Chapter 98: Joyful Wedding, Mourning Cry 29
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During the daytime when Yan Shixun was investigating the village, he only felt that every household was quiet and eerie, and the entire village was enveloped in a heavy and oppressive atmosphere.
Young people were rarely seen, and it seemed as if women never existed. The elderly villagers walked through the village with hands in pockets and heads bowed in silence.
It was as if there was an unspoken consensus circulating among the villagers.
At that time, Yan Shixun also thought about trying to find out the reason from the villagers of Family Tomb Village. However, Family Tomb Village was too exclusive, especially towards outsiders, and they were extremely cautious, remaining tight-lipped. No matter how Yan Shixun tried to inquire, even the words on the tip of his tongue would be swallowed back.
It was as if there was something so terrifying that revealing even a hint of it would bring disaster upon them.
As for the surroundings of the rural farmstay, it was even quieter because of its remote location, with few villagers passing by. The entire vicinity of Moon Creek was peaceful.
However, at this moment, when Yan Shixun dragged Yang Tu out of the rural farmstay, he was momentarily stunned by the scene before him.
—Right outside the farmhouse, there was actually a whole procession of villagers carrying red lanterns, walking towards the village along Moon Creek.
The paper-covered red lanterns were round and cute, with the character “double happiness” written in crooked red ink, exuding a festive atmosphere.
It seemed that this group of villagers was heading to the village to attend someone’s wedding.
The villagers were dressed neatly in fine clothes, and the light from the red lanterns shone on their faces, making each of them look joyful.
Not only that, as they walked, they laughed and cheered, continuously uttering auspicious blessings, creating a lively atmosphere.
The clamor that Yan Shixun had just heard inside the rural farmstay surprisingly came from here.
The villagers seemed completely oblivious, as if they hadn’t noticed Yan Shixun and Yang Tu emerging from the rural farmstay just a dozen meters away.
They continued along the path they had planned, walking step by step along the winding Moon Creek, stretching from the distant foot of the mountain.
The light from the red lanterns fell on the blood-red water of Moon Creek, causing ripples and fractures. All the images overlapped and intertwined, with the faces of the villagers reflected in the water, appearing distorted and surreal in the gaps between the ripples.
But now was not the best time for observation. In the courtyard of the rural farmstay, following closely behind Yan Shixun and Yang Tu, were the corpses and bones, leaving little time for Yan Shixun.
Listening to the sounds coming from behind, Yan Shixun quickly snapped back to reality. After giving the villagers a deep look, he immediately pulled Yang Tu and ran to the side. His slender figure agilely took advantage of the shadows cast by the moonlight on the walls, deftly slipping into an abandoned village house beside the rural farmstay.
Yang Tu felt a momentary blur, his body seeming to fly out as if weightless. His internal organs were jumbled in inertia, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. He felt like a sack, being carried around and moved by Yan Shixun.
Most importantly, Yan Shixun’s strength seemed unusually great for some reason. Even someone accustomed to heavy farm work like Yang Tu couldn’t break free from Yan Shixun’s restraint and could only passively be led by him.
When he finally managed to catch his breath and looked up, he found himself in another village house. Yan Shixun skillfully and swiftly locked the door, then casually picked up a long, discarded piece of wood nearby. He weighed it in his hand as if assessing its suitability for some purpose.
In the blink of an eye, while Yang Tu was still in a daze, Yan Shixun had already hidden them both in a relatively safe place. They crouched behind the nailed boards covering the window, holding their breath and silently observing the scene outside through the gaps in the wood.
“Brother Yan, what are we doing?” Yang Tu was bewildered, still unclear about the current situation.
Fortunately, he had some perceptiveness. Seeing Yan Shixun’s cautious demeanor, he refrained from making loud noises. He stealthily approached Yan Shixun, lowered his voice, and communicated with him using hushed tones.
