Chapter 406 All Crazy
【Are you all crazy? 】
Lu Li was a little surprised.
[No wonder no one dared to attend the Holy Fire Festival this year. ]
Lu Can on the side suddenly became a little anxious. Why did the Ninth Princess always eat melon alone? Couldn’t she say a few more words?
How could he guess what happened from these two sentences without any beginning or end?
He secretly tried to gauge Lu Li's expression, and seeing her eyes becoming more and more solemn, his heart began to hang in the balance.
Lu Li was hesitant to speak, but he couldn't hold back his curiosity and took the initiative to ask.
"Sister Nine, why do you look so unhappy? What happened?"
"What's the matter?" Lu Li smiled and touched his head.
"I'm glad you're okay. Ninth sister, why is Ruxi City so empty and deserted? It doesn't feel like a big provincial capital at all." Lu Can didn't give up and continued to ask questions.
"I don't know either. Let Qu Songnian and the others go ask them later." Lu Li answered absentmindedly.
She doesn't have time to talk about this with her brother now.
She was thinking about how to solve this problem.
After all, there are too many people involved in this matter.
Seeing that she really had no intention of answering him, Lu Can had to give up and continue to ask.
Qin Xiao was away, so Qu Songnian was responsible for finding an inn, and soon they found a place to stay.
Seeing them, the innkeeper's face was full of smiles.
"Dear guests, please come in."
He pushed the waiter away and went to greet them in person.
This is the only guest they have had in the past two months.
Ever since the reputation of their Ruxi Crazy City spread, Ruxi City has become increasingly desolate and no one dares to come here.
Even the streets became much quieter.
Before it got dark, everyone was taken home.
The door was closed and no one dared to go out. It was no longer as lively as before.
Qu Songnian went to negotiate the hotel expenses with the shopkeeper, and Lu Can was curious and couldn't help but follow him.
He couldn't help but ask, "Boss, isn't the Holy Fire Festival coming soon? Why are there so few people? The city feels deserted everywhere."
When the shopkeeper heard what he said, his face suddenly became a little embarrassed.
He quickly took away the money that Qu Songnian had handed over, fearing that they would change their minds and not stay in the hotel.
"There are fewer people this year, so it's not that lively." The shopkeeper laughed, trying to fool the two people.
Fearing that the truth would be revealed, the guests from other places left.
As soon as Qu Songnian saw the shopkeeper's expression, he knew there was definitely a problem.
"Shopkeeper, we came here just for the Holy Fire Festival. If there's nothing exciting to see, we won't stay for so many days. We'll leave tomorrow. As for the silver, just return it to us." He said while observing the shopkeeper's expression.
The shopkeeper felt sorry for them when he heard that they couldn't stay for so many days, and tried to persuade them to stay: "We don't know if the Olympic Fire Festival will be held this year, but it's nice to try our local specialties during the Olympic Fire Festival. And then take a stroll by the lake, take in the lake view, drink some wine, and enjoy the breeze. How beautiful it is."
"Why not do it?" Lu Canlian thought of his sister's thoughts and became even more curious.
When the shopkeeper heard this, he stood on tiptoe to look outside the inn, and when he found that there was no outsider, he sighed.
"Well, if I don't tell you, you can find out by asking others. So I'll tell you."
Hearing this, Lu Can and Qu Songnian looked at each other. There was indeed something wrong with Ruxi City.
And the problem lies in this Holy Fire Festival.
"You two distinguished guests are all aware of the customs of our Holy Fire Festival, right?" The shopkeeper looked at them.
Lu Can and Qu Songnian nodded.
They had checked the information here before coming.
"That's good to know. I won't say more. This incident started last year."
The shopkeeper thought of last year's brightly lit and bustling Holy Fire Festival, and a trace of longing and nostalgia flashed in his eyes.
"Last year's Holy Fire Festival was the largest in the past decade. The wealthy merchants in Ruxi City generously donated thousands of taels of silver to be used as dowries and betrothal gifts for the girls and men who received the most torches."
The shopkeeper held up a finger with envy and said, "It adds up to more than 11,000 taels of silver. Excluding the 1,000 taels given to the government, there are 10,000 taels left. If each of them gets 5,000 taels, it will be enough for them to live to the next life."
After all, for ordinary people like them, twenty or thirty taels of silver are enough for them to live for a year.
"And then?" Seeing that the shopkeeper kept talking about silver, Lu Can couldn't help but remind him to get to the point.
"Then, Miss Asha from Kashi Village became the most popular girl at last year's Holy Fire Festival. She received more than thirty torches." The shopkeeper touched his beard and continued.
"Miss Asha is beautiful, charming and has a sweet voice. She really deserves the title."
"As for the men, it was Chen Mansheng from Kadong Village who received the most torches. He had twenty-six."
"The best part is that they fell in love with each other and decided to get married."
"Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned. Before the wedding, Miss Asha went to the city to buy wedding items and returned to the village. She fell off a cliff and died."
"Chen Mansheng was very sad when he learned about this."
"But the two families have made a marriage contract, and Miss Asha has decided to let her sister Axuan marry into the Chen family."
"But not long after A-Xuan got married, she also passed away."
"So what does this have to do with the fact that the Holy Fire Festival may not be held this year?" Qu Songnian was confused by the long string of words said by the shopkeeper.
"Young man, don't be so impatient." The shopkeeper glanced at him and slowly poured himself a cup of tea to moisten his throat.
"If you don't talk about the main point, check out." Qu Songnian said expressionlessly.
"Go ahead, I'll tell you now." The shopkeeper quickly drank his tea and poured out everything.
"Later, those men who had delivered torches to Miss Asha last year went crazy one after another after the two sisters died."
"There are rumors now that it is the ghost of Miss Asha who is causing trouble. Anyone who comes to the Holy Fire Festival will be cursed by her and become crazy."
"There are also rumors that these people are infected with a disease and anyone who comes into contact with them will go crazy."
"This is a big deal. Everyone around here knows about it. The Holy Fire Festival used to be so lively, but this year it's so dull. Even we don't dare to participate, let alone those outsiders."
The shopkeeper sighed again when he said this.
In previous years, many outsiders came to participate in the Olympic Fire Festival, and the inns were almost full every day. It is not as deserted as it is now.
"Are you all crazy?" Qu Songnian frowned, feeling that there was something weird about this matter.
"So many people have gone crazy, and your governor doesn't care?"
The shopkeeper slammed the table and replied, "Of course, the prefect has sent people to investigate, but they found nothing. These people are all crazy in different ways, and we can't get anything out of them."
Lu Can bit his lip and said nothing.
He realized that if he wanted to know the truth, he would probably have to ask his ninth sister.