Secret message T-T please read at inuekohouse.wordpress.com
The room was quiet for a moment.
No one made a sound, as if in a silent standoff.
Chen Caixing’s heart was beating fiercely as he wondered if he had mistaken her for someone else. What if the ghost wasn’t Ah Xiang? Before he could think of a solution otherwise, the female voice by the bed spoke.
“Sis, please save my mother.”
“Under the crooked tree in the peach grove.”
Listening to the sound of her voice, Chen Caixing fell into a drowsy slumber once more. He knew that Ah Xiang was entrusting him with another dream, just like the first night.
Awakening in the dream–
The six girls were either numb and resigned to their fate or trembling in fear. These was even one who was happy. Chen Caixing was an outside observer this time. The happy girl was especially obvious among the six. She had obviously been brainwashed by her family since she was a child, saying that being a Holy Maiden was an honorable thing.
It wasn’t even laughable, only pitiful.
The village chief used a knife to cut open the girls’ palms. Reverently, he brushed the lowest hanging willow branches across the blood of the girls’ palms. The youngest girl, who was fourteen or fifteen, cried out in pain. The village chief glared at her.
“This is for the honor of our ancestors. Why are you crying?”
Then he sent the six girls to the ancestral hall. The one who was originally happy could not help but tremble in fear when they arrived at the gloomy ancestral hall. One of the girls, who was fourteen or fifteen, cried out softly: “Sister Ah Xiang, I’m so scared, Sister.”
The tallest girl among the six was around seventeen or eighteen. She had a long braid that fell in front of her chest. Her facial features could only be described as common, but her eyes were clear with a bit of tenacity. This was Ah Xiang.
She stepped forward and hugged the young girl, patting the girl’s hair and coaxing: “Xiao Lan, don’t be afraid. You’re still young. Our ancestors will not choose you.”
“Really? Sister, I’m so scared. I don’t want to be a Holy Maiden.”
“It’s true. If our ancestors are truly our ancestors, they will not harm us.”
The girl who was happy at first jumped out and retorted: “Ah Xiang, what nonsense did your mother teach you again? It’s an honorable thing to be a Holy Maiden by our ancestors’ side. Why would our ancestors harm us? This is to bring us blessings.”
“Look, Xiao Lan, there are people who want to be a Holy Maiden while we don’t want it. Our ancestors can surely hear us and will know.” Ah Xiang said, stroking the hair of the young girl in her arms.
After awhile, the girls fell asleep. Ah Xiang didn’t know what happened after they fell asleep, so when the scene changed, the Holy Maiden had already been chosen.
It was the young girl named Xiao Lan.
It wasn’t Ah Xiang.
Chen Caixing suddenly thought of something very important. The village had been performing the Holy Maiden Ceremony for hundreds of years, and the selection would be held every five years. So many innocent souls had been killed, but why was Ah Xiang’s soul the only one who could appear in dreams? What about the other victims?
“Sister Ah Xiang, I don’t want to be the Holy Maiden.”
“I’m so scared.”
Xiao Lan wept bitterly, unwilling to be scolded by her relatives. Several old women even tied her up and changed her into the Holy Maiden clothes. Obviously, they were used to such a scene.
The third day was the Hungry Ghost Festival.
A banquet was held in the village.
In the crowd, Jia Di and his two sons were relieved when they saw that it was not Ah Xiang who had become the Holy Maiden. Su Le even smiled and invited his sister to go home to wash up, saying that their mother would wait for her. After taking a bath and having dinner, his sister would not need to be a Holy Maiden candidate anymore.
It was evening again.
The struggling and unwilling Holy Maiden Xiao Lan was forcibly sent into the ancestral hall.
With a cold face, Ah Xiang suddenly smashed the door of the ancestral hall.
“…It’s a lie, a lie to all of us.”
“What lantern? There’s no need for a lantern. Mother said that people outside don’t do this.”
“They want to kill Xiao Lan.”
When night fell, all the women and children had already gone home. The square in front of the ancestral hall was filled with only the men of the village. The village chief was angry. “Jai Di, why aren’t you restraining Ah Xiang? What will the ancestors think of this?”
The willow tree rustled and swayed.
Suddenly, there was a gloomy wind blowing in the square, accompanied by the sound of wailing ghosts and howling wolves. They had just mentioned angering the ancestors, and now it seemed that Ah Xiang had truly angered the ancestors.
In the end, Ah Xiang was beaten to death by the men of the village. Jia Di and his two sons were injured and could not stop them. They could only watch as Ah Xiang died. Because Ah Xiang had offended the ancestors and was unclean, she wasn’t worthy of being buried in the ancestral hall. The village chief wrapped Ah Xiang’s body in a rotten straw mat and burned it outside the village.
