"Boss, you have something to say. Tell me what you know, and if you feel the money is not enough, I can add more," I said, knocking on the door, trying to change the boss's mind.
But it was better not to knock. This knock directly pulled the curtains shut.
"It seems this path is also not going to work," Zhang Dabiao said.
I was a little dejected. "Then what should we do now?"
If it were up to me, we would go directly to the old house west of the village. With just Zhang Dabiao and me, we could at least hold our own against Sui Wan'er.
But Zhang Dabiao adamantly refused this suggestion.
When asked the reason, he just lowered his head and refused to speak.
After my repeated questioning, he finally told me what had happened that night.
After Zhang Dabiao rolled out of the coffin, he looked up and saw me being held by Sui Wan'er.
Because Zhang Dabiao had been locked up for too long, his whole body was weak, and he couldn't come to help me for a moment. He could only watch helplessly as I was killed.
Just then, a cough came from the old house.
This made Sui Wan'er pause her attack on me.
Then, an old voice sounded, somewhat hoarse, but exceptionally clear, "You should still let him go." Su Dan Novel Network
Hearing this voice, Sui Wan'er obviously froze, then her face showed anger, and she said angrily, "They have harmed me so terribly, why should I let them go?"
"If you kill him, the cooperation will also be over."
Upon hearing this, Sui Wan'er let out a ghostly shriek, a piercing sound that almost made Zhang Dabiao faint.
Then, I was thrown at Zhang Dabiao's feet like a tattered rag by Sui Wan'er. Looking into the depths of the old house, I asked why.
"I know your intentions, but not now. Killing him will bring endless trouble. It's better to let him go."
Sui Wan'er clearly had some reservations about the person in the depths of the old house. She kicked me towards Zhang Dabiao and turned to leave.
Zhang Dabiao checked my injuries and found they were only superficial. He then prepared to take me away.
As we were leaving, that old voice sounded again, telling us to leave Molu Village as soon as possible, and that if we entered the old house again, we would be responsible for our own lives.
After listening, I finally understood why Zhang Dabiao refused to enter the old house west of the village.
Someone who could suppress a thousand-year-old ghost like Sui Wan'er was enough to show how terrifying that person was!
"What now?"
I thought for a moment and felt that we should still find Old Mrs. Wang. There must be a great secret in the old house west of the village. Last time was a fluke. From Zhang Dabiao's account, the person in the depths of the old house west of the village should not have malicious intent towards us, but it couldn't be guaranteed that he was a good person.
The owner of the small shop might also know about the old house west of the village, but compared to Old Mrs. Wang, it was probably much less.
Old Mrs. Wang directly drove people away without any mercy.
But the owner of the small shop had a look of fear on his face, as if it were a haunted den.
Moreover, almost all the original residents of Molu Village had moved away, leaving only Old Mrs. Wang. Setting aside the fact that she was a lonely old woman, she probably stayed for some secret.
When we knocked on Grandma Wang's door again, the door opened by itself.
A faint smell of blood wafted from the courtyard.
My heart sank. Something was wrong.
I pushed the door open and rushed in.
Upon entering, I saw Old Mrs. Wang covered in blood, leaning against a black coffin. Her only remaining eye was wide open, and a wound on her neck was gushing blood, soaking her clothes red.
I placed my finger under Old Mrs. Wang's nose. She was no longer breathing, and her pupils had lost their light.
From her single eye, it was clear that she died with her eyes open, and it was very likely that someone she knew was responsible, otherwise, her face wouldn't have shown such surprise.
Just then, I felt my wrist tighten.
I looked down, and my pupils contracted.
Zhang Dabiao, who was a step behind me, saw my hand being held by Old Mrs. Wang. With a "swish," he drew his mountain-splitting knife and prepared to strike.
I quickly stopped Zhang Dabiao.
As the saying goes: a dead person is like a extinguished lamp.
But in my opinion, a dead person is not necessarily an extinguished lamp. If they have unfinished business or hold grudges, they will definitely not leave their bodies.
The Old Mrs. Wang in front of me was in such a state.
"Grandma Wang, if you have any wishes, you can tell me, and I will help you fulfill them."
As soon as I finished speaking, the hand holding my wrist loosened.
Zhang Dabiao looked at the bruise on my wrist and said, "You knew she had unfinished business?"
"Do you think a person with no regrets would die with their eyes open? Besides, we left just before someone killed her. What does that mean?"
As soon as I finished speaking, Zhang Dabiao grabbed my wrist and ran out of the courtyard. The strength in his hand was immense, like a vise gripping my hand.
After exiting the courtyard gate and turning two corners, Zhang Dabiao finally released my wrist.
I rubbed my sore wrist and looked at Zhang Dabiao with some confusion. "Brother Zhang, what are you doing?"
Zhang Dabiao made a gesture to keep quiet and then peered with one eye towards Old Mrs. Wang's residence.
"Help! Murder!"
The voice was quite sharp, like a castrated old rooster, exceptionally piercing.
I looked at the person jumping and shouting in front of Old Mrs. Wang's door, so surprised I couldn't speak.
It was the owner of the small shop.
"Why is he here?"
Zhang Dabiao's face showed a grim expression. "We've been tricked."
His words left me somewhat bewildered.
"What do you mean?"
"Just watch. Old Mrs. Wang's death might be pinned on you and me."
Upon hearing this, I immediately became agitated. "What the heck? No way! What does this have to do with us? We were just gathering information. How is this person's death related to us?"
Zhang Dabiao remained silent and said, "One can never tell what's in another's heart." Then he turned and walked towards our residence.
We didn't dare to stop along the way until we returned to our lodging that I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Brother Zhang, how did you know this was a trap? And who killed that old lady?"
"Who do you think killed her?"
Zhang Dabiao's question stumped me.
Although Molu Village was remote, it had become prosperous due to old artifacts, underground funerary objects, and ancient corpses. While it appeared desolate during the day, it was bustling with activity at night, with people coming and going.
This was because many things could not see the light of day and only appeared at night, which was why few people were seen in Molu Village during the day.
Killing someone in broad daylight unless the person had a motive, and that motive was likely to prevent us from inquiring about the old house west of the village.
If we deduced this way, it was likely the person who detained Sun Chuang's soul.
We agreed to find his hiding place within three days, but now less than a day had passed, and we had found it. If I were him, I would definitely be enraged and killing an informant was not impossible.
I told Zhang Dabiao what I had thought.
I thought I had guessed correctly, but Zhang Dabiao shook his head. "It's not him."
"If not him, then who?"
Zhang Dabiao looked out the window and remained silent.
I followed his gaze and looked outside. Through the not-fully-closed door, I saw a group of people heading towards us in a mighty procession.
Leading them was the owner of the small shop, Old Man Sun.