Chapter 13 Unsettling

Weng Chenglin, who had been listening intently, was stunned for a moment, then his eyes uncontrollably filled with horror. "Ghosts..."

"In addition to that, try not to look back near the Jisi Kiln (Place to bury people alive as sacrifice), especially when you're leaving."

"Those who die in the Jisi Kiln all have obsessions in their hearts. They yearn to go home. If you look back, they'll think you're also reluctant to leave them, and there's a high probability you'll be haunted," Li Bai warned.

"But we don't know anyone in the Jisi Kiln. They have no reason to haunt us," Sun Yuangang raised his head, looking confused.

"You're right, but I think it has something to do with the identities we're playing tonight."

Li Bai didn't plan to explain too much to them, partly because it was unnecessary, and partly because saying too much would only complicate things.

Wu Qiang nodded honestly, relieved. "So that's how it is. Thanks to Miss Li's extensive knowledge, otherwise we might have suffered a great loss tonight."

Huang Jun adjusted his glasses, still looking refined. "Sister Li, do you know what the Xue Niangniang Shehuo (Blood Maiden Shrine Festival) is?"

Since arriving in the village, they had been constantly bombarded with stories of the Zhusheng Niangniang (Birth-Giving Goddess), some of which were simply absurd. In the eyes of the Heishui Village (Black Water Village) villagers, the Zhusheng Niangniang was a goddess, and the villagers were all her dependent subjects.

Moreover, everyone present wasn't stupid. The Heishui Village task was extremely dangerous. They lost one person every night, and all of this was related to the so-called Zhusheng Niangniang. Now, on this last night, a Xue Niangniang had appeared, so how could they not be afraid?

Li Bai hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "I'm not very clear about that either."

Time slowly passed in this oppressive atmosphere. Yao Shunyu and Li Bai made some efforts to ease everyone's tense emotions, but with little effect.

As the last ray of sunset disappeared below the horizon, night inevitably descended.

Before long, a series of footsteps came from the path outside the courtyard. When the door opened, five old women were standing outside.

The old women's faces were covered in wrinkles. The one in the lead was someone everyone recognized: Elder Sun, who had slapped the crazy woman twice not long ago.

The five old women were dressed rather strangely, all in black, with white-soled cloth shoes on their feet. Elder Sun held a wooden box respectfully in her hands, while the other four old women each carried a large bamboo basket on their backs, covered with black cloth, so it was impossible to see what was inside.

At this moment, Elder Sun's cloudy eyes swept over everyone, finally resting on Li Bai's face. After a moment, her hoarse voice rang out, "Girl, tonight you will take them to the kiln caves in the back mountain to deliver gifts. You don't need to go inside. Recite the Zhusheng Niangniang mantra silently outside. The goddess will be pleased with you."

After saying that, without waiting for Li Bai to respond, the other four old women unloaded the baskets from their backs and lined them up outside the door, their movements uniform, as if they had been trained.

This series of movements by the four dying old women was strangely odd, and their complete silence made people feel vaguely uneasy.

Elder Sun's heavy eyelids drooped, gesturing towards the baskets. "These baskets contain everything you'll need tonight. Girl, remember to open them in order."

"The first basket contains clothes, one for each person. The special one is for you, girl."

"The second basket contains clay tiles. Except for you, girl, each of these thieving men will take one to the kiln caves."

"The third basket contains laosi zhai (debts of the dead), one portion for each thieving man."

"The fourth basket contains filial piety clothes for the men. Remember, don't tie them around your waists, tie them around your necks."

After saying all this, Elder Sun handed the wooden box forward. Li Bai took it respectfully. As she lowered her head, Li Bai suddenly noticed Elder Sun's shoes, and her pupils couldn't help but tremble.

Elder Sun seemed to notice nothing, still with that half-dead attitude. "The things inside are for the thieving men. Remember, if anything unexpected happens in the kiln caves, the things inside can save you."

After explaining everything, Elder Sun didn't dawdle and left directly with the other four old women. The women's pace seemed slow and faltering, but their speed was actually quite fast. In the blink of an eye, they reached the corner and turned out of sight.

"What are you looking at?" Yao Shunyu noticed that Lü Zhangyuan was still staring in the direction the old women had left.

Lü Zhangyuan turned his head, looking at Yao Shunyu with some confusion. "It's so strange. When this Elder Sun came this evening, she needed someone to help her, and she could barely walk, but look at her steps just now."

At this moment, everyone suddenly noticed that Li Bai's face had changed, becoming unusually ugly. "There's something wrong with those old women. Their clothes, and... and the cloth shoes on their feet. Their cloth shoes don't have a left or right. Both shoes are the same."

"The same..."

Weng Chenglin, the most timid of the group, shrank his neck. He hadn't noticed this just now, but the scene was eerie no matter how he thought about it.

"Only dead people's shoes don't have a left or right."

With Li Bai's words, the emotions of everyone present instantly tightened. The five old women's gaunt faces seemed to confirm this point.

"No matter what they are, let's just focus on completing the task. If we can drive them into the water on the bridge, everyone can leave alive tonight."

Yao Shunyu successfully shifted everyone's attention to the bamboo baskets outside the door. The baskets were quite large, and covered with a black cloth, making them seem even more mysterious.

Lifting the black cloth on the first bamboo basket revealed neatly folded clothes. The clothes were brand new, and the fabric felt comfortable to the touch.

Each piece of clothing had a piece of cloth sewn on the back, with a surname scrawled on it in black ink.

The surnames were Sun, Yao, Weng, Luan, Lü, and Wu, in that order, which made things much clearer. Each of the six men would wear the piece of clothing corresponding to his surname.

Then came the second bamboo basket. First, they lifted the basket, but this basket was much heavier. Inside were neatly stacked bricks, six in total.

Yao Shunyu reached out and took one. The first feeling he got was cold, a piercing cold, and then heavy, much heavier than an ordinary brick.

Staring at the brick, Yao Shunyu seemed to realize something. He bent his fingers and gently tapped the brick. Then he took out another brick, and the two collided, surprisingly producing a metallic sound.

"They're tomb bricks," Li Bai said, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. "Judging by the sound, their quality isn't low. Where did they take them from?"

Thinking of the tunnel and plaza under the Zhang family's clay figurine workshop yesterday, Li Bai suddenly realized that the place didn't seem to have been excavated in recent decades. Perhaps it was originally an underground tomb.

As they lifted the third bamboo basket, Huang Jun, who was helping, suddenly frowned. "It's so light. This... this basket seems to be empty."