Chapter 76: Joyful Wedding, Mourning Cry 7 Part 2
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In the deserted village road in the dead of night, it felt as if a host of ghosts were about to emerge, silently prowling through the dark hours. Outside the courtyard, there were only ghostly shadows. “Knock, knock, knock.” The door suddenly rapped. Even the usually composed Yan Shixun was startled for a moment, his heart rate irregularly spiking before slowly returning to normal. In the end, Yan Shixun glanced at the scene outside the window one more time but still didn’t spot anything unusual. It was only then that he turned around and gently reminded Yang Han, who was still lost in his memories, “Someone is at the door looking for you. Why don’t you go and check?””Second Uncle!” came the lively voice from outside the door, the voice of the young man Yan Shixun had encountered earlier. He remembered that this young man was called Yang Tu. Yang Tu continued knocking on the door, saying, “Second Uncle, you’re probably not asleep yet, right? Hehe, I know you too well. You never sleep, so don’t pretend to be asleep now. Come down and lend a hand. Grandpa said we should help the guests make their beds because we’re short of people.” Seeing that Yang Han was still sitting in the chair, muttering and rambling incoherently, showing no signs of waking up, and the knocking on the door outside was becoming more urgent. The door handle was being twisted, making a clattering noise. Yang Tu outside was growing increasingly anxious, but he couldn’t push the locked door open. Before understanding the situation in the village, Yan Shixun couldn’t afford to be suspected without cause. However, with Yang Han in his current state and only two people in the room, if Yang Tu came in, he would inevitably suspect that something had been done to Yang Han. Strangers tend to be wary, and regardless of what he had or hadn’t done, Yang Tu’s perception of him would take a nosedive. Once suspicion takes hold, it’s hard to shake off, making it difficult for Yan Shixun to inquire further if needed. Yan Shixun immediately made a decision: he couldn’t let Yang Tu see Yang Han in his current state. He glanced at Yang Han, who was still murmuring, and walked swiftly toward the door. “Weird, why did Second Uncle lock the door? Is he asleep? That shouldn’t be the case; it’s not even his bedtime yet. Isn’t he supposed to be watching TV…?” Yang Tu was standing at the door, muttering in confusion about the locked door, when suddenly the door opened. However, it wasn’t his Second Uncle who came out but one of the people from the TV crew he had just met. “Are you here to find your Second Uncle?” Yan Shixun smiled, intentionally softening his facial expressions to appear more approachable. He said, “He told me that he’s really angry with you for talking nonsense downstairs tonight, and he doesn’t want to deal with you today.” Yan Shixun raised a slender finger to his lips, making a “shh” gesture, and then pointed toward the half-closed door behind him, which he had concealed after coming out. With a friendly and considerate demeanor, he whispered to Yang Tu, “You better not provoke your Second Uncle tonight; he seems really mad at you. It looks like he might want to give you a beating. He’s holding back for now, but if you keep appearing in front of him, it might not end well.” Growing up in the village, Yang Tu was known for his simple and cheerful nature. He had never encountered someone like Yan Shixun, who could fabricate a lie with such a calm demeanor, not showing any signs of guilt or deceit. Even his facial expressions were perfectly controlled. Because Yan Shixun’s expression was so gentle and warm. The words he spoke resembled Yang Han’s usual demeanor, it only added to his credibility. So Yang Tu didn’t suspect anything. He simply lowered his head, feeling regretful, and said, “It was indeed my fault. I knew that talking about Uncle Yang Guang’s matters would hurt Second Uncle, so it’s only natural for him to be upset with me.” Seeing that Yang Tu believed him, Yan Shixun naturally closed the door and placed his hand on Yang Tu’s shoulder, half-leading him away from the door. He did it so naturally that Yang Tu didn’t suspect anything. Yan Shixun said, “You mentioned wanting to arrange the bedding, right? We can handle it ourselves; you don’t need to trouble yourselves.” Yang Tu hesitated and replied, “But my grandfather said…” “Shh,” Yan Shixun put his finger to his lips, smiling as he said, “Then let’s keep it a secret from him. We’ll handle it together without telling him.” Yang Tu nodded instinctively, completely unaware of anything amiss. Since during the room allocation earlier, Yan Shixun had been paying attention to Yang Han’s footsteps, he hadn’t participated in the room allocation process. However, this worked out just fine. Since he hadn’t finished his questions for Yang Han yet, he decided to stay in one of the rooms on the fourth floor. This way, he could easily come back to speak with Yang Han when there were no other people around. With his thoughts sorted out, Yan Shixun casually pointed to the vacant room across from Yang Han and said that he would stay there. Downstairs in the living room, the crew members were dining and playing games, erupting in laughter from time to time. The originally empty small building now felt livelier. Moreover, as several of the guests were seasoned individuals from the entertainment industry, adept at socializing, it was hard for anyone to feel a grudge when they wanted to strike up a conversation. This helped the village head and his wife become more comfortable with the guests, and they all shared hearty laughs, fostering better relationships. The younger