Zhang Yuanzhong swallowed hard and hastened to explain before Xu San could question him.
"No, Mr. Xu San, it’s not that I ant to conceal it. It’s just that this happened so long ago, I didn’t know it was related to here!"
"Then why are you not explaining quickly!" Xu San rebuked sharply.
Zhang Yuanzhong wiped his sweat with his sleeve and hurriedly recalled, "The first ti Ying Niang told about dreaming of an ancient house at the bottom of the lake filled with stone monsters was ten years ago, right when my eldest son was born. Won, after giving birth, tend to have wild thoughts during confinent, and it’s normal to have strange dreams, isn’t it?"
"Ying Niang was uneasy then, so she prayed to their Pinghu Village’s ’Qingjiang Envoy’ to protect our eldest son, but it was useless; she still had those strange dreams every now and then. Whenever she woke up from the dreams, our eldest son would cry non-stop. Actually, I went to the county governnt to find the Sun Traveling Lord of that ti, but... Mr. Xu San, you know, it’s just won having strange dreams; without any deaths, who would bother with ."
"Ying Niang and I pray to different Ghost Gods. After Ying Niang married , I wanted her to pray with to the ’Suoweng’ that people in Bailong County worship, but she refused. We argued a lot over this, and finally, she said we should each pray to our own, without interfering with each other."
"So I said to Ying Niang at that ti, just try praying to ’Suoweng’. Won, after having children, always put their children above everything else. It was for our eldest son that she broke the ancestral rules of Pinghu Village and offered three sticks of incense to ’Suoweng’. And let tell you, it actually worked!"
"After she prayed, she no longer had the strange dreams, and our eldest son grew up safely to the age of four. Then Ying Niang got pregnant again with our second daughter. After giving birth, during confinent, she had several dreams again about the ancient house and stone monsters under the lake, but as long as she prayed to ’Suoweng’, she could get through the night without dreaming."
Zhang Yuanzhong paused, and Sang Que thought of the Divine Statue of an old man on a boat she saw in her neighbor’s kitchen earlier; it must be the ’Suoweng’ Zhang Yuanzhong ntioned.
The things that people of the Deceit Dynasty worship are really bizarre.
Sang Que pursued further, "After Ying Niang first prayed to ’Suoweng’, did she continue to pray to ’Suoweng’ or go back to the ’Qingjiang Envoy’?"
Zhang Yuanzhong looked distressed and said, "The Pinghu Village rules are very strict. If you worship other Ghost Gods, you’ll be put to death. Ying Niang violated this taboo for our eldest son, and she never returned to Pinghu Village because of it."
In other words, Qiao Ying abandoned her original belief and began to worship ’Suoweng’ after that.
Could her return to Pinghu Village this ti have triggered so event causing Pinghu Village to fall into the ghostly fog?
The three present shared this thought, and silence filled the room as they pondered in secret.
Then Sang Que and Qin Ze asked Zhang Yuanzhong so detailed questions based on their own thoughts. Without any other discoveries, the three got up and took their leave.
As Sang Que stepped outside, she saw Zhang Yuanzhong’s eldest son protecting his sister, gripping a hatchet, hiding under the eaves, and glaring defensively and hostilely at Xia Chan standing at the door.
Xia Chan twisted her clothes with a look of grievance, pouting, and her eyes were brimming with unshed tears.
Sang Que went over and asked, "What’s wrong?"
Upon seeing Sang Que, Xia Chan burst into tears, "Little Chan just wanted to give my sister so candy. Little Chan is not a bad person."
Sang Que also found it peculiar; why was Zhang Family’s eldest son so overly cautious? Xia Chan was so obviously cute and harmless.
"Where’s Xuan Yu?"
Sang Que noticed Xuan Yu was missing, and Xia Chan shook her head, feeling too aggrieved to speak.
"Miss Sang."
Having finished talking to Xu San, Qin Ze called out to Sang Que and approached her, saying, "Earlier I and the brothers spoke recklessly and offended you, Miss. Sixth Brother has scolded already. If you don’t mind, perhaps we could still cooperate?"
Qin Ze’s face turned slightly red, and Sang Que could see he was sowhat reluctant but trying hard to suppress it, possibly due to sothing Xiao Liu said to him.
Sang Que gave a faint nod without refusing, since Qin Ze did indeed provide a key piece of information earlier. It was better to cooperate temporarily than to have a competitor who would trip her up at every turn.
"I want to ask Zhang Yuanzhong’s neighbors a few more questions. Feel free to do as you like."
Sang Que took Xia Chan along and left the courtyard, heading directly to his neighbor’s house.
