Chapter 5 Ghost Cry Village: The Old Locust Tree
General Xie had instructed that on this trip, one must be extremely careful around women.
After drinking the vinegar, everyone's symptoms gradually subsided. Some people sat listlessly in the hall, while those who had recovered forced themselves to go upstairs to pack their luggage, refusing to stay in this 'shady inn' any longer.
Tang Yu and Xiao Fangliang got up almost at the same time.
The former strode toward the door, while the latter moved to Wang Shanyue's side and gestured for him to lean closer.
Wang Shanyue bowed slightly, and Xiao Fangliang unfolded his folding fan to cover the two of them, so no one knew what they were whispering to each other.
At this moment, Tang Yu calmly gripped the door, and suddenly heard a "click" as the door closed and locked.
In an instant, the light in the lobby dimmed, with only a sliver of sunlight slipping in through the crack in the door, casting a slanted light on her profile. The interplay of light and shadow created a somewhat eerie atmosphere.
Xiao Fangliang watched from afar, his eyes slightly narrowed.
The man not far away clearly had well-defined brow bones and eyes that seemed to hold a pool of soft light. Yet, he found that this handsome face was utterly unremarkable, leaving no impression on him whatsoever over the past two days.
He raised an eyebrow, becoming even more interested in this itinerant doctor.
Everyone stared in surprise at the tightly closed door, but no one noticed that Wang Shanyue darted behind the two guests and struck them with both hands, delivering two swift blows. Before the guests could even react, their bodies went limp and they fell straight forward.
But there was another person who, taking advantage of the brief moment of change, reacted and leaped towards the door, his panicked face getting closer and closer to Tang Yu.
She remained completely calm.
A cold glint flashed through the air, and the back of the sword struck the man's shoulder precisely. The man cried out in pain and collapsed onto the brick ground.
Wang Shanyue moved with lightning speed, instantly appearing in front of Tang Yu, his broad back firmly blocking her view.
He pointed his sword at the man on the ground and shouted sternly, "Speak! Why did you poison our horses!"
The person kneeling on the ground did not struggle, but a cold smile appeared on their face, and suddenly a trace of blood seeped from their lips.
The next instant, the body suddenly stiffened, then fell straight to the ground, dead.
Wang Shanyue was stunned for a moment by this sudden change. He was about to go forward to check when Tang Yu stopped him.
She walked to the corpse, half-squatted down, and first gave it a cursory examination. Then she took out a roll of silver needles from her bosom, picked one out, and tested it with some blood. As she expected, it was non-toxic.
She immediately took action, ruthlessly tearing open the deceased's shirt and swiftly inserting needles into several acupuncture points on the body. Sure enough, at the point where the veins on the side of the neck were sealed, there seemed to be strange wriggling under the skin, as if some living thing was hiding there.
"It's a Gu worm." Wang Shanyue realized and immediately looked at the other two lying on the ground. "They might also have this kind of Gu worm on them!"
"Young Master, there's no need to worry." Tang Yu calmly got up, walked over to the other two, and used a few more needles to seal several meridians.
"In this way, they cannot circulate their qi, and therefore cannot control the Gu worms."
Several bodyguards stepped forward, lifted the two limp men up, and tied them up securely with ropes.
Tang Yu didn't rush to back away. Instead, she tilted her head and looked at it for a moment before suddenly reaching out and pulling.
With a "ripping" sound, an extremely thin human skin mask was torn off their faces. The faces beneath the masks were revealed: high noses and prominent cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and brown eyebrows, typical of people from southern Xinjiang.
In an instant, everyone present fell silent. They then proceeded without hesitation, binding the two even tighter, their expressions filled with vigilance and hostility.
With that, the matter came to an end.
The next problem was that all the horses in the backyard had been poisoned. Individual travelers were alright; they could barely manage to hurry on their own to a nearby town to find more horses. But Wang Shanyue's group, carrying several boxes of goods, a carriage, and several criminals, also had to escort them to Xia Nan.
Not to mention, there was also Old Xu's corpse.
Their profession as bodyguards is inherently extremely dangerous. If an accident occurs, the entire team may perish far from home. Even worse, some may die in the wilderness, their bodies never to be found, rotting and stinking in some unknown place.
Therefore, given any chance, even if it means going a little further, they would definitely bring back their fallen companions and their bodies, so that they could return to their roots, leaving a final thought for the living.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, as if they too were mourning the dead.
Now, they have no choice but to send someone to Xia Nan to buy horses, a round trip that will take at least half a day.
The three sat down in the hall and chatted idly, creating a rare moment of relaxation in the atmosphere.
Xiao Fangliang smiled, holding a fan, his gaze fixed on Tang Yu, clearly showing great interest in her.
"Where does Young Master Su plan to go next?" he asked.
"As a wandering doctor, I naturally travel around without a specific destination," Tang Yu replied with a smile, his tone unhurried. "However, I have heard of the prosperity of Zhongjing and have long yearned to visit it. If I have the opportunity, I would like to see the scenery of the capital."
"What a coincidence!" Wang Shanyue perked up. "After we finish this shipment, we'll be returning to Zhongjing. If Brother Su doesn't mind, why don't you come with us? That way we can look after each other."
After saying that, he turned his head to look at the person beside him and asked softly, "A-Liang, what do you think?"
Xiao Fangliang nodded slightly: "Very good."
"Then thank you both very much." Tang Yu cupped his hands in greeting, his expression unperturbed, but he was already overjoyed inside.
If she could successfully infiltrate the escort team and return to the capital together, she would be one step closer to her goal.
