Chapter 29 He Yulan

Chapter 29 He Yulan

Chapter 29 He Yulan

A scorching sun rose to the center of the sky, steaming the wet stone road. The entire Hejia Village was shrouded in warm and humid sunlight, like a huge steamer.

The firecracker paper scraps piled on both sides of the street were dried and brittle by the scorching sun, making crackling sounds when stepped on by the young man.

After separating from Feng Yusu, Ning Zhe ran alone through the empty streets. A faint smell of gunpowder wafted in the moist air, and the sound of explosions coming from afar made him understand why the long road he had just walked was empty.

He came to an arch bridge upstream of the river, stood in front of the guardrail and looked into the distance. He could already see the He mansion that Zhang Yangxu had mentioned.

A big red lantern is hung on the wide door lintel. The three-story building with bamboo and wood structure stands on the stone foundation, crowded like stars surrounding the moon among the houses which are generally only one or two stories high. The courtyard wall alone is more than three meters high, standing out from the crowd and very conspicuous.

The crackling sound that Ning Zhe had just heard came from the direction of the mansion. From afar, he could see several servants in green robes and small hats lighting firecrackers one after another on the steps of the main entrance of the mansion. The sound of gunpowder exploding penetrated the streets, and bright red paper scraps flew in the smoke.

A set of red-painted tables and chairs were placed on the left side of the steps. An old man with white hair was sitting at the table, writing in his hand. He was surrounded by a noisy crowd, as if they were waiting in line for something.

Ning Zhe quietly approached and saw a villager coming to the desk, gently taking off the yellow paper stuck on his face and placing it in front of the old man.

The yellow paper on his face reads: [He Renliang]

The old man picked up the pen, wrote a string of small curly characters on the paper, and then nodded slightly.

He Renliang pasted the yellow paper back on his forehead, and the servant next to him immediately let him go, allowing him to walk through the main gate into the He family mansion, which was decorated with lights and colorful decorations.

Ning Zhe could not see clearly what the small words the old man wrote on the yellow paper were. He only saw the people queuing in front of the He mansion's gate moving forward step by step in the noise, pieces of yellow paper passed through the old man's hands, and people walked into the gate one by one.

"This scene looks familiar." Ning Zhe thought to himself.

When he was a child, he went with his grandmother to attend a wedding banquet hosted by relatives in the village. The scene was also lively, with the sound of firecrackers and noisy voices mixed together. Ning Zhe followed his grandmother into the crowded crowd to pay the gift money to the accountant.

If the group of people at the door were queuing up to pay a gift to eat, then...

Ning Zhe raised his head, glanced across the crowded crowd, and looked towards the main entrance of the He family mansion.

This vermilion lacquered gate was far more magnificent than the Nanjie Temple, which enshrined the snake god. Like the entrance to the temple, there were couplets with red characters on a white background posted on both sides of the gate:

【Welcome the newlyweds to a flawless wedding】

[Farewell to the old, the moon is full but missing]

【Be content and happy】

"Is this a wedding banquet? Is someone in the owner's family of this mansion getting married?" Ning Zhe couldn't help but feel confused.

The current situation does seem like a wedding, but even if you put aside the weirdness of the red words on white paper, the content of this couplet alone is enough to make him feel that something is strange. At least if it was him who was getting married, Ning Zhe would never accept such a couplet posted on the door, it looked unlucky.

"There are too many strange things about Hejia Village. Even though I have deduced the rules of ghosts, this village is still shrouded in mystery."

Ning Zhe let out a light breath and stopped paying attention to the unsolved puzzles. He walked lightly around the busy main entrance and followed the towering wall to the side of the mansion.

The overall structure of the He family mansion is in the shape of a "U". The main entrance faces south, and the other directions are side doors on the east and west sides, and the back door in the north. It faces south.

Ning Zhe did not go through any of the four doors, but came to a low house next to the He Mansion. He climbed onto the roof with his agile skills and lay on the tiles. Ning Zhe looked over the wall and looked at the interior of the He mansion.

The courtyard was very lively. From the lobby to the side rooms, it was filled with tables and benches, on which were scattered guests. The three strings of firecrackers in front of the door had not yet been set off, and it was not time to serve the dishes. Ning Zhe only saw the guests casually eating snacks and chatting, some children chasing and playing on the gravel road, and the kitchen was busy.

