"Do you remember what the villagers of He Family Village said when we first arrived? 'The omens in the Almanac are the divine secrets revealed by the Snake Deity.'"
Ning Zhe took two steps back and leaned against a column beside a candelabrum, his gaze fixed on the elegant wood carving of the Snake Deity on the lotus pedestal. "The Snake Deity is magnanimous. Committing a forbidden act for the first time only brings bad luck—a run of misfortune at most."
"But divine secrets must not be disclosed. Using the Almanac to learn today's fortunes is the absolute limit the Snake Deity will tolerate. To presume to peek at tomorrow's omens invites only one outcome: death."
And an immediate, inescapable death.
In the silent ancestral hall, fragmented clues snapped into place, revealing a bizarre yet logically consistent murder mechanism:
The ghost roaming He Family Village had the ability to assume someone else's identity. When it used the name "Gu Yunqing" to look ahead in the Almanac, Gu Yunqing himself was deemed to have violated a mortal taboo by the Snake Deity—and perished on the spot.
Just as Ning Zhe had surmised, the ghost possessed no killing power of its own. From beginning to end, it did only one thing: usurp another's identity.
In other words, it killed by proxy.
"That's all you need to know." Zhang Yangxu folded the tablecloth he had been holding and draped it back over Lin Zhiyuan's corpse. "I'm heading to the central district of He Family Village to examine the He Manor and search for any clue that might let us leave this village. Do any of you want to come with me?"
He directed the question at Ye Miaozhu and Feng Yushu, with no hint of inviting Ning Zhe. Understandably so: whether Lin Zhiyuan had been curious or had been egged on by Ning Zhe to open the Almanac, Ning Zhe's reputation among the others was already in tatters. He was untrustworthy—and extremely dangerous.
In some respects, more dangerous than the uncanny nonhuman entity itself.
If circumstances allowed, Zhang Yangxu would have taken any opportunity to kill Ning Zhe and eliminate the threat. But the circumstances did not permit: with Lin Zhiyuan and Gu Yunqing dead, only Zhang Yangxu and Ning Zhe remained alive among the men of this vast village—and Zhang Yangxu was by no means physically formidable.
Ning Zhe's mercy in sparing him was already a sign of the Snake Deity's intervention.
Zhang Yangxu's proposal stirred Ye Miaozhu. As she hesitated, Ning Zhe suddenly let out a soft laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Ye Miaozhu asked.
"I'm amused by your cowardice and insecurity—twisted like maggots in a sewer." Ning Zhe spoke casually. "When Gu Yunqing died, you didn't try to find the real cause of his death, nor did you spend even a second thinking rationally. You simply fell apart emotionally and blamed me outright, claiming I'd killed him."
"But now you know, don't you? Gu Yunqing's death had nothing to do with me. Even without examining his body by the river, he would have died at 2:00 AM, struck down by the ghost's hand paging through the Almanac."
"Even now that the truth is clear, you still can't face the mistake you made. You don't even have the courage to apologize. Instead, you let your ridiculous pride and fear drive you to run away—flee as far from me as possible—because only then can you avoid confronting the fact that without Gu Yunqing, you are powerless, capable only of impotent rage."
His words were vicious… Zhang Yangxu exhaled a cold breath. A strange sensation crept over him.
He looked back to see Ye Miaozhu's eyes reddened, her clenched fists trembling, teeth gritted—like a wild beast poised to pounce. Even so, she dared not strike Ning Zhe, because he was no limp wimp who wouldn't retaliate against someone of the opposite sex; he would answer violence with violence, even if the attacker were a woman.
"You speak as if you're so noble yourself. You're a madman, a murderer, an inhuman pervert! What right do you have to judge anyone's feelings?" Ye Miaozhu's voice quivered. After her outburst, she turned and fled the ancestral hall, leaving Ning Zhe leaning against the candelabrum, his tranquil expression utterly unmoved.
Thus Zhang Yangxu's confusion deepened.
Since their meeting in He Family Village, this boy named Ning Zhe had never acted without purpose. Every word he spoke, every step he took, every decision he made held an obvious or hidden motive—he never wasted time or energy pointlessly.
But what was he doing now? Mocking the only doctor among the four until her emotions collapsed—what possible benefit could that serve?
Zhang Yangxu could not fathom the reason; he only felt a growing chill at his back. He was increasingly afraid of this seemingly gentle, amicable boy.
"I should go after her. Madam Bai, will you come with me?" Zhang Yangxu forced himself to speak.
Feng Yushu hesitated, took a step forward, then retreated. Finally, she bit her lip and shook her head gently. "Thank you, President Zhang, but I won't accompany you. The He Manor… feels too dangerous."
"Ning Zhe is even more dangerous…" Zhang Yangxu shook his head and ceased persuading. "Then I'll go. Take care."
Zhang Yangxu left the ancestral hall and followed the direction Ye Miaozhu had taken.
A fat, alabaster moon climbed high in the sky like a silkworm curling toward the zenith. Ning Zhe sighed softly and looked at Feng Yushu, still in the ancestral hall. She looked haggard; her black hair pinned at the nape was disheveled, her regal purple dress flecked with dried mud—she seemed quite forlorn.
"Aren't you leaving? Aren't you afraid this murderer will suddenly go on a bestial rampage and kill you too?" Ning Zhe half-joked.
"...I am." Feng Yushu answered frankly. "But I'm more afraid of being trapped in this cursed place forever—life worse than death."
"Following me doesn't guarantee your escape." Ning Zhe shook his head. "You know where Zhang Yangxu is heading, don't you? To the He Manor. None of us have explored it yet. If there really is a passage that leads out of He Family Village, it's likely there. If you truly want to leave, you must go with him."
Feng Yushu still shook her head. "No. Whether it's Zhang Yangxu, me, or Ye Miaozhu, none of us possess as much knowledge as you. You're brilliant and calm. While we were all still groping for exits, you had already begun deciphering the Snake Deity's rules, watching the others die one by one without a change of expression."
If anyone among the living in He Family Village could unravel the mystery and escape alive, it would be Ning Zhe.
Ning Zhe couldn't help laughing. "Auntie, you're an amusing person. You have no real skills and are the most timid soul, yet your judgment of character is spot on."
He straightened, stepping away from the candelabrum, and pointed a finger at his temple. "Indeed, I have formulated some initial theories about this village's workings. I expect to find a way to break the rules and leave very soon—and it's worth a try…"
"But why should I help you?" Ning Zhe's tone shifted; the gentle smile vanished. "There's no such thing as a free lunch. You want my help—what can you do for me?"
"Anything," Feng Yushu answered. "Anything."
Chapters in advance there: patreon.com/Thaniel_a_goodchild