Gravestones┃Everyone froze. "What for?" Make Black Granny die of anger??

You Huo asked, "Have guests come here before?"

The woman nodded. "They have. Much like you, I suppose. They always came in groups."

You Huo said, "What happened to them afterward?"

For a moment, the woman looked lost. Then she shook her head and said, "I don't think... I ever saw them leave."

The examinees who had just crossed the river nearly fell in when they heard that.

Qin Jiu walked over to You Huo and lowered his head slightly. "You really are a genius at getting friendly with people."

You Huo: "..."

He was about to retort when the iron basin in the male villager's hands suddenly fell onto the ice with a clang.

The two looked over. The man stared into You Huo's eyes for a few seconds, then stared at Qin Jiu for a few more. Slowly, he said, "I think... I've seen you somewhere before."

You Huo was taken aback. "Who? Us?"

Chapter 22: Gravestones┃Everyone froze. "What for?" Make Black Granny die of anger??

"Yes, I've seen you before." The male villager grabbed You Huo's hand.

His palm was rough as sandpaper, scraping painfully against You Huo's skin. It was hard and cold, too.

You Huo pulled his hand back, his expression grim.

"Where did you see us?" he asked, flexing his wrist.

The male villager stood where he was, thinking blankly for a couple of seconds. Then, as if he hadn't heard the question, he repeated, "I'm sure I've seen you... I've seen you before."

"Oh, here he goes again." The woman who had been about to chip through the ice put down her tool and sighed. "Don't mind him. He has this problem."

"What do you mean?"

"There's something wrong up here." The woman pointed to her head and explained, "It comes and goes. When he has an episode, he likes to grab people and say, 'You look familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before?' Otherwise, he asks them, 'Do you know me? Do you remember me?'"

No sooner had she finished speaking than the male villager grabbed Qin Jiu and asked in a low voice, "You know me. Do you remember me?"

Qin Jiu: "..."

"See?" the woman said. "That's what he does."

"How did he go mad?" Qin Jiu asked.

The woman thought back for a moment, then shook her head and said quietly, "He's always been like this."

She called out, and the other two people drawing water by the river came over. They took the male villager by the arms, one on each side.

"Take him back first," the woman said. "He'll probably be like this for a while."

The two fellow villagers nodded and dragged the man toward the house.

As they dragged him away, the man grabbed Yu Wen, who was closest to him, and struggled as he said, "I've seen you before. I really have."

His skin was ashen, and his face was covered in dry wrinkles, especially around his mouth and eyes. A few gray hairs streaked his temples, giving him a somewhat careworn look.

Yu Wen was startled, but he also felt a little sorry for him.

He said, "Do you have to drag him like that? How about I help you?"

The two villagers shook their heads. "It's all right, no need. We're used to it. He's very strong when he goes mad; you wouldn't be able to support him. We can only drag him like this. Besides..."

One of them said bluntly, "You're Black Granny's guests. We... well, we don't much welcome strangers into our homes."

Soon, the male villager was dragged into a red-roofed house. Once the door closed, there was no more sound.

The episode left everyone exchanging looks.

But these villagers were the equivalent of NPCs in a game. It was hard to say whether what happened between NPCs was part of a fixed daily storyline. Before they understood what was going on, it would be unwise to interfere rashly.

So everyone watched without acting rashly.

You Huo committed the house to memory before looking away.

They had chatted for quite a while, but they hadn't gotten any closer. The big shot had lost his patience. He stopped beating around the bush and asked outright, "Does anyone here understand Romani?"

The woman had resumed chipping at the ice.

She raised her hand high and brought the tool crashing down onto the ice, sending up a layer of fragments.

Each blow carried a fierce force.

The sight was inexplicably frightening, as if she would have chipped down just as hard even if a person were lying there.

She struck several more times, then shook her head. "No. Nobody understands it."

"But the village chief said Black Granny worked with the dead. If nobody understands Romani, how do you communicate with her and ask her to do the work?" Old Yu couldn't help asking.

The woman said, "It's always guests who come looking for her. We don't need her services. Besides, she wasn't alone before. There was a Russian and a few children. They didn't always speak Romani."

A Russian? Children?

Everyone felt they had hit on something important and grew excited at once. "Were they Black Granny's family?"

The woman nodded. "I suppose so."

"Where are they? Where did they go?"

The woman shook her head. "They left. I don't know where they went. Maybe they went home? Anyway, they suddenly disappeared."

"Does anyone know?"

The woman shook her head again. "No. None of us dared ask too many questions about Black Granny."

Everyone grew dejected again.

You Huo glanced at the setting sun in the distance and asked, "Are there any graves here?"

The woman's hand stopped chipping at the ice.

She was quiet for a long while. Then she suddenly looked up at everyone and smiled.

The smile brought her face to life, but it also made their skin crawl.

She clumsily raised her hand and pointed at random. "See those woods?"

Everyone looked around.

The woods stretched on in a tight, unbroken circle, enclosing the entire mountain village.

The woman smiled and said, "The woods are graves. This whole circle of woods... it's all graves."

The setting sun sank completely behind the woods, and the last of its glow vanished.

Without anyone noticing, darkness had fallen.

The woman looked up and hurriedly picked up her iron bucket.

"Wait." You Huo grabbed her.

The woman struggled a couple of times. "What are you doing?! It's dark. Let go of me! I have to go home!"

She was far stronger than You Huo had expected. Caught off guard, he actually let her break free.