"Good God, what a sight..." Lao Gou clapped his mouth shut.
At that very moment, Fan Jie's hearse suddenly made a dull clang as if the body inside had risen from the dead.
Fan Jie's face changed slightly, and he turned to look, his expression showing surprise and unease.
His reaction was off.
"Come on! First, go outside!" Lao Gou's tone suddenly became stern.
I knew the situation wasn't right, so I didn't say much. Xiaoying climbed into the driver's seat, and I got into the backseat.
Fan Jie hurriedly walked towards the minivan.
"Do you want to die!?" Lao Gong suddenly shouted, his voice cutting through the air.
Fan Jie suddenly stopped in his tracks, his body trembling uncontrollably.
"N-no, it's not that serious. It shouldn't be..."
Taking another step, Fan Jie walked to the car.
Just as he reached out to pull the car door open, he took something out of his pocket with his other hand—a string of bells adorned with charms.
In the next second, a hand suddenly emerged from inside the car door and tightly squeezed Fan Jie's neck!
Fan Jie was petrified, ready to retreat.
The hand was incredibly fast. Just as it was about to grab him, Fan Jie raised his hand and shook the bells with force, producing a sharp jingling sound that made the hand quickly withdraw!
A heavy thud echoed again, and a face appeared on the car window, pressing against it with force. The pale cheeks and wide, lifeless eyes were extremely resentful.
In a flash, Fan Jie retreated to our side, and his eyes were about to pop out.
A series of dull thuds continued, with at least a dozen faces crowded around the remaining windows of the minivan. They were all undead spirits that had risen from the grave.
"How is this possible..." Fan Jie's face turned as pale as death.
"Let's go!" I couldn't help but feel my eyelids twitching, and I shouted decisively.
Grabbing Fan Jie by the shoulder, I pushed him into Xiaoying's car, then got in myself. With a firm tap on the gas pedal, Xiaoying drove off!
Fan Jie was still shaking, sweating profusely, and his mouth was chattering, asking himself in disbelief.
The car was speeding up, and on the quiet country road, Xiaoying was driving at near-maximum speed.
During this time, Lao Gou returned to the chamber pot, but he stared blankly at Yushou, muttering nonstop about widow Xiao, widow Xiao.
It was like he was reciting a prayer, making the noise in my ears buzz.
However, I didn't interrupt him, and I realized even more that something was wrong.
A wisp of indistinct white mist was constantly wrapping around Yushou, and in the rearview mirror, her eyes were unknown when they turned greenish, and the white mist was like trying to press down on that greenish color.
Yushou was clutching something—the wooden figure containing Lu Kan's fate.
Truly, everything was so strange that both Xiaoying and I were in the dark, completely unable to understand anything.
I even felt that Fan Jie probably didn't understand it either, otherwise, he wouldn't have driven forward even after Lao Gou warned him of danger.
"N-no, it's over..." Lao Gou suddenly started gasping, taking deep breaths.
The car stopped by the roadside.
This stretch of country road was exceptionally dark, without any streetlights, and there was no sign of human habitation around. It was an endless expanse of night, with the moon casting eerie shadows of hunched ghostly figures on the mountains, extremely terrifying.
"The camel mountain provides vitality, and life and death are decided by the flow of Yin and Yang. Dying or not, we've encountered a ghost..." Lao Gou widened his eyes, but his face was directed towards the window.
"What does that mean? Lao Gong, don't keep us in suspense." I asked quietly but firmly.
Lao Gong shivered slightly and said, "Lord... you two were almost in big trouble. It was fortunate that the widow's anger was so heavy and that Fan Laodi brought so many corpses, otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
"I furrowed my brow again, and Lao Gong is still keeping us in the dark," I said.
"This is called the four-life absolute fengshui layout," Lao Gong said one word at a time, finally getting to the point.
Fan Jie struggled to lift his head, staring at Lao Gong blankly. Amidst his pain and confusion, there was also a hint of longing.
It's like he has already suffered a great loss, spending all his wealth, and Lao Gong is now telling him to seek knowledge.
