Chapter 113

Chapter 110

"Oh, that's good, then eat some. I'll call Brother Hu up."

"No need to call him, let him keep sleeping."

"How can we do that?" Tan Wenbin didn't listen to the woman. He still went to the edge of the bed and shook Hu Yiwei. "Brother Hu, Brother Hu, wake up, time to eat."

Hu Yiwei unconsciously reached out and patted him once, muttering something in his sleep and continuing to hug his arm.

"If you don't eat now, it'll get cold," Zeng Yinyin said before turning to leave.

Tan Wenbin stretched out his right hand, lightly made a fist, and mimicking Yuanzi's brother, used the knuckle of his ring finger to tap Hu Yiwei's forehead three times.

Sure enough... it was useless.

Hu Yiwei continued to sleep soundly.

Tan Wenbin took out a Qingxin Fu from his pocket and stuck it on the other person's forehead with a *pa* sound.

The Qingxin Fu took effect.

Hu Yiwei slept even more soundly, not even talking in his dreams, just snoring like thunder.

"This..."

Tan Wenbin took off the Qingxin Fu and took out a Zhuiyuan Mijuan Lucky Fu, sticking it on once.

The fu paper didn't change color.

This meant Hu Yiwei was already free from evil influence. He was purely exhausted and couldn't get up.

And the effect of his earlier Qingxin Fu had actually helped him sleep more deeply.

There was no way; he really couldn't wake him up.

He'd better deal with the next thing first, then find an excuse to go out and find Xiaoyuan brother and let him come up with an idea.

Tan Wenbin took out his toiletries from his mountaineering bag. As he walked out the door, he glanced again at the welded well in the courtyard.

He walked to the kitchen. The small table for eating was here, and the coffin was still there.

Zeng Yinyin held a basin of clothes in her hands. She looked at him and said, "There's a water jar in the back. I'll show you."

The water jar was behind the kitchen, and there was a wooden ladle on it.

While Tan Wenbin was brushing his teeth, Zeng Yinyin was washing clothes beside him.

Her hands were very white, so white they were almost bloodless.

Moreover, Tan Wenbin noticed that the clothes she was washing in the basin were men's clothes.

But there were no men in this house originally.

He and Hu Yiwei had come over last night and only washed their feet before going to bed. They hadn't changed clothes.

After brushing his teeth, Tan Wenbin used the ladle to wash his face and then asked casually,

"Whose clothes are these? They're so big."

"My man's."

"Did you remarry?"

"No, these are his old clothes. I plan to wash them clean and dry them well and give them to people. You city people don't understand how hard life is in the countryside."

"Oh, I see."

Tan Wenbin knew that unless life was so poor they really couldn't go on, living people would still feel unlucky using items belonging to dead people.

Before, when he followed Li Daye to attend funerals, he often saw the master's family pile up the deceased's clothes and personal items and burn them.

Although Min'an Town was a town in the mountains, life was far from being destitute to this extent. Could they wash the clothes of the dead and still give them away as favors?

Or was she actually washing the clothes her man wore every day?

Although it was Hu Yiwei on her bed last night, the person who actually did the deed might not have been Hu Yiwei.

Zeng Yinyin was very quick with her hands and feet. After hanging the clothes to dry, she wiped her hands with a handkerchief, signaled Tan Wenbin to sit down, and then went to the stove to serve rice.

It was a kind of gruel, with leftover rice and dishes from yesterday, some vegetables added, and then boiled in a pot with water.

This was a very popular breakfast form everywhere now.

After all, most families weren't willing to go out every morning to buy steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and soybean milk to bring home and eat.

Afraid the amount of leftover rice wasn't enough, they also added noodles inside.

As Zeng Yinyin turned to serve her own bowl, Tan Wenbin deliberately turned his back to the coffin, took out the Zhuiyuan Lucky Fu from his chest, grabbed the edge of the fu, and flicked it towards the bowl. It didn't change color, meaning this food was for humans to eat.

"Hoo..."

Feeling relieved, he quickly put the fu paper back in his pocket.

Tan Wenbin took chopsticks in his right hand and held up the bowl with his left. The bowl wasn't hot.

He took another bite. It tasted good, but was a bit warm.

"How is it?" Zeng Yinyin asked.

"It's good."

It wasn't hot, just right to eat.

Tan Wenbin quickly finished a bowl.

Zeng Yinyin: "There's more in the pot."