Save Mother.
Be careful…
Chen Caixing woke up from the dream. This time, as an outsider, he was more objective and calm. He was still thinking about the contents of the dream when he suddenly heard a shill scream next door. Xiao Jiu, who had been sleeping soundly on the inner side of the bed, was awakened. He rubbed his eyes and said sleepily, “Brother?”
“Something must’ve happened.”
The scream continued, long and shrill. Listening carefully, there was also the scolding of the old woman with the small feet. The sound came from the second floor of Hu Zi’s house next door, not from their side.
The girls over there were Xia Ting, Liu Shasha, and Zhou Zihan, but the voice was so shrill that Chen Caixing couldn’t tell who it was.
Yuan Jiuwan narrowed his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
The noise outside was getting louder and louder, so Chen Caixing decided to go take a look. When he was putting on his shoes, he looked down and saw a pair of red embroidered shoes neatly placed beside the bed.
It was not the shoes he had worn before.
What Su Le had lent him was a pair of black cloth shoes embroidered with a few small yellow flowers.
These red shoes were worn by Holy Maidens.
Sister, isn’t it enough that I’m helping you? Was it necessary to do so many things?
If there are too many tricks, I feel like I’ll lose my mind.
Chen Caixing calmly withdrew his foot and said: “No, go back to sleep. We’ll know what happened tomorrow.” If someone died, they would’ve died long ago. If someone didn’t die, it’s not like he could save them either. It was too late to go and watch the fun.
Yuan Jiuwan’s small face showed a little pity, but he still laid down obediently.
This time, Ah Xiang didn’t appear again. The other party’s soul power seemed insufficient as she only told him half of everything. For example, saying ‘Be careful.‘ She had told him this but didn’t tell him anything else. Even though there weren’t any ghosts, Chen Caixing still didn’t sleep well. The people next door kept talking and making noise intermittently, regardless of whether there were ghosts or not.
The two rooms on the second floor were next to each other. The rooms were made of wood, so there was basically no sound insulation.
In the morning, Chen Caixing woke up with tiredness in his eyes. He pinched Xiao Jiu’s face. The child’s big eyes were full of undisguised worry. Chen Caixing felt better after pinching and said with a smile: “Sister is fine. I can sleep in the afternoon after finishing my business.”
Today, he was planning to go to the crooked tree in the peach grove and also fish for information from Su Le.
When going downstairs, Chen Caixing noticed that Mei Qing and Lu Zhou were looking at him in an unusual manner. Chen Caixing was a little sleepy sitting at the square table, especially after washing up. Mei Qing took the initiative to pour him a hot cup of water and spoke in a slightly enthusiastic tone: “Sister Yuan Xing, drink some hot water. You didn’t sleep well last night?”
It was obvious what she was trying to say.
Last night, Chen Caixing had gone out to borrow a lantern with Yuan Jiuwan. Li Xuan and the other two veterans hadn’t dared to go over. The pregnant woman and primary school student went to the battlefield and came back safe and sound.
Mei Qing felt that Yuan Xing was the hidden boss in their team.
It was already the third day, and the only clue that Li Xuan and the others found was that there was a water ghost in the river. The Holy Maiden Ceremony and the lantern were both important clues found by Yuan Xing.
Who was the real boss? The two newcomers knew how to follow where the wind blew.
“Sister, what are we doing today?” Lu Zhou asked shamelessly.
Chen Caixing almost choked on his water. Yuan Jiuwan reached out his small hand and patted Chen Caixing’s back. Lu Zhou’s face turned red from embarrassment. Chen Caixing pretended not to see Lu Zhou’s embarrassment. If he looked, he would be even more embarrassed, so he could only ask casually: “What happened next door last night?”
These two could be called chatty parrots.
“Zhou Zihan encountered a ghost. She and Liu Shasha slept in the same room. Last night, she suddenly woke up and grabbed Liu Shasha’s neck, saying that Liu Shasha was a ghost who wanted to harm her. She made a lot of noise and woke up the whole house.” Mei Qing said.
Her room was close to Liu Shasha’s, so she had heard everything clearly.
“Just a haunted nightmare?” Chen Caixing thought that something bad had happened.
Up until now, except for Lili who had died at the beginning, the rest of the ten people were fine. The difficulty of this game wasn’t very high. Chen Caixing thought about it but didn’t say much. It was better to be cautious.
There was only one life after all.
Today’s breakfast was very perfunctory, made by Jia Di. He cooked millet porridge with pickled vegetables and heated up the unfinished steamed buns from yesterday. Compared to the previous two days, Chen Caixing, a pregnant woman, was very delicate and had no appetite, idly stirring the porridge in the bowl.
