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墨書 Inktalez
Shijia Village, a seemingly ordinary village, became lively one morning due to a well.
Listen, the body was discovered by the Night Watchman.
In the early morning, after finishing his shift, the Night Watchman was heading home when he passed by an ancient well. He heard someone shouting for help from inside, so he leaned over to take a look. To his shock, he saw a woman hanging on the wall of the well. Her head was tilted back, revealing a pale face with eyes devoid of pupils, staring blankly at him.
The Night Watchman screamed in fright, alarming more villagers. Someone reported the incident to the Village Chief, who then called upon the villagers to retrieve the body from the well.
There were two bodies in total, one male and one female. The man was well-known in the area as someone who handled funerals, while the woman looked unfamiliar and did not seem to be from the village. Especially notable was her bright red wedding dress, which no family in the village could afford.
Yin Yuan and Li Mao approached to listen to the villagers' discussions while peering closer. They noticed that the corpse resembled the spirit they had seen last night: long hair, a pale face tinged with a hint of blue, and that strikingly bright red wedding dress.
As the villagers debated, a young Woman approached. She first made a sound of surprise and then muttered to herself, "Isn't this Yun Family's eldest sister who was sentenced to death? I heard she was hastily buried by her family after her death. How did she suddenly end up in our village's well?"
"Eldest Sister Yun! The one who killed someone and then chopped them into meat paste to make dumplings for her fiancé?" The Night Watchman peeked out from between the crowd.
The Village Chief glanced at him, his expression changing: "Dog Er, is this related to you? You’re usually close with that funeral worker. Just last night, someone saw you two whispering in a corner. And now two dead bodies are found in our village's well. Did you have a hand in this?"
"Village Chief... Village Chief... I'm innocent! You've wronged me, Dog Er. This has absolutely nothing to do with me!"
The Village Chief shot him a glare. "Don't come crying innocence in front of me. You might fool others, but not me! You think just because I'm old I can't see clearly? These are people from our own village. What were you plotting with him yesterday? Come out with it; stop hiding and making it mysterious."
Seeing the Village Chief's firm attitude, Dog Er lowered his head and confessed.
"Village Chief, let me clarify that I had no part in this from start to finish. I only told Old Wei, the one lying on the ground—the funeral worker—about many people buried in the forest outside the village. If he wanted to get rich, he could go check it out. You know well that Old Wei used to be involved in such business and is currently short on money, so it's natural he would want to return to his old trade. I thought it would be better for our village; I feared he might disturb our ancestors, so I pointed him towards that graveyard outside."
"Are you trying to get yourself killed? How could you do something so unethical?" The Village Chief kicked Dog Er lightly. "And what about this woman? How does she relate to Yun Family's eldest sister?"
"This—" Dog Er scratched his head vigorously. "Before this, I had no idea she was Yun Family's eldest sister. I was leaving the village on an errand when I happened upon a group carrying a coffin into the woods. They looked unfamiliar but were dressed nicely; out of curiosity, I followed them. You wouldn't believe it; they were very particular about their rituals—scattering paper money and coins along the way—I picked up quite a bit!"
"Hmph! No wonder your grandmother is haunted; it turns out all those coins brought trouble."
The village chief let out a grunt, and Dog Er chuckled, scratching his head.
"What are you laughing at? Hurry up!"
The village chief said this and then raised his foot to kick Dog Er. Dog Er squeezed aside and dodged.
"Chief, don't rush! I didn't plan to follow them deep in, but those people were throwing real money around. It would be a shame not to pick it up, right? So I went after them. They carried the coffin for a long way, almost all the way to the edge of the forest before they stopped. In the end, they dug a pit in the ground and lowered the coffin down."
"That's called grave digging. Do you think it's like raising a dog where you can just dig a hole and lie down for a nap?"
The village chief was annoyed, looking at Dog Er with a gaze that showed some frustration.
Dog Er scratched his head again, chuckling awkwardly, and asked in a hushed voice, "So, Chief, should I continue?"
"Yes!"
"Ah!" Dog Er responded and continued, "I originally thought they would just put the coffin down and bury it, but unexpectedly, they opened it first. Not only did they open it, but they also changed the clothes of the person inside to a bright red outfit. You see, it's the same bridal gown she is wearing now. Besides this bridal gown, they also adorned her with a lot of gold and silver jewelry before burying her. By the way, when they buried her, those people either forgot or did it on purpose; there were no nails on the coffin—just a few talismans stuck on it and some golden lines drawn on it that looked particularly beautiful in the sunlight."