However, Yan Shixun simply raised a slender finger to his lips, signaling Yang Tu to stay silent and not make any noise. All he needed to do was quietly observe.
Outside the gaps in the wooden boards, the corpses and bones that had chased them out of the rural farmstay were considerably delayed in their movements due to stiff joints, lagging behind Yan Shixun by quite a bit
Suddenly losing their target, they stood bewildered at the rural farmstay’s courtyard entrance, aimlessly moving back and forth.
The skeletons that came up from behind were blocked by those in front who had stopped, gathering in one place, their skeletal friction sounds overlapping and amplifying.
This caught the attention of the villagers by Moon Creek.
The villagers, who had just been carrying red lanterns moments ago, starting from the one leading at the front, one by one, halted their steps. The joyous laughter from a moment ago came to an abrupt stop.
The previously shattered silence of Moon Creek, disrupted by the laughter of the villagers, returned to an eerie stillness. Only the friction sounds of the colliding corpses and bones seemed to magnify in this quiet, becoming extremely conspicuous.
The villagers who stood still, like gears wound up, turned their heads uniformly and slowly, step by step. The eye sockets, devoid of any light reflection, stared dead ahead at the entrance of the rural farmstay with a lifeless gaze.
Only at this moment did the sluggish skeletons seem to notice the presence of the villagers. The radiance from the red lanterns spilled onto the ground, casting the skeletons in a bloody hue, transforming their originally pallid bones into a crimson display.
It was as if the long-decomposed flesh had miraculously regrown onto the skeletal frames, blood splattering anew.
Under the stiff gaze of the villagers, the skeletons seemed to belatedly realize something. They immediately turned around, attempting to flee back into the rural farmstay.
However, the skeletons behind formed a dense blockade, leaving no way for the ones in front to pass. Consequently, the two groups of skeletons collided face to face, turning from “comrades” a moment ago to obstacles they now sought to clear.
Many skeletons, due to the intense collisions, had their already fragile bones shattered by the impact, falling to the ground and tripping up other skeletons.
The initially menacing onslaught of corpses and bones suddenly descended into chaos.
Meanwhile, the villagers who had paused by Moon Creek, starting with the lead, resumed their movements. They slowly made their way from the creek towards the rural farmstay.
The leading villager at the forefront was a middle-aged man, but he didn’t look like someone who toiled in the fields all year round, with his skin yellowed and darkened.
His complexion was extremely pale, almost paper-like, yet his eyeballs were intensely black, lacking any whites. The entire eye sockets were filled with a dense black color, resembling ink painted on white paper.
Instead of carrying the red lanterns like the other villagers, the leader held a gong wrapped in red silk cloth, adorned with the same prominent “double happiness” character.
Red paper, black characters; the strokes between the characters were sharp and hooked.
When the villager leader struck the gong forcefully, the sound echoed so profoundly that it seemed to reach into the very soul, sharp and incredibly penetrating.
The sound drilled straight into the core of their brains, causing people to furrow their brows. Yang Tu, feeling uncomfortable, quickly covered his ears.
Yan Shixun, however, didn’t even furrow his brow. He remained behind the nailed window, staring intently at the skeletons desperately trying to flee and, on the other side, those following the leader, turning towards the direction of the rural farmstay with the rhythm of the gong.
“There is joy in the village, sending off the bride to the god. Who dares to clamor and disrupt the divine ritual?!”
As the leading villager spoke, his voice was sharp and he dragged the tone for an unusually long time. In the vast and quiet mountains, it became the sole sound in the silence.
The skeletons seemed like they wanted to speak, but their flesh and blood had long since rotted away. Even if they desperately opened their jawbones, only a few long, yellowish-white maggots would wriggle and sway out from inside.
The villagers carrying red lanterns remained silent, fixating their pitch-black eyes deeply on the skeletons.
The red light, casting upwards from below, distorted their faces into horrifying, monstrous expressions. It seemed as if malevolent spirits were opening their mouths, laughing wildly.
