Chapter 30 An Old Story

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the village chief led his people away. Then, Jiang Cheng suddenly spoke, "Village Chief!"

When the village chief and his group turned around, Jiang Cheng pointed to the dark night and asked, "Are you going back tonight?"

"We..." The village chief looked embarrassed, but it was quickly replaced by a wry smile. "Thank you for your concern, young brother. We won't be going back tonight."

"Then come in and stay with us," Jiang Cheng said very naturally. "You can also tell us about what's been happening in the village at night."

As soon as the village affairs were mentioned, the faces of the young men next to the village chief changed. In the end, the village chief took over the conversation. "Thank you, young brother. We... we won't bother you. You should rest well. I'll pick you up early tomorrow morning."

After saying these words, the village chief and his party left. The way they hurried seemed like they were being chased by something terrible.

After watching the village chief and the others disappear into the night, everyone turned around to go back to the inn to rest. Suddenly, they noticed the innkeeper standing at the door, staring at them without saying a word.

It wasn't until they got closer that they realized the innkeeper had been staring at the direction the village chief and the others had left in, with an indescribable strangeness in his eyes.

Disgust, and... undisguised fear.

"Brother Liu," Zhou Rong naturally noticed the strangeness of the innkeeper. He obviously knew the village chief and the others, and he had a very bad impression of them. Otherwise, he wouldn't even let them in the door.

Recalling the woman he met in the afternoon and the words of the old man who offered the cigarettes, it seemed that people from Xiaoshijian Village were very unwelcome in Anping Town.

It wasn't a specific person who was being targeted, but the entire Xiaoshijian Village.

What exactly happened in this village?

The innkeeper, who was called out by Zhou Rong, woke up as if from a dream. He subconsciously shuddered, and all of this was secretly seen by the others.

"Brother Liu," Zhou Rong's attitude was very good, and he acted very friendly. He also glanced in the direction the innkeeper was looking, pretending to be curious and asked, "What are you looking at?"

The innkeeper's throat bobbed. He first pursed his lips, and then said quickly in a low voice, "Come in first, let's talk inside."

After the last person walked into the inn, the innkeeper immediately closed the door. Then, he paused, as if he wasn't at ease, and found a long wooden stick to prop the door from the inside.

After doing all this, the innkeeper's originally nervous expression eased slightly. He cautiously peered out through the crack in the door, and after a long while, he retracted his neck.

"You are a group of outsiders. How did you get involved with them?" The innkeeper looked at the group and said, his tone not very polite.

"We're back to visit relatives," Jiang Zhongyi, who was closest to the innkeeper, simply made up an excuse to get by. He continued, "We've been wandering outside for many years, and this time we plan to go back to our hometown to live for..."

But unexpectedly—

"You're lying!"

The innkeeper's face suddenly darkened, as if he wanted to swallow Jiang Zhongyi in one bite. His next words instantly stunned everyone.

"It's impossible for anyone to want to go back to that village," the innkeeper said nervously, glaring at Jiang Zhongyi, almost spitting out each word, "Those who are willing to go back to that place are dead!"

Hearing this, Jiang Zhongyi's expression instantly froze.

In the end, Pei Qian slowly spoke, getting Jiang Zhongyi out of the predicament, "Innkeeper," Pei Qian said slowly, but with great momentum. He looked into the innkeeper's eyes and said sincerely, "To be honest, we were invited to solve a problem for Xiaoshijian Village."

Without asking about the cause and effect of the matter, the innkeeper seemed to be convinced that the matter in the visitor's mouth was the matter he knew, and said anxiously, "Old man, you are confused!"

"Is the matter of Xiaoshijian Village something you can get involved in?"

"That's a curse!" The innkeeper suddenly became agitated, clenching his fists with both hands, and blue veins appeared on his neck, "Those who died unjustly have come to Xiaoshijian Village to demand their lives!"

Zhou Rong looked at the innkeeper. The agitation he showed was not only because of fear, but also because of anger. It seemed that something outrageous must have happened in Xiaoshijian Village before.

This not only led to the so-called curse of the unjustly dead, but also made the nearby people hostile to those from Xiaoshijian Village, even a widowed woman.

Thinking of this, Zhou Rong asked in a low voice, "What exactly happened in this Xiaoshijian Village...?"

Sighing, the innkeeper pulled out a long bench and sat down slowly. An oil lamp was burning on the table, and occasionally the wind blew, and the flickering flame reflected his face, sometimes bright and sometimes dark.

"This matter has to start 20 years ago," his voice became different from before, as if he was caught in a distant memory.

"Xiaoshijian Village is located in the mountains, in a remote area, and its development is very slow. The villagers have relied on fishing and hunting for generations."

"But many years ago, the Jialan River downstream was dammed and a reservoir was built, which also greatly affected the fishing industry. It was already a poor and remote place, and now it is even worse," he sighed and shook his head slowly, "No woman is willing to marry here."

"But it won't work without women. Of the three unfilial things, the greatest is to have no descendants. Every household can't let their incense die out, so someone suggested finding women from outside," the innkeeper sneered and suddenly explained, "Speaking of finding, it's actually deceiving, it's abducting."

"But the women are not stupid either. After being deceived and abducted here, they found that the situation was completely different from what they had promised or imagined, so they all wanted to go home. If they weren't allowed to go home, they would make a lot of noise, or even run away secretly."

"But how could they possibly escape? Every family there has bachelors, and they all... need women."

"No matter where they escape, hell awaits them."

Chen Xiaomeng stood beside him, keenly observing that when the innkeeper said this, a sharp look suddenly exploded in his eyes. His two arms hung down at his sides, and purplish-blue blood vessels floated on his clenched fists.

He sympathized with those women, sympathized with their tragic situation.

"What happened later?" Yu Man asked softly.

At this moment, she also restrained her previous indifferent attitude, as a final respect for those women who suffered in those years.

"There is no wall that doesn't let wind through," the innkeeper put his hand on the table, his expression slightly relieved, "Finally, the police found this village hidden in the deep mountains based on clues. Many, many people came that day, not only the police, but also many anxious parents who had heard the news and whose daughters had been abducted."

"The girls' parents were heartbroken when they saw their children's tragic situation. They broke through the cordon set up by the police and snatched the mastermind who carried out the abduction from a group of policemen, and then beat him to death."

"It is said that the scene at the time was very bloody, with flesh and blood mixed with mud, and not even a complete body was left."