Chapter 20 He can take his place

Chapter 20 He can take his place

Chapter 20 He can take his place

At 07:15 in the morning, while revealing the identity of 'Zhang Yangxu', Ye Miaozhu witnessed the strange scene that Zhang Yangxu had witnessed before.

[After I had gone through all kinds of trials and inquiries, and finally confirmed from the bottom of my heart that the 'ghost' in front of me was definitely not Xie Si Ning, it disappeared. Like a wisp of drifting smoke, it completely disappeared. I got rid of it just like that.]

At that time, Zhang Yangxu got rid of the ghost disguised as Xie Si Ning in this way.

Ye Miaozhu now also saw the same thing. The body of 'Zhang Yangxu' in front of him quickly became illusory, like a sand castle that collapsed quickly after being washed by water, and disappeared like a wisp of drifting smoke.

It just disappeared.

"Is it over..." Ye Miaozhu breathed a sigh of relief.

After calming down for a short time, she tried to turn on the flashlight and briefly explored the warehouse. As Ning Zhe said, the rules may be silent, but they will not lie. Although the slanderous words that tempted her to relax her vigilance were dangerous, every word was true.

Ye Miaozhu walked past the shelves where the dowry was placed with her cell phone in her hand, then quickly came to the dressing table and checked the mirror embedded in it, but found nothing unusual.

But when the light in her hand accidentally shone on the back of the dressing table, illuminating the space between the mirror and the wall, a male corpse in a suit and tie appeared before her eyes.

“Zhang Yangxu?” Ye Miaozhu’s expression froze, and he immediately understood what had happened: “The ghost killed Zhang Yangxu and assumed his identity, trying to lure me to achieve its purpose…”

But what is the purpose of the ghost?
With doubts, Ye Miaozhu squatted down, preparing to perform a simple autopsy on Zhang Yangxu's body, but suddenly, her pupils became dilated and her soft body collapsed to the ground weakly.

She is dead.

At 06:48 in the morning, Hejia Village bathed in the sunshine became lively.

On the streets you can see some small stalls selling vegetables or side dishes. The noisy voices add a bustling atmosphere to the village. At the entrance of the village, a farmer carrying a hoe has just returned from the field. Wisps of smoke rise from the roofs to the sky; that is the villagers making breakfast at home.

Everyone in Hejia Village believes in the snake god, and every household has a picture of the snake god. Before each of the three meals a day, a small portion of food is served in a small bowl and presented to the picture of the snake god at home before people dare to pick up their chopsticks.

"Ningzhe, what are you going to do?" In an alley facing the street, Feng Yushu stood stiffly by the wall, looking nervously towards the alley entrance: "Didn't you say you were going to solve two puzzles? What are you doing now..."

"I'm solving a puzzle." Ning Zhe leaned against the wall and answered casually.

But you are just standing there in a daze...

Feng Yusu was even more confused, but she didn't dare to ask more questions. Since she had chosen to believe him, she had no choice but to go all the way.

She turned her head to look at a window not far away. The aroma of candlelight wafted out from inside. A village woman hurried out of the kitchen next door, holding a round white porcelain bowl. The bowl was filled with neatly arranged rice, beans, and meat slices. There was also a browned fried dumpling and a pickled plum embedded in the rice.

The village woman carried the porcelain bowl into the small independent room where the smell of candlelight wafted out, and walked out again after a moment, but the bowl was no longer in her hand.

After watching the village woman leave the small room and return to the kitchen, and fall on the way, Ning Zhe finally stood up and walked straight to the small room.

"What are you going to do?" Feng Yusu asked hurriedly.

"Solve the puzzle." Ning Zhe said casually, "Wait for me here."

Feng Yusu didn't dare to say anything more, so she had to stay where she was, watching Ning Zhe walk forward and stroll into the small room filled with the smell of candlelight.

As soon as he entered the door, a pair of lifeless and empty eyes caught Ning Zhe's eye.

It was a portrait about 1 meter long and meter wide, pasted on the wall facing the door. The content of the portrait was a giant jade snake with a pair of long curved horns on its head, beautiful layered scales, and a fairy-like flying posture. However, beneath the bright and beautiful appearance, there was a filthy and corrupt nature.