It wasn’t until dusk when Sang Que finished questioning the residents in the alley where Zhang Yuanzhong’s house was located.
"Xuan Yu—"
Returning to the entrance of Zhang Yuanzhong’s courtyard, Sang Que called out once.
ow—
Xuan Yu let out a muffled cry, erging from behind Zhang Yuanzhong’s courtyard, holding sothing in her mouth.
As she approached, Xuan Yu dropped the item at Sang Que’s feet, and Sang Que squatted down to take a look, stunned.
Such a large patch... Is this fish scale?
Sang Que held out her palm and compared; the fish scale was as big as her hand, just how big was this fish if its scales were this large?
Just then, the eldest son of the Zhang Family led his sister out of the house, and upon seeing them still at the door, retreated cautiously.
The six-year-old second daughter of the Zhang Family stared at Xia Chan dumbfoundedly, swallowing her spit repeatedly.
Sang Que thought for a mont, took out the malt sugar brought for Xia Chan from her bag, the kind that resembles a tofu block and needs to be broken into pieces to eat.
She was just about to place it on the Zhang Family’s wall with the paper wrapping when Xia Chan imdiately snatched it away.
"It’s Little Chan’s, not giving it!"
Sang Que couldn’t help but laugh, eventually leaving so for Xia Chan, promising to buy her so sugar figurines on the way back, and then put the rest on the wall, hid the fish scale, and led Xuan Yu and Xia Chan back to the county governnt.
On the way back, Sang Que was pondering what Zhang Yuanzhong’s neighbors had said.
They were all praising Zhang Yuanzhong for having such good fortune to marry a capable and feisty wife who managed everything well, inside and outside the ho.
So also ntioned that Zhang Yuanzhong used to be quite capable too, but because Qiao Ying was even more capable than him, gradually Zhang Yuanzhong beca lazy.
They said Qiao Ying would go out fishing, handle the catch at ho, go to the market to set up a stall and sell goods, and still be able to take care of the children. anwhile, Zhang Yuanzhong spent his days loafing around, bragging and drinking everywhere.
But everyone said that Zhang Yuanzhong treated Qiao Ying very well. At ho, her word was law, and though Zhang Yuanzhong didn’t have much ability, he could make Qiao Ying laugh heartily, and neighbors often heard their flirting and joking at ho. Rarely did anyone see Qiao Ying get angry or discipline Zhang Yuanzhong in front of others.
They also said Qiao Ying loved the two children very much. When she was ho, their eldest son went to school cleanly dressed every day, and upon returning, he’d teach Qiao Ying and the second daughter to read. The family led an enviable life.
Sang Que had originally thought Zhang Yuanzhong was not a good husband, but after inquiring around, found that he was just sowhat henpecked, liked to brag, and had a strong sense of pride. While he might not have been good at making money, he did provide emotional support for Qiao Ying.
This raised two points of doubt.
Firstly, with their relationship supposedly so good and Zhang Yuanzhong being such a pushover, how did Qiao Ying end up arguing with him to the point of returning to her family?
Secondly, Qiao Ying returned to her family without bringing the children. The neighbors all said that Qiao Ying often stated that her children were her life; she could do without a husband, but not without the kids.
Either Zhang Yuanzhong was hiding sothing, or Qiao Ying was.
Sang Que felt it was likely the latter.
Returning to the county governnt, Xu San arranged guest rooms for them.
As night fell, the entire Bailong County was eerily silent. Not even a night watchman road the streets, each household leaving just a single lantern at their doorstep.
The through wind raised noises akin to ghostly wails, with shadows cast by trees, and a thick atmosphere of terror persisted.
Sang Que wasn’t in the habit of sleeping right after nightfall and had Xu San dispatch soone to bring the historical household registration records of Pinghu Village into her guest room, as she wanted to peruse them.
Yet seeing those stacks, thicker than her head, filled densely with tiny characters and not even a single punctuation mark, Sang Que felt overwheld and suddenly wished to shout out.
Mom, save !
Alas, her mother also worked late into the night writing, and she couldn’t rely on her for everything.
When she ntioned checking the household records earlier, Qin Ze was visibly surprised, Xu San showed admiration with a hint of expectation, and even arranged for extra lamps and sufficient oil for her.
Sang Que could only force herself to sit at the table, enviously watching Xia Chan play with Xuan Yu, and muster the courage she had the night before sumr howork was due, to open those household records.
After three pages, she couldn’t help but yawn widely.
Having been busy all day, perhaps it’s best to rest first; after all, there’s a month-long deadline, so there’s no rush to read them all tonight.
There’s no eye-friendly lamp here, reading under an oil lamp isn’t good for her eyes.
As an archer, protecting one’s eyes is paramount.
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