Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 34 Moving into the Haunted House
Zhou Zhao felt as if the floodgates had suddenly been opened in his ears, and the surroundings suddenly became lively. Granny Zhang was all alone, chattering away like a hundred ducks.

"Let me tell you, my room is wonderful! The walls are painted with landscapes, and the quilts are all bright red wedding quilts."

“If you miss it, you’ll have to stay in the chicken coop of the Twelve Villages. Straw mats are laid on the ground, and a whole bunch of people are crammed into the room. Next time, you can step on three people.”

Zhou Zhao followed behind Granny Zhang, discreetly observing his surroundings.

Apart from the main road leading in, the alleys of Tianying City were exceptionally narrow, forming a labyrinthine network. Looking up, they could see several arrow towers, each topped with a flag. The flag closest to them bore the words "Tian Dou" (Heavenly Battle).

Grandma Zhang's courtyard wasn't far; it was just a couple of turns away. There was a pomegranate tree planted in front of the gate.

The door was open, and in the yard, a middle-aged man in his early thirties was chopping firewood shirtless. His body was covered with scars of varying depths, which Zhou Zhao could tell at a glance were from years of burns.

"Grandma Zhang, you've brought back another silly sheep! Little girl, if you're tired of living, you're welcome to stay here!"

The warm smile on Granny Zhang's round face vanished instantly. She put her hands on her hips and yelled at the middle-aged man chopping wood, "Old Xie, be careful not to get torn to pieces for talking nonsense! Sun Youshan didn't take you with him this time when he went out to earn a living. Instead of wasting your time talking nonsense here, you should think about how you're going to die."

As Zhou Zhao listened, he finally became somewhat interested in the small courtyard.

She chose to enter the city through Xuanwu Gate and followed Granny Zhang, all because she was heading towards Tiandou Village.

She didn't lay a hand on Zhu Wu at the temple last night; she hasn't gotten her revenge yet!
Seeing Xie Laosi's gloomy face, Granny Zhang snorted coldly and then turned to smile at Zhou Zhao.

"Don't listen to his nonsense. He's just jealous because he sees my son is a favorite of Brother Sun. There are eight rooms in this courtyard. We live in the three main rooms. The empty one is the one on the left."

The door wasn't locked, and with a gentle push, it opened.

Zhou Zhao peeked inside and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

She finally understood what it meant to have landscape paintings on the wall and a wedding quilt. There were bloodstains splattered on the wall beside the bed, which were covered with ink but not completely. Dark red stains from not washing remained on the thin bedding. This room was clearly a crime scene that was trying to cover up a crime, and most likely someone had been slit in their sleep a few days ago.

"Look how big and nice my house is!" Grandma Zhang said, her expression becoming somewhat unnatural.

She cleared her throat, turned to look at Zhou Zhao, and saw the girl smile at her, "Grandma, it's fine, my brother and I will live here."

Grandma Zhang had all sorts of words of advice on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't get them out. She wanted to say, "Young lady, I feel a connection with you, like my daughter who died young; I see you have that white, prickly linen cloth tied around your hair, you're probably like me, with a dead husband..."

These attempts to build rapport suddenly became completely useless.

She was even a little scared. What's that saying again? It's not the wickedness of the villain that's scary, it's the smile of the villain.

The girl in front of him, upon seeing the haunted house, felt as satisfied and at ease as if she had returned home.

She clearly intended to deceive people, but in the end, she felt like she had been deceived herself.

"Really...really?"

Zhou Zhao nodded. "Grandma, find me another bed. Also, my siblings and I are all bad at cooking. Could you perhaps share meals with us here? We'll pay you every month."

As she spoke, she took out a piece of silver from her sleeve and stuffed it into Granny Zhang's hand. "I need Granny's help with something. My brother and I are newcomers to Tianying City and know nothing about it. Please tell us about it in detail."

“We have some basic martial arts skills. We can’t just sit here and do nothing. We want to find a suitable way to make a living. If we could get the protection of the Twelve Villages, that would be even better.” When Granny Zhang saw the silver, her previous discomfort vanished, and she immediately beamed with joy!

"Then you've come to the right person! Since you entered the city through the North Gate and are staying here, you belong to the Xuanwu Hall. If you want to join a village, you have to join one of the three villages under the Xuanwu Hall. The territories of the twelve villages in Tianying City are all clearly defined, so you can't just do whatever you want."

"The Inner Seven Halls do not accept new members unless the hall master brings them back from outside. In the city, they select the best from the Twelve Strongholds."

"Under our Xuanwu Hall are three strongholds: Tiandou, Tiannv, and Tianxu. Among them, Tiannv is quite special. They all use their beauty to deceive people. Most of the women there are beauties. The brothels and entertainment venues in Tianying City are all from Tiannv Stronghold."

"To be honest, I really don't recommend a young girl like you go to Tiannv Village. The remaining villages, Tiandou and Tianxu, are all pretty much the same. All twelve villages don't refuse newcomers; they're always waiting for someone to pick a flower flag!"

Zhou Zhao listened attentively. Although she knew a little about Tianying City, it was never as real as hearing it from someone else.

"Choosing a pauper?"

Hearing Zhou Zhao's question, the old woman nodded. "It's about fighting in the arena! If you want to go, young lady, I suggest you go to Tian Dou Village. There are three people from Tian Dou Village living in this courtyard!"

"As for other things, there's nothing else. But I suggest you be more vigilant at night. Recently, there have been violent incidents in the city at night, and several people have already died."

As Granny Zhang spoke, she glanced at the blood-soaked bed.

What she didn't say was that two people had already died in her house alone, and she didn't know what the killer was after.

Thinking of this, she glanced at Zhou Zhao's youthful face and felt a slight pang of sympathy, but it quickly vanished!

Judging from the girl's calm demeanor, who knows who will kill whom in the middle of the night!

If she dies, it's just bad luck; human life is worthless in Tianying City. If she lives, the old woman can take the money without a second thought.

"Thank you, Grandma!" Zhou Zhao said, with a sincere smile on her face.

Grandma Zhang gave a stiff smile. "You'll find out the rest once you stay in the city for a few more days. I won't disturb your rest any longer."

Zhou Zhao watched Granny Zhang's departing figure, then looked around the house. Aside from being a crime scene, the house was indeed tall and spacious, a decent place to live. She walked to the window, opened it, and the wind blew in, dissipating much of the bloody smell in the house.

"Is it okay for Ah Huang to stay here?"

Liu Huang nodded, sniffed, and said, "Mmm."

He deals with the dead all the time, sometimes spending the night alone in the mortuary. This little bit of blood is nothing to him.

"Alright, we've come to the right place. Let's go into Tiandou Village first, and then buy some new bedding to settle in."

As Zhou Zhao pondered, she strained her ears to listen to the sounds coming from the courtyard. Xie Laosi, who was chopping wood outside, stopped his chopping when he heard this. This house was clearly more than just a crime scene. She hadn't forgotten that the vast majority of people in Tianying City were criminals with murder charges against them.

What would someone who has killed someone be afraid of a haunted house?
This was exactly what she wanted; she needed to establish a foothold in Tianying City before July 15th. Therefore, she couldn't proceed slowly; she had to emerge with overwhelming force.

Every secret is an opportunity for her to manipulate people.