Chapter 87: Joyful Wedding, Mourning Cry 18
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Watching the girl extend her hand, Yan Shixun didn’t hesitate for a moment. He reached out his slender hand and firmly held the girl’s hand.
The touch was as cold as ice.
It didn’t feel like normal human skin, soft and warm. It was cold, stiff.
Devoid of vitality.
Yan Shixun hesitated for a moment when he held the girl’s hand, and his long fingers instinctively lifted slightly. Then, he smiled and firmly grasped her hand again.
“Let’s go. Let me see what kind of scene it is.”
Yan Shixun’s determination and decisiveness surprised Jiang Yanran, freezing her in place.
The smile on her face faded slightly, and she lowered her gaze to the hand that Yan Shixun held. The patch of skin was being warmed by Yan Shixun’s dry and warm palm, a temperature she hadn’t felt in a long time, almost scalding her.
But Jiang Yanran restrained her instinct to pull her hand back. She raised her smile again and looked into Yan Shixun’s eyes with a twinkle of bright light.
“Then don’t let go of my hand. Otherwise…”
Jiang Yanran raised a finger to her lips, and the smile on her lips turned malicious.
“They will be devoured completely, not a single bone will be left.”
Just moments ago, when Yan Shixun had appeared at the corner, the villagers had all turned to look at him as if they had been alerted. They stared at him silently and intensely. However, when Yan Shixun held Jiang Yanran’s hand and reappeared at the corner, those villagers seemed to act as if they couldn’t see Yan Shixun at all. They remained in their original positions, cheering for the celebration in the courtyard.
Even as Yan Shixun passed right in front of them, their hollow eyes couldn’t seem to perceive his presence. They mechanically clapped and wore identical smiles on their faces.
It was as if they were programmed machines, only capable of performing the same actions.
Yan Shixun furrowed his brows but didn’t immediately voice his doubts to Jiang Yanran. He simply maintained his composure and quickly surveyed the villagers he had encountered on his way.
When he had stood at the corner earlier, he had already noticed the commotion in this direction. However, it was only when he approached closer that he realized the entire narrow village road leading to the house of celebration was blocked by villagers. It seemed like everyone in the village had gathered here.
However, near the house of celebration, despite the resounding laughter and lively sounds, the noise was deafening, and the drums were thunderous, making it impossible to ignore. Yet the surrounding village houses were tightly shut, with no sound at all. It was impossible to tell what was happening inside or if anyone was there.
No one was curious enough to open their windows and peek outside, and no one joined in the jubilation of their neighbors’ celebration.
It was as if those houses were already deserted.
The villagers’ eyes were fixed on the small courtyard. Some were cheering, others were loudly wishing the courtyard’s occupants well, and some were applauding in harmony with the suona and drums coming from the courtyard.
Their faces wore smiles that were identical, warm in appearance but lacking any real warmth.
Guided by Jiang Yanran, Yan Shixun passed through the crowd of villagers without any hindrance, crossing the stone threshold of the courtyard, and entered it.
This was the first time Yan Shixun had seen the slightly older female villagers in the village since he had entered Jiashifeng Village.
Mothers and daughters-in-law squeezed from the doorways of their houses to the entrance of the courtyard. They wore red clothes embroidered with patterns, some of the older daughters-in-law even had plastic flowers on their chests. Their clothes were better than the others’. It was easy to tell the difference between them and the rest.
The women had neatly coiled their hair behind their heads, adorned with cheap but brightly colored plastic flowers they had purchased from the market. Their elaborate hairstyles were adorned with these vibrant yet clearly artificial blossoms.
Much like the villagers outside the yard, these women also seemed to ignore Yan Shixun as he passed by. They were entirely focused on looking into the house, their faces plastered with smiles that almost concealed their eyes, with their mouths stretched from ear to ear.
Perhaps due to their lack of makeup skills, these women insisted on dressing up according to their own interpretation of grandeur, despite their questionable results.
They had whitened their faces to an unnatural, paper-like pallor, entirely concealing the natural color of living flesh. On their cheeks, however, they had applied a large, vivid blush, a bright red hue that matched their irregularly drawn, equally bright red lips.
The lipstick appeared to have been applied rather clumsily, with shaky hands, resulting in uneven lines that made their lips look as if they had been hastily smeared with paint. It resembled a child’s haphazard crayon drawing.
Perhaps due to excitement or the festive atmosphere that had affected them, when these women laughed, their cheeks flushed along with the rest of their faces, their bright red lips stretched wide, revealing white teeth and dark, cavernous mouths.
Yan Shixun knew that without Jiang Yanran by his side, he would require much more effort to enter the premises. Moreover, he might not be able to pass through the villagers so openly. Therefore, he moved slowly and observed his surroundings carefully along the way.
Jiang Yanran observed Yan Shixun’s actions but didn’t intervene. Instead, she lowered her eyebrows and kept her gaze fixed on her own hand, which was being held by Yan Shixun. She didn’t bother to look at the villagers along the way, either because she felt it wasn’t necessary or because she had grown accustomed to this scene.
From the moment they entered the yard, the radiant smile that had adorned Jiang Yanran’s face disappeared.