"I'm full, thank you." Tan Wenbin looked around and asked again, "Why aren't they coming down to eat?"

"They ate early."

"Can I... see Miaomiao?"

"What do you want to see her for?"

"I just feel that some things might not be appropriate for the parties involved to say. As a friend, maybe I can offer some advice."

"Miaomiao is already engaged. She's marrying next month."

"I heard."

"Then you're not suitable to participate now."

Zeng Yinyin packed up the bowls and chopsticks. "You can advise Yiwei to go back early, tell him to forget about Miaomiao, and start a new life."

"That's very difficult."

At this time, Zeng Yinyin suddenly said, "In this world, there's nothing difficult except death."

"I feel like what your family is doing isn't right," Tan Wenbin wanted to try to get more information out of her. "At least you should see it through."

Zeng Yinyin's actions paused for a moment, then she immediately said, "That's really a good idea."

"What?"

"There's nothing fun here, hurry up and go."

"I think the scenery here is very good, very beautiful." Tan Wenbin saw that the other party wasn't willing to reveal anything more, so he could only go find Xiaoyuan brother. "I want to ask you something, is there a family in this village with the surname Xue? Their son is called Xue Liangliang, a student at Haihe University, very good at making money, very promising."

"Don't know."

"Don't know?"

"There are many people in town, and many surnames. Except for neighbors, we don't interact much with people of other surnames."

"Oh, I see. Then I'll go out and ask around, and take a walk while I'm at it. Also, thank you for your hospitality."

Tan Wenbin left.

Zeng Yinyin stood at the kitchen door and looked out for a while. Then she served another bowl of gruel from the pot and placed it below the coffin.

She placed a pair of chopsticks vertically in the bowl.

This wasn't real rice; there was more soup, so the chopsticks shouldn't have been able to stand.

But after she let go, the two chopsticks still stood straight.

...

Tan Wenbin first returned to the room and picked up his mountaineering bag.

On the bed, Hu Yiwei was still sleeping soundly. The red mark on the crotch of his pants was gradually turning black.

Although he clearly felt that something was wrong with this house, the danger level was still within an acceptable range for now.

He'd better meet up with Xiaoyuan brother first.

Tan Wenbin left the house, walked out of the alley, and came to the main street.

Although Min'an Town couldn't compare to the population size of Shigang Town located on the plain, it was still a town, and it was normal for people in town not to know each other.

Tan Wenbin found a small store in town, bought a bottle of drink, and then asked the aunt at the small store about Xue Liangliang's home.

However, the aunt's response astonished Tan Wenbin.

The aunt said she hadn't heard of a family with the surname Xue living in town.

A guess immediately popped into Tan Wenbin's head: Could it be that Xue Liangliang's dad was a live-in son-in-law and later stood on his own two feet, then changed Xue Liangliang's surname back to Xue?

Even Tan Wenbin himself felt this guess was a bit far-fetched.

After leaving the small store, Tan Wenbin started continuously asking people in town. He felt that the Xue family here should be quite famous; after all, Brother Liangliang was considered 'someone else's child' no matter what.

But the result was still that no one in town knew about this family.

At this moment, Tan Wenbin finally realized the seriousness of the problem.

Not being able to find the Xue family meant he couldn't find Xiaoyuan brother and Runsheng, who had already reached the Xue family.

He took out the pager from his waist. There was no record of being paged.

That shouldn't be the case. It was already ten o'clock in the morning.

Xiaoyuan brother might have felt it was late last night and the small store was closed, so he wouldn't page him, but by this time, if Xiaoyuan brother hadn't seen him, he would definitely have asked Runsheng to page him immediately.

Tan Wenbin went back to the small store, picked up the phone, and started dialing the phone number of the fair price store.

"Beep... Beep... Beep..."

The phone kept ringing, but no one answered.

This was impossible. Even if Lu Yi wasn't in the store because he was in class, there must be someone in the store during daytime business hours.

He tried dialing twice more, but still no one answered.

Tan Wenbin hesitated for a moment and then dialed his dad's office. "Beep... Beep... Beep...", it showed connected, but still no one answered.

He even dialed the small store of Aunt Zhang in Siyuan Village, but it was the same.

Finally, he called the paging station.

During this period, there were many national paging stations, and being a paging station operator was also a very popular job.

But this time, no one answered the paging station either. There was no way to hear the operator sister's sweet voice.

Hanging up the phone, Tan Wenbin clenched his fist and gently knocked on the counter once.

