Chapter 135
On the muddy path, Jiang He struggled to carry the ‘corpse’, complaining silently in his heart.
Seeing him walking slowly, Jiang Liu glanced sideways. “Tired?”
Jiang He forced a stiff smile and, under the many gazes, shook his head stubbornly.
It was a joke. He was young and strong; carrying a person was a piece of cake. The problem was that he was carrying the corpse that was supposed to be missing!
If no one was paying attention, it would be fine. But this was the time when every household was cooking lunch. Villagers were either picking vegetables in their yards or hurrying home. Countless pairs of eyes were staring at him as they passed by.
The pressure was immense!
Jiang He wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead, looked at Jiang Liu, and hesitated to speak. After a long while, he finally managed to say with a blush, “Sister, aren’t we being a bit too high-profile?”
In his opinion, it would be better to sneak back when no one was around. Doing things secretly and without anyone knowing was the way to get things done.
“We found what was lost. Shouldn’t we be high-profile?” Jiang Liu laughed at his words, her voice rising a couple of notches as if she were afraid the nearby villagers wouldn’t hear.
Not only was she loud, but Jiang Liu also directed Jiang He to walk toward the village chief’s house.
She wanted to see what the villagers’ attitude toward Zhao Ziming would be now that the body that was supposed to be buried had returned.
Jiang He looked at her smiling eyes, pouted, but didn’t dare to argue. He dutifully acted as a transporter, following her wherever she pointed.
Mountain Well Village was a small place. Anyone else could have walked around it in half an hour, but the two of them took a full hour.
Jiang He was sure that most of the villagers had seen the deceased’s face, and the news would spread throughout the village in less than five minutes.
The strange thing was that although many villagers had seen the three of them, there was still no news.
Whether it was the village chief or Mother Zhao, who had just lost her son, they seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. Not even a door was opened.
Jiang He put the person down to take a break, wiping his sweat and frowning. “That’s strange. That woman was crying her heart out this morning. Why is there no movement now?”
Jiang Liu frowned as well, her gaze fixed on a couple not far away. They were chopping firewood in their yard and, as if sensing her gaze, would occasionally look up and glance at them without making any further moves.
Could it be that Zhao Ziming was the one with the problem from the beginning?
Seeing Jiang He about to lift the person and leave again, she quickly reached out to stop him. “Alright, we’ve wandered around long enough. Let’s go back first.”
The attitude of these people along the way had already proven everything. There was no need to go to the village chief’s house anymore.
While she was frowning here, the foolish boy Jiang He actually smiled. “Then let’s go home. I’m dying of thirst.”
Jiang Liu shook her head, and the two of them returned to their residence.
The door to Yang Caisi’s small courtyard was not closed. Before they could even enter, they could hear a burst of cheerful laughter from inside.
It was rare for these people to be so relaxed in an Instance. Did they run into some good fortune?
Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow and entered the house, but when she saw the scene inside, she couldn’t help but laugh as well.
Who else could the man in the suit dancing in the middle of the room be but Gao Yuan?
“Brother Gao, why are you here too!” Jiang He was clearly very surprised by his appearance. He dropped the corpse and ran over to greet him.
Watching the group chat animatedly, Jiang Liu shook her head slightly and turned to sit next to Yang Caisi.
“Why did you call him here?”
Yang Caisi was organizing the documents in her hand. Hearing the question, she didn’t look up, only shifting slightly to make room for her. “Didn’t you ask me to check Xiao Zhao’s Instance records, sister? He insisted on coming in person, saying he was familiar with Xiao Zhao’s case.”
As she spoke, she didn’t stop what she was doing. She quickly pulled out a piece of paper from a stack and handed it to Jiang Liu, while her other hand poured her a cup of cold tea and pushed it over.
“How long were you out in the sun? You reek of heat.” She feigned a complaint, but her mind was already on a refreshing green bean soup.
“Then you can cool me down.” Jiang Liu chuckled, leaning against her without a care in the world. Feeling the faint coolness of the skin behind her, she let out a contented sigh.
Yang Caisi laughed and tried to dodge, but feeling the heat from her body, her heart softened. She propped herself up and moved back, trying to make her more comfortable.
Jiang Liu took a moment to glance at the paper in her hand. The large characters for “Mountain Well Village” immediately caught her eye.
“Gao Yuan brought it,” Yang Caisi said lazily, twirling a lock of Jiang Liu’s hair with one hand while explaining in a drawn-out tone.
“Xiao Zhao has been to this Instance before, about ten years ago. The village wasn’t so desolate back then, and many places have changed since. It’s no wonder he only remembered the way up the mountain.”
Been here before?
Jiang Liu’s eyes moved with curiosity as she quickly scanned the contents.
It was mostly as Xiao Si had said, but one person made her particularly concerned.
She pointed to a name listed next to Zhao Ziming’s, her tone rising slightly. “Zhao Ziyang?”
“That’s him.” Yang Caisi lifted her chin toward the ‘corpse’. After speaking, she seemed a little unsure and turned to ask Gao Yuan, “It is him, right?”
While the two were being affectionate, Gao Yuan had already examined the person from head to toe. Hearing the question, he immediately replied, “Ah, yes, yes, that’s the kid.”
His gaze swept over the two people leaning against each other. He cleared his throat, pretended not to see, and explained on his own. “This is Xiao Zhao’s older brother. I don’t know if he’s told you, but he died in the Mountain Well Village Instance.”
