Transmigrated into a fat wife, farming, raising children, and picking up husbands

However, while the masterminds went home to sleep, the morning in Peach Blossom Town was destined to be anything but peaceful.

Especially the families living in the western part of the town, closer to the abandoned old house, couldn't sleep a wink all night.

It was windy last night.

But the faint, mournful screams, so shrill they seemed inhuman, still drifted intermittently into the ears of many light sleepers on the night breeze.

At first, people thought it was just the wind and rain or wild cats fighting.

But the fear in those screams was so real that you could even tell they came from the voices of several different men.

"A ghost!" "Help!" "Don't come any closer!"

Such screams rose and fell, sending chills down one's spine.

Some daring men, woken up in the middle of the night, would sneak over and peek through the crack in the door.

All that could be seen in the desolate garden were shadowy figures, with eerie white shadows seemingly drifting by and specks of green will-o'-the-wisp flickering incessantly.

He was so frightened that the hairs on his body stood on end. He quickly ran home, huddled under the covers, and pulled them over his head.

As dawn broke and the rain gradually subsided, the restless curiosity, like a cat's claws, began to gnaw at the hearts of the neighbors.

It was still drizzling early in the morning.

Several families quietly opened their doors and crept together, clutching rolling pins and fire pokers for courage.

"Last night...did you hear that?"

"I heard it, that scream, it sounded really creepy, like it was coming from that haunted garden..."

"Is it... really haunted? When I went out to check last night, I think I even saw green flames..."

"Should we go check it out? What if... it's a thief?"

The group mustered their courage and slowly made their way toward the crooked and dilapidated gate of the abandoned garden.

The closer you get, the more pronounced the indescribable stench becomes.

Pushed along by the crowd, Granny Wang, walking at the very front, craned her neck and squinted her old eyes to peek through the crack in the door—

"Oh my goodness!"

She was so frightened that she took a step back, almost knocking over the person behind her. She patted her chest, her face pale.

Seeing this, the others couldn't resist their curiosity and craned their necks to get a closer look.

Upon seeing this, everyone gasped in shock!

Under the dilapidated gate and porch of the deserted garden, several people lay sprawled out in various postures.

Upon closer inspection, weren't they the same few "masters" from the Black Fish Gang who usually ran rampant in the market and were hated by everyone?

But at this moment, they had none of their former prestige and arrogance.

Jia Heiyu huddled in a heap, his face ashen, his eyes vacant and blank as he stared at the gray sky.

There was still some white foam at the corner of his mouth, and his chest was heaving violently, but he couldn't make a complete sound, only making hoarse noises.

Even the back of the clothes looked like they had been torn to shreds.

Monkey Three lay sprawled in the corner, his body twitching occasionally, with a pool of filth beneath him that emitted a foul stench.

The gauze on Gouwu's head came undone, revealing a sunken and deformed nose and a bluish-purple face. A large bump was swollen on his forehead, and blood was still seeping out when he moved.

Zhao Si covered his eyes tightly with both hands, his body trembling like a leaf falling in the autumn wind. Through his fingers, one could see the extreme fear in his eyes.

Lai Qi lay prone in the mud, Liu Er was nowhere to be found, and Ma Liu lay motionless on the ground.

The group of people looked miserable, were in a daze, and were terrified.

The stench, a mixture of rainwater, mud, excrement, and filth, was particularly pungent and nauseating in the fresh air after the rain.

In this situation, and recalling the faint screams and will-o'-the-wisps I heard last night...

"What...what kind of suffering did they endure?" a man murmured.

"Judging from their condition, and the way they screamed last night... could it be... that they were really possessed? That the 'things' in the garden dealt with them?"

The other person lowered their voice, their tone filled with fear and a hint of barely suppressed pleasure.

"Pah! Serves you right." Granny Wang spat, a look of satisfaction on her face.

"These scoundrels bullied men and women and committed countless evil deeds. This is retribution! It's God's mercy."

Several eavesdropping neighbors exchanged frightened glances, covered their mouths and noses, and retreated hastily, turning and fleeing this place of trouble as if they were running away.

As dawn broke, the Black Fish Gang members in the desolate western garden appeared disheveled and seemingly "ghostly."

After being witnessed by a few bold neighbors, the news spread like wildfire, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples to spread rapidly.

It stirred up a huge wave in the streets and alleys, teahouses and restaurants of Peach Blossom Town.

More and more people gathered near the abandoned garden to watch, pointing and discussing.

Seeing the Black Fish Gang members in such a miserable state, a sense of satisfaction, that "evil gets its just desserts" was secretly surging within him, in addition to fear.

Meanwhile, rumors about the abandoned garden being haunted last night, with vengeful ghosts claiming lives and punishing bullies, quietly took root and became increasingly fantastical.

Everyone who heard it wore an expression of disbelief and lingering fear.

The gaze directed toward the desolate western garden held a newfound reverence and fear.

As rumors spread that the Black Fish Seven Fiends had finally met their retribution, they also reached the backyard of Wanfu Teahouse on the other side of town.

In a secluded corner, Liu Ruyan stood under the eaves.

Watching a gray, unremarkable carrier pigeon flutter its wings and take flight, heading towards the capital without looking back.

It quickly disappeared into the still somewhat hazy clouds after the rain.

A small, sealed metal letterbox was also tied to the pigeon leg ring.

As for what's inside, only the person who released it knows.

Around noon, Peach Blossom Town began to bustle with activity.

Outside the only school in Peach Blossom Town, groups of two or three women gradually gathered.

They were carrying baskets or leading even smaller dolls; they were all there to pick up their children from school.

The children's chatter hadn't yet fully filled the street.

The women's hushed conversations, filled with mystery and fear, had already begun to spread.

"...Have you heard? That bastard's brothel at the west end was in big trouble last night. They took care of all those scoundrels, including Jia Heiyu!"

A woman carrying a basket nudged an acquaintance next to her with her elbow, glanced at the abandoned garden, and spoke in a low voice.

"That's right!" the woman immediately replied, puffing out her chest with a hint of secret excitement and pride on her face.

"My mother-in-law's house isn't far away, and I could faintly hear the noise!"

"They said it was in the middle of the night when they heard crying and screaming inside, and they were even shouting that there were ghosts!"

"Oh my god, that was terrifying! This morning, Granny Wang and the others sneaked over to check, and guess what?"

"What's going on? Tell us!" Two or three more women gathered around, all ears, waiting to hear what was going on.

"Oh dear! Those guys from the Black Fish Gang are all lying at the gate! Jia Black Fish is foaming at the mouth, and Liu and the other two are so scared they can't even open their eyes to look at anyone. They're just babbling incoherently! And there are others..."

"Oh my, I heard they were so scared they peed their pants, and the stench was unbearable! They looked like they were either possessed by an evil spirit or really haunted by a ghost!"