Returning home from a coma
The red scratches extended to the area covered by her sleeves, and they looked like they were made by a human.
Ergou's father immediately ignored the old lady's evasive look and attempts to cover up, and forcibly lifted her sleeve up a little, and saw a tooth mark on the inside of her arm.
The bite was very severe, the mark was deep and bleeding, and now it has formed a scab.
"Sixth brother, stop looking." The old lady's eyes were red and her voice was trembling. Only at this moment did her eyes reveal a look of grievance and cruelty.
Ergou's father angrily lifted up her other sleeve and saw many such teeth marks on the old woman's arm. The marks were of varying depths, and some were old wounds that had healed and left scars.
The most eye-catching thing is a palm-sized burn scar. The flesh that has grown back on the scar is more tender than other parts of the body, and it looks a bit ugly.
Seeing the scars on the old woman's body, everyone present couldn't help but call her a beast and a bastard.
"You beast! Old sister-in-law, how did you get these injuries? Just tell me, I'll support you!"
"Forget it, it's all in the past. Children are ignorant, don't bother with them."
Ergou's father said angrily, "Child? Your daughter is about to get married, she's already in her forties, and she's still a child? She's nothing but a beast. His father died of a serious illness at a young age, and you were tricked into marrying him. Then a whore from outside showed up with the child and made a scene on your wedding day. He died suddenly at night, leaving you with a stepson who is still an infant. You've endured so much ridicule and gossip, raising the child to this age and building the business you have today. How dare that rebellious son treat you like this!"
The old woman stood up with the help of his support and adjusted her sleeves to cover all the scars.
"Sixth brother, my son is an unfilial bastard, but I accept it. Perhaps this is my fate. There's nothing I can do about it. I can't just report him to the police or kill him to vent my anger just because he treated me like this, can I? After all, we've been mother and son for almost forty years, and I've long considered him my own son. Sixth brother, don't beat him to vent my anger. Just treat it as a plea from your sister-in-law."
As she said this, the old lady pretended to kneel down and beg him, but he immediately pulled her up.
"Sister-in-law! You treat me as your own son, but I don't treat you as my mother!"
"Forget it, Sixth Brother. Life must go on. He was wrong, but my granddaughter Taozi was extremely filial to me. Now she's dying pitifully, soaking in this cold water. I'm really heartbroken. My son isn't at home, and I'm an old, useless person. There's no way I can pull her out of the well. Please, everyone, help this old woman!"
The old lady's face was covered with tears. She kept raising her hand to wipe the tears from her face with her sleeve. She looked very pitiful.
The strong men present immediately began to think of ways to salvage Taozi from the well. When Taozi's body was carried out of the well, the old woman cried out in pain and fainted immediately.
Ergou pinched her Ren Zhong for a long time before the old lady came to her senses. Ergou's father fed her some water, and she collapsed on the ground, crying uncontrollably.
When everyone was about to lift Taozi up and put her into the coffin that her family had just prepared for sale, they discovered that Taozi had many scars on her arms and legs, including scratches, bruises, teeth marks, and some scars that looked like they were caused by burns from incense and candles.
Someone immediately couldn't help but curse: "What kind of rotten person is this who can do such a cruel thing! I think we should report this to the police!"
"Yeah! Just because it's easier to get forgiveness from the victim by hurting one's own family than hurting outsiders, does that mean he can do whatever he wants? This was most likely done by his father. If his adoptive mother could do this, how much more so would he do it to a daughter he doesn't like! Such a bastard can't be allowed to stay in our town! Otherwise, who knows who will be the next victim!"
The old woman explained in disbelief, "How could it be my son? This is his own daughter! Besides, my son followed Hua Niang and Taozi in their carriage. He said it was always dangerous for two weak women to go out, not to mention that this customer was an extremely generous patron. She often came to take care of our business and even gave our Taozi a pair of precious ruby earrings. My son was afraid of delaying the delivery to the patron, so he followed her secretly. I went to get some water before he came back. I don't blame him."
"Then why haven't he and Widow Hua returned? Taozi went out with them, so they'd be the best people to kill her! If it really wasn't this black-hearted couple who killed her, they should have immediately reported Taozi to the police or come back to look for her after she disappeared. Now that she's nowhere to be found, maybe she's on the run!"
Ergou's father said, "Ergou, report this to the police tomorrow morning! Old sister-in-law, it was my decision to report this to the police. If you want to blame someone, blame me. Without this bastard, you can live longer. You can live in our house from now on."
Hearing this, the old woman sobbed, "No wonder Tao'er refused to roll up her sleeves even in the scorching heat. How dare this unworthy father do such a thing! My Tao'er! Grandma will definitely avenge you! Sixth brother, you did the right thing. I was confused. If I hadn't been so tolerant and forgiving, Tao'er wouldn't have suffered like this! It's all Grandma's fault!"
