Chapter 19
The three people in the coffin shop had already started physical labor, transporting two coffins to a family's house outside the city.
Huang Zhang said this family is quite powerful and wealthy. Their courtyard outside the city is very large and occupies a beautiful spot. Tell them to handle the coffin carefully and not to anger them. Most importantly, they must leave immediately after putting the coffin down and not linger.
Seeing Huang Zhang's serious and tense expression, Zhou Xuanzhi thought it would be a good time to investigate tonight.
Upon arriving at their destination, Zhou Xuanzhi and Xiao Mu were shocked by the scene before them, even though they had seen many grand occasions.
The family's surname is Gou, and their courtyard is indeed very large; you can't see the east wall from the west wall. Thinking back to what Huang Zhang said about the courtyard having a beautiful view, which no one had paid much attention to at the time, it seems we were all quite naive!
"Goodness, what exactly does their family do?" Xiao Mu himself came from a family of cultivators and had disciples, yet this courtyard looked even bigger than his own. He felt ashamed of his limited knowledge.
Zhou Xuanzhi shook his head, but there's a saying that goes, "The mountains are high and the emperor is far away." Didn't Huang Zhang say that this family has a very powerful background?
The coffin was unloaded from the carriage, and they waited at the back door for the Gou family to inspect the goods. After confirming that the coffin was undamaged, they received the final payment.
Although the three were standing outside, they could sense that there was only one corpse in the courtyard, so why were there two coffins? There must be something wrong here.
On the way back, Zhou Xuanzhi said, "Come and see tonight."
"Isn't this many people necessary?" Xiao Mu thought that they still needed manpower for the Zhang family's affairs. Last night's actions had indeed frightened the Zhang family, but they hadn't taken any further action, seemingly convinced that no one would come after them for Miss Ye's matter.
Shi Yunzhou, who was standing nearby, said, "That's perfect. You go to the Zhang family, and my senior brother and I will go to the Gou family."
After spending the last few days together, Xiao Mu noticed that Shi Yunzhou was quite attached to Senior Brother Zhou. The two brothers had been separated for two hundred years, and although they had met before, they hadn't really spent much time together. He nodded: "Alright, I'm going to the Gou family. You two be careful too."
As night fell, Zhou Xuanzhi and Xiao Mu arrived at the Gou family's residence.
They had never been inside before, and to find out what was inside and where everyone was, they needed to use magic to investigate. But a problem arose at the very first step.
A formation has been set up outside this courtyard!
Shi Yunzhou crossed his arms, looked at the Gou family's large courtyard, and smiled sarcastically: "They've hired a master, haven't they!"
While this formation isn't particularly lethal, breaking it will certainly require some effort. The formation is designed to prevent outsiders from entering; once the spell is cast to break it, the person who set it up will discover it.
"Do you think this 'expert' is related to the affairs of the town?" Zhou Xuanzhi suspected that the soul-binding array used in the ghost marriage in Jianye Town was created by this person.
The ghost marriages in this town have a history of two hundred years. If this person really has been around for two hundred years, his cultivation level must be at least Nascent Soul.
"You think we're no match for them?" Two late-stage Golden Core cultivators wouldn't have much trouble against one Nascent Soul cultivator.
Zhou Xuanzhi formed a hand seal and said, "Try it."
A faint golden light seeped into the original formation, merging with it. The sole function of this formation was to block the transmission of messages, but the caster could still sense its presence.
After succeeding, Zhou Xuanzhi raised his hand and directly cleaved the formation, making Shi Yunzhou unconsciously want to applaud him.
Once inside the Gou family's residence, the two realized that what had just happened wasn't the real problem; the real issue lay within the Gou family's courtyard. They had seen the array outside, but had forgotten that there might be problems inside as well. For example, there were patrolling guards in the courtyard.
The sight of two grown men leaping over the wall left the patrolling guards somewhat bewildered; they hadn't seen anything like it in a long time. The leader excitedly drew his sword; this was a golden opportunity to make a name for himself, and the guards, having anticipated this, were all thrilled.
Then a fight broke out. It was just an ordinary person against a cultivator; the outcome was obvious. The guards' earlier excitement had faded; they realized the seriousness of the situation. They were eagerly anticipating someone breaking in, but if they won, it would be a meritorious achievement; if they lost, it would be considered a failure as guards.
To avoid punishment, one of the guards, under the cover of the others, ran out to call for help. When he heard a noise behind him, he didn't even turn his head, and shouted, "Thief..." Then he was struck on the acupoint by a small stone thrown by Zhou Xuanzhi, unable to move or make a sound.
All the guards were immobilized in this way, their acupoints sealed.
“Since there are guards, there will be shift changes. If this team is found to be acting strangely, we will be discovered.” Zhou Xuanzhi looked around and saw that there was no one there. He said, “We need to search as soon as possible.”
Looking at his senior brother's anxious and nervous expression, Shi Yunzhou said slowly, "I remember that Master once researched a kind of magic that can make people lose their memories for a short period of time."