“Where are Su Le and Su Da?” Chen Caixing casually asked Jia Di as if they were chatting. Mei Qing and Lu Zhou glanced at each other. Sister Yuan was trying to get information from the NPC, so they pricked their ears up and listened.
Jia Di’s expression wasn’t good. “They went out this morning and haven’t come back yet.”
“Oh.” Chen Caixing guessed where the two brothers went and drank the porridge from his bowl resignedly.
The father and sons were descended from the same blood, but the son’s cooking was so delicious in comparison. As a father, aren’t you ashamed?
Chen Caixing’s expression of disgust for the porridge was too obvious. Jia Di’s hand on the bowl tightened, and he poured the porridge into his mouth expressionlessly.
Cold and heartless.
Lu Zhou and Mei Qing: …
What kind of information was Yuan Xing trying to get? She was just complaining that the food tasted bad.
After a simple breakfast, Jia Di roughly cleaned up. Chen Caixing sat at the table in a state of sleepiness. Before the Su brothers returned, Li Xuan and the others came by first. Liu Shasha arrived last. Her neck was red, and there were obvious strangulation marks at first glance.
Zhou Zihan stared at Liu Shasha with a suspicious expression.
“She’s a ghost. She’s a female ghost without her skin.” She muttered.
Xia Ting had been suppressing herself until now and said impatiently: “Zhou Zihan, shut up.”
“You’re back? Did you find any clues when you borrowed the lantern last night?” Li Xuan asked.
Chen Caixing glanced at him in amusement. “Why should I tell you the clues I found? We agreed to share clues, but all you’re sure about is that there are water ghosts in the river and now you come to ask for clues empty-handed?”
“That’s right!” Yuan Jiuwan agreed angrily.
Chen Caixing patted the child’s head.
Li Xuan was embarrassed. He took a deep breath and said: “Yuan Xing, that’s not what we meant. We’re all in the same team. If we help each other, won’t we be able to get out earlier?”
“The game ranks the players according to the importance of the clues.” Chen Caixing smiled faintly. “Rank B is 25 gold coins. A safety talisman is 19 gold coins. One gold coin can be exchanged for 10,000 yuan. What level do you think you can get if you stay in the game?”
“I used a safety talisman last night.” Chen Caixing put the half-burned safety talisman on the table and looked at Li Xuan. “190,000 for one, and you want to get a clue with just one sentence? You’re too shameless.”
Who are you trying to bluff?
Newbies knew that players would be rewarded when they left the game, but they didn’t know that life-saving items would be so expensive!
Mei Qing and Lu Zhou looked at Li Xuan and the others who suddenly appeared shameless in their eyes.
That was 190,000 yuan after all.
“Let’s go.” Meng Haocong said.
Li Xuan was humiliated on the spot. When he left, he looked at Chen Caixing as if he was looking at a scumbag, and said in a hurt tone: “Yuan Xing, I didn’t expect you to be such a materialistic person, someone who only cares about temporary gains and losses. What a disappointment.”
Chen Caixing: ???
Weren’t gold coins better?
What nonsense was he spouting, trying to deceive an ignorant girl? He was a smart and mature pregnant woman! Don’t even think about tricking him.
Li Xuan and the other two left, and Zhou Zihan followed closely behind. Before she left, she glared at Liu Shasha. Liu Shasha covered her neck and didn’t leave, pleading in a hoarse voice: “Can I live here? Zhou Zihan is crazy. She strangled me while I was sleeping.”
Mei Qing felt sympathetic, but she didn’t say anything and glanced at Chen Caixing.
“Why are you looking at me? Isn’t there an empty room upstairs?”
“Yes, there’s still an empty room.” Mei Qing remembered and continued, “I’ll take you up.”
Liu Shasha and Mei Qing went upstairs together. Chen Caixing looked at Liu Shasha’s back in a trance. Zhou Zihan said that there was something wrong with Liu Shasha. Had Zhou Zihan been frightened by her ghost story or had she really seen something?
He had to be more careful at night.
After waiting for awhile, the Su brothers came back. Their clothes were damp with weeds hanging on them, and their cloth shoes were muddy, as if stained by dew from the grass.
Chen Caixing didn’t know what time they came back last night, but they had gone out before dawn.
People in the mountains woke up early. It was only seven in the morning now.
Su Le’s eyes were red. It was obvious that he had cried. Su Da didn’t look any better. When the two brothers saw Chen Caixing, they called her sister. Su Le had a heavy nasal voice and raised his hand to cover his eyes, trying not to cry. Chen Caixing remembered the dream Ah Xiang had given him last night and asked: “Did you go to see your sister?”
