The three men wore different expressions. Li Jiaming was probably the most composed, thinking it over seriously. Li Shengyi looked utterly bewildered, as if he hadn't quite processed what I'd said. Pang Li looked as though he'd suddenly realized something.
Pang Li spoke first. "Now that you mention it... I think I did hear my grandma say something about that. Her grandaunt might've been fine if she hadn't come from somewhere else."
I didn't believe that. Xiaofang from Crooked-Neck Village had been tormented terribly by the female ghost, and even when she'd been driven to suicide, the ghost had interfered. Pang Li had never seen the female ghost himself. His grandmother had been just a baby back then, so she'd probably heard about it from her elders and didn't know much about the ghosts. That was understandable, so I didn't argue.
Li Shengyi said confidently, "Isn't that normal? Those ghosts were originally from our Huixiang. Why would people kill their own? That girl who haunted the village, and all the other ghosts, were outsiders."
Li Jiaming had finished thinking it over, but his tone was hesitant. "I remember hearing the elders in my family talk about that rule too. There wasn't any such custom at first, but somehow, people started saying it later."
None of them could explain the details, so I asked them what they did know.
We went back to talking about that Daoist.
Li Jiaming's grandfather had asked the wandering Daoist who'd arrived in Huixiang for help. The Daoist had agreed right away without discussing payment. Carrying his banner and following the sound of his bells, he'd gone to Crooked-Neck Village.
"...Later, someone from the village contacted my family and said the Daoist had asked around, then gone into the cave. After that, nobody saw him come