Ita Era

Chapter 12 Peach Blossom Village (Part 10)
While Ding Shi was thinking, Zhao Liu and Blind Zhao were already fighting. Zhao Liu didn't believe in ghosts, but he wouldn't let Blind Zhao leave, while also saying that he would leave and whoever wanted to be the grandson could be the grandson.

Everyone went up to break up the fight, and Zhao the Blind took the opportunity to shake off Zhao Liu's hand and strode towards the door: "Xiao Ding, take me back."

Ding Shi jogged off to get his bicycle, while Zhao Liu kicked the brazier away, threw his mourning clothes on the ground, and prepared to leave the Wang family. The clan chief and elders stopped him, trying to persuade him to stay.

Ding Shi rode his bicycle to take Blind Zhao home and politely said, "Uncle Zhao, I'm leaving now."

"Wait a minute." Zhao the Blind called out to Ding Shi, thought for a moment and said, "I don't think the Wang family's grandson can handle this."

Ding Shi: Even the Ding family's grandson can't do it. If you want me to do it, I'll do it for you first.

Zhao the Blind said to himself, "If things don't go through tonight, and that grandson isn't staying at the Wang family's house, that thing will be looking for him everywhere."

Ding Shi's heart skipped a beat: "You mean, if Zhao Liu gets away, our whole village might be doomed?"

Blind Zhao: "It's not that bad. It's just a few unlucky people who will suffer. After the seventh day after her death, she'll pass away on her own. Be careful, don't leave your room after 11 p.m. I mean your room, not the house. Also, if someone knocks on the door after 11 p.m., don't open it randomly. A living person knocks three times, another person knocks four times. Go back now."

After saying that, Blind Zhao went into the courtyard and closed the door.

Ding Shi glanced at the pitch-black night and swallowed hard. He'd survived hail of bullets and mountains of corpses; why were his legs trembling now?

……

Back at the village chief's house, Ding Shi was wide awake. He glanced at the system time: 10:30 PM. Ding Shi got out of bed, put on his clothes, grabbed a flashlight, and went out.

The way to overcome fear is to confront it directly.

Besides, Blind Zhao said that tonight is safe.

However, Zhao the Blind also said that no outsiders could appear at the Wang family's house tonight, otherwise the Ghost Grandma would not appear.

Ding Shi chose Cuihua's house as the location. Cuihua's house was right next to Wang's house, and there was a persimmon tree in the yard that was about ten meters tall. Ding Shi climbed over the wall and entered the house. He climbed up the persimmon tree to a position about five meters high, and he could see the front yard and part of the back yard of Wang's house at a glance.

All the lights in the Wang family's house were on, but Ding Shi didn't see Zhao Liu and wondered where the bastard had gone. Can't he have any sense of responsibility? He created the mess, so he should clean it up himself.

Looking back, if it weren't for these terrible teammates, this would truly be a casual dungeon. To be honest, Ding Shi quite liked this village; the villagers were warm and friendly, the spring water was sweet, the food was delicious, and the scenery was beautiful. So how did a ghost end up here?
Lost in thought, it was eleven o'clock when Grandma Wang suddenly appeared outside the Wang family gate. She was wearing the clothes she had worn when she died. Being short, her feet didn't touch the ground as she slowly floated up, over the wall, and drifted into the front yard.

How to describe it? It's quite strange, but not exactly scary. It looks no different from a living person, but upon closer inspection, the ghost milk has many differences. First, it has no shadow. Second, its feet never touch the ground. Third, its arms don't swing when it moves forward or backward.

Suddenly, Gui Nai turned to look at Ding Shi, who was more than ten meters away. Ding Shi gripped the tree trunk tightly with his left hand, gritted his teeth, and tried to suppress his fear as he met Gui Nai's gaze.

Are you afraid of me? There's no death penalty, you know? You know that?
He was still a little scared. Those eyes seemed empty, yet they also seemed to see right through people. A chill ran down his spine. Ding Shi couldn't tell whether the chill was a physical or mental attack.

Facing the ghost's gaze, Ding Shi struggled to flick out a middle finger. In the world of martial arts, one should never lose face, even if one loses the battle.

