"This year's harvest looks like it should be pretty good, but it still can't compare to that plot of land."
"Heh, be content. You don't even look into how that land was obtained."
"I'm just saying, it's not like we'd actually do something like that, I'm not that keen on living forever."
"It's been half a month now, hasn't the chief agreed yet?"
"Ah, that fellow—you know him. Too nice for his own good. He doesn't even look at how our village has been ruined. If you ask me..."
"Ahem!"
Xu Xi and the baseball cap young man had both planned to keep listening, but one of the villagers, sharp-eyed, noticed the two strangers and immediately interrupted the conversation.
Before that villager finished his sentence, Xu Xi and the other were left feeling a bit frustrated.
The villagers' talk clearly contained some key information.
"Who are you?" The villager who had noticed them first asked, frowning.
The baseball cap young man was not the least bit intimidated by the cold expression. "We're relatives of Auntie Cuifen. We had some free time and came to visit for a few days."
"Relatives of Cuifen? I haven't heard of that."
Unfazed by the blatant doubt, the baseball cap young man replied coolly, "We only just arrived today. If you don't believe us, you can go ask Auntie Cuifen. We don't know any of you. What reason would we have to lie?"
Seeing the two young men so calm and unconcerned, the villagers started to believe them.
After all, everyone is from the same village; a quick question would reveal the truth, so there was no point in pretending.
The villagers' wariness relaxed considerably, their expressions softening.
The only villager who had spoken continued, "So what are you here for?"
"We just finished dinner at Auntie's and went out for a walk to help digest, and to take in Ninghe Village's scenery. We didn't expect to see a ripe wheat field over there." The baseball cap young man pointed toward the direction of the golden stalks. "The rest of the wheat is green. That patch is different; we were curious and wanted to ask about it."
Another villager's tone turned strange. "Didn't Auntie Cuifen tell you?"
The baseball cap young man looked puzzled. "Tell us what? Auntie Cuifen only warned that the village has dirty things and told us not to wander around, especially not to go near the empty houses."
"But that's superstition from an old era. We must speak of science."
"And what does that have to do with the wheat?"
"Science?" The villagers exchanged glances.
Xu Xi twitched the corner of his mouth listening from the side.
Sure enough, these players who could pass multiple instances weren't simple—half-truths and lies flowed from their mouths without hesitation.
One villager muttered, "There really is a connection."
The first villager spoke again, "Anyway, listen to Auntie Cuifen. For these three days, don't wander around, don't go out at night, and if you hear knocking, ignore it."
After giving that warning, the villagers prepared to leave.
The baseball cap young man hurried after them, "Hey, you still haven't told me what's going on with that wheat!"
But the villagers clearly didn't intend to say more. After advising, "Finish your walk and head back early, don't loiter here," they left.
Watching their backs, the confusion on the baseball cap young man's face faded and was replaced by a contemplative look.
Although they still didn't fully understand what was up with the wheat field, they had gained extra clues from the villagers' words.
He instinctively turned to discuss it with his companion, only to see the other heading toward the anomalous wheat patch, pause, then immediately follow.
Xu Xi walked to the clearly-problematic field and bent down to inspect it carefully.
When he had heard "you don't even look into how that land was obtained," a vague idea had formed, and sure enough it didn't take long for him to notice something wrong.
The soil of that plot was dark and carried a heavy, rusty, metallic stench.
The baseball cap young man who had followed him soon smelled the pungent odor as well.
"Look at the color and smell... could this wheat have been watered with human blood?" the baseball cap young man blurted out in astonishment. "Judging by how strong the smell is, even if they didn't water it every day, they'd at least have to do it every few days."
So that was why the villagers were unwilling to speak freely.
Xu Xi looked up at the sky. Although it had not been half an hour yet, it would take them some time to walk back.
"Let's go back and meet up with them. It's still quite a walk to Ah Wang's house from here," the baseball cap young man said, also thinking of returning.
Xu Xi nodded.
The two began retracing their path.
...
Ah Wang's house was near the end of the village, not far from their temporary lodgings.
Xu Xi and the baseball cap young man did not approach Ah Wang's home directly, since according to what they'd heard that house was arguably the source of the trouble.
They were the first to arrive.
Before long, the Long Dress Girl and the Curly-Haired Woman walked over, looking like they'd teamed up after following behind.
A few minutes later, the Suited Man and the tall, skinny guy arrived from different directions.
The six of them regrouped.
The Suited Man was the first to share what he had learned. "I went to the village entrance and chatted with the aunties. The recent deaths in the village happened half a month ago. Three people died. The exact causes are unknown. The aunties seemed a bit superstitious, but they all agreed those three deaths were caused by Ah Wang's mother."
Unexpectedly, the tall, skinny guy, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up. "I went to the cemetery. The most recent date on the tombstones is from two months ago, and there's only one."
Hiss.
Now everyone understood why the tall, skinny guy had chosen his turn to speak.
Those three people who died half a month ago had no graves?
"Are all the mysteriously dead villagers without graves, or is it just these three?" the baseball cap young man asked curiously.
The tall, skinny guy answered calmly, "Some tombstones list 'unknown' as the cause of death. I counted—they number sixty-three."
Meaning those sixty-three were probably the villagers who had mysteriously died over the past three years.
"So those three had particularly unusual causes of death?" the Long Dress Girl guessed, frowning.
"If the three had special causes of death that differed from the previous sixty-three, why are the aunties so certain it was Ah Wang's mother?" The Curly-Haired Woman toyed with her hair, puzzled.
The Suited Man said, "It looks like we need to focus on investigating these three deaths."
The Long Dress Girl shared what she had found on her side. "Under the pretense of visiting, I went to some villagers' homes. The two of us bumped into each other and teamed up."
She gestured at the Curly-Haired Woman with a glance.