The first day of the corpse

Just as Wang Shao and Zhuang Huan were exchanging a few words, a voice called out from the doorway, "Mom and Dad! I'm home!"

Zhuang Huan immediately switched gears, smiling broadly as he helped the woman carry her suitcase, saying indulgently, "Why didn't you tell Mom earlier? I could have picked you up at the village entrance. Your suitcase is so heavy, you must be exhausted."

Wang Shao introduced: "My daughter, Wang Fei."

Wang Fei was surprised to find the yard full of strangers and said, "So many guests!" Then she immediately noticed Jiang Chuan Gu. "Wow! Jiang Chuan Gu! Is that Jiang Chuan Gu?! Jiang Chuan Gu from ATW-7! Is that you?! Didn't you retire from the entertainment industry?"

Qin Ming casually turned up his collar, saying sourly, "They look pretty much the same, but it's the celebrity aura that's giving them an edge..."

"You're kidding me!" Before he could finish speaking, Qian Fei's cold look and sarcastic remark came first, "Almost what? The only thing you two are about the same height is that you're about the same."

Jiangchuan Valley nodded and smiled politely, then said again, "Hello, this is a private trip; I'm here to meet a friend."

Wang Fei perked up, her eyes widening as she asked, "You have friends in our house?! Who are they? Why didn't you tell me sooner? I would have come home earlier!"

Zhuang Huan interrupted the conversation, saying irritably, "Never mind that! Go back to your room and get ready! The River God Festival is starting soon!"

"Okay, okay! Are you guys coming?!" Wang Fei said, her eyes fixed on Jiang Chuangu, and volunteered, "My dad will definitely be too busy for the River God Festival later, he won't have time for you guys, I'll take you guys to play! I know everything!"

Wang Shao agreed, saying, "That's right. You can leave your luggage here first. After the celebration, I'll arrange accommodations for you. We'll see if Wang Ge is still in the village these days. Since you're here, why not stay a few days?"

Qin Ming politely agreed, saying, "Sure, we'll leave the things at the village chief's house for now and pick them up when we get back tonight."

Lin Chaoying whispered to Kong Yue, "Your suitcase is full of medicine and all sorts of random small instruments. Is it safe to leave it here?"

Qian Fei walked over, took out a small compass that could test the magnetic field of supernatural abilities, and said, "Don't worry, ordinary people can't open our boxes. You don't have anything important in your backpacks, do you?"

Lin Chaoying shook her head and said, "There are only clothes and toiletries."

After putting their things away, the village chief and Zhuang Huan headed towards the village committee to finalize the evening's activities. The other six people walked towards the river god temple by the Qingluo River. The road was bustling with people, and colorful ribbons floated in the night sky, resembling countless graceful dancers twirling.

Qian Fei asked Wang Fei curiously, "What activities are there during the River God Festival?"

Wang Fei patiently explained: "Generally, there are three parts. First, the gongs and drums call out to the gods. Second, the fire lanterns drive away the ghosts. Finally, the bride waits for the gods to return. The first part is for viewing. Our main participation is in the final part, when the river god possesses the bride and they draw lots. Whoever's number is drawn is the person the river god will bless this year!"

As they walked to the outside of the River God Temple, she said, "Let's all draw a number and register our names after the corresponding number. Maybe the River God will favor us this year!"

Lin Chaoying got up at seven in the morning and traveled here on a bumpy journey. For a full 12 hours, her mind hadn't stopped. As night fell, she had no interest in joining in the fun, unlike Qian Fei, who was a crazy person. Even while standing at the temple entrance waiting for the celebration to begin, she was extremely excited and dragged Qin Ming around to see everything.

Wang Fei moved closer to Jiang Chuangu and, taking advantage of a brief moment, quickly asked, "Hi there, Brother Gu! Hehe, I'm your fan. Although I'm not a regular member of the Iron Blood fan club and haven't donated any money to them, I've spent money to support every one of your works in theaters! And I've bought every single one of your albums!"

"Thank you." Jiangchuan Gu expressed his gratitude sincerely and politely.

Seeing that he wasn't opposed, Wang Fei gradually became bolder and asked, "So, you really retired from the entertainment industry? Why? Didn't you say the murder case had been solved?"

Jiang Chuan Gu didn't mince words and said seriously, "The death of my friend was a big blow to me. I need time to recover. Right now, let alone filming, I can't even calm down and listen to a song. Also, I have some tricky things on my plate. I will consider it carefully after I've recovered and dealt with these matters."

"Aww." After three seconds of silence, Wang Fei's eyes darted around, and she finally couldn't hold back, asking the question that made everyone gasp, "They say you and Jiang Xu really dated? Is he really so infatuated with you?"

Jiang Chuan Gu turned his head stiffly and looked at her, saying, "Are you a CP fan?"

Wang Fei quickly waved her hands, "No, no." She stammered, "It's because I was scrolling through Weibo and Douyin the other day, and it was all about your past. I got brainwashed... I was just curious..."

Jiang Chuan Gu wasn't angry, but rather surprised that the other person had asked so directly. He simply replied, "Jiang Xu and I are very good friends."

Kong Yue couldn't help but laugh, nudged Lin Chaoying with her elbow, and whispered, "Does this count as a direct face-to-face contact?"

Lin Chaoying couldn't suppress the upturn of her lips either, but she was pleased with Jiang Chuan Gu's friendly and equal attitude towards fans. She said, "He didn't mean any harm, so it's not like he was kissing me on the cheek. I'm just curious how Jiang Xu would react if he heard that."

