My daily mountain driving, I met a fox at the beginning and got married

Chen Anshui gazed thoughtfully in the direction the woman had left, then shook his head and said it was alright.

He didn't miss the fleeting guilty look in the woman's eyes.

It seems this woman is definitely hiding something from me.

However, Shen Ming seemed to know nothing about it—was it really because it was such a long time ago?
If they refuse to cooperate now that we're investigating, it will be quite troublesome.

How about we stay here for the night?
This way, we can observe them closely and see if they reveal any flaws.

“It’s alright. By the way, it’s a bit far from where I live, and it’ll probably be very late to go back now. Can I stay at your house for the night? Anyway, I’m going to continue my investigation in your village. It will be good for your Shen family to find out about the hungry ghosts sooner, at least you won’t have to live in fear all the time.”

Shen Ming thought it made sense, hesitated for a moment, and then agreed: "Alright, I'll arrange a room for you to stay here. Let me know if you need anything."

Chen Anshui settled down here.

He called Zhang Hao and explained the strange things that had happened here.

Zhang Hao also found it strange, so he instructed him over the phone: "Then you should investigate thoroughly and see what's going on here. If you can find out if it's related to our investigation, that would be even better."

Chen Anshui assured that he would devote himself wholeheartedly to the investigation.

That evening, he specifically paid for his room and board, saying he didn't want to take advantage of anyone. After dinner, he moved a chair to the yard to cool off.

The stars in the sky were dim, the moon was obscured by dark clouds, and the lights in the courtyard were dim. The chirping of insects filled the air.

If we ignore Chen Anshui's troubles, this scene seems quite peaceful and serene.

Chen Anshui carefully recalled the encounter with the old lady, thinking that if Grandma Shen came out again, he would definitely ask her about it.

Suddenly, he heard a strange children's song.

"One, two, three, good boy, say goodnight, may you sleep soundly in bed and enjoy a lifetime of happiness and health..."

The voice sounded somewhat familiar. Chen Anshui looked in the direction of the sound and saw a faint light emanating from a storage room at the corner of the courtyard.

Is someone in that storage room?
Chen Anshui got up from his chair and walked step by step toward the storage room.

As you step onto the stairs, the sounds coming from inside become clearer.

"Good boy, pay respects to your parents, don't return to the ancestral hall after the first day of the month, train through water and fire, and become a good son..."

The song sounded really eerie, and Chen Anshui got goosebumps all over.

He was outside the storeroom, and because the door was open, he could clearly see Grandma Shen inside, carefully painting a coffin.

She hummed a lullaby as she painted, holding the somewhat worn memorial tablet in her arms.

This bizarre scene would probably scare an ordinary person half to death.

Chen Anshui thought for a moment, then slowly walked inside.

"Grandma Shen, why aren't you asleep so late? What are you busy with? The nursery rhyme you sang earlier was quite nice. What's the meaning of this nursery rhyme?"

Grandma Shen heard the voice and turned to look at him. His cloudy eyes were as cold as a ghost in the night.

"What are you doing here? I've already handed my son over as you instructed. Do you expect me to kill him with my own hands?" The hoarse voice was filled with intense resentment, revealing just how much the speaker loathed the person before him.

Chen Anshui understood that this was most likely a relapse of the old woman's illness, so he went along with her words: "I came here to see what you were doing. Can you tell me about your situation? I don't want to drive your son to his death..."

Grandma Shen sneered and continued painting the coffin red.

The paint had a pungent, strange smell, but when it was applied to the coffin, the smell disappeared and was replaced by a strange sandalwood scent.

The change in scent was rather strange. Chen Anshui looked around but couldn't find any sandalwood.

Where is this smell coming from?

Weird.

Grandma Shen sneered, "Don't pretend in front of me. I know exactly who you are. I've already handed my son over, so where's the medicine I asked for? When are you going to give it to me?"

Chen Anshui thought for a moment, then took a candy out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Of course I keep my word. Here's your medicine."

The old woman's pupils dilated suddenly upon receiving the "medicine." The paintbrush she was holding fell into the paint bucket with a "plop." She stared blankly at the candy in her palm, tears instantly filling her cloudy eyes and falling one by one.

Unexpectedly, the old lady suddenly burst into tears. Chen Anshui comforted her, "Don't cry, don't cry. I've already given you the medicine you wanted, why are you still crying?"

Grandma Shen hugged the memorial tablet tightly, crying as she did so, and whispered, "My dear child, it's not that your mother doesn't love you, it's just that I have no other choice... Your father is so sick, if we don't hand you over, no one in the village will be willing to pool their money to buy medicine to save him... My dear child, I know you hate me, but there's really no other way... Please save your father..."

As Chen Anshui listened to these words, he vaguely began to understand what he needed to investigate.

This probably happened when Grandma Shen was young.

Grandma Shen had a child at that time, whose nickname was probably "Good Boy". The village was probably holding some kind of sacrificial ceremony to ward off evil spirits, which required a living person as a sacrifice.

It just so happened that Grandma Shen's husband fell ill at that time and urgently needed money to buy medicine. Since her family couldn't afford it, they were taken advantage of by the villagers and forced to exchange their child for the life-saving medicine.

“It’s okay, it’s all in the past, I don’t blame you. You’ll feel guilty, you’ll avenge me. Tell me, what exactly happened? It’s been so long, I can’t quite remember.” Chen Anshui handed her a tissue to wipe her tears.

Taking the tissue to wipe away her tears, Grandma Shen cried even more bitterly.

“I didn’t… I said I would help you… I’m sorry… I really had no choice. Why did this have to happen to our family? This is an old custom in the village. My dear, blame your bad luck. If you want revenge in your next life, come find me. Don’t hurt anyone else. Even if you kill me, I will have no complaints.”

Grandma Shen kept talking to herself.

Chen Anshui stroked his chin thoughtfully.

After a while, footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by an angry voice:
"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Chen Anshui looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was Shen Ming's mother who had come out in the middle of the night. She stood at the bottom of the steps with her hands on her hips, staring at them angrily.

Chen Anshui smiled and pointed to Grandma Shen next to him, saying, "I was enjoying the cool air in the yard when I heard Grandma Shen humming a lullaby, so I came over to check on her, just in case she hurt herself in the middle of the night."

Shen Ming's mother snorted coldly, strode over, grabbed the old lady's arm, and said sharply, "Stop with this superstitious nonsense so late at night! Go back to your room and go to sleep! You can't be at peace unless you cause trouble, can you? Honestly, when are you going to stop this crazy? Ever since your father-in-law passed away, you've been like this, do you know how much trouble you've caused us?" (End of Chapter)