After a quick introduction, the village leader began to corral his people to leave. At that moment, Jiang Cheng suddenly called out, “Village Leader!”
When they turned around, Jiang Cheng pointed at the night sky. “Is it alright for you lot to travel back up the mountain so late at night?”
“We…” The leader looked awkward, but he quickly laughed to cover it. “Thank you for your concern, little brother. I think we might stay somewhere close overnight.”
“Why don’t you come and stay with us?” Jiang Cheng offered naturally, “You can tell us more about your village at night.”
At that moment, the young people around the village head had their faces change. In the end, it was the village head who smoothed things over, “Thank you, little brother. We… can’t impose on you. You should rest. We’ll come fetch you early tomorrow morning.” After saying that, the village head and his group left in the hurry like something scary was chasing after them.
After the village head’s group disappeared into the dark and the travellers turned around into the inn to rest, they realised the inn boss was standing at the door, staring at the village head’s group silently. When the travellers got closer, they realised there was an indecipherable strangeness in the boss’ eyes. There was disgust and also… barely discernable fear.
“Brother Liu,” Zhou Rong noticed this too. The inn boss clearly knew the village head and his people. Furthermore, he didn’t like them, or else he wouldn’t have stopped them from entering his inn. Combined with the woman whom they encountered in the afternoon and the old man at the fence, the people of Little Ravine Village were not welcomed at An Ping Town. It was not a specific person who was targeted but the whole village. What happened… to this village to cause this?
The boss seemed to wake up from a dream after being called by Zhou Rong. He shuddered involuntarily. The travellers noted this.
“Brother Liu,” Zhou Rong was very friendly. He purposely glanced at where the boss was watching earlier. He acted openly curious. “What were you looking at?”
“Why did you get yourself entangled with those people? Who are they to you?” The boss looked at them and commented unkindly.
“We’re back to visit our families.” Jiang Zhongyi was closest to the boss, so he came up with a random excuse. “We have been out for many years. This time, we came back to find our relatives in that mountainous village…”
“You lie!” The boss’ face darkened instantly. He looked like he was about to swallow Jiang Zhongyi. “No one is willing to return to that village anymore,” The boss said nervously as he stared at Jiang Zhongyi. He squeezed every word out of his teeth. “Everyone who has that wish is already dead!” Jiang Zhongyi froze awkwardly.
In the end, it was Bei Qian who came to his rescue. “Boss,” Bei Qian spoke slowly but imposingly. He looked the boss in the eyes and said sincerely, “To be honest, we have received a request to solve an issue at the Little Ravine Village.”
The boss didn’t inquire further. He seemed to know already what that issue was. He said anxiously, “Old Master, you shouldn’t have done that. Do you think it’s wise to get involved with the issue at the Little Ravine Village?
“It’s a curse!” The boss waved his fists agitatedly as veins burst on his neck. “Those who died with indignation have returned to demand reparation from the Little Ravine Village!”
Zhou Rong studied the boss. He reaction contained more than traces of fear. There was also a sense of anger. Something terrible and immoral must have happened at the Little Ravine Village before this. This incident led to the so-called curse and made the neighbouring villages show hostility towards the people of Little Ravine Village. Even if that person was a pitiful woman looking for her missing husband.
Zhou Rong asked, “What exactly happened… at Little Ravine Village?”
With a sigh, the boss pulled over a chair and sat down. An oil lamp sat on the table. Its flame danced in the wind.
“The origin of the incident started twenty years ago.” His voice took on a hint of melancholy. “Little Ravine Village is situated in the middle of a mountain. It is isolated and slow to develop. Generations of the villagers rely on mountain fishing and hunting to survive.
“However, many years ago, the monastery downstream collected funds to build a dam. The fishing industry was heavily affected. These villages were greatly influenced. The situation has not improved. It has only gotten worse.” He sighed and shook his head. “What kind of sane woman would willingly marry to such places?
“However, a village can’t survive without the fairer sex. Furthermore, family lineage is very important. Therefore, someone in Little Ravine Village came up with the idea of lying to get women to marry and move there.” The boss scoffed. “They called it lying, but it was no different from kidnapping.
“The women were not dumb. After they were brought to Little Ravine Village, they realised the situation was different from what they were told. Therefore, they all bonded together and demanded to go home. Some even tried to sneak away from the village.
“However, fate was not on their side. There was no escape. Every family had a single man… Every family needed a womb.
“No matter where they escaped to, hell waited for them.”
Chen Xiaomeng stood beside the boss. She astutely noticed that when the boss mentioned these things, sharpness appeared in his eyes. His two fists tightened. He pitied these women and what happened to them.
“What happened after that?” Yu Wan asked softly. She was no longer as cavalier as before. She was paying respect to those women who suffered so many years ago.
“No secrets can be kept forever.” The boss placed his hands on the table and sighed, “In the end, the police followed a trail of evidence and found the women hidden in this mountainous village. Many people came that day. There were the police and many anxious parents who had their daughters stolen away from them.
“When the girls’ parents saw the horrible state their daughters were in, they pushed past the police line in their anger. They grabbed the main kidnapper from the police’s detention and beat him to death on the spot.
“I heard that it was very gory. The flesh was mixed into the dirt. Not even a complete corpse remained.”