Seeing this, Yuanli said, "Isn't it scary? Apart from the floating corpse in the well, what's so scary about it?"
Ah Bang said, "Don't worry, the show will start soon. Don't be fooled by the pitiful way the old woman cries. She was abused and her granddaughter died. She is a tough character!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard screams one after another, both male and female, from different directions.
The strong man didn't bother to comfort the old lady. He immediately ran out of the door and ran towards his home, fearing that the scream came from his own home.
Soon, the whole town woke up, and every household lit candles. Some even stood at their doorsteps and shouted, "Who is it! Who killed my son?"
Yuanli cast a spell and soared into the air, looking down. She saw about ten families slumped beside the wells in their courtyards, weeping and wailing. The strong men and young men in the families seemed to be fishing for something in the well.
A Bang came to her side and cast a spell to show him ten pictures, all of which were the real-time conditions of the ten households. The pictures all showed the water surface of the well from a high altitude.
And in the well, all the corpses were dressed in funeral clothes like Tao'er, floating upright with their heads up and their feet down. None of the floating corpses had their eyes closed. They all had their eyes wide open, and their expressions were either shocked or angry.
The only difference is that these ten floating corpses were not soaked in floating bags like Taoer's.
Judging from the swelling and paleness of their skin, they must have been soaking in the water at different times.
As soon as Yuanli landed, the ground beneath her feet turned and she was standing on the street. Eleven floating corpses were lying side by side on the ground in the middle of the street. All the townspeople were called out by the county officials and soldiers who arrived and were named for investigation.
The eleven floating corpses were not covered with white cloth, and the appearance of the bodies was clearly visible.
The floating corpses all bore scars, indicating they had been abused and whipped all over their bodies. With the exception of Taozi, their wrists were bound with thick hemp rope, suggesting they had been hung up with their hands tied and whipped.
Their hair was cut into a mess, their mouths were stuffed with white cloth, and the funeral clothes they wore were made by the deceased's family's shop.
Since the entire town of Guanshan is almost entirely engaged in the coffin paper making and funeral clothing business, in order for everyone to make money together in a fair and harmonious manner, they all made their own styles different from others.
For items like funeral clothes, which have similar styles and designs, they sew the name of their own shop in a hidden place so that they are easy to identify.
However, there are many customers coming and going in Guanshan Town every day, and a lot of funeral clothes are sold. It is impossible to find the murderer by seeing that the deceased wore the funeral clothes from his own shop. It is undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack.
After the ground beneath her feet spun again, Yuanli was still standing there, but the streets were empty, the doors of every house were closed, and the eleven floating corpses lined up on the ground were gone. After the bodies were placed, the water marks on the ground had dried up and no trace could be seen.
The street was very quiet, but suddenly there was a loud knock on the door.
Following the sound, I saw a person dripping with water standing in front of some people's doors, knocking on the doors tirelessly. There was a large puddle of water on the threshold, and the knocking was heavy and loud.
Judging from the clothes on them, they were the eleven floating corpses. They all had their backs to Yuanli and were standing facing the door.
Yuanli asked, "Are they all pretending to be dead?"
She randomly picked the one closest to her and walked in to take a closer look. The male corpse standing in front of the Ji Le Coffin Shop had its intestines hanging out from the gaping hole in its stomach.
The stench of corpses was wafting in the air, and the disheveled hair was still dripping with water.
Judging from the knife wounds on his body and the signs of stitches in some places, he must have been performing an autopsy before he faked his death.
But for a corpse that has been dead for so long to come back to life like this, it must be caused by evil spirits. However, Yuanli looked around and didn't find anything suspicious.
He reached out and pulled out the white cloth ball stuffed in his mouth, threw it casually on the ground, and let out a low, hoarse roar: "Open the door! Dad! Mom! My son is back!"
The sound of the bolt shaking behind the door stopped abruptly after hearing this sentence. The other few people who had already opened their doors were so scared that they ran desperately on the street. When they passed the next house, they were scared again. The timid ones fainted on the street.
Yuanli picked up a ball of white cloth on the ground and unfolded it. On it was embroidered in red thread: When the Ghost Gate opens during the Ghost Festival, the soul will return to claim life.
After saying this, Yuanli threw the white cloth ball back to its original place.
She jokingly asked Heng Jin, "How was it? Was it fun?"
"Generally, I don't find it scary, but you're a lot braver than I thought."
"What's there to be afraid of? My true form is a ghost fire. Besides, the things I've seen in the underworld are much more terrifying than this. I'm not afraid of them. A mere corpse is nothing."
"Have you ever been so scared that you couldn't sleep and needed someone to sleep with you?"
Yuanli felt like she had been caught bragging, so she deliberately made an excuse to cover it up, "You don't understand, that was just an excuse for me to get into Ah Cha's bed and take advantage of him."
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