Chapter 80: Joyful Wedding, Mourning Cry 11 Part 2
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“I’m not an expert, nor am I a forensic scientist, so I can’t definitively determine the cause of this person’s death. However…”
Yan Shixun paused with a magnetic voice filled with smile, but his tone soon turned serious and cold. “Do you know about the ancestral clan issues in the southern region? I’m afraid this matter can’t be handed over to the local authorities.”
Yan Shixun concisely explained to the official in charge what he had seen and then tossed the phone to Yang Tu. After Yang Tu hastily caught the phone, he nodded to signal that he would speak to the person on the other end.
Yang Tu, with a bewildered look on his face, quickly realized that this was a chance to let the “Heaven” above hear their voices. Despite his nervousness and some fear of speaking to a stranger, he stumbled through an explanation of their current situation.
Initially, the official in charge had found it amusing and heartwarming when he received Yan Shixun’s call, thinking that Yan Shixun genuinely cared about their cooperation with the authorities, hence his willingness to report even this small matter. So, he started the conversation on a friendly note.
However, as Yan Shixun and Yang Tu took turns explaining the current situation and Yang Tu’s concerns, the official in charge’s initial smile gradually faded. Eventually, his brows furrowed tightly, and he appeared both serious and angry.
“Alright… Alright… I’ve got a rough understanding of the situation now, Mr. Yan. Mr. Yang Tu’s description of the situation matches what has been a long-standing issue in the southern region recently. Although it’s not under my department’s jurisdiction, please rest assured, we’ll take over this case for now. We will contact the authorities in the provincial capital later and request them to handle it at a higher level.”
The official in charge spoke with a serious tone, “We appreciate Mr. Yan and Mr. Yang’s active provision of information. If the situation is confirmed, we will handle it seriously and will not allow anyone to ‘rule the mountain.'”
“I see that the program is still ongoing. Mr. Yan and the production team can leave first. If it takes too long, the audience might become suspicious.”
To lighten the mood, the official in charge added with a smile at the end, “Mr. Yang Tu is truly an ambitious and talented young man. I believe with young people like Mr. Yang Tu, local development will undoubtedly improve. If the situation is confirmed, I will personally award Mr. Yan and Mr. Yang Tu a commendation flag as a token of our appreciation.”
This remark left Yang Tu blushing deeply.
“A com-comme…commendation flag,” Yang Tu stammered with embarrassment, scratching his head. His face was rosy, but his eyes remained bright and clear, exuding the youthful energy.
In contrast, Yan Shixun, who was only a few years older than Yang Tu, had a completely different demeanor.
Yan Shixun’s expression turned wooden, feeling like he was being repaid with ingratitude.
As for the commendation flag, he decided to let it go – goodbye.
Under the leadership of Yan Shixun, the matter was quickly handed over to the authorities to deal with. The people from the production team breathed a sigh of relief, relieved they didn’t have to be near the corpse any longer.
Seeing such a repulsive dead body for the first time, they all wanted to stay as far away from it as possible, fearing nightmares later that night.
So, even though going downhill should technically be more challenging than going uphill, the members of the production team made their way down from the summit faster than they had climbed up. They were no longer in the mood to appreciate the scenery. The atmosphere among the guests was far from the cheerful spirit of their earlier ascent. Instead, they walked briskly with their heads down.
As for Zhang Wubing, being the one who had directly faced the dead body, he was indeed scared stiff, but what scared him even more was the thought that the spirit of the deceased might still be lingering around. Knowing how well he attract spirits, he was more eager than anyone else to quickly get far away from the corpse.
So he supported his trembling body with unsteady legs, taking cautious steps, and clung to Yan Shixun’s sleeve as he staggered along.
If someone unaware saw them, they might think these people were practicing for a walking race.
“We’re almost at Wang… Family Tomb Village. Just follow this road.”
After descending the mountain, Yang Tu seemed reluctant to go any further. He pointed to a nearby village and continued, “That’s where you need to go. When you come back, you can ask someone from the Family Tomb Village to take you back. Yang Yun and his family should be at home. He’s very kind-hearted, so you don’t need to worry.”
With that, Yang Tu seemed ready to leave.
However, he was immediately pulled back by Yan Shixun’s long arm wrapped around his neck, his powerful grip leaving him with no room to refuse.
The people around, who were just about to politely bid farewell to Yang Tu: “???”