“Sister Yuan, how did you know?” Su Le was surprised.
Chen Caixing originally wanted to fish for information, so he spoke half-truthfully and half-falsely: “I dreamt of some things. Was your older sister tall and did she have a long braid? Was she called Ah Xiang?”
“Yes, that’s my sister.” Su Le choked, looking anxious.
“In my dream, she asked me to help save your mother.” Chen Caixing always paid attention to the expressions of the two brothers. When he mentioned ‘save your mother,’ there was no sadness in their eyes, only confusion. Obviously, they didn’t know what was wrong.
Last night, Ah Xiang’s words indicated that their mother might be dead. But it seemed that the two brothers didn’t know.
“Our mother secretly left the village after my sister’s accident.” Su Le said absentmindedly.
The old woman with the small feet once said, ‘Serves her right for running away,’ but she had been quickly stopped by her son. Su Le’s mother ran away from the village. Everyone knew, but no one talked about it in detail. Chen Caixing thought of a possibility, but he didn’t elaborate. “Then I don’t understand. Ah Xiang mentioned in my dream something about a peach grove and crooked tree to save your mother. If your mother left, how could Ah Xiang ask me to save her? It seems that it was just a messy dream. Don’t take it to heart.”
He had already said it so clearly, yet he still asked them not to take it to heart. Wasn’t this clearly causing their hearts to be in a mess?
Su Da clenched his fists as he pondered the idea that something may have happened to his mother. Su Le was at a loss for a few seconds before thinking of something and looking at Su Da in disbelief.
“Brother, brother, it can’t be! Mother only left. She just left, right?”
Su Da didn’t dare to say anything after witnessing his sister being beaten to death with his own eyes. He felt in his heart that something definitely happened to their mother.
“Whether it’s true or not, we’ll know when we go and see.” Chen Caixing stood up, glanced up at the sky, and asked: “Do you know where the peach grove is? Will we be able to return before it gets dark?”
The 190,000 yuan talisman had been destroyed, so Chen Caixing didn’t want to encounter any ghosts.
“I’ll prepare the ox cart.” Su Da gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Su Le followed.
In the backyard, Jia Di asked why they wanted to prepare the ox cart, which soon turned into the two sons angrily venting their accusations in low voices. After awhile, the bell of the ox cart rang. Jia Di’s face had an ugly expression. He drove the ox cart and said to Chen Caixing: “Get on, let me go and have a look. I don’t believe it. I don’t believe that they’d do this to me.”
It seemed that the three of them, father and sons, had been kept in the dark.
Chen Caixing shamelessly hugged Xiao Jiu and got on the ox cart. Lu Zhou, Mei Qing, and Liu Shasha also joined the journey. Jia Di’s face was dark, and he obviously didn’t want to bring so many people with. But he didn’t say anything and let Mei Qing and Liu Shasha get on the ox cart.
The men walked beside the cart.
When Liu Shasha got on the cart, she tripped over someone and touched Chen Caixing’s arm. She panicked and whispered sorry.
Chen Caixing smiled understandingly. “It’s okay. Just be careful.”
He had just touched her arm, and it was warm. There was also nothing strange about her behavior. Liu Shasha seemed to be a normal person.
The ox cart went out of the village, jingling all the way, and followed the path they had originally entered the village from.
The trees on both sides covered the sky and sun, and there was a cool breeze blowing in the mountain forest. It was still a very cool morning. But after walking for more than an hour, the sun rose and became hot. Chen Caixing felt a little sleepy under the sun. He hugged Yuan Jiuwan and dozed off bit by bit. In the end, he couldn’t take it anymore and leaned on Xiao Jiu’s body to nap a little.
“We’re here, Sister.” Yuan Jiuwan whispered in Chen Caixing’s ear. His breath made Chen Caixing’s ears turn slightly red. Yuan Jiuwan saw it and couldn’t help touching it. Chen Caixing woke up immediately with a jolt and was relieved when he saw that it was only Xiao Jiu. His earlobe was tingling just now. He hadn’t known that his ears were so sensitive.
However, this topic could easily become dirty and was not suitable for children.
“Sister, we are here.” Yuan Jiuwan recovered himself, opening his round almond-shaped eyes and appearing childish and innocent.
He had probably only touched it by accident. Chen Caixing didn’t think too much about it. It was almost noon and very sunny. He didn’t recognize where they were. It was a patch of dead trees, short and stout, and they looked like peach trees. Mei Qing’s face turned slightly pale as she said: “I remember, this is the place where Lili was killed.” She pointed to the spot.
