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Chapter 369 Street Scenes
The next morning.

Laiqingfang is located in a very remote area. If you really count it, it's almost outside Zhangping City. There aren't many households living there, and most of them are leather craftsmen or similar professions.

However, due to its renowned tanning techniques, in the past many merchants would come specifically to purchase its products, making it a bustling place overall. But now...
Actually, it's not much different from Zhang Ping's case.

Foreigners, Taiping rebels, severe drought, and the continuous famine of recent years have long since exhausted all the potential of this land. Now, those who could run away have all run away, and those who couldn't are just counting down the days and slowly enduring the hardship.

Old Li's complexion had been very bad since last night, but he remained silent until this morning when he hurriedly brought Zhou You over as soon as it was light.

—What meets the eye is the same desolate scene.

Few people pass by here, so the large number of beggars are not seen. Only occasionally do eyes peek through the crack in the door at the two uninvited guests.

But as soon as Zhou You turned his head, he disappeared without a trace, as if he had been frightened by something.

Zhou You frowned and said to Old Man Li.

"Master, something seems off here."

Old Li maintained a friendly smile, but managed to squeeze out a few words through his teeth.

"I know it's wrong, but you don't need to tell me. Just stay quiet and watch me do my work."

Old Li walked slowly, his expression calm and composed, showing no sign of impatience.

Only the crunching sound of footsteps on the snow could be heard.
Soon, he arrived at a slightly better house, looked up at the sign, and then knocked on the door.

Excuse me, is anyone home?

Soon, as if the person had been waiting behind the door, a response came from within.

".who?"

The voice was muffled, accompanied by a cough that sounded like someone was ill.

"I'm a fur buyer from out of town. Sorry, do you still have any furs to sell here?"

The person inside coughed a few more times, their voice growing increasingly cold.

"No! What kind of world is this? Who doesn't tan leather for fun? Nobody does this kind of work anymore!"

Old Li paused, vividly mimicking a look of astonishment, and then, after three or four breaths, spoke in an ambiguous tone.

"Old brother, I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to smuggle some hides to make a little money. By the way, do you know Manager Sun Chuanjun? He's the one who introduced us."

Upon hearing this, the person inside finally showed some reaction. He half-closed the door, glanced outside, and then quickly withdrew.

Only from the occasional glimpse of his figure could one tell that this man was hunched over, his back bent like an arched bridge.

Moreover, one could vaguely see that it seemed to have several large tumors growing on its body.

"Even the people introduced by Manager Sun are no good. If they don't have the goods, they don't have the goods. Whatever you say is useless!"

Seeing this, Old Man Li could only mutter to himself as he left, then turned and headed towards another house.

But after visiting three or four different places, he only received one explanation.

"No."

The better ones simply slammed the door to refuse, while the worse ones directly cursed and told Old Man Li to get as far away as possible.

Moreover, from beginning to end, no one ever opened the door.

However, Old Man Li showed no impatience whatsoever. He acted like a true merchant, asking around for a long time before finally stopping at a well.

In an instant, all eyes were on them.

Old Li didn't pay any attention, but instead circled the well a few times as if he wanted to spit out some water.

The well was quite ordinary, with a blue stone covering it—which was normal, as a heavy object was usually placed on top of the well to prevent outsiders from contaminating the water source, and it would be removed when needed.

Just...
This stone is ridiculously heavy.

Old Li struggled for a long time, but the stone didn't budge an inch. Looking down, he noticed several large iron chains attached to the stone.

Seeing this, Old Man Li had no choice but to give up, and instead raised his head and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I said, my grandson and I have been traveling for quite a while now. Does anyone have a drop of water they could give us?"

However, no one answered.

Those people just watched the two of them without saying a word.

It was extremely insidious.

Old Li seemed unable to bear the scene either, feeling a chill run down his spine—but just as he was about to slink away, a voice suddenly called out to him.

"Wait a mininute."

It was the person they initially called to open the door.

Old Man Li seemed very reluctant to go over, but the man didn't seem to care and just continued talking.

"We're out of fresh peel, but we do have some dried tangerine peel, and we can offer you a discount."

"May I ask how much of a discount this can be?"

"half."

Old Li almost jumped up, but he suppressed his emotions and asked incredulously.

"Half price? Really that much cheaper?"

"These are all old stock, many of which have been sitting for several years, otherwise they wouldn't be priced this way."

"It's alright, absolutely no problem, we can handle the new processing anyway. I just don't know when the delivery will be possible? I currently have..."

The man simply interrupted in a low voice.

"Not now. If you want to pick up goods, come the night after tomorrow. I'm afraid of running into those damn patrolmen during the day. They ripped me off last time. Since this is your first time here, I'm also afraid you'll report me."

Since things had come to this point, Old Man Li had no choice but to agree.

"Alright, the day after tomorrow it is. I'll come find you when I arrive then?"

But the only response from inside the room was silence.

Finally, after watching the two people's expressions shift from inquiry to helplessness, from helplessness to sighs, and then they left, those eyes withdrew.

Walking on the bumpy, dilapidated road, the warmth on Old Li's face gradually faded, replaced by a deep coldness.

To be honest, this expression is not often seen on his face.

This person's most common appearance is that of a sleazy person who won't give up until he gets a free advantage, unlike this serious expression.
Anyway, I've hardly ever seen Zhou You's videos.

He remained in this state until he returned to the hotel. Then, when he got back to his room, he carefully swept the room with the paper bird before finally plopping down on the bed.

However, he was not in a hurry to rest. Instead, he looked up at Zhou You.

"Hey apprentice, you've seen it all, what do you think?"

"What's it like?"

"Your master is asking you a question, don't play dumb."

Hearing this, Zhou You remained silent for a long time before continuing, "It's very strange, or rather... it's quite obvious that the entire area is extremely strange."

