Chapter 41 My Ideal Man May Not Ride on Auspicious Clouds
Zhang Yuno was startled again: "So... what should we do next?"
Summer Sleep: "This place is not safe to stay for long, let's run away first."
"But where do we go?"
“Let’s go rescue Zhu Ziqi,” Xia Mian thought for a moment. “According to the theme, what we need to do next is escape Qingyun Town. After we rescue Zhu Ziqi, we can make further plans.”
The three of them made no noise and tiptoed along the wall to run outside, without encountering any obstacles.
Just before stepping out the door, I saw Wang Po's figure.
The entire town of Qingyun was dark, and Granny Wang stood in the dim moonlight, chopping meat piece by piece. She was dressed in black, so her body was obscured; only her aged face and gray hair were visible.
"Dong", "Dong", "Dong".
The sound of the cleaver striking the cutting board was exceptionally clear; whose meat was it? It was self-evident.
The production team that spent a lot of money on set design ultimately made it more realistic than an escape room. Even Xia Mian couldn't take it anymore this time, and she leaped out of the door in a rather unsightly manner, almost like she was running away in panic.
However, something even more terrifying was about to happen.
The magistrate's residence, where the sedan chair was encountered during the day, was quite far from Wang Po's house. Zhang Yuno was physically weak, so Xia Mian planned to let her ride a mule, but the mule, which had been tied up outside grazing, had suddenly disappeared.
Instead, a paper mule was used for sacrificial purposes.
It was painted entirely white, except for its eyes, which were marked with an irregular oval shape in ink, staring straight at them.
"Ah—" Chang Yi lost his composure and ran away as fast as he could.
Xia Mian pulled Zhang Yuno along, and by the time they reached the magistrate's mansion, the three of them were already out of breath.
Chang Yi, a singer and dancer, has strong lung capacity and good physical strength. She was the first to recover from the terrifying situation and the first to come back to life.
He pushed the door.
"It's unlocked. This yard looks pretty big, so searching together won't be very efficient. Let's split up and search."
Xia Mian sensed something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. He glanced at Zhang Yuno behind him and said, "Let's split into two groups. You're stronger, so you'll be in your own group, and Yuno and I will be in the other. If you find us, let out two barks as a signal."
Hearing this, Zhang Yuno secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had been timid since childhood, especially afraid of ghosts and monsters. If she were to walk on her own, it would have been better to just knock her unconscious.
Chang Yi agreed, opened the door a crack, and crawled inside, searching to the right first. Xia Mian, with Zhang Yuno in tow, stealthily moved to the left.
The magistrate's residence is the largest place in the entire Qingyun Town, with four large courtyards and more than a dozen rooms.
As soon as Xia Mian opened the two rooms, she heard a "woof woof" sound from the other side—Chang Yi had found Zhu Ziqi.
They finally managed to capture a hostage, but the magistrate found him so easily?
But finding it was better than not finding it at all, so he and Zhang Yuno immediately turned back, running into Chang Yi and Zhu Ziqi on the way. The four guests exchanged a silent greeting and then slipped away to the main entrance.
But in front of the door, I saw a row of "people" standing in a row.
They were disheveled, their backs to the guests. Judging from their clothing, one could identify them as a county magistrate, a yamen runner, a blacksmith, a matchmaker...
Why are all the townspeople gathered together? Are they having a meeting?
Chang Yi, being bold, directly shouted, "What are you doing?"
The row of people all turned around at once.
"Damn it..." Xia Mian gasped.
—They all look exactly like Wang Po's son!
Zhang Yuno's eyes rolled back, and he almost fainted from fright. Zhu Ziqi let out a bloodcurdling scream, which scared Zhang Yuno back to reality.
"See through the phenomenon to the essence, see through the phenomenon to the essence..." Xia Mian muttered a few words, her eyes suddenly shining like two light bulbs, "I understand!"
Director & Assistant Director: "...What did Ning see through the phenomenon this time?"
Xia Mian: "Old Wang misses her son, so she made poisonous sausages. Anyone who eats her sausages will die a horrible death. During the day, those people are normal, but at night they will turn into her son's appearance and keep her company. This is also why there are no girls in Qingyun Town except for outsiders."
"The paper mule we just saw confirms the theory that Qingyun Town is the underworld. In other words, this is actually Wang Po's grave, and the so-called blue-faced ghost is a human."
"Wang Po's request is to find her son. She has killed so many people but still hasn't found him, which means her son is still alive. If we want to find her son, we can only go outside the town."
Qingyun Town was too eerie; the guests had all noticed something was amiss, but none had been able to piece together the whole story. This time, with Xia Mian's explanation, they finally understood.
"That damn production crew keeps having the extras tell us not to leave town, saying there are blue-faced ghosts outside! It's infuriating!" Chang Yi looked around. "But they have almost twice as many ghosts as we do. Forget about leaving town, we can't even get out of this door. How are we supposed to find them?"
“Then let’s not look for them,” Xia Mian smiled slyly. “We have props.”
As he spoke, he rummaged through his pants pocket, pulled out a small card, and picked up the walkie-talkie: "Director, I remember you said that anyone can use the Resurrection Card."
director:"......"
Summer Sleep: "I need to use this to revive Granny Wang, please~"
[laughing so hard, the resurrection card can actually be used on the boss, the production team must be in a state of collapse]
[It was Xia Mian who broke the deadlock again. She's beautiful and intelligent, awesome!]
The production team probably really doesn't want to admit it, but unfortunately, words spoken are like water spilled; they can't deny it.
[You're praising a worthless slut who's just looking for a sugar daddy? Aren't you afraid of all of us ending up with worthless sluts?]
I really want to see the director's expression; could the cameraman give us a close-up?
No need for close-ups; the director is on the verge of a breakdown, so numb that he has lost all emotion.
He said yes, and immediately all the extras took off their masks—Wang Po was alive, so she no longer needed their company.
Xia Mian led the way forward, but perhaps not wanting to let the guests off so easily, the magistrate and his group wailed and howled: "Wang Po's wish remains unfulfilled, we are bound to this place. We can't leave, and neither can you! Stay here!"
“Alright, I’ll see this through to the end. I’ll take Granny Wang to her son’s side. But not now,” Xia Mian stretched. “The magistrate’s mansion is so big, the production crew is probably here. Let’s stay here for the night, and when the mule is working tomorrow morning, I’ll take Granny Wang to find her son.”
As he spoke, he opened the doors inside the magistrate's mansion one by one, and sure enough, in a dark little cubicle, he met the resentful director's eyes.
He chuckled and turned to look at Zhang Yuno: "Not scared anymore, huh?"
Even though she knew it was acting, Zhang Yuno was still trembling with fear. But seeing the director and familiar staff, she was completely freed from the terrifying atmosphere created by the production team, biting her lower lip: "I'm not afraid anymore... Thank you, Xia."
I slept without any dreams.
The next day, the townspeople indeed returned to their posts. The blacksmith continued to forge iron, the matchmaker continued to eat melon seeds, and the mule was lively and energetic, munching on grass everywhere.
The guests were all sore from the intense exercise the day before. Xia Mian told them to rest, and then rode his mule alone, carrying the old lady, towards the edge of town.
About an hour later, Xia Mian returned in the dawn light, wearing a blue, diagonally-buttoned long gown. He somehow managed to find a handful of paper money, which he scattered into the air with a whoosh: "Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, may Qingyun Town return to peace."
He stood there riding a mule amidst a shower of paper money, looking out of place yet dazzlingly radiant.
[...It turns out that the person who saved me might not necessarily come riding on auspicious clouds; they could also be riding a mule!]
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