The leading villager continued to beat the gong, while the skeletons, trampling over each other’s bones, tried to run into the rural farmstay courtyard, only to find the villagers getting closer and closer.
The corpses and bones, which a moment ago seemed like “hunters,” had suddenly become the prey in the eyes of another entity.
With the hand not holding the red lantern, the villagers reached out towards the skeletons.
And then—
Yang Tu suddenly raised both hands to cover his mouth, his eyes wide open with horror as he peered through the gaps in the wooden boards to the outside.
The sounds of vigorous chewing reached his ears, and the hard bones, when bitten through, produced muffled, crisp snaps in the mouth, “creak, creak”…
The sound of heavy objects hitting the ground, the noise of bones breaking, all the cacophony blended together and, beside the Moon Creek illuminated by red light, became the only sound.
Tears welled up in Yang Tu’s eyes, but even the reflex of blinking was forgotten in his fear. He instinctively covered his mouth desperately, determined not to make the slightest sound.
Through the blurred vision filled with tears, Yang Tu saw Yan Shixun standing in front of him, his facial features remaining calm as he observed this bizarre and eerie scene, as if he had long become accustomed to it, impervious to any fear.
At this moment, Yang Tu wanted to ask Yan Shixun: Aren’t you afraid? The people they usually interacted with had suddenly become incomprehensible, stuffing bones that wanted to harm them into their mouths as if they were chewing on some delicacy. Don’t you want to run? Aren’t you afraid that you might be next?
Because Yang Tu’s gaze was too intense, Yan Shixun tilted his head slightly. His calm eyes slid over Yang Tu’s frightened and pallid face and then returned to look outside.
The villagers didn’t continue towards the rural farmstay. After devouring more than a dozen skeletons at the entrance, the remaining corpses and bones had already fled deep into the rural farmstay.
The leader slowly stood up, transforming from the ferocious appearance of a moment ago—crouched on the ground like a wild dog, gnawing on a skull—back into his previously cheerful demeanor.
The other villagers also straightened their disheveled clothes, showing their importance for the upcoming wedding ceremony.
However, unlike just now, the villagers now had satisfied expressions on their faces, as if they had just finished a meal that would be remembered for a long time.
Moreover, Yan Shixun, unsure if it was an illusion caused by the red light, felt that the movements of the villagers seemed even more agile than before.
The only constant was their faces, still as pallid as paper.
“It’s time to go; don’t delay the auspicious moment.”
The leader struck the gong, elongating his voice as he shouted, “Sending the bride away, the Yin God will bless—!”
The villagers followed behind the leader. On their previously expressionless faces, uniform and festive expressions appeared, even the curvature of their eyes, the angle of their smiles, and the wrinkles on their faces were identical.
It was as if the same face had been duplicated continuously, as if a craftsman in a hurry had hastily drawn the same face and expression on sheets of paper. After the strokes of the pen, what emerged were identical faces with the same expressions.
The villagers laughed and shouted joyous words, and the atmosphere became lively once again.
“Marrying off the daughter to the god, flourishing branches and leaves, the Yang family is blessed—!”
“May the Earth God bless the Yang family, and may their descendants be numerous—”
“In the seventh month, sending the bride away, phoenix coronet, rosy veil, graceful beauty with a moon-like countenance—”
“She’s back…”
The large “double happiness” characters on the red lanterns blocked the light, casting shadows on the faces and beneath the feet of the villagers…..
The villagers walked along the small path beside the rural farmstay, heading deeper into the village, passing right in front of the doorway where Yan Shixun and Yang Tu were hiding.
The distance between Yan Shixun, Yang Tu, and the villagers was less than a meter.
Yan Shixun could even see the faces of the villagers who were walking past at close range.
They were smiling, but their eyes consistently reflected no light, occupying the entire eye socket with eye pupils devoid of any white. When their gaze passed by, the stiff and lifeless eyes seemed to bring a chilling breeze.
