Deep in the Living
Chapter 176 - 170: The Coffin in the Forest

Chapter 176: Chapter 170: The Coffin in the Forest

The man-made asphalt road ceases to spread as it reaches the center of the island,

Through the car window, one can see an extremely dense Primitive Forest lying ahead.

Tall trees and soil,

Flowers and insects,

And every ten meters, there’s a warning sign planted at the edge of the woods, prohibiting any tourists from entering without permission.

Not only might it threaten personal safety, any ecological damage to the natural reserve will be punished by the highest standards.

When the vehicle enters a mud path between the trees, the passengers can clearly feel the dimming of the light.

This is mainly because the dense branches and leaves have blocked a significant part of the sunlight, and it happens to be sunset now.

Since this island is not affected by Corner, there’s no artificial lighting system in the forest, keeping it in its most primitive state.

The documentary crew has already started filming, sticking close to the windows,

Luo Di, sitting by the window, also begins to observe the Primitive Forest on this side, indeed seeing many poisonous insects. Compared to the rather abundant insect population, the animals that live amongst the trees seem scarce.

It was not easy to catch sight of a sika deer passing through the woods.

Just as he attempted to search for other animals, his gaze accidentally caught something strange placed in a place deep in the forest, not very clear to see.

Luo Di, as a Huaxia native, identified it immediately even though he couldn’t see it very clearly.

"A coffin?"

As soon as these words were uttered,

Luo Di felt something very light climbing onto his body,

Eye surprisingly had crawled over from the other side along her sisters’ thighs, eventually perching on Luo Di’s thigh, and pressed her face against the window.

"It’s... a coffin."

Perhaps hearing the discussion of the young people in the back seat,

The bald man sitting in front turned his head and explained:

"It is said that the indigenous people living on this island have the custom of ’coffin burials’. After turning fifty, each person spends a long time designing their own coffin, and calls upon family members to help make it.

When they die,

The villagers will carry them along with the coffin to a ’designated’ spot, and then fill the coffin with soil to complete the so-called coffin burial.

This type of coffin isn’t buried underground, but is simply left in the woods.

In their view, digging the soil would damage the island and bring misfortune.

Cremation, on the other hand, is a desecration of one’s humanity, actively giving up the qualifications for rebirth."

Hua Yuan deliberately feigned curiosity and asked the other party:

"A designated place? Is it specified by the deceased before death?"

Seeing the most good-looking young lady asking questions, the bald man immediately took interest.

"Little sister seems to be quite interested in this kind of knowledge, huh? Later, we can exchange contact information, you can ask me anything anytime you want."

"Nah~ I want to know now."

This remark immediately made the man itch with curiosity, "Well, the burial site is not designated by the deceased, but by the gods. Burial in the corresponding place will ensure their next life is prosperous and fortunate."

"Gods?"

"Such indigenous people who live apart from society and without technological development, no matter where in the world, tend to worship deities. It’s the same with the natives of this island.

Before they die, they will cut a small piece of flesh from their body and offer it directly to the gods.

It’s said that in this way, they will receive guidance from the gods, giving them the burial location.

Of course, I’ve only read about this in books. Exactly how the offerings are made to the gods, or how they receive the exact locations, is still unclear to me.

We came here this time to understand the detailed process of worshipping the gods and to film these into a documentary.

If little sister and your friends are interested, you can join us."

"Sure."

Hua Yuan replies with a friendly and infectious smile. It would be difficult for anyone to resist, even provoking a reaction from the man in his forties. The other two middle-aged men accompanying him also looked over, eyes full of fascination.

But, speaking of which, this group really does know a lot, and the information they provide is indeed interesting.

As the vehicle drew closer to the destination, the coffins seen among the trees became increasingly numerous, indeed as the bald man had said, these coffins varied in style.

Some were decorated with bones, fur, metals, or carved with some unknown mysterious runes on the surface.

"Black... coffin..."

Eye’s sister spoke again, and everyone followed her gaze but saw nothing.

The so-called black coffin seemed to be deep in the forest, only within the reach of her visual capability.

Hua Yuan immediately started asking, "My friend seems to have seen a black coffin, what is that about?"

This left the bald man puzzled, "That shouldn’t be, how could you see the black coffins? Do you have special night vision binoculars? Those are the coffins used by young villagers who died unnaturally.

Because they were young, they hadn’t reached the age to make their own coffins.

They died suddenly,

or succumbed to some serious illness,

or encountered an accident.

The bodies of young villagers who died in such ways would be placed directly into black coffins."

"Are they also designated by gods for the burial site?"

"It is said so, the villagers would cut off a large piece of meat from the deceased for offering. After all, it’s the flesh of the dead, so perhaps a greater amount may be more effective.

The gods would then give a location away from the main path, somewhere deep in the forest.

Burying the unnaturally deceased villagers in a deeper location serves to isolate the ’unnatural Death Energy’ from their bodies, and secondly to allow them to rest in a quiet place and gradually dissolve their worldly attachments, entering the cycle of reincarnation sooner."

"Oh, that’s quite interesting."

The bald man suddenly darkened his face, "You mustn’t run around randomly, it is said that once a living person approaches a black coffin, the bodies inside that haven’t yet reincarnated will sniff the smell and change, especially for young folk like you... it could be troublesome!"

"Ah! Stop it, it’s too scary."

Seeing Hua Yuan frightened, the bald man showed a satisfied expression, "Don’t be afraid, uncle will have a drink with you tonight to fortify your courage."

"Alright."

Luo Di’s gaze remained outside the window, indifferent to the interactions inside the vehicle.

However, the information provided by the bald man was indeed interesting,

such a bizarre "coffin burial" and the corresponding village behind it might truly be related to the monster in the Corner Warrant.

Due to the winding and bumpy forest road, the journey took an hour and a half.

An ancient village rooted in this island for who knows how many years gradually appeared before the windshield,

the chaotically arranged wooden houses forming winding and meandering paths through the village.

The walls were mostly made of mud and wood, and some of the houses had thatched roofs. However, due to the involvement of Mercury Group, the village had been somewhat exposed to the outside world, tasting many modern conveniences.

Electric lines had been connected to every household, and various modern lighting devices illuminated each home.

Some rooftops even had signal receivers installed, presumably equipped with some basic television devices.

When the vehicle stopped, immediately more than a dozen villagers surged out.

They were dressed in clothing from modern industrial production, looking no different from ordinary people, albeit a bit more rustic and somewhat older in age.

Just as Luo Di and the others were preparing to get off,

the tour guide, who had been silent throughout the journey, stood up and blocked the exit.

"Dear guests, please wait a moment. The villagers will perform a welcome ceremony outside the vehicle, and you may disembark after the ceremony ends.

This is a local custom, and I ask everyone to comply.

Following this, as we enter the village, I will continue to explain relevant customs and regulations. Please make sure to abide by them during the day ahead of us, and fully experience this primitive journey."

Luo Di turned his gaze outside the window,

thirteen villagers surrounded the bus,

making a very strange hand gesture in front of them, almost maintaining a 100% synchronization rate, they bowed three times towards the vehicle.

Though it was called a welcome ceremony, everyone could feel a sense of strangeness.

"The ceremony is over, let’s enter the village together! There’s also good news to inform everyone, today happens to be the monthly worship day of the village, and you all can participate."