Meanwhile, Ye Li, who had been standing aside, had a dark expression on his face. His gaze towards Yang Tu was so sharp that it could almost kill the person.
“But what can I do? I have social anxiety, and I’m not good at interacting with people.”
Yan Shixun chuckled softly and said to Yang Tu, “You mentioned someone named Yang Yun, right? Or is it someone else? I’m too afraid to talk to them. I don’t want to ask them to send us back either. But if we go back the same way, we might run into that hanged body again. What should we do? I’m scared.”
Yang Tu’s face turned red with embarrassment as he tried to break free from Yan Shixun’s grasp. Despite his efforts, his years of farm work left him no match for Yan Shixun’s strength. He couldn’t break free after struggling for a few times.
“B-Brother Yan, you can just find Yang Yun directly, I’m serious! Or you can mention my name, he’ll definitely help you. We’ve been childhood friends.”
Yan Shixun remained unmoved. “I think it’s more suitable for you to stay here. It’s easier to talk with someone you know.”
As Yang Tu was about to refuse, he noticed several cheerful figures emerging from a nearby field, making their way towards the village.
Yang Tu, along with the crew, stood on the path that led to the village, blocking the way.
The presence of this large group of people caught the attention of those few individuals.
“Yang Tu? What brings you here?”
One of the young men, upon recognizing Yang Tu’s face, was pleasantly surprised and couldn’t control his volume as he exclaimed, “This is great! It’s been so long since we last saw you! Just wait, I’ll go back to the village and tell Yang Yun this good news. He was talking about you yesterday.”
After saying that, without waiting for Yang Tu’s response, the young man excitedly sprinted off towards the village.
“I’m not…” Yang Tu futilely reached out his hand in an attempt to stop the young man but could only watch as he disappeared from sight.
Another young man approached, holding two fish tied together with grass ropes. It appeared that they had just been fishing together at the nearby Moonlight Creek.
“When you said you’d never join us again, I thought you were serious. But here you are, isn’t that nice? So, what do you think? Should we go pick some fruits in the mountains later or maybe have some roasted fish?”
“But…” The young man looked at the large group of crew members standing beside Yang Tu with astonishment and curiosity. He asked, “Are these your friends, Yang Tu? They’re all unfamiliar faces. Did you meet them outside?”
Yan Shixun’s gaze flicked slightly backward, and he gave a quick and sharp glare at the still-dazed Zhang Wubing.
Startled, Zhang Wubing quickly jogged over and said, “We came for a rural farmstay. Do you know how to get to the rural farmstay in the village?”
The young man blinked and suddenly realized, “Oh! You mean Yang Yun’s restaurant.”
“Yeah, Yang Yun used to follow Yang Tu for a couple of days and came back saying he wanted to start a rural farmstay business. His dad passed away early, and now he’s in charge of the family. Surprisingly, quite a few out-of-town visitors have been coming here to enjoy it.”
The young man appeared quite pleased as he approached Yang Tu, patting him on the back enthusiastically. He said, “Yang Tu, you’re really something! Yang Yun listened to your advice and has made quite a bit of money. Don’t be fooled by all the uncles in the village saying it’s ruining our traditions; secretly, they envy Yang Yun and want to do the same thing.”
Then, the young man’s expression turned a mix of envy and disappointment as he said, “I wish my dad would pass away too. I can’t stand him anymore; you have no idea how sick he is. I can’t bear to watch.”
These words completely contradicted traditional filial piety, causing the members of the production team who overheard to glance at each other, curious about what this father had done to make his son speak like this in front of outsiders.
However, the young man remembered that they were in front of outsiders. After seeing his good friend, he slip up in the heat of the moment, but didn’t say anything further. Instead, he excitedly offered to guide Yang Tu and the crew to the farmhouse.
Yang Tu still tried to resist, “I can’t go on. I really should go back…”
But he was restrained by Yan Shixun, who calmly said, “Since you’ve already come this far and entered the village, do you want your friend to curse you for not valuing friendship?”
Yang Tu: “………..”
H-He made a good point, how hateful!
Yang Tu looked at his friends ahead who were excited and talkative and gave up struggling. He smiled.
Forget it. It had been six months since he last saw his friends, so he could consider this trip as a visit to catch up. After all, it was his grandfather’s request, and he probably wouldn’t get scolded… right?
