for a moment, then shook his head in the end, "I'll wait and see, until the day of his funeral."

"I'll go in and take a look. Maybe there's something I can do to help." Zhang Bohua stood up, and Xiao Ru, who was standing next to him, quickly followed, carrying a medicine box and looking at Lin Yuan with a pleading expression.

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "It's not busy right now. You can take care of your master."

"Thank you, boss." Xiaoru was extremely grateful.

Ultimately, not many people decided to go in.

Apart from Meng Xiaodong, who chose to stay and not enter the old house, among the others brought by Lin Yuan, only Ye Zhen was willing to go in with him.

The group quickly entered the hall.

As soon as I entered, I saw Zhang Xianguang and Zhang Youhong standing quietly in the hall.

And in the middle, there was the body of a withered old man sitting on a black armchair, his eyes closed, his face expressionless, and his cold, dead feet on the ground, covered with lividity.

Behind the body was a large red coffin, indicating that the old man's passing was a happy one.

"You are here."

When Zhang Youhong spoke, her signature smile disappeared, and she wore black veils on her head and arms, representing the bereaved family.

Zhang Xianguang, who was standing to the side, did the same.

His gaze swept over Zhang Bohua. "Before he passed away, did he arrange for you to be the one to prepare his body for burial?"

"It's not really about making arrangements; it's just about fulfilling a final gesture of friendship to an old friend."

Zhang Bohua waved his hand, signaling Xiaoru to step aside, and then slowly stepped forward alone, carrying his medicine box.

Even though his eye sockets were empty and he was blind, he seemed to be able to see everything and arrived precisely in front of Zhang Dong's corpse.

Then, he put down the medicine box in his hand, took out some cosmetics from it, and began to fuss over Zhang Dong's face.

"Old Zhang, I never knew you had this skill."

Lin Yuan watched curiously from the side. Under Zhang Bohua's skillful hands, Zhang Dong's gloomy, cold, numb, and terrifying dead face was changing at an exaggerated speed.

She became gentler and more compassionate.

It was as if he had returned to his most gentle self in life, except that his eyes remained closed, showing no sign of opening.

"After practicing for several years, it has finally come in handy. I originally thought it was useless," Zhang Bohua said as he continued with his work.

Zhang Xianguang turned and went into the corridor, then came out again a short while later.

In his hand appeared an old basin containing some yellow paper.

He placed the old basin aside, knelt behind it, took out a lighter, and lit the yellow paper inside. Instantly, a fiery red light appeared, illuminating the originally gloomy hall.

However, Lin Yuan felt somewhat uncomfortable amidst the firelight.

He glanced at the old basin, then looked away.

Zhang Youhong took three incense sticks and came to the red coffin. She lit the incense and then walked to Zhang Xianguang's side. However, she did not kneel down but helped burn the yellow paper that had been brought out from somewhere.

As the three incense sticks burned, a faint fragrance wafted out, masking part of the stench of the corpse.

At the same time, a soft sobbing sound came from behind.

It was Zhang Xianguang and Zhang Youhong.

As family members, they began each night... to mourn!
At the same time, the wind outside the old house grew stronger and stronger, and it blew into the old house as well.

The sound of the wind blowing through the cracks in the building was very strange, like someone crying, and it came from all directions, making it impossible to tell where the sound was coming from.

The howling wind had unknowingly turned into an eerie crying sound.

This change was so gradual that people didn't even realize it at first, and before they knew it, they had accepted this incomprehensible change.

Lin Yuan wasn't too surprised by this.

When Zhang Dong died, a hundred ghosts mourned him!

Naturally, there would be mourning ghosts, but this time, the mourning was caused by the families of Zhang Xianguang and Zhang Youhong, which was quite interesting. However, the people outside the door did not feel the same way.

Fang Shiming looked around warily. Although the voice was coming from the old house, his gaze was fixed on the old forest.

Old Lin was cleared out of a large area by He Yuelian and her people.

Beyond that, there was still a large dense forest, where strange figures could be seen flashing between the trees, as if many people were standing inside.

"The ghost under the tree, has it crawled out?"

He Yuelian frowned deeply. "What's going on? Even in the shopkeeper's ghost realm, these ghostly things can pose a threat to us?"

"It's not the shopkeeper's fault, it's the owner of this place, Zhang Dong. He's recognized by the shopkeeper as a god of the old era, so naturally he'll be given enough respect. Didn't you see? Even the White Mist Ghost Domain has hidden itself away; clearly, it's unwilling to show the final respect to the gods of the old era," Liu Qingqing corrected.

Tong Qian called over the King Twins, who were still preparing ingredients nearby. "What do we do now? This place might not be safe anymore. What I mean is, what's safe for the manager could be fatal for us."

“With the Seed of White Mist here, we’ll be fine. Besides, even if we’re just expressing respect, we’re here to work, we have legitimate status, and we shouldn’t be targeted,” He Yin’er offered her opinion.

Everyone was sharing their thoughts.

