Peach Haven Village (12)

After learning that Zhao Liu had escaped, the village chief found Blind Zhao, who dragged several young men into a round of pointless chaos. They first pickled some vegetables and delivered them to Wang Zhu at the county hospital, but Grandma Wang's obsession remained. Then they dug up the ground and planted the greens that were supposed to be planted that day, yet still failed to dispel Grandma Wang's obsession.

Next, they beat up Grandma Wang's birth family, dug out photos of her from her youth, and changed her corpse into ten different outfits. Yet nothing could erase Grandma Wang's obsession. In the end, everyone else gave up, leaving only Blind Zhao, who wanted Yin Virtue more than he valued his life.

Blind Zhao said, "I've decided to follow her tonight and see what she really wants."

Ding Shi nodded. "All right, Uncle Zhao. See you tomorrow."

Blind Zhao grabbed Ding Shi by the clothes. "You kid seem pretty sharp. Stick with Uncle Zhao tonight, and I'll give you half the Yin Virtue."

Ding Shi chuckled. "Uncle Zhao, besides Yin Virtue, do you have anything more practical to sweeten the deal?"

Blind Zhao took out a talisman paper. "A Breath-Concealing Talisman. It can deceive weak ghosts and monsters, making them unable to sense your presence."

Ding Shi unfolded the talisman and glanced at it. "Fake."

Blind Zhao was shocked. "How could you tell?"

Ding Shi had seen a basic introduction to talismans in the Treatise on Ghosts. "Every talisman must be drawn in one continuous stroke. Yours is all over the place, broken up in a complete mess."

Blind Zhao smiled awkwardly and put away the fake talisman. His eyes darted as he said, "Help me tonight, and I'll tell you where Third Lady is."

Ding Shi was puzzled. "Why would I want to know where Third Lady is?" She was a BOSS. Besides, the village records said Third Lady was buried beneath the Third Lady Temple.

Blind Zhao lowered his voice. "Third Lady possesses a great treasure, an immortal artifact left behind by that divine Daoist. Otherwise, how do you think she suppressed a zombie before the temple was built?"

Ding Shi said, "What, am I supposed to dig up the Third Lady Temple?"

Blind Zhao said, "No. Third Lady's true body isn't beneath the temple."

Ding Shi asked, "Then where is it?"

Blind Zhao said, "You help me, and I'll help you."

Ding Shi didn't believe him. "If I take the treasure, won't Third Lady slaughter this entire village?"

Blind Zhao said, "As long as you're bold enough and only take the treasure, there won't be any problem."

Ding Shi still didn't believe him. Blind Zhao added, "The treasure is on the underside of Third Lady's coffin lid. It's a jade token about the size of a playing card."

Ding Shi's pupils contracted as he recalled the Three Missing One skill card. To the three aunties, that card had looked like a jade token roughly the size of a playing card. But to him, a player, it was a skill card.

Ding Shi had only obtained Three Missing One after the three aunties went bankrupt. Since it was a skill earned through mahjong, Three Missing One leaned toward entertainment. Following that logic, the skill card he found by crawling into Third Lady's coffin was most likely combat-oriented.

Was Blind Zhao lying? Ding Shi thought there was some truth in what he said. At the very least, the card's location was true, or he couldn't have described it as a jade token the size of a playing card.

Damn it. The day before yesterday, he'd cursed Li Si for messing around. Yesterday, he'd cursed Zhao Liu for messing around. Today, it seemed he was about to mess around himself. Was this really okay? Wasn't this wrong? Wouldn't his conscience hurt?

Blind Zhao added, "Third Lady's coffin isn't underground. It's inside a grotto."

That even saved him the trouble of digging?

Ding Shi asked, "How do you want me to help?" If Blind Zhao dared to fool him, he'd dare to beat his way to Blind Zhao's door.

Blind Zhao took out a Brass Bell. "I need to follow Grandma Wang at close range. She won't attack me unless I block her path, take something she wants, or carry something similar to what she wants."