generation, on the other hand, was cheerfully and warmly urged by the village head to join in the work. Yan Shixun mingled among the youngsters, listening to their conversations, gradually piecing together information about the village from their dialogues, and occasionally joining in to guide the conversation towards the topics he wanted to know more about. The youngsters didn’t notice Yan Shixun’s underlying motive and willingly shared information about the village. As observed when the production crew passed through the village earlier, due to their proximity to the highway and the village head’s openness to new ideas, they had learned from organized publications. This progressive mindset led the villagers of Jia Village to actively engage with outsiders. Especially when truck drivers passed by on the highway, the village head enthusiastically introduced them to the local agricultural products. Because of their low prices and good quality, some merchants were happy to collaborate with the village, resulting in a significant increase in income for the villagers. As there were no middlemen exploiting price differences at the agricultural market, Jia Village villagers earned more money than those in other villages. Consequently, Jia Village began to thrive. The villagers organized themselves to learn from the merchants, taking their products directly to the outside market. During this exchange, many middle-aged and young villagers experienced the outside world and encountered new ideas they were previously unaware of. Gradually, Jia Village, which was originally located on the outskirts of the Yang clan’s territory, increasingly distanced itself from the traditional thinking and behavioral patterns of the clan and developed its own ideas. The people of Jia Village began to feel that it was time for a different way of life. They no longer wanted to blindly follow the so-called dreams of their ancestors and the dictates of clan leaders and elders. Instead, they believed it was important to adhere to the laws and regulations of the outside world, particularly those of the city. By guarding the highway and opening up their minds to new ideas, the people of Jia Village hoped to lead better lives in the future. Furthermore, when Jia Village villagers met people from other villages during major holidays and ancestor worship ceremonies, they would mention the trends in the outside world, encouraging them to learn from the world beyond the mountains and the clan. They advised them not to stick to the clan’s rules that had been in place for hundreds of years. They were alive but rotting away like corpses. However, most of those villages scorned Jia Village’s ideas and thought they were foolish, attributing it to a lack of blessings from their ancestors. As time passed, the people of Jia Village, who had their good intentions misunderstood and were treated poorly, stopped bringing up these matters. However, during ancestral rites or major festivals, they became even more reluctant to meet people from those villages. “You came from the outside; you haven’t heard the things they say. My dad can’t stand it, let alone you. It’s nauseating, like dealing with an old zombie. If it weren’t for the ancestral hall and the family tree being together, who would want to meet them?” One of the youngsters rolled his eyes, expressing a mix of anger and disdain as he said to Yan Shixun, “Anyway, my family hasn’t been back for over ten years. Nobody cares about people like us, so it doesn’t matter. They find us annoying, and we find their words nauseating, like they’re from some ancient era, like they’ve crawled out of a different era.” “Don’t say that; they’re still considered elders.” Next to them, another person, shaking their blanket, playfully nudged the young man who had spoken earlier. “But my family doesn’t go either. My mom said, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ My younger sister was only ten back then. Every time we went, those people would insist on marrying her off and suggested that my mom marry her to an elderly widower from the neighboring village. That really annoyed my mom, so we haven’t gone back since. Haha, isn’t it more fun to celebrate the Spring Festival at home, eating, playing cards, and enjoying ourselves? Why go back and be uncomfortable?” “But Yang Tu is different, right?” One of the youngsters said. Then, several youngsters all turned their gaze to Yang Tu, who was busy cleaning dust on the other side. “As the eldest son, the eldest grandson, you have to go back, or else your grandpa will drag you to the ancestral worship every year. It’s too pitiful.” One young man clicked his tongue and said, “And because Yang Tu still refuses to get married, he’s been scolded quite badly. One year, I even saw him crying because of it.” “Well, it doesn’t matter. After all, when we go back to our village, it’s our grandpas who’s in charge, right? Isn’t the village head just like the clan leader? I haven’t heard that clan rules are greater than the law.” Another person shrugged and said, “Besides, isn’t this a fine tradition of our family? Second Uncle doesn’t get married, and Yang Tu doesn’t get married either. Anyway, their dads doesn’t care about this matter, so what do the others count for?” Yang Tu, who was mentioned by name and inexplicably pitied, turned his head blankly, looked over, and took a while to react. He immediately laughed and scolded, “You bunch of gossips.” “I really don’t plan to get married. Whoever wants to get married can get married. I don’t want to harm any good girls’ families.” Yang Tu shrugged: “Doing harm to others and oneself, I’m not going to do it.” The clear aversion of these youngsters to the clan’s values surprised Yan Shixun. Jia Village did