Chapter Fifty-Three: The Bride Weeps Before Her Wedding (Part 23)

“So Second Uncle has known the truth all along…” He thought about all the things he’d done for the village over the years without knowing, and wondered if Second Uncle was disappointed in him.

A look of understanding flashed in Su Man’s eyes.

“This is bad. Now isn’t the time to talk about this!” Chang Gui’s face changed as he remembered something. He staggered to his feet, heading outside in a hurry. “We have to find the husband of the bride who died yesterday! If the village chief uses her against Second Uncle, that won’t end well.”

The bride’s husband? Da Yuan?

Su Man grabbed Chang Gui. “Why do we need to find him? What’ll happen if we don’t?”

“If we don’t find him, things will get very complicated!”

“No need to look for him then. Things are already complicated. Da Yuan is dead… Da Yuan was the husband.”

“It’s over.” Chang Gui didn’t even ask how she knew; he slumped to the ground like the sky had fallen.

From his words, she learned that the situation with the outsider brides sacrificed to the village wasn’t as simple as Da Yuan had described. Any loophole they could imagine, Miao Sheng had already prepared a countermeasure. If the outsider bride died, her resentment would become overwhelming; when pulled from the forbidden river, she would turn into a vengeful entity. No ordinary person could handle her, so the usual procedure was to bring the body to the ancestral hall for suppression before burial.

But burial didn’t mean the problem was solved; it simply moved the suppression and refining of her resentment to a different place.

Their abilities were insufficient; no matter how they struggled, they could never truly eradicate the vengeful entity. Even weakened, she was no match for them—but a vengeful entity with weakened resentment had a glaring weakness: her husband. His flesh and blood could fundamentally dispel her resentment.

That, apparently, was Miao Sheng’s curse on the village. Only a select few knew about it; to avoid unnecessary panic, the village chief kept it secret. People like Da Yuan, who had no ability, would never come into contact with this. Once Da Yuan died, the chief would simply find an excuse to cover up the cause.

“Now that Da Yuan is dead, there’s no way to eliminate the vengeful entity completely. If the chief uses her against Second Uncle, what then?” Chang Gui worried himself sick. “Even if she isn’t used against Second Uncle, if the vengeful entity attacks the village, none of us will survive.”

“Second Uncle probably doesn’t need your concern.” Hearing him, Su Man actually relaxed. Thinking back to what she’d seen last night on the mountain—Miao Sheng’s demeanor—she shook her head. He hadn’t looked afraid at all. “Perhaps you should worry about what Second Uncle might do to the vengeful entity.”

She only had one worry: if Miao Sheng was bent on revenge, and the tourists trapped in the village were considered fair game, would he include them all?

That would be troublesome.

She currently had two resurrection cards. If Miao Sheng went on a killing spree, a few cards probably wouldn’t be enough.

She knew very well that she was no match for him.

But this was still only speculation; Miao Sheng’s attitude needed further confirmation.

A sudden thought flashed through her mind—she remembered the coffin she’d seen in the ancestral hall on the first day.

“The coffin in the front yard room of your ancestral hall—who’s inside it?” she asked Chang Gui. “A very beautiful woman.”

Chang Gui knew what she meant, but shook his head helplessly. “I don’t know. Only the village chief goes in that room. None of us are allowed inside.”

And the chief rarely entered; every time, there were many people outside performing rituals.

“I see. Is it possible that the corpse inside is your Second Aunt?” He didn’t know; Su Man could only guess.

“Impossible.” Chang Gui denied it without hesitation. “The coffin in the ancestral hall was only placed there in recent years. It can’t be my Second Aunt.”

Besides, if it were her, Second Uncle would never let it go.

Yet Su Man still felt there was a possibility.

She found paper and pen, then drew an extremely simple portrait of the woman she’d seen in her mind.

“She has a very noticeable mole on the bridge of her nose, a very small mouth…” She tried to recall every feature.

“No, my Second Aunt doesn’t have a mole on her face.” Chang Gui was certain; a glance at Su Man’s drawing confirmed it was not his aunt.

Su Man didn’t give up. As she put away the paper, another face appeared in her mind. She drew again.

Hair wild and tangled like seaweed, a small face, large eyes, a beautiful smile.

“Is this your Second Aunt?”

She had drawn the wandering woman.

“Her?” Chang Gui frowned.

Just as Su Man thought she might have a clue, he looked constipated and said, “This drawing is way too abstract! Is this even a person? Looks more like a terrifying vengeful entity.”

Seeing Su Man’s chilly glare, he quickly added, “My Second Aunt is very gentle and always kept herself perfectly groomed. This definitely isn’t her.”

Even so, Su Man felt something was off.

She looked down at the sketches in her hand and concluded her drawing skills were lacking. She was convinced one of the two was Chang Gui’s vengeful Second Aunt.

Miao Sheng had managed to “live” for so many years; surely he’d find a way to keep his wife alive too.

For now, things were at a stalemate; overthinking wouldn’t help.

Chang Gui didn’t dare return home, and Su Man couldn’t leave this key figure behind. She asked Sun Li to bring Huang Mei and the others over.

She specifically mentioned Lin Qi. “If he won’t come, use any means necessary to get him here. When you return, I’ll buy you buns.”

Earlier, she’d let Lin Qi stay at the previous shelter, but now that the location had changed, she couldn’t leave him behind.

She needed all the key players close to her for peace of mind—to get first-hand clues.

Sun Li, hearing there’d be food, happily went to fetch them.

“You’re sending an idiot?” Chang Gui looked at her oddly.

“He’s not an idiot; he’s my companion now. Don’t let me hear you say that again.”

Chang Gui wanted to ask if she was serious, but seeing her expression, he didn’t dare. She really seemed to mean it, which puzzled him—it was obvious Sun Li was dim-witted.

Su Man could read his thoughts from his face, but didn’t argue. Sun Li’s intelligence wasn’t high—about that of an eight- or nine-year-old child—but he was communicative, and his ability to carry out tasks was strong. Su Man trusted him.

Sun Li didn’t disappoint her. Before long, he returned with Huang Mei, pulling Lin Qi along.

Huang Mei, seeing Su Man, finally breathed a sigh of relief, though she was clearly frightened by Sun Li. She whispered complaints as she entered, “Su Man, who exactly is he? After Lin Qi became a vengeful entity, he’s visible but intangible, yet Sun Li grabbed him and dragged him over like it was nothing. It’s terrifying.”

Hearing this, Su Man looked at Sun Li, who was indeed in contact with Lin Qi. But what concerned her more was Lin Qi’s condition. “What’s wrong with him?”