I never imagined that the direction the map finally pointed to would be outside the village, and even to the old house in the west of the village that had trapped me that night.
After I woke up, I told Zhang Dabiao about it and asked him to find Zhao Defu to clarify things. However, when we arrived at Zhao Defu's house, it was already empty and the door was locked.
According to Zhang Dabiao, he had jumped in to check. The things inside were not packed up and were in a mess. It looked like Zhao Defu and his wife had left in a hurry.
It was very likely that they had rushed off immediately after tricking me into going to the west of the village, and their whereabouts were unknown.
Now, it seemed that Zhao Defu had been instructed by someone to lead me to the old house in the west of the village.
Based on my calculations, Sun Chuang's soul was also being held in the old house in the west of the village by that strange person. All of this gave me the feeling that someone was deliberately luring us to the old house in the west of the village.
But that was Sui Wan'er's territory. Zhang Dabiao hadn't said what happened that night, but I knew it must have been extremely dangerous. It was lucky not to have died in the old house in the west of the village. Who could guarantee if we could come back alive this time?
Glancing at Zhang Dabiao, who was smoking, I asked, "What do we do now?"
Zhang Dabiao flicked the cigarette butt away and stood up, "Let's go and ask someone. If we know ourselves and our enemy, we can win a hundred battles."
If there was anyone in Molu Village who was most familiar with what had happened in the village, it would undoubtedly be Granny Wang, the last remaining resident.
On the way to her house, we bought some fruit and daily necessities from the small shop. You couldn't start without something, could you?
I knocked on the courtyard gate, "Is anyone home?"
There was no response for a long time.
I knocked twice more.
The courtyard gate was opened, and a head poked out from behind the door.
Seeing the head in front of me, I stumbled back two steps. If Zhang Dabiao hadn't supported me, I would have fallen to the ground.
It wasn't because the appearance was too sudden, but because the old woman in front of me looked too terrifying.
There was sparse gray hair scattered on her head, and her face was covered with wrinkles and age spots. She looked at least seventy or eighty years old. The most important thing was that she was missing her left eye, and a large hole was clearly visible on her face. Her upper lip was also gone, revealing her embedded white dentures. If I had seen her in the middle of the night, I would have thought I had seen a ghost.
Zhang Dabiao calmly pulled me behind him, "Granny Wang, we've come to see you."
Granny Wang looked us up and down with her one eye, "Who are you? I don't know you." With that, she prepared to close the door.
Before I could react, Zhang Dabiao continued, "Granny Wang, we are from the county to help you..."
"Help?" the old woman looked at us with confusion, "Didn't you come a few days ago?"
"Look, we brought gifts, how could we lie to you!" I explained to Granny Wang and then held up the gifts in my hand.
Although Granny Wang looked unconvinced, she still opened the courtyard gate and let us two in.
The courtyard was not large, and a few grapevines were planted in the corner, with winding vines completely covering the small yard.
Facing the courtyard gate was the main hall, and in the hall stood a large black coffin as dark as ink.
I almost cried out when I saw it.
The old woman, leaning on her cane, didn't look back, as if she had seen the surprise on my face. "When people get old, only this is their home."
After we put down the things, we didn't go inside. Instead, we started talking with Granny Wang.
First, I asked about her health, and then I steered the conversation to the main topic.
"Granny Wang, they say you are the oldest, so you must know about what happened in the village, right?"
"I know some things, but I'm not sure if I know everything. Ask whatever you want to ask!"
"Granny Wang, do you know whose family the old house in the west of the village belongs to? Why is it abandoned?" I didn't beat around the bush and directly asked what I wanted to know.
As I spoke, I stared nervously at Granny Wang, for fear that she wouldn't know either. If that were the case, Zhang Dabiao and I would have to force our way in.
When I mentioned the old house in the west of the village, I clearly saw her only remaining pupil contract.
She then stood up, "Get out! Get out, I don't know anything."
As she drove us out, she picked up her cane and started hitting me.
As I dodged, I tried to persuade her, "Oh, Granny Wang, don't hit me, let's talk."
"I don't know anything, hurry up and leave my house, or I'll call for help."
"Bang!"
Looking at the tightly shut door behind us, Zhang Dabiao gritted his teeth, "This old lady, she looks skinny, but she hits so hard."
"Brother Zhang, you're talking about it. Look at me, I feel like I've been beaten into Shakyamuni."
As we were leaving, I was hit twice on the head. If Zhang Dabiao hadn't pulled me, I would have been concussed by the old lady.
Zhang Dabiao spread his hands, "I have no choice now."
"I don't believe it, no one knows anything about Molu Village."
"Where are you going to ask?"
I thought for a moment, "Don't you think there's something wrong with the old man at the small shop?"
Zhang Dabiao shook his head, indicating he didn't think so.
I didn't explain and went straight to the small shop with Zhang Dabiao. As soon as we entered the shop, the old man who sold things stood up with a smile.
"I say, you two, you're back so soon? Do you need anything else? Don't look at my small place, I have everything you need!"
The old man looked to be in his sixties, with three deep wrinkles on his forehead, a slight hunchback, and a sly look on his face. His expression suggested he had expected us to return.
I put on a stern face, "Boss, you're not being honest. You dare to cheat and deceive. Be careful, I'll report you to the police for fraud."
The old man was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, "What's dishonest about it? You buy things, I sell things, it's a fair transaction, I haven't said anything."
"Old man, that's not what you said just now, you said..."
Before I could finish, the old man interrupted me.
"I just said that someone came to my place to buy things and went to visit that old Granny Wang. I didn't say anything else."
His words stunned me. I recalled that it was indeed the case.
Zhang Dabiao said, "Boss, we won't beat around the bush with you. We were beaten out by that old lady. It seems you've been in this village for many years, so you must be very familiar with it?"
As Zhang Dabiao spoke, he offered the old man a cigarette.
The old man didn't take it. Instead, he picked up his pipe, lit it, took a puff, and said, "I've been here for many years, but my memory isn't very good anymore."
Zhang Dabiao directly took out 500 yuan from his pocket and placed it on the table.
The old man didn't stand on ceremony and took it directly, "Ask away."
"Do you know what's going on with the old house in the west of the village?"
As soon as Zhang Dabiao finished speaking, I saw the old man tremble, and his pipe almost fell to the ground.
"Why are you asking about this?"