Come into My House, and I'll Tell You Everything

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"": ""Yiren is sick... You scared her sick as soon as she entered the village. She isn't feeling well... Yiren is my cousin. I'm her cousin. How are we not family? We couldn't be more closely related. Would I hurt Yiren?! Zhu Qianqian is also my college classmate. We're on the same archaeological team..."

Zhang Li's defense came to an abrupt halt. He scanned the crowd intently, then met Zhong Zhicheng's eyes.

"I'm asking you why she didn't come." Zhong Zhicheng questioned him again. "Did you do something to her? Or did you tie her up, as the villagers just said?"

"Yiren is sick." Zhang Li's voice was hoarse, his expression resolute.

Luo Bin shook his head slightly by the roadside.

Zhang Li had been led into a trap.

Or perhaps it wasn't really a trap, because Zhang Li himself knew that tying Gu Yiren up would cause problems.

That was why, on the night of the Village Tour, Gu Yiren's ropes had been untied when they later got out of the vehicle to seek help.

Now that someone had pointed it out and the Village Chief was questioning him directly, nothing Zhang Li said would matter. As long as that fact stood, he was almost certainly finished.

"She's sick, so you have to tie her up? Is that what you mean?" Zhong Zhicheng narrowed his eyes, his tone sharply accusatory.

"It's not an ordinary illness. She has epilepsy. She talks nonsense and hallucinates. If I don't tie her up, what if she opens the door at night?" Veins bulged as Zhang Li spoke.

The villagers, who had been shouting in righteous indignation a moment earlier, suddenly fell silent.

"You don't know anything about Yiren! I'm doing this for her own good! Even before we came to this village, she had to be tied up when she had an episode at home. It's because the people here are so heartless, because this place is so bizarre, that she was scared into having an episode!" Zhang Li waved his arm and jabbed fiercely ahead, practically roaring. Spittle flew from his mouth, making even the Village Chief frown and retreat a couple of steps.

"I mean... could it be possible that this Gu Yiren had an episode and did or said something that made this woman leave the house? Gu Yiren happened to be dragged home yesterday, and this woman disappeared yesterday too. It's not easy for someone to disappear from our village in broad daylight, unless she deliberately hid from everyone. Then last night, she encountered an evil spirit and died?" A girl with waist-length hair in the roadside crowd ventured the suggestion.

Luo Bin recognized her at once. It was Chen Xianxian.

But Chen Xianxian seemed to look a little different today. The last two times he had seen her, her hair had fallen over her shoulders, loosely gathered behind her back. Today, she wore it in a long ponytail draped over her chest. She held it lightly in one hand, looking somewhat nervous.

There was another subtle difference: a small mole at the corner of her mouth.

Had he failed to notice that mole before?

"That's baseless speculation! Zhu Qianqian was tricked into going out by someone in the village! That has to be what happened! She knew perfectly well that Yiren talks nonsense, that Yiren was having an episode!" Zhang Li immediately shot back.

"Chen Xianxian makes a lot of sense!"

"Village Chief, this could be a small matter or a big one. At best, only one person has died. At worst, what if another Village Tour happens someday? What if Gu Yiren is staying with everyone and opens the door? Epilepsy? Isn't that just madness? We can't keep this woman around!"

"Exactly! She's already gotten her own companion killed. We can't keep her!"

The villagers' overlapping chatter once again became a unified chorus of shouts.

Luo Bin's hand clenched awkwardly, then loosened, several times over.

Zhang Li had taken things too far.

Questioned by the villagers and the Village Chief, he had tried to fob them off by saying Gu Yiren was ill.

He might even have hoped to use that to isolate Gu Yiren from the villagers.

His earlier return and the things he had said to Luo Bin had made that intention clear.

He had a secret!

At the very least, Gu Yiren had revealed some sort of secret to him.

He didn't want anyone else to know!

But now he had directed both the accusations and the fuse straight at Gu Yiren.

Useless... all you can do is rage... Luo Bin cursed inwardly.

It was a classic case of someone who wasn't smart enough insisting on trying to be clever.

"Gu Yiren will be placed in the Spirit Medium's custody for now, so she doesn't endanger the villagers again. I'll consider how to deal with her," Zhong Zhicheng said.

"You!" Zhang Li blanched and suddenly stepped forward.

Old Kong, Luo Feng, and several other men were already beside him. They immediately seized his arms and forced him down, driving him straight to his knees.

Then Zhong Zhicheng set off in one direction.

Luo Feng and Old Kong marched Zhang Li along under restraint. The other men followed the Village Chief, with the villagers trailing behind.

Zhang Li kept struggling and cursing, calling them savages and the village a den of bandits.

Traces of fear also showed in his eyes.

Luo Bin jogged up behind Luo Feng.

Most of the villagers still treated him indifferently, and some even kept their distance, so he easily reached Luo Feng's side.

"Xiao Shan, don't get any closer. This has nothing to do with you." Luo Feng gave Luo Bin a sidelong glance, his voice cold.

"I know, Dad. I'm just coming along to watch." Luo Bin nodded.

"Luo, your boy's decent enough. He's sensible, but he's too quick to show kindness. This isn't something he can meddle in." Old Kong glanced at Luo Bin too.

Luo Bin felt a little embarrassed. He knew that his attempt to let Zhang Li and the others into the house on the night of the Village Tour had left them with that impression.

They soon passed a certain spot.