Both Yang Tu and the young man appeared quite cheerful, while the members of the production team were curiously enjoying the scenery of the village and the fields along the way.
Only the expression in Yan Shixun’s eyes remained steady and unaffected.
He chose to have Yang Tu stay because among the people in the village who likely knew the specifics of what happened back then, Yang Tu was the most likely to reveal the details.
The village head remained tight-lipped, and Yang Han’s mental condition was not well. It was only Yang Tu, as the eldest son and grandson, who was both informed about the events of the past and more likely to provide information due to his close relationship with Yang Han.
Both the village head and Yang Tu’s attitudes towards the Family Tomb Village indicated that the situation here should not be taken lightly. If he couldn’t obtain information smoothly from Family Tomb Village, Yang Tu would serve as his backup plan.
Due to the encounter with the person who frightened the dog last night and the nightmares experienced by Zhang Wubing, Yan Shixun appeared even more cautious than before.
While the variety show celebrity had initially been chatting and joking with the guests, gradually distancing himself from the shock of seeing the corpse on the mountaintop, he became somewhat hesitant upon seeing the nearby fields.
“Why is this land… like this? Hasn’t anyone taken care of it?”
However, logically speaking, it shouldn’t be in such a desolate and overgrown condition.
Jia Village relies on the highway for its livelihood, but what do people in this mountain village eat? Since this looks like it’s already harvested, and it’s still too early for the harvest season.
The variety show celebrity was puzzled, observing the fields in the distance without a clear explanation. He didn’t want to abruptly question the young man he had just met, so his mind was filled with uncertainty.
The location of the rural farmstay was on the edge of the village, close to the Moon Creek in the front and backed by the mountains, offering beautiful scenery.
On the way to the rural farmstay, the young man taking the lead seemed curious and excited. While introducing the rural farmstay and the village to the crew members, he asked them many questions about the world outside the mountains, showing both envy and longing.
“I wish my dad and grandpa would die soon, so I can go out there…” the young man sighed softly.
Hearing this, Yan Shixun furrowed his brow and looked at him sideways.
This was the second time the young man had expressed such sentiments. It didn’t sound like a joke. He seemed genuinely hopeful that this would happen.
Why?
Before Yan Shixun could ask indirectly about the reasons behind the young man’s statement, as they passed by a house in the village, an elderly man sitting outside the gate pointed at the crew members and loudly scolded, “What kind of clothes should a decent girl be wearing? How vulgar and disgraceful!”
The sudden outburst of curses left the crew members stunned, and they looked at the old man in astonishment.
The old man, with deeply wrinkled face, was filled with anger and disgust. He bore no resemblance to the usual kindness and gentleness associated with elderly people. Instead, his face was twisted in a fierce and frightening expression, making everyone feel intimidated.
Being directly singled out and scolded, Bai Shuang was surprised and quickly lowered her head to check herself.
She had initially thought that her clothes might have gotten tangled somewhere or were not properly arranged, but upon inspection, she saw that her outfit was still in its normal state. Her skirt pants, which reached mid-thigh, exposed her snow-white slender legs. Her bubbly sleeves revealed a large portion of her forearms. Her beautiful collarbones were also visible, giving her a youthful and vibrant appearance. It was a perfectly suitable outfit for mountain climbing.
However…
“Why aren’t you wearing pants properly? Your sleeves are so short, and you’ve put on makeup as if you’re some plaything? Aren’t you ashamed in front of your parents? Really birthed by the mother and not raised by the father. Does your father not teach you any manners…”
Bai Shuang, who was originally cheerful by nature, watched the old man continue his relentless scolding, clutching the hem of her clothes. She wanted to retort but held back, tears welling up in her eyes.
A tall and sturdy figure appeared in front of her, blocking the verbal attacks and hostile glares on her behalf.
With tears in her eyes, Bai Shuang looked up and saw Yan Shixun raising his long arm to shield her from behind. A single silhouette, yet it exuded both gentleness and strength, providing her with a sense of security.
Facing the old man, Yan Shixun’s expression turned cold, and his eyes carried a disdainful, condescending look. He sneered, “Since you find it vulgar yet continue to watch, what does that make you? Shameless, huh?”
The old man didn’t expect someone to dare to speak back to him while he was reprimanding the younger generation. He was momentarily stunned and didn’t know how to react.