"What's wrong?" The aunt looked at her phone display suspiciously. She had been dialing for so long, but no one answered.

"Aunt, is your phone broken?"

"Broken?" The aunt pressed the speaker button once, dialed a number herself, and the other party quickly answered. The aunt reminded the other party in dialect to send more of something next time. After the other party promised, she hung up the phone.

"It's not broken, it's fine."

The aunt cracked melon seeds and sized up the young man. If the young man hadn't been dressed well and carrying a mountaineering bag, she would have suspected he was deliberately making fun of her early in the morning.

Tan Wenbin picked up the phone again and dialed the fair price store, but still no one answered.

Hanging up the phone, he took out money and bought some bags of snacks.

The aunt smiled and said he was welcome to take them. The snacks hadn't expired, but there was dust on the bags. Fried goods sold in bulk were more popular in town.

Tan Wenbin walked out of the small store and sat down by the river in the corridor.

Several tables of elderly people were sitting there drinking tea, and one was telling stories.

He didn't understand the local dialect.

Looking at the calm river surface, the distant farmland, and green mountains, the scenery was very beautiful, but he was not in the mood to appreciate it now.

Either something was wrong with this town, or something was wrong with himself.

Perhaps the most sensible choice now was to leave this town quickly, at least go to a place where he could make phone contact.

But he had originally come for a problem. If he left as soon as he encountered a problem, then what was the point of walking in the Jianghu?

After the storyteller finished a segment, Tan Wenbin went up and chatted with him. After leaving the location of the Zeng family, he gave the storyteller some more money and promised that if anyone came looking for him based on his description, he would give him another share.

Subsequently, Tan Wenbin took out paper and pen and began to write notes, writing many sheets. They all had his name and address. He then gave them to the shop owners.

After doing these things, Tan Wenbin was not in a hurry to return to the Zeng family. Instead, he wandered around the town, looking truly like a traveling backpacker.

He had arrived late last night and couldn't see anything clearly in the dark. Now he could observe and appreciate it carefully.

The Hui-style architecture was indeed very culturally rich and beautiful, but when you felt uneasy and fearful in your heart, the environment here could amplify that kind of emotion.

Everyone who opened their doors felt like they had a secret, and every alley exuded a strange aura.

He wandered around until it was almost one o'clock in the afternoon. Tan Wenbin decided to return to the Zeng family. Before going back, he went to a butcher shop to buy some meat and also bought some grains and oil.

He was carrying these things when he entered the house and saw Zeng Yinyin standing there.

"I thought you had left."

"No, I just came out for a walk."

"I've already eaten lunch."

"I've eaten too." Tan Wenbin put the things on the table. He had eaten snacks.

Zeng Yinyin glanced at the things and said, "You don't need to buy things."

"You should, you should."

How could he continue to stay without buying some things?

Since he couldn't contact Xiaoyuan brother for now, all he could do was continue to stay at the Zeng family.

Zeng Yinyin didn't say anything and took the things into the kitchen.

Tan Wenbin returned to his room. Hu Yiwei was still in deep sleep. It seemed that last night's consumption had indeed been very high for him.

Of course, the consumption wasn't just from doing that kind of thing; more importantly, it was from being possessed by evil.

But as long as he kept sleeping, he had no reason to see Zeng Miaomiao.

Tan Wenbin reached out and patted Hu Yiwei's face, but he still didn't wake up.

The whole afternoon, Tan Wenbin just moved a small stool and sat by the well in the courtyard.

He placed a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of mineral water at his feet, looking like he was resting and sunbathing.

After Zeng Yinyin returned to her room, she didn't come out again. The old grandma and Zeng Miaomiao, who talked last night, also didn't come down from the second floor.

Plus, there was Hu Yiwei, who was still in deep sleep.

There were clearly many people in this house, but it gave Tan Wenbin the feeling that he was the only one.

Another thing was this well... Although the well cover was welded shut, he could still feel the cold air seeping out from the gap, like opening a freezer slightly.

By dusk, Zeng Yinyin came out of her room. She went to make rice.

And at this time, Hu Yiwei finally woke up.

"So hungry... so hungry I'm dizzy." Hu Yiwei lay on the bed, one hand covering his stomach and the other covering his forehead.

Tan Wenbin took out compressed biscuits from his backpack and handed them to him. As for the mineral water, he had already finished it.

No one would put a lot of water in their bag. He still had water purification tablets in his bag.