Hearing Shi Yunzhou say this, Zhou Xuanzhi remembered this technique, but he hadn't studied it diligently back then and had forgotten it. He turned to look at Shi Yunzhou, indicating that he would do it himself.
"I'll do it myself," Shi Yunzhou said, stepping forward and forming a hand seal.
Those whose memories had just been erased lay on the ground, drowsy. With no other option, the two used magic to make everyone stand up and maintain their previous formation. Shi Yunzhou led Zhou Xuanzhi to a secluded spot and snapped his fingers.
The patrol team of guards all opened their eyes, as if nothing had happened, and continued their patrol.
Zhou Xuanzhi breathed a sigh of relief; the method had succeeded.
But every step from here on out had to be carefully planned. Zhou Xuanzhi took this opportunity to use his spiritual sense to probe the courtyard and sensed that everyone was in the ancestral hall.
He lowered his voice and said, "They're all in the ancestral hall. There are many guards along the way."
"Of course I'll go."
"good."
So the two of them stealthily made their way to a spot not far from the ancestral hall, where there were even more guards. They dared not make any further moves.
In the center of the ancestral hall stood two coffins, with two tall, burly men supporting the corpse of a young man. Red and white curtains hung around the perimeter, and a middle-aged couple, their faces haggard, sat in the main seats. A middle-aged man was presiding over this chilling ceremony.
Just then, several old women dragged over a woman dressed in a wedding gown. Her beautiful face was streaked with tears, and her expression was one of fear and pain. Because her mouth was stuffed with a wad of cloth, she could only make muffled "ooh ooh ooh" sounds.
As she was dragged along, she kept shaking her head, her pleading eyes looking at the old women were heartbreaking. When she was pulled to a position level with the corpse, the young woman let out a sound that was almost desperate.
The father in the main seat remained unmoved, his expression eerily calm. The mother, watching the struggling young woman, closed her eyes and stroked the prayer beads on her wrist.
The girl finally managed to break free. Knowing she couldn't escape, she knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing to the two people in the main seats. With great difficulty, she managed to get the gag out of her mouth.
"Please, sir and madam, have mercy, I..."
Seeing this, the male head of the household gestured to the old women to take action. Before the girl could say anything, her mouth was gagged again with a rag, and she was dragged to the side of the corpse.
The girl was thus forced to marry a corpse. Just moments before, she still had the will to live, but now she was like a puppet, manipulated by others.
These were living, breathing people, not puppets to be manipulated. This scene, so absurd, a spectacle only found in storybooks, was unfolding right before their eyes. Both of them desperately wanted to understand the source of this immense resentment, yet they remained silent.
The image of the female ghost I saw in the cemetery before is now proving whether these people are as cruel as I imagined.
As it turns out, reality is far more cruel and illogical.
The body was placed in the coffin, and then someone brought in a dagger, along with needle and thread. Ignoring the girl's struggles and cries, they pried open her mouth and pulled out her tongue. Just as the dagger was about to strike, a small pebble hit the executioner's hand, and the dagger fell to the ground.
Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou covered their faces and suddenly stood in the ancestral hall.
Taking advantage of the crowd's inattention, the girl struggled to sit up, her gaze fixed on the two men as if they were her saviors. It was a hope bursting forth from despair; if this straw broke, the girl's heart would die. Perhaps her resentment after death would be even greater.
"What brings you two here so late at night?" the man asked.
Shi Yunzhou, the "finding person," took a step forward and pointed to the girl in the pipe, saying, "I'm looking for her. I want to take her away."
Upon hearing Shi Yunzhou's words, the people around exchanged glances and then retreated to the side.
The man wasn't angry. "This is my daughter-in-law. How can I let you take her away?"
The woman seemed relieved. She looked at the two veiled figures in the hall, lowered her head, and kept turning the prayer beads in her hand.
"Your son seems to be dead." Zhou Xuanzhi looked at the corpse in the coffin. It was a body that had been treated; it looked like it had been dead for a long time, and somehow it hadn't decomposed.
"If you two wish to attend the wedding banquet, please stay and wait for the ceremony to conclude. If you're here to cause trouble, I advise you to leave immediately!" He then gestured for them to leave.
Upon seeing the gesture, the people around gathered around. And so, a fight broke out in the ancestral hall. The guards were no match for the two, and the father, seeing the guard lying on the ground, wasn't particularly worried.
He remained seated calmly, looking at the two people standing there. "Are you cultivators?"
Zhou Xuanzhi sensed that someone was watching him; it must be the person who had set up the formation outside the courtyard. Escaping from this person's grasp would likely result in serious injury.
"Take your men and leave first," he whispered in Shi Yunzhou's ear.
That unsettling gaze seemed to draw ever closer, fixed on the kneeling woman, then glancing at his senior brother who had already made his decision. Shi Yunzhou stepped forward, picked up the woman, and carried her away, saying to Zhou Xuanzhi, "Be careful."
He then cast a spell and left the Gou family.
The person who set up the formation had disappeared; he must have been following behind Shi Yunzhou. So, he also used magic to leave the area. As long as someone followed behind them, the person who set up the formation would have something to fear.
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