Scattered Red Flowers Pave the Road

"Be careful of Gu Yunqing?" Feng Yushu lowered her head and glanced cautiously at the two corpses lying by the river, then raised her eyes to meet Ye Miaozhu's gaze. The two stared at each other in silence.

A nameless fire ignited in Ye Miaozhu's chest: "Yunqing died right in front of me. How am I supposed to be careful?"

"Xie Sining is dead too, and she was even calling Auntie. You tell me how to be careful." Ning Zhe reached out and took Feng Yushu's phone, saying, "Two minutes. Prove you are Zhang Yangxu and not something else. I won't wait past that."

Silence hung on the other end of the line.

Gu Yunqing's corpse still lay on the laundry slope by the riverbank. The Mechanical Watch on his wrist hadn't malfunctioned despite being submerged; it was still ticking away. The second hand circled in rhythmic jerks, and the transparent time dripped away, second by second.

"One minute left," Ning Zhe said.

The other end remained silent, save for the rustling of evening wind catching the hem of his clothes. Ning Zhe looked down at the time: "One minute and twenty seconds."

"Ning Zhe, there are three versions of the relocation contract coordinated for the residents on the plot of land where your Old House is located."

When the time reached one minute and forty-seven seconds, Zhang Yangxu's voice finally came through the speaker.

"Version A: After relocation, residents can obtain housing in a designated development roughly three times the area of their original residence, with discounts available for topping up any remaining area."

"Version B: A one-time, large-sum cash compensation."

"Version C: Residents choose a home from a range provided by the developer that is close to the area of their original residence, plus a certain amount of cash compensation."

Ning Zhe hummed: "That's right. I came home to look at the compensation contracts. My Grandfather and Grandmother are illiterate, and I'm afraid they'll get scammed."

But changing the subject, he added: "However, this isn't enough to prove you are Zhang Yangxu. How about telling me something I don't know?"

In fact, what Zhang Yangxu had just said was enough to prove his identity, but Ning Zhe felt it wasn't enough. He wanted to verify a guess he had about Zhang Yangxu.

"You won't be able to sign the Version B contract," Zhang Yangxu said in a calm voice. "Large-sum cash compensation is the most difficult of the three versions to obtain, so we prepared the fewest copies of the Version B contract. Long before the bidding even started, the large-sum compensation contracts had already been internally allocated through various channels. You are destined not to get one."

"Whoa, you bank robbers haven't even bought the stockings for your masks yet, and you've already finished splitting the loot." Ning Zhe applauded him: "Tell me, Director Zhang, why should I be careful of Gu Yunqing?"

"Let's meet in person."

"OK."

Zhang Yangxu set the meeting place at the same street by the Ancestral Hall. After witnessing two bizarre, sudden deaths in a row, both Feng Yushu and Ning Zhe were on high alert regarding this place, but Ye Miaozhu seemed somewhat indifferent.

"If we don't go now, we'll have to go sooner or later," she said. "After today, tomorrow's taboos will change. Can you really afford not to go to the Ancestral Hall to check the Almanac?"

The logic was sound, but her indifferent attitude still surprised Ning Zhe. Then again, if a person isn't even afraid of death, there's nothing left to fear.

Lunar Calendar, the 23rd day of the fourth month, 02:33 AM.

Ning Zhe arrived at the South Street of He Family Village, where the clan Ancestral Hall dedicated to the Snake God was located. Zhang Yangxu was already waiting at the entrance.

Feng Yushu followed behind Ning Zhe and Ye Miaozhu reluctantly. She was timid by nature, and after learning that the Xie Sining who had been with Zhang Yangxu was a corpse, she became even more cowardly. She didn't want to return to the Ancestral Hall at this time for anything.

Ning Zhe didn't force her to follow him, only saying, "You're on your own," before setting off with Ye Miaozhu to keep the appointment.

In the end, the fear of being left alone outweighed everything else, and Feng Yushu had no choice but to lag a few steps behind and follow them.

As the three approached the Ancestral Hall, the nervous Feng Yushu finally let out a sigh of relief. There was only Zhang Yangxu at the entrance; no one else was in sight.

"Yo, where's Xie Sining?" Ning Zhe asked, waving his hand.

Zhang Yangxu gave a bitter smile: "You know the answer."

"I see. Well, congratulations on surviving." Ning Zhe understood instantly: "Tell me, how did you survive that thing?"

Zhang Yangxu didn't rush to explain. The group first confirmed each other's identities before he asked: "First, I need to confirm one thing. Lady Bai called me earlier and said you saw something by the river... was it Sining?"

"That's right," Ning Zhe didn't deny it. "We found Xie Sining's corpse in the river."

Zhang Yangxu let out a sigh of relief, closed his eyes, and said: "As I thought... Alright, let's exchange information. I'll go first."

Right there at the entrance of the Ancestral Hall, Zhang Yangxu recounted his entire experience from the moment he left the Ancestral Hall with Xie Sining until now:

After Feng Yushu's warning call was cut off midway, Zhang Yangxu's heart was filled with doubt.

At 00:30 AM, Zhang Yangxu and Xie Sining left the Ancestral Hall and walked upstream along the river. They found no abnormalities on the quiet road, only scattered red paper scraps in front of a few houses—remnants of firecrackers. He Family Village had set off many firecrackers yesterday.

After walking for a while, Xie Sining suddenly looked troubled and told Zhang Yangxu that she needed to relieve herself.

A woman's physiological structure is different from a man's; once the urge hits, it's basically impossible to hold back. Zhang Yangxu didn't press her, so he leaned against a willow tree by the river to give her some privacy. After she finished, the two continued walking upstream.

Subsequently, Zhang Yangxu and Xie Sining headed north, arriving at the central area of He Family Village.

Along the way, they noticed that the further north they went, the denser the firecracker paper scraps on the street became. The red fragments paved the road like they were seeing someone off, or perhaps celebrating some joyous occasion.

From a distance, Zhang Yangxu's gaze crossed the wide street and saw a grand, antique-style mansion. The main gate alone was over 3 meters high, and the surrounding wall exceeded 5 meters—Zhang Yangxu had always been accurate in his estimations of building height, angles, area, and orientation.

On the gate of the mansion hung a sign with bold, standard characters in yellow paint on a black background—"He Manor".

Seeing that more than half of the 1.5-hour meeting time had passed, Zhang Yangxu didn't attempt to enter the He Manor to explore further, choosing instead to return to the Ancestral Hall to call Ning Zhe and the others to make plans together.

The two walked back along the street paved with bright red paper scraps, chatting idly.

Then, Zhang Yangxu received the call from Feng Yushu on the road. In the call, she used an extremely terrified tone to tell him to be careful of Xie Sining, saying that she and Ning Zhe had seen something by the river... but before she could finish, the call was forcibly disconnected.

"After the call was cut off, I immediately thought of the time Sining and I stopped by the river on our way to He Manor. If Feng Yushu's call wasn't a joke, it meant that something happened to her during the time I was waiting for her to relieve herself by the river."

"Something happened by the river that led to her death, and her identity was usurped by something else."

Zhang Yangxu concluded: "Ning Zhe, that river must be strange."

"No, it isn't. Xie Sining dying by the river might have other reasons, but it likely has no direct connection to the river itself," Ning Zhe spread his hands. "Gu Yunqing and Ye Miaozhu have already tested that with their lives."