Jiang Cheng slowly turned around to look at Bei Qian. The villagers were stunned before they also turned to look at Bei Qian. Bei Qian, who was confused, widened his eyes.
A few seconds later, Jiang Cheng suddenly shouted, “Congratulations, Elder Bei!”
The villagers paused. Then, as if a switch had been turned on, they all congratulated Bei Qian.
“Master, congratulations!”
“This is very impressive at your age!”
Bei Qian waved his hands to clarify his relationship with Lee Lu. “I’m not. This is…”
Chen Xiaomeng enjoyed this. After all, she didn’t like Bei Qian.
In the end, it was Zhou Rong who ‘kindly’ reminded the villagers that there were still embers around the Qian Family Ancestral Hall. It was then that they left. Just as Bei Qian wanted to demand an explanation from Jiang Cheng, Lee Lu stumbled back. As she sensed everyone’s gaze on her, she was befuddled, “What happened?”
“It probably disappeared this morning.” Zhou Rong stood beside the yard door and analysed, “We left in such a hurry, and the sky was so dark. No one noticed it.”
“Could his body be sent to a spot around An Ping Town?” Lee Lu asked. Everyone frowned. Even though that was illogical, that should be the case. What obsession Zhao Xiangmei had with An Ping Town was that she would spare no effort to carry the dead bodies to somewhere near An Ping An after each of her kills.
They entered the yard and saw a black pot on the table. It looked old. They removed the lid, and the fragrance of food wafted about. It was a pot of corn porridge. The village head sent it over that morning. The porridge was still hot. However, since it had been out for some time, it was a bit sticky. However, they were not in a position to complain. They sat around the pot, ladled a bowl each and started to discuss the mission.
“Don’t you think there’s a meaning behind Zhao Xiangmei’s action of transporting the bodies to An Ping Town?” Bei Qian slowly took a sip of the porridge. Then, he lifted his eyes and scanned the rest. He looked so mysterious.
“Elder Bei,” Lee Lu held the bowl with both hands and asked carefully, “Have you discovered something?” Perhaps it was the earlier incident. Bei Qian felt uncomfortable whenever he heard Lee Lu, much less meeting her eyes.
“It is very weird.” Zhou Rong continued, “It’s like… she’s sending a message to the people of An Ping Town.”
Lee Lu seemed to realise something. “Could it be that some of the surviving Qian Family members have escaped to An Ping Town to hide?” Her voice became excited as if her guess was correct: “Zhao Xiangmei is sending them a message. She will find and kill them!”
At the same time, an inscrutable emotion crossed Zhou Rong’s eyes. He cavalierly glanced at Jiang Cheng. He realised the latter was sneakily ladling himself another bowl of the porridge when no one paid him any attention. Zhou Rong took a deep breath and ignored him.
“The Qian Family Ancestral Hall has been destroyed, but the three siblings’ plaques have been purposely left behind. This has to be a message too.” Yu Man lowered her voice. “Zhao Xiangmei wants to tell us that while most of the Qian family members have died, these three are still alive. And…” She paused, “They are currently hiding in An Ping Town.”
“But… If she knew they were hiding in An Ping Town, based on her power, it wouldn’t have been hard for her to find them. Why would she resort to scare tactics ?” Lee Lu asked, “Won’t it be easier for her to kill them directly?”
Zhou Rong glanced at her. “She is limited by the rules in the mission. She can’t kill as freely as she does in Little Ravine Village as she does in An Ping Town. I guess she can’t even enter An Ping Town.” Lee Lu nodded and followed this train of thought, “So… The exit this time will appear once we find the three siblings in An Ping Town and hand them over to the ghost, no, Zhao Xiangmei!” She looked at the rest for confirmation. However, they all subconsciously averted their eyes. Bei Qian’s expression was the strangest as if he had something to hide from her.
Then, Lee Lu realised it was rash for her to say such things. Finding a few humans and handing them over to the ghost to kill…
Even though they were in the nightmare realm, that was a bit over the line. Thankfully, no one was hung up over this.
The death of two teammates placed a lot of pressure on them. After breakfast, Zhou Rong suggested that they moved in groups for better efficiency. After a quick discussion, they would be split according to gender.
Lee Lu looked at her ankle with worry. It had been some time since she injured herself but her injury showed no sign of healing. If anything, it had gotten more serious. It was even more swollen.
Chen Xiaomeng walked over and patted her shoulder. She told her that she’d look after her. Lee Lu thanked her and apologised.
The two groups left the courtyard.
Jiang Cheng’s group planned to walk around the village.
The women would venture deeper into the village and explore Little Ravine Village in more detail. They especially wanted to know if the courtyard they were staying in was related to the Qian Family. And the strange building in the yard.
When they first arrived, they noticed that some houses were only occupied by women. Their husbands were probably killed by Zhao Xiangmei. These widows were Chen Xiaomeng’s group’s focus. They might know some secrets.
However, Chen Xiaomeng also had something she wanted to figure out. When the village head first brought them to the village and was finding them a place to sleep, they encountered a woman who glared at them from behind the door. There was no fear in her eyes but thick hatred.
Her instinct told her that her hatred might not be directed at the travellers.