The group had different ideas, and as time passed, the strange situation around them grew stronger, and an indescribable atmosphere began to permeate the air, making the place somewhat eerie.

"Perhaps we should go in."

Xianglan suddenly spoke, attracting everyone's attention.

Since entering the Peace Hotel, Xianglan has been a nobody, watching the struggle between Liu Qingqing and He Yuelian, watching Fang Shiming's forbearance, watching...

But now, she has become the center of attention because of a single sentence, and she suddenly becomes a little nervous.

However, she also realized this was an opportunity for her, and quickly said, "Before entering the Caesars Hotel, I also experienced some funerals of relatives and friends..."

At this point, her mood clearly became somewhat downcast.

Judging from her appearance, she was not very old when she entered the Caesars Hotel; in fact, she was still a female student.

Female students in the Republican era would certainly not come from poor families. Moreover, the fact that they experienced so many funerals at such a young age is enough to illustrate the chaos of that era and the suffering of the people living in it.

Unfortunately, there's no one here who can empathize with her.

She knew this too, and wouldn't use it to gain sympathy. Instead, she tried to demonstrate her value: "Normally, if someone dies, the body should be kept in the coffin for at least seven days, and the first night is for the encoffining. No one is needed to pay their respects on this night, but we are not here to pay our respects, but rather as staff. Perhaps we should go in to observe the ceremony as a sign of respect."

“Is that so? We can give it a try. At least when we’re in front of the store manager, our safety level will be higher,” Guo Fan was the first to speak.

joke!

He was someone who had been threatened by Fang Shiming, and he knew what methods were available to kill him under the restrictions of the White Mist Seed.

The method Zhang Xianguang used—dismembering Tian Xiaoyue and then hiding parts of her body elsewhere—can only be described as rather complex.

There are even simpler ones.

That would mean putting him directly into a golden coffin, then randomly placing him anywhere, or throwing him into the deep sea. That way, even the "shop manager" wouldn't be able to find him.

The ghosts here naturally wouldn't know about such methods, but we can't be too careful just in case.

If someone relies on the Seed of White Mist to constantly withstand damage and recklessly courts death, then even if they actually die, it won't be surprising at all.

"Grandma Meng, what do you think?"

He Yin'er found Meng Xiaodong, who was also waiting outside the door, and asked him about it.

Meng Xiaodong said with a smile, "You can go in and take a look."

"Understood, thank you Granny Meng."

He Yin'er decisively walked into the old house, and with her leading the way, the others followed suit. As everyone left, the eeriness that had permeated the area gradually subsided.

In the blink of an eye, only Meng Xiaodong remained at the door.

She glanced at the gate of the old house with a complicated expression, then slowly got up, walked around the old house, and headed towards the road that had been temporarily cleared behind it.

The once spacious hall became more lively after He Yin'er and the others entered.

But seeing Zhang Bohua putting on makeup for the dead and Zhang Xianguang and Zhang Youhong wailing on the side, He Yin'er and the others stood quietly not far from the entrance and did not go any further.

Their gazes were mostly fixed on Lin Yuan.

It seems that as long as Lin Yuan is there, and the "store manager" is there, there is no need to worry about safety issues.

"All right."

Zhang Bohua put the tools back into the medicine box and handed them to Xiaoru, who was standing next to him. Then he stepped aside, revealing Zhang Dong's disguised appearance.

Lin Yuan glanced at it, his eyes lighting up as he said, "He's already so old, even dead, yet after makeup he still looks like a handsome old man. Old Zhang, your skills are quite impressive."

"Boss, you flatter me. He has a good foundation," Zhang Bohua said modestly, shaking his head.

Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "That makes a lot of sense. I've seen his portrait when he was young, and he was indeed quite handsome. Moreover, he was a warlord. Tsk tsk tsk, he was really a very responsible guy."

Casual conversation aside, there are still things to do.

Since it's a funeral, after the makeup is done, it's time to put the body in the coffin.

The task of placing someone in the coffin is not suitable for family members to do, so Li Qingzhi stepped forward to prepare to help. Ye Zhen stepped forward and said, "Let me help too. I've been very grateful to him during this time, which has allowed me to make considerable progress in my strength. I'm truly grateful to him. Consider this the last thing I, as his steward, will do for him."

"This isn't the last thing. There are still several days to go, and you'll need to work hard for a while. But you're right, you really have to do these things," Lin Yuan said.

Ye Zhen didn't mind, smiled, and started working with Li Qingzhi.

He first pushed open the red coffin lid easily, without much effort. The inside was empty, as if it were just waiting for the old man's body to lie down inside.

Then, together with Li Binqing, they settled the old man's body downstairs.

The moment the body was placed in the coffin and laid flat, the howling wind outside the old house changed direction, causing the eerie crying echoing inside to stop at that moment.

Although there were still whimpering sounds, it was impossible to tell that they were crying.

At this moment, the old house returned to peace once again.

boom!
Ye Zhen solemnly closed the coffin lid, thus completing the encoffining process.

"That's all for today, everyone go and rest, we'll come again tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)