Yan Shixun slowed down his breath, deliberately adjusting his muscles. His entire being became like a sculpture, making no sound whatsoever.
Yang Tu couldn’t hold on any longer. Trembling all over, he crouched down, too afraid to look outside through the gaps in the wooden boards. He desperately covered his mouth with both hands, and even his face had a few dark purple handprints from being pressed so hard. Tears streamed down his face, causing his skin to itch.
But he dared not make a move, as if he already knew the consequences of making a sound.
The light from the red lanterns shone through the gaps in the wooden boards, casting onto Yan Shixun’s expressionless face. He stood within the crimson glow and the dark shadows, his gaze silently following the departing figures of the villagers, memorizing the direction and path they took.
Yang Tu swore that these were the longest minutes of his life. The fear seemed endless, tears flowed from his eyes like a broken faucet, blurring his vision until he could see nothing. The red light in front of him appeared like bizarre and colorful blood and light spots. The reflections and shadows refracted and interwove, blurring the boundary between reality and illusion. He didn’t know what was imagination and what was real.
He dared not do anything, and his terrified brain only executed the last command from memory—repeatedly increasing the strength to cover his mouth. His fingernails scratched the skin, but he remained oblivious to it all.
Until Yan Shixun’s dry and warm slender palm landed on Yang Tu’s head, patting it.
“Enough, those people are long gone, they won’t discover you. Get up.” Yan Shixun casually tousled Yang Tu’s hair as if petting a pastoral dog’s head.
He chuckled, “Didn’t expect you to be so timid. I thought growing up listening to your Second Uncle’s stories would toughen you up a bit. The village head even has a Ghost-Dispelling Well in his backyard.”
Although Yan Shixun’s words were teasing, his tone carried a hint of amusement, like a reassuring notification that some crisis had passed. It unconsciously made Yang Tu relax his entire body, which had been tense to the point of stiffness.
Yang Tu, under this psychological suggestion, responded physically before his brain caught up. Slowly, he stopped trembling and began to relax.
It was only then that he dared to remove his hand from his mouth.
As Yang Tu looked up in a daze, Yan Shixun saw a face smeared with snot, tears, and saliva. There were even a few blood streaks flowing down from the crescent-shaped wound on his face. Diluted by tears and unintentionally wiped away by Yang Tu’s hand, it ended up being smudged everywhere.
Disheveled and comical.
“Tsk.” Yan Shixun wrinkled his nose in disdain, pulling out a handkerchief from his coat and handing it over. “Clearly scared like this, but you were still thinking of deceiving me earlier. I don’t know whether to say you’re loyal to your clan friend or just a scaredy-cat.”
Being pointed at the wound on his face by Yan Shixun, Yang Tu foolishly raised his hand to touch. Then, he made a “hissing” sound, realizing that he had scratched his own face.
He buried his entire face in the handkerchief given by Yan Shixun, trembling as he took several deep breaths, finally calming down.
Intense tension and excitement can consume a significant amount of energy and cause muscle soreness. These changes, when adrenaline levels are high, tend to be overshadowed by excitement and may go unnoticed.
When a person suddenly relaxes, fatigue and soreness can swiftly surge like a tidal wave.
Yang Tu felt his legs go soft, unable to squat any longer, and sat directly on the dusty floor of the long-abandoned village house with a “thud.”
“Brother Yan, did we just escape a disaster?” Yang Tu felt weak all over, unable to muster any strength, even his voice sounded feeble.
“More or less.” Yan Shixun didn’t deny it. “If we had stayed in the rural farmstay just now, we would have been entangled by those skeletons. If we had been standing at the rural farmstay door just now, we would have been surrounded by those villagers and skeletons on both sides.”
Even though they had just passed through a life-threatening crisis, Yan Shixun spoke casually, as if it was not worth mentioning.
