Peach Haven Village (10)

As Ding Shi pondered this, Zhao Liu and Blind Zhao had already started grappling. Zhao Liu claimed he didn't believe in ghosts, yet refused to let Blind Zhao leave. At the same time, he declared that he was leaving, and whoever wanted to be the grandson could be one.

Everyone rushed over to break them up. Blind Zhao took the chance to shake off Zhao Liu's hand and strode toward the door. "Little Ding, take me home."

Ding Shi jogged off to get his bike. Zhao Liu kicked the brazier flying, tore off his mourning clothes, and threw them onto the ground, preparing to leave the Wang Family. The clan chief and elders stopped him, trying to persuade him to stay.

Ding Shi rode Blind Zhao home and politely said, "Uncle Zhao, I'll be going."

"Wait." Blind Zhao stopped Ding Shi. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I don't think the Wang Family's grandson can handle this."

Ding Shi: The Ding Family's grandson can't handle it either. If you make me do it, I'll handle you first.

Blind Zhao continued on his own. "If this isn't settled tonight and that grandson doesn't stay in the Wang Family home, that thing will search everywhere for him."

Ding Shi's heart jolted. "You mean if Zhao Liu runs away, the whole village could suffer?"

Blind Zhao said, "Not that badly. Only a few unlucky people will suffer. Once the first seven days are over, she'll leave on her own. Be careful yourself. Don't leave your room after eleven tonight. Your room, not the house. And if someone knocks after eleven, don't just open the door. Living people knock three times. That thing knocks four. Go home."

With that, Blind Zhao entered his courtyard and shut the door.

Ding Shi looked at the pitch-black night and swallowed. He had made it through storms of bullets and seas of corpses. Why were his calves trembling now?

Back at the village chief's house, Ding Shi had no sleepiness left. He checked the system time: 10:30 p.m. He rolled out of bed, got dressed, took his flashlight, and headed outside.

The way to overcome fear was to face it.

Besides, Blind Zhao had said tonight was safe.

Though Blind Zhao had also said that outsiders could not appear at the Wang Family home tonight, or Ghost Granny would not show herself.

Ding Shi chose Cuihua's home. It stood right next to the Wang Family home, and a persimmon tree more than ten meters tall grew in its courtyard. Ding Shi climbed over the wall, scaled the tree to about five meters up, and gained a clear view of the Wang Family's front yard and part of its back yard.

Every light that could be turned on in the Wang Family home had been turned on. Ding Shi didn't see Zhao Liu and had no idea where that bastard had gone. Couldn't he show even a little responsibility? He had caused this mess, so he should clean it up himself.

Looking back on it, if not for this bunch of pig teammates, this leisure instance would have truly lived up to its name. Honestly, Ding Shi rather liked this village. The villagers were warm and friendly, the spring water sweet, the food delicious, and the scenery beautiful. So why had a ghost suddenly appeared?

Amid his wandering thoughts, eleven o'clock arrived. Granny Wang suddenly appeared outside the Wang Family gate. She wore the clothes she had died in. Short and slight, her feet did not touch the ground as she slowly floated upward, rose above the wall, and drifted into the front yard.

How should he put it? It was pretty strange, but not exactly frightening. She looked no different from a living person, yet upon closer inspection, Ghost Granny differed from the living in many ways. First, she had no shadow. Second, her feet never touched the ground. Third, her arms did not swing when she moved forward or backward.

Suddenly, Ghost Granny turned and looked at Ding Shi more than ten meters away. Ding Shi gripped the trunk tightly with his left hand, clenched his teeth, fought to suppress the fear in his heart, and met her gaze.

What am I afraid of? There's no death penalty, you know? You know?

He was still a little scared. Her gaze seemed empty, yet it also seemed capable of seeing through people's hearts. A chill rose from the soles of his feet. Ding Shi could not tell whether it was a physical attack or a mental one.

Under Ghost Granny's stare, Ding Shi laboriously raised his middle finger. A man might lose, but he could not lose face.

