The boss paused like he was thinking back to that tragedy. His expression was coloured with fear. He accepted the bowl of water from Zhou Rong. He gulped it down and finally calmed down.
Chen Xiaomeng leaned forward and asked, “So… is Little Ravine Village cursed by those dead women?”
“Yes.” The boss nodded. “Not long after the police left, people started to go missing from Little Ravine Village. At first, no one connected the two, but as more people went missing, people realised this was the dead women coming back to take revenge. Especially…” The boss’ voice trembled, “When they found the men’s bodies.”
“What’s wrong with their bodies?” It was Ben Fu who asked this question. His body curled up. He was both curious and scared.
“The bodies… were in a horrible state.” The boss pulled his coat around him like there was a sudden chill. “I heard some of them had their eyes and noses gouged out. There were others that were dismembered and had their limbs hung from the trees. There was one case where the man was fully skinned, and his skin was folded neatly and placed under the tree… It was horrid.
“Just imagine. Could a human be behind these atrocities?”
The ghosts and curses had to be real. After all, for the travellers, that was the core of their mission.
A voice came from behind. They turned to look. There was a light in the dark. A woman carrying an oil lamp slowly walked down the stairs. She looked pale and wore simple clothes. Zhou Rong recognised her easily. She was the boss’ wife. The wooden stairs were so old that they moaned as the woman stepped on them.
After saying these, the boss left with his wife. Jiang Cheng’s eyes lingered on the wife’s tummy. Under the common clothes, the woman’s stomach was slightly bulging. She was probably pregnant. This could explain why the boss was so anxious when he saw the woman walking down the stairs alone.
After the boss and his wife left, everyone sat around the table to discuss the next course of action. They naturally wouldn’t heed the boss’ advice. However, regarding what to do next, there were two different parties.
With Bei Qian as the leader, one team was more conservative. They would not head to Little Ravine Village tomorrow but stayed at An Ping Town to collect more news. They would wait for a more mature time before heading to the village. However, Zhou Rong was on the other side. He suggested they went up to Little Ravine Village as soon as possible. Even though there was no clear time limit, it was better to complete the mission sooner than later. Plus, An Ping Town was not the mission venue. The possibility of finding more clues was low. The two parties refused to back down. In the end, someone suggested a vote. The suggestion was approved.
Jiang Zhongyi raised his hand. “I support Elder Bei Qian… We should gather as much information as we can or…. We risk our lives.”
Once he finished, Yu Man hugged her chest and scoffed, “I agree. If you want to go tomorrow, you can go. I’ll stay.” She gave Zhou Rong a side-eye, clearly taunting him.
There were also two who sided with Zhou Rong: Chen Xiaomeng and Lee Li. Lee Li appeared soft and timid, but she was adamant about going to Little Ravine Village. This caused many to change their impression of her.
Only Jiang Cheng and Ben Fu hadn’t said their piece. Their decisions would decide the destination of the group. None of them were newbies. They knew the importance of sticking together. Ben Fu felt a lot of pressure being stared at by both teams. He knew himself well. He was a follower. He survived so long by being lucky and picking the correct leader. He knew that he couldn’t afford to offend anyone.
“I… surrender my vote.” He looked around and whispered.
Bei Qian glanced at him and said nothing. However, Zhou Rong looked at him chillingly. Ben Fu didn’t dare to meet his eyes. He quickly lowered his head to look at his feet.
Then, only Jiang Cheng was left. His vote was very important.
Bei Qian chimed in, “Little brother,” His voice was soft, but it gave off a reliable feeling, “Your choice might decide whether we live or die. I hope you consider the weight behind it.”
Since Bei Qian spoke, Zhou Rong had to say something too. “Mr. Yi,” He looked at Jiang Cheng, “I believe you know how precious time is during the mission. Even though my choice is riskier…”
Jiang Cheng sat in the middle and enjoyed this feeling of being valued. He slowly raised the cup to his mouth. When he realised it was empty, he frowned and tutted audibly.
Jiang Zhongyi astutely filled up the cup for Jiang Cheng.
After taking a satisfactory sip, Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes. He looked at Jiang Zhongyi with a smile and said, “I support…”
Jiang Zhongyi was so excited his face was red.
“I support Zhou Rong,” Jiang Cheng turned his head. “After all, the Dragon Lady is my good friend. We…” He looked at Chen Xiaomeng seriously. “We were once a couple.”