It was just a regular farm feast, nothing special.

If we have to point out the only special thing, it would probably be the couplets pasted on the door and the yellow paper pasted on the guests' faces.

"Before, the ghost used Zhang Yangxu's identity to send a text message to Auntie, saying that Ye Miaozhu died in the He family mansion." Ning Zhe looked around and found no clues: "Where is her body? Where is Zhang Yangxu?"

Ning Zhe was full of doubts, but after observing for a while, he no longer hesitated and jumped directly from the roof, grabbed the edge of the wall with both hands, and climbed up with a somersault.

The wall of the He family mansion is made of stone square bricks and is more than three meters high. It is not easy for ordinary people to climb up. It is undoubtedly more difficult for high school students who neglect physical exercise because of daily practice. But Ning Zhe is not an ordinary student. He has very good physical fitness. He is the ultimate test king who always ranks first in physical tests and has top academic scores. After climbing over the wall neatly, Ning Zhe used the albizzia tree planted against the wall to cover his figure and quietly came to a row of guest rooms on the side of the main building.

The guest rooms that are usually unused are now filled with tables and chairs, and many guests are sitting in them.

After confirming that no one had discovered him, Ning Zhe leaned against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, there was a whisper of conversation coming from inside the window.

The sound was very soft, not like a normal conversation between ordinary people, but more like a mouse that sneaked into the barn and gnawed on rice. It was very clear, but very depressed. Ning Zhe concentrated his mind and only heard a deliberately low female voice saying:

"What? The offerings in your house have also been eaten?"

"That's right. He's quite picky about food. He didn't touch a single grain of rice in the bowl and only dug a plum."

"Is your kid so naughty? He dares to eat the offerings of the snake god?"

"It's none of the kids' business. They were playing in front of me and never entered the dining hall."

"It's not a baby, what is it..."

The guests' conversation was not in standard Mandarin, but with a strong Hakka accent. Fortunately, Ning Zhe was born and raised in Gubei Town, so he could barely understand what they were saying.

Several village women were drinking tea and eating melon seeds while chatting about the theft of offerings. They suspected everyone, from naughty babies to stray cats, but no one could convince anyone else and no one could give an accurate answer.

Ning Zhe listened quietly until someone spoke:
"You said that the food offered as sacrifices is not suitable for human consumption?"

"Don't talk nonsense. It's been a long time since the snake god appeared. How could she come down to eat?"

"Who can say for sure..."

The chatter of several village women continued for a long time, until the three strings of firecrackers in front of the door were all set off, the tables and chairs in the front room were filled with guests, the aroma of meat wafted from the kitchen to the guest rooms, and the banquet finally began to be served.

"I'll go call my kid over."

A village woman wearing a square scarf pushed open the door of the guest room and walked towards the lobby along the gravel path surrounded by carnations.

Taking advantage of the brief moment when no one was around, Ning Zhe lightened his steps, picked up half a stone brick from the box, followed her, and smashed her on the back of the head.

The back of the human head can be said to be one of the most vulnerable and fatal parts of the body. Even if an elementary school student playing in the classroom accidentally slips and hits the back of his head on the corner of the table, it can easily result in death, not to mention an adult male who has deliberately inflicted a heavy blow with a blunt object.

There was a dull click, and the village woman's body fell to the ground, and she died instantly without any struggle.

The yellow paper stuck on her face fell off immediately, and on it was written: He Yulan.

Blunt force injuries usually do not cause uncontrollable bleeding. Ning Zhe used the square scarf on the head of the village woman named He Yulan to cover the blood stain on the back of the head, stuffed the fresh corpse into the lotus pot, and used the bright green leaves and red flowers to cover up the imminent death.

After doing all this, Ning Zhe deliberately walked back to the original guest room with loud tapping steps and gently knocked on the half-closed door.

"Who is it?"

"Oh, I don't know where the kids ran off to. I can't find them..."

A faint female voice came from Ning Zhe's throat. As the door of the guest room was completely opened, the boy's shirt and trousers turned into simple linen clothes, and his originally fair and tender skin was stained with the dark color of a farmer.

Here are the rules for ghosts:

——When other people in the room preconceived that it was He Yulan who knocked on the door, it really was him.

Ning Zhe stole the identity of the village woman He Yulan and sneaked into the banquet.

(End of this chapter)