It was an alley about two meters wide, stretching a long way in both directions. One side was the wall of someone's courtyard, with just a single door near the middle.

A burlap sack lay by the roadside.

Luo Bin froze. The sack was still here? Nobody had picked it up?

Then again, the villagers could barely look after themselves. Who would come sweep the roads for no reason?

Almost instinctively, Luo Bin picked up the sack, folded it over a few times, and clutched it in his hand before quickly catching up with Luo Feng.

"This is where you got beaten?" Luo Feng asked.

"Uh... the first time..." Luo Bin explained quietly.

For some inexplicable reason, Luo Bin felt as though someone was watching him.

He turned to glance behind him, but there were only villagers following in twos and threes. No one was deliberately staring at him.

The door had opened briefly, though, and he had seen a figure slip inside.

Luo Bin remembered clearly that this was Chen Xianxian's home. Apparently, the girl didn't want to watch the commotion?

A few minutes later, they reached the edge of the bamboo grove.

Zhong Zhicheng and several men entered the courtyard and soon dragged Gu Yiren out of a room.

Her hands were bound tightly, and there was another rope around her feet. She probably had only about three meters of space to move in.

All the villagers looked at Gu Yiren strangely, with traces of coldness and disgust, as though they were looking at a dead person.

Zhang Li had stopped cursing. His voice had gone hoarse halfway through, and Old Kong hadn't indulged him, either, giving him several blows to the head.

Now Zhang Li's eyes were bloodshot. He looked utterly dejected, with a trace of despair.

Zhong Zhicheng led her away by the rope, with only two or three men following him.

This time, the villagers

did not follow.

"Don't follow them. The Spirit Medium doesn't like the villagers getting too close," Luo Feng said at just the right moment, warning Luo Bin.

Luo Bin nodded slightly and silently noted that detail: the Spirit Medium had a bad temper.

Then Luo Feng and Old Kong shoved Zhang Li forward. He stumbled and fell into the courtyard. By the time he climbed up, his eyes were even more bloodshot, and he made as if to charge out.

Old Kong raised his palm and made two threatening swings.

Zhang Li stood trembling where he was, instinctively covering his head, but he didn't dare take another step forward.

"Kid, the Village Chief is saving you. Stop going on about how close you are to your cousin. Lust will get you killed. You've poured your heart and soul into her, so keep a close eye on her. One of these days, she'll invite an evil spirit inside, and it really will rip your heart and guts out. You're still young. You should listen to advice." Old Kong offered a few extra words, and they were sincere enough.

"Let's go, Old Kong." Luo Feng looked indifferent, then nodded to Luo Bin.

Apart from his family, he seemed to treat everyone with that same indifference.

The villagers pointed and commented a little more, then gradually dispersed.

Naturally, Luo Bin couldn't linger, so he left with Luo Feng.

Before long, the group passed through that alley again.

No one noticed that the door stood slightly ajar.

Behind the crack stood Chen Xianxian, furtively watching the crowd pass.

When Luo Bin passed in particular, Chen Xianxian cocked her ear to listen for sounds inside the room.

Faintly, she heard laughter.

The crack in the doorway abruptly closed.

Only after a very, very long time did the door open again.

Chen Xianxian walked toward the bamboo grove with light steps.

She had actually been in the village for three years, not the one year she had claimed to Zhu Qianqian.

She and her older sister had originally depended on each other to survive.

Later, her sister had been killed by an evil spirit, which had also pulled off the nail of her left little finger.

She didn't dare let the villagers find out. Unable to bear seeing her sister burned, she had chained her in the cellar beneath the room.

As twins, they looked almost identical.

So she occasionally dressed as her older sister, Chen Xianxian, and walked along the village roads.

Her sister... hadn't had a particularly good reputation in the village.

Of course, there were two sides to that. The women all hated her sister, while the men liked her, because her sister was a woman who bestowed her favors freely.

Her sister was ill. This was a peculiar compulsion of hers.

So she had taken advantage of that, finding quite a lot of food for her sister over the years.

She didn't dare be too blatant, either. Often, she found other ways to trick people into coming home with her.

For example, newcomers like Zhu Qianqian were the easiest to lull into lowering their guard.

Luo Bin's passing had made her sister react again, even in daylight. She had to find a way to lure Luo Bin over.

But there was another opportunity right in front of her, and she couldn't let it slip away.

A few minutes later, Chen Xianxian stopped in front of the courtyard. Zhang Li sat below the threshold of the main room, hugging his knees.

A grown man, actually wiping away tears.

"Men shed blood, not tears. Stop crying," Chen Xianxian called.

Zhang Li looked up, his eyes fierce and furious.

"It's you?! You're the one who just set Yiren up!"

Zhang Li suddenly sprang to his feet!

Chen Xianxian wound her ponytail tightly around her finger and lightly bit part of her lip before saying, "It's only natural. Even if I didn't suspect her, someone else would. But I suddenly remembered something. I think I saw someone walking with him and that short-haired girl who died."

"Come to my house, and I'll tell you everything in detail," Chen Xianxian added earnestly.

"Who?!" Zhang Li's expression changed sharply, and he pressed her. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?!"

"I hadn't remembered! I was just sitting at home thinking about this, and it suddenly came to me, so I came to find you right away," Chen Xianxian explained.

"Come to my house. I'll take my time and explain it all clearly." As she spoke, she walked gracefully into the courtyard.