My brain is fried.
Why is it still the same Shanghai auntie?
I really wanted to spray some mosquito repellent on her face first, and then use the legendary "death-grip scissors kick" to crush her head, but thinking about how my entire body's worth of money might not be enough to cover the damages, I could only resign myself to my bad luck.
I shamefully walked out of the "holding cell," and looking at the scene outside, I was completely dumbfounded. Saying it was hotter than the sun would be an understatement, because I realized I was actually in a film studio.
Because above it were four dazzling golden characters – Zhengwu Media.
Damn it, I'll curse the heavens! I was actually fooled by fake police officers?
But then I thought, that's not right. When I went to Wang Mazi's house, his family was definitely dead. I wouldn't misjudge that. If I was wrong about this, then all my years of studying Yin Gua would have been in vain.
Ten years of effort, and I can't tell if someone is dead or alive. What's the use of these eyes?
So, the first thing I did upon returning to the village was to go to Wang Mazi's house again, wanting to investigate the matter thoroughly. Although the bald, scarred man said he was acting under Sun Zhengwu's orders, I suspected that a powerful figure from the capital was behind it all.
Regarding that man surnamed Chen, although my master is temporarily safe, it's still debatable. Only by finding the real killer of Wang Mazi's entire family might I be able to understand what happened.
...
When I returned to the village again, every household was starting to cook. The aroma of rice, unique to the north, wafted into my nostrils, making my stomach rumble. The main reason was that I had been eating southern steamed rice for a month, which was neither dry nor soft, and was extremely uncomfortable to eat.
To verify my thoughts, I didn't go home directly upon entering the village but headed straight for Wang Mazi's house, wanting to investigate.
However, after only a few steps, I was called to a halt.
"Oh my, Qingyun, when did you get back? Are you going to Wang Mazi's house to buy meat?"
I turned around and saw it was the village chief, leaning on his cane, looking frail and decrepit, as if a gust of wind could blow him over. His demeanor was completely different from when he had accused me of murder and called the police to arrest me.
I nodded without speaking. The previous experiences were still vivid in my mind. At the same time, I carefully observed the village chief, trying to sense if there was anything different about him.
I didn't sense any death energy or Yin energy from him. Therefore, the village chief in front of me was a living person, not something "else" disguised.
"Hey! You don't need to go to Wang Mazi's house anymore. They don't sell meat anymore."
The village chief looked at me with regret, his eyes even a little moist, as if lamenting something.
This made me doubt whether the village chief in front of me was the same "person" as before. If he was, the change was too drastic. If not, then who was the one who had the police arrest me earlier?
"Why doesn't Wang Mazi's family sell meat anymore?"
To avoid the village chief noticing anything unusual about me, I played along with him.
The village chief coughed, his body shaking violently, and his expression carried a hint of terror as he said, "His family offended a fox spirit. Half a month ago, all four members of the family, old and young, hanged themselves. They died miserably, hanging like pigs on hooks, with blood splattered everywhere. It was discovered by Widow Ma, who went to buy meat."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but frown again. Why Widow Ma again?
She was the one who chased Bai Ling'er for stealing chickens, the one who saw me 'murder' Wang Mazi's family, and the one who interrogated me in the film studio about whether I had entered the True Dragon Tomb. Who exactly was she?
"Where is Widow Ma?"
When Widow Ma was mentioned, the village chief, over sixty years old, showed a look of regret. I had seen such a look on many of the men in the village, which made me curse them as lecherous old men in my heart, still lusting after Widow Ma at their age.
"Widow Ma discovered Wang Mazi's family hanging themselves on hooks, and she was scared silly. She's sometimes lucid, sometimes delirious. She was running around the village this morning, so she should be hiding at home now..."
Scared silly?
This made it difficult for me to distinguish who was lying.
If the village chief was lying, he didn't need to tell me this information. But if he wasn't lying, why did he cooperate with "those people" and have me arrested with a group of villagers?
If he wasn't lying, then what was going on with Widow Ma?
If Widow Ma was impersonated, that was impossible, because she was able to reveal secrets that only my master and I knew. If she was possessed, that was even more unlikely.
Since I started learning Yin Gua, I haven't heard of any evil spirits or demons that can possess and control living people during the day. If there were such evil spirits or demons, why would they waste time asking me so many questions and chasing Bai Ling'er around?
Looking at it this way, there was only one possibility: Widow Ma was feigning madness. It seemed I had to go to "Widow Ma's" house myself to see how "mad" she had become.
Before leaving, I suddenly asked the village chief a question.
"Why isn't my master at home?"
"Your master left the day after you did, taking your father with him. He said he was going to treat your father's illness."
"Did he say where he was going?" I asked urgently.
The village chief shook his head, indicating he didn't know. They left in a hurry, as if your father's condition had worsened...
"Oh, right. When your master left, he gave me a bank account and told me to remember to transfer money into it if you returned."
After saying that, the village chief tremblingly took out a crumpled piece of paper from his person.
I took it and looked at it. It was a bank account, with the name Zhang Danian and a string of numbers. Both the name and the numbers were written so ugly, even worse than gibberish.
But I felt a surge of excitement when I saw it, because it was my master's handwriting. My master often taught me to draw talismans using small seal script, so this handwriting was clearly from my master. Outsiders couldn't imitate it even if they wanted to.
Folding the slip of paper, I breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Master and Father were safe, that was all that mattered. As for finding out the truth, I could only go to Widow Ma, because all signs pointed to her. Sudan Novel Network
"Village chief, it's so late, you should rest early too! I'm going home to sleep..."
"Mm!"
I didn't rush to Widow Ma's house. Firstly, it was late, and all the households in the village had just finished dinner, and people were gathered in groups chatting and cooling off. If I were seen entering a widow's house at night, gossip would surely spread.
Secondly, I suspected that fox from Widow Ma's side had followed me from Molu Village. Although wild immortals generally didn't venture out of Northeast China, it wasn't impossible for some with profound cultivation to have done so. It wasn't unheard of for wild immortals to cultivate to a certain level, but due to the development of the times, most of them hid in swamps.
Finally, I thought it would be safer to bring Bai Ling'er along. Although it was a snake, its sense of smell was more acute than a dog's. Bringing it would at least provide an extra layer of security, right?