"What's so strange about it?"

Zhou You considered his words carefully before speaking.

"First of all, the people over there are unusually indifferent—although we haven't seen many kind faces since we came to Zhangping, they have clearly reached the point of keeping people at arm's length. For a place that used to be primarily commercial, this indifference is very abnormal."

Old Li nodded noncommittally.

"go on."

"Of course, given the current state of affairs, it's understandable that they are on high alert. But the problem is that in that fleeting glimpse, it seemed that all of them were in poor health. Quite a few had tumors, and several were clearly terminally ill."

"A rampant plague. That can be explained."

"But the problem has now reached its most critical point."

Zhou You sighed softly.

“They said they haven’t processed leather for several years. Even if they did have some stock from previous years, it’s probably all sold out by now—that’s where the problem comes in.”

"How do these people, who have no land, no livelihood, are sickly, and even have difficulty moving around, survive?"

Old Li stared at Zhou You's calm face for a long time before suddenly bursting into laughter.

It wasn't a laugh of denial or mockery, but rather a smile of immense satisfaction.

"As expected of my apprentice, you see things very clearly. Indeed, that place is full of suspicious points, but where do you think we should start?"

Zhou You just stared at Old Man Li and finally said helplessly.

"Master, it's come to this point, do I need to say anything more?"

Old Li shook his head and then uttered those two words.

"well."
-
Unexpectedly, after confirming that the evil spirit was likely hiding in Laiqingfang, Old Man Li did not choose to go there alone, nor did he mention the bet. Instead, he contacted Lady Hua directly.

Upon hearing this, Hua Niang also showed a solemn expression. Without saying another word, she quickly replenished the spices and then joined up with Old Man Li, accompanied by Han Lu.

By this time, it was already midnight on the second day.

Old Man Li did not keep the appointment as the other party had suggested, but instead chose a quiet time late at night when few people would notice.

The weather at this time of year was extremely cold; the phrase "breath freezes into ice" was no longer just an adjective, but a given. Those in the city who were better off had already lit fires and were fast asleep, while those who were poor or were refugees huddled in wind-swept corners wrapped in thin clothing, trying to minimize any unnecessary physical exertion.

The same applies to Laiqingfang.

Upon entering this place, there was no sound of people or dogs barking. Apart from the sound of footsteps on the snow and the occasional gust of wind, there was no other sound.

"Old man, something seems off."

Lady Hua, dressed in clothes that allowed for easy movement, carried her wooden zither on her back and spoke with a furrowed brow.

Old Li rolled his eyes in response.

“I know it’s wrong, I don’t need you to remind me—my disciple, you’re nimble on your feet, go with that girl to find a house to look around.”

Without Li Laotou saying anything, Zhou You had already given Han Lu a look, and then he tiptoed over little by little.

The first choice was naturally the house that had been glimpsed before.

After pressing his ear close to the wooden door to confirm that there was no sound inside, Zhou You asked Han Lu for a hairpin and poked at the lock a few times. The door opened with a click.

The smell inside was even more unbearable than I had imagined.

Zhou You had also experienced cesspools—Mile had once transformed an entire city into one giant toilet, so he was somewhat resistant to ordinary stench, but what about this place?
The smell wasn't that strong, but there was always some strange odor mixed in with the stench, which was particularly disgusting when combined.

As expected, the owner of the house in the hills was not home, and apart from a few simple furnishings, there was nothing else in the house.

But Zhou You still noticed something was wrong.

There was some food left on the table, but it was so burnt that it was impossible to tell what it was. However, at this moment...
It had already gone moldy.

Zhou You knew that food would mold if left out for too long, but it was the dead of winter, and this meal had clearly been made less than a day ago. The mold growth was truly bizarre.

Zhou Youshi didn't want to touch the stuff directly, so he took a pair of chopsticks from the side and stirred it inside.

The mycelium rippled out, revealing a layer of grayish substance underneath—and a strange smell followed.

He now knows where the ghostly smell is coming from.

Zhou You turned to look at Han Lu, but Han Lu simply shook her head slightly.

"It looks like normal mold; I don't sense anything unusual. It doesn't seem like there are any signs of supernatural activity."

Well, it seems there are no more clues.

Zhou You threw down his chopsticks and walked out of the house.

Old Man Li and Lady Hua seemed to have gone into another room, and when they came out looking disheveled, their first words to Zhou You were...

"You saw that pile of stuff too?"

Zhou You nodded, then asked.

"Master, do you know what that is?"

Old Man Li and Lady Hua exchanged a glance, then both shook their heads with wry smiles.

“We can’t see anything wrong either, but one thing is certain now—all ten or so households in this area have vanished into thin air.”

So the only clue now is...

Zhou You nodded.

"That must be the well."

Arriving at the well, they found the same huge rock and chains. Zhou You and Old Man Li were both experts at picking locks, so the chains were no problem for them; it was the blue stone...
"Cold Dew".

"master."

"Go move it."

The little girl showed no sign of distress, as if she had just heard an ordinary command. She walked to the stone, took a slight breath, and then made that move.

Its movements were so ordinary, its effort so effortless, as if it were lifting cotton rather than a stone. In just a few dozen seconds, the stone was lifted with such ease.

Holy crap, is this Xiang Yu reincarnated?

Before Zhou You and Old Man Li could even exclaim in admiration of their overwhelming strength, a strange feeling suddenly flooded their minds.

It felt as if someone had inserted their fingers into the brain, gently teasing the nerves. Although it wasn't painful, it still sent chills down one's spine.

Looking down at the well opening, I then discovered...

It wasn't well water inside, but rather festering mud and splattered pus.

The feeling it evokes.
Just like when it's a coffin.

(End of this chapter)