Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Found It!

The middle-aged woman had told the four who were searching for someone. In order to celebrate the birth and full moon of her little grandson, the Tan family had made great efforts to organize a proper and respectable celebration. They had even planned to set up a ten-day long banquet with meat and alcohol in the village.

From this perspective, their warm invitation to the strangers to come over for food and drinks seemed like an ordinary gesture.

However, although they had already decided to "test the sensation of a 'wandering soul'" here, Bai and Mei still did not directly accept the invitation from the host.

The two of them were polite and cupped their hands, saying, "Thank you for your kind invitation. However, we have urgent matters to attend to and need to continue our journey, so we may not be able to accept."

When the Jun brothers heard this, their pupils contracted slightly. They were both surprised and suspicious but did not dare to speak.

It wasn’t until Bai and Mei led them away from the path they had originally taken that the brothers finally spoke, one after the other. "Bai, Mei, are we leaving now?"

"We are leaving, but what about Senior Sister and Senior Brother…?"

Bai Zhengliu responded, "No hurry. They’ll likely not be able to leave either. We’re just taking a detour to understand the situation."

Mei Yinghan also spoke, "I mentioned to you before, the 'Chang Residence' we visited previously. Outside the house, there was a thick fog. But this place seems different. Outside the Tan family, the mountain forest and paths are clear and visible."

The Jun brothers held their breath, understanding now—there was a clue here!

Once they understood this, the two brothers pushed aside their doubts and began to seriously observe their surroundings.

The trees were still trees, the water still water—nothing unusual, unlike the scenes in common ghost stories where blood spurts out everywhere.

However, Bai said earlier, "We’re probably not going to be able to leave."

After wandering around the area for a while, the Jun brothers finally understood the meaning behind those words.

They were clearly walking through the forest along their memories. Based on the way they came, they only needed to pass through to reach the Tan family village. But now, after wandering for half a day, they couldn’t find the exit to the Tan family village. Instead, they heard the noisy, festive sounds of the Tan family’s celebration.

Bai Zhengliu whispered to Mei Yinghan, "It seems, our range of movement is about the same as it was at the 'Chang Residence.'"

Mei Yinghan agreed, then added, "At the 'Chang Residence,' there was the white fog outside, and within it, something killed Brother Hu. Here, in the forest, there may also be dangerous things, though they haven’t appeared yet."

Bai Zhengliu pondered, "I still think it was Old Master Chang who caused Brother Hu’s death."Mei Yinghan looked at him, and Bai Zhengliu spoke logically: "Brother Mei, I mentioned to you before, the impression that Brother Hu and Old Master Chang give off is quite similar..."

The Jun brothers quietly perked up their ears: This was valuable first-hand experience from Bai and Mei! They needed to learn more from this.

Among the four, two were speaking while the other two humbly listened and learned. As the conversation continued, they all made a rough circle around the area, confirming the scope of their movement.

Afterward, they slowly returned to the Tan family’s door.

Upon seeing the four returning, the welcoming party showed no surprise at all. They still smiled and greeted them, "Heroes, have you come back again?"

Their tone was cheerful, with no hidden meaning behind their words.

Bai Zhengliu glanced at their faces and saw they had similar facial features, which gave him a general guess. He calmly nodded and said, "We must trouble you again—earlier we heard that today is the full moon celebration of a child?"

The welcoming party laughed, "Exactly, it is my nephew’s grandson."

Bai Zhengliu showed a bit of realization on his face, "Then these gentlemen must be the child’s maternal uncles?"

The welcoming party laughed, "Indeed." They then proceeded with introductions.

It turned out that the oldest among them was the Tan family’s daughter-in-law's elder uncle. The young man standing beside him was his son, making him the Tan family's daughter-in-law's cousin.

Two others beside them were younger than the elder but older than the youth. They were the Tan family’s daughter-in-law’s third and fourth uncles. Both were in their prime, their backs and arms showing the muscular build typical of martial artists.

The family’s surname was Meng. Bai Zhengliu had heard of and seen them, a slight smile appearing on his face. "The two uncles from the Meng family must have practiced the saber."

The third and fourth uncles from the Meng family laughed, "You young one have a good eye."

Bai Zhengliu still smiled, "As fellow saber practitioners, naturally I have some sharpness in my eyes." He paused, then continued, "Since the uncles are greeting us outside, the child’s maternal grandfather must be inside the courtyard."

The Meng family’s eldest uncle shook his head. "Not at all. My niece was unfortunate and lost her mother at a young age. When she grew up, she lost her father as well."

Bai Zhengliu was slightly shocked. "This..."

He immediately apologized, but the Meng family’s eldest uncle comforted him in return. "You’re an outsider, naturally unaware of these details. It’s not your fault."Although they were not the bride’s direct family, from Uncle Meng to Fourth Uncle Meng, the relationship between them and the Tan family seemed very good.

When Bai Zhengliu and the others formally entered, Tan Yuanwai himself happened to come out to check the situation. A cheerful laugh came from behind, which made Jun Tao sigh involuntarily, "Such a good family, on a day of great joy, yet they’re troubled by mountain bandits... sigh!"

However, Jun Yang was not in the mood to feel sentimental about this. He carefully observed the surroundings, scanning the Tan family members and the guests, trying to find the figures of his senior sister and brother-in-law.

