Feng Fei was secretly alarmed and couldn't help but exclaim, "Yuan Jue, you..."
Yuan Jue naturally knew what Feng Fei wanted to ask, and immediately smiled warmly: "Feng Fei, you don't need to worry. It seems you've been led astray by Xuan Lang's ghostly guidance. We're currently in the copper coin shop in Yangzi Town. Presumably..."
Before Yuan Jue could finish speaking, Feng Fei knew that this was the place where Xuan Lang would finally perish.
Is anyone still here?
“Of course they are. The innkeeper and the two waiters are still here.” Yuan Jue paused slightly, and Tuo Fengfei tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before continuing, “The people in town are all here, but the town has been haunted lately, which is why it looks so desolate.”
"Because of Xuanlang?"
"No, it seems to be a different kind of ghost. Alright, for now, help him recover his spirit, we'll deal with the rest later."
Yuan Jue pressed Feng Fei back into bed without warning. Just as Feng Fei was about to rest quietly, Jin Ming rushed in from outside, shouting loudly.
"Something terrible has happened downstairs!"
Da Bao and Xiao Bao immediately stood up, both staring wide-eyed at Yuan Jue. Ming Feng, on the other hand, ran up to Feng Fei and took his hand.
Feng Fei looked at Yuan Jue and said in a deep voice, "I want to go down and take a look."
Yuan Jue lowered his head and pondered, neither immediately refusing nor immediately agreeing.
Just as Jin Ming was standing anxiously at the door, Yuan Jue looked up at Feng Fei and smiled, "Okay."
A smile immediately appeared on Feng Fei's face.
Feng Fei threw back the covers and got out of bed. She hadn't taken off her clothes the whole time, which saved her a lot of trouble.
The six of them walked downstairs, observing the changes around them.
Because of the ghost stories in the town, no outsiders have stayed at the inn for a long time. The owner of the Copper Coin Inn seems to be a diligent person. Even though no one is staying there, he still instructs his staff to keep the inn spotless.
Only three rooms in the Copper Coin Inn had come to life, thanks to the arrival of Feng Fei and his group of six.
It was the arrival of Feng Fei and his group of six that gave the Copper Coin Inn some meaning.
As soon as they stepped downstairs, the innkeeper surrounded them: "Please leave as soon as possible, gentlemen! It's not that I want to drive you away, but this town is haunted, and something like that just happened in my inn. I'm afraid I might implicate you!"
The innkeeper was an elderly gentleman of about sixty years old. His clothes were not luxurious, but they were spotless and without a single wrinkle, suggesting he was a very particular person. At this moment, the innkeeper bowed repeatedly to Feng Fei and his six companions, wishing he could immediately send the six officials away from Yangzi Town.
This town of Yangzi has been acting strangely lately; many people from other places have mysteriously disappeared, only to be found dead in the wilderness days later. The six officials before him looked extremely kind and were probably good people; he truly didn't want his failure to inform them to cost them their lives.
"Please leave quickly, or it will be bad!"
Seeing the innkeeper's anxious expression, Feng Fei couldn't help but ask, "May I ask what happened? And why do you insist that we leave?"
Seemingly not expecting Feng Fei to speak, the innkeeper jumped slightly and looked in Feng Fei's direction, only then remembering the girl who had run into the inn in a daze earlier.
The innkeeper sighed, "Things in town are really bad! Back then, some hot-blooded men came to town, and after hearing what was going on, they all went to investigate, but who knew they would all disappear without a trace."
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but I dare not! Please leave quickly, six officials!" The innkeeper still wouldn't budge, only urging Feng Fei and his six companions to leave as soon as possible.
"Well, what happened downstairs just now?" Yuan Jue spoke up. "One of my companions just witnessed some things, but he doesn't know the details either. We've already gotten involved in the town's affairs, and I'm afraid the old gentleman's good intentions will be wasted. Please tell us what happened so we can respond in time."
Yuan Jue's words struck a chord with the innkeeper, and in the end, the innkeeper could only sigh helplessly.
"Then please follow me, everyone!"
The innkeeper was the first to turn around and leave, but he went upstairs.
Yuan Jue gave Jin Ming a wink, and then followed along with Feng Feimingfeng and Da Bao.