Tan Wenbin went to the kitchen, preparing to get a bottle of boiled water.

Zeng Yinyin stood by the stove, just holding a spatula to stir-fry dishes. He didn't see how much steam was coming out of the pot.

Tan Wenbin went around to the back of the stove and found that there were only sporadic sparks in the stove hole.

"Do you need me to light the fire?"

"No need, it's almost ready."

"Oh."

Tan Wenbin nodded, went to get the thermos, opened a bottle stopper, touched it with his finger, it was warm. He tried a second bottle, still warm, almost the same temperature as the water he used to wash his feet last night.

"Excuse me, do you have hot water?"

"Aren't these all hot?"

"Just warm, not hot."

"The weather is hot, so I deliberately filled it with warm water."

"Oh, I see."

Tan Wenbin could only choose one bottle and carry it away. When passing the stairs in the hall, he glanced up again. The door was still closed.

He returned to the room, poured Hu Yiwei a cup of warm water and handed it to him, while also reminding him,

"Save some room, dinner will be ready soon."

Hu Yiwei had biscuit crumbs all over his mouth and asked somewhat sheepishly, "Binbin, do you have pants? Can I borrow a pair?"

Obviously, he had discovered the mark on the crotch of his pants.

Tan Wenbin took out a pair of pants from his bag and handed them to him.

Hu Yiwei had been so emotional and excited that he borrowed a car and drove directly over, so except for bringing money and cigarettes for the road, he hadn't brought any luggage.

Tan Wenbin's mountaineering bag was fully equipped.

He and Yinmeng each had one.

Runsheng's was an advanced version because he also needed to carry Xiaoyuan brother's share.

"Thanks, brother. How much is it? I'll give you the money." Hu Yiwei prepared to take money from his pocket.

"No need, we're brothers, don't mention that."

"How can I do that? You paid for the gas when we came."

"Don't be polite with me. Remember to do what you came here for."

Hu Yiwei slapped his forehead: "Oh, right, what I came here for!"

He was still wondering in his heart how he had just forgotten about this.

After eating something, Hu Yiwei regained his strength. They were all men, there was nothing to be embarrassed about. He took off his own pants and underwear and changed into Tan Wenbin's pants. This was like going commando.

"Binbin, don't be afraid to laugh, I'm really embarrassed, I had a wet dream last night."

Tan Wenbin touched his nose. What kind of man's wet dream was dreaming of blood?

Of course, most boys, after seeing certain things, generally wouldn't give themselves the opportunity for a wet dream.

"Brother Hu, when we eat dinner later, you must ask to see Zeng Miaomiao."

"I will."

"After you've made things clear, you should go back. You haven't taken leave for too long. Don't delay your work for the sake of a past relationship."

"Okay, Binbin, I understand everything you're saying."

The door to the room was pushed open. Zeng Yinyin stood at the door. Like in the morning, she said, "The rice is ready, come eat."

It was still the small table in the kitchen, by the coffin.

But there was only enough rice for three people at the table.

Hu Yiwei asked, "Where's Miaomiao?"

Zeng Yinyin held a tray in her hands. On it were two dishes, two cups of yellow wine, and a bowl of rice served in an arc shape.

"They're eating upstairs."

"Sister Yin, please let Miaomiao come down. I want to make things clear with her, and then I'll leave."

"She doesn't want to see you."

"I know she doesn't want to see me. I just want to come and get an explanation. Our divorce was so inexplicable. She should come down and see me. Please help me tell her, I don't want to pester her, really."

"Okay, I'll go tell her."

"Thank you, Sister Yin."

"You eat first. Eat your rice, then you can talk properly."

Zeng Yinyin took the tray and went upstairs.

Hu Yiwei sat at the small table in the kitchen, his chest slightly heaving, organizing his words.

Tan Wenbin then left the table and went to a corner of the hall. He saw Zeng Yinyin walk to the door of the second floor, grasp the door ring, and knock gently three times.

It seemed like he heard the sound of a lock falling inside.

Zeng Yinyin pushed open the door. Before going in, she turned her head, looked down, and met Tan Wenbin's gaze.

Then, she went in, and the door closed.

At this moment, Tan Wenbin really wanted to use violence, to forcibly enter the second floor and see exactly what was inside and what state Zeng Miaomiao was in now.

But he was very clear that he didn't have the ability to forcibly uncover the truth about everything.

