Feng Yushu

The eerie scream, sounding as if it were both crying and laughing, sent a jolt through Ning Zhe. Before his mind could even process it, his body instinctively turned around and kicked toward the direction of the sound.

When he looked closely, the person who had screamed was sprawled on the ground, clutching her stomach and curling up in pain.

"She's actually alive." Ning Zhe breathed a sigh of relief.

Behind him, Zhang Yangxu and the female office worker, startled by the commotion inside the Ancestral Hall, were already heading toward the side entrance.

Knowing he had already been discovered, Ning Zhe gave up on leaving and quickly looked over the person who had suddenly appeared outside the door and whom he had just kicked to the ground.

She was a middle-aged woman who looked somewhere around thirty or forty, though that estimate might not be very accurate. She wore plenty of expensive, glittering jewelry, and her clothes were bright and luxurious.

The pearls in the necklace around her neck were smooth and lustrous. On her left wrist was a crystal-clear White Jade Bracelet, the kind that might cost more than the demolition compensation for Ning Zhe's family's old house. Her long, glossy black hair was carefully pinned up with a gold-and-jade Wutong Hairpin. Her snow-white, delicate skin was free of wrinkles, and she clearly hadn't spent much time in the sun. She wore a string of Bodhi Seeds on her right wrist and might even have been a Buddhist.

She wore a dark purple, Tight-fitting Long Dress, cinched at the waist with a pinkish-purple Waist Wrap embroidered with delicate lace. Its fine design and cut accentuated her full, mature figure to perfection. Her smooth, oval face bore a graceful, dignified beauty, like a lotus rising from the water; her features were refined, poised, and elegant.

...All in all, she was clearly a leisurely, wealthy woman who had enjoyed a life of comfort for years and taken excellent care of herself. People with good living conditions always aged slowly. Ning Zhe couldn't be sure how old she really was. She looked thirty, might actually be forty, or could even be well past seventy.

Hearing Zhang Yangxu's footsteps drawing closer behind him, Ning Zhe gently patted the woman's shoulder. "Sorry for the trouble. Are you all right?"

He had kicked her on instinct, but the narrow side entrance to the Ancestral Hall had kept him from putting all his strength into it. He figured the kick had only caused a moderate impact to her abdomen, nowhere near enough to injure her internal organs or cause internal bleeding.

He was always accurate when gauging things like this. Back in elementary school, Ning Zhe had already been able to beat up every kid who provoked him until they were black and blue, while precisely ensuring that all their injuries remained superficial. He had never let things get out of hand. This time was no exception.

A moment later, the elegantly dressed woman, glittering with jewelry, struggled up from the stone path and leaned against the wall, clutching her stomach as she gasped for breath.

"Why... why would you hit someone as soon as you meet them..." Pain made the woman's voice weak, but, surprisingly, she didn't curse him out.

"I'm really sorry. You appeared behind me without making a sound, and I thought one of those He Family people who aren't quite human was sneaking up on me. I overreacted." Ning Zhe apologized repeatedly, his sincerity unmistakable.

"It's all right, it's all right..." The woman shook her head again and again. "I understand. Anyone would be on edge in a place like this. I don't blame you, I don't blame you..."

Ning Zhe noticed the complicated expression on her face. Her pale features betrayed unease at this strange, unfamiliar place. Her tightly pursed lips showed how frightened she was of the young man who had just beaten her. But more than anything, after enduring so much fear and worry, she seemed relieved and happy to have finally found other living people.

This woman is timid and lacks a mind of her own. After I hit her, she didn't show any hostility or dislike. Instead, she eagerly excused my mistake and tried hard to ingratiate herself with me. Ning Zhe quickly assessed her character.

Then he turned and greeted Zhang Yangxu, who had reached the side entrance. "Hello, Director Zhang. I didn't expect to see you here. My name is Ning Zhe. I'm a senior at Taoyuan City No. 1 High School."

"Hello. I'm Zhang Yangxu," Zhang Yangxu said in a flat tone.

"I'm Director Zhang's legal counsel. My name is Xie Sining." The woman behind Zhang Yangxu sounded a little more cheerful.

Zhang Yangxu's gaze swept quickly over Ning Zhe and the woman leaning against the wall. He looked a little surprised. "Lady Bai is here too... Ning Zhe, is it? Do you know me?"

"Who in the world doesn't know you, Director Zhang? You're too modest. At least in Qinzhou, hardly anyone doesn't know who you are." Ning Zhe smiled casually. "I only got to take leave from school and come back to my hometown because of you. I thought I'd become a homeowner and spend my days collecting rent, but who knew I'd wake up in a place like this?"

Zhang Yangxu gave a slight nod. "I see."

He hadn't expected Ning Zhe to be a local from Ancient Tablet Town.

Ning Zhe pointed his chin toward the wealthy woman leaning against the wall and asked, "You just called her Lady Bai. Is her surname Bai? Do you know her, Director Zhang?"

Zhang Yangxu didn't answer. Xie Sining, standing behind him, promptly introduced the woman. "This is Feng Yushu, wife of Mr. Bai Fugui, the largest shareholder in New Homeland Group. Mr. Bai and Director Zhang both have their eyes on the Ancient Tablet Town area, and each wants to win the development contract. Our companies are currently competing against each other."

"I see." Ning Zhe smiled at Xie Sining. "But in a place like this, I guess our business relationships don't mean much."

Zhang Yangxu smiled as well. "That's true. They don't mean much."

Out in the world, Zhang Yangxu might have been a billionaire with extensive connections in every corner of society. But in this isolated little village, this eerie place of supernatural horrors, he was nothing more than a middle-aged man with a paunch and a thinning crown.

That was also why he was willing to speak to Ning Zhe as an equal.

Here, Ning Zhe wasn't a high school student who crammed until late every night. He was a strong, energetic adult male.

Ning Zhe went over to the wall and held out a hand to Feng Yushu, who was decked out in gold and jade, helping her to her feet. "Madam, how did you end up here?"

Feng Yushu endured the pain in her stomach and brushed the dust off her clothes. Somewhat awkwardly, she said, "I came to Ancient Tablet Town with my husband and daughter. He's always busy with work and rarely at home. This time, we planned to take advantage of the on-site bidding to spend some rare family time together, get some fresh air in the countryside, enjoy ourselves, and see the sights. But I never expected..."

The transformation had suddenly occurred, pulling her into this strange place called He Family Village.

"Then what about your husband and daughter? Did they come here too?" Ning Zhe pressed.

Feng Yushu shook her head. "No. I spent a long time searching the village yesterday and broke several taboos, but I never found them. It seems I'm the only one who wandered in here."

"All right, I understand." Ning Zhe nodded in satisfaction. Now he had a basic understanding of the people around him.

Finding living people in a place like this was a good thing, all told. But beneath the harmonious appearance of people banding together for warmth, the reality was far from harmonious.

Behind Zhang Yangxu, Xie Sining's phone vibrated softly. Without drawing attention to herself, she unlocked it and glanced quickly at the screen. A message from "Director Zhang" read:

"Zhang Yangxu sent you a message saying Ning Zhe was the one who read the Almanac. He arrived before the rest of us. Be careful of him."