Yan Shixun’s rapid reaction upon seeing the villagers as he rushed out of the rural farmstay gate, his agile evasion to avoid the dilemma of being surrounded, and the fact that the villagers didn’t even notice his presence were due to several factors. Firstly, he had previously surveyed the entire village during the day, knowing that the house next to the rural farmstay was vacant and could serve as a temporary hiding place.
The second and most crucial factor was Jiang Yanran’s reminder during the day.
— No matter what sounds you hear, do not go out.
Since those villagers were going to attend the wedding, and Jiang Yanran was staying in that house before the bride’s departure, appearing to be a significant figure from the bride’s side, she might have known that a group of villagers would come along the Moon Creek after dark and enter the village for the wedding. Therefore, she warned Yan Shixun in advance.
However, at the same time, Yan Shixun was well aware that he couldn’t entirely trust Jiang Yanran.
He hadn’t forgotten the premise in Jiang Yanran’s reminder, which always started with the address, “Good person Yan Shixun.”
Could he assume that if, in Jiang Yanran’s view, he turned into a bad person, then this advice wouldn’t be a well-intentioned reminder but rather a death sentence?
And how did Jiang Yanran define good and bad?
This was something Yan Shixun didn’t know.
Moreover, even if he remained the “good person Yan Shixun,” Jiang Yanran could still manage to break free from his grip in the courtyard of that house where the marriage was taking place. She could have made him suddenly appear in front of the eyes of those old ladies, surrounded by them, making it almost impossible for him to leave smoothly.
And…
Yan Shixun slowly turned, peering through the gaps in the wooden boards at the now shattered gate of the abandoned rural farmstay.
He remembered very clearly that just a few hours ago, he personally wound heavy iron chains layer by layer around that gate. However, when he rushed out with Yang Tu a short while ago, even in the haste, he noticed that the gate swung open effortlessly.
Not only were the iron chains gone without a trace, but the gate wasn’t even locked.
If he had completely believed Jiang Yanran’s words and stayed obediently in the rural farmstay, there was a risk that whatever was outside could easily enter the rural farmstay. He might not even have had time to react, caught off guard.
In that case, he would be completely at a disadvantage.
Since those things, which seemed no different from villagers and even made skeletons fear them, ended up being devoured to the point where only remnants remained, how could one be certain that these “villagers” wouldn’t harm the living?
Yan Shixun raised his hand, gently tapping the pocket of his leather jacket.
In that pocket was a flower.
The one that Jiang Yanran had voluntarily handed to him during the day.
Yan Shixun’s meticulous nature prevented him from discarding or placing the flower somewhere else until he understood the whole situation.
So, amidst the upheaval in the rural farmstay, where everything, including luggage and belongings of the production team, vanished without a trace, this flower was one of the few things he kept with him.
Behind Yan Shixun, Yang Tu let out a loud sob.
“Brother Yan, I want to go home. I miss my grandfather and my Second Uncle.”
This young man, who had just come of age a few years ago, with a tearful voice, uttered indistinct and murmured words, “Family Tomb Village is not a place for people to stay. I don’t want to be here for another minute. It’s too terrifying, wuu.”
Yan Shixun turned around, lowering his gaze to look at Yang Tu crouching on the ground. After a moment, he sighed lightly and crouched down as well. His slender palm patted Yang Tu’s head.
“Yang Tu, you need to understand, I’m willing to safely escort you home, to reunite with the village head and Yang Han.”
Yan Shixun paused for a moment, deliberately portraying a hesitant expression on his face. “But as you’ve seen, even though I do possess many methods for dealing with evil spirits, I am not familiar with Family Tomb Village’s current situation.”
“Without someone familiar with Family Tomb Village to help me, I can only fumble my way forward, repeatedly taking detours,” Yan Shixun pretended to sigh. “So, you’ll have to stay here a bit longer. Once I figure out what’s going on, I can take you back.”