"Four-life absolute fengshui is the path of the Dragon and the Dragon of Water. They come from the direction of Kun Shin Qing Dui, and at the location of Ren Hu, it forms a mouth. That is where life begins and flourishes stops. The dense and powerful vitality washes over that area."
"And the houses there are all Yang dwellings with Yin construction. I told you, Fan Laodi, how could you not notice this?"
Lao Gong, who had been so serious, now looked at Fan Jie with a face full of disdain.
Fan Jie's face turned red, and he opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.
Lao Gong shook his head and continued, "Yang dwellings with Yin construction clearly indicate that the place is not inhabited by the living but by corpses."
"This is impossible, right?"
The one who asked the question was Xiaoying.
"How could we possibly not be able to tell the difference between humans, spirits, and corpses during the daytime?"
"Xiaoniangzi is also a corpse," Lao Gong interrupted Xiaoying.
Xiaoying pursed her lips and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
I signaled to Xiaoying not to interrupt Lao Gong.
Lao Gong coughed and got back to the main topic.
"The fengshui layout of the four-life absolute fengshui is like injecting a massive amount of vitality into a place filled with death, covering its negative energy. Vitality can overshadow the sun, similar to a haunted house or a prison. Corpses in such a place feel alive, and they might not even realize they are dead."
"So, Lord, no matter what you want to know, they won't tell you the truth because they themselves don't know. They must have been tampered with by someone."
"Before, the vitality clashed with Xiaoniangzi, trying to make her believe that she is not a corpse but a living person. However, Xiaoniangzi's memory itself is extremely tragic, and her resentment fills the sky. Just one more push, and her anger would be unleashed. My god, if that were to happen, it would be catastrophic. Such level of sinister qi can make dreams into nightmares and prisons into reality. It would be equivalent to Xiaoniangzi moving Chibigou Village to this place. Qi also nourishes ghosts. At that point, even one hundred of us wouldn't be enough to die."
"Best not to let Xiaoniangzi enter this place again."
As he spoke, Lao Gong gasped heavily, "Sssh, sssh," taking deep breaths.
"The meaning is...that at that point, my corpses are also absorbing vitality? Distracting the vitality?" Fan Jie asked in a low voice.
Lao Gong gave him a look and said, "I already explained that, so why are you asking again? Heave sigh."
Fan Jie looked bitter and didn't speak weakly.
"How can we find Chibigou Village?"
"Most of the time, Lao Gong is beside us, and everything we talk about, he can hear clearly."
Lao Gong's head hung low, and it took him a while to say, "Probably inside the fengshui layout of the four-life absolute fengshui, there are other fengshui layouts. Those houses with Yang architecture and Yin construction have definitely problematic directions. To find Chibigou Village, it is necessary to guide them. The best guide is Xiaoniangzi."
I furrowed my brow.
Lao Gong hasn't really said anything useful, has he?
Yushou cannot touch the vitality of the four-life absolute fengshui layout and guide them to find Chibigou Village, which is a paradox.
The most critical point is that we intend to send Yushou into Chibigou Village. The current situation means that we can't even enter the village.
"I have another method, it might not work, but you can try it," Lao Gong murmured softly.
"Say it!" I said firmly.
Lao Gong's gaze fell on Fan Jie, and he licked his lips.
"It's not certain yet. We have to see if it works after it's done," Lao Gong looked at me first, answering seriously.
Then he looked at Fan Jie, giving a deep smile: "Brother, find a place later and take a bath. Clean yourself thoroughly."
Fan Jie shivered and a look of unease washed over his face.
"Xiaoniangzi, continue to drive forward. There should be a village up ahead. Have a good meal and rest for the night." Lao Gong turned to look at Xiaoying.
Xiaoying glanced at me, and I nodded. She then drove forward.
As expected, we entered a town after about ten minutes.
The town was not large, but there were many residents. There were many barbecue stalls by the roadside, and people were enjoying their late-night snacks, shouting and drinking merrily.
Xiaoying found a hotel and asked for three rooms when checking in.
Fan Jie showed a hint of confusion, glancing at me and Xiaoying for a moment, then looking at Yushou again.
