Chapter 1 Since Arriving at This Fishing Village

Ever since arriving in this fishing village, everyone felt a strange sensation, as if a pair of eyes were hidden somewhere, watching their every move.

The villagers outside were also untrustworthy. To investigate the secrets in the painting, they had to avoid them.

Just as everyone was pondering a plan, the voices outside the door suddenly grew louder. Jiang Cheng pushed open the door and walked out. The atmosphere in the courtyard was very delicate. Li Bai was talking to several villagers, while Zhu Jie and Tang Qisheng were watching from the side, their expressions hiding an unease that couldn't be concealed.

A female villager seemed to be getting excited as she spoke and actually grabbed Li Bai's hand. Seeing this scene, Jiang Cheng also frowned slightly. Getting too close to these villagers wasn't necessarily a good thing. Li Bai wasn't a newbie and should understand this. Besides... they were new here, and they hadn't become familiar to this extent.

Li Bai, whose hand was being held, had a smile on her face, but it was a very forced smile, with a look of being compelled to do business.

Originally, Fatty thought that Li Bai had found some clues, but it didn't seem like it.

"What are you chatting about?" Jiang Cheng walked over to help Li Bai out of the situation. "The host family has had such a thing happen; we should help more. Go help move things."

Seeing Jiang Cheng come, Li Bai seemed to see a savior. She immediately put on an embarrassed look, explained a few words, and was about to go help, but she was stopped by an elderly old woman. The old woman grabbed Li Bai's hand, and there were actually tears welling up in her cloudy eyes, "Don't rush, child. Someone is helping to move things. Your body is so thin, quickly rest. Don't tire yourself out."

The old woman seemed to have a high seniority among these people. As soon as she spoke, the others immediately left, turning around to help move things and clean the yard.

Zhu Jie pouted when she heard this. Her body looked even thinner than Li Bai's, but why weren't these people concerned about her? Even judging by appearance, she asked herself if she was worse than Li Bai.

And those who walked away, even while carrying and cleaning, would occasionally look towards Li Bai's direction.

At this moment, everyone also realized the problem. These villagers who came spontaneously, wearing mourning clothes, were indifferent to Grandpa's passing, but were unusually kind to Li Bai, as if... as if they had seen a long-lost relative.

Watching the old woman show concern for Li Bai, a chill couldn't help but rise in everyone's heart. The more sincere these villagers' attitudes were, the more creepy everyone felt.

At the same time, everyone couldn't help but think of that painting. At first glance, Xiu Ling's expression in the painting was also very kind, just like the villagers now.

While helping to clean the yard, Jiang Cheng asked in a low voice, "What happened outside when we were in the room?"

Of course, Zhang Qisheng understood that he was referring to Li Bai's matter and couldn't help but lower his voice, "It's very strange. At first, everything was fine. Suddenly, several people came into the courtyard, led by that old woman. This group was wearing mourning clothes and looked like they were there to offer condolences to Grandpa, but after a while, they approached Li Bai."

Shao Tong was holding a broom, slowly scratching the ground, putting in minimal effort, but the words he said next made people feel cold, "Hehe, they didn't just approach Li Bai. I think they came specifically for Li Bai."

Jiang Cheng had a similar feeling, but he couldn't figure out what Li Bai had that attracted them, or maybe... was there a problem with Li Bai herself?

"Mr. Jiang, I have something I need to say. I saw Li Bai and a few people walk into Grandpa's room. They seemed to have said something, but by the time I walked over, they had already finished," Tang Qisheng couldn't help but say, the warning in his voice was very obvious.

Feeling the strange atmosphere in the yard, Jiang Cheng asked, "What did Li Bai say?"

"She said that those people didn't say anything useful to her, just showed concern, asked her why she was so thin, and told her to take good care of herself."

These words didn't sound right. Tang Qisheng paused for a moment and suddenly said, "Mr. Jiang, don't you think something is strange? Last night, it seemed like the Fu Gui brothers were the ones affected, but the Fu Gui brothers were fine, and none of us... had anything happen to us."

"You suspect that the person who was affected was actually Li Bai," Jiang Cheng said straightforwardly.

"I'm not sure, but it's very likely. Moreover, I suspect that even if Li Bai is still alive, she's different from us. She's been marked by a ghost in some way that we can't understand, like being branded, and the person who's been branded will have something happen to them sooner or later."

It had to be said that people who could survive until now weren't idiots. Tang Qisheng's reasoning was completely valid. Last night, it wasn't that no one was affected, it was just that the person wasn't Fatty, but Li Bai.

As for why, Jiang Cheng had no idea yet.

Not long after, another burst of music came from outside. It was the funeral procession returning. Everyone didn't expect them to return so quickly. They couldn't help but wonder if the funeral was being handled too hastily.

"Hmm?" Jiang Cheng suddenly frowned.

Fatty also reacted, his eyes widened as he looked towards the direction of the sound, "That's not right. Why is the sound coming from the village? Didn't they carry the body out of the village?"

The procession that should have returned from outside the village was actually coming back from inside the village. These were completely two different directions!

Soon, the funeral procession walked into the courtyard. Compared to when they left, the atmosphere in the procession had changed a lot. The grief on everyone's faces had weakened a lot. Jiang Cheng even saw a trace of imperceptible joy in their eyes.

According to the village's custom, after the funeral ceremony, the host family should thank the relatives and friends who came to help, simply by gathering together for a meal.

And Grandpa only had Xiu Ling left as a relative, so the villagers had to help with the arrangements. There were no taboos. Everyone carried the tables out of the rooms, pieced them together, and took some chairs and benches from other homes. The dining table was set up.

Not long after sitting down, someone brought bowls of white rice and placed them in front of everyone. Next to the rice bowl was a pair of black wooden chopsticks. The side dishes were fish and shrimp, common in fishing villages.

The villagers ate very happily, scooping rice into their mouths, Xiu Ling, as the host, also thoughtfully greeted the guests, but none of Jiang Cheng and the others moved their chopsticks.

To be precise, only Fatty had this thought. He was starving, but he didn't dare to move if Jiang Cheng didn't move, watching the crystal-clear rice grains and constantly swallowing saliva.

Xiu Ling, holding a rice bowl, walked over and asked with concern, "Why aren't you eating? Is it not to your liking?"

After brewing for a long time, Jiang Cheng pursed his lips, and his eyes also turned red. He choked up and said, "We're new here, and the villagers of Wugong Village saved us, but we didn't do anything, and then we encountered such a thing. We feel uncomfortable, how can we have the nerve to eat white rice?"