Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Ghosts? Or Evil Spirits?
“Lihua, think this through, murder will cost you your life.”
Zhang Tieniu tried to make one last effort to save her, but only received Lihua’s sneer in response.
“People only pay with their life for murder when they’re caught, and who else is here?”
Although she was about to be forced into the water, Yue Qingqing’s face showed no sign of panic.
Her eyes flickered, and her small hand pinched a spell.
Lihua’s body suddenly shook, and her arms involuntarily tightened, lifting Yue Qingqing back into mid-air.
Zhang Tieniu thought she had come to her senses and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Quick, while no one is back yet, let’s take the jade and leave quickly.”
Unexpectedly, Lihua seemed not to hear his words, turning and walking step by step toward the pushcart.
Her steps were stiff, like a puppet being pulled by strings.
Zhang Tieniu felt something was off and called out a few more times.
Lihua blankly set Yue Qingqing back in the pushcart and then returned to the pond.
She stretched out her arms, and with a plop sound, her body forcefully slapped against the water.
Like a large rock, she sank straight down.
Zhang Tieniu watched, dumbfounded, and it took him a few seconds to react.
“Lihua, what’s wrong with you!”
Just as he jumped in the pond to retrieve her, Yue Jiannan finally came back.
He had a book torn in half in his hands and was muttering under his breath.
“Zhang Jinhe, don’t let me catch you again, or you’ll see what’s coming to you.”
He really was crazy, running halfway across the village with a book, god knows what got into him.
Looking up, Yue Jiannan immediately realized something was amiss.
Why were there two people floundering in the pond?
He hurriedly threw the book on the ground and ran over, first seeing Yue Qingqing sitting safely in the pushcart and heaved a sigh of relief.
Yue Qingqing disdainfully glanced at him, then turned her head to continue watching the two struggling to swim on the opposite side.
“What, what happened?” Yue Jiannan sensed something was wrong.
How could someone just fall into the pond out of nowhere?
After a while, the two were soaking wet as they climbed onto the bank, their heads topped with water weeds and bodies smeared with mud.
Seeing Yue Jiannan return, Zhang Tieniu shivered from cold, trying to sneak away with Lihua.
But Lihua couldn’t move, her eyes fixed fearfully on Yue Qingqing, her lips trembling.
“Ghost… there’s a ghost…”
“Stop, what were you doing in my family’s pond?” Yue Jiannan stopped the two.
A gust of wind blew, and Zhang Tieniu sneezed loudly, still managing a smile on his face.
“Just passing by, it was an accident.”
“Are your eyes not working? Such a big pond and you accidentally fell in?”
Yue Jiannan, after all, was not stupid and quickly understood what was happening.
“I was thinking why Zhang Jinhe seemed crazy, turn out you were luring me away from home? What exactly are you up to?”
Zhang Tieniu struggled in desperation, “It really was an accident, we didn’t do anything.”
“You weren’t trying to steal fish fry from my pond for a dowry, were you? You are really heartless.” Yue Jiannan became angrier by the minute, “I’m going to get the village chief, I want to call the police!”
Zhang Tieniu grabbed Yue Jiannan’s sleeve, “No, no, we didn’t even bring a bucket, how could we steal fish fry?”
Yue Jiannan looked at his guilty expression and instantly knew there was a problem, scooped up Yue Qingqing, and turned to find the village chief.
Zhang Tieniu fumbled for a while and pulled out several crumpled, wet bills from his pocket.
“We are relatives after all, there’s no need to make it so ugly, look…”
Yue Jiannan sneered, his five parts suspicion immediately became full certainty.
“You think you can bribe me? No way!”
Yue Jiannan, holding the child in his arms, was calling out all the way, and eventually gathered half the village.
Upon hearing the situation, the village chief, followed by a crowd eager for drama, angrily headed to Zhang Tieniu’s house to demand justice.
The door was opened, and Zhang Tieniu had already changed into dry clothes.
For some reason, Lihua was still dressed in her soaking wet clothes, puddles forming around her feet.
The village chief made an aggressive start, “Zhang Tieniu, be honest, what were you doing at the Yue family’s pond today?”
Before Zhang Tieniu could respond, Lihua, upon seeing the village chief and Yue Jiannan, who was holding Yue Qingqing, suddenly let out a piercing scream.
“A ghost! No, not a ghost, she’s a demon! Burn her quickly!”