Silence fell in the chamber, save for the cold green glow illuminating the coffins.
I walked to the empty coffin and touched its cold surface. It was clean, not a speck of dust, as if tended all along.
"When did it become empty?"
"I do not know. I was sealed inside the bronze coffin and could not see the outside world. I only know when your grandfather arrived, it was closed. Later he left with the coffin, and I heard no more."
"So my father escaped within these thirty years?"
"Yes."
I stared at the fiend, knowing it had never had good intentions.
"Why are you telling me this? What do you want?"
"I need you to help me. Find your father, and I will release your grandfather."
"Why should I trust you?"
"You have no choice," it said coldly. "Your grandfather's body can only last seven days. After that, it will rot completely. My spirit must return to the bronze coffin. Then your grandfather will be trapped forever."
"You want my father's body, don't you?" I saw through its plan at once.
"Your father has lived in Ghost Howl Ridge for thirty years. He is no longer human. No living thing can stay here. I do not know what he has become. I need his flesh. You need your grandfather alive. We both get what we want."
It was blackmailing me with Grandpa. But I had no choice. I had to save him.
"How do I find him?"
It pulled a black jade tablet from its sleeve and tossed it to me. Carved into it was the character Chen.
"This is the Chen yin walker's token. Your father has one too. The tablets resonate. The closer you are, the hotter it becomes."
"Where would he be?"
"The highest peak of Ghost Howl Ridge has a Yin-Walking Well. It is the entrance the Chen family uses to descend to the underworld. Your father's last yin walk began there. He never came back. If he lives, he is in the underworld."
"I have to enter the underworld?" I hesitated. Walking the yin was the Chen craft, but I had never truly descended.
"You are the fourth Chen yin walker. Entering the underworld is your duty."