That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

Xie Yunqi suddenly realized what was happening and quickly followed.

Aqing also turned to look at Jiang Jingming. After receiving his permission, she pushed open the door and walked into the dilapidated house.

Only Fang Zhiyi and Jiang Jingming remained in the backyard.

She leaned against the fence, gazing at the moon, lost in thought.

Jiang Jingming was about to speak when he heard her humming softly:

"The moon moves, and so do I. Clouds chase the moon in the sky, and the wind blows the willows on the ground."

The voice was extremely soft, gentle as the wind, like a lullaby that could only be heard in the warmest memories of childhood.

Jiang Jingming was slightly stunned upon hearing this, but then his heart skipped a beat and he understood.

The man-eating demon wasn't talking; it was singing.

The song being sung is this nursery rhyme.

Chapter Forty-Eight: Father and Son

Jiang Jingming looked at the terrifying monster by the well. It was gesturing and humming a song, like a child playing with its own shadow.

Such a contradiction.

Jiang Jingming took a deep breath and leaned back against the fence.

"Why? Does it still possess reason?"

"Maybe all I remember is this song."

Fang Zhiyi curled the corners of her lips into a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

"What exactly is it?"

Jiang Jingming's hand was still on the hilt of the knife, but he could no longer draw it as decisively as when he first saw it.

Of everyone present, only Fang Zhiyi could tell him the answer to this question, just as she could easily discern the origin of the merman.

"A person who brings the dead back to life."

Fang Zhiyi's answer was very brief. After seeing the cannibal, she remained very calm from beginning to end.

Looking at her profile, Jiang Jingming vaguely sensed a kind of indifferent pity, reminiscent of the condescending statues in temples.

"It's all been found out!"

Lu Zhao and Xie Yunqi ran back from the front yard, each carrying several fishing nets they had stolen from somewhere.

"What's drying in the yard really is tea leaves, the kind of bitter tea we drank on the way here!"

Lu Zhao squatted on the ground, stacked several fishing nets together, grabbed the edges with both hands, and pulled hard. Surprisingly, they were very tough.

The villagers here live along the river and occasionally fish for food. These fishing nets are woven from rattan so that when they catch a rare big fish, they can sell them to curious travelers.

"That tea stall owner was definitely up to something!"

Xie Yunqi frowned, his face serious.

"He posted that bounty notice, and it turns out that cannibalistic monster is living in his house, acting like it knows the place like the back of its hand. It must be related to him! Could he be deliberately luring people to be eaten by the cannibalistic monster?"

That makes some sense.

Jiang Jingming nodded, first affirming the detective's young lady's speculation, and then raising his doubts:

"But if he's setting a trap for us, there's absolutely no need for him to tell us it's a cannibal. Besides, who could possibly be lured by a reward of seventeen taels and five mace?"

"That's true."

Xie Yunqi scratched his face, looking confused.

"Jingming, lend a hand."

Lu Zhao grabbed the two corners of the fishing net and looked up to signal.

Jiang Jingming walked to the other side, grabbed the other two corners, and shook them forcefully.

"That should be enough."

He weighed it in his mind and nodded.

I just fought that man-eating demon. It wasn't very strong, much weaker than Master Fu under the influence of Mengdala, even though they were about the same size.

Lu Zhao grabbed the fishing net, leaped up, and stood on the rickety roof.

"Regardless of the consequences, let's get it under control first! Then we can arrest the tea stall owner and confront him."

At that moment, the door was pushed open, and Aqing came out.

"There were signs that someone had lived in the house for a long time; there was still some charcoal in the stove, and ashes from tobacco leaves on the floor, and besides that..."

She handed the things in her hand to Jiang Jingming.

A fairly well-made rattle drum with the words "Three Joys" written crookedly on its edge.

Sanxi is a very common child's name.

In Yongzhou, it is customary to give children such simple yet auspicious names, believing that they will be easy to raise, less prone to illness, and will have enough to eat in the future.

Jiang Jingming shook the rattle in his hand, making a "dong dong" sound.

For a moment, everyone fell silent, unwilling to acknowledge the most likely possibility.

That is—Sanxi is the name of that man-eating demon.

"..."

Xie Yunqi finally couldn't stand the atmosphere any longer. She took a few steps and pushed the door open again.

The house was bare, with only a wooden bed, a charcoal stove, and a low table.

A faded, old New Year's picture hangs on the wall, its cheerful, chubby baby clashes with the atmosphere of the home.

Xie Yunqi walked closer and saw two piles of clothes stacked in the corner of the bed.

There were only two simple sets of clothes for adults, both made of coarse linen, while the clothes for children had more patterns. They were neatly piled up, from when the children were a month old to when they were four or five years old.

Xie Yunqi suddenly felt a tingling, stinging pain in his chest.

