Although it was only a little after three in the afternoon, the sky had already darkened, and large snowflakes began to fall from the sky again. It looked like there might be a heavy snowfall tonight.

Eric Bennett said, “How many logs does it take to make a coffin?”

“The village chief said three,” Adam Grant replied. “If we work hard for two days, that should be enough. Come on, who’s coming to give me a hand?”

Eric Bennett was about to step forward to carry the tree when he heard Grace Cooper say, “Oh no, I think I twisted my ankle. Eric, can you carry me down the mountain?”

Eric Bennett: “Huh?”

Grace Cooper: “What do you mean, ‘huh’? Hurry up! There are so many people here, why are you trying to join in?”

Eric Bennett was about to say something, but Adam Grant patted him on the shoulder and said, “Go ahead.”

Eric Bennett: “……” He glanced at Grace Cooper’s expression. He couldn’t see any hidden meaning in her pitiful look, but he had a hunch that something was off. It seemed that Grace Cooper’s sudden request wasn’t as simple as it appeared.

Author’s note: Grace Cooper is the top, hahaha, I feel like everyone has already guessed it.

Chapter 4: Death Returns

Eric Bennett carried Grace Cooper on his back, while the others split up and three of them carried the heavy log.

The snowy path was slippery, so everyone walked with extra caution.

Adam Grant held a lantern and led the way at the front, calling for everyone to take it slow.

At first, the snow was only falling in scattered flakes, but as they made their way back, it suddenly grew heavier, like goose feathers filling the entire sky.

Grace Cooper wasn’t heavy, so Eric Bennett found it fairly easy to carry her. He kept his head down, carefully watching the path beneath his feet, moving forward step by step.

The wind grew louder and louder, to the point of being almost piercing. The falling snowflakes blocked most of Eric Bennett’s vision, and he began to lose sight of the people ahead.

It was a terrible feeling. Eric Bennett paused for a moment, about to stop, when he heard Grace Cooper’s voice in his ear: “Don’t stop, keep walking.”

Hearing this, Eric Bennett had no choice but to keep moving forward.

But the farther he walked, the more he felt something was wrong. At first, Eric Bennett thought he was just confused from the cold, but as the journey went on, he finally realized what was off.

Too light. The person on his back was too light, as if she weighed nothing at all. Eric Bennett swallowed nervously and tried to shift the person on his back upward.

—It really wasn’t his imagination. The person clinging to his back was as light as paper. Though she had form, she had no weight at all. A thin layer of sweat broke out on Eric Bennett’s forehead. He called out, “Grace.”

No response.

“Grace.” Eric Bennett called again.

“What is it?” Grace Cooper pressed her face against Eric Bennett’s neck. Her face was icy cold, her skin damp and soft, giving Eric Bennett a very bad feeling. She said, “Why are you calling me?”

“It’s nothing,” Eric Bennett replied. “Just wanted to ask if you’re cold.”

“I’m not cold,” Grace Cooper said. “Not at all.”

Eric Bennett didn’t dare stop walking. He had been keeping his head down, but now he looked up to check his surroundings, only to find that he was far from the people ahead.

In the heavy snow, he could only vaguely make out the blurry lantern and a few figures trudging through the wind and snow. What he was carrying on his back didn’t seem to be Grace Cooper at all, but something else.

Eric Bennett gritted his teeth slightly.

“You’re trembling.” The thing on his back spoke in the same voice as Grace Cooper, softly and gently. “Are you very cold?”

“I’m okay,” Eric Bennett said. “Just a little cold.”

“Do you want to go somewhere that isn’t cold?” she asked. “A warm place, where it never snows and never gets dark.”

Eric Bennett thought that maybe he was supposed to ask what kind of place that was, but he didn’t want to ask at all, so he simply stayed silent.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” she asked.

“Because I’m thinking,” Eric Bennett replied dryly.

She asked, “Thinking about what?”

Eric Bennett paused for a moment, then shouted, “I’m thinking about how to throw you off!” As soon as he finished, he let go instantly, didn’t look back, and sprinted forward.

Clearly, he’d made the right choice, because after he let go, he didn’t hear any sound of something heavy hitting the ground—that thing was definitely not a person.

Eric Bennett ran as fast as he could, glancing back over his shoulder. That one glance nearly gave him a heart attack. The thing he’d thrown off was lying lifelessly in the snow, but its neck was growing longer and longer, stretching in the direction he was running. Its head, with black hair trailing, scraped along the snow, tilting as it chased after him, asking, “Why did you throw me away? Weren’t you the one who liked me the most?”

Eric Bennett shouted angrily, “Like hell I like you—”

The ever-lengthening head: “……”

Eric Bennett didn’t dare stop for a second, only hoping to catch up with his companions ahead as quickly as possible. But to his despair, no matter how fast he ran, the figures and lantern ahead never got any closer. It was as if he was chasing a mirage in a dream.