And the reason he could be assigned to a separate line was partly because Runsheng's personality wasn't suitable, and he didn't have a deep friendship with Fan Shulin, so he couldn't connect to this line; the second reason was that Xiaoyuan brother needed a strong person to accompany him. Tan Wenbin sat back down in the kitchen and said, "Brother Hu, help me get a thermos."

"Oh, okay."

As Hu Yiwei stood up, Tan Wenbin took out the Zhuiyuan Mijuan Lucky Fu again and tested the rice and dishes. There was no problem.

Picking up his chopsticks, Tan Wenbin was stunned after taking a bite of rice. He then took a bite of the dishes and his brows furrowed.

The morning meal could be explained by making it early and him getting up late, but this evening meal was just made, so why was it still warm?

Did they just have no hot things in this house?

After a while, Zeng Yinyin returned with empty hands. She sat down at the table and started eating with chopsticks.

Hu Yiwei asked, "Sister Yin, Miaomiao, she...?"

Zeng Yinyin swallowed the food in her mouth and revealed an obscure smile on her face:

"Don't rush. After dinner, you can see her."

...

Yinmeng didn't know who exactly was peeking into the room at the door last night. However, after being shone on by the flashlight once, the pair of peeping eyes didn't appear again.

After blocking the door with a chair, Yinmeng returned to bed and started sleeping again.

She needed rest and couldn't really let her state become too bad. However, even in her sleep, she had one eye open and one eye closed.

The next day, as soon as the sky brightened, the sound of chopping wood came from the courtyard.

Yinmeng woke up Zheng Jiayi. Zheng Jiayi yawned and said in a very lazy voice, "Mengmeng, I'm so sleepy. I want to sleep a little longer."

"Your dad and mom are sick, did you forget?"

Zheng Jiayi immediately sat up.

"Go down and wash first."

"Go down and wash, do you want to get your bag back?"

"I'm used to it."

Passing by the other two bedrooms on the second floor, Yinmeng deliberately stopped to listen, but didn't hear any sound inside.

Coming to the courtyard downstairs, the person chopping wood was a man in his thirties, wearing a vest, shorts, and cloth shoes. He was very tall and very thin.

"Brother Da Qiang!"

Zheng Jiayi greeted him enthusiastically.

"Jiayi, hehe." Da Qiang waved his hand. "My dad and mom just went into the mountains early this morning to pick goods. Breakfast is on the table."

After Yinmeng drew water from the well and washed with Zheng Jiayi, the two of them came to the kitchen.

Porridge bowls and pickled vegetables were placed on the small table.

Yinmeng held up the porridge and smelled it. There was nothing wrong with it. She now had a sharp ability to distinguish food.

But after taking one sip, she found that the porridge was not only not hot, but even could be said to be cold.

But the problem was, the weather wasn't really cool yet.

She tasted another piece of pickled vegetables. When her teeth bit down, it felt a little icy.

This feeling was as if the breakfast had been specially hung in the well to cool down.

Yinmeng's gaze swept towards the recess below the stove. She didn't see any thermoses, including the one she had discovered containing a mouse last night.

Should she just grab that Da Qiang, tie him up with the demon-expelling whip from her bag, and interrogate him?

This idea just arose and was immediately dismissed by Yinmeng.

She'd better find Xiaoyuan brother first.

"Mengmeng, I'll treat you to breakfast outside." Obviously, Zheng Jiayi also felt that this breakfast was inedible.

"Okay."

As the two of them walked out, they discovered that Da Qiang, who had originally been chopping wood, was nowhere to be seen.

The axe had fallen where it was, and even the chopped wood hadn't been collected.

"Huh, where's Brother Da Qiang?"

Zheng Jiayi bent down to help him tidy up the wood and piled it all in the corner by the wall.

Yinmeng's gaze swept across the woodpile. Most of the wood had moss growing on it, and in a few individual places, some mushrooms were even growing.

Firewood was an item of consumption, which meant this family hadn't burned firewood for a very long time.

Walking out of the Zheng family home, Yinmeng first went to inquire about Xue Liangliang's location.

Zheng Jiayi didn't live here, so her understanding of Min'an Town wasn't much higher than Yinmeng, an outsider.

But the two of them asked around for a long time, and the answer they got was always: We don't know of any family in town with the surname Xue.

As for Xue Liangliang, a student who got into Haihe University, no one had heard of him either.

Yinmeng came to a small store in town and first asked the aunt, getting the same feedback.