Yang Tu looked at Yan Shixun in astonishment, his face showing a thoughtful expression as if caught in contemplation.
“But don’t get your hopes up too much. After all, without being familiar with the village, I might easily make wrong judgments, and that could lead to both of us dying here.”
Yan Shixun added, observing Yang Tu’s reaction and choosing the right moment to comfort him with a smile. “Family Tomb Village is so close to your home. Even if you die, your grandfather and family can easily retrieve your body. It’s just a pity for your grandfather and Second Uncle. They care for you so much, yet it turns out they’re sending the younger generation to the afterlife…”
“No! I can’t die here! I need to go back; I have to tell my Second Uncle about the situation here!”
While Yan Shixun was glancing at Yang Tu’s expression, sighing leisurely, before he could finish speaking, Yang Tu, with heightened emotions, suddenly raised his hand and grabbed Yan Shixun’s arm urgently, saying, “I need to leave here quickly! I can’t stay here for another moment; it’s too terrifying!”
Yan Shixun raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement appearing in his sharp eyes, and the expressions of difficulty and sighing on his face slowly faded away.
He didn’t immediately agree with Yang Tu but hesitated, saying, “But…”
“If you want to know anything, I’ll tell you!” Yang Tu hurriedly interrupted. “Didn’t you say that as long as someone familiar with Family Tomb Village helps you, you can take me away from here? I’ll help you!”
Yan Shixun nodded in satisfaction.
Mission accomplished.
He stood up easily with a half-crouching movement and reached out, grabbing Yang Tu’s arm to pull him up.
“Since you say that, Yang Tu, I believe you,” Yan Shixun said, looking directly at Yang Tu, enunciating each word, “Don’t let my trust go to waste.”
When a person is expected by others, they unconsciously want to meet those expectations, conforming to the image others hold of them, fearing to disappoint.
Yang Tu quickly nodded, feeling an inexplicable sense of responsibility growing in his heart.
“You should know why I came to see you tonight.”
Yan Shixun asked, “The bodies under those flower bushes, you uncovered them. But your performance is not just about discovering the possibility of your good friend being a murderer—did you see those bodies while they were alive?”
Yan Shixun didn’t give Yang Tu time to hesitate and think; he decisively provided the answer, “They are people from Family Tomb Village, right?”
Yang Tu, unconsciously led by Yan Shixun’s pace, nodded and admitted, “Yes, they are uncles and elders from Family Tomb Village, who often come and go.”
“But that’s not all, they are also the ones who are relatively envious of Yang Yun in the village.”
After the first sentence was spoken, Yang Tu no longer concealed anything. Instead, all his answers became smooth: “After Yang Yun went to the city and heard that many city people like to visit rural farmstays for the weekend, he returned to the village and started a rural farmstay. At that time, he had no money. Originally, he wanted to borrow money from these uncles and elders with blood ties in the village. However, not only did they refuse to lend him money, but they also threw a few worthless bills at him and mocked him as a naive kid with unrealistic dreams.”
“But Yang Yun was clever. He learned about loans in the city. After borrowing money, he started the rural farmstay and joined a hotel booking platform. So, his business quickly picked up, and he earned a good amount of money. When those uncles and elders saw this, they not only made fun of Yang Yun but also cursed him openly and secretly.”
“In the evening, I thought it would be difficult for Yang Yun to manage the rural farmstay alone. Since I was already here, I decided to help him with some work before leaving. But when I dug a shovel into the ground, I was stunned…”
Yang Tu stammered, “I guess those uncles and elders must have said something offensive again, and Yang Yun couldn’t control his temper, so he ended up killing them.”
“Although I also dislike those uncles and elders, I never wanted them dead. Yang Yun went too far.” Yang Tu continued, “That’s why I went to find Yang Yun. But unexpectedly, he became very strange, said a lot of things I couldn’t quite understand, and seemed to involve Yang Duo…”
Mentioning Yang Duo made Yang Tu shudder.
