"Alright then, after we investigate the scene, let’s et at Rongjin Building. If anything cos up, we’ll contact each other by phone." With no more words, Yang Xiao took Jiang Qingluan and left.
The two hailed a taxi by the street, heading straight for the new demolition village. According to the driver, the ride wasn’t short; a one-way trip would take nearly an hour. It was quite remote there, and the road wasn’t fully constructed, full of potholes, and nobody bothered to manage it.
The driver was a middle-aged man, smoking a cigarette and very chatty. He seed to know a bit about everything, both dostic and international. As soon as Yang Xiao ntioned the strange happenings in the new demolition village, the driver couldn’t wait to talk about it, impossible to stop.
According to him, the strangeness in the demolition village began because of a couple. The husband of the couple was a brute, not only failing to earn for the family but also indulging in drinking, gambling, and even womanizing. When he lost at cards and had no money, he would ask his wife for so. If she refused, he would beat her, and it wasn’t just his wife; their two children also suffered.
Later, the wife couldn’t take it anymore and ran away. The husband, seeing red with anger, couldn’t find her, so he turned his frustration on their young children who hadn’t started school. One night, after binge drinking, he strangled both kids to death with jump ropes.
Since then, the village has been restless, especially near the old house where the murders took place. People walking at night reported seeing two children standing side by side on the roadside, holding hands and waving from afar.
But when they got closer, the two kids would eerily vanish, scaring passersby half to death.
Such incidents didn’t happen just once, causing panic among residents in the area, and many people nearby had moved away.
"What about the fire?" Yang Xiao asked.
"What fire?" The driver was puzzled for a mont, instinctively reaching for his lighter, thinking Yang Xiao wanted to borrow a light for a cigarette.
"Didn’t they say there was Ghost Fire in the demolition village? How co there are ghosts, but no fire?" Yang Xiao was confused.
"Oh, you an that? Yes, there was a fire. A car passing through at night saw those ghost children. The vehicle lost control, crashed by the roadside, and caught fire. Out of a family of four in the car, except for the woman in the passenger seat, the remaining three burned to death inside. It was a horrific scene!"
"By the way, among the three who burned to death, there were two children, a boy and a girl of about the sa age. People outside are saying the two strangled kids were dissatisfied, looking for... looking for substitutes to reincarnate." The driver’s voice beca noticeably quieter here, clearly wary of discussing such matters.
"And what about the murderer, the husband from that couple?" Jiang Qingluan suddenly asked.
"Oh, that brute? He’s dead. The police caught him the next day, and he was executed shortly after. A beast like that deserved to die!" the driver said angrily.
"What about the wife?" Yang Xiao persisted.
After thinking for a mont, the driver shook his head, "I don’t know, but losing two children, she must be heartbroken, probably cried her eyes blind."
"Was there only this one fire?" Yang Xiao continued to inquire.
"Yes... I suppose so. Isn’t that enough?" The driver found it odd, glancing at Yang Xiao in the rearview mirror, noticing his furrowed brow.
He certainly didn’t know what Yang Xiao was thinking.
According to the driver, the ghosts in the Ghost Fire incident at the demolition village should be the two children, but the ghost Zhou Mingxiao saw was obviously not them.
Could it be the children’s mother?
Because of her children’s tragic deaths, perhaps the mother also committed suicide and transford into a Fierce Ghost.
There’s a possibility, but Yang Xiao felt it wasn’t very likely.
But since they were here, they had to investigate before leaving. Soon, they arrived at their destination. It was an area resembling the outskirts of a city, poorly maintained, with potholes and even standing water.
A glance revealed rows of single-story houses that still looked relatively new, with small white tiles on the walls and satellite dishes shaped like pot covers on the roofs.
Several modestly dressed older won sat on homade stools, chatting animatedly under the eaves, while children played nearby.
This was a small shop, with the window open, revealing shelves stocked with small goods inside.
Seeing Yang Xiao and Jiang Qingluan approaching the village entrance, one of the older won stood up warily, "Who are you looking for?"
"Ma’am, we would like to learn about so things. Is it convenient for you now?" Jiang Qingluan politely asked.
"Go on, go on, this is our village, you’re not welco here." The woman turned her face down, shooing Jiang Qingluan away like chasing off chickens or ducks, showing no courtesy.
But imdiately after, Jiang Qingluan noticed the woman’s expression change, her eyes lighting up, and she stopped her shooing motions.
The next mont, Yang Xiao erged from behind, clutching a 5 yuan note, pointing to the shop not far away. "Is that shop yours?"
"Yes, yes, young man, what do you want to buy?" The woman imdiately turned back, afraid of letting Yang Xiao, who seed like a big spender, get away.
Yang Xiao first bought two bottles of soda, the kind in glass bottles, cold. After the woman opened them, Yang Xiao took one and handed it over to Jiang Qingluan.
With his right hand holding the soda to drink, Yang Xiao used his left hand to leisurely tap the glass counter with the coins he received as change, squinting as he glanced at the woman, "I have a few questions for you. One question for one yuan. Can you answer them?"
"Three yuan per question, no bargaining." The woman knew Yang Xiao had money, as she saw him pull out a wad of bills earlier, at least a hundred yuan.
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