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墨書 Inktalez
"No, no, no, you must have misunderstood..." The old man hurriedly waved his hands, trying to explain as he noticed my fierce expression.
At that moment, the sky had darkened. I glanced at Haoyang, who looked somewhat uneasy, and my anger flared. I shouted, "Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?! If it weren't for you, the townspeople wouldn't have fallen ill and died, and my friend wouldn't be in danger!"
Seeing my fury, Li Zhisheng quickly grabbed my arm and said, "Calm down; maybe this farmer isn't the Blood Farmer."
"Who else could it be? I found that bleeding cabbage in his basket! Isn't that proof enough?!"
"Come on, why won't you listen to others?" The old man appeared anxious but didn't know how to explain himself. As I prepared to draw my weapon, he stomped his feet in frustration.
I began to doubt myself; could it be that he really wasn't the Blood Farmer? Or was he just trying to pull a trick?
Thinking this over, I tried to suppress my emotions and frowned. "Fine, I'll hear you out. But if you're trying to play any tricks, I won't let you off easily." I remained vigilant, watching the old man closely for any suspicious movements.
The old man looked around the well area and, seeing no one nearby, waved us over. "This isn't a good place to talk; let's go inside..." He led us to a nearby thatched hut.
As soon as we entered, the aroma of cooked food wafted through the air. We three hadn't eaten a single grain of rice all day and were now starving.
"The situation isn't what you think. Please sit down; I'll explain everything slowly." After hearing this, I scrutinized the old man standing before us. He seemed normal and didn't exhibit any strange behavior, which eased my tension slightly.
I sat down at a square wooden table in the hut and slammed Jiang Ling down on the table while staring intently at the old man. Li Zhisheng and Haoyang also took their seats beside me. At this point, Haoyang looked pale and seemed on the verge of illness.
The old man remained standing in front of us, sighed deeply, and said helplessly, "I really am not the Blood Farmer; I'm also a victim... I don't know why you're so interested in the Blood Farmer, but I swear I haven't harmed anyone..."
Just then, the fabric door curtain of the inner room was pulled aside, and a woman's voice called out, "Is there someone at home?" Following her voice, the middle-aged woman I had seen at the market stepped out from within.
She looked at me with a hint of surprise before saying, "I remember you. Aren't you the one who asked me about the Blood Farmer? What are you doing here..."
At this moment, I was just as confused. Could these two be married? But their previous behavior didn’t seem like that of a couple at all...
While I was pondering, she asked me a question, and I felt compelled to answer. I patiently replied, "Ever since I learned about the Blood Farmer from both of you last time, we became very interested and decided to investigate further. However, we didn't expect there would be such deep secrets here."
Upon hearing my explanation, the middle-aged woman’s expression darkened suddenly. I couldn't tell if I had said something wrong or if I had crossed some taboo. With a frown, she turned without another word and went back inside.
I exchanged glances with Li Zhisheng, completely bewildered. He seemed just as lost as I was.
The old man slowly lowered his head, clasping his hands behind his back. He sighed softly and said, "You don't know the whole story. Earlier, when I mentioned that Her Son had died, that was actually my son..."
"What?!" I exclaimed in surprise.
"This is a long story. We were once a couple, but due to certain circumstances, we got divorced, and she took care of our son. I lived alone, but for some reasons, we got back together and were preparing to remarry when our son...," he trailed off, his wrinkled eyes shimmering with tears that he quickly wiped away with his sleeve.
Listening to him, I felt uncertain. I recalled how I had just accused him of being a Blood Farmer and felt a twinge of guilt. Yet, my doubts about him weren't entirely dispelled; I worried this might be an act he was putting on for us.
"I have a question that I'm not sure if I should ask..." I hesitated to speak.
"Go ahead; there's no need to hold back. After all, it was my wife who brought you into this matter. If anyone should take responsibility, it should be us."
"Then I'll be straightforward: Is your son's death related to the Blood Farmer?"
The old man nodded slightly and pulled over a stool to sit against the wall. He lit up a homemade cigarette and took a deep drag before saying, "The Blood Farmer is actually a rumor that started during a famine years ago. People have only heard stories about it but have never seen what the real Blood Farmer is like. However, the older generation loves to use these tales to scare the young ones. They say if you don't work hard, there will be famine, and then the Blood Farmer will come out to harvest people..."
He took a deep drag from his cigarette and continued, "Back then, I was young and often went to the city, so I didn't believe any of it. In fact, I found it quite annoying. At that time, some young people who had never left the village were terrified by these rumors. Many even fled to escape the so-called Blood Farmer and refused to come back, leaving the village without any able-bodied men."
"In the beginning, I didn't want to get involved, but the village chief was very worried about the situation. He asked me to dispel the rumors and encourage everyone not to believe in them..."
He paused for a moment, flicking the nearly burnt-out cigarette butt to the ground and extinguishing it with his foot. "That's when things started with my attempts to clear things up... At first, it went smoothly; most people were willing to believe me. But there was one family that refused to accept that the Blood Farmer didn't exist, no matter what I said."
"Later on, I had several arguments with them over this matter, and we almost came to blows..."
Hearing this, I thought to myself, could the real Blood Farmer be from that old man's family? Just then, Haoyang beside me suddenly made a gurgling sound from his throat, as if something was stirring inside him.
I quickly turned to look at him and saw his face pale as death, his eyes wide with terror. At that moment, I could no longer contain my impatience to hear the old man's story. I hurriedly asked, "Old man, where is that family you mentioned?! Are they the Blood Farmers?!"
The old man shook his head and replied, "I don't know if they are or not; I can't know anymore because that whole family is dead..."
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