By the faint light filtering in through the cracks beneath the door and the broken windows, Cheng Yao saw two “ghostly figures” drift inside.
She called them drifting because their footsteps were so light they were almost inaudible.
One wore a loose white shroud, with long hair cascading over her face. Her graceful figure made her look like a female ghost.
The other was shorter and sturdier. Judging by his build, he was a man dressed in black nightwear. Something seemed to have been smeared across his face, giving him a blue-faced, fanged appearance that was difficult to make out in the darkness.
This man was effortlessly carrying the corpse of the Zhan family's fat man, who had just died. He was clearly very strong.
They had arrived.
Cheng Yao felt a little tense and held her breath.
The shorter “male ghost” set down the corpse. The “female ghost” crouched beside it and let out a coquettish giggle that was completely out of place in such a terrifying scene. She reached out and began tugging at the corpse’s clothes.
“Make it quick. Once we’ve stripped this batch, we have to offer them to the River God before dawn…” Her voice was low and cold. “These exiles won’t be missed even after they die. They’re the perfect sacrifices!”
The “male ghost” grunted in response and began skillfully stripping the clothes from the corpse. He then pulled out something that looked like a specially made hooked knife and carved talismans into the corpse’s back.
Soon, the entire back had been carved into a bloody mess, with fresh blood running everywhere.
Sacrifices? The River God?
Cheng Yao’s entire body went cold. She vaguely understood the truth behind the haunting in this deserted village.
Village Chief Sun’s attempts to dissuade them had all been fake. He had deliberately created panic, guiding everyone to attribute the strange phenomena to evil spirits. Once the group fell into chaos, it would be much easier for these people to make their move!
The villagers had not moved away at all. They had merely hidden in the shadows and were carrying out some ancient, sinister ritual through these cruel methods!
Cheng Yao’s scalp crawled. Carefully, she peered outside through the crack in the coffin lid. The two “ghosts” moved swiftly, and before long, they had stripped the corpse bare and searched it thoroughly. Then they lifted the body and silently left the ancestral hall.
After confirming that they had gone far away, Cheng Yao stepped out. The ancestral hall was filled with the fresh stench of blood and the smell of damp earth.
“Damn it!”
Zhan Haochen clenched his fists. “Brother, we can’t let them keep killing people!”
A cold glint flashed through Zhan Haoting’s eyes. “Someone will deal with it.”
“Then I’ll go help.”
Zhan Haochen lifted his foot to leave, but Zhan Haoting said again, “There’s no need.”
One of his feet remained forward while the other seemed unwilling to move back. He stood there awkwardly.
Cheng Yao patted him on the shoulder. “Let me go.”
Before Zhan Haochen could say anything, she bent low and slipped out of the ancestral hall like a shadow. Keeping close to the wall, she crept out of the compound on tiptoe.
Zhan Haochen couldn’t help admiring her. “Sister-in-law isn’t afraid at all?”
When Zhan Haoting gave no response, he asked again, “Brother, you’re really letting Sister-in-law go out there alone?”
Zhan Haoting raised his eyes to him. “Can you stop her?”
Zhan Haochen was rendered speechless.
Since his sister-in-law had been able to leave and return with his elder brother without making a sound, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, there probably weren’t many people who could hurt her.
But still… how had his sister-in-law, a sheltered young lady from a respectable household, become so capable?
“Brother, Sister-in-law seems like a completely different person.”
Zhan Haoting countered, “Were you ever very familiar with her before?”
Zhan Haochen: “…”
“Brother, what I mean is that Sister-in-law’s abilities aren’t those of an ordinary woman.”
“She is indeed not ordinary.”
“Brother, aren’t you suspicious of her identity?”
“No matter how suspicious her identity is, isn’t she still your sister-in-law?”
Once again, Zhan Haochen was left speechless.
That was true. No matter how mysterious Cheng Yao was, she was still the woman who had paid respects to his elder brother and become his wife.
She had never harmed anyone in their group. Instead, she had silently protected them.
If it weren’t for her, his elder brother would have died long ago.
“But Brother, aren’t you curious about her?”
“She has no intention of harming me, so there’s no need for me to guard against her. That is enough.”
Zhan Haochen scratched his head. Somehow, he felt that something wasn’t quite right.
Cheng Yao did not go to the main hall. She followed the two “ghosts” to the woodshed.
The fat man’s corpse had been thrown onto the floor. No one was guarding the woodshed, which was piled high with rotten firewood and miscellaneous objects.
Yet Cheng Yao sensed that there was a living person nearby. His breathing was faint, and he was not inside the room. He must be hiding in some sort of secret passage.
She felt her way through the darkness. Everything her fingers touched was damp and cold.
After pushing aside tangled cobwebs and a heap of rotten straw, she found what appeared to be an earthen wall.
She carefully ran her hands over it and felt several irregular seams.
A hidden compartment!
Cheng Yao’s heart stirred. At waist height, she found a mud brick that was slightly loose.
She wrenched it out. A stone slab behind it creaked open, revealing a pitch-black opening. A stench mixed with blood and rotting mold rushed toward her.
The secret passage was only wide enough for one person. Torches mounted along the walls gave off a ghostly glow.
Cheng Yao steadied herself against the damp stone wall as she moved forward. At a turn, she avoided a concealed trapdoor. Near a drainage hole disguised as an air vent, she saw a man curled up on the ground.
Cheng Yao did not hurry toward him. Instead, she observed him from a short distance away.
The man wore a dark-blue brocade robe, the fabric soaked through with blood. His once handsome face was now as pale as paper, while a strange bluish-purple hue faintly spread beneath his skin.
Beside him lay five or six corpses. Their upper garments had been stripped away, and strange talismans had been carved into their backs.
They had been poisoned with the same toxin as the Zhan family's fat man!
The man’s chest heaved violently. Every breath was accompanied by a muffled groan of pain. His fingertips dug into the ground so hard that they left several bloody scratches.
When he sensed someone entering, he suddenly shrank back toward the corner. His bloodshot eyes, stained with blood, were filled with wariness.
Cheng Yao glanced at him. “Were you also drugged by the people in this village?”
The man remained silent.
She continued, “Your internal energy is profound, and you’ve forced some of the poison out. But this is a deadly toxin. It has already seeped into your internal organs, and you’ll be dead soon.
“If you do something good before you die—say, tell me what conspiracy these villagers are involved in, or why they haven’t killed you—perhaps you’ll be able to win back your life.”
The man’s pupils contracted sharply. “You can cure my poison?”
His voice was rough, as though it were filled with sand. The poison had even corroded his vocal cords.
“You can give it a try. In any case, you have no other options. You can only wait to die, can’t you?”
The man fell silent.
Cheng Yao paid him no further attention. She walked through the secret passage, knocking here and tapping there. In the darkness, she avoided every obstacle as easily as if she were strolling through a courtyard.
“You heal me first.” The man’s eyes shifted slightly as he made his condition.
Cheng Yao looked at him and slowly curved her lips into a smile. “All right. But you’ll owe me a favor. In the future, no matter what I ask you to do, you must agree. Even if it involves killing, arson, betraying your country, or aiding its enemies.”
The man’s eyes were deep and unreadable. After thinking for a moment, he replied, “Agreed.”
The smile at the corners of Cheng Yao’s lips deepened.
The novel had mentioned that the man before her was Wei Qing, the magistrate of Wancheng. He had been passing through this area on his way back to the capital to report on his duties when heavy rain caused his carriage to tumble down a mountain cliff.
The villagers had pretended to rescue him out of kindness, but had secretly poisoned the food.
Wei Qing’s guards and coachman had all died from the poison. He had eaten less than they had, so he was barely clinging to life.
Soon, the female protagonist, Shao Yutong, would find the secret passage under the guidance of a mysterious person and rescue him.