It seemed he genuinely feared this person who died decades ago.
Yan Shixun’s eyes darkened a bit as he asked, “Not only did you recognize the identity of those corpses, but why were you so terrified when the villagers walked past just now?”
“Like you said before, Yang Duo’s ghost often visits your home, to the point of disrupting normal life. And you’ve grown up listening to Yang Han’s stories about the past. Logically speaking, you should have developed a tolerance over time, and it shouldn’t have frightened you like this.”
“Why?” Yan Shixun asked, “What did you see?”
Fear flashed across Yang Tu’s face. He subconsciously looked around behind him and at the surroundings, as if there were invisible ghosts standing beside him at this moment.
“B-because,” Yang Tu swallowed hard and trembled as he said, “Because those people who just walked by… should have died a long time ago.”
Frowning, Yan Shixun asked, “What do you mean?”
“In fact, not long after Yang Duo’s death, there were an unusually high number of deaths here for some reason. Within a decade, almost all the older generation and influential figures in the village died. So, during that time, the village invited a Feng Shui master to come over and assess the situation. It was also around that time that Wangzi Village changed its name to Family Tomb Village.”
“The master said that the high number of deaths in the village was due to vengeful spirits, unwilling to accept their deaths. Therefore, they were looking for someone to accompany them. Since the master determined that the persistent vengeful spirit was a female ghost, they chose the character ‘Jia’ to indicate the female side, to settle the ghost by giving her a family. Because the master also predicted that the female ghost was pregnant, they used the character ‘Zi’ to bind the ghost. Finally, the character ‘Fen’ was used to inform the female ghost that this was her new home, urging her not to disrupt it. So, the village changed its name to Family Tomb Village (Jiazi Fen Village).”
“After changing the village name, indeed, there were no longer so many deaths, and life gradually calmed down. Later, when our family hired someone to build the Ghost-Dispelling Well, that master who helped rename Family Tomb Village mentioned that the previous master had indeed effectively suppressed the female ghost, having a set of skills.”
Yang Tu leaned towards Yan Shixun, as if seeking more reassurance, and continued, “I wasn’t born at that time. It was my Second Uncle and grandfather who told me about it. I had almost forgotten about it, but when I saw those people just now, I suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.”
“Then I remembered that I had seen those people in the photos at the ancestral hall… Each of them was from the group that died several decades ago, before the village was renamed.”
Yan Shixun’s eyes widened slightly, and a fleeting moment of anger crossed his face.
Several decades ago, that predecessor who helped the then-village named Wangzi used such a method to suppress the female ghost.
Yan Shixun understood the logic of his peers: if it’s a ghost, it should die, if it’s a person, it should be saved.
But why treat her as a ghost?
Why did the female ghost lead to frequent deaths in the village?
Was it just for leisure and amusement?
Of course not!
It’s because of resentment.
Unable to seek revenge in life, the lingering attachment and resentment turned into a vengeful ghost after death. Even if it meant gambling on the chance of reincarnation, they would go as far as killing enemies for revenge!
Yan Shixun remembered what Yang Guang, the owner of the breakfast shop, told him before the program started about the events in Wangzi Village in the past. The old stories, combined with what he witnessed today in Family Tomb Village, painted a vivid picture of the girls in Wangzi Village harboring resentment, much like Yang Duo.
However, the senior fellow practitioner had already entered Wangzi Village, so why didn’t he investigate the cause, help the female ghost dissipate her lingering attachment and resentment, and guide her to the afterlife? Instead, he directly oppressed her without any consideration!
Even taking a step back, ghostly energy cannot be suppressed indefinitely. All suppression methods have a day when they fail.
The ways of the world are unpredictable, and no one can foresee what events will unfold in the coming decades, causing the suppression methods to fail and the ghostly energy to rebound.
