Chapter 119 The Murderous House Case 8
Soon, a slight ‘dark breeze’ blew past and the lights in the room dimmed.
The place they were now in was the ancestral hall. There were five or six rows of tablets in the middle of the room. In front of the tablets was an offering table and a straw futon.
At this time, the area in front of the altar table was shrouded in green light. A girl who looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old appeared there at some unknown time, kneeling on the futon with tears streaming down her face. She was still wearing a red bridal dress. However, in her hair, there were no accessories, just messy and hanging down.
A sarcastic voice sounded, "What marrying to counterattack bad luck for Young Master. On the first day of the marriage, Young Master became even more seriously ill. This is simply a calamity star. Our Chen family is kind-hearted, otherwise it wouldn’t be a simple punishment of kneeling down in the ancestral hall. It’s only right to return her directly to her Yang family!”
Another voice spoke. "Then the Yang Family will never be able to hold their head high again and she won't be able to get married for the rest of her life!"
The sharp voice said, "That's why this old woman says that the Chen Family is kind-hearted. Young Madam, please pray for our Young Master with gratitude! Otherwise, you will be despised when you go back!"
Shu Hua heard this and whispered, "They are ##PUA/##[ PUA is from the American English phrase “pick-up artist.” In Chinese internet slang, the acronym's meaning is much broader: to be “brainwashed” or “deceived.” It's used in the context of relationships, family, or work,], right?"
Jian Cang nodded, "Yes."
However, the seventeen-year-old bride obviously didn't understand this. Scared and sad, she knelt on the futon and cried. She murmured a prayer for Young Master Chen. It seemed that she really felt that it was her fault.
"Meng-er." A hoarse male voice suddenly appeared.
Startled, Yang Meng-er raised her head in panic. Seeing the middle-aged man who seemed to appear out of thin air, she sat down on the ground in fright, "Who are you? Why are you here? Get out of here!"
The middle-aged man looked at her with red eyes, "Meng-er, it's me, Meng Yu."
Yang Meng-er obviously thought he was talking nonsense, "How can it be, Elder Brother Yu? No, how can Meng Yu be so old? Don’t think about lying to me! Leave quickly! Get out of here!"
"Huh?" Jian Cang said, "If Yang Meng-er and Meng Yu were childhood sweethearts, they should be about the same age. This man is almost forty years old?"
Xiang Chen rubbed his chin, "What’s more, Yang Meng-er doesn't know him either."
The man was heard saying, "This might sound a bit bizarre, but I can only stay here for a quarter of an hour. I don't have time to explain it to you in detail. Now I have to tell you something gravely important. You must remember it."
"The Chen Family is cooperating with a rebelling-thief organization called Taiping Dao to study a plague. People infected with this plague will turn into undying poisoned people. Those poisoned people bite everyone they see and those bitten by them will slowly... What's even more frightening is that those poisoned people are mindless and undying. They are completely puppets in the hands of the Chen Family." The middle-aged man looked at Yang Meng-er with tears in his eyes, "They developed two conscious poisoned people. Despite having consciousness, being unable to control yourself makes it more painful.”
Yang Meng-er, who had just married in, obviously didn't quite understand the bizarre things he mentioned and frowned tightly as if she understood and didn’t.
The middle-aged Meng Yu looked at her and continued, "Actually, Young Master Chen is just having trouble having children and isn’t seriously ill at all. The Chen Family bullies you like this to shame your father into never caring about you again. Then you can be at their mercy in the future.”
"You can pay attention and observe whether the Chen Family particularly likes to buy some maids and servants without fathers and mothers, and whether these people always disappear after a while. You will be their target in the future, so you must watch out."
He handed a sandalwood box to Yang Meng-er, "I don't have time to say many things. With your intelligence, you will understand what's inside. You must protect yourself! I will find another way to help you."
After that, the man disappeared.
Yang Meng-er was panicked and at a loss. She tentatively called Elder Brother Yu twice, but no one answered. However, someone outside the room heard a noise and the door behind Jiang Yu and the others was knocked with a loud "dong-dong" sound.
The people in front who were watching intently were startled. They pushed forward in unison as Shu Hua and Jian Cang screamed. Jiang Yu had the same reaction. As a result, she hit the unmoving Qin Shiyu’s back..
Seeing Qin Shiyu turn around, Jiang Yu quickly said, "I'm sorry."
Qin Shiyu didn't say anything. He reached out and grabbed her wrist and put her in front of him. "It's okay."
Jiang Yu blinked. But before she had time to think about it, the sarcastic voice behind them sounded again, "Young Madam, who are you talking to?"
Yang Meng-er received a shock, looked around, and quickly hid the sandalwood box under the altar table.
Fortunately, the old woman didn't come in and just said, "Properly keep guard. I’ll check to see if she is lazy after a while. If she is lazy, report her. The new daughter-in-law needs to be taught the rules!"
After that, the dark wind rose again and the light disappeared again. Jiang Yu knew that this was the time for the NPCs to exit, so she wasn’t that scared. However, she felt a big hand put on her shoulder, conveying a comforting feeling, "It's okay. The last time, there won’t be anything left.”
