Old Gui's departure was completely unexpected.
He wanted to test my fortune-telling skills, and after I finished, he left without me saying everything. How was this different from what I had anticipated?
I looked at Zhang Dabiao, who was also somewhat puzzled. He shrugged and said nothing, indicating he didn't understand what was happening either.
"Old Mrs. Wang, are you sure that old ghost is your second great-uncle?"
If the old ghost hadn't asked me to tell his fortune, I might have believed he was truly Old Mrs. Wang's second great-uncle.
However, after a careful examination, I discovered that his ghost bones had been tampered with. Although he had hidden it well, the misalignment of his facial features and the incongruity of his ghostly aura could not deceive me. Su Dan Novel Network
Old Mrs. Wang replied with some uncertainty, "He should be my second great-uncle."
"Old Mrs. Wang, what do you mean by 'should be'? If he is, he is; if he isn't, he isn't. What do you mean by 'should be'?"
"He looks like my second great-uncle, but I don't feel any sense of familiarity."
Old Mrs. Wang's words made me pause. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I wanted to, but for some reason, I couldn't control my mouth, and I ended up saying he was my second great-uncle," Old Mrs. Wang said with a hint of grievance.
"Qingyun, what's wrong? Is that old ghost problematic?"
I nodded to Zhang Dabiao. "That old ghost used a ghost technique to alter his facial features. The old ghost who appeared before us is actually wearing the face of Old Mrs. Wang's second great-uncle. He must be someone else."
"Someone else? Who could it be?"
I shook my head and frowned. "I don't know, but I'm certain he was wearing a mask."
"A mask? What do you mean? Can ghosts wear masks?" Zhang Dabiao looked at me with confusion.
"Ghosts were humans in life and become ghosts after death. Humans can change their appearance when they are alive, which is what people commonly call disguise. But there's one thing that cannot be changed: the bones beneath the face. Because no matter how skilled the bone-stripping technique, the face and bones cannot perfectly match.
Ghosts are the same. Although they can easily change their appearance, their ghost bones are not so easily altered. Even if they change them temporarily, there will be flaws. The old ghost just now, I noticed that his ghost bones were incomplete, with a slight crack between his eyebrows. That's why I said he had tampered with his ghost bones and wasn't himself."
After my explanation, Zhang Dabiao understood.
"But why didn't he use his real appearance and instead approached us with a fake identity?"
"That's what I can't figure out either. If he hadn't asked me to tell his fortune, I would never have discovered this. But he insisted that I tell his fortune and determine what kind of person he was in life. This gives me the feeling that he did it intentionally, but I really can't figure out why."
This was precisely what I couldn't understand. So far, there were three things that had perplexed me.
One was Zhao Defu. He asked me to find the body of his son, but in the end, we found it at the old house west of the village, and I almost lost my life because of it. Not only was his son's body not found, but Zhao Defu's entire family had also disappeared from Molu Village.
Second, the person who took Sun Chuang's soul. I also didn't understand why Sun Chuang's soul had to be placed in the old house west of the village. If Sun Chuang had offended the mysterious person, why not just take his soul and make him go mad for a while, or even kill him directly?
But why did they have to take Sun Chuang's soul? Was it just to watch Sun Chuang die in the future?
Third, was the old ghost who had just left.
I wasn't without suspicion regarding the old ghost's identity. It wasn't uncommon for feng shui masters to encounter Yin entities, but it wasn't unheard of. However, those were all ancient ghosts that had lived for countless years and would never easily reveal themselves to outsiders. Even my master had only heard of them and never seen them.
What was even more outrageous was that after I pointed out the discrepancy between his ghost appearance and ghost bones, he just left without a word, as if dusting off his sleeves and not taking a single cloud with him. He left so casually, without even a goodbye.
"Did I misjudge? That shouldn't be!" I murmured, looking at the wide-open courtyard.
"Little brother, what are you saying? Your voice is so quiet?"
I shook my head, indicating it was nothing, and looked at Old Mrs. Wang, who was still standing there. "I'd like to ask for your help with something. I wonder if you can?"
Old Mrs. Wang looked reluctant, but she nodded.
"Can you draw me a map of the old house west of the village?"
Old Mrs. Wang frowned. "What do you want this for? That place is now the territory of the Fifth Prince. Aren't you going there to court death?"
"You don't need to worry about that. I have my own plans."
Old Mrs. Wang opened her mouth, looking like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent. She casually picked up the yellow paper on the table and began to draw hastily.
"Here." After handing me the map, Old Mrs. Wang hesitated, then finally spoke. "Originally, you should have helped me find my killer before I told you the secret of the old house west of the village. But seeing as you spared my grandson, this matter is settled. As for the old house west of the village, I advise you not to go. Whether you listen or not is up to you."
Just as I was about to speak, I found that Old Mrs. Wang had disappeared. Only a sigh remained.
"Alas..."
"Little brother, are you really planning to go to the old house west of the village?"
I nodded. "Yes, I plan to meet this Fifth Prince."
"Are you crazy?"
Zhang Dabiao looked at me with surprise and then grabbed both my arms.
"Didn't I tell you how terrifying the existence in the depths of that old house is? Even Sui Wan'er was too scared to attack us easily in front of him. If you insist on going, aren't you going to your death?"
Pain. It was very painful.
I struggled a couple of times and found I couldn't break free from Zhang Dabiao's grip, so I said helplessly, "Brother Zhang, I'm not going to my death. I have reasons I must go."
Zhang Dabiao probably realized he had gone too far and loosened his grip. "Then why do you have to go? I came all this way not to watch you go to your death."
"Brother Zhang, don't you think there's something odd about the timing mentioned by Old Mrs. Wang and that old ghost?"
Zhang Dabiao pondered for a moment, his face blank. "What could be odd about it?"
"Ten years."
"Ten years?"
"Yes, that's right. This ten-year period."
"What's the connection? Ten years is ten years. What does that have to do with us..." As he spoke, Zhang Dabiao suddenly stopped. The iron-willed man's body trembled, his eyes lit up, and he looked at me with excitement. "Are you saying it's related to our fathers' generation?"
I nodded. "I'm not sure, but this timing is a bit too coincidental."
"How so?"
"Look, more than ten years ago, there was a flood that washed out a coffin, and the owner of the coffin occupied the old house west of the village. But even if he was a prince in his lifetime, how could he live in the mortal world?"
"Couldn't he just lie low during the day and come out to move at night?"
"That's impossible. Humans and ghosts are in opposition. Even if ghosts have no intention of harming people, humans wouldn't easily allow ghosts to act with impunity in the human world. So it's very likely that ten years ago, our fathers came to deal with the Fifth Prince of the old house west of the village."