It’s essential to understand that the more forcefully you suppress, the more intense the backlash.
Vengeful spirits won’t give up on revenge during their suppression; instead, they’ll harbor even more hatred against the living while struggling and being imprisoned.
By the time the suppressed ghostly energy rebounds, it’s no longer something an ordinary person can handle.
If not handled properly, it may even affect the entire area, impacting the land and lives.
The methods employed by that fellow practitioner decades ago were something that Yan Shixun would never consider.
Upon hearing Yang Tu recount the events of the past, anger surged within him. He wished he could travel back in time, grab the collar of that fellow practitioner, and demand whether he still deserved to be called an exorcist!
Speak for the voiceless, advocate for the departed.
This should have been the duty of an exorcist!
Acting recklessly without distinguishing right from wrong would only make the situation more difficult and dire.
However, even if Yan Shixun is angry, the situation has already passed for too long, and there is no way to remedy it.
He could only let out a shallow sigh in his heart and quickly regained his composure.
Yan Shixun’s brain quickly turned, searching for a way to deal with this unexpected situation.
And Yang Tu’s words also unraveled another question that Yan Shixun had just puzzled over.
That is—why did those villagers come from the top of Moon Mountain along Moon Creek instead of appearing directly in the village and going to the wedding from their respective homes?
Because they had all died decades ago due to the resentment of the ghost.
Due to the unique geographical location of Family Tomb Village, surrounded by mountains on all sides, it is extremely secluded and isolated from the outside world. This prevents the souls of the deceased villagers from going to the afterlife; they can only wander in Family Tomb Village.
As for this group of villagers coming from the top of Moon Mountain…
Yan Shixun remembered that Yang Yun had mentioned that Family Tomb Village was a branch of the Yang family, and their ancestral graves were not far outside the village in a mountain hollow.
In a flash of insight, scenes from the journey to Family Tomb Village that the production team had seen came to Yan Shixun’s mind.
——Underneath the mountain road, there was a hollow that, at first glance, appeared to be an excellent Feng Shui location, perfectly suitable as an ancestral grave.
It was probably the ancestral grave of Family Tomb Village.
And those villagers were coming from there, carrying red lanterns, crossing over Moon Mountain.
After understanding everything, Yan Shixun’s expression became terribly grim.
Yang Tu shrank his shoulders, a bit frightened by Yan Shixun’s expression.
“Brother Yan?” he hesitated and asked, “Did I say something wrong just now?”
“I’m sure I didn’t make a mistake. Inside, there’s even Yang Yun’s dad, who died shortly after he was born, and several other elders from that time. I’ve seen their photos,”
Yang Tu said. “Brother Yan, if you think I’m lying, you can go to the ancestral hall in Family Tomb Village and check for yourself. Their photos are displayed there along with the memorial tablets.”
“No.”
Yan Shixun’s eyes were deep and cold, like the sharp edge of a blade, but a faint smile played on his thin red lips. “Since it’s such a grand event for marrying off a girl in the village, how can we miss it? Since it’s such a remarkable occasion, we should also give the host some face.”
He tilted his head back, looking down from a higher position, his eyes glinting with a dark light.
“We must at least raise a toast to congratulate the host.”
“Ah?” Yang Tu was dumbfounded, nearly losing his balance and falling to the ground.
Yet, Yan Shixun was well aware that this was a situation they could no longer avoid.
Before coming, he had noticed the peculiar geographic location of Family Tomb Village. It seemed like the yin half of a Taiji diagram, with the yang energy completely blocked by the Moon Mountain Range, and the yin energy accumulating due to the Moon Creek, unable to dissipate.
The village’s name, linked to the mountain’s name, was saturated with yin energy.
In such a place, it was the best gathering spot for yin energy.
Unfortunately, it was precisely here that a vengeful spirit had taken shape…
Yan Shixun’s heart sank.
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Thanks for the update