Silence is the Greatest Lie

At 07:00 in the morning, a bright yellow sun climbed into the sky, bathing the small village where the river flowed in warm, gentle sunlight.

The fourth month of the Lunar Calendar is the peak of summer, and the backyard of the He Manor was a riot of competing colors. Soft, delicate pinks bloomed along the sides of the pebble-paved path, and the lotus flowers kept in water vats woke up, their pink-and-white petals unfurling into bright, cheerful smiles as their bright yellow stamens emitted a faint, sweet fragrance.

Several graceful pomegranate trees stretched lazily at the intersection, their emerald canopies hiding fire-red buds that looked as if the trees were laden with red pomegranates. Fallen flower buds dropped into the small pond, creating a splashy sound.

The surface of the pond shattered and then calmed, reflecting a girl with disheveled long hair hurrying past the bank. Her expression was urgent; she looked like she was in a great rush.

Ye Miaozhu ran quickly under the pomegranate trees, checking the content on her phone screen once more. It was a few text messages sent by the contact labeled "Yunqing":

[I crawled out of the river.]

[The river water is so cold.]

[Where are you?]

[I want to see you, come find me, I am at...]

The reason Ye Miaozhu had come here was precisely because of these messages, like a fish hooked by bait.

Even though Gu Yunqing had died right in front of her, and even though as a medical student she could be absolutely certain that Gu Yunqing's heartbeat had stopped and his body had already lost its warmth, when she saw that familiar name appear on the screen, Ye Miaozhu still chose to irrationally believe in that slim-to-none possibility.

Even though she knew a Ghost that could steal identities and disguise itself as a human was wandering this village, she was willing to gamble her life on that non-existent hope.

A woman in love is never reasonable; this species is naturally at odds with the concept of "seeking truth from facts."

Ye Miaozhu hurried across the round pebble path surrounded by pinks, her fluttering hem brushing against the lotus flowers in the vats. With hurried steps, she bypassed the backyard and arrived at the west side of the Main Building of the He Manor, then lowered her head to confirm the message on her phone once again.

Following the guidance of the messages, Ye Miaozhu soon found the unlocked storeroom. After taking a few deep breaths, she pushed the door open with trepidation.

The sealed room had no lights on, and even the windows were boarded shut, leaving it pitch black even in the daytime. The morning sunlight spilled into the room from the opened door, slightly illuminating the area by Ye Miaozhu's feet.

She pushed the door wide open and tentatively called out, "Yunqing? Are you in there?"

There was no response.

Ye Miaozhu walked a few steps closer, feeling somewhat puzzled, and scanned her surroundings by the light of the sun.

This was a sealed and dry storeroom. The floorboard made of bamboo strips was raised off the ground to keep out moisture. Several shelves were placed against the walls, holding some items belonging to a young lady:

A bolt of Double-Winged Flying Gold-Thread Red Waist Cloth.

A White Jade Bracelet in a brocade box, containing a streak of blood-like bright red.

A Pure Gold Hairpin in a sandalwood box, with a pair of Twin Lotus carved on the end.

A Silver Head Crown with intricate carvings of Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix.

A Purple Sandalwood Dressing Table, placed directly facing the storeroom door.

A Bronze Mirror the size of a washbasin, embedded in the dressing table, also facing the door.

Several Camphor Wood Chests filled with clothes, emitting the scent of camphor.

These were most of the items in this storeroom.

Ye Miaozhu hugged her chest, feeling a bit guilty, and called out tentatively again, "Yunqing? Are you here? Is it really you?"

At this moment, a low male voice came from the darkness.

"A few text messages were enough to trick you out?" A man in a Suit and Leather Shoes walked out from behind the dressing table. The sunlight shone on his face; it was Zhang Yangxu. "I didn't expect you to be this stupid."

"It's you?" Ye Miaozhu was instantly gnashing her teeth in hatred. Looking down, she saw that Zhang Yangxu was indeed holding two phones—one was his own, and the other was Gu Yunqing's. "You used Yunqing's phone to trick me?!"