Jin Ming watched as Feng Fei and the others followed the innkeeper upstairs. He then carefully observed his surroundings and, seeing that there was no one else around, vanished in an instant.
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Innkeeper
The innkeeper led Feng Fei and the others into a room that was a bit more spacious than the main house. Judging from the items inside, this room was probably where the innkeeper usually rested.
The innkeeper gestured for Feng Fei and the others to sit down, and was about to pour water from the teapot when he noticed that one person was missing: "Huh? One of the young men is missing?" Suddenly, as if remembering something terrible, he exclaimed, "Oh no! Could that young man actually be—you'd better leave quickly!" He then shoved Yuan Jue, trying to get them to leave.
"My friend has gone out on business, please don't worry, boss."
Even though he was being pushed and shoved by the innkeeper, Yuan Jue maintained the same expression on his face.
Upon hearing this, the innkeeper stood there stunned for a long while before he came to his senses. He seemed not to believe Yuan Jue's words and stared at him intently: "Really?"
Yuan Jue nodded lightly, then pulled Feng Fei to sit down at the table.
The innkeeper sighed, seemingly disappointed by the stubbornness of these people, or perhaps regretting something.
"Never mind, whatever you want." The innkeeper slumped back into his chair, served each of Feng Fei and his companions a cup of tea, and then said quietly, "These strange things started happening in our town three years ago, but nobody paid attention back then. You've probably noticed that many houses in the town are empty, as if no one has lived there for years. Actually, these things have only happened in the last three years."
The innkeeper's face was full of memories as he slowly began to reminisce with Feng Fei and the other four about their past.
Three years ago, when Yangzi Town was still thriving, rumors circulated that the pregnant concubine of the youngest son of the wealthy Su family had died inexplicably, along with the unborn child. The child in the concubine's womb was already fully formed, but it had somehow slipped out of her belly.
However, this was just a rumor, and the Su family quickly came out to refute it, stating that their youngest son had never had a concubine, let alone the rumor.
Although the townspeople still had a great deal of interest in the matter, the horror of the rumors and the power of the Su family in Yangzi Town gradually caused the matter to fade into the background.
However, not long after, the wife of a wealthy merchant who had come from out of town to stay in Yangzi Town also died suddenly when she was six months pregnant. The manner of her death was exactly the same as the previous rumors! Immediately, the people of Yangzi Town were filled with fear and unease, but their curiosity only grew stronger.
Some curious people even went to investigate, and the result was surprising: the so-called wife was just a mistress kept by the wealthy merchant in Yangzi Town.
But precisely because of this, people are even more confused.
Just when everyone was confused, a major event happened to the Tao family, the largest family in Yangzi Town!
Tao Hui, the daughter of Tao Wan, the clan chief, suddenly went mad, constantly crying out things like "Ah—it hurts so much—" or "I'm going to die—". Tao Wan consulted many doctors and treated Tao Hui, and she drank countless medicines, but to no avail. Finally, Tao Wan even invited a highly respected monk, but the monk himself went mad as well.
Having no other choice, Tao Wan could only confine Tao Hui to the house and have her served by others every day.
After that, Yangzi Town remained quiet for a long time.
Just as the townspeople were beginning to forget about these kinds of incidents, another major event occurred. And it happened right there at the copper coin shop, which is why the shop owner, upon discovering the commotion, urged Feng Fei and the others to leave immediately.
The innkeeper said that he woke up in the middle of the night because he needed to urinate, but he heard a series of terrifying and miserable screams.
Fearing that something bad might have happened in the inn and jeopardize his business, he suppressed his fear and went outside.
Many people were awakened by the shouts. As soon as the innkeeper came out of his room, he saw that many room doors were open, and many heads with faces full of fear and surprise were peeking out.
At that moment, two employees ran out of the room next door, which was where the shop's employees lived. He ordered one of them to go with him to see what was going on, while the other stayed behind to calm the people down.
That night, three people were left to do the work: Ding San, who was with him; Mao Er, who had gone to appease people; and Zhao Bing, who stayed in the lobby downstairs.
Hearing the shout sound like Zhao Bing's, the innkeeper's fear and anxiety intensified, and he quickened his pace.
The sound seemed to be coming from the backyard.
After a quick assessment, the innkeeper led Ding San to the backyard.
As soon as he entered the backyard, he was terrified by the scene before him.