His words left everyone stunned.
She hadn’t thought much of it at first, but now, thinking back, Jiang Liu belatedly understood why Zhao Ziming had insisted on taking the body away.
Then again, Zhao Ziming rarely mentioned his own affairs, most of the time acting carefree. She vaguely remembered the kid mentioning an older brother once.
When was that? The Instance at the time was a bit tricky, and their conversation hadn’t continued.
“But he’s still alive.” Xu Meng stared at Zhao Ziyang’s still-rising chest and asked hesitantly, “Then what is he?”
As she asked this, she subconsciously glanced at Jiang He.
Jiang He himself was unaware, but Jiang Liu, who had been with him the whole time, instantly understood Xu Meng’s meaning.
Zhang Xiaochen also died in an Instance. Could there be another one of him appearing somewhere else in the System?
If so…
Before the idea in Jiang Liu’s mind could fully form, she was interrupted by Gao Yuan’s serious tone.
“Ahem, what do you think this place is? How can the dead come back to life!”
After speaking, he gave Jiang Liu a particularly solemn look, as if he had completely seen through her thoughts and was advising her not to think about it.
“Watch where you’re looking when you speak,” Yang Caisi said with dissatisfaction, shooting a glare at him that made Gao Yuan shiver.
Alright, when it came to bringing the dead back to life, Xiao Yang seemed to have more experience.
He briefly lamented Yang Caisi’s hardships over the years before quickly returning to the topic. “When a person dies, their light is extinguished. He’s just an identity temporarily borrowed by the System right now. He’s nothing.”
But even so, to see a deceased relative in an Instance, and in the same village as back then, Zhao Ziming must have been filled with a great deal of emotion.
After a moment of sighs, Jiang Liu finally ventured a guess. “So he recognized his brother, found out he was still alive, and couldn’t bear to see him buried, so he took his place in the coffin?”
Gao Yuan stroked his chin theatrically. “From what I know of him, it’s very likely.”
“But he should know this person isn’t real. Why would he do something so foolish? And not tell us,” Jiang He said, confused.
To this, Gao Yuan’s explanation was—
An Instance could affect a person’s memory to some extent. It was common for one’s senses to become disoriented.
Right now, Zhao Ziming was still unconscious, so no one could guess his thoughts.
Having figured out the identity of the corpse, Jiang Liu pinched the bridge of her nose with a headache and turned to look into the room. “How is he?”
Yang Caisi shook her head. “Still unconscious, but I see his bloody color has become heavier. We need to figure out the situation as soon as possible.”
At the mention of this, Tang Rui, who had been listening all along, slapped his forehead as if enlightened and muttered to himself, “One has already been found, so it’s not a loss.”
Tang Ruo, beside him, slapped him, her expression disgusted. “What are you muttering about!”
Instead of crying out in pain from the slap, Tang Rui suddenly became excited, pointing into the room and shouting, “One has already been found, sister! One has already been found!”
The group looked at each other in confusion.
Tang Rui panted with excitement, then tried to calm down and explain, his words tumbling out. “I was talking to Liu Xia about Auntie Zhao sending off her black-haired son, and she said what’s meant to come back will come back, and one has already been found! Is the person who was found Brother Zhao!”
His explanation was a bit chaotic, so he quickly added, “Brother Zhao and this big brother were originally brothers here! That’s why he wasn’t assigned accommodation with us. His identity is this!”
Liu Xia said one was found. Could it be that Zhao Ziming had disappeared before, but then suddenly appeared at the memorial hall, which is why he was targeted by the villagers!
He rattled on, but then realized that everyone was staring at him calmly, which left Tang Rui a bit bewildered. “You didn’t understand? Should I say it again?”
Tang Ruo held her forehead and pulled him to sit down.
“You should rest.”
What Tang Rui said was not without reason. It explained the unexpected situation with Zhao Ziming very well.
If that was the case—
“Liu Xia also mentioned that people die here every month. We can start from there,” Tang Ruo prompted simply.
Jiang Liu lowered her eyes, tacitly agreeing with her idea.
Now that they had figured out the identity, the next step was to investigate how the person who died each month was chosen.
The line of thought was clear. As long as they investigated step by step, they would find clues.
Who would have thought—
Just after noon, while Jiang Liu was taking a short nap in Yang Caisi’s arms, she vaguely heard the sound of hurried footsteps and discussions.
This was followed by the fence gate being kicked open, and an arrogant, shrill voice shot straight into the house.
“Which one is Zhao Ziming? Hand him over!”
The already harsh voice was amplified by an old megaphone, becoming even more strident, circling around Jiang Liu’s ears and completely dispelling her drowsiness.
Soon, a curse came from the next room.
He was the only one who had done physical labor. He had just rested for less than two minutes before being disturbed. He was in a foul mood now, and hearing that the visitor was hostile, he grabbed the broom by the bed and rushed out.
But when he got outside, he was dumbfounded—
Dozens of players were followed by half the villagers, all glaring at him with fierce expressions. The leader, a muscular man with a twitching face, pointed a slanted eye at Jiang He. “Hand him over now!”
The massive crowd of dozens of people surrounded the small courtyard, clamoring for them to hand over the person. The difference in momentum was stark, and Jiang He was immediately at a disadvantage.
Amidst the shouts of “hand him over,” he looked pleadingly toward the house.
“Sister! There’s trouble!!!”