Hu Jiu, Yue Renchun and Zou Cong tried to leave Longevity Village.
Sure enough, they failed.
So far, they had only encountered one ghost that emitted noise. They had suffered no casualties and barely any injuries. Rushing to withdraw was somewhat negligent.
But Hu Jiu was no hotheaded fool. Since he had sensed danger, why insist on risking his life?
He wasn't even willing to investigate any further!
The meager benefits Headquarters offered weren't worth risking his life for!
In any case, Longevity Village was in a remote location. Even if the supernatural incident here wasn't resolved, the village could be sealed off, and there wouldn't be much impact for the time being.
Hu Jiu remained calm, and Yue Renchun was hard to read, but Zou Cong's attitude was somewhat intriguing. He had been the first to suggest retreating, yet he didn't seem eager to leave.
As the sky gradually darkened, the group returned empty-handed.
"Are you going to the birthday banquet tonight?" Zou Cong asked.
"No!" Hu Jiu and Yue Renchun answered almost in unison.
A normal birthday celebration for an elderly person wouldn't involve a banquet in the dead of night. There was obviously something wrong with this one, so there was no need to wade into that mess unless they had no choice.
When they returned to the guesthouse, Hu Jiu suddenly caught sight of what looked like a person standing beneath a tree not far away.
The figure wore a dark brown long gown and riding jacket. He was hunched, with a head of white hair, but his lips were as red as blood.
"Hey..." Hu Jiu gestured to Yue Renchun, but in the blink of an eye, the figure vanished.
"I saw a strange person under that tree just now," he said.
"Yeah, I saw him too." Yue Renchun had gotten a clearer look. "Those clothes looked like they were from the Republican era."
"The Republican era?" A thought struck Hu Jiu. "The centenarians still alive today should all have been born during the Republican era."
"Possibly in the late Qing dynasty too." Whatever had come to mind, Yue Renchun suddenly asked, "Do you know when things like 'ghosts' first appeared?"
Zou Cong pondered for a few seconds. "I've heard researchers at Headquarters say that the earliest clearly documented supernatural incident in China happened during the Republican era. But there's another theory—that ghosts have always existed, and some ancient myths and strange tales may be connected to them..."
As he explained, he walked toward the tree. The ground beneath it was wet, and a rotten, fishy stench slowly wafted into his nose.
Hu Jiu didn't follow him over, only asking from the side, "What is it?"
Zou Cong crouched down and sniffed carefully. "It's corpse water, and there's a lot of mud too."
Yue Renchun's expression grew grave. "This is getting more and more troublesome."
The crisis had yet to arrive, but all the signs hinted at something sinister, like the unsettling stillness and oppression before a storm.
Zou Cong took another careful look but found nothing else. The group returned to their rooms in silence.
As soon as Hu Jiu entered his room, he immediately checked every corner. There was something abnormal about this village, and he didn't dare let his guard down.
Fortunately, he didn't need to sleep.
After he had sat there doing nothing until midnight, a faint knock suddenly came at the door.
"It's me. Something urgent has come up." Yue Renchun's voice came from outside.
Hu Jiu cautiously opened the door and saw Yue Renchun acting sneaky.
"If you've got something to say, make it quick."
Yue Renchun took a step forward. "Let me in first."
Hu Jiu blocked the doorway. "You can say it here."
"It's important, and I can't explain it in just a few words. I'm here to share information, so don't be so cold~" Yue Renchun sounded as if he were reproaching an old friend for not trusting him, his tone inexplicably tinged with resentment.
Hu Jiu grew even more wary, his whole body tensed and ready, but he still stepped aside enough to leave a narrow gap.
Yue Renchun slipped inside and closed the door. Without wasting words, he went straight to the point. "Cui Xueyan is back."
When Hu Jiu didn't react, Yue Renchun continued, "She came back quietly. She apparently didn't want us to notice her and went straight into Zou Cong's room."
"She probably couldn't face us," Hu Jiu teased.
"That's what I thought at first too." Yue Renchun lowered his voice. "But then I eavesdropped on her conversation with Zou Cong..."
"Eavesdropped?" Hu Jiu looked at him teasingly. "Are you sure they didn't discover you and feed you a bunch of lies?"
"I'm sure!" Yue Renchun was completely sincere. "Don't worry about how I heard them. Anyway, I learned quite a few secrets."
"Long story short, Headquarters concealed and altered the intelligence. We aren't the first batch of Ghost Tamers to enter Longevity Village. Headquarters wants to obtain a supernatural item of vital importance from here."
"Zou Cong is a Ghost Tamer trained independently by Headquarters, while Cui Xueyan comes from the military. They present a united front to outsiders and will work together to draw out our backgrounds. But Zou Cong doesn't seem to want Cui Xueyan to leave alive."
Those few sentences contained an enormous amount of information.
Hu Jiu raised an objection first. "Zou Cong has been protecting Cui Xueyan all along. If he meant her harm, there was no need for him to go to such lengths."
Yue Renchun shook his head. "I'm only passing on what I heard. I don't know the details either. Maybe it has something to do with Cui Xueyan's identity, and Zou Cong has to play the part of her 'bodyguard' on the surface."
Hu Jiu was silent for a moment. "So what are you planning to do now?"
"Cooperate!" Yue Renchun declared emphatically. "I don't want to be cannon fodder! Here's an inside scoop: Headquarters and the military aren't on very good terms. I'm afraid we've been caught up in a conspiracy!"
A surprised look appeared on Hu Jiu's face. "I'm just a newcomer. Who'd have so much time on their hands that they'd go to such lengths to scheme against me?"
Don't flatter yourself. Even if it is a conspiracy, chances are it isn't aimed at you! It was unclear whether Yue Renchun could tell Hu Jiu was indirectly taking a jab at him.
The corner of Yue Renchun's mouth twitched. He was no newbie. He was a troublemaker in Yuzhou City who had caused Headquarters plenty of problems, and from what he had observed, Hu Jiu was no good either.
It was perfectly reasonable to set a trap and eliminate two disobedient people in the process. Even if they were merely caught in the crossfire, they still had to find a way to save themselves!
"That fierce ghost that emitted noise might have been a Ghost Tamer Headquarters once sent to investigate Longevity Village. Zou Cong might have egged Cui Xueyan on to make all those brainless moves along the way. He protected her on the surface, but deliberately kept making her annoy everyone. If she died, guess who'd be most likely to take the blame?"
"I don't know what exactly they're trying to do, but under the current circumstances, the two of us can only improve our chances of survival by joining forces!" Yue Renchun spoke in alarmist terms.
Hu Jiu sneered inwardly. Who knew how much of what Yue Renchun said was true and how much was false? After all, Hu Jiu himself was a bastard who lied through his teeth, so naturally he didn't trust anyone.
On the surface, however, his face was full of agreement.
Seeing that he had finally convinced Hu Jiu, Yue Renchun smiled brightly and lay down on his bed.
Hu Jiu's expression instantly went cold. "You can go back now. Get some rest early. You need to stay energetic to deal with any unexpected incidents."
Yue Renchun closed his eyes, his voice muffled. "I'm sleeping here. If anything unexpected happens, we can look out for each other..."