“Sinking them in the pond, huh…” Pei Qian mused.

Although everyone was a modern person, thanks to TV series and movies, they had all heard about this cruel feudal punishment, so they didn't seem too surprised.

"As the main culprit, even if she's dead, I think the police will still look for her body," Zhou Rong said, looking up at the village chief, "Otherwise, who can prove that she's really dead?"

Just as Zhou Rong asked this question, his gaze seemed to sweep across Jiang Cheng's face inadvertently, as if expecting a response from the latter.

But he was obviously overthinking it.

Jiang Cheng was squinting and warming himself by the fire, as comfortable as a lazy cat.

Zhou Rong reluctantly looked away. He originally thought that the village chief's description of Zhao Xiangmei would remind the latter of someone, that… His eyes changed slightly, and the face of the terrifying woman hiding in the dark room of Anping Hostel flashed in his mind.

An assumption arose in Zhou Rong's mind: Could it be that Zhao Xiangmei didn't die in reality, but survived through some unknown means, and finally came to Anping Town and hid in the Anping Hostel?

Although it sounded like a fantasy, Zhou Rong, who had experienced five missions, knew that the Nightmare was an extremely bizarre place, and anything, no matter how absurd, could happen here.

The only important thing was whether he could find enough evidence to support the assumption.

Or rather, clues.

"Zhao Xiangmei is really dead," the village chief sighed. "I can guarantee you this, because… because I was there when the body was thrown away. Her body was cold, and after I touched it, I had nightmares for days… That definitely wasn't the temperature of a living person!"

Zhou Rong seemed a bit aggressive at this moment, "Then… what about the body?"

"At the bottom of the pond in the back mountain."

"Didn't the police organize people to retrieve it later?" This time it was Benfu who spoke, hugging his knees, his expression like a child listening to a horror story.

The village chief slowly shook his head, his eyes grim. "You don't know about the deep pond in the back mountain. It's very strange, the water temperature is extremely low all year round. Whether it's a person or anything else, as long as it falls in, it will disappear without a trace."

He licked his lips and suddenly lowered his voice, "The old people in the village say that it's connected to the underworld."

Chen Xiaomeng sneered when she heard this. She didn't know if it was connected to the underworld, but there was definitely a problem.

"We're going to the deep pond in the back mountain tomorrow," Zhou Rong said. Then, he seemed to remember something, "Is that stone tablet with the curse still there?"

"It's still there," the village chief nodded.

After saying this, the dark and sturdy man, who had been silent all along, suddenly leaned over and said to the village chief with an embarrassed expression, "Village chief," then gestured towards the window with his eyes.

Everyone looked out the window, following his line of sight. It was completely dark.

The village chief instantly became nervous when he saw this. He thought he was hiding it well, but he couldn't escape the eyes of the people in front of him.

"Perhaps the village isn't very safe at night," Zhou Rong said, first looking out the window, then turning back, staring at the village chief with a smile, observing his reaction.

"Everyone… esteemed guests, rest early, we won't disturb you," the village chief quickly stood up and winked at the dark and sturdy man, who immediately began to bend down to pack things up.

When they had packed up almost everything, the two pushed the door and left.

The village chief promised to take everyone to the deep pond in the back mountain to take a look early tomorrow morning, and also warned everyone not to wander around at night, and just stay in the house.

Everyone knew the reason even if he didn't say it.

After the village chief and the man left, everyone had a brief meeting. At the meeting, Zhou Rong insisted on going to the deep pond in the back mountain, believing that there would be clues there.

Pei Qian was still relatively conservative. He suggested inquiring around the village first, and then going to the deep pond in the back mountain when the time was right.

Later, he put forward a very terrifying, yet somewhat reasonable assumption.

"Maybe coming to the deep pond, or witnessing the stone tablet with the curse, is the condition to trigger the curse." He slowly swept his gaze across everyone, his voice deep and steady, making people feel very reliable.

"Could… could that be the case?"

Benfu was so frightened that his face turned pale. He was already wavering and immediately prepared to side with Pei Qian.

Just as everyone was arguing about whether to go tomorrow and when to go to the deep pond in the back mountain, Jiang Cheng suddenly raised his right hand straight.

From the first person noticing him, to everyone stopping the argument and looking at him, it only took about 10 seconds.

Zhou Rong's expression was a little strange, but he still asked, "Mr. Yin, do you have something to say?"

"Actually, it's nothing," Jiang Cheng put down his hand, then looked around and said, "I just think this courtyard is quite strange. It's like someone often comes to live here, but it also looks like it's been abandoned for a long time."

There were quite a few smart people here, and almost instantly, someone realized what he meant.

From the outside, this grand courtyard was indeed dilapidated. Not to mention the gate, some places that originally seemed to have some flowers and plants planted were also overgrown with weeds due to years of neglect.

But judging from the environment inside the room, it wasn't like that.

There were residual coal cinders in the stove, and several large bamboo baskets were piled up against the corner of the wall.

Opening the lid, they were filled with charcoal.

The dark and sturdy man came empty-handed, but in a short while, he brought in a bundle of firewood, indicating that there was a place to store firewood near the courtyard.

All of this showed that someone should often live here, and… Zhang Cheng stood up and pushed open the door on the side. The room was relatively dark, but you could still see several plain-colored quilts spread on the earthen bed covered with mats.

The quilts were folded neatly.

Although old, they were still clean, and there was no peculiar smell.

Yu Man lowered her head, the firelight in the stove casting a flickering light on her face. "That is to say…" she said slowly, "The people who live here don't help clean the yard. They just live here, and they don't plan to live here for a long time."

As soon as these words came out, Pei Qian, Zhou Rong, Chen Xiaomeng, and others' eyes lit up at the same time.

Isn't that… isn't that them?

They were here to investigate the case, so naturally they wouldn't live here for a long time, let alone bother to help clean up the yard and take care of the plants. All they needed was a place to rest.

Zhou Rong looked at everyone and lowered his voice, "Remember what the hostel owner said?"

"Those… those missing exorcists?" Jiang Zhongyi's eyes widened. He was a believer and was more accustomed to using demons to describe those unsolvable and terrifying existences.

Now everyone's eyes became fearful.

According to their reasoning, those capable people and strangers who were hired by the village at great expense should have all lived here, and then… they mysteriously disappeared.

Never to be seen again.