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Chapter 383 Come in!
Shiyang Village is located on the east bank of the river, running north-south along that small river.

Old Li led Xu Yuan to the north end of the village, to a simple courtyard.

The courtyard wall is only half a person high. Inside are three earthen houses. There is a small kitchen to the west of the main hall, and the one to the east is obviously a later addition and is much newer.

Old Li was introducing Chen Baonian to Lord Xu: "Chen Baonian is the same age as me, and he raised a son and two daughters."

The girls have all married and moved to other villages, so they rarely come back. The son has gotten married and lives in the room on the east side.

My daughter-in-law is quite capable; she gave birth to two grandsons. Who would have thought something like this would happen?

The old village head pointed to a small earthen mound with banyan trees in the northwest direction and whispered, "Sir, my grandfather told me that the young man and his family were hanged there back then."

Xu Yuan estimated that the distance to Chen Baonian's house was only about two hundred zhang.

Xu Yuan was quite familiar with that place—last night, he went upstream along the river to see if he could leave the village through the river, and that's when he arrived at the foot of that small earthen slope.

The old man specifically brought up this matter, clearly believing that the strange occurrences in the village today might be related to the tragedy a hundred years ago.

Guimen Village is often like this.

Although eerie and unsettling, it did not appear without reason.

Xu Yuan didn't say anything, but gestured for the old villager to open the door.

The gate wasn't locked, but the old villager pushed it and found it wouldn't budge.

Old Li went around to the low wall next to him and saw that the gate was blocked from the inside by a wooden stick as thick as an arm.

A glimmer of hope flashed in the old village head's eyes: "Could it be... that the two children didn't turn into evil spirits!?"

Xu Yuan made the same guess.

Because Xu Yuan didn't see two lonely children among those golden figures last night.

The Golden People live in family units, and especially after they become evil spirits, they will not accept two children.

Xu Yuan deduced that the two children were still hiding in the village.

That would naturally be most likely happening at home.

As the old man climbed over the wall, he called out, "Ah Niu, Ah Sheng?"

There was a sudden commotion in the room, then it fell silent again, as if the two children had quickly hidden themselves.

Old Li said, "Don't be afraid, Uncle hasn't turned into an evil spirit."

But there was still no sound from inside the room.

Xu Yuan climbed over the wall and entered, with Lang Xiaoba and Ji Shuangqiu following behind.

Xu Yuan waved to Ji Shuangqiu: "Go and take the two children to the ancestral hall. Once they're calmed down, come back and inform me that I have something to ask them."

Then Xu Yuan patted the old village head, signaling us to go first.

The two children must have been frightened last night.

At this moment, Ji Shuangqiu, being a woman, was clearly more likely to approach the child than the three men.

Even though Ji Shuangqiu was tall and burly with broad shoulders and a thick waist.

The village headman shouldn't even think about it—the evil spirits in the village last night were all villagers in disguise, and the children are most afraid of him.

After coming out, Xu Yuan went to take another look at that small earthen mound.

The old village head had originally been very confident, saying that his grandfather had pointed out to him which tree had caused the family to hang themselves.

I'm sure I'll be able to recognize it.

But when he actually got there... he scratched his head, looking at this tree which looked quite similar, and then at that tree which also seemed quite similar.

Xu Yuan had no hope of relying on the old man's memory.

Each of the Ghost Gate Villages has one or more core mysteries.

They must be found and executed.

Otherwise, even if Xu Yuan killed all the strange creatures he could find in the village, it would still be difficult for him to leave the village.

Of course, there is another way: Xu Yuan can be promoted to the fourth rank.

Judging from the level of this village, Siliu would certainly be able to break through all restrictions by force alone.

Xu Yuan began to search the small earthen slope carefully, leaving no suspicious place unchecked.

Not only did he open the "Fate Gazing" window, but he also secretly used the Yin-Yang Guillotine's vision to look at everything.

However, nothing was found.

Xu Yuan was not giving up, so he asked Lang Xiaoba to call Zhou Leizi over: "Take a look at the banyan trees, weeds and wildflowers here, is there anything wrong with them?"

Zhou Leizi's spirits lifted; this was a golden opportunity to earn merit.

Zhou Leizi also believed that he was no worse than Lang Xiaoba. He even felt that before Lord Xu arrived, he was far superior to Lang Xiaoba.

