Chapter 4

Chapter 3: Changming Town 3

Five minutes later, Zuo Sanqiu reluctantly followed Shi Zong off the carriage and arrived at the riverside.

It was dusk. The setting sun stretched a winding orange line along the river, casting a red glow on the green grass across the river.

Also tinted red were the rows of tombstones standing among the grass.

Obviously, the far side of the river was a cemetery.

Shi Zong walked slowly to the riverbank, where a sign stood: “Clover River—No one may cross without permission.”

He sat down casually and asked Zuo Sanqiu, “Have you ever been across the river?”

Zuo Sanqiu shook his head. “Normally, our younger generation waits until 35 to take over as clan head. Unless there’s a special situation, like the previous clan head falling seriously ill or dying.

“I’m only 22, and my father, the clan head, is very healthy, so I haven’t been involved in the family business, nor have I seen the outside world.”

Shi Zong asked, “But Li Dasha and the others are buried across the river. Tonight, Ershao’s body will also be sent there. Right?”

Zuo Sanqiu nodded. “Yes. That’s right.”

“I can’t cross this river, but all my husbands are buried across it. What does that mean? They won’t let me pay my respects?

“This river is abnormal.”

Shi Zong drew this conclusion, then asked Zuo Sanqiu, “Then why did you marry me?”

At this moment, Jiang Wan’er sat on the grass, her skin pale, her body delicate, eyes fragile, seeming like a woman who could be easily manipulated.

Yet through her, Zuo Sanqiu seemed to see Shi Zong’s soul—his gaze sharp, murderous, and intimidating.

Swallowing, Zuo Sanqiu said, “Why else? Of course, I fell in love with you at first sight.”

Shi Zong shook his head decisively. “I don’t believe in love at first sight. Tell me the truth.”

“Really, it’s just that!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Raising his left hand and glancing at the unresponsive back of it, Shi Zong tentatively said, “Being involved in such a dangerous game and encountering someone familiar is actually lucky.

“Sharing information is important. If we know each other well, we can support each other in the game and go further together.”

Shi Zong saying this wasn’t considered OOC?

Zuo Sanqiu eyed the back of his hand warily, then spoke in rebuttal, “Are you joking? Who knows you well? I don’t know you at all!”

Shi Zong continued, “I know you’re upset with me… but I didn’t realize that bonus money meant so much to you. Now I formally apologize and promise to compensate you.

“After leaving the game, I’ll give you the bonus that belongs to you. Not only that, you can work for me long-term to earn a living.

“So, in this dangerous game, do you want to cooperate with me?”

“No!”

Zuo Sanqiu was firm.

“I won’t believe a single word you say. This game is called a murder mystery, but the murder hasn’t happened yet. Who knows if you’re the killer? We may not even be on the same side!”

“Hmm. I see. Then there’s no choice.”

Zuo Sanqiu suddenly felt an ominous premonition.

The next moment he saw Shi Zong, using Jiang Wan’er’s body, smile gently at him.

“Wh-what do you mean?”

Zuo Sanqiu’s scalp tingled.

Jiang Wan’er was indeed very beautiful.

Shi Zong himself was undeniably stunning, androgynous to the extreme.

But beneath the beauty was still a man.

What did he—he want to do?

Shi Zong said, “Zhang Lang, I’ve married three men but never had a child. What a pity. The scenery here is beautiful. How about we have a child?”

Zuo Sanqiu’s back of the hand flashed a red line again. “……”

What does this mean?

If I don’t play Jiang Wan’er now, will I die from OOC?

How can Shi Zong play this game so twisted?

To get the clues, he’s really daring!

Zuo Sanqiu felt like he’d been cursed.

With the red line glowing on his hand, he didn’t dare OOC openly, so he had to use Shi Zong’s words as a hint and gritted his teeth: “Wan’er, whatever you ask next, I’ll agree. Just don’t go crazy!”

The requirement likely had to align with Jiang Wan’er’s character to trigger the red-line plot. Time was limited; Shi Zong had no choice.

When those college students played murder mysteries in the inn, Shