funeral
"Don't look so gloomy. Your dad has a really good temper. If it were my dad, he would have hung me up and beaten me today." Ye Jing'an patted his shoulder.
"I've never been beaten since I was a child. Do you know how hard my father kicked me just now? Now I'm about to be kicked out, what else do you want?" Qiu Zimu shouted with his eyes glaring.
"How can this be considered as being kicked out? This is a chance for you to go out and travel and have fun. Why don't you thank me!" Ye Jing'an's mouth was wide with laughter. It just so happened that he was traveling alone.
"Thank you so much!" Qiu Zimu slapped him on the back of the head.
Ye Jingan grabbed his hand and said, "Hey, don't be unreasonable. You wanted to go there yourself, didn't you? I was almost killed by you, and you're still excited!"
"Would this have happened if you hadn't fallen down?" Qiu Zimu snorted coldly.
"I'm too lazy to talk to you. Come and apply the medicine on me." Ye Jing'an put his feet on Qiu Zimu's legs.
Qiu Zimu was in a very bad mood, sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze. Now that there were no ghosts for Ye Jingan to catch, he could treat the training as a trip. But he couldn't do that. He still had some Black Miao Gu techniques, but now he was kicked out before he could finish learning them. What would he do if he met a more powerful Gu Master outside and couldn't win?
Qiu Zimu's mind was flooded with all the things he had learned. He wondered if this was enough to make a living out there. He didn't bother to pay attention to Ye Jingan and went back to studying insects.
After resting for a few days, as soon as Ye Jingan's foot recovered, the two were urged to go out for training.
"Jing'an, Zimu has never been out to explore the world, so you should take better care of him. Also, don't cause trouble with him, otherwise your dad will deal with you." Qiu Ningyuan patted Ye Jing'an on the shoulder.
"I know, don't worry, uncle." Ye Jing'an said.
The father and son exchanged a few more words, said their goodbyes, and then set off. All the way down the mountain, Qiu Zimu had a sullen look on his face and didn't say a word.
"Brother, cheer up, I'll treat you to something to eat." Ye Jing'an put his arm around his shoulders.
Qiu Zimu glanced at him and turned his head away.
Ye Jingan is very thick-skinned. No matter whether you pay attention to him or not, or whether you are angry or not, he will chatter beside you non-stop, entertaining himself, until you are willing to speak out, leaving you with no place to vent your anger.
"Okay, stop nagging!" Qiu Zimu was annoyed by the nagging.
"Okay, where do you want to go?" Ye Jing'an asked with a smile, having achieved his goal.
Qiu Zimu pointed to a mountain road and wanted to walk into the mountains to catch some insects. After all, there would be no insects to catch in the city.
Ye Jingan nodded in agreement. He didn't have any particular place he wanted to go anyway, so he just walked around. The two of them walked, talked, and caught some bugs, and soon it was afternoon.
"I don't want to walk anymore. I'm hungry and tired. Let's find a place to sleep." Ye Jing'an sat down on a stone by the roadside and said weakly.
"There seem to be a few houses in the distance ahead. Where are we going?" Qiu Zimu said.
"Let's go." Ye Jing'an pulled Qiu Zimu's sleeve and stood up.
The house didn't seem too far away, but it took over an hour to get there. The atmosphere wasn't particularly pleasant, though. There were only six households, and two of them had white cloth and paper flowers draped across their doors, with wreaths outside. Someone must have recently died, and they were still holding a funeral.
Unlike any funerals I'd seen before, this place was remarkably deserted. Perhaps it was because this small village was sparsely populated, two middle-aged women stood sparsely on the plain. They looked frightened, huddled together, talking about something. As they approached, the women looked at them strangely, whispered a few words, and then left.
Qiu Zimu found this strange. In Wangqi'ao, funerals were very particular. They were supposed to prevent the deceased from feeling apprehensive while walking the dark road to the underworld. So, during the seven days the body lay in state, they would gather many relatives and friends to play mahjong or other favorite pastimes, creating a lively atmosphere. This ensured that the deceased would know everyone was there to accompany him on his journey to the underworld, rather than being alone.
There are clearly two funerals taking place in this area, and the layout of the mourning hall is similar to that in Wangqi'ao area, which shows that they still attach great importance to funerals. However, there are only a few people there, which is obviously a problem.
Outside the mourning hall near the village entrance sat an elderly woman dressed in white cloth, her face pale and her expression pained. Glancing inside, I saw a black-and-white photo of a young man—perhaps the deceased's mother.
The two asked the aunt about the situation.
Just as the aunt was about to speak, she heard a loud "gulp~" that lasted for quite a while. Ye Jingan touched his stomach, smiled awkwardly and said, "Sorry, aunt, I'm so hungry."
Qiu Zimu: "..."
The aunt took out a few cakes and stuffed them into Ye Jingan's mouth, saying, "You are here for tourism, right? Leave quickly, or someone will die in the village at night."
"Thank you, Auntie. We're starving." Ye Jing'an picked up a rice cake and stuffed it into his mouth. "Tell us what happened. We both have some skills and may be able to help you."
"This mourning hall you see belongs to my son. He was scratched to death by a monster the night before last." After saying this, the auntie started crying sadly. Two aunties nearby heard her crying and ran over to comfort her.
"Auntie, please accept my condolences. What is the monster you just mentioned?" Qiu Zimu asked.
"Young man, let me tell you." Another aunt took over.
