Zhang Family Village

"Grandpa, is this Zhang Family Village? What happened?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Zelin did not leave, but continued to support the other person as they walked towards the village.

Seeing that Fang Zelin showed no sign of leaving, the old man's face immediately showed displeasure. "I told you to leave, so why are you so stubborn?"

"This is Zhang Family Village, that's true, but there's no one like you here."

Seeing the old man's anxious appearance, Fang Zelin was certain that something had definitely happened in the village.

He nodded slightly and said, "Grandpa, I'll help you inside, and then I'll leave."

Hearing this, the old man's expression relaxed slightly. He looked up at the sky and said, "Then you should head back as soon as possible. In these times, it's not easy to travel at night."

"I've heard the streets have been quite unsafe lately."

The old man mumbled on and on for a while, Fang Zelin, knowing the old man was kind-hearted, simply listened quietly.

After helping the old man into a thatched hut, Fang Zelin looked around and frowned.

"Grandpa, you live here?"

At first glance, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the house was completely bare.

The walls were made of loess, and the roof was covered with a little thatch.

A few patches of light could be seen falling into the house through the thatched roof; if it rained, the thatched roof would hardly be able to keep out the rain.

"Yes, I'm sorry you had to see this."

The old man groped his way to sit down and then gave Fang Zelin a forced smile.

"Don't mention it, sir. Let me help you repair your house."

Fang Zelin spoke, without waiting for the other party to refuse, he immediately found tools to prepare to repair the structure.

Summer brings heavy rains, and if we don't repair it properly, the house will be flooded by the downpours.

Lacking sufficient tools, Fang Zelin simply took out a tael of silver and bought some materials from the village carpenter.

Amidst the clanging and banging sounds, the roof was repaired.

The arrival of unfamiliar faces in the village immediately attracted the attention of the villagers.

When a group of people stood at a distance, watching Fang Zelin lying on the roof, clanging and banging as he repaired it, everyone's expression was somewhat strange.

It was only then that Fang Zelin noticed that almost everyone left in the village was an elderly person, and there were no children at all.

What happened?

Fang Zelin noticed this and frowned, feeling a little puzzled.

Fang Zelin only came down from the roof after the house was repaired.

They had barely come down when the old man said anxiously, "I told you to leave quickly, it's almost dark, how are you going to get away?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Zelin glanced around; the sun was indeed about to set.

"It's alright, I'll just sleep in Zhang Family Village for the night. If there aren't any rooms, I'll sleep on the ground outside. It's not winter yet, so I won't get cold."

He wanted to see what was going on in Zhang Family Village, and why he couldn't just leave like that.

Hearing Fang Zelin's words, the old man looked helpless.

"You can stay here tonight. Don't move. I'll go get some food from the others to treat you."

"No need for you to trouble yourself, sir. I have a few biscuits with me."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zelin quickly called out, seeing how poor the other person looked, Fang Zelin didn't want them to bother with such food.

Upon hearing this, the old man turned around shakily and glanced at Fang Zelin. Seeing Fang Zelin's serious expression, he hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Alright, the village really doesn't have anything to offer you, so you can bring your own food."

After he finished speaking, the old man and the other villagers left one after another.

That's strange, were we having dinner together?

They looked like they were discussing something important.

Fang Zelin felt a little strange seeing that everyone seemed to have something to discuss.

Once no one was outside, Fang Zelin quietly left the house and followed them.

"No, you can't touch this person! This has nothing to do with him, how can you lay a hand on him?"

Inside the ancestral hall, the flickering candlelight cast long shadows on everyone.

The shadows swayed and danced wildly, like a horde of demons.

Fang Zelin had only gotten a little closer when he heard the sounds coming from the ancestral hall.

Hearing this voice, Fang Zelin couldn't help but frown.

"It's better for an outsider to die than for anyone else in our village to die!"

"Exactly, you need to think this through. He's an outsider; we need to consider our own people in the village."

The sound of arguing broke out, accompanied by coughing.

"Do you really think that by constantly sending people over there, your children will come back to life?"

The old man coughed a few times and said heavily, "I'm afraid that in the end, you will all end up with nothing but bones."

As soon as the words were spoken, someone shouted sharply, "Old Zhang, how could you, a bachelor without even a child, possibly understand our feelings? Even if there's just a tiny chance, we can't stand idly by!"

"Exactly! The person lying in the room isn't your child, of course you don't feel sorry for them, but they are our child!"

The shouts of condemnation rose, causing the candlelight to flicker even more violently.

Fang Zelin stood guard not far away, his brow furrowing as he listened to the sounds coming from inside the house.

"Child?"

When we were in the village, I didn't see any other children.

It seems that something has indeed happened.

"Well, I'll go tonight then. Anyway, I'm an old bachelor, getting on in years and getting weak. I'm afraid you've already started eyeing me for a while now."

Old Zhang, leaning on his cane, said in a deep voice.

Such a major incident has occurred in the village, and to this day, no one has been able to send him away.

Being able to go this far shows that these people have at least a little conscience.

However, such a conscience cannot last long.

Old Zhang knew this in his heart, but fortunately, he had nothing to worry about.

He took a liking to this young man who came today, and was willing to protect him this once.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the ancestral hall fell silent, and no one uttered a sound.

In fact, they had already been secretly plotting against each other as early as today.

Every family has members to support, so no matter who is chosen, there will be family members who are unwilling.

But Old Zhang has no children or spouse.

If they choose the other side, even if the other side resists, they can still handle this old man.

But now, if the other party is willing to go on their own, that's fine too.

To avoid them ending up with a murder charge against them.

"Old Zhang, you went of your own volition, we didn't force you!"

Someone nearby felt uneasy, but still spoke up.

Old Zhang didn't say anything upon hearing this, but walked towards the door with his cane, and the others immediately followed.