"Doctor Zhou, don't be angry. You're a respected elder. When you sit here, everyone feels more at ease. Shun is already gone, so we have to come up with a plan, right?"
Village Captain Shan wasn't angry at all. He spoke kindly, but he clearly wasn't going to let anyone leave.
Doctor Zhou was so angry that he almost fainted. What kind of people are these!
"Yes, Grandpa Zhou, don't hurt your health. Once this is over, I'll carry you home." Dong stepped forward to support Doctor Zhou and grinned foolishly.
"Go ahead, say it. What do you all want to do? Hurry up and discuss. If this drags on any longer, the sun will come up!" Doctor Zhou rolled his eyes proudly.
Village Captain Shan was getting anxious too. He waved his hand at the others and said softly:
"Everyone stop talking. We were all involved in what happened today. No one can escape responsibility.
Someone died. Normally, we should report it to the police.
But once we do that, it becomes a murder case. Our Huaishu Village's reputation will be ruined.
I'll be blamed for inciting murder, and you'll all be murderers. We'll all end up in jail."
"What should we do then? My family relies on my husband. He can't go to prison!" a woman cried while slapping her thighs.
"Oh my son! Captain, please think of something! I rely on my eldest son to take care of me!"
…
Freya watched the group chattering without coming up with a solution. She curled her lips.
That old fox Village Captain Shan was clearly waiting for the villagers to panic on their own and come begging him for a plan. Then he'd step in and take control. And by then, whatever he said would be the final word.
"Heh, Village Captain Shan's plan is about to fail!"
Freya moved her ears a little and grinned sneakily.
Shun's mother and the others had already arrived.
Sure enough, within two minutes, while Village Captain Shan's side still hadn't come to a decision, Shun's mother and the others had already shown up.
Freya quietly stepped out from the bushes and followed at the back of the group. She wanted to get closer to the action—it was more exciting that way.
"Oh my son! Where are you? Mama is here, don't be scared, Mama is here to save you!"
Shun's mother was at the front and finally spotted her lifeless son lying on the riverbank.
"Shun! My precious boy, I'm too late! Is your soul still here?" She threw herself on Shun's body, crying so hard she could barely breathe.
"Village Captain Shan, you heartless bastard! You're the one who got my son killed! You did this on purpose!" Shun's mother suddenly picked up the machete in her hand and charged at the captain.
While everyone was distracted, Village Captain Shan was almost struck in the head. He dodged just in time, but his arm got slashed off.
"Ah!" Village Captain Shan screamed in pain, clutching his bleeding arm, drenched in cold sweat.
People finally reacted and tried to stop her, but Shun's mother was like a madwoman, swinging the blade wildly. Everyone ran around like headless chickens, not knowing what to do.
Luckily, after a short while, a man snuck up behind her while she wasn't paying attention and kicked her in the back. Her machete flew out of her hands.
Even though she was finally restrained, Shun's mother kept shouting.
"Village Captain Shan, you coward! I'll make you pay with your life! Just wait!"
Freya watched the fight come to an end, flicked her long hair, and sighed in disappointment. That was over too quickly.
In the end, Village Captain Shan fainted from the pain. The women's director called the police. The matter was temporarily settled after the police and commune officials arrived.
Once those involved were taken away, Freya slowly followed the crowd away from the riverbank.
"Ouch, did the Village Captain Shan really kill Shun?"
"Tsk, such a pity. I came too late, I don't even know what actually happened!" a plump white-faced woman whispered to a plump dark-skinned woman beside her.
"I think so. You don't know what Trina was wearing — it was a man's clothing. I suspect Shun did something bad to her! Village Captain Shan couldn't take it and killed him!" the dark-skinned woman analyzed seriously, rubbing her chin that seemed to have become one with her neck, like she was Sherlock Holmes.
"But Malvin was there too. I saw he was all soaking wet. He's always close with Shun. Could it be that he also did something to Trina?"
Freya, taking advantage of her height, put her arms around the two women's necks and leaned in, automatically joining the gossip circle.
She had to steer the conversation. How could they forget Malvin? And besides, she needed to be noticed and have a solid alibi.
"Ouch, Brian's wife, what are you doing here? You scared me!"
Aunt Lin patted her chest, still startled.
The plump woman was the Xiao family's neighbor. Her husband's surname was Sun, and everyone called him Uncle Sun. He was a furniture maker, a craftsman, and their family lived quite well.
They had only one daughter, a family of three, and were kind and friendly with their neighbors.
"I heard the noise, so I followed you two to check it out! You two kept chatting and probably didn't notice me!" Freya said with a big smile to Aunt Lin.
"Heh, you city folks actually like joining in on this gossip? I thought you just liked to read books with your noses in the air!" said the dark plump girl — the Sun family's only daughter, Sun Yueyue, 19 years old. She pouted trying to look cute.
Honestly, with her dark skin and sturdy frame, that gesture was a bit hard on the eyes.
Freya ignored the pout and smiled in reply.
"Yueyue, that's not fair. So what if we're educated youths? We're still people. We like the everyday stuff too!"
Freya squeezed in between the two, handing each of them a small handful of sunflower seeds.
"Come on, keep talking. Is it possible this was a one-girl-two-guys situation?"
"Ai ya, Freya, don't you feel ashamed saying that? And you're a zhiqing too!" Yueyue said while stuffing the seeds into her pocket, then ran off covering her face.
...What did I say?
"Ouch, this girl — my daughter is still a proper unmarried girl! Hahaha.
I just heard from Aunt Liu, she was the first to go in. She said when she entered, one was hugging and kissing, and the other one was… doing that!
Let's go!" Aunt Lin whispered in Freya's ear, then patted her hand with a smile and ran after her daughter.
Oh, I get it now! Seems like it was a pretty wild scene!
Wait a second, they're talking like I'm not a proper unmarried girl either — I am too!
Freya mimicked Yueyue and pouted too, then remembered — right, she was technically already married and had a certificate.
Yes, Freya's soul had traveled here. The moment she woke up in that thatched hut, she realized the world she was in was completely different from the one she knew.
Freya followed the original host's memory and returned to the Xiao family, entering the original host's room. It had just a makeshift bed made from planks, covered with a straw mat woven from wheat stalks, and a patched-up sheet. There wasn't even a pillow.
Beside the bed was a worn wooden box. That was it. No stool, nothing else.
Freya walked to the doorway, peeked out cautiously. It was quiet. Aside from some noise from Liu Huifang's room, all she could hear was heavy breathing from the other rooms.
She closed the door from the inside, bolted it, and slipped into the space. The room had nothing, was hot, and full of mosquitoes. The space was way more comfortable.