Chapter 97 Full of loopholes
After saying goodbye to the old woman, Xiao Yu silently led Xu Chuchu out.
The two of them walked in silence all the way to the outside of the village, and only after making sure that there was no one around did they start talking in low voices.
"Did you notice anything?" Xu Chuchu asked.
She felt that everything the old woman said was strange, and believed that with Xiao Yu's keen sense, she must have discovered the problem.
As expected, Xiao Yu quickly said, "This person's words are full of loopholes. It's obvious that she wants to trick us into leaving. I think we should just go along with her and pretend to believe her. That way, we can stay in the dark while she stays in the light, making it easier for us to act."
Xu Chuchu nodded: "What do you think she said is wrong?"
"The biggest flaw is what you just mentioned. The reason she gave for not harvesting the vast fields of lilies outside is unreasonable." Xiao Yu first affirmed Xu Chuchu's opinion. "I know County Magistrate Lin's work style. He's a responsible official. If a ferocious beast really did attack the village, he wouldn't remain indifferent for long."
"Secondly, when we questioned the woman surnamed Wu and Huang Lili, her reactions were illogical," he continued. "According to her, Huang Lili came to the village after being released from prison four years ago and died of an illness two years ago. In total, she spent only two years in the village."
"But when we mentioned the young woman surnamed Huang, she almost said Huang Lili's name without thinking. Unless there were no other women surnamed Huang in the village, and Huang Lili had done something earth-shattering and moving in the village, there's no reason for her to remember it so clearly."
"The only explanation is that she wanted us to mistakenly believe that Huang Lili was dead so that we could leave quickly."
Xu Chuchu also agreed with Xiao Yu's point of view: "And she even specifically mentioned Huang Lili's grave, as if she was afraid that we wouldn't believe it."
The two of them agreed on the same point of view, but both were still confused about the strangeness of the village.
"Have you noticed any... 'that' problem?" Xiao Yu asked Xu Chuchu again, "For example... are all the people in this village possessed by monsters? Or something like that?"
In the past, when he didn't know about metaphysics, he always looked for reasons in people. Now, when he encountered strange things, he couldn't help but think that it was the work of demons and monsters.
Xu Chuchu slowly shook her head: "No."
She gestured to Xiao Yu at the peach wood sword on her back: "It didn't react from beginning to end. There are no ghosts in this village, and the villagers are all ordinary people."
"Why would ordinary people all huddle in their rooms without saying a word?" Xiao Yu still couldn't understand. "If they were on guard against something, why didn't they all close the door? Does this have anything to do with Yan Nanan?"
Xu Chuchu did not answer these questions. There are many possibilities for a normal person to suddenly exhibit abnormal behavior, and she was unable to make a judgment for the time being.
Her brows furrowed as she suddenly said, "We should go to the grave the old woman mentioned and see if Huang Lili's grave is real or fake. This will also help us determine how credible the old woman's words are."
"Okay." Xiao Yu believed in Xu Chuchu's judgment, agreed without saying a word, turned around and walked towards the grave.
Xu Chuchu stood still and looked at him awkwardly.
"What's wrong?" He turned around in surprise. "Are there any details we missed?"
"Uh, that's not the case." Xu Chuchu smiled awkwardly and shook off the hands they had been holding since they came out of the old woman's backyard. "We're already out here, there's no need to continue..."
"Oh, it's my fault, it's my fault." Xiao Yu had a look of sudden enlightenment on his face. "I've been used to you holding my hand all the way here, and I didn't pay attention. I'm sorry for offending you."
"It's okay, it's okay." Xu Chuchu smiled awkwardly and struggled to pull her claws out of his tightly clenched palm.
The two took advantage of the remaining daylight and went to the graveyard mentioned by the old woman.
This grave mound is located outside the mountain forest. From a distance, it looks like a group of tombstones and bulging mounds. It is estimated that all the people who died in Wu Changcun over the years are buried here.
The tombstones on the outside should be from recent years. Someone has taken care of them and paid respects to them, so they look clean and tidy.
Many of the tombstones closer to the inside have been exposed to wind and sun for many years, and the words on them are no longer legible, and the grass on the graves is half a person's height.
The two shuttled between the graves, looking for Huang Lili's tombstone.
As night fell, a chilling wind blew, and visibility became poor. Occasionally, a small animal would run by, stirring the haystack and making it seem even more eerie.
Fortunately, Xu Chuchu and Xiao Yu, one is a powerful fourth-level fortune teller, and the other is born with courage and fearlessness. They are not afraid at all when walking around the graves in the middle of the night.
"Have you found it?" Xu Chuchu and Xiao Yu searched separately, and said depressedly, "How come there's not even a name on the tombstone of this village girl? Just a surname and her husband's surname... How can we find it?"
"There has never been such a case. It's not unique to this village." Xiao Yu said casually.
"Oh." Xu Chuchu curled her lips secretly.
She remembered that women in ancient times had no status. They obeyed their fathers at home, their husbands after marriage, and their sons after their husbands' death... After they died, they couldn't even leave their names behind.
Xiao Yu saw that Xu Chuchu was unhappy, and was about to say, "A woman who marries into the royal family can have her name on the tombstone." Fortunately, she realized in time that it was inappropriate and held it back.
Xu Chuchu didn't notice anything unusual about Xiao Yu and stopped in front of a low monument.
"Come and see, this is it?" She pointed at the inscription and read it. "Huang, age twenty-two... died exactly two years ago. There are no family members' names engraved on it, which means she died alone. Everything matches up."
Xiao Yu also rushed over to identify it: "Indeed... and judging by the wear and tear on the stone tablet, it is indeed quite old. It doesn't look like a recent forgery."
They carefully checked around the grave and found no signs of the tombstone being moved or the inscription being tampered with.
Could it be that the sneaky old woman just now was telling the truth?
Or is this the grave of another woman surnamed Huang, whose age and family background are the same as Huang Lili's, and was used to make it look real?
It is indeed difficult to distinguish at the moment.
"Hmm?" Xu Chuchu suddenly seemed to see something. She bent down and rummaged through the grass beside the tombstone. "No, this is Huang Lili's grave."
"How do you know?" Xiao Yu also squatted down immediately to check.
He saw Xu Chuchu picking up a few white lilies from the haystack and asked in surprise, "Lilies? They grow here?"
"It's not a long one." Xu Chuchu handed the broken stem of the flower to Xiao Yu to see. "It was picked from outside the village and sent here."
The flowers are very fresh and tender, with little sign of wilting, which shows that they were delivered not long ago.
The two looked at each other and read the answer in each other's eyes.
There is only one person who would come specially to pay tribute to Huang Lili during these few days.
Yan Nan'an.
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