Chapter 287 [(*^▽^*)]
After all, I'm getting on in years. I need to take good care of myself. What if I trip and fall while walking so fast? If I fall, all my bones will probably break.
The old man was completely unmoved, saying, "No need. The two masters can find the female ghost in their own way. Don't worry about anything else."
After saying that, the village chief walked away with his cane, appearing to be much faster than the others who were walking normally.
Lin Leyou looked in the direction the village chief had gone and said, "It seems he's heading towards Arong's house. Should we go check it out? He looks aggressive, like he's going to cause trouble."
Xue Rui shook his head, "I think it's a good opportunity to go see his two silly grandsons while the village chief is away, and to see how he treated us earlier. If he were home, we might not have been able to see them at all."
"As for what happened over there, we can find out by asking around later."
Lin Leyou thought for a moment, then casually tossed out a mechanical spider. "How about this, we can manage both."
Xue Rui saw this and didn't refuse, "Let's go, this is for the best."
Lin Leyou and his group headed towards the village chief's house. But as soon as they got close, they saw the two brothers playing around on the cement ground in front of the house, with the well next to them turned on.
Lin Leyou pointed to the well over there and asked, "Isn't the village chief's well sealed off? They're so brave, they're not afraid at all."
Xue Rui shook his head. "No, their well should have been sealed off, but it's been opened now. If I'm not mistaken, they must have opened it themselves."
Lin Leyou said, "There seems to be something in the well. Look over there."
After looking closely, Xue Rui realized that there did seem to be some black things emerging, but it was daytime outside, and the sun was shining brightly, so even if there were ghosts, they probably wouldn't come out at this time.
Sure enough, within seconds, the black mist completely dissipated, and nothing appeared.
At this moment, two people came out of the house. When they saw the well cover being lifted and thrown aside, their expressions changed slightly. They quickly put the well cover back and sealed the well again.
Lin Leyou said, "These two brothers look like kids playing around, which is definitely much better than at night, but..."
Xue Rui said, "But right now, he just looks like a child who doesn't act up, not an adult. It seems his brain is really fried."
Lin Leyou said, "Let's go, let's find some other people to ask about the situation in this village."
Xue Rui, "What kind of person should I ask?"
Lin Leyou said, "Of course we should ask people who are rejected by most of the villagers. If we ask people who have good relationships and are popular in the village, they will definitely say the same thing. Maybe there is some truth to it, but it can only be used as a reference for us."
Xue Rui: "Then let's look for it."
They wandered around the village and actually found a lone villager. Of course, it wasn't because he was alone; after all, everyone has moments when they're alone.
No matter where this villager went, no one would talk to him. In fact, when other people saw him, they would suppress their relaxed expressions and deliberately look away from him.
It was as if he had seen something filthy.
This villager always kept his head down, never looking at anyone else. He was either out working or back home. His house was located in the area closest to the foot of the mountain, and it was the only house there, with no other houses around.
Lin Leyou said, "Let's go ask him. Maybe he knows something."
At this moment, the villager had walked to the ditch by the rice paddy and was washing his feet, since he had just come out of the field and his feet were covered in mud.
Lin Leyou and the other person walked nearby and looked at him.
The villagers seemed to sense something, looked up, and were startled when they saw someone staring at them. They didn't say anything, but looked away in fear, though they would occasionally steal glances at them.
Xue Rui: "Hey bro, can I ask you a few questions?"
He remained timid and silent, sitting there huddled up and continuing to wash his feet, as if he hadn't heard anything.
Xue Rui called out twice more, but there was still no response. Just as they were about to try again, a villager passed by.
"Hey, you two masters, there's no need to call him anymore."
Lin Leyou, "Why is that?"
"This person is deaf and mute; he can neither speak nor hear."
Lin Leyou was stunned for a moment, and after exchanging a glance with Xue Rui, he suddenly realized that the villager was not being ostracized for any other reason, but because of his disability.
If that's the case, then... then there's nothing more to ask?
The villager who had told them about this had already gone far away, but after thinking about it, they decided to stay, without mentioning any other reason.
They still wanted to ask this villager about things in the village.
Even if they can't hear or speak, they can still write, right? After all, primary school is compulsory education now. Wait! Does the infinite world have compulsory education?