This place had beautiful mountains and clear waters, but there was only dead trees in this peach grove, which was a bit strange.
“Why are the trees all dead?” Chen Caixing asked casually after getting off the ox cart.
Su Le didn’t have any time to pay attention to this. If Chen Caixing hadn’t asked, he wouldn’t have wanted to even speak. Now he shook his head and said: “I don’t know, it’s been like this since I was a child.”
Peach wood suppressed evil.
Those villagers killed Su Le’s mother. Were they afraid of her ghost’s revenge, so they just threw her away here?
“Look for a crooked tree.” After he finished speaking, he remembered Ah Xiang’s words of caution and added: “In my dream, Ah Xiang told me to be careful. One of our female college students had an accident here at that time, and she didn’t come back. Those who escaped said that they met a young female ghost who wanted to borrow their skin.”
Jia Di and his sons had strange expressions on their faces. Su Le said quickly: “It must be Sister Xiao Fang. She…She once escaped.”
“Xiao Fang?”
“A daughter-in-law from the village who studied and had a good relationship with my mother. My mother had also studied before.” Su Da’s voice was low, and then he continued: “Later, Sister Xiao Fang disappeared. I heard from the villagers that she had escaped.” He thought of his mother. The villagers had also said that his mother had left.
He didn’t expect that she had been skinned, killed, and thrown here.
Chen Caixing thought of Ah Xiang’s resistance of the Holy Maiden Ceremony and her comfort to Xiao Lan in the ancestral hall. Her mother must’ve educated her.
“I felt sorry to her.” Jia Di’s face was dark with tears in his eyes as he murmured: “I thought that since Ah Xiang was gone, she had left in disappointment. I couldn’t help her. It’s all my fault.”
At noon, the sun was the hottest.
“Let’s find her.”
Chen Caixing was a little dizzy from the sun, but his eyes were cold. He just wanted to leave this man-eating place as soon as possible.
Ah Xiang’s mother was obviously a well-educated girl who had been ‘begged’ back to the village.
Unable to escape her situation, she had been subtly influencing her husband, sons, and daughter. Chen Caixing had spoken many words to the father and sons, saying that the lantern was useless. He thought that he had created the crack in their belief, but in fact, it had been the long accumulated effort of Mother Su.
But it was a pity that the power of one person could not fight against an entire backwards and ignorant village.
It didn’t make sense based on science and logic.
Chen Caixing felt that the game sent them to Jia Di’s house for a reason. If they had been sent to the house of the old woman with small feet or the woman in the square who had said that ‘accompanying the ancestors is a blessing,’ then their knowledge and foundation would be so rotten that they couldn’t be saved. It was the spilled blood of the Su family’s mother and sister that gave awareness to the Su brothers, giving the players a chance to learn the truth.
The crooked tree was easy to find.
The father and sons trio had brought along their tools and dug up the tree after a short while. Beneath them was a corpse that had already turned to white bones. The Su brothers recognized their mother through her rotting clothes. They held their heads and cried, sobbing and unable to speak. At the bottom of the peach grove, Mei Qing and Lu Zhou found two corpses. One of them was fresh and bloody. Judging from the attire, it was Lili, who had been killed on the first night. The other one was mainly bones of a skeleton, which should be Sister Xiao Fang.
Xiao Fang’s remains were incomplete, and the rest was probably still buried in the peach grove. These remains most likely slid down the mountainside due to rain and water flow.
Her resentment from dying had been suppressed by the peach grove, and now she had turned into an evil ghost who was forced to repeat her tragic death.
“Let’s take another look.” Chen Caixing looked around the peach grove. “I feel like this place is important.”
Mei Qing asked smoothly, “Why, Sister Yuan?”
“Maybe it’s just a woman’s sixth sense.” Chen Caixing glanced at Mei Qing and said: “It’s okay. You’re still young.”
Mei Qing: !!!
Are you saying that she was not feminine enough!?
Also where was she younger than her???
Sister Xiao Fang’s bones were easy to find. They just needed to follow the traces. Few people came here. After collecting Sister Xia Fang’s and Mother Su’s bones, they discussed whether they should find another place to bury Sister Xiao Fang’s bones. Chen Caixing took a look and said: “Burn them. She couldn’t get out when she was alive, so it would be good if someone could take her out after she died.”
The Su brothers, who were crying with their mother’s bones, were shocked at the realization that they could still leave and get out of the this mountain village.
However, it was late, and they hadn’t brought any jars with them. They could only bury Sister Xiao Fang and Lili’s bodies in a place far away from the peach grove for the time being. As for Mother Su’s bones, they were wrapped in clothes and carefully carried back. The two brothers’ eyes were red and swollen. Su Da said to Chen Caixing: “Sister Yuan, let’s come back tomorrow.”