Ding Shi said, "And you'll use objects to test her, to figure out what her obsession is."

Blind Zhao nodded. "For example, if I'm holding a jar and she becomes hostile toward me, then her obsession has something to do with jars. You keep watch from a distance. If I get attacked, ring the bell and draw her away."

Ding Shi asked, "What about me?"

Blind Zhao said, "She'll only go where the bell rings. She won't chase you."

Ding Shi said, "Deal."

It was late at night. There wasn't a single light visible in the whole village except at the Wang Family home. The villagers had all heard about Grandma Wang, and tonight they had tightly barred their doors. Even the Night Patrol Team had canceled its routine work.

At eleven that night, Ghost Granny appeared before the Wang Family gate. Blind Zhao suddenly remembered something and whispered, "I forgot she has a grandson. She'll go look for her grandson first."

Ghost Granny turned to look at Blind Zhao and Ding Shi. The two hurriedly backed away and pressed themselves against Cuihua's outer wall, avoiding Ghost Granny's line of sight.

After waiting a moment, Blind Zhao and Ding Shi poked their heads out together to look toward the Wang Family gate. What they saw was Ghost Granny right in front of them. Ding Shi nearly screamed, his soul practically leaving his body.

Blind Zhao reacted quickly, throwing the brass bell in his palm behind Ghost Granny. Ghost Granny grabbed Blind Zhao by the throat, but when she heard the bell behind her, she immediately released him and floated toward the sound.

Ding Shi hoisted Blind Zhao onto his shoulder and ran, stopping behind a tree. "What was that? Why did she attack you?"

Blind Zhao caught his breath. "Something on me is somewhat connected to her obsession."

Ding Shi looked Blind Zhao over: a bag and a set of gray clothes. Then he looked at himself. Other than lacking a bag, he was no different from Blind Zhao.

Blind Zhao peeked out, then waved for Ding Shi to follow Ghost Granny while he went to retrieve the bell. The moonlight was good tonight, and visibility was high. The two followed twenty meters behind Ghost Granny, watching her float toward the school.

Ding Shi wanted to curse. Sun Qi, you idiot. I explained it so clearly—how did you still dare shelter Zhao Liu?

The elementary school's teachers' dormitory was a row of four brick-and-stone rooms. Sun Qi's room was the fourth one.

Ghost Granny floated neither fast nor slow to the outside of Sun Qi's room and stood silently at the door. If anyone opened the door and came out now, it would be quite the surprise.

As they waited, Ding Shi pointed at the neck Ghost Granny had grabbed and raised his brows. Was she strong?

Blind Zhao picked up a small branch from the ground and snapped it one-handed, telling Ding Shi that his neck was like that branch in Ghost Granny's hands.

One of Blind Zhao's hands held the bell, his fingers pinning down its clapper. Ding Shi did the same, looking at Blind Zhao to convey the question with his eyes: How long would it stand there?

Blind Zhao shook his head, and the two continued watching from behind the hibiscus tree.

After standing at the door for around ten minutes, Ghost Granny raised her right hand and knocked on the door four times. After waiting a while without a response, she knocked four more times. The sound of a chair falling came from inside. Ghost Granny's hunched back instantly straightened, and her face turned a ghastly green.

Ding Shi whispered into Blind Zhao's ear, "Can they just not open the door?"

Blind Zhao whispered back, "Family. Object of obsession. No."

Ding Shi nodded. Blind Zhao meant that there was a close relative inside the room, as well as something Ghost Granny wanted. With the double BUFF, the door couldn't stop Ghost Granny.

Ghost Granny suddenly turned her head and looked toward the hibiscus tree. The two behind it immediately lowered their heads, as though she wouldn't notice them as long as they didn't look at her.

Perhaps because she was fixated on Zhao Liu, Ghost Granny ignored the two of them and continued knocking, clearly using more force.

Ding Shi felt a little sorry for Sun Qi. How terrified must that girl be right now?