She came in hoping to find some reasons to stop feeling sorry for him, but all she saw was the ordinary life of a poor father and son.

But what exactly happened? How did things turn out this way?

"Grab him!!!"

Suddenly, Lu Zhao's loud shout came from outside the door.

Xie Yunqi realized what was happening and chased after him out the door.

Ah Qing held the scabbard in one hand and slowly forced one of the people hiding outside the courtyard to come in.

Tea stall owner.

He raised his hands, his lips trembling, and knelt down with a thud.

"Stand up and speak."

Jiang Jingming spoke calmly, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the man-eating ghost still by the well.

He started scooping water from the bucket and drinking clumsily, splashing water everywhere, seemingly unaware of the commotion in the yard.

Lu Zhao remained on the rooftop, clutching the fishing net. If the man-eating demon showed any sign of trying to escape, he would immediately make his move.

Xie Yunqi let out a long sigh and asked anxiously:

"Tell me quickly, what exactly happened?"

"That man-eating demon... is my son."

The tea stall owner looked even more haggard than during the day; he knelt on the ground like a dried-up corpse.

How did he become like this?

Jiang Jingming looked down at the rattle drum in his hand.

It was probably made by the owner himself; the stitches were sparse and clumsy, and the sound wasn't loud enough. But the owner clearly cherished it, as the wooden handle was polished smooth and shiny.

“A few days ago, Sanxi caught a fever. His whole body was burning hot and he kept convulsing. The local doctor came to see him and said he couldn’t cure him. He said that if he wanted to be treated, he would have to go to Shulan City, and the travel expenses and medicine would cost at least fifty taels.”

When the tea stall owner talked about this, his tone was indifferent, as if he were an outsider.

But his grief was clearly conveyed through his words, because everyone present had witnessed how things would end.

“I was just a tea stall owner, and all the money I had on me was only seven or eight taels. That night, I went around asking people for money and sold everything I could at home. I planned to take Sanxi to the city the next day.”

At this point, he slowly closed his eyes, as if he couldn't bear to continue.

Everyone tacitly remained silent, without urging anyone to hurry.

He may be an accomplice to evil, but at this moment, he is just a father filled with despair.

"But Sanxi didn't make it through that night. The next day, as soon as it was light, I touched his forehead, and it was already cold; he wasn't breathing. I sat by the bed, feeling like I was having a nightmare, unable to wake up, and just wanted to kill myself too."

As the tea stall owner spoke, his fingers gripped the soil so tightly that blood almost seeped from under his fingernails.

"It was at this moment... that person pushed the door open and walked in."

Chapter Forty-Nine Decision

That person.

Jiang Jingming pressed down on the hilt of the knife; his intuition told him that this was the root of the matter.

“He was wearing a hood and came in without making a sound. I could see he was smiling, and that smile was very uncomfortable.”

The boss gritted his teeth, his pale face a mixture of despair, fear, and anger.

“I yelled at him to get out, but he just smiled and said he could save my son.”

"..."

Jiang Jingming glanced at Fang Zhiyi subconsciously.

Regarding what cannibals are, her answer just now was that they are people who can bring the dead back to life.

This is exactly the same as what the boss has said so far.

Fang Zhiyi remained as relaxed and smiling as before, as if she hadn't heard her boss at all, like a passerby focused solely on admiring the moon.

"and then?"

Xie Yunqi felt very heavy-hearted. She could roughly guess what would happen next, but she still couldn't imagine how it was done.

"Then, I asked him how much silver he wanted, but he said he didn't want a single penny, and only asked me..."

The boss paused for a long time before slowly and deliberately continuing:

"Just ask me what price I can accept."

"cost?"

Lu Zhao held the fishing net in his hand, but his palms were sweating profusely.

He appeared calm, but inwardly he was somewhat bewildered.

"I said I'm willing to give anything to save my son! You can kill me right now, I'll trade my life for my son's!"

The boss stared wide-eyed; clearly, he still thought so too.

"The man just laughed and said he didn't want my life; he could save my son, but he couldn't guarantee he'd be the same as before. I knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying I would accept whatever came my way, because he was my son..."

At this point, everyone already knows what's going to happen next.

The man did indeed save his son, but it wasn't his Sanxi; what returned was a man-eating demon.

“I don’t know how he did it, but Sanxi really opened his eyes. I know he still recognizes me, but I don’t dare to recognize him. His body was covered with other people’s corpses, and he looked like a monster.”

At this point, the boss finally broke down in tears:

“It’s my fault for Sanxi’s behavior. He shouldn’t have turned out like this! He was such a good child. He lost his mother when he was two years old, and he’s hardly ever eaten meat. He’s half a head shorter than other children his age. His only toy was a rattle drum, but he never cried or made a fuss…”

His sorrow and regret poured out from his broken words, almost like a tidal wave that threatened to overwhelm everyone present.

"This is not your fault."