Translator: Cinder Translations
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Chen Xiaomeng's footsteps gradually slowed, but she stayed within the lighted area, sensing something unusual. She suspected this might be a trap set by a ghost.
Holding her breath, the large building was just ahead, and everything in her view was now reduced to a deep black silhouette, as if the structures might move at any moment.
As the group drew closer, Zhou Rong suddenly heard a strange sound.
"Shh-shh-shh..."
It sounded like fabric rubbing against branches or stones.
Following the sound, Zhou Rong squinted, and within seconds, his eyes widened.
In the corner of the wall, there was a face, tightly scrunched, covered in wrinkles!
At the same time, both Jiang Cheng and Chen Xiaomeng sensed something was off.
At that moment, Pei Qian no longer looked the same as before. His eyes were bloodshot, his hands tightly covering his mouth as he crouched in the corner, trembling.
But thankfully, for now, it seemed he was merely dirty, with no apparent injuries.
This meant the blood scent was from someone else.
Pei Qian's gaze was fixed on a particular spot, and when Jiang Cheng moved the oil lamp to follow Pei Qian's gaze, they saw it—the windowsill.
On the windowsill, a small tree had been snapped in half, with the exposed sharp break standing out.
At this moment, a body was skewered through the tree, the sharp end piercing through the mouth, exiting through the lower body. The abdomen was split open, spilling organs and blood everywhere. The scene was brutal.
It was Jiang Zhongyi.
He was still clutching a rough wooden cross in his hand, now stained red with blood, drops of blood continuing to fall from it.
Zhou Rong stood frozen.
The scene before them was drenched in a strong religious tone. If not for the nightmare-like feeling, he might have thought he was back in the dark medieval Europe.
From their angle, they couldn't see Jiang Zhongyi's eyes.
Zhou Rong slowly looked up and noticed that the second-floor window of the building had been shattered, with some wooden structures protruding outward.
It appeared Jiang Zhongyi had jumped from the second-floor window, and through a stroke of bad luck, was impaled by the tree.
But this was no ordinary nightmare. Jiang Zhongyi wasn't an idiot.
If he had just fallen from the second floor, the impact wouldn't have been enough to pierce his body completely. This scene seemed more like Jiang Zhongyi had been struck by some massive force, then violently impaled.
After a while, Pei Qian, who had somewhat recovered, explained the events that had occurred.
About half an hour ago, the person sent by the village chief arrived to deliver food—the same dark-skinned man. The man didn't speak much, just dropped the food and left, but Pei Qian had sensed something unusual.
By then, it was almost dark, and after the man delivered the food, it seemed unlikely he would be able to return before nightfall.
The villagers' fear of the night had reached a point where it was almost unbearable.
Pei Qian didn't act rashly, instead asking Li Lu to stay behind and then taking Jiang Zhongyi along under the pretense of going for a walk, tailing the man to see what was going on.
As expected, the dark-skinned man circled around and re-entered the yard through a hidden gap in the fence.
He then walked straight toward the abandoned building and climbed in through a window.
Seeing this, Pei Qian suggested they go back, regroup, and come up with a better plan.
However, Jiang Zhongyi became stubborn and insisted that this was the perfect opportunity to find clues and that they shouldn't miss it.
Unable to argue with him, Pei Qian reluctantly agreed that Jiang Zhongyi would go inside while he stayed outside to assist.
He also warned Jiang Zhongyi to leave immediately if anything went wrong and to prioritize safety.
Pei Qian's eyes revealed a hint of regret as he spoke.
The others dismissed his words.
Jiang Zhongyi was too timid. Even if he had ten times the courage, he would never have gone inside on his own. He must have been coaxed and scared into it by Pei Qian.
The body was clearly not something they could handle right now. To take it away, they'd probably have to cut down the tree along with it.
After inspecting the scene, they decided to leave.
The lonely building definitely had something wrong with it.
Back in the room, Li Lu, hearing that Jiang Zhongyi was dead, couldn't hide her sadness.
The real shock came when they realized that the dark-skinned man was also suspicious. Li Lu suddenly froze, as though she had just realized something. She rushed to the door and vomited loudly.
The others weren't surprised.
After all, it was Li Lu who had eaten the food brought by the "dark-skinned man"—and it was meat soup.
Just thinking about it made Jiang Cheng feel uneasy.
Yu Man leaned against the door, her calm demeanor now replaced by a troubled expression. In just a day and a night since entering the village, they had already lost two teammates.
She had gone to another room to start the stove, bringing back some charcoal.
That night, they decided to gather together.
With three men and three women left, the room was easy to divide.
Jiang Cheng reluctantly took out a few steamed buns from his chest, causing both Yu Man and Li Lu to stare wide-eyed.
He had intended to share one bun between them, but before he could break it apart, Chen Xiaomeng snatched it from him.
So, it became one bun per person.
Jiang Cheng grumbled about it for a while.
"That building definitely has problems," Li Lu said, her face pale. After vomiting, she looked weak and exhausted, like she might collapse at any moment.
Pei Qian sat cross-legged on the bed and shook his head. "I'm afraid it's not just that building."
He looked up, his voice dropping as he continued, "Have you thought about it? With the location and grandeur of this yard, who would be living here?"
"The wealthiest family in the village," Chen Xiaomeng snapped a piece of wood and tossed it into the stove. Looking up, she said, "For example, the Qian family, whose head is the village chief."
The rest of the group were sharp-minded and immediately understood.
Moreover, after Jiang Zhongyi's incident, suspicions about the origins of this yard had already begun to surface.
Pei Qian was just stating the obvious.
"If this really is the Qian family's mansion, then it makes sense why Zhao Xiangmei would kill people here," Li Lu said. "She might have mistaken us for members of the Qian family."
Things took a delicate turn. The village chief hadn't told them this was the Qian family mansion, nor had he warned them of any risks associated with staying here.
If this theory proved correct, the village chief's attitude would need to be questioned.
After all, according to the innkeeper from Anping Town, all the "important people" who had come to Anping Town had mysteriously disappeared, and they had also stayed here.
Just like they had.
The brief discussion ended, and they concluded with three key questions.
First: Who was the previous owner of this yard?
Second: What was Zhao Xiangmei's true identity?
Third: Why did the ghosts hang the bodies near Anping Town after killing people in the village?
The second and third questions had already been asked to the village chief, but they hadn't received any valuable answers. As for the first question, the village chief undoubtedly knew the answer.
They planned to ask him directly when they met tomorrow.
In truth, there was something else they all understood without saying it aloud: The massive building not far from the yard might hold the key.
(End of the Chapter)
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