Forget it, I'll stop thinking about it for now. I can just go back with him and ask him later.
By the way, can I take out my phone now? If I can, I can type something on it and show it to him.
Xue Rui, "cell phone".
Lin Leyou immediately understood what he meant. "I'll look around. Go and give it a try."
So, Xue Rui took out his phone and typed two words on it.
As he approached the other person, he clearly felt the other person shrink back in fear, but perhaps sensing that Xue Rui who was approaching him meant no harm, he did not run away.
When he saw the phone handed to him, he paused for a moment, but he clearly saw the two words on it.
"Hello"
After noticing that the other person paused for a moment, Xue Rui pressed on, "I am Zheng Li."
Then Xue Rui put the phone in his hand. Fortunately, his hands had been washed and were clean, and upon closer inspection, they were quite fair.
He was a little flustered holding the phone, but after calming down, he awkwardly wrote with his hand, "Hello, I am Fan Yu."
Xue Rui nodded to Lin Leyou and continued typing, "We have some things we'd like to talk to you about. Do you have time? Can we come to your house? It's not very convenient outside."
Fan Yu thought about it for a moment, then nodded without refusing.
Xue Rui quickly put away his phone, took Lin Leyou, and followed Fan Yu to his house. The house was in a really good location; you could see the general situation of the whole village from here, but the villagers couldn't.
They were initially worried that it might delay the villager's work, but he typed that he had finished and could go home to rest earlier.
Xue Rui typed, "That's good. If we've interfered with your work, then we'd be in big trouble."
Fan Yu said, "It's okay. Ask me anything you want to know, and I'll tell you if I know the answer."
Xue Rui: "Actually, you know that we were hired by the village chief to exorcise the ghost, but... it seems like no one in the village tells the truth."
Fan Yu blinked; he roughly understood what it meant to not tell the truth. "What do you want to know?"
Xue Rui: "It's about that girl named A Rong. The village chief invited us over, saying he wanted to discuss some things, but something was still missing."
Fan Yu said, "Ah Rong, she's a very good girl..."
He paused for a moment, then continued typing, "Arong's parents were actually killed by her godparents."
Xue Rui and Lin Leyou were stunned when they saw this sentence. No way.
At first, the two didn't believe it. The couple seemed very protective of Ah Rong and were even guarding the collapsed house.
If that's the case, then why are they so nervous about that dilapidated house? Is there evidence of their past misdeeds inside? Or are they simply feeling guilty?
Xue Rui, "What exactly happened?"
Fan Yu: "It actually started over a small matter. Aren't their houses next to each other?"
Xue Rui and Lin Leyou realized that next to the couple's luxurious self-built rural house was A Rong's dilapidated mud-brick house; they were indeed neighbors.
Fan Yu continued typing, "When they built their house, they encroached on some of A Rong's land. A Rong's parents disagreed and asked them to change it immediately, but the foundation had already been laid and construction had already begun, so they didn't agree."
"As a result, the two families started arguing. But nothing serious happened. Later, they decided to compensate Arong's parents with some money, and they eventually reached an agreement."
"However, something else happened afterward."
Fan Yu glanced at his phone, then at the two of them, and continued typing, "Later, they felt they had given too much money and changed their minds. They didn't want to give that much and only said they would give half of what was originally agreed upon. Naturally, A Rong's parents were unhappy. As a result, during the argument, A Rong's father got so angry that he couldn't catch his breath and suffered a heart attack and died. Her mother was so heartbroken that she passed away in less than a month. That's how A Rong was left all alone."
Xue Rui and Lin Leyou gasped. Was this couple being kind to A Rong to atone for their sins or for something else?
Fan Yu: "I don't know the specifics, I only know the general outline."
"Afterwards, they helped with the funeral arrangements, and other families in the village also contributed some money. After the funerals were completed, the two continued building their house, and the promised compensation was never paid."
"Later on, they often took care of Arong, giving her money and things, personally taking her to school, and even recognizing her as their goddaughter. But everyone in the village knew that these two people simply didn't want to pay compensation."
"They say they're taking care of Ah Rong, but the money Ah Rong spends is all left by her parents. The only care they give her is buying her some cheap, worn-out clothes and shoes, and some cheap food. In total, it's less than three thousand."
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