Yan Shixun continued to focus on the women as they passed by. He could hear their hushed whispers as they exchanged words among themselves.
The whispers and chatter among the women continued in hushed tones, like eerie echoes beneath the lively sounds of the suona horns, gongs, and laughter.
“Congratulation, congratulation, Yang Laosan’s second daughter, congratulation.”
“Yang Laosan’s good days are coming, now he can have a son.”
“They must give birth to a son, they must give birth to a son.”
“The eldest daughter was unlucky, the eldest daughter is a bad girl who eloped with someone, bringing shame upon our ancestors.”
“Our ancestors will be appeased. Yang Laosan’s family’s sins have been atoned for by three people. Once he remarries, he will surely have sons.”
“The second daughter was originally married to a foolish boy from the clan. Her foolish husband, upon hearing that his new wife had died, insisted on taking her back.”
“He couldn’t succeed, couldn’t succeed. How can a person compete with a god?”
“The second daughter should thank the eldest daughter. If it weren’t for the eldest daughter eloping with someone, how could such good fortune have come to her?”
“Perhaps she was afraid of being lonely, so she even sent her mother and grandmother to accompany her. It’s truly a good match!”
……
More words were mumbled and unclear, buried beneath the laughter and festivities, like a cold and dark river flowing beneath the ground.
Yan Shixun’s footsteps came to a halt. His previously composed face now wore an expression of stern seriousness. His sharp brows and eyes were so foreboding that anyone who looked at him would feel cut by their sharpness.
“Is something wrong? Don’t you want to go inside?” Jiang Yanran’s voice was soft, but amidst the deafening drums and suona music, it still managed to reach Yan Shixun’s ears clearly.
She shook the hand that Yan Shixun was holding and looked up at him, as if the midday sunlight had momentarily blinded her. She squinted her eyes slightly against the light, and in the interplay of light and shadow, it was difficult to discern her emotions.
“People, they claim to be curious, but they’re afraid to see the truth. Now, release my hand, and you can turn around and leave. The road is right behind you.”
As she spoke, Jiang Yanran tried to free herself from Yan Shixun’s grasp, her face devoid of the earlier smile.
Her fair and delicate hands were cold and stiff, yet they were incredibly smooth and unblemished, showing no signs of ever doing heavy or laborious work. It was as if they were like a slippery fish, cold and smooth to the touch.
Yan Shixun’s gaze shifted from the cheerful faces of the villagers to Jiang Yanran’s face.
He lowered his eyelashes, and a few strands of hair fell across his forehead, casting shadows into his eyes.
“No, I’m just curious…”
Yan Shixun tightened his grip on Jiang Yanran’s hand, making it difficult for her to break free. “What is the status of this household in the village that the wedding is so grand, with everyone in the village attending? It’s as lively as a festival.”
Jiang Yanran stopped trying to pull her hand away.
She stared fixedly at Yanshixuan as he became lost in thought, and for a brief moment, the lively scene around them appeared as if a breeze had ruffled the water’s surface, creating ripples that blurred the surroundings and distorted the smiles on everyone’s faces.
Overlapping and intertwining, grim like ghosts.
Yan Shixun who had been watching the surroundings with his peripheral vision and was startled then he quickly looked to the side.
And Jiang Yanran had once again put on her smile.
But he didn’t have time to see clearly when everything had already returned to normal.
“It’s also possible that it’s not the bride’s status that’s good, but the groom’s status is high,” Jiang Yanran tilted her head and asked Yan Shixun, “Is that possible?”
“Gold, silver, and jewels are boundless, and boundless wealth and prosperity are right before your eyes. New bride, enjoy your happiness…”
The girl’s voice was soft, dispersing like a breeze, completely overshadowed by the boisterous suona music.
Jiang Yanran turned around and continued leading Yan Shixun forward.
As if her earlier words were just a momentary act of coquettishness.
However, the gaze Yan Shixun cast upon Jiang Yanran once again carried a profound inquiry.
He remembered very clearly that, when Jiang Yanran had asked him earlier before entering the courtyard, she had explicitly warned him not to let go of her hand, or else he would be devoured until not a bone remained.
And the fact that when he appeared alone within the villagers’ sight, they regarded him with suspicion and hostility, while they paid no attention when Jiang Yanran led him, also indicated that Jiang Yanran’s words were probably not just an idle threat but a grim reality.
—Although he still didn’t understand what was happening here, and he didn’t know what Jiang Yanran meant by “being devoured,” he wasn’t prepared to act recklessly until he figured out these things.
However, just now, Jiang Yanran had voluntarily asked him to release her hand and seemingly innocently pointed out a way to retreat.
Was it a way out?
Or a dead end.
Yan Shixun was certain of one thing: if he were to stand in the middle of the courtyard and release Jiang Yanran’s hand at this moment, the villagers who had suddenly noticed his presence would quickly surround him.
Even he, in this situation, couldn’t leave without alerting anyone. Leaving would inevitably require a confrontation with the villagers, and it would be like stirring up a hornet’s nest.
This girl…
Yan Shixun furrowed his brows and lowered his gaze, watching Jiang Yanran’s figure as she turned away.
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Thanks for the update