She picked up the phone, called the paging station, wanting to page Xue Liangliang, but no one answered.

Then she called the fair price store at the school, and still no one answered.

After dialing several times repeatedly, she asked the aunt if her phone was working properly. The aunt made a phone call to a wholesaler in the county right in front of her to order a batch of goods, signaling that there was no problem.

Yinmeng realized that the problem was big.

Not giving up, she pulled Zheng Jiayi along to continue asking.

Then, the two of them came to the corridor by the river.

This was considered the leisure and cultural center of the town.

Two tables of elderly people were drinking tea, and another old person was telling stories.

After the storytelling elder finished, Yinmeng went up to him to inquire, asking if anyone had come here to ask about the situation. The storyteller shook his head, indicating no.

Yinmeng asked him to keep an eye out, and at the same time told him her name and the address of Old Zheng's alley. Finally, she took out a bill and put it in the iron box in front of him.

"Thank you, girl, thank you, girl, should I tell you a story?"

"No need."

Yinmeng then went to various shops to inquire and asked the bosses to help her pay attention.

After completing this set of necessary steps, Yinmeng felt inexplicably irritable.

Because she was very clear that the methods she could think of, they could also think of, and they would only do it better and more thoroughly than her.

This town was only so big, and there weren't many outsiders. As long as someone asked like this, the people on the street or the shop owners would definitely have a deep impression. But when she talked to them earlier, there was absolutely none.

"Mengmeng, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine."

"Then should we keep looking now?"

"No, let's go back."

The two of them returned to the Zheng family home. The door was closed.

Zheng Jiayi went up and pushed the door. The door was pushed open.

Immediately after, her aunt's voice came from behind the door: "You're back."

Then, she herself walked out, wearing the same clothes as last night.

"Aunt, you're back?"

"Yes, I'm back."

"Is Uncle back too?"

"No, Da Qiang came to find us in the mountains. He took over my shift, so I came back first to prepare lunch for you. Why didn't you eat breakfast? Didn't Da Qiang tell you?"

"Aunt, Brother Da Qiang told me, but I wanted to take my friend out to taste our local specialty breakfast, so I deliberately left some room to eat outside."

"Oh, then will you still eat lunch at home?"

Zheng Jiayi looked at Yinmeng. Yinmeng gently shook her head.

"No, Aunt, we'll still eat outside later."

"Okay."

The aunt walked into the house and then went directly upstairs.

Yinmeng went back to the well to draw some water, washed her hands, and then washed her face again.

This house, and the people in this house, exuded a strange aura.

Unfortunately, she couldn't contact Xiaoyuan. She couldn't report these clues at all now.

The two of them went upstairs again. When they reached the corner of the stairs on the second floor, Yinmeng pointed to the stairs going up.

"Mengmeng, is that the attic above?"

"Let's just go take a look."

Yinmeng walked up. She said it was an attic, but it wasn't cramped, and it looked like it was frequently cleaned, not dirty and messy.

A red old coffin was placed there.

Zheng Jiayi was startled by the coffin and hid behind Yinmeng.

"It's nothing. I used to sell coffins."

Yinmeng walked to the edge of the coffin. The material of this coffin wasn't very exquisite, and the paintwork was also very ordinary. Elderly people with even a little means wouldn't choose it as their longevity material.

"Jiayi, did your grandpa and grandma pass away early?"

"Yes, my dad and mom came back last time just to visit grandpa's grave."

Both grandpa and grandma had passed away, so why was there still a coffin in this house?

Although she hadn't seen Zheng Jiayi's uncle yet, judging from her aunt's age, the couple shouldn't be anywhere near the time to prepare longevity material.

Just as Yinmeng put her hand on the edge of the coffin, thinking about whether to open it and see, her aunt's figure appeared at the door.

"Why did you run up here?"

Zheng Jiayi replied, "We were just strolling around."

"This is an old longevity material prepared by an elder in a relative's renovated house, temporarily placed in our home."

Yinmeng withdrew her hand and said, "Oh, I see."

"There are many mice in the house, don't run around and get scared by mice, hehe."

"Okay, we know."

Yinmeng and Zheng Jiayi came to the room on the second floor. Zheng Jiayi sat on the edge of the bed, and Yinmeng stood at the door.

"Mengmeng, let's go out to eat."

"No need, just eat some casually." Yinmeng took out biscuits from her backpack, handed them to Zheng Jiayi, and then returned to the door to stand.