“The sky is going to change.” Jia Di said suddenly, looking up at the sky.
They quickly got on the ox cart and didn’t dare delay. When they arrived at the entrance of the village, it was already dark, and rain had started to fall.
Chen Caixing looked at the center of the village. The cumulus clouds were thick and gloomy.
“Why did it suddenly become cold?”
“Yeah, it’s so cold.”
Lu Zhou rubbed his arms. Mei Qing also felt cold. In the past, the temperature in the mountain was also low at night, but it wasn’t as freezing cold as today. It became even more uncomfortable as they travelled further into the village.
“There are still two days before the Holy Maiden selection.” Chen Caixing withdrew his gaze.
The two looked at each other, worried for a moment. Lu Zhou asked, “Sister Yuan, what should we do? I don’t want to die.”
“Eat first. I’m hungry.” Chen Caixing didn’t answer. They needed to check the tree again.
Su Le and Su Da only found out today that their mother, who had left home, was dead, so they were in a low mood. Chen Caixing was not Zhou Bapi (T/N: a Chinese archetypal character who likes to exploit people), so he was too embarrassed to ask the brothers to cook for him. Mei Qing and Lu Zhou took the initiative to boil a pot of water. After everyone washed up, they cooked a simple meal.
Jia Di’s family had dry noodles, which were cooked and served with pickled vegetables.
Chen Caixing was hungry but delicate. He couldn’t help but retch when he ate. He helplessly put down his chopsticks and touched his stomach. He said sadly: “Alas, this child is as delicate as me. Can’t even bear a little bit of food.”
Mei Qing: Sister Yuan, please give me a break. I thought you were a hidden boss, but I can’t bear your green tea look.
(T/N: ‘green tea’ refers to acting fake)
In the end, Su Le went to the kitchen to cook noodles for Chen Caixing and Yuan Jiuwan.
Chen Caixing, who had acted delicate and fragile just now, held the big bowl and lowered his head while happily slurping noodles.
Mei Qing: …
How could there be such a woman in the world!!!
It was raining heavily outside. After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms.
“Brother, what’s wrong?” Yuan Jiuwan asked as he sat on the bed.
Chen Caixing’s eyelids kept twitching. He felt that someone would die tonight, so he didn’t hide it from Xiao Jiu.
“Brother, I still have a protective talisman. Take mine.” Yuan Jiuwan took out the protective talisman and handed it over. Chen Caixing felt warm in his heart, and his worries dissipated. He said, “Good boy, take it yourself. Brother is not afraid.”
“Then Brother and I will hold it together.” Yuan Jiuwan tilted his head and said cutely: “Brother, just hold me and put the talisman in the middle.”
Ah, whose good little brother was this? He was too cute. Chen Caixing kissed Xiao Jiu’s face, rubbed the child’s curly hair and said: “Okay, Brother will hold Xiao Jiu and sleep together.”
Xiao Jiu’s face turned red. What a cute and innocent child.
Sure enough, screams rang out in the middle of the night.
Chen Caixing woke up from his sleep. Xiao Jiu, who was in his arms, also instantly woke up and looked at him with sleepy eyes. Chen Caixing said: “Something must’ve happened next door.”
“Was it the bad person who scolded Brother?” Yuan Jiuwan rubbed his head against Chen Caixing’s chest.
Chen Caixing: “?”
“The bad person who cursed Brother and the baby in your belly.”
For a moment, Chen Caixing didn’t know whether to correct Xiao Jiu about the baby or to say that Xiao Jiu’s memory was too good, good enough to still hold a grudge.
However, protecting the child’s shortcomings was the same as protecting his own. Chen Caixing himself was someone who was very overprotective. If others held such a grudge, he might secretly stay away from them, but for Yuan Jiuwan, the child could only be a considerate little brother. He even know how to protect his big brother at such a young age. He hadn’t doted on the child in vain.
“En, it should be Zhou Zihan.”
The sound tonight was different from yesterday. Yesterday, Zhou Zihan exerted her strength to scream for a long time, and her voice had been sharp and shrill. But tonight, after a short sound, everything returned to silence.
It wasn’t hard to imagine that the other party was already dead.
The two got up and went to the corridor of the second floor. Lu Zhou, Mei Qing, and Liu Shasha also came out. Liu Shasha looked in the direction of the next door house and said: “Something happened to Zhou Zihan. There’s something wrong with her brain. Yesterday, she woke up in the middle of the night and called me Lili. Then she tried to strangle me. How did Lili die?”
