If Patriarch Du had stayed at the ancestral ho all along, then how could one explain the voices he heard before? Could it be that there were two Patriarch Dus in the village?
The village was much larger than expected, and the terrain was unique. It was not easy to quickly move between the ancestral hall and the ancestral ho, especially for an old man like Patriarch Du in his declining years.
With Du San gone, Sui Chengguo no longer had reservations, and he quickly recounted to everyone the incident he had encountered near the ancestral hall, causing everyone’s brows to furrow tightly, "Ning’er, isn’t that the clan leader’s daughter’s na?" Mi Shu reacted strongly.
"Brother Sui, separated by just a wall, are you sure you could hear clearly?" Tong Han didn’t distrust him, it just felt like too much of a coincidence.
"I heard it very clearly. It was Patriarch Du’s voice, but I didn’t hear Ning’er, who was supposed to be conversing with him, speak. I only heard laughter," Sui Chengguo paused before adding with a dismal look, "It was a very strange laughter, like that of a madman."
If they could confirm that the clan leader’s daughter hadn’t died, then there would be a serious problem, given they had once seen her severed head displayed in the hall of offerings.
Could the dead co back to life?
No, to be exact, was it still her?
Yang Xiao vaguely sensed that the matters here were more complicated than he had imagined, and the resurrection of the clan leader’s daughter might be directly related to Liu Haiping’s death.
Of course, without evidence, these were all just speculations. Suddenly, after a long silence, Hu Yanming spoke, "Brother Sui, are you sure what you saw was a livestock shed? But...how could such a filthy thing like a livestock shed be built next to the ancestral hall?"
This comnt enlightened those who were in a trance; previously, both Yang Xiao and Sui Chengguo had been distracted by the peculiarities of the ancestral hall and the shed itself, overlooking the connection between the two. Indeed, just from the features of the buildings themselves, such an arrangent was very odd.
Now was not the ti to ponder these matters. Urged by Tong Han, the three n imdiately rushed towards the hall of offerings.
As they stepped into the courtyard of the hall of offerings, they saw from a distance the wooden doors of the hall wide open, several chairs laid out inside, with Patriarch Du, Cheng Cha, Lu Youcheng, and Wuma Haoming all present, enjoying tea together.
Seeing Yang Xiao and the others arrive, Patriarch Du stood up to greet them. Having not seen him for just half a day, Yang Xiao suddenly realized that Patriarch Du had aged more than five years, "Old Clan Leader, you must take good care of your health!"
After thanking Yang Xiao for his kindness, the Old Clan Leader invited them to the other three empty chairs. Obviously, these had been left for them.
Next to each chair was a tall bamboo rack with a tea cup placed on top. As Yang Xiao was about to habitually pick up the tea cup, Cheng Cha across from him made a subtle gesture with his eyes.
Yang Xiao paused mid-action, while at the sa ti, the others, including Lu Youcheng, also looked obscurely at the tea cup in Yang Xiao’s hand, seemingly harboring unspeakable secrets.
"Old Clan Leader, did you call us here for a reason?" Yang Xiao took the opportunity to speak, placing the tea cup back down naturally without drinking.
The noticeably older village patriarch sighed, "My friends, I won’t deceive you. I’ve called you all here today because I need your help."
"Is it Uncle Du Er’s affair?"
"Yes, he too has been entwined by that monster, and it has stolen his soul. Tell , without a soul, can one still be considered human?" It seed the thought brought sadness to him, and tears stread down the patriarch’s face, a pitiful sight.
"What do you need us to do?" Cheng Cha didn’t agree imdiately, but he didn’t refuse either, continuing to probe Patriarch Du’s intentions.
"I hope that tonight, you will go to the river just outside the village and retrieve the lost soul of Du Feng. If successful, a substantial reward will follow."
They had heard this sort of thing too many tis; every task ca with similar promises, and not one was ever fulfilled — not having them killed was fortunate enough. "Patriarch, could you please elaborate?" Yang Xiao also wanted to see what the patriarch was really planning.
"I need three of you to wear Du Feng’s clothes, carry a stick of incense, and take turns fishing in the big river outside the village entrance. If a fish takes the bait, whoever brings the fish back will be considered successful." After finishing, the Patriarch slipped his hand into his sleeve, rummaging around before tremblingly pulling out three small gold bars, the kind brought by Tong Han, "This is a small token of our gratitude from Du Family Village for the heroes venturing out tonight. You...you must accept it!"
Yang Xiao noted the round bulges on the gold bars, which also had polished marks. They had seen similar markings several tis in Du Family Village.
After accepting the gold bars, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but be curious, "Patriarch, there’s sothing I don’t quite understand. Weren’t we supposed to be summoning souls? Why are you asking us to go fishing instead?"
"Because Du Feng’s soul was hidden in the river by that monster. As long as a fish bites the hook, you bring the fish back, and his soul will be in that fish," explained the patriarch excitedly.
