Meanwhile, Li Ye on the tree outside, looking at the moon, suddenly smiled.
The next morning, Ning Wei and her group decided to probe the village.
So Mei Nan led everyone to find the middle-aged woman, Aunt Zhang.
“What? You plan to leave now?” Aunt Zhang was clearly surprised.
Mei Nan nodded, “Yes, since it’s still early, we should be able to find our way back. Thank you for your trouble last night, we are very grateful.”
After Mei Nan finished explaining, she intended to lead everyone out, but Aunt Zhang stopped them.
“It’s my fault for not explaining clearly. You cannot leave the village these few days. There’s heavy fog ahead, so you can’t go.”
Mei Nan obviously didn’t believe this, but she patiently explained, “We are just here for sightseeing, our families are waiting at the hotel. If we don’t return soon, they might call the police.”
Aunt Zhang showed no fear upon hearing about the police, and instead waved her hand and said, “Since you don’t believe me, then go ahead. But I warn you, don’t force your way into the fog, you won’t be able to get out.”
With her saying it like this, everyone hesitated.
Aunt Zhang then said, “You can go and take a look. Just look from where the red lantern is hanging. If you go further, you’ll get lost.”
At this moment, Ning Wei stepped forward, “I’ll go take a look. You all wait here for me.”
Ning Wei walked out of the village alone. Last night, she had followed that ghost to the graveyard, and at that time, there was no fog as Aunt Zhang described.
Aunt Zhang’s voice was still muttering behind them, “This little girl is quite brave to go alone.”
Mei Nan smiled and explained, “Don’t let her being a girl fool you, she’s the bravest among us.”
Aunt Zhang’s scrutinizing gaze followed Ning Wei until she was out of sight.
When she reached the red lantern, a thick fog had indeed appeared ahead.
Just like the darkness seen from a bus, who knows what dangers were hidden within this dense fog.
Ning Wei did not venture further and turned back to the village entrance.
Mei Nan’s group was waiting for her news. Aunt Zhang was leaning against a large rock, cracking sunflower seeds.
“How was it?” Seeing Ning Wei appear, everyone couldn’t help but ask.
Ning Wei shook her head, “Aunt Zhang was right, there is indeed dense fog ahead. You can’t even see your fingers if you put your hand in it.”
Hearing that Ning Wei dared to put her hand in, Aunt Zhang’s eyelids twitched.
After confirming that they couldn’t leave for the time being, everyone turned their attention to Aunt Zhang.
Aunt Zhang finished the last sunflower seed and happened to bite into a bad one. She tilted her head and spat forcefully onto the ground. This action seemed like a mockery of the passengers.
Everyone pretended not to notice. After so many events, they were now capable of remaining calm in any situation.
Aunt Zhang, having acted out a scene with no response, coughed lightly and then said, “The fog will clear in seven days, and then you can leave.”
“And during this time…”
“Then you will have to stay in the courtyard from last night.”
There was no other choice, so everyone returned to the dilapidated courtyard.
Since Aunt Zhang said they could leave in seven days, it implied that as long as they could safely get through these seven days, their bus tickets would be secured.
As it stood, there was nothing particularly special about this village.
The village had people of all ages, and it was currently planting season, so most of them were out in the fields.
The only thing that couldn’t be ignored was the coffin from last night.
Sitting around the table, Ning Wei voiced her conjecture, “Logically, red flowers are not used for burials, but there is a special case.”
“It’s a ghost marriage,” Mei Nan continued.
Ning Wei nodded.
“Isn’t this an outdated custom of feudal society? Why does it still exist?” Yuan Yuan didn’t understand why such a thing would still happen.
“It’s quite normal. Haven’t you noticed this village is quite remote? They might have had little contact with outsiders.”
“The more remote the place, the more backward it is, and it might retain many old bad habits. Everyone needs to be extra careful,” Mei Nan cautioned them.
Only twelve people remained. They had to be even more careful.
A man named Zheng Qu casually remarked, “Even if it’s a ghost marriage, it has nothing to do with us men.”
Ning Wei glanced at him. Only she had gone to the graveyard, so the others had no idea if the coffin contained a male or female.
Therefore, after he spoke, Song Zhi immediately retorted, “Who says only women get chosen? Maybe the coffin last night contained a man.”
“Since ancient times, ghost marriages are only arranged for one’s own son. I’ve never heard of anyone finding a husband for their deceased daughter,” Zheng Qu insisted on his idea.
Finally, everyone looked at Ning Wei, “You followed last night. Was the coffin male or female?”
Ning Wei certainly wouldn’t tell the truth. There were already few female passengers, and she didn’t want to cause unnecessary commotion or add to the psychological burden of the remaining four girls.
“It was too dark at the time, I couldn’t see clearly. Also, I was afraid of being discovered, so I came back quickly.”
Everyone believed her words, and therefore felt some dissatisfaction towards Zheng Qu, who deliberately tried to burden them psychologically.
Everyone fell silent, but soon someone broke the awkward atmosphere.
Aunt Zhang’s husband, carrying a very heavy basket, slowly walked into the courtyard.
Since they were staying as guests in the village, everyone tacitly did not close the wooden gate of the courtyard.
They didn’t know what he was carrying, but Mei Nan and Song Zhi went to meet him.
This honest-looking man wiped the sweat from his brow, “Here is some food. You will have to cook for yourselves in the kitchen for the next seven days. If you need anything, just come and tell me.”
As soon as they heard it was food, everyone gathered around.
The basket contained potatoes and sweet potatoes, and everyone’s face fell.
Zhuo Yilian asked in a small voice, “Only potatoes and sweet potatoes?”
The man smiled subtly and then shook his head, “There’s other stuff, but I can’t carry it all myself. Why don’t you choose two people to go with me to get it?”
The heavy lifting was naturally for the men, so Zheng Qu and Song Zhi followed Aunt Zhang’s husband to get the rest.
If they hadn’t been asked to cook for themselves, no one would have realized that the smallest room was the kitchen.
There were two stoves inside, as well as some pots and pans.
Tang Tang and Zhuo Yilian, along with two others, were responsible for washing these containers. There wasn’t even water in the courtyard, so they took the items to the stream to wash.
This stream ran through the entire village, and at the upstream end was a small circular pool where the villagers drew water.