“At that time, it was dark, and I couldn’t see clearly. I was behind them. Lili ran over first, and then there were screams. Zhou Zihan ran over and pulled my hand, shouting that there was a ghost. Then we ran out blindly.” Mei Qing fell silent after she finished speaking.
In fact, she had also suspected Zhou Zihan. The three of them hadn’t known each other for more than half a day. No one would be kind enough to risk their lives to save another, especially when ghosts were so scary. But Zhou Zihan had kept saying that Lili died to save her, so because the person was already dead, Mei Qing didn’t refute Zhou Zihan’s possible lies.
“Someone died! How unlucky!”
The old woman with small feet next door scolded.
Everyone looked at each other. Liu Shasha said: “Zhou Zihan really died? How did she die?”
“Lili is here for revenge.” Chen Caixing said calmly.
In fact, the newcomer had guessed it, but he didn’t dare to say it out loud. Lu Zhou asked: “Why did she wait until today to take revenge?”
“Maybe Lili is in a good mood today.” Chen Caixing answered perfunctorily.
They went to the peach grove today to help Sister Xiao Fang resolve her obsession. Without Xiao Fang suppressing Lili, it was Zhou Zihan’s turn to die just like Lili.
“Sister Yuan, why didn’t the ancestors of the village kill Zhou Zihan?” Mei Qing was curious.
Chen Caixing glanced at Mei Qing and said: “Do I look like a little gossiping auntie? This isn’t class, but why are there so many questions?”
Sister, your joking is too harsh. Mei Qing was intimidated and could only say: “Oh.”
“Think about it yourself.” Chen Caixing ignored the noise outside and took Xiao Jiu back to the room.
Why didn’t the ancestors of the village kill people?
Because it wasn’t the Hungry Ghost Festival yet. There was a pattern to the ghostly deaths in the village. Those who entered the ancestral hall or died on the willow tree, such as Xiao Ya who had been hanged by Hu Zi’s grandmother. Those people died, and their souls disappeared or were detained. Those who died outside and were killed by the villagers, such as Sister Xiao Fang, Mother Su, and Ah Xiang, still had souls.
However, Sister Xiao Fang and Mother Su had been trapped in the peach grove. One was unconscious, and the other’s soul was about to dissipate. Otherwise, Ah Xiang wouldn’t have come to him to ask for help.
Ah Xiang became a ghost, but her ghost power was only to appear in dreams, scare people, and turn into embroidered shoes. The time she appeared was short. Because she didn’t stay in the village for long, it seemed as if she was afraid of something. As if she was afraid of the ‘ancestors.’
“I don’t know if a fire can burn everything clean.” Chen Caixing muttered while holding Xiao Jiu.
Since the wax museum had been set on fire, Chen Caixing was addicted to being an arsonist.
“Brother, we might be killed by the villagers before the fire is lit.” Yuan Jiuwan reminded him in a whisper.
Chen Caixing said: “…That’s true.”
These stupid villagers had been brainwashed for hundreds of years, and he’d be pressed down and beaten before he even got close to holding a torch. How had Ah Xiang died? She smashed the ancestral hall door, and someone had said ‘The ancestors are angry’ before the villagers became afraid of the ancestors retribution and killed Ah Xiang to appease them.
He was just a poor pregnant woman now.
He couldn’t win.
The difficulty of this world wasn’t high. The difficult part wasn’t the ghosts but the ignorant villagers.
The ‘ancestors’ could only come out to harm people once every five years during the Hungry Ghost Festival when the yin energy was strong enough. This meant that the ghosts weren’t particularly strong or that there were restrictions placed on them. They could only rely on the villagers to offer up women filled with yin energy every five years to increase their strength. But sooner or later, the ghosts would be raised up by the villagers.
Chen Caixing didn’t know if this game they came to was the last sacrifice to raise a strong ghost.
He thought that might be the case.
“This game never lacks malice towards players.” Chen Caixing muttered.
Yuan Jiuwan blinked and said eagerly: “I don’t have any bad intentions towards Brother. I like Brother the most.”
“I didn’t say that you weren’t a good, Xiao Jiu.” Chen Caixing patted his little brother’s head. He had just muttered softly and was misunderstood by the child. “Go to sleep. We still have work to do tomorrow.”
Early the next morning.
Chen Caixing was eating breakfast. They still had to go to the peach grove today, so everyone woke up early.
There was a knock on the courtyard door.
Lu Zhou ran to open the door. It was Li Xuan and the other two veterans. The three of them came in directly. This time, Xia Ting said: “Zhou Zihan died last night.”