indeed seem to have an open-minded mindset. However, not only Yang Han but even Yang Tu seemed to have a deep-seated disgust for marriage. This indicated that the events that Yang Guang and his family had experienced back then had a profound impact on both of them, extending even to the younger generation. Looking at it this way, the events that happened to Yang Hua’s family back then were undoubtedly significant and possibly far more shocking than what Yang Guang knew. Yan Shixun’s gaze fell upon Yang Tu. The impact of the events that had affected Yang Hua’s family in the past seemed to have a much stronger effect on Yang Han than Yan Shixun had initially anticipated. If Yang Han’s emotions were to become too overwhelming and he couldn’t bring himself to discuss what happened that night, Yan Shixun considered the possibility of turning to Yang Tu for answers. Considering Yang Tu’s reactions and the close and harmonious relationship between him and Yang Han, it seemed highly likely that Yang Han had confided most of the details of the past events to Yang Tu. BecauseYan Shixun had been lost in thought for quite some time, his gaze attracted Yang Tu’s attention. Yang Tu turned his head in bewilderment, looking at Yanshixuan with a puzzled expression, not understanding why he was staring at him. But because his companions had just mentioned Yang Han, Yang Tu suddenly realized… “Why did you go to Second Uncle’s room just now?” Yang Tu exclaimed, “I can’t believe my Second Uncle actually let a stranger into his room; that’s incredible! Have you met my uncle before?” Hearing this, the relaxed laughter of the youngsters suddenly stopped, and they all turned to Yan Shixun with surprised looks. “Second Uncle hates it when anyone enters his room the most, right? How could this happen?” “In the summer, Second Uncle doesn’t even open the door or windows. He sealed the cracks in the window facing the backyard with glue. How could he meet a stranger?” “I’ve never been in Second Uncle’s room. When I tried to enter as a child, Second Uncle chased me out. His terrifying expression scared me so much that I wet my pants.” “Yang Han is really nice. I talked to him briefly when I went upstairs.” Yan Shixun calmly said, “It might be because I’ve read a few Taoist scriptures before. So Brother Yan Han invited me to have a brief discussion. It didn’t take long, maybe just a few minutes. When Yang Tu came to find me, I was about to go downstairs.” Yang Tu blinked, thinking that given his Second Uncle’s personality, if someone had actually read books, especially Taoist ones, he might indeed be more receptive. After all, his Second Uncle liked collecting such things. Every time they went to the market, he would ask them to bring back Taoist items. He would also request them from people who left the village. Although Yan Shixun had only just met Yang Han that day and didn’t know much about him, he managed to make an educated guess about Yang Han’s character based on the layout of his room and the conversations he had with the youngsters. This led him to provide a reasonable explanation. As a result, although the youngsters found it a bit puzzling, they all accepted this explanation. “Alright, we’re done with this floor’s bedding. Let’s go upstairs,” Yang Tu said with a grin to Yan Shixun. “Make sure you don’t tell Grandpa, or I’ll be in trouble!” Yan Shixun smiled, “Don’t worry.” How could I disturb the snakes in the grass?……Outside the small building filled with laughter, the village under the night sky was eerily quiet. The only sounds were the faint, approaching footsteps, like the noise made when a stick hits the ground. But it also sounded like the hollow thud of bones knocking together. Every place not illuminated by the lights had sounds intermingling. They came from the fields covered with crops, from behind the small courtyards, and from under the corners of houses. On the village roads devoid of people, the dim lights cast empty spaces. Only occasionally, a pale bone or toe ventured into the edge of the light, quickly retreating. The sound grew closer and closer, and closer… After enjoying a satisfying meal and exchanging greetings with other guests, Bai Shuang got up contentedly. She smiled at the other guests and then decided to go upstairs to organize her luggage. After all, there were only a few girls among the crew, including her and some staff members, so they had to coordinate their shower schedules. The variety show celebrity, who was enjoying a cheerful conversation with the village head, waved his hand and then turned back, fully engrossed in listening to the village head as he recounted stories from the mountains’ past. However, as Bai Shuang stood up and blinked, she felt like she saw something. She subconsciously turned her head to look out the window again. However, the ample light inside the small building made her squint her eyes for a long time, but she couldn’t see anything outside clearly. She could only attribute it to her eyes being momentarily dazzled by the bright light, causing her to retain an image of what she had seen when she looked at the dark area earlier, creating an illusion. After all, she had a vague feeling that what she had just seen seemed to be something slender and white. Now that she thought about it carefully, it seemed somewhat similar to the pale, cold fluorescent lamp nearby? Bai Shuang only wondered for a few seconds, then dismissed the matter from her mind without dwelling on it. In the quiet backyard, the well covered by heavy stone slabs remained untouched by the light leaking from the small building. A splash of blood-red suddenly fell onto the completely dark well cover. The blood-red eyes opened.
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