The village chief shot a fierce glance at Dog Er, who continued, "Once that person was buried in the ground, I thought there was nothing more to do. The people who carried the coffin went back as well. Honestly, I wanted to go back with them too, but halfway there I couldn't shake off my worries. So... I turned back. I can't be blamed for this, can I? So many gold and silver jewels were buried with a dead person; what a waste! It would be better to take them out and help this poor guy."
"So you took everything from under the coffin?"
"Well!" Dog Er nodded first and then clarified, "Actually, I didn't take everything; at least I didn't strip her of that big red wedding dress, did I? Just think about it; if I took off that wedding dress and pawned it at a shop, I could get some silver for it! But I can't do such an immoral thing; I can't disgrace your reputation as chief!"
"You still know that I have a reputation?" The village chief patted his own face. "What you've done goes beyond just disgracing me as chief; it's an embarrassment for our entire village! What else did you do? Where are those things? Where did you hide them?"
"I didn't hide anything!" Dog Er said pitifully. "The night after I brought those things back, I had a nightmare where a woman climbed into my bed in the middle of the night. At first, I was quite happy; whether she was human or ghost didn't matter because she was a woman—and quite beautiful too! But when I saw her face, my happiness vanished instantly."
Dog Er pointed at the woman lying on the ground—the eldest sister of the Yun family. "You see her appearance; Chief, she's quite pretty indeed. But after turning into a ghost, she's terrifying—especially her eyes; they're completely white and very eerie. I was startled awake from that dream and was about to go out when I heard my cabinet making noise. Out of curiosity, I reached over to pull it open and guess what? There was actually a ghost face hidden behind that dress—exactly like the one I'd seen in my dream! I fainted right away. As for what happened afterward, you already know—I got followed by that ghost until you and my grandmother went to that temple on the mountain to invite monks to chant scriptures."
"I am not asking about the monk chanting, I am asking about those things you took out from the grave."
"I handed everything over to the monk, letting him help resolve the disaster and perform a rite for her," Dog Er replied, pointing at Sister Yun on the ground. "Village chief, I was just speaking the truth. I gave everything to the monk, not even keeping the coins I picked up on the way. You know me; if I really had something hidden away, why would I be doing this night watch job, right?"
"I don't think you would dare to lie to me. But what about this person? How did they end up with Sister Yun from the Yun family?"
"Isn't it because of poverty?" Dog Er stretched his neck. "Actually, I just told Old Wei that there was a person buried in that grave, and she was a beautiful young lady. Old Wei used to do that kind of thing; he heard that it's currently popular to match with a deceased person's spirit, especially for wealthy families who have lost their sons or daughters and need to find someone of suitable age for marriage. If she's good-looking, it's even more expensive than marrying a living person, so Old Wei set his sights on this."
"That's despicable! You guys are really shameless to do such things! What about that girl? Did you and Old Wei bring her into our village?"
"That's unfair, village chief; I really don't know what happened after that. I just told Old Wei about that place, and then he went by himself. Last night, I saw him in the village; he seemed fine at that time. As for how Old Wei and Sister Yun ended up in our village and fell into this well together, I truly don't know. Oh, right! Around the fourth watch, when I passed by here while on duty, I vaguely saw someone sneaking around by the well. It must have been him."
Upon hearing this, Li Mao, who had been eagerly watching from the sidelines, widened his eyes. He looked down at Yin Yuan, who was squeezed among the crowd, just as she looked up at him. The meaning in her eyes was clear: "Dog Er is talking about you!"
Li Mao's mouth twitched slightly as he lowered his head, afraid that Dog Er would recognize him on the spot. Fortunately, at that moment, someone spoke up—someone whose voice he was very familiar with.
"What’s going on with Sister Yun? How could she be sentenced to death for no reason? Brother Chang, do you know anything about this?"
Xing Ruyi hadn't planned to stay in this village, but as they passed through it, the fox made the carriage stop because Yin Yuan and Li Mao were in the village. The fox's abilities were unquestionable; since it had confirmed that Yin Yuan and Li Mao were present, they must be here. So two carriages and two horses entered the village in grand style, just in time to catch this scene by the ancient well.
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