"Just because there’s a fish that bites, does that guarantee Uncle Du Er’s soul is on that fish?" Lu Youcheng found it hard to believe, "Isn’t there any margin of error?"
Patriarch Du slowly shook his head, his tone serious, "Absolutely not, because that river is a dead river, devoid of any living creatures."
The Old Clan Leader’s eyes dimd, he heavily emphasized the word "dead," as if this term carried an unspeakable, mysterious significance. This montary change gripped the hearts of Yang Xiao and the others, making them almost too afraid to continue questioning.
Next, the Old Clan Leader explained the details they needed to be aware of for tonight’s task. Each person was to go alone with both hands outstretched, holding a column of incense. This incense would last about half an hour, and regardless of whether they caught a fish or not, it was crucial to return to the village before the incense burned out. Otherwise, they might get lost outside the village and never find their way back.
"Another thing, rember, whether you are by the river or on the way there and back, if you hear soone calling your na from behind, do not turn around or respond," the Old Clan Leader said with exceptional seriousness, "Rember, rember."
After giving these instructions, the Old Clan Leader seed tired as well, waved his hand, and let them go rest, ntioning that soone would bring the incense in the evening and they should rest in the anti.
The group returned to their lodgings, all wearing grim expressions. Given the Patriarch’s description, the dangerous nature of tonight’s task was evident.
"There’s no avoiding the task; if no one has objections, let’s draw lots to decide who will go," Cheng Cha suggested, opening his palm which held so dry twigs he had picked up on the way back.
Unexpectedly, Quan Doufeng reacted fiercely, "Not you, soone else, you little cheat!"
"Then I’ll do it," Yang Xiao said, taking the twigs from Cheng Cha’s hand.
"No way, you’re no better!" Quan Doufeng didn’t trust Yang Xiao either, though he didn’t understand why, he could feel Yang Xiao was targeting him.
"I’ll do it!" Sui Chengguo didn’t want to dawdle, grabbed the twigs, and glared at Quan Doufeng, the discordant elent, silencing him instantly with that look.
This selection was for n only, Tong Han Mishu did not participate. There were only seven of them, and eventually, Hu Yanming, Sui Chengguo, and Wuma Haoming were chosen.
"We need to go one at a ti, any volunteers to go first?" After dropping the twig, Sui Chengguo looked at the other two.
Wuma Haoming dared not et Sui Chengguo’s gaze and imdiately looked down, while Hu Yanming hesitated, his face showing fear as he shook his head.
This seed to be within Sui Chengguo’s expectations. He nodded, sighing resignedly, "Since that’s the case, I’ll go ahead and scout the path for our brothers."
"Thanks, Sui," Hu Yanming was perceptive, aware that Sui Chengguo was a significant figure and also of good character.
However, Yang Xiao, Tong Han, and Cheng Cha were dismissive. Based on their past experiences, this kind of task generally involved multiple participants on a rotating basis, and it was usually safest for the one who went first. The most dangerous position was in the middle.
After the leader was confird, the order was quickly established with Wuma Haoming going second and Hu Yanming last.
The sky grew increasingly overcast, gradually starting to drizzle. The rain sparsely tapped against the window fras and roof eaves. It was so dark now it nearly resembled evening. Soon, soone brought over food, but it was still the sa thick wild vegetable and mixed grain porridge. Just slling it quelled any appetite, but to ensure the task’s smooth progression, everyone forced themselves to eat.
About half an hour after the al, while Yang Xiao and the others were still discussing tonight’s task, a person in a rain hat hurried over in the rain. After removing the hat, they recognized a familiar face — it was Du San. He took off the cloth bag on his back, opened it, and took out three thick incense sticks that emitted a dark red color.
"Gentlen, this is the Soul-Attracting Incense you’ll need tonight. With this incense, you will be able to successfully bring back Uncle Du Er’s soul," Du San stressed, "But be very careful, the incense must not fall into the water. If the fla goes out, a calamity might occur."
Then Du San dug out a piece of blue cloth from the bundle, grimy and faintly emitting a horrible stench, resembling the sll of rotting at.
After unfolding the cloth, everyone was shocked to see that it had three holes cut out, its overall shape sowhat like the headgear modern people use, but crudely made and very loose. If worn, it should be able to cover the shoulders.
Besides, there was a crumpled, dirty cloth skirt in the bundle, also emitting an indescribable stench, big and long enough to drag on the ground when tied around the waist. Even for soone of Sui Chengguo’s size, it could completely cover the lower body, hiding even the shoes.
"Tonight, the first person to go needs to change into this outfit, wearing the upper half of Uncle Du Er’s shirt. When you return, do not enter directly. Stop in front of the ancestral hall’s main door. There’s a copper bell hanging under the right side of the eave, rember to ring the bell."
"When you hear the bell, the next person should bring the incense out to the door and exchange clothes with the person who’s coming back. Then do not delay, leave imdiately. Rember, during this interval, do not speak, do not make any unnecessary movents, and especially do not look at each other’s faces, understand?"
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