Unfortunately, he failed. All he saw were unfamiliar faces, though they seemed to be speaking and laughing with one another as if they were very familiar.

Jun Yang felt disappointed but didn’t let it show on his face.

The Tan family didn’t specifically assign them seats, so the four of them found a quiet corner to sit down.

Before the feast began, there were no large or hot dishes in front of them. However, sunflower seeds, snacks, tea, and alcohol were all in abundance. Not far off, guests were engaging in some form of martial arts practice, calling out loudly and drawing curious looks from those around them.

In the end, it was the younger brother who couldn’t hold back. Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan were still observing the people’s appearances and body types, and Jun Tao couldn’t help but say, “Bai Ge, Mei Ge, we—”

Before he could finish, someone interrupted him.

But it wasn’t Bai Zhengliu or Mei Yinghan; it was a man who had approached from a nearby table. Seeing them, he smiled and said, "Are you gentlemen visiting Tan’s village for the first time?"

Jun Tao’s eyebrows twitched, and he stopped speaking. Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan turned to look at the man, their gazes briefly scanning his long horse-like face, then showing polite expressions, "Indeed."

The man, upon receiving their response, smiled even more brightly. "I thought so. I’ve never seen you before." He smiled again, though this time it was somewhat cryptic. "It’s been some time since we’ve had this many new guests at once."

New guests? Bai Zhengliu gave the man another look, just in time to meet his meaningful gaze.

The swordsman: "Hmm."

The man with the horse-like face maintained a mysterious expression.

Bai Zhengliu slowly turned his head and exchanged a look with Mei Yinghan, saying, "Given the time, we’ll probably have to wait a while before we can see the newborn child."

Mei Yinghan gave a slight smile, "We didn’t know we would be attending someone else’s feast. Otherwise, we should have bought a gift to bring."

Bai Zhengliu pondered for a moment, "It’s too late to buy a gift now. How about we just pool some copper coins together and offer them as a gift?"

Their conversation, in tone and expression, seemed casual and relaxed, which made the man with the horse-like face appear overly concerned.He quickly realized this as well. Narrowing his eyes, he shifted his focus to the Jun brothers.

The Jun brothers, however, were eager to probe this man who had approached them, but with Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan's example in front of them, they weren’t foolish enough to casually strike up a conversation. So no matter how the man with the horse-like face gestured with his eyes towards the two brothers, they ignored him.

Under their intentional disregard, the man’s expression gradually darkened.

But he still wasn’t planning to give up.

Looking at the four of them, the man with the horse-like face licked his lips, first casting a warning glance around before lowering his voice and saying, “Do you know why I can tell at a glance that you’re new guests? — If you were from Tan’s village, you probably wouldn’t even approach this house.”

At this point, the four finally cast him a glance.

The man with the horse-like face smiled with restrained pride and said, “You may not understand what I mean by this now, but no worries. Just walk around the outside, and you’ll understand soon enough.”

Bai Zhengliu’s brows twitched when he heard this.

The experiences at Chang’s house seemed to lose their relevance all of a sudden.

Unlike Chang Lao Ye, An Bo, Ping Ge, and even Hu Tu Hu, who had all tried their best to keep their "non-human" identities hidden until the end, this man in front of them was speaking so plainly and openly, almost as if he feared they wouldn’t realize they were in danger.

Although Bai Zhengliu knew he shouldn’t let an unknown figure take control of the conversation, he couldn’t help but show some interest at this point and asked, “Because there’s been an incident in Tan’s village? Or is it something else?”

The man with the horse-like face was clearly surprised.

He looked at Bai Zhengliu, then at the other three, and suddenly realized something. He gasped and said, “So, you already know.”

The four of them remained expressionless. The man with the horse-like face clicked his tongue, cupped his hands, and said, “It seems my earlier ‘hero’ wasn’t wrong after all. To be able to remain unfazed in this situation, I truly admire you!”

Bai Zhengliu raised his chin slightly, wearing an even more profound expression than the man’s earlier, and said, “Since you ‘admire’ us, just speak plainly.”

Mei Yinghan chimed in at the right moment, “The last time we dealt with someone like you, you weren’t so talkative.”

The man with the horse-like face’s pupils contracted, and when he looked at the four again, a layer of deep thought appeared in his eyes.

“In that case,” he said, “I won’t waste any more words. If you want to know how to leave this place, let’s gamble, and I’ll tell you.”

Bai Zhengliu stared at him, quickly weighing his options in his mind: it was obvious now, the man with the horse-like face had ulterior motives for approaching them.But he couldn't directly do anything, so he chose to use a "gamble" as a medium.

Why? Is it that only with a medium can a ghost harm people? Or is it because it's daytime? Or are there other things restricting this man with the horse-like face... a male ghost?

Given they had already reached this place and with the earlier behaviors, Bai Zhengliu found it hard to believe the man was human.

These thoughts were numerous, but they passed through his mind in an instant.

The man with the horse-like face stared at the swordsman intently, and when he saw his lips move slightly, a look of delight immediately appeared on his face.

However, before Bai Zhengliu could speak, a voice came from behind him, firm and decisive: “They won’t gamble!”

The man with the horse-like face’s expression changed, and he scolded, “How is it you again, meddling woman?!”

The Jun brothers were instantly overjoyed, and they called out together: “Shijie! Lu Shixiong!”