"Mengmeng, where should we start looking next?" Zheng Jiayi asked.

"Let's start looking from this house."

"Ah, I meant looking for your friend with the surname Xue."

"Same thing. Finding his home can make it easier to find the root cause of your dad and mom's illness."

"Oh, I see, so that's how it is." Zheng Jiayi nodded, she believed it.

"Jiayi, don't you feel that your uncle's family is all very strange?"

"I told you last night, their personalities have always been very cold, and actually, I don't interact much with their family either."

"Are you done eating?"

"I'm done."

"Then let's go out."

Yinmeng took Zheng Jiayi out of the Zheng family home and started visiting neighbors, talking to those aunts and grandmas who looked like they loved to chat.

From the neighbors, she learned that Old Zheng's family was famously reclusive. They didn't interact much with outsiders, and even when relatives and neighbors needed help with things, they didn't ask them to help. Only their two brothers would come back once or twice a year.

In the countryside, people who were reclusive and didn't socialize didn't even dare not participate in the red and white affairs of the village.

Because everyone understood that this kind of thing would sooner or later happen in their own homes. If you didn't go to others' homes, they wouldn't come here to help you either.

She couldn't get any specific information from the neighbors. Yinmeng could only return to the Zheng family home again and sit in the courtyard.

She couldn't contact Xiaoyuan, and she felt a little lost now.

It seemed that she could only continue according to the set plan.

For example, try to explore the true secret of Old Zheng's family without tearing off the facade.

The whole afternoon, Yinmeng sat in the courtyard.

She finally saw Zheng Jiayi's uncle. He returned carrying a fertilizer bag. There were things moving inside the bag.

Zheng Jiayi went up to greet him: "Uncle."

"Um, Jiayi."

"Where's Brother Da Qiang? Why didn't he come back with you?"

"He's behind me, I'll go tidy things up first."

Uncle went in. Yinmeng originally thought he would go to the kitchen, but he carried the bag directly upstairs.

Then, he didn't come down again after going up.

After a while, Da Qiang returned. He also carried a fertilizer bag. The things inside were also moving, faintly emitting a "squeak, squeak" sound.

After a simple greeting, he also went upstairs.

By dusk, the aunt came down from the stairs and asked, "Are you also eating out tonight?"

Zheng Jiayi: "Yes, Aunt."

"Then I won't make rice for you."

"Aunt, please call Uncle and Brother Da Qiang down, we'll eat out together."

"We won't eat out, it costs too much money."

After the aunt finished speaking, she turned around and went upstairs.

Yinmeng discovered a problem, which was that these three people... never appeared together. It was always one person at a time.

Before nightfall, Yinmeng and Zheng Jiayi went out to buy something to eat.

Carrying the bags back, when they went upstairs to the second floor, Yinmeng vaguely heard some special sounds.

But as soon as she stepped onto the last step of the second floor, the sounds stopped all at once.

She and Zheng Jiayi returned to their room.

"Mengmeng, let's eat together."

"You eat first."

Yinmeng still stood at the door of the room, pressing her ear against the door.

"Creak... Creak... Creak..."

She heard a high-pitched sound again. Although it was very faint, it did exist.

Yinmeng made a "shhh" gesture to Zheng Jiayi. Zheng Jiayi nodded, even stopping eating.

Subsequently, Yinmeng carefully and slowly opened the door, trying not to make any sound. After opening it enough to allow her to squeeze through sideways, she lifted her hand, grabbed the top, and "sent" herself out.

Wooden structures made it difficult to avoid making noise on the floor, but the beams above were still sturdy and compact.

Seeing this scene, Zheng Jiayi's mouth widened: Did learning Traditional Chinese Medicine require practicing martial arts too?

Yinmeng "came" to the corridor on the second floor. The sound was clearer.

The sounds came from those two rooms, but there were three frequency sources, and they were all close to the room doors.

Yinmeng exerted force in her waist, lifting both her legs so she wouldn't be seen through the gap if she stood at the door.

"Squeak! Creak, creak! Squeak! Creak, creak! ..."

At first, it was an urgent, painful scream, then a biting and chewing sound, the scream immediately stopped, and immediately after, it was the next round.

Linking this to the two fertilizer bags Uncle and Da Qiang carried back and the mouse she found in the thermos last night.