The aunt wasn't wearing a plain white dress, but her expression wasn't much better. She told the two of them what had happened in the village: "There's an uneducated scoundrel in our village named Er Gouzi. He spends his days stealing and robbing people. I heard someone say not long ago that Er Gouzi dug up someone's grave and found some treasures. Just a few nights ago, we heard a lot of cats crying. It was so noisy that we couldn't sleep, so we followed the noise and found Er Gouzi dead, a bloody mess, surrounded by many black cats crying."
"The cat is crying?" Ye Jing'an chewed a rice cake, listening with gusto. Hearing ghost stories live was much more engaging than listening on a phone, though, and they were usually contrived. He didn't think it was a ghost story, just a premeditated murder.
"I heard from the older generation that if you hear a cat crying, someone is going to die." Qiu Zimu frowned.
"Yes, people will die. We moved Ergou's body to his grandmother's house. The next morning, when everyone was going to help Ergou's grandmother with the funeral, they found his grandmother lying dead on the ground with her throat cut. Ergou's body was also missing."
"The body is missing? He's already dead, how could he just run away?" Ye Jing'an said.
"It's true. On the second and third nights, some villagers said they saw a human-like monster walking on four legs and making cat-like sounds. Aunt Li's son and Zhang's youngest son were killed by this monster at night. I wonder whose turn it will be tonight..." The aunt lowered her head and sighed.
"Then why don't you move out? This house looks quite old." Ye Jing'an said.
"Our village originally had more than 20 households, but a few years ago a landslide crushed several houses in the back. Back then, poverty alleviation efforts were strong, and the government relocated us to the town free of charge. Most people moved, but the six of us were so used to living here that we couldn't bear to leave, so we took a small subsidy to continue living here. After this incident, the other three families fled to the city to live with their children, leaving only the three of us here." Aunt Li sighed and said, "We only have one son, and now we can't go anywhere. Even after he died, we don't want to go anywhere. You two are young, leave quickly, so as not to bring trouble to yourselves."
"Call the police. If you have any problems, find the police. I guarantee they will solve it for you!" As a law-abiding citizen, Ye Jing'an has always believed that there is no unsolved case that the police cannot solve.
Auntie shook her head and said, "I reported it. They came to perform an autopsy and said the wounds were caused by a wild cat. Er Gouzi must have been captured and eaten by some wild animal. They also set up some infrared cameras in the mountains to check for wild animals."
"Well, what did the infrared camera capture?" Ye Jing'an asked, "Is there a video? Let me take a look."
"A lot of things were captured in the footage. The police said Ergou might have been eaten by a blind bear." Aunt Li showed Ye Jingan and the others the video on her mobile phone.
There are five videos in total. Small insects occasionally fly across the black-and-white footage. In the first video, a kitten passes by and curiously pokes at the infrared camera with its paw. The two infrared cameras in the middle didn't capture any large animals. The fourth video likely shows the blind bear the police mentioned, passing by with prey in its mouth.
The last video is the longest and contains many small animals. It seems that the infrared camera is placed next to a small stream, and small animals go there to get water to drink. There are civets and muntjacs, but no human-like monsters are seen.
After watching the video, Qiu Zimu and Ye Jing'an also thought that the bear had probably been scratched to death by a blind bear. After all, when it stood up, it did look like a person, but the aunts' reactions didn't seem like they were lying. Ye Jing'an thought that maybe he had offended someone and was being retaliated against, so he pretended to be a ghost to scare people.
Qiu Zimu thought so too and said to Aunt Li, "How about this, let's go and take a look tonight. Maybe someone is deliberately scaring people."
"Yes, don't worry, Auntie, leave it to us!" Ye Jing'an patted his chest. He had wanted to go to the police school to become a policeman before. Now is a good opportunity to see if he has the potential to be a policeman.
"Auntie, is there a place to stay? Let's rest for a while." Qiu Zimu said.
Aunt Li was very grateful to hear that the two of them were capable and willing to help. She quickly cleaned up two rooms and prepared a hearty dinner for them. The two smiled and thanked Aunt Li, then went to their rooms to rest.
After walking on the mountain road for almost a whole day, the two returned to the room and fell asleep as soon as their heads touched the pillow. When they opened their eyes in a daze, it was already dark.
The aunt had prepared the meal long ago and couldn't wake them up. Thinking that the two children might be tired from the journey, she didn't knock on the door again. She kept the meal warm and waited for them to eat when they woke up.
"Auntie, the dishes you cook are so delicious!" Ye Jing'an ate three bowls and now doesn't want to move at all.
"Eat more. Auntie will make whatever you like." Aunt Li said with a smile.
"It's almost nine o'clock." Qiu Zimu stood at the door and looked out. It was pitch black all around, with only the low hum of insects and no unusual sounds. He said to Ye Jing'an, "Want to go out for a walk?"
"Let's go, take a walk to help digest the food." Ye Jing'an stood up casually, put his sword behind his back and said, "You can't beat the bugs, but this wild animal still poses no threat to us."
The two walked around the woods outside the house twice, but didn't see any humanoid monsters, not even a small mouse. Ye Jingan returned to Aunt Li's house and said with a smile, "Auntie, don't worry and sleep. There are no monsters."
Hearing that there was no monster, Aunt Li's face turned even uglier. She said excitedly, "I didn't lie to you. There really is one here. We saw it with our own eyes."
Qiu Zimu comforted her, "Auntie, don't get excited. We don't mean to distrust you. It's just that the monster hasn't appeared yet. Just sleep peacefully. Don't worry! No matter what it is, we will definitely help you solve it before leaving."
"Thank you, you should also go to bed early." She didn't know if the two children were coaxing her, but these words did make her feel a lot more at ease.
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