"Rather than being tricked, it's more like you were just wishfully believing on your own that Gu Yunqing was still alive," Zhang Yangxu shook his head. "Or should I say, you wanted to believe it? As long as the one speaking is Gu Yunqing, you'll believe anything he says?"

Ye Miaozhu was furious, "I'm willing to be tricked by him, that's none of your business!"

Yeah, sure, sure...

After a while, Ye Miaozhu's anger subsided slightly, and she continued, "Speak. What do you want by tricking me here with Yunqing's phone?"

Zhang Yangxu chuckled and pointed to the surroundings, to the shelves in the storeroom displaying the young lady's belongings: "I wanted to tell you that I have already found a way to leave He Family Village and return to the real world."

"You?" Ye Miaozhu showed a skeptical expression. "If Ning Zhe or Yunqing had said that, I might have believed it a little, but you? Forget it."

"Believe it or not, it's up to you. I'm just stating what I know," Zhang Yangxu said, walking to the shelf.

He gently lifted a piece of red cloth embroidered with double-winged flying patterns with one hand and said, "This is material for a Waist Wrap. It's a feudal custom in Qinzhou. When a girl gets married, she has to wear very cumbersome ceremonial robes, which makes her look quite bloated, so she needs a piece of fabric wrapped around her waist to cinch it in and accentuate her figure. This is called a Waist Wrap. Modern times don't care about this anymore."

But He Family Village does.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Ye Miaozhu's expression grew increasingly impatient.

Zhang Yangxu put down the fabric in his hand and continued with a smile, "Look at the other things, the bracelet, the hairpin, the silver crown... all kinds of jewelry. These things are the dowry."

"Dowry?"

"Dowry," Zhang Yangxu nodded. "The owner of this manor is marrying off his daughter. I heard it from the servants in the house. They say Miss He is marrying into another village, and the groom's procession will come to pick up the bride tomorrow. These things in the room are Miss He's dowry."

"So? What does that have to do with anything?" Ye Miaozhu frowned.

"Miss He is getting married, haven't I made myself clear enough?" Zhang Yangxu sighed helplessly. "Lord He will also send some servants and maids to accompany his daughter. This group will set off tomorrow. As long as you find a way to blend in with them, you can leave He Family Village with the wedding procession."

"Really? Can I leave this place by blending into the wedding procession?" The doubt in Ye Miaozhu's eyes deepened.

"Really," Zhang Yangxu nodded. "You can leave He Family Village by following the wedding procession."

"I see..." Ye Miaozhu's gaze dimmed. She did not ask Zhang Yangxu where he had obtained this information.

If what Zhang Yangxu said was true, why didn't he just hide himself and wait to leave with the wedding procession tomorrow? Why did he go out of his way to notify me?

This was what puzzled Ye Miaozhu the most.

The more she thought about it, the stranger the current situation seemed. If the text message from Gu Yunqing's phone had previously caused her to lose her reason and become gullible and blind, now that the lie had been exposed, a calmed-down Ye Miaozhu could finally think about their current state from a more rational perspective.

Looking at Zhang Yangxu's gentle, smiling face, an indescribable sense of eeriness couldn't help but well up in her heart.

Ye Miaozhu couldn't help but ask again: "Are you sure? By following the wedding procession, we can leave He Family Village and return to the real world?"

Zhang Yangxu nodded and said: "That's right, by following the wedding procession, you can leave He Family Village."

"You..." Ye Miaozhu suddenly thought of something, and a bone-chilling cold crawled from her tailbone all the way up her spine: "I'll ask one more time, can we return to the real world by following the wedding procession?"

This time, Zhang Yangxu did not answer her question.

He remained standing where he was, wearing an approachable, gentle smile on his face, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, saying nothing.

Ye Miaozhu's fear had become reality.

At this moment, she suddenly recalled a sentence Ning Zhe had once said:

[The rules will be silent, but they will not lie.]

"Answer me, Zhang Yangxu, why are you silent?" Ye Miaozhu gritted her teeth and said, enunciating every word: "Or is it that you aren't Zhang Yangxu at all? You are a Ghost!"