His tone was still carefree, as if it could dispel the darkness. When the lights came on again, Yang Meng-er had disappeared and everything was restored to its original state. Jiang Yu couldn't help but look back. Qin Shiyu put down his hand and looked down at her, "What?"
Jiang Yu shook her head, "Nothing, thank you."
"You're welcome." Qin Shiyu put his hand in his pocket and walked leisurely to the altar table.
Jiang Yu watched his back and felt something was strange...
"Should be fine?" Shu Hua stared at the memorial tablet and said cautiously.
Ye Yuanyu followed Qin Shiyu and responded, "Should be no more. Let's go."
Jiang Yu immediately put that weird feeling to the back of her mind. Forget it, it wasn't important anyway.
The group checked around the place where Yang Meng-er had just appeared. Shu Hua quickly found a copy of "Chen's Punishment Record" on the edge of the altar table. When she opened it, she saw Yang Meng-er's name: "On 8th April 1919, Mrs. Yang injured Young Master on the wedding night, punished to kneel in the ancestral hall for a day and a night, and is forbidden to eat or drink anything."
……
"Mrs. Yang disrespects her parents-in-law and husband, whipped 20 times according to family rules."
……
"Mrs. Yang produced nothing for a year, punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall and copying Buddhist scriptures fifty times..."
……
Listening to her read out one by one, Xiang Chen frowned, "No wonder she has so many injuries. She hasn't had a stable life since she got married."
Ye Yuanyu said, "So what we just saw was what happened on the second day of her wedding."
"Found it!" Jian Cang got out from under the altar table, holding a sandalwood box in his hand, "It's really well hidden, stuck under the table."
"Is this the sandalwood box that Housekeeper Meng mentioned about?" He shook it. "There is something inside. We have to open it to investigate the truth of the house."
Xiang Chen said, "But based on professional ethics, it seems we shouldn't open it."
Ye Yuanyu said, "What if it contains a virus? What if that Mr. Meng is actually a descendant of the Chen Family and is preparing to make a comeback?"
Shu Hua took the sandalwood box and stated solemnly, "There must be priorities in doing things. As it’s related to the survival of mankind, professional ethics can be put in the back seat. If the Meng Family blame anyone, blame me alone."
Speaking decisively, she opened the box.
【Although the reasoning is correct, I think she is just curious. 】
【Get rid of the ‘I think’. What’s more, it’s not just her. These top students are more curious than ordinary people. 】
Sure enough, they saw other people gathering around to look at the things inside without any hesitation.
The first thing they saw were the two newspapers placed inside.
Xiang Chen picked up one and read to everyone, "C City Evening News: Many living dead suddenly appeared in the city the day before yesterday. These living dead have no consciousness, like the dark and photophobic, and like to attack living people. They have hurt countless people in C City. Please be careful, people of the city. If you encounter these living dead, you can use torches to drive them away or break their heads to save yourself. Be sure not to be bitten, otherwise you will become a living dead..."
"The date of this newspaper is October 5, 1942?" He asked, "What is the date of Yang Meng-er's death?"
Qin Shiyu said without thinking, "July 2, 1922."
【No way, God Yu still remembers? Ye Yuanyu had only recited it once before and he still remembers it now? 】
【Don’t gawk around. Do you think he is us? When checking a verification code, I have to remember it twice. 】
【Hahaha, I'm great, I remember it into parts. 】
【But the date of this newspaper...】
Ye Yuanyu said, "This newspaper is 20 years after Yang Meng-er's death. When Meng Yu gave it to her, she had just married. For her, it’s twenty-two years later."
"So that Meng Yu was from twenty-two years later? No wonder he was so old." Shu Hua held the box and observed, "Time travel? That’s interesting."
Qin Shiyu looked at the other newspaper in Jiang Yu's hand, "What's written in this one?"
Jiang Yunian said, "...the Yamen investigated the living dead incident that has been ravaging City C for nearly a month and captured a pair of conscious mother and son and confirmed that the mother and son were identified as Mrs. Yang, the young madam of the Chen Family, and her son... We have obtained evidence that the living dead this time was a plague studied by the Chen Family. The Chen Family had fled in fear of getting charged with a crime. Chen Dongqing and Mrs. Hu Chen are wanted throughout the province..."
"The time was November 7, 1942." Jiang Yu said, "One month after the incident of the living dead."
Shu Hua frowned, "So Yang Meng-er and her child were still made into undying poisoned people? And were the conscious ones?!"
Ye Yuanyu felt something was amiss, "The logic doesn't make sense. Meng Yu clearly said that Yang Meng-er died mysteriously before the drowning. Also, those Chen Family’s members in the underground laboratory. If the Yamen found out the truth of the matter, those people wouldn’t still exist. …”
Shu Hua rummaged through the box again, "There are other things in here."
She took out a note and read, "In half a year, I will come to the Chen Family as a doctor. If my plan succeeds, I may be able to help you escape. You must be more careful in these six months."
No comments:
Post a Comment