A sound of pleasure
"Now that we're alone, Miss Chili, there's no need to pretend anymore, right?"
"Why should I pretend? I don't know why you two know my name, but I really don't know you. Sir, please don't say these words anymore. If it gets out and my husband finds out, he will misunderstand. It's late at night, please leave. If there is anything related to the investigation, you can come back during the day and I will cooperate. No reward without merit, you should take the supplement back with you and don't waste it on me."
A Li was a little angry and started to drive people away loudly.
"You really don't remember anything?"
"I don't have dementia, nor do I have severe amnesia. Believe it or not, I really don't know you. Even if what you said is true, it sounds like your parents adore me so deeply, so why don't you fight for it yourself? Those who dare to love but not fight for it are cowards, and I hate them the most."
Chu Xiao hurriedly explained: "My Lord has his own difficulties."
"Is your next sentence going to be that it's all for my own good?"
Ah Li was annoyed and sounded impatient, but she had to be polite to him because Chi Xun was still in their hands.
"Whatever your purpose is to come here tonight, please stop talking about it. It's really incomprehensible."
The next moment, another man in black climbed in from the window. Chu Xiao reacted quickly and protected A Li behind him, keeping the sword in his hand in an offensive posture at all times.
The man took off his mask, and in the moonlight, the two could see that it was Qi Heng.
"It's my fault for not being able to discipline my subordinates properly. I apologize for causing trouble and offending you. I won't do it again. I apologize for scaring the girl. Take the supplement as an apology. Farewell."
Qi Heng bowed to apologize and immediately took Chu Xiao away.
The two figures quickly disappeared into the night. Ah Li looked in the direction they left, trying to recall if there was any trace of them in her memory. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember them. And she herself had never lost her memory.
The next morning, Ah Li woke up to find a bowl of fragrant Yangchun noodles on the table. Chi Xun, who was packing his bags, immediately came over to her upon seeing her awake, and asked nervously, "Did anyone break into this room last night and hurt you?"
"No, it was the two officers who took you away yesterday. They seemed mentally ill. The fiercer one came first and started making up stories and questioning me for no apparent reason. The kinder officer came later and took him away. The gift box on the table was from them. I still don't understand what they were up to."
"What did they tell you?"
"Let me make it clear first, don't be angry, and don't misunderstand." Seeing Chi Xun nodded, A Li told him everything that happened last night.
After listening, he said, "Maybe he really is mentally ill. Let's go back to Jiwang Valley now. Dishui Town is indeed more dangerous and troublesome than I thought. There are people to solve the cases here. My wife, I have to go to Gushu Mountain. I will be back soon. You wait for me at home, okay?"
"What are you doing at Gushu Mountain?"
"So many people died in Hedong Village. I've found out it might be related to Gushu Mountain, so I have to go. The truth now concerns not only the victims, but also those of us who have escaped alive. If the truth is not revealed to the world, I'm afraid someone with ulterior motives will stir up trouble and bring disaster to the village."
"I'll go too. Send my cousin back to the village. I'll be with you through thick and thin. It doesn't matter if it's dangerous. We're husband and wife, and we'll die together. You know I can help you."
Just as Cha Suxun was about to refuse her, Ah Li spoke first, "If you dare to leave me, I will assume that you are going to find Wanwan. When you come back, we will divorce!"
"I'm not..."
"I know you're not, but I'm just so petty and unreasonable! I just tend to let my imagination run wild, you know." Ah Li moved closer to him, pretending to be fierce, and asked, "Who has the final say in our family?"
"Of course, my lady, you have the final say, but..."
Ah Li interrupted him again and said, "No buts. Since I have the final say, then listen to me. Let's go to Gushu Mountain together! Life is so short, don't be timid and afraid of death."
After saying that, without giving Chi Xun a chance to refuse, Ah Li immediately covered his mouth to prevent him from speaking, and quickly said in one breath: "If I count to three and don't say anything, it means you agree. One, two, three, you agree!"
Cha Suxun looked at her helplessly, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
The more he disagreed, the more dangerous Ah Li felt this trip was, and the more she wanted to go with him. So, Ah Li changed her tactics, climbing on top of him, sitting on his lap, hugging him face to face, holding his neck tightly, and resting her head next to his ear and the crook of his neck.
She said in a tone that was both pitiful and aggrieved, "Just take me with you. I promise to listen to you. We've only been married for a short time, and you want me to leave you and stay alone. I'll miss you terribly, and I don't want to go home alone. My husband, just take me with you, okay? I haven't even argued with you about Wanwan yet, and you're leaving me. When we were little, we went on adventures together. I took you with me when I went to catch the deadly red-tailed scorpion, but you won't take me with you to Gushu Mountain. Do you really, really, not like me anymore?"