What shocked Ding Shi was that an irresistible force pressed his middle finger back down without causing him any harm. He could now be certain that his trembling body and the chill beneath his feet were all reactions caused by Ghost Granny.

Ghost Granny turned away and drifted to the mourning hall. She stood there blankly for several minutes before floating toward the kitchen. A few minutes later, she emerged from the kitchen and drifted to the door of her own room beside the mourning hall. She stretched out a hand, pushed open the door, and entered.

Ding Shi seized the chance to raise his middle finger again. What can you do to me, old lady?

Ghost Granny floated back out, and Ding Shi lowered his finger. Respecting the elderly and ghosts is a traditional virtue.

Ghost Granny seemed utterly lost. She floated around the Wang Family home, wandering everywhere. Second by second, she searched every room, even the attic. She even pried open her own coffin and searched inside it for a long time.

As time passed, Ghost Granny grew more frantic. Bloody tears streamed from her eyes as she began rummaging through the firewood pile and vegetable patch. Ding Shi pulled out a Big Front Gate cigarette handed out by a villager and lit it. He was not addicted to smoking; he only used it to pass the time while waiting in boredom. He especially disliked people who were late, because he believed lateness wasted his life.

Reviewing the intelligence: first, he could not defeat this thing. Second, its intelligence was extremely low; it could barely even be considered an intelligent creature. Third, it had no human emotions. It was not moved in the slightest even upon seeing its own corpse.

At three in the morning, Ghost Granny quieted down. She sat silently on the steps before the spirit altar, her hands resting on her knees, her posture perfectly straight, her eyes fixed on the front gate.

At five in the morning, Ghost Granny's body faded until she vanished completely.

Having obtained the information he wanted, Ding Shi slid down the tree, climbed over the wall, and returned to the village chief's home.

The third day!

Ding Shi was awakened by pounding on the door. He checked the time: 9:30 in the morning. When he opened it, he found the village chief outside. The chief immediately assigned him a task. "Little Ding, the Wang Family sent someone to notify Granny Wang's maiden family early this morning, but they were driven out. The other side said Granny Wang had cut ties with them long ago. Think you can make a trip?"

Ding Shi asked, "Village Chief, do you just want me to make the trip, or do you want me to invite Granny Wang's maiden family here?"

The village chief said, "What kind of question is that? Of course I want you to invite Granny Wang's maiden family over, otherwise she can't be properly buried." According to local customs, the maiden family had to inspect the funeral arrangements after arriving. If they found a single day of rites unsatisfactory and demanded three days and three nights of a Water-Land Ritual, the husband's family had to comply. At times like this, the maiden family had the final say.

Ding Shi yawned. "I can just make a call from the village office."

The village chief said, "Their village office won't even help call someone over for you."

Ding Shi said, "Village Chief, you have to believe there are still more good people than bad in this world."

After saying that, Ding Shi washed up and used the bathroom first. The village chief's daughter-in-law had left breakfast for him in the pot. Ding Shi thanked her, ate breakfast, then headed to the nearby village office.

Ding Shi cranked the telephone. It was the township switchboard, and he asked the operator to connect him to Fishpond Village. Before long, the call went through. "Hello, this is the Peach Haven Village office."

The other side said, "Go ahead."

Ding Shi said, "Granny Wang passed away yesterday..."

The other party cut him off. "She was expelled from the family register long ago."

Ding Shi said, "Oh, I see. Before Granny Wang passed away yesterday, she asked our village office to deliver a jewelry box to her maiden family. I'd like to ask whether she still has any relatives from her maiden family. If not, we'll dispose of the jewelry box on her behalf."

The other side immediately replied, "She does. She does."

Ding Shi said, "Wasn't she expelled from the family register? Goodbye." He hung up.

The other party slammed down the phone, called friends and relatives together, got a tractor, and headed for Peach Haven Village in an aggressive rush. When they entered Peach Haven Village, the system notified Ding Shi that his mission had been completed.

Reasoning with people was no match for talking money with them.