Another image appeared in Yinmeng's mind:

Behind one room door stood Da Qiang, behind the other room door stood Uncle and Aunt side by side;

They constantly reached out, grabbed live mice one by one from the fertilizer bags, and gnawed on them at their mouths.

Suddenly, the sounds collectively disappeared.

The meal was over.

...

Early in the morning, after Li Zhuiyuan came downstairs, Xue's dad and Xue's mom enthusiastically entertained him for breakfast.

They were really enthusiastic. The main food for breakfast was surprisingly rice, and they even stir-fried three hot dishes.

Only Runsheng's method of eating rice by lighting incense made them feel a little strange.

Li Zhuiyuan explained that Runsheng was often sick as a child, and a wandering Taoist told him that every year he needed to take out one month's time and eat every meal with incense lit, which could ensure he had no illness or disaster.

Xue's dad and Xue's mom marveled, all praising the Taoist as being very powerful.

After all, with Runsheng's physique, there was no hint of weakness or sickness anymore.

After eating, Li Zhuiyuan asked Runsheng to go out and ask people, focusing on the area near the small store.

He himself then sat in the courtyard and chatted with Xue's dad. As for Xue's mom, she was washing clothes. She even enthusiastically offered to wash the clothes Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng had changed out of.

Xue's dad was very happy chatting. At this moment, even apart from his son's relationship, he also liked this young man very much.

And Li Zhuiyuan indeed had the ability to amuse people and make them happy.

He had learned this ability since he was a child, but later, especially after receiving the phone call from Li Lan, he didn't want to continue disguising and performing, at least not like this to unrelated strangers.

After leaving Taoye's home for university, he became colder towards outsiders.

Not deliberately, but too lazy to continue acting.

But this "skill learned from the womb" hadn't been lost.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Runsheng came back, having not found anyone.

"Brother Runsheng, go to the small store and call the paging station to page Brother Binbin. Then call the store and ask if anyone has called the store."

"Okay."

Runsheng went out. Li Zhuiyuan then began to try to guide Xue's dad to chat about the topic of the "young adventure team".

It was obvious that Xue's dad wasn't very eager to talk about this, but overall, he was still constantly letting out words.

Before long, Runsheng returned again, bringing a piece of news:

"Xiaoyuan, I can't get through. The paging station can't get through. I've called all the numbers I remember, but I still can't get through.

The phone is fine. The aunt at the small store called a wholesaler in the county right in front of me to order a batch of goods."

"Brother Runsheng, go to the shops on the main street and ask around. Also, ask the bosses to keep an eye out. Go to crowded places in town... just like the corridor by the river where Xue's dad took us yesterday. It's near the entrance plaque, considered an obvious location."

"Okay."

Runsheng went out again.

Li Zhuiyuan then continued to stay here.

He wasn't being lazy. Firstly, he wanted to continue getting information from Xue's dad, and secondly, he needed to stay here and wait for Yinmeng and Binbin to find the door.

"Uncle Xue, your family should be very famous in town?"

"That may not be the case." Xue's dad proudly puffed out his chest. "Who told me I have a good son? Every time the town repairs roads, bridges, or anything else, my family also contributes a large share."

Actually, Li Zhuiyuan was just asking. Because as soon as he entered town, he asked the aunt at the small store, and the aunt didn't even care about the store, enthusiastically leading them directly to Xue's home.

This not only meant that the Xue family was very famous in town, but also that they had a very good reputation.

Runsheng returned: "Xiaoyuan, I've inquired and greeted everyone. The storyteller in the corridor there, I also asked him to keep an eye out."

"Did you give him money?"

"Ah... my money is in my bag. I didn't bring my bag when I went out. Should I go out and give it to him now?"

"Forget it, it doesn't matter whether you give it or not."

Runsheng asked, "Xiaoyuan, what are we encountering?"

After all, he couldn't get through on the phone, and the target seemed to be himself.

However, Runsheng lacked one piece of the puzzle, which was finding the whereabouts of Tan Wenbin and Yinmeng, because these two lines weren't clearly defined when everyone set off.

Without encountering it firsthand... the degree of understanding of the situation wasn't that deep.

But Li Zhuiyuan could switch perspectives here, because he had been sitting here for so long, and Yinmeng and Binbin hadn't been able to find the door. This meant there was another possibility.

Runsheng: "Xiaoyuan, did Binbin and Mengmeng get delayed on the way and can't come over?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head:

"I think they are already in this town."

---

There will be another chapter tomorrow during the day!