Transtor: der Transtions
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Xiaomeng’s footsteps gradually slowed, but she stayed within the lighted area, sensing something unusual. She suspected this might be a trap set by a ghost.
Holding her breath, the rge building was just ahead, and everything in her view was now reduced to a deep bck silhouette, as if the structures might move at any moment.
As the group drew closer, Zh suddenly heard a strange sound.
"Shh-shh-shh..."
It sounded like fabric rubbing against branches or stones.
Following the sound, Zh squinted, and within seds, his eyes widened.
In the er of the wall, there was a face, tightly sched, covered in wrinkles!
At the same time, both Jiang g and Xiaomeng sensed something was off.
At that moment, Pei Qian no longer looked the same as before. His eyes were bloodshot, his hands tightly c his mouth as he crouched in the er, trembling.
But thankfully, for now, it seemed he was merely dirty, with no apparent injuries.
This meant the blood st was from someone else.
Pei Qian’s gaze was fixed on a particur spot, and when Jiang g moved the oil mp to follow Pei Qian’s gaze, they saw it—the windowsill.
On the windowsill, a small tree had been snapped in half, with the exposed sharp break standing out.
At this moment, a body was skewered through the tree, the sharp end pierg through the mouth, exiting through the lower body. The abdomen lit open, spilling ans and blood everywhere. The se was brutal.
It was Jiang Zhongyi.
He was still clutg a rough wooden cross in his hand, now stained red with blood, drops of blood tinuing to fall from it.
Zh stood frozen.
The se before them was drenched in a strious tone. If not for the nightmare-like feeling, he might have thought he was ba the dark medieval Europe.
From their ahey couldn’t see Jiang Zhongyi’s eyes.
Zh slowly looked up and noticed that the sed-floor window of the building had been shattered, with some wooden structures protruding outward.
It appeared Jiang Zhongyi had jumped from the sed-floor window, and through a stroke of bad luck, was impaled by the tree.
But this was no ordinary nightmare. Jiang Zhongyi wasn’t an idiot.
If he had just fallen from the sed floor, the impact wouldn’t have been enough to pierce his body pletely. This se seemed more like Jiang Zhongyi had been struck by some massive force, then violently impaled.
After a while, Pei Qian, who had somewhat recovered, expihe events that had occurred.
About half an ho, the perso by the vilge chief arrived to deliver food—the same dark-skinned man. The man didn’t speak much, just dropped the food a, but Pei Qian had sensed something unusual.
By then, it was almost dark, and after the man delivered the food, it seemed unlikely he would be able to return before nightfall.
The vilgers’ fear of the night had reached a point where it was almost unbearable.
Pei Qian didn’t act rashly, instead asking Li Lu to stay behind and then taking Jiang Zhongyi along uhe pretense of going for a walk, tailing the man to see what was going on.
As expected, the dark-skinned man circled around aered the yard through a hidden gap in the fence.
He then walked straight toward the abandoned building and climbed in through a window.
Seeing this, Pei Qian suggested they go back, regroup, and e up with a better pn.
However, Jiang Zhongyi became stubborn and insisted that this was the perfect opportunity to find clues and that they shouldn’t miss it.
Uue with him, Pei Qiaantly agreed that Jiang Zhongyi would go inside while he stayed outside to assist.
He also warned Jiang Zhongyi to leave immediately if anythi wrong and to prioritize safety.
Pei Qian’s eyes revealed a hint ret as he spoke.
The others dismissed his words.
Jiang Zhongyi was too timid. Even if he had ten times the ce, he would never have gone inside on his own. He must have been coaxed and scared into it by Pei Qian.
The body was clearly not something they could handle right now. To take it away, they’d probably have to cut dowree along with it.
After iing the se, they decided to leave.
The lonely building definitely had something wrong with it.
Ba the room, Li Lu, hearing that Jiang Zhongyi was dead, couldn’t hide her sadness.
The real shock came when they realized that the dark-skinned man was also suspicious. Li Lu suddenly froze, as though she had just realized something. She rushed to the door and vomited loudly.
The others weren’t surprised.
After all, it was Li Lu who had eaten the foht by the "dark-skinned man"—and it was meat soup.
Just thinking about it made Jiang g feel uneasy.
Yu Man leaned against the door, her calm demeanor now repced by a troubled expression. In just a day and a night siering the vilge, they had already lost two teammates.
She had goo another room to start the stove, bringing bae charcoal.
That night, they decided to gather together.
With three men and three wome, the room was easy to divide.
Jiang g relutly took out a few steamed buns from his chest, causing both Yu Man and Li Lu to stare wide-eyed.
He had inteo share one buween them, but before he could break it apart, Xiaomeng snatched it from him.
So, it became one bun per person.
Jiang g grumbled about it for a while.
“That building definitely has problems,” Li Lu said, her face pale. After vomiting, she looked weak and exhausted, like she might colpse at any moment.
Pei Qian sat cross-legged on the bed and shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s not just that building.”
He looked up, his voice dropping as he tinued, “Have you thought about it? With the location and grandeur of this yard, who would be living here?”
“The wealthiest family in the vilge,” Xiaomeng snapped a piece of wood and tossed it into the stove. Looking up, she said, “For example, the Qian family, whose head is the vilge chief.”
The rest of the group were sharp-minded and immediately uood.
Moreover, after Jiang Zhongyi’s i, suspis about the ins of this yard had already begun to surface.
Pei Qian was just stating the obvious.
“If this really is the Qian family’s mansion, then it makes sense why Zhao Xiangmei would kill people here,” Li Lu said. “She might have mistaken us for members of the Qian family.”
Things took a delicate turn. The vilge chief hadn’t told them this was the Qian family mansion, nor had he warhem of any risks associated with staying here.
If this theory proved correct, the vilge chief’s attitude would o be questioned.
After all, acc to the innkeeper from Anping Town, all the “important people” who had e to Anping Town had mysteriously disappeared, and they had also stayed here.
Just like they had.
The brief discussion ended, and they cluded with three key questions.
First: Who was the previous owner of this yard?
Sed: What was Zhao Xiangmei’s true identity?
Third: Why did the ghosts hang the bodies near Anping Town after killing people in the vilge?
The sed and third questions had already been asked to the vilge chief, but they hadn’t received any valuable answers. As for the first question, the vilge chief undoubtedly khe answer.
They po ask him directly when they met tomorrow.
In truth, there was something else they all uood without saying it aloud: The massive building not far from the yard might hold the key.
(End of the Chapter)
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