In the backyard of his inn, a corpse had been buried sometime during the night. Judging from its appearance, it seemed to be over a year old.
At this point, Feng Fei interrupted the innkeeper: "How do you know that the body has been buried for over a year?"
The innkeeper sighed, a nostalgic look on his face: "My grandfather was the town's coroner, but my father didn't want to do that job, so he opened this inn. When I was young, my grandfather taught me some things about this. And, I turned over the soil in that yard myself four years ago, but there was nothing there!"
Feng Fei nodded, indicating that he understood, and then asked the innkeeper to continue.
After taking a sip of tea, the innkeeper continued, "I was really terrified at the time. Despite my limited experience as a child, seeing such a corpse decades later still terrifies me."
Because the soil in the courtyard had only been disturbed four years ago, and he had never left the inn, he was certain the body had been buried for over a year. Yet the body remained exactly as it had been before death, covered in blood, a mangled mess. The face was unrecognizable, yet he felt a strange sense of familiarity. Most horrifyingly, the skin had been brutally peeled off, lying bloodied and mangled on the ground. Furthermore, several pieces of flesh had been removed from the body and discarded nearby.
The innkeeper suppressed his horror and tried to look in other directions to find Zhao Bing, but he discovered that Ding San behind him was also gone.
Zhao Bing was never found, and Ding San was also missing.
He was so frightened that he almost fainted. Fortunately, the voices of the officials came through at that moment.
He hurriedly went out and led the officers to the backyard, only to find that there was nothing in the yard, and the person who came out of the latrine was none other than Zhao Bing!
The officials were also very puzzled, because after midnight someone suddenly rang the county government's grievance drum. When they went out, there was only a blood-stained petition on the ground at the door, but no one was there.
The complaint stated that a murder had occurred at the copper coin shop, and demanded that they pay ten million immediately.
Their appearance was so realistic that it was hard to tell the difference between real and fake, but the magistrate of the yamen was always considerate of the people's plight, so he didn't care whether it was real or fake and let them come to the copper coin shop.
But they found nothing when they arrived, and just as they were about to leave, a scream suddenly came from inside the inn.
The innkeeper and several officials rushed over, only to find a middle-aged man from out of town dead in his bed. His eyes were wide open in terror, his hands gripping his clothes like claws. The officials were astonished; they hadn't expected a murder to have actually occurred.
While they were searching the room, they discovered another body under the bed.
The innkeeper fainted upon seeing the man, for it was none other than Ding San, who had accompanied him to the backyard earlier.
When he woke up again, he found himself lying unharmed in his own bed. He struggled to his feet and went outside. Seeing Zhao Bing passing by and greeting him, he couldn't help but ask, "Have the officers all left?"
But Zhao Bing asked in surprise, "When will the police arrive?"
At that moment, the innkeeper felt his heart sink, and he couldn't help but ask, "What about Ding San?"
"Ding San? Who is he? Is he the new employee the boss wants to hire?"
Zhao Bing's question made the innkeeper's heart sink to the bottom. He subtly asked the others, but no one knew what had happened last night, let alone that an outsider had died at the inn, or that there had ever been a worker named Ding San at the inn.
At this point, the innkeeper's face showed horror. He grabbed Yuan Jue's hand and said sternly, "There must have been a worker named Ding San in the inn! And there must have been a stranger there! Because—" As he spoke, the innkeeper took out a black box from the bedside.
At this moment, Feng Fei and the others finally noticed the innkeeper's unease. Ming Feng and the others subtly surrounded Feng Fei, quietly waiting for the innkeeper's next reaction.
Finally, the innkeeper suddenly opened the black box, and a terrifying bloody light immediately emanated from it.
"Hehe, they don't believe me! But I have evidence!" The innkeeper gently touched the contents of the box as if he were caressing a lover, but Feng Fei and the others couldn't see what was inside because of their angle.
As if remembering something, the innkeeper suddenly turned the box around and stuffed it straight into Feng Fei's arms.
Feng Fei was startled by the boss's behavior, but quickly calmed down. However, when he looked into the box again, he was suddenly terrified.
It turned out that the black box contained five little figures.
Each little figure has clearly defined features, and even the expressions on their faces are clearly discernible.
However, these five figurines were soaked in blood, but the blood did not overflow at all despite the innkeeper's violent movements.