“There's one more thing. During the conversation, the old woman repeatedly mentioned the three words Great Feng Dynasty. You need to know that this is the previous dynasty, but she doesn't seem to realize that the dynasty has changed," Yao Shunyu reminded. "Her memory seems to be stuck in the previous dynasty, when General Guo was still around."

Zhu Jie heard the hidden meaning. "You mean the old woman died in that era, so her memory is stagnant? The time when this village was massacred should be after General Guo and his party were killed."

What Zhu Jie said made some sense. After all, if General Guo were still alive, the Zhennan Marquis at the time wouldn't have dared to attack the village.

Jiang Cheng took out the wooden牌 (pái, plaque) from his pocket. The plaque came from the Marquis's mansion. Fake Grandpa and those who died unjustly all had this plaque.

These villagers weren't killing people for no reason. They were able to enter this village because of this plaque representing the Marquis's mansion. It was a guide.

Looking at the plaque in his hand, Jiang Cheng suspected that the path to survival was related to this plaque. After all, only those who held the plaque and entered the dream would see Fake Grandpa. Moreover, next to the many heads buried under the open space at the entrance of the village were all plaques, meticulously wrapped in cloth, which looked more like a ritual.

There were patterns on the plaque, but Jiang Cheng couldn't understand them after looking at them for a long time. Tang Qisheng seemed to see a clue. He took the plaque and carefully touched it. After a while, he nodded. "Same as before. It's Shuishu (Shuishu script) drawn on it. Because it's carved in intaglio, it's not easy to be discovered."

Shuishu script is the Tianwen (殄文), a language specifically used to communicate with ghosts. It seemed that this plaque was prepared for the ghost villagers in the village.

Everyone looked at Shao Tong. Last time, Shao Tong deciphered the deceased madam's surname and date of birth. Tang Qisheng handed him the plaque. "Translate it."

Shao Tong took it and looked at it for a long time, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Is there a problem?" Tang Qisheng asked, his tone doubtful.

Shao Tong took a deep breath. "It's Shuishu script, that's right, but there are many kinds of Shuishu script. This is a more ancient one. I've only heard a little bit about it and can only decipher a small part."

With Li Bai's survival at stake, Fatty couldn't help but ask, "What did you decipher?"

Intaglio carvings weren't clear, so he could only touch them. Shao Tong pulled Fatty's hand and made him touch a spot on the plaque. "Did you feel it?" Shao Tong asked.

Fatty's face became excited. "I felt it, it seems... it seems like a word! Right, what word is it?" Fatty looked at Shao Tong.

Shao Tong remained expressionless. "Death."

"Ah?" Fatty shuddered, almost dropping the plaque on the ground.

"Sorry, I can only decipher this one word." Shao Tong spread his hands, his expression very helpless.

Fatty's face flushed red and then turned white. He looked at the plaque gloomily, thinking that this was probably not a guide plaque, but a death warrant.

Yao Shunyu walked to the courtyard door and looked out through the crack. The villagers were guarding the intersection not far away, staring straight at them, and the distance seemed to be even closer.

The situation was urgent, and they had to make a decision. It was clear that the bowl of rice had to be eaten, otherwise, it couldn't be ruled out that the villagers outside the door would go berserk.

"I have an idea. Everyone might as well listen." Tang Qisheng suddenly spoke, his gaze falling on Shao Tong, who was out of step with everyone else, creating a subtle atmosphere.

"Speak," Jiang Cheng said calmly.

"Everyone has seen the situation. There are villagers guarding outside. If the bowl of rice is still there at night, then the person who will die will probably not just be Miss Li Bai."

Before Tang Qisheng could finish speaking, Fatty immediately objected, "I don't agree. It's not the last moment yet. Li Bai is good at using medicine. Everyone here has benefited from her. Now that she's in danger, we're just abandoning her right away. This is disloyal and unrighteous. I don't agree!"

"Hehe, Brother Fugui misunderstood. That's not what I meant," Tang Qisheng smiled, a hint of coldness in his eyes. "What I mean is that the bowl of rice must be eaten, that's true, but the person who eats it... doesn't necessarily have to be Miss Li Bai. We can change someone."

Fatty was stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted, looking at Shao Tong with disbelief. It could be seen that Fatty's eyes were full of entanglement and hesitation, but after a few seconds, this complex feeling was diluted, and Fatty's eyes gradually became firm.

"Mr. Tang can just say to use me as a scapegoat, no need to beat around the bush."

Shao Tong was also frank. At this point, he had nothing to say. He glanced at everyone present, Tang Qisheng, Yao Shunyu, Wang Fugui, Zhu Jie, Zhang Qizheng. They were all looking at him with cold eyes, and no one spoke up for him.

Zhu Jie sneered, "Shao Tong, you brought this on yourself. You can't blame others. You should have had this realization when you teamed up with Lu Qin to trick us!"

Tang Qisheng took a step back, cutting off Shao Tong's retreat. "If you know what's good for you, take the initiative. We won't make things difficult for you, and everyone will have a good face. If you don't want a good face, hehe, then don't blame us for helping you get one!"

Seeing the situation gradually getting out of control, Shao Tong wasn't panicked. He finally looked at Jiang Cheng, the only one who hadn't expressed his opinion. "Brother Jiang, is that what you think too?"

"It's a solution." Jiang Cheng paused. "But unfortunately, the success rate is very low."

"You won't know if it works unless you try!"

Fatty was anxious. In his opinion, using Shao Tong's life to exchange for Li Bai's was the most appropriate thing to do. Even if there was only a one percent chance, he would fight for it for Li Bai.

"Let's go in. Li Bai should have something to say." Jiang Cheng didn't say whether he agreed or disagreed. The group walked into the room.

Li Bai, lying on the bed, was getting paler and paler. In just a quarter of an hour, her condition had deteriorated visibly. She heard their arguments outside.

Fatty was about to say something when he saw Li Bai gently shake her head, then give Fatty a weak smile. "Thank you, everyone. I heard everything, but this time I'm the one who was chosen, so... so please don't waste your energy."

"That plaque is very important. Although we can't decipher the words on the plaque for the time being, we will find clues sooner or later. You must keep it safe."

"Also, after I eat that bowl of rice, I will tell you how I feel. Ask me any questions you have as soon as possible. I'm worried I won't be able to hold on for long, so if there's another person, you'll know how to deal with it."

After saying this, Li Bai looked at Shao Tong, her brow full of calmness. "You said you were forced to cooperate with Lu Qin. I believe you, and I hope you won't let me down."

"Being chosen is my fate. I won't implicate you, but remember, if you harm my friends in future missions, I won't let you go even as a ghost."