At this moment, Yushou was still holding onto my sleeve.
The front desk girl couldn't see Lao Gong.
Lao Gong's head had jumped to the cashier's computer next to her, constantly smelling her hand.
This caused Fan Jie to widen his eyes and look over.
The girl quickly pulled her hand back, looking at Fan Jie with a slightly fearful expression, as if she had encountered a villain.
"I didn't see you like that..."
Fan Jie quickly waved his hand.
The girl lowered her head and pretended to look at the computer as if nothing had happened.
Fan Jie: (...)
The rooms are on the seventh floor and are adjacent to each other.
We each entered our rooms. I told Xiaoying to rest more and wait for us.
Fan Jie entered the room alone, and Lao Gong did not follow him.
I slightly pulled away from Yushou's hand, and she went to the bedside by herself, holding the little wooden figure once more.
Lao Gong's gaze kept flickering towards Yushou, as if he was thinking of something.
Approximately ten minutes later, Lao Gong jumped off the night jar, collided into the right wall.
That was Fan Jie's room.
About half an hour passed, and Lao Gong didn't come back. There was no response from Fan Jie's room either.
I then thought of what Fan Jie had said earlier, that the fengshui layout could only cover a certain range. Indeed, if this town had not been affected by the fengshui, it meant that someone here must know about Chibigou Village.
Xiaoying's information is not very comprehensive. She only knows about the place of Chibigou Village and what happens inside.
Based on the timeline, Yushou was sent into the mountains 29 years ago and was released eight years later, when she was required to marry eight husbands. She then returned to the village nine years after that.
That is the span of nine years.
I was ten years old when Lao Qin brought me to Lao Gao Village and spent ten years there learning various skills. Yushou spent ten years in Lao Gao Village.
This adds up to nineteen years.
This means that after Yushou became an eight-widowed woman, she waited for ten more years before Lao Qin took her away.
Did she spend the whole ten years in Chibigou Village?
If we exclude Chibigou Village, a village that has been known as an eight-widowed woman for ten years would definitely be talked about by people all around the area.
Who set down the fengshui layout outside Chibigou Village earlier? Was it Lao Qin? Did he not want any more outsiders to approach Chibigou Village?
But Lao Qin took Yushou away and never thought of bringing her back here. Why would he need to set up a complex fengshui layout outside Chibigou Village?
Or perhaps it was his benevolence, using a method of closure to protect the rest of us, keeping people from entering?
I still have some doubts. Is Lv Kan nearby?
"Xiu, go with me to Xiaoying sister's place and stay with her. Don't go anywhere."
I couldn't hold back my doubts and planned to settle Yushou first before going out to gather some information.
Yushou didn't say anything, following me as we walked towards the door.
As soon as I opened the door, I didn't expect to find Xiaoying outside, about to knock on the door.
The two of them exchanged a glance and spoke almost simultaneously: "I..."
"Then you go first," Xiaoying whispered.
I mentioned my plan, and Xiaoying nodded continuously, saying that she had the same idea. She wanted to go out and see what was happening. She estimated that whatever Lao Gong was planning wouldn't be simple, otherwise he wouldn't have made us rest for a night.
In that case, we can only bring Yushou along.
We left the hotel and sat at a less crowded barbecue stall nearby, ordering a table of food. The owner kindly reminded us not to order too much, as we wouldn't be able to finish it all and it would be wasted.
At the same time, he looked at me with a strange expression, occasionally glancing at Yushou and Xiaoying.
Xiaoying is naturally outstanding, with an enchanting charm that captivates people. Yushou has a look that becomes more appealing and enduring the more you look at her.
With me wearing a green robe and carrying a urine jar on my waist, I attracted even more attention.
"It's okay, I have a big appetite," I smiled and picked up my wine glass, inviting the owner to have one as well.
"Haha, being young is great; you can eat and drink so much," the owner gulped down half a cup of beer, his cheeks flushing red.
"Young man, what are you wearing? A costume? My daughter does that too; she's a grown woman, yet she dresses like a teenager every day."
"..."