As soon as the words were spoken, two rows of old drums with leather drumheads and mahogany bodies were slammed down on the platform with heavy drumsticks. The dull thud pierced the air, and the noisy crowd instantly fell silent. A group of middle-aged men, dressed simply, swung their drumsticks up and down, the rhythm of "thump thump thump—" varying in speed, sometimes like galloping warhorses, sometimes like the shouts of elderly men…

According to Wang Fei, this is to use the sound of drums to awaken the river god and tell him that the villagers are ready to welcome his arrival this year.

Suddenly, a sharp opera-style singing voice came from behind. Turning around, I saw a long line of firelight swimming from afar. The villagers, dressed in colorful clothes with mysterious symbols painted on their faces, held up torches as tall as a person and waved them in unison in the air, creating a bizarre and picturesque scene.

Wang Fei explained that the river god had come and had notified all the little ghosts in advance not to approach and disturb them.

The village stationman stood at the temple entrance and shouted, "Please invite the gods!" Then a beautiful young girl with long, flowing hair and fair skin, dressed in a red dress, walked to the temple entrance.

The hushed whispers around me:

"Is she the river god's bride? She looks even younger this year?"

"Yes, why didn't they save me back then? I also want to stay young forever..."

Upon hearing this, Qian Fei asked Wang Fei beside him, "Is this the bride you were talking about who came back from the dead? She certainly doesn't look like she's in her thirties. Do you usually talk to her in private?"

Wang Fei nodded and said, "I've never seen her. She only comes out twice a year, once for the River God Festival and once for the temple fair on the second day of the Lunar New Year."

Because of the crowd and the distance, Lin Chaoying couldn't see clearly. She guessed that after the woman entered the temple, offered incense and knelt before the statue of the river god, she devoutly chanted a spell, suddenly opened her eyes, walked to the temple entrance again, stretched out her pale, skeletal hand, and a ball of flame gathered in her palm, writing four numbers in the air.

3.17.66.68.

The compass in Qian Fei's pocket spun wildly. After she took it out, the pointer pointed precisely ahead. The group looked in that direction, and their gazes instantly changed from watching the spectacle to becoming wary.

Is the river god's bride also a superhuman?

Someone nearby cheered excitedly, "It's me! I won!"

Lin Chaoying glanced at the person and asked Wang Fei, "What will the person whose number was chosen do?"

She said, "You can enter the temple and receive guidance from the river god."

The village chief shouted, "Those whose numbers have been chosen, please come forward and enter the River God Temple!"

Lin Chaoying pulled Qian Fei aside, "The short-haired, spiky man in front has the selected number in his hand. Let's switch ours!"

Without asking why, Qian Fei used his telekinetic power to snatch the number away from the man just as he lowered his hand from the number plate. When the man came to his senses, the number was gone. He hurriedly crawled on the ground to look for it, sweating profusely in a panic.

Lin Chaoying snatched Qian Fei's number plate and said, "Give me yours too!" Then she held the number "68" in her hand and Qian Fei's number in her pocket, ready to go on stage.

Qin Ming grabbed her, "Where are you going!"

"Oh dear!" Lin Chaoying said quickly, "That woman is a superhuman, I'll go in and check it out!" She shook off his hand, walked over to the man, and said, "Isn't your number tag in your pocket?" and headed straight into the temple.

The man pulled out the number from his pocket, then, thinking he was delirious and had misread it, collapsed to the ground in despair.

Qin Ming was angry that she had acted on her own initiative, and turned to scold Qian Fei, "Why are you playing along with her nonsense? What if she goes up there alone and gets into danger?!"

Jiang Chuan Gu helped explain, "Lin Chaoying knows what she's doing."

“Exactly.” Qian Fei retorted, “Boss, if there’s danger, hurry up and save her! It’s only a few steps!”

The group formed a circle and started bickering. When Wang Fei saw Lin Chaoying come on stage, she exclaimed with delight, "Sister, you're so lucky! No one from out of town has ever won the lottery before!"

Kong Yue lowered her voice and said seriously, "Everyone, get ready. Wang Fei said no one from out of town has ever won a lottery. We also registered our names when we drew the lots. I wonder how Aying will handle this..."

Lin Chaoying knew, of course, that the number plate had a registered name. She was too familiar with the so-called "River God's Bride." She just wanted to go up and see the woman's face clearly. She stepped over the steps, met the village chief Wang Shao's surprised gaze, and calmly took out the number "68".

Wang Shao asked, "Is this your number?"

"Of course." Lin Chaoying's eyes were fixed on the woman's back in the hall.

Wang Shao said awkwardly, "Child, this isn't yours, is it?"

Lin Chaoying said confidently, "I picked up the number at the door. The god hadn't descended yet. After I got the number, the celebration started, and the river god confirmed the number. The river god must have chosen the number based on the person who made the choice. Isn't it because the number was in my hands that the river god chose this number?"

After a series of nonsensical and sophistical arguments, Wang Shao was left speechless.

Suddenly, a faint gust of wind came from the opposite direction. Lin Chaoying keenly sensed the unusual sound and immediately took a few steps back. "Bang—" A woman fell from the sky and landed in front of them. A pool of black blood slowly flowed out from beneath her. The woman was soaked, her skin wrinkled and white, and her features were covered by her hair.

The villagers standing in the front row scattered in terror, shouting, "Someone's dead!"

In his terror, Wang Shao crouched down, parted the woman's hair, and revealed a distorted face with wide eyes.

It's Zhuang Huan, his wife...