But now it seems we can't catch up!
If I can make a contribution this time and receive a reward from the adults, I can at least close the gap a bit.

Therefore, Zhou Leizi tried his best... but still came up empty-handed.

"Sir, there's really nothing wrong."

Xu Yuan waved his hand in disappointment, telling him to get lost.

Finally, Xu Yuan used the Six-Eyed Nethermoth to release several Yin Soldiers, which then burrowed underground to search for something.

Still nothing was found.

By this point, Xu Yuan was 80% certain that it wasn't that he hadn't found it, but rather that everything here was truly normal.

"Go back, Ji Shuangqiu has already calmed those two children down."

……

Inside the ancestral hall, two children, around six or seven years old, hid behind a female officer, each holding a piece of dried apricot, carefully biting into it little by little, reluctant to finish it in one go.

The female captain was not Ji Shuangqiu, but the one with the most regular appearance among Xu Yuan's female captains.

But she can't compare to Zhu Zhanmei.

Sometimes Xu Yuan would lament, "We're both female cultivators, but Zhu Zhanmei is so beautiful and charming, while all my subordinates are...?"

Seeing Xu Yuan return, the female captain complained with a mix of amusement and exasperation: "Sir, how could you entrust the task of coaxing a child to Ji Shuangqiu?"

As soon as you left, she smashed down the door and rushed in, grabbing one under each armpit and bringing them back.

You didn't see it! The two poor children were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they couldn't even cry out!

I coaxed them for a long time, even sharing the dried fruit I had brought with me, before they finally calmed down.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan went to look at Ji Shuangqiu. This brave woman was too ashamed to look at the adult, her two big, round eyes staring at the sparrows in the tree outside the window.

It's like... a 200-pound big girl who likes to do arithmetic problems.

"I was wrong. I shouldn't have thought that Ji Shuangqiu was a woman at all."

Just as Xu Yuan was about to question the two children, a captain rushed in: "Sir, the canal authorities have sent more people. They insist on entering the village, and we can't stop them any longer!"

Xu Yuan angrily said, "Didn't you tell them that this place has become the Ghost Gate Village?"

“I told them, but they didn’t believe me. They insisted on seeing Zhao Xianze, saying that they would only believe it if Lord Zhao told them in person.”

Xu Yuan said, "Lord Zhao died at the hands of evil spirits last night. Didn't you explain that to them?"

“I told them, but they still don’t believe me.”

Xiang Qinghuai secretly lamented, "I told you not to be impulsive. You killed Zhao Xianze and felt good for a moment, but what are we going to do now?"
Xu Yuan suddenly laughed, and he kept laughing for a long time, leaving Xiang Qinghuai completely baffled.

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "Let's go, let's go take a look at the village entrance."

……

Xu Yuan sent four men to guard the village entrance. One went back to report the news, while the remaining three were patiently explaining to the group outside, "We would never dare to deceive you, sirs."

"You really can't come in, or you'll never get out!"

This is how it is in Guimen Village; everything looks normal from the outside, which is how people are lured in.

As long as the people inside don't try to get out, they won't encounter a ghost wall.

However, in typical ghost villages, the people inside cannot communicate directly with those outside.

Shiyang Village has probably just become a village of ghosts, and some of its "rules" are not yet fully established.

The officers outside, including the adjutant and the chief clerk, simply refused to believe it and shouted sternly, "Quickly bring Zhao Xianze out to see us!"

"Xu Yuan is incredibly audacious! He defied orders and even dared to plot against the river patrol officer!"

"They are truly guilty of heinous crimes and deserve to die!"

Xu Yuan strode out, and the three captains breathed a sigh of relief, finally having someone to rely on: "Sir, please explain to these men, no matter what we say, they won't believe us..."

"Explain what?" Xu Yuan glared. "If they don't believe me, then let them in!"

Everyone, both inside and outside, was speechless.

Xu Yuan cursed inwardly, "I'm saving your lives! You're ungrateful and you're even trying to frame me!"

Alright, come in, all of you.

Please come in quickly!

Xu Yuan suddenly noticed Zhu Zhanmei standing to the side and quickly added, "If Inspector Zhu trusts me, then stay outside the village with your men."

(End of this chapter)