To Ding Shi's shock, an irresistible force pushed the middle finger back down without causing him any harm. Ding Shi was now certain that the trembling in his body and the chill in his feet were all coming from the ghost milk.

The ghostly grandmother turned her head, floated to the mourning hall, stood there blankly for a few minutes, and then floated to the kitchen. A few minutes later, the ghostly grandmother came out of the kitchen, floated to the door of her room next to the mourning hall, reached out and pushed open the door, and entered the room.

Ding Shi seized the opportunity to flick a middle finger, "Old woman, what can you do to me?"

The ghost milk floated out, and Ding Shi withdrew his finger: "Respecting the elderly and loving ghosts is a traditional virtue." The ghost milk seemed bewildered, drifting around the Wang family's house, wandering everywhere. Time passed second by second, and the ghost milk floated through all the rooms, not even sparing the attic, and even opened its own coffin, searching inside for a long time.

As time passed, the old woman grew increasingly anxious, tears of blood streaming from her eyes, and began searching through the woodpile and vegetable garden. Ding Shi pulled out a Daqianmen cigarette given to him by a villager and lit it. He wasn't addicted to cigarettes; he only used them to pass the time while waiting idly. He particularly disliked people who were late, because he believed they were wasting their lives.

Intelligence summary: 1. This thing is no match for me. 2. This thing has very low intelligence; it can't even be considered a sentient being. 3. This thing has no human emotions; it wouldn't even be moved by seeing its own corpse.

At three in the morning, the ghost grandmother calmed down and sat quietly on the steps in front of the altar, her hands on her knees, her posture upright, her eyes looking at the door.

At five in the morning, the ghost milk's body faded and eventually disappeared without a trace.

Once Ding Shi had obtained the information he wanted, he scurried down the tree, climbed over the wall, and returned to the village chief's house.

……

Day 3!
Ding was awakened by knocking on the door. He checked the time and it was 9:30 a.m. When he opened the door, he saw that it was the village chief. The village chief immediately began assigning tasks: "Xiao Ding, the Wang family sent someone to Grandma Wang's parents' house early this morning to report the death, but they were beaten up and driven away. They said that Grandma Wang had long since severed ties with them. Do you think you could go and do that?"

Ding Shi asked, "Village chief, is your purpose to have me make a trip, or to have me invite Grandma Wang's family to the scene?"

The village chief said, "How can you talk like that, child? Of course, we need to invite Grandma Wang's family to come, otherwise the burial won't be proper." According to local custom, the bride's family will inspect the funeral process upon arrival. If they are not satisfied with the one-day ceremony and request a three-day, three-night Buddhist and Taoist ritual, the husband's family must comply. At this time, the bride's family has the highest authority.

Ding Shi yawned: "I'll just make a phone call from the village office."

The village chief said, "The village office won't even bother to call anyone for you."

Ding Shi said, "Village chief, you must believe that there are still more good people than bad in this world."

After Ding Shi finished speaking, he went to wash up and use the toilet. The village chief's daughter-in-law had left breakfast in the pot. Ding Shi thanked his daughter-in-law and went to the village office, which was not far away, after eating breakfast.

Ding Shi dialed the phone; it was the township switchboard. He asked the operator to connect him to Yutan Village. A moment later, the call was answered: "Hello, this is the Taoyuan Village office."

The other person: "Go ahead."

Ding Shi: "Grandma Wang passed away yesterday..."

The other person interrupted: "She has been expelled from the family register."

Ding Shi: "Oh. Is that so? Before Grandma Wang passed away yesterday, she asked our village office to give a jewelry box to her family. I wanted to ask if she still had any family. If not, we will handle the jewelry box on her behalf."

The other party immediately replied, "Yes, yes."

Ding Shi: "Hasn't she already been removed from the family register? Goodbye." He hung up the phone.

The other party threw down the phone, called his friends, and hailed a tractor, heading menacingly towards Taoyuan Village. When they entered Taoyuan Village, the system notified them that Ding Shi's mission was complete.

It's better to talk about manna than to reason with someone.

(End of this chapter)