Ning Zhe walked closer and saw that the roots of the snake god's scales in the portrait were covered with black mold, and milky white hyphae grew out of the gaps between the scales. His two eyes were hollow and lifeless, with the left eye completely covered with mold, and the eye socket of the right eye was also shrouded in fungus.

"It's exactly the same as the snake god in the ancestral hall." Ning Zhe recalled the wooden sculpture of the snake god in the ancestral hall. It also had a filthy look with festering all over its body and bacterial plaques in its eyes.

The snake god wood carving in the ancestral hall and the snake god portrait in the villagers' home both looked rotten and corrupt. Is there any connection between them? Unable to figure out the connection for the time being, Ning Zhe did not waste any more time. He walked to the bottom of the portrait. On a small round table was a white porcelain round bowl with simple food neatly stacked inside. This was the offering that the village woman had just made to the snake god portrait.

Ning Zhe raised his head and met the eyes of the flying snake god in the portrait. He stretched out his hand, took out the pickled plum from the bowl and threw it into his mouth.

"So sour..." Ning Zhe swallowed the plum whole, then used the chopsticks beside him to loosen the originally smooth rice a little, then turned around and left the room and walked outside.

As soon as he walked out of the door, Feng Yusu, who was waiting outside, came up to him hurriedly, looking a little anxious.

"What's wrong with you?" Ning Zhe asked.

"No...it's okay." Feng Yusu shook her head repeatedly.

Well, it turns out that he was afraid of being alone... Ning Zhe picked up his phone, checked the time, and said, "Let's go to the next one."

Feng Yusu did not ask him what he was doing, but just followed Ning Zhe quietly, staying outside to keep watch for him as he entered each household to steal offerings to the snake god.

Ning Zhe's movements were very efficient. He only tasted a little of each bowl of offerings, and in less than 20 minutes he had visited seven or eight restaurants.

Small things like plums, fish balls and steamed dumplings are not enough to fill you up, and Ning Zhe did not steal the offerings from the snake god because he was hungry. He had his own reasons and was prepared to risk his life to verify his guess.

After eating at all the restaurants near the ancestral hall, Ning Zhe went around and returned to the ancestral hall.

Standing outside the ancestral hall, one can see the couplets posted on both sides of the gate, with red characters on white paper, which are very eye-catching:

[Pearls and Jade from the Case of the Bashe Serpent Testify to the Ancestor]

[Descendants add fragrance to the lotus hall]

【Long history】

As you get closer, you will see many offerings placed on the lotus platform where the snake god statue is: rice cakes, rice crackers, roast chicken, rice, fruit plates... and a jar of wine.

Ning Zhe raised his head and looked into the eyes of the wooden sculpture of the snake god, one of whose eyes was covered by mildew.

He took a deep breath, walked over, picked up a red rice cracker and stuffed it into his mouth, and at the same time tore open the seal of the wine jar next to it. He drank a large sip, and then started to eat the other offerings, taking only a small bite of each.

Feng Yushu, who was left outside the door, covered her mouth with both hands and looked at the shocking scene in disbelief: "Ning... Ning Zhe! What on earth are you doing?!"

Ning Zhe tore off a small piece of chicken skin from the roast chicken, threw it into his mouth, and said lightly: "I told you, I'm solving a puzzle."

"But..." Feng Yusu still couldn't understand this incredible scene, and Ning Zhe didn't want to explain it to her.

He took out his cell phone and checked the time. It was 07:17 in the morning, which was still a long way from lunch.

Just as Ning Zhe reached out his hand to the fruit plate in front of the snake god, suddenly, an inexplicable feeling of crisis flashed through his mind. Ning Zhe subconsciously turned his head and saw a woman with disheveled long hair and a listless expression standing in front of him.

"Ye Miaozhu...?" Ning Zhe's eyes narrowed slightly, and then he immediately reacted: "No, it's a ghost."

Ning Zhe saw Ye Miaozhu appear in front of him without any warning, and her pretty face showed him a charming and bright smile.

She walked to the lotus platform without saying a word, stretched out her hand and opened the almanac.

The next moment, Ye Miaozhu died.

"Is it true..." Ning Zhe closed his eyes and whispered to himself.

(End of this chapter)