“If your deceased ancestors found out, they’d come back in your dreams at midnight to scold you as a disgraceful descendant.”
Yan Shixun tilted his chin and exuded contempt in every aspect of his being. “I heard you just said for the girl to go change clothes? Well, what about you? Change your eyes, maybe. If using your eyes to see the world is considered bad, then there’s no need to continue letting it stay in those two holes of yours. Having them or not makes no difference.”
“Do you want to dig it yourself, or should I help you?”
Saying this, Yan Shixun took a few powerful steps forward, exuding a strong and sharp aura, as if he was about to charge forward in the next moment, ready to act on his words.
The tension in his muscles and his overall strength also emphasized that he had the capability to follow through.
The old man initially wanted to continue scolding, but seeing Yan Shixun’s imposing manner and his readiness for action, he quickly shrunk back, picked up his stool, and headed inside his house.
In the end, the old man couldn’t help but cast one more resentful glance at Yan Shixun and muttered under his breath, “Young people these days…”
“Heh,” Yan Shixun raised an eyebrow, his tone icy, “Are you starving? You can speak up louder; I can’t hear you.”
With that, the old man who had been grumbling under his breath completely fell silent, closing his door with a loud “thud.”
Yan Shixun’s originally sharp and aggressive gaze softened as he turned to look at Bai Shuang.
“Did that scare you?”
He noticed the tears in Bai Shuang’s eyes, so he smiled and gently tapped her on the head with his slender fingers, softly saying, “You look great in this outfit, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. Don’t doubt yourself.”
“It’s his view of the world that’s flawed, not you.”
At this point, the others, who had been momentarily stunned by the sudden outburst, also began to react and hurried over to comfort Bai Shuang, urging her not to think about it
Seeing that Bai Shuang had stabilized her emotions, Yan Shixun withdrew from the situation.
The young man who had been leading the way approached with a mixture of embarrassment and remorse, apologizing, “I’m really sorry about that. That was one of the elderly villagers. I couldn’t confront my elders. So I didn’t help you earlier…”
Next to him, Yang Tu snorted disdainfully, “Your village has been like this for how many years? Old habits die hard.”
Even though he was scolded, the young man didn’t get angry. Instead, he let out a long sigh and smiled bitterly, shaking his head, “If only they could have died earlier…”
Yan Shixun raised an eyebrow, becoming even more interested in this young man.
Perhaps it was because the young man felt guilty, but for the rest of the journey, he answered almost every question from Yan Shixun openly.
However, the most crucial information Yan Shixun wanted to know dated back several decades, long before this young man was born. Unlike Yang Tu, who had been informed of the past events, the young man could only shake his head in confusion when Yan Shixun indirectly inquired.
“There’s one more thing I’m curious about.”
Yan Shixun appeared calm and his tone was casual, as if he were engaging in a casual conversation. He asked a lingering question on his mind, “I’ve heard that there’s a village called Wangzi Village next to Jia Village. But I haven’t seen that village anywhere.”
“Wangzi Village?”
The young man chuckled and gestured to the surroundings. “This is it.”
Yan Shixun furrowed his brow. “Isn’t this Family Tomb Village?”
“Oh, they changed the name.”
The young man shrugged and said, “It happened around the time two years I was born. The clan leader consulted a master, saying that the fortunes of Wangzi Village and our village couldn’t coexist peacefully. So, they decided to change the name; otherwise, there would always be troubles. That’s how Wangzi Village became Family Tomb Village.”
Yan Shixun keenly grasped the key point, “A master? What kind of troubles?”
The young man scratched his head, “I don’t really know the details. My mother told me that there was some kind of disturbance in the village before, something that was affecting the villagers’ lives. The master said that changing the name to include ‘Tomb’ would harmonize with the village’s terrain and keep any disturbances away. Surprisingly, it seemed to work, according to my mother.”
“Many people in the village know about this; it’s not a secret.”
Not looking good? Disturbing the people’s life?
Involving something as significant as changing the village’s name was certainly not about the loss of livestock or anything trivial. So what was it that did not look good? What on earth could it be?
Yan Shixun noticed that while the young man was smiling, Yang Tu had a furrowed brow and an expression of disgust. It seemed like he knew more than the young man, aware of the reasons behind the past events.
“We’ve arrived, this is it,” the young man stopped and pointed ahead with a smile towards the production team.
“The rural farmstay.”
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