Chapter 98 Ancient Nightlife
Validation is two-way.
Because this is Huang Lili's grave, the person coming to pay tribute is most likely Yan Nanan who just escaped from prison.
Or because the person who came was Yan Nanan, it was speculated that the identity of the woman surnamed Huang was Huang Lili, the brothel dancer of that year.
Although it cannot be ruled out that Yan Nan'an, like them, came here because he believed the words of the villagers, it is still unclear what the purpose of the people who brought Yan Nan'an here is.
But now that they had found the fugitive's whereabouts, both of them were excited.
"There's something strange about this grave." Xiao Yu suddenly said, "Have you noticed that many people have died in the past two years?"
"What?" Xu Chuchu frowned.
Xiao Yu stood beside her. "I just paid more attention and found that the distribution of these graves is arranged in order. Those who died first are buried inside, and those who died later are buried outside. It's not like some villages where they bury families together."
"Look at the location of Huang Lili's grave. It's on the inner side of the entire cemetery." He patted the tombstone. "Since her death, in just two years, over forty people have died in the village, and nearly half of them are young people."
"I looked at the size of the village this afternoon and it seems to have only about a hundred people. With nearly half the population of such a small village dead in two years, it's understandable that the entire village is desolate and deserted."
After hearing this, Xu Chuchu counted around and felt a chill down her spine.
Looking more closely, not only did more than 40 people die in two years, but two people died every month in a very regular manner. This is almost impossible to happen in such a small village, not to mention that there are so many young people.
She was puzzled. "If all these people died at the same time, it could have been a plague or famine. With people dying one after another for two years, didn't anyone think it was unusual and report it to the authorities?"
"Let's go back to the Guzhu County government office first and ask County Magistrate Lin if he has any clues," Xiao Yu said. "Since Yan Nan'an has been here, he must have noticed something's wrong with the village and won't leave for the time being."
After much thought, this was the safest decision he could make right now.
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Xu Chuchu agreed.
In terms of the overall perspective of solving the case, she believed in Xiao Yu's judgment.
In this regard, Xiao Yu is much more experienced than herself. For example, when the two of them were looking for Huang Lili's grave together just now, she was only focused on looking at the name on the tombstone. Unexpectedly, Xiao Yu looked along the way and wrote down the age and time of death of the deceased. It can be said that he is a thoughtful person.
After walking out, Xu Chuchu looked back at the desolate grave for the last time.
Generally, cemeteries like this one will breed a lot of resentment.
It’s okay for the elderly who die of old age, but it’s often hard to accept when young people die young. Even if they don’t leave behind any wronged souls, the resentment will remain in the grave for a long time.
People tend to feel sad when visiting graves, not only because they think of their loved ones who have passed away, but also because they are infected by resentment.
...But in this grave, Xu Chuchu could not feel any resentment.
It was as if the more than 40 people who had died in the past two years had died willingly.
In other words, when they died, they no longer had souls.
Just as he was distracted by this thought, Xu Chuchu's peach wood sword suddenly began to shake wildly.
She and Xiao Yu immediately became alert and guarded against the grave behind them.
"No, it's not something from the grave." Xu Chuchu looked at the direction of the peach wood sword and suddenly turned towards an old tree on the right side of the two people. "This way, be careful!"
Xiao Yu reacted extremely quickly and without any hesitation, threw several hidden weapons at the old tree.
Suddenly, the leaves on the old tree trembled, and a dark figure jumped down from the tree!
In the thin moonlight, the two could see that it was a tall man with ragged clothes and his hair was not tied up and was scattered like straw, making him look like a beggar.
This person...
"Yan Nan'an!" Xiao Yu recognized the man's identity immediately and quickly chased after him.
"Xiao Yu, be careful!" Xu Chuchu also hurriedly followed. Her peach wood sword kept reminding her of Yan Nanan's danger.
However, Yan Nanan's speed was even faster than they expected. As expected of a bandit, he was very agile. He disappeared in a few leaps and it was almost impossible to track him in the dark woods.
Lost it, but not completely.
Whenever they lost their way, Yan Nanan's figure would flash by from the other side, leading them to continue chasing.
Xu Chuchu's peach wood sword was shaking more and more violently, almost slipping out of her hand.
The last time it shook like this was when it encountered corpse silkworms in the ancient tomb.
"Be careful, he seems to be leading us somewhere!" she reminded Xiao Yu.
"I know." Xiao Yu's voice was steady, but his steps did not stop.
His hands were already clasped on his weapon. "Watch your step. Try to walk on the stone path and avoid areas with lots of weeds and leaves."
"Okay." Xu Chuchu was alert at the moment to avoid falling into the opponent's trap.
However, Yan Nan'an seemed to have no intention of continuing to circle the woods with them. He suddenly appeared, slid down the steep slope at the edge of the woods, and rushed into the village in one breath.
Xu Chuchu saw that the steep slope was more than two people high. She was about to remind Xiao Yu that she could use her spiritual power to jump down. Before she could open her mouth, Xiao Yu's strong arms grabbed her waist and held her and jumped straight down.
Before she could even scream, she landed safely on the ground.
"Sorry for the offense." Xiao Yu cleared his throat and continued to chase.
It's okay to jump down from such a high place.
Yan Nanan fled into the village, but there were many obstacles in the village, so he naturally disappeared again. Xiao Yu and Xu Chuchu wanted to search secretly in the dead of night, but they didn't expect that the village would be full of people coming and going at night.
Those who stayed at home silently during the day actually came out.
They talked and laughed with each other, exchanged goods, and there was the faint sound of stringed instruments and drums.
Just like a normal daytime!
This is not modern times, where everyone has a nightlife.
In ancient times, there was no electricity. People usually worked from sunrise to sunset. Who would go out to hang out in the middle of the night, especially to buy eggs?!
What’s even more outrageous is that there are still people selling it!
Seeing someone coming, Xiao Yu and Xu Chuchu immediately hid.
Yan Nan'an had already run away, but Xu Chuchu's sword was still shaking.
At this time, they had already understood that it was not them who discovered Yan Nanan's whereabouts, but Yan Nanan deliberately showed up and led them here.
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