After the group agreed to travel together, Wang Shanyue still had some unresolved questions in his mind, so he took the opportunity to speak up: "By the way, there is something I don't understand. Where does the ghostly wailing sound in this village come from? And do they really kill a passerby every rainy season and offer him as a sacrifice to that old locust tree?"
“That shopkeeper’s skills are clearly not those of an ordinary villager. He is most likely an outsider hired by the village.” Tang Yu rested her chin on her hand, her gaze fixed on the unusually quiet village. “Look, these two have been captured by you for several hours, but until now, not a single person in the village has come to inquire. They must have something to hide.”
Then, her gaze slowly turned to the old locust tree in front of the courtyard. "I suppose every time there's a thunderstorm, he'd find an unlucky person to serve as a so-called sacrifice."
"What about the ghost's wailing?" Wang Shanyue asked.
Tang Yu remained silent for a moment; she could roughly guess the reason for the ghostly wailing.
She grew up in Yunling Mountain, where not only is there a mysterious fog all year round, but there are also many strange noises.
Not to mention the wailing of ghosts, there were also shrill ghost cries or terrifying ghost laughs. When she was little, she and her younger brother were also afraid, but in the end, their father would always find out the reason and comfort them.
So she stopped believing that ghosts existed in this world.
"That locust tree was infested with wood-boring insects about ten years ago, which hollowed out the branches. Every year at certain times, strong winds blow into the hollow branches, creating that eerie, ghostly wailing sound. As it gets older, the wood-boring insects become more rampant, and the hollowed-out branches become more numerous, naturally making the ghostly wailing sound more and more terrifying," Tang Yu explained patiently.
"What about what the shopkeeper said about people dying during the rainy season? And the epidemic that broke out in the village?" Wang Shanyue was still puzzled.
“No coincidence is too good to be true.” Xiao Fangliang gently waved his folding fan, his tone indifferent: “Even without the legend of the Locust Ghost, the epidemic might still have broken out. As for those who died violently, whether it was the work of the ‘Locust Ghost’ or human violence, I’m afraid someone is deliberately confusing the clues and leading people to attribute it to ghosts and gods.”
“Exactly,” Tang Yu nodded with a smile, then quickly suppressed her smile, her eyes turning cold. “The girl they mentioned named He Hong had an abdominal wound. Although I haven’t seen her body, if she is a ghost, why would they cut open her abdomen? It makes one curious what’s inside.”
Wang Shanyue also felt that this matter was strange, and said with a solemn expression, "When we arrive in Xia Nan, we must ask the King of Xia Nan to have the government thoroughly investigate the matter of Ghost Cry Village."
"If you two don't mind, once we arrive in Xia Nan, I can prepare a deworming medicine to sprinkle at the base of the locust tree. In a few days, I think the ghostly wails will be gone from this village," Tang Yu chuckled.
"That's wonderful!" Wang Shanyue was overjoyed and solemnly thanked him, "On behalf of the people around us, I thank Brother Su first."
As they were talking, a group of people who had originally gone to Xia Nan to buy horses came running towards them with delighted expressions: "Second Young Master, Xia Nan has sent someone to pick us up, so we don't need to wait anymore!"
It turned out that King Xia Nan was eagerly awaiting this shipment, and having calculated the exact time of the journey, he sent people ahead of time to meet them, which conveniently solved their immediate problem.
However, the number of horses was limited, just enough, so Wang Shanyue had to squeeze into Xiao Fangliang's cramped carriage with Tang Yu.
Wang Shanyue seemed a little uneasy, not daring to touch or rub things indiscriminately. He even found a clean piece of clothing to put under himself and cautiously stole several glances at Xiao Fangliang.
Tang Yu couldn't help but chuckle at his cautious demeanor.
Xiao Fangliang sat in a relaxed posture, his hands resting lightly on his lap, his fingertips tapping almost imperceptibly, and said as if casually, "Young Master Su, you must be quite knowledgeable about poisons, right?"
His voice was gentle, with a hint of undisguised inquiry. His narrow eyes curved slightly, seemingly chatting casually, but a knowing smile appeared in his eyes.
Tang Yu's eyelids twitched at the stare, but inexplicably, the image of someone's hands with distinct joints and calloused fingers popped into her mind.
If the young general gave her the feeling of a wolf eyeing its prey, a hunter's instinctive keenness, then this person before her was like a cunning fox, with a shrewd and calculating nature.
She didn't show any panic on her face, and laughed twice. "I dare not accept such praise. Medicine and poison share the same origin. I can only say that I have lived up to my master's teachings."
"Brother Su, you're too modest." Wang Shanyue patted her left shoulder. "If it weren't for your 'Hu Niang' (a type of Chinese liquor), we would have fallen into their trap long ago!"
Although it was just a casual slap, the strength of his hand, honed through years of martial arts training, still caused Tang Yu to wince and gasp in pain.
"Stop making such a fuss." Seeing this, Xiao Fangliang waved his folding fan and slapped his wrist as punishment.
"You were entrusted by General Xie to lead a caravan escort for the first time. If I hadn't been worried about traveling with you, with your simple mind, you would have been deceived countless times along the way."
Wang Shanyue chuckled twice and immediately thanked him in a flattering tone: "It's all thanks to you, A Liang."
Xiao Fangliang's expression softened slightly, and he changed the subject, continuing to remind her: "Don't forget, General Xie instructed us to be careful around women on this trip to Xia Nan."
After saying that, his gaze swept over Tang Yu almost imperceptibly, lightly but meaningfully.
Tang Yu's smile faltered almost imperceptibly for a moment before quickly returning to normal, even adding a touch of nonchalant laziness.
Beware of women?
That night, her disguise was flawless. Could it be... that their brief encounter was enough for him to discover her true colors?
That's a bit too perceptive...
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