Mei Qing and Liu Shasha glanced at Chen Caixing. Chen Caixing was eating and received their gazes with a question mark. Why were they looking at him? In the end, the two girls thought that they had received a hint from Big Sister Yuan. They expressed that they understood and continued eating, ignoring Li Xuan and the other two.
It was an invisible show of strength towards the three of them.
“Yuan Xing, don’t be like this.” Li Xuan’s tone was a little anxious. “I know the way I spoke yesterday wasn’t very good, so I apologize. But time is almost up. Let’s not have internal strife.”
Chen Caixing ate an egg and wiped his mouth. “Your tone doesn’t sound like you’re apologizing at all. I said that it’s okay to share clues, but you want to use one clue to trick me into giving you two important clues. Is it internal strife because I rejected it? The next time you want to exchange something, it has to be of equal value, understand? Otherwise, you’ll just be beaten up. Only a kind-hearted and good-tempered person like me can endure such unreasonable grievances.”
“Sigh, honest people will be bullied. It’s too hard on me.” Chen Caixing sighed.
Yuan Jiuwan nodded and said crisply: “Those who bully Big Sister are all big bad guys.”
Everyone: …
Mei Qing: Big Sister, there’s nothing wrong with your words, but I always feel like you are bullying others.
“…” Li Xuan opened his mouth and didn’t know what to say.
Meng Haocong was a nerd and didn’t know what to say. The two looked at Xia Ting. Shouldn’t it be easier to communicate since they were both women?
It was the first time Xia Ting had met such a difficult female player. She took a deep breath and said: “We have new clues. Did you go to the peach grove yesterday?”
Chen Caixing didn’t answer. The meaning in his eyes were obvious. Just say what you want to say, and don’t try to trick me.
Can you communicate with more sincerity and less tricks?
“Sorry, I’m just used to it.” Xia Ting said awkwardly. “We found out the origin of the ancestral hall.”
“Interesting.” Chen Caixing took the initiative and knocked on the table. “Tell me.”
Xia Ting wanted to negotiate, but it was obvious who had the upper hand now. Thus, she could only continue: “The willow tree and the ancestral hall were built together a hundred years ago. A long time ago, there were wars everywhere, and the outside world was chaotic. The people of this village came here to avoid the disaster and survived by hunting in the mountains. After things settled down, someone suggested building an ancestral hall. It was all thanks to the blessing of the ancestors that they found this place. They hoped that in the future, they would be safe and not affected by the war.”
“A willow tree has yin energy. When they were looking for a willow tree, they found the peach grove. Someone dug out a wooden Buddha statue in the peach grove and buried the Buddha statue in the hole that they used to plant the willow tree.”
In order to find these clues, the veterans had used two items in exchange.
“We think the ‘ancestor’ of the village is the Buddha statue. What should we do next?”
They knew that the evil thing caused trouble, but the three of them couldn’t make a decision, especially since they had used items. They really couldn’t make a single mistake.
Since the three of them were sincere, Chen Caixing didn’t hold back and told them what happened yesterday.
“…So far, we have helped Ah Xiang, Mother Su, and Sister Xiao Fang, but we haven’t completely solved everything. If we want to leave this world, we have to deal with this evil thing and the village worshippers.”
“Kill them?” Lu Zhou asked.
Chen Caixing looked like he hadn’t expected Lu Zhou to have the guts. Lu Zhou said awkwardly: “But… But you said to deal with them all.”
“There are only a few of us and so many people in the village. I don’t even dare to kill a chicken.” Mei Qing tried to smooth things over.
“Then what should we do?”
Everyone couldn’t help but look at Chen Caixing.
Chen Caixing was speechless.
Everyone’s eyes were burning with anticipation. At this moment, it was as if he was wearing the halo of a holy mother. He lovingly touched his beer belly and said helplessly: “Then I’ll suffer a little and become their new god.”
Everyone was speechless.
–
The author has something to say:
The little gossiping auntie Xingxing is thinking about starting a class. The advertisement shows a blooming Sunflower Mother. Xingxing is very self-aware.
Thank you for supporting Xingxing and Zaizai. Let Xiao Yuan perform for you on the spot #How to be a primary school monk and eat your wife’s tofu#
Secret message T-T please read at inuekohouse.wordpress.com
inueko: OMG this chapter was SOOOOOOOOOO long. Almost 10k characters HOLY! This is 3x as long as last chapter… It took me so long to translate T_T;; I thought about breaking it up, but I don’t really like to break up chapters unless they exceed 10k. I’m not a masochist though I swear… Will probably be changing ‘brother’ to ‘gege‘ in the next few chapters hehe.
(*ˊᗜˋ*)/ᵗᑋᵃᐢᵏ ᵞᵒᵘ*
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