To enhance the effect, Ali squeezed out two tears, which just fell on his neck.
Cha Suxun knew her purpose, but still fell into her trap willingly.
He coaxed her, "I don't dislike you, my lady. On the contrary, it's precisely because I like you that I'm afraid you'll be in danger if you go with me."
She continued to cry silently, so Cha Suxun had no choice but to agree. If she went, he could still protect her, it would just take a little more thought.
They changed their attire and chose some simple clothes. On the way to Cha Suxun, they bought a carriage; it was cheap and quite spacious. They stopped here and there to buy things along the way, so even if they stayed in the mountains for a few more days, they wouldn't be short of supplies.
We reached the banks of the Saiting River, where the sound of horse hooves clattered past, splashing water across the wet mud. We followed the winding path up the mountain, where the forests grew denser on both sides. The mountain air was moist, shrouded in a thin layer of white mist.
Although the scenery of Gusu Mountain is beautiful, from the moment she entered the mountain, A Li began to feel inexplicably resistant to it.
The mountain was extremely quiet, with only the chirping of insects and birdsong to be heard. The road was getting narrower and narrower, and it didn't look like people came here often.
Ah Li couldn't help but feel a little worried. "This Gushu Mountain looks sparsely populated. What if there's no one living on the mountain? What should we do tonight?"
"So I even bought bedding when I was in Dripping Water Town."
"So you've known for a long time that there's no one living on Gushu Mountain? But that's not right. No matter how poor or dangerous a mountain is, there will always be one or two families. Is there something wrong with Gushu Mountain?"
"My lady, it's best not to ask now, or you'll be scared and unable to sleep at night. It's not a big deal, it's mostly just rumors."
The more Chi Xun kept his words in suspense, the more curious Ah Li became. After repeated questioning, Chi Xun finally gave in and explained: There used to be a village called Huamian on Gushu Mountain. The village was located close to the mountainside, but few people could find it. They lived off the mountain and the water, relying on themselves for most of their needs and rarely leaving the mountain.
However, Huamian Village has a strange rule, one that's been around for four hundred years: Village women aren't allowed to marry outside the village, but they can marry women from outside the village. Once these women marry into Huamian Village, they can never leave the village again, even if they remarry. As a result, most of these women are left alone, without support or parents.
Outsiders know about Huamian Village because four women escaped from the village about seventy or eighty years ago.
After that, there were some rumors about Huamian Village.
They said: There is a demon mountain god in Huamian Village!
They said: Huamian Village was not recruiting wives at all, but was luring people into the village to be their living food!
They said: Huamian Village has an ancestral hall, and inside it are not tablets, but steaming baskets. The deceased's life and the names of their descendants are written on the steaming baskets, just like the content on ordinary tablets. However, if someone did something good that benefited the village, the steaming basket would be elevated to a higher level, used to record that good deed for future generations.
They say that women in Huamian Village never live past the age of 30, and after death they must be tied to heavy stones and thrown into the river. This is the only way to truly become one with Huamian Village, and only then can their souls be blessed by the mountain gods after death!
They said: The women who escaped from Huamian Village all contracted a strange disease. It was a curse from the mountain god! If you get too close to those women, you will be infected with the strange disease and die within three days.
…
In short, the rumors about Huamian Village were growing more and more numerous, and they were becoming more and more incredible. Many of them sounded very false, but once there was a possibility of harming themselves, such as the strange infectious disease, people would subconsciously not doubt the truth and believe it without a doubt.
Later, the four women, without exception, were killed in different ways.
After their death, no big red sedan chair was seen on Gushu Mountain again.
When people talked about Huamian Village again, it was like telling a strange story, with different versions. Many, eager to prove their abilities, journeyed to Gushu Mountain to search for Huamian Village. Few were capable, and all returned empty-handed. Many were incompetent, and none of them left a trace.
Almost everyone who came back from Gusu Mountain went crazy.
Every one of them will die within three months!
When they died, their eyes were wide open, as if they had seen something particularly terrifying before they died and were frightened to death. They were bleeding from all seven orifices, but there was no sign of poisoning, and their bodies had no fatal diseases.
Gradually, people began to spread rumors that Huamian Village was a place where people were eaten alive without leaving any bones. The few families on Gushu Mountain that did not belong to Huamian Village also moved down the mountain, and people avoided the area.
After hearing this, Ah Li said calmly, "What's so scary about this? I think it's just a rumor, exaggerated. Besides, we mountain folk respect the mountain gods very much. In our hearts, mountain gods are good gods who protect us. We have never heard of any evil mountain gods! We mountain folk would never say such nonsense about the mountain gods we believe in."
"Perhaps the so-called demonic mountain god isn't a mountain god at all?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
