Xu Rong and her husband kept her in the storeroom, but did not give her any intellectual stimulation.
Her body has grown, but her mind is like that of an infant.
The villagers' reluctance to accept the little ghost's enlightenment stemmed from their desire to better control the ghost and avoid excessive contact that could lead to emotional attachment.
Su Cheng touched the wolf head mask on her face. She had been worried that the ghost child could communicate with the villagers, but now it seemed that she didn't need to worry too much about that.
Since she couldn't get any useful information out of the little devil, Su Cheng glanced at the storage room again, and after confirming that she hadn't left any clues, she turned and left.
After the storage door was closed, the talisman on the door once again kept the Mu Ling out.
Su Cheng listened for a while, and only after confirming that there was no movement outside did she leave the kitchen and quietly return to her room.
She lay in bed, processing the new information she had received.
Why do the villagers raise spirit children? Where do these spirit children come from?
Since ancient times, raising spirit children has mostly been for the purpose of bringing wealth.
But the Lin Family Village became wealthy through coffin-making skills. What's the connection...?
Are these little devils descendants of the villagers? Or did they come through some other means...?
Su Cheng preferred the latter, since most of the people in this village were middle-aged or elderly.
It's unlikely that someone would risk giving birth to a child only to have it turned into a ghost child.
This instance is called " The Coffin Keeper." Does "Coffin Keeper " refer to these ghost children?
No, it doesn't seem like it...
Finally, there's one more crucial point.
Where do the villagers' methods of raising ghosts and the talismans pasted on their doors come from?
Is there a hidden master in this village, or did they acquire the skill from the outside world?
If it's the former, then An Jing, as the village chief, is Su Cheng's primary suspect.
Although An Jing wasn't involved in raising the ghost child, she definitely knew about these things, and perhaps she even arranged it...
It's clear from Su Xiaoxiao's conversation with her about filming the coffin-making process that An Jing is no ordinary person.
Even though she had already made up her mind, she still had to play hard to get before agreeing, all to make Su Xiaoxiao lower her guard.
After all, the village had always refused to disclose the coffin-making process, so why was Su Xiaoxiao an exception? Agreeing directly would only increase suspicion.
An Jing did indeed achieve results exceeding expectations. Su Xiaoxiao and her group did not suspect anything, and were even smug about being able to bribe their way into obtaining the video.
An Jing's mastery of psychological tactics is unparalleled.
With her thoughts in complete disarray, Su Cheng sighed and slowly closed her eyes.
Although many questions remain, once we find the thread connecting them, we can peel back the layers one by one...
*
The next morning, Su Cheng got up on time, and Su Xiaoxiao and the others also went out one after another.
"Xiaoxiao, you don't look well."
"Don't even mention me, you look so listless too. Su Zhou still isn't up? That guy must have been playing games all night! A-Yang, go wake him up."
Keke kept yawning, as if she hadn't slept all night, and her eyes were a little blurry.
Su Xiaoxiao wasn't much better off; because she needed to be on camera, she had to wear heavy makeup to cover up her poor complexion.
If it weren't for something extremely important happening today, they would definitely be lying in their rooms taking a long nap.
Su Cheng knew it was because of the bed, but she still asked, "Didn't you guys sleep well?"
Keke rubbed her eyes sleepily, "I was sleeping soundly, but I don't know why I'm so sleepy..."
Su Xiaoxiao patted her on the shoulder, "Cheer up, we still have tasks to complete today."
In just a few words, Zhou Yang had already woken Su Zhou up.
Su Zhou had dark circles under his eyes and looked listless, as if he had been drained of all his energy all night...
Of the group, only Su Cheng and Zhou Yang were in the most normal condition.
Su Cheng glanced at Zhou Yang a few more times, only to find that this quiet and reserved boy was handing a hot coffee to Su Xiaoxiao...
After the group went downstairs, Xu Rong busied herself setting out breakfast on the table.
Sitting at the table was a tall, burly, unfamiliar middle-aged man. Seeing the group come down, he swallowed the meat bun in his mouth and gave them a simple, honest smile.
"I was called here by the village chief to show you how coffins are made. Everyone calls me Zhuangzi, so you can call me that too."
As his name suggests, he is 1.9 meters tall, and when he puts on a heavy cotton coat, he looks like a wall of flesh.
"Hello, my surname is Su. Thank you for your help."
Su Xiaoxiao lowered her chin slightly.
Su Cheng sat down, picked up a meat bun, took a bite, and found the scallion and meat filling to be very fragrant.
Since Zhuangzi ate it, it means there was nothing else mixed in with the meat bun.
Zhuangzi was an extroverted person. After getting to know several people, he shared the history of Lin Family Village.
"Actually, ten years ago, our Lin Family Village was just a backward little village. Do you see that field at the entrance of the village? Ten years ago, it was a large rice paddy..."
"Until the former village chief, who was also Sister An's husband, passed away from lung cancer, Sister An developed the back mountain. She learned from city dwellers how to make coffins from the wood in the back mountain and led everyone to prosperity..."
" Sister An is a great benefactor to everyone in our village."
After finishing the last meat bun, Zhuangzi squinted his eyes contentedly and laughed loudly at Xu Rong at the counter, "Sister, your buns are still so delicious!"
Xu Rong smiled and waved her hand, exchanging a few polite words with him.
Zhuangzi glanced at the clock on the wall. "Have you all had breakfast? If you have, let's set off. Everyone's started making the coffins now..."
Su Xiaoxiao took a sip of coffee, perked up, and said, "Let's go."
After the group left the hotel, the bustling dining room instantly fell silent.
Zhang Cheng came out of the kitchen. "They're all gone?"
Xu Rong quickly cleared the table. "Mm."
Zhang Cheng lowered his voice, his face grim, "She refuses to eat the Tribute. She's never done this in years. Something must have happened last night!"
Xu Rong's expression changed drastically, "The things in the stove..."
"It hasn't moved; it's still there, perfectly fine."
Xu Rong touched the key ring at her waist. "I locked the door last night, and the key has been on me the whole time... If someone came to steal the key, we would at least notice."
Zhang Cheng: "To be on the safe side, we should report it. This is the first time in years that we've stopped accepting Tribute!"
Xu Rong nodded, recalling how exhausted the others had looked earlier.
"Keep a close eye on that boy named Zhou Yang. He might have used some method to sneak into the kitchen last night. Compared to the others, he doesn't seem to have been affected much."
"Okay, I'll report it all together later..."
Early morning is a busy time for the villagers of Lin Family Village. Every household has its doors open, some are eating breakfast, and others are feeding their livestock in the sheds...
The various sounds mingled together, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.
Zhuangzi led a group of people at the front.
"Originally, Sister An planned to come in person, but several strange things have happened in the village these past few days, and she's been held back."
Su Cheng's eyes flickered slightly. "Strange?"
Zhuangzi turned around and found that it was the girl at the very end who spoke, "Yes, there are always a few days every month when chickens and ducks are killed in their pen at night."
"Those chickens and ducks all have two sharp fangs on their necks; they've been sucked dry..."
A note from the author:
none
Chapter 48
Keke got goosebumps listening to this. "Could it be wild animals from the mountains coming to steal our food? Like snakes, weasels, or something..."
Da Zhuang scratched the back of his head. "It's hard to say, but Sister An will handle it."
After Da Zhuang for about twenty minutes, the group gradually moved away from the houses and stopped in front of a small factory.
A large truck was standing at the factory gate, but it was not loaded with goods at the time.
The factory was filled with the buzzing of chainsaws cutting wood and the loud voices of villagers talking.
Zhuangzi stopped Su Xiaoxiao, who was about to enter, "Wait a moment. You can't just go in there. I'll ask Old Zhao to take you in."
Zhuangzi showed no intention of entering the factory. Shortly after he made a phone call, a short man came out of the factory.
After Zhuangzi and Old Zhao handed over the work, Old Zhao glanced at the camera in Zhou Yang's hand and politely led the group into the factory.
He instructed, "Don't wander around. Everyone's busy. You can take pictures, but don't interfere with their work."
Su Cheng walked at the very back, then called out to Mu Ling, asking her to follow behind.
Su Cheng wanted to take a look at the factory from a ghost's perspective; maybe she'd make some new discoveries.
Beyond the factory gate, the sound of sawing wood became even more piercing. Some villagers were carrying logs, others were sawing and removing splinters, and still others were drying and painting the wood...
Each component has a clear division of labor, and like an assembly line, they go through a series of procedures to turn raw wood into a coffin.
Amidst the orderly scene, Su Cheng witnessed a different picture.
Each villager who participated in the event had a giggling little ghost child sitting on their back.
They were all wearing matching red bibs, surrounded by a gray, deathly aura. Their small, white, lotus-root-like hands either encircled the villagers' necks or their heads.
Some were sleeping, some were laughing...
Several little ghost children saw the drifting Mu Ling and instinctively wanted to run away, but were bound by some kind of constraint and could only stay with the villagers.
The ghost child could only cling tightly to the villagers in fear, but its round eyes couldn't help but curiously observe...
The villagers seemed completely unaware of the ghost child possessing them.
Why do villagers carry the ghost child with them when making coffins?
Su Cheng's gaze swept over the pile of wooden planks on the ground, and she understood something... but she couldn't be sure.
Su Xiaoxiao had Zhou Yang film the footage, while simultaneously taking out a voice recorder and asking Lao Old Zhao, "As far as I know, coffins are usually made of cypress, nanmu, sandalwood, etc., but yours doesn't seem to be any of those..."
Old Zhao nodded, "We use locust wood here."
"Sophora wood?"
Before Su Xiaoxiao could react, Zhou Yang frowned and murmured.
Su Cheng glanced at Zhou Yang, who had been quiet all along; it seemed the other knew something.
Old Zhao glanced at Zhou Yang and continued, "This locust wood was all transported from the back mountain by us. Our locust wood is different from others; it's most suitable for making coffins."