I stared intently at the old woman, who immediately panicked, "I don't know, I really don't know... I swear the old patriarch didn't tell me these things."

In the era the old woman lived in, women didn't have a high status. The Wang family's ancestor might not have revealed the family's core secrets to her. However, she definitely wasn't completely ignorant.

The old woman was afraid to reveal the truth, fearing the villagers would seek revenge on the Wang family's descendants.

I narrowed my eyes at her, my mind racing.

The secret of the Fish Basket Village sorcerers' sudden deaths wasn't important to me; I wanted to know the Dragon Fish's whereabouts. If I deadlocked with the old woman on this issue and pushed her too hard, she might fight me to the death.

Ghost Four had told me: Interrogation is like fishing. If you keep the line too tight, the big fish will risk tearing its mouth on the hook to escape. But if you loosen and tighten the line, making it feel pain while also giving it hope, it won't run away.

If I continued to press her, I might end up losing more than I gained.

I calmly changed the subject, "What about the Dragon Fish? Where was it taken?"

"I don't know!" The old woman shook her head. "The old patriarch never mentioned any Dragon Fish!"

"That's strange!" I frowned involuntarily.

Zhao Zhuang and the others definitely didn't know the Dragon Fish's whereabouts; otherwise, they would have already taken it out to trade with the water ghost. The only clue to the Dragon Fish was with the Wang family, but even the old woman didn't know!

I pondered for a moment and said, "How far is Da Zhuzi's place from here?"

"Da Zhuzi is in Yuanshan Village, a day's journey from here!" the old woman said. "Liu Baozi and the others know the location of Yuanshan Village; they went there to pick up the bride."

I turned to Zhao Zhuang. "What about your six families' ghost tripods? Do you still have them?"

Zhao Zhuang shook his head immediately. "There's no ghost tripod in my house. I've never heard my ancestors mention it."

My expression changed slightly, and the others also denied having any ghost tripods in their homes.

In a flash, I seemed to understand a lot. If everyone in the village knew about the ghost tripods, how could the people who tricked the Wang family out of the incense burner not have seen that the ghost tripod was hidden inside?

I thought for a moment and said, "Zhao Zhuang, take two capable sorcerers with me to find Wang family's Da Zhuzi. The rest of you stay in the village and search for the ghost tripods. Dig three feet into the ground and find them. Look more under those seven trees or in the old houses; maybe there will be some clues."

"While I'm gone, don't fight the water ghost; you're no match for her. Also, move the rest of the villagers to the mountains and wait for us to return. And..."

I hesitated and said, "Do you have anyone in the village who is eloquent and brave? Preferably a woman, to talk to the water ghost and try to buy us some time. Otherwise, we might lose more than a dozen lives on this trip. If you can persuade the water ghost, maybe we can save a few more people."

Zhao Zhuang gritted his teeth and said, "I caused this trouble in the village, so my Zhao family has to put in the effort. I'll have my old woman go! Besides her, no one else dares to talk to a ghost."

After Zhao Zhuang returned home, he came back with two middle-aged sorcerers. The two fierce-looking men were probably brothers. Just their appearance alone could make people's hearts tremble without them even speaking.

Zhao Zhuang probably understood what I meant by "capable."

I looked at the brothers with a smile. "Have you ever killed anyone before? Are you willing to kill?"

One of them replied, "It's come to this point, what's there to be afraid of? If we don't dare to kill, who will save our wives and children?"

"That's good! Let's go!" I turned and walked forward.

Old Liu led us from behind Fish Basket Village, crossing over the mountains into the mountainous area. He didn't say much along the way. It wasn't until it was almost dark that Old Liu whispered behind me, "Mr. Li, can we not fight when we get there? The people in Yuanshan Village are all honest people. If this..."

I casually asked, "How do you know that the people in Yuanshan Village are all honest people?"

"I've been there!" Old Liu said. "To be honest, Yuanshan Village is even more remote than here. The village is built in a mountain valley, and many people have never left the mountains in their lives."

"I heard that Yuanshan Village was where people moved to the mountains to survive when the Japanese came. They live by farming and hunting. The villagers are really honest!"

Old Liu led me all the way into the mountains. "Originally, there were dozens of families in Yuanshan Village, but after the Reform and Opening Up, people moved away."

"The year before last, I went to Yuanshan Village once. There were only two families left, one was Er Zhuzi's mother. That family had several idiots who only knew how to farm and eat and couldn't do anything else outside, so they stayed."

"There's also an old bachelor who has lived alone all his life. That old man is a good person. If we can get any information out of him, please don't make things difficult for him, okay?"

I wanted to joke with him, but out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a stone shaped like a coffin.

The coffin stone on the hillside was perfectly positioned at the entrance to the mountain, looking like a checkpoint guarding the road.