Bai Youwei and Shen Mo were oblivious to what had happened in the mansion. They arrived in the village, only to find a funeral underway at the house where the incident had occurred last night.
Lanterns hung in and around the house. People came and went to pay their respects, just like it had been at Lizheng's house.
If the death toll kept mounting at the rate of one per night, soon every household in the village would be holding a funeral.
Following the name list, Shen Mo sought out women like Mrs.Li who were nameless and obscure.
The men were paying their condolences while groups of women were sunning beans, washing clothes, or looking after their grandchildren.
They were all blossoming teenagers when they got married. Now the oldest among them was over seventy and the youngest was over fifty.
Even the village women who were only in their fifties appeared worn out and gray-haired, hardly distinguishable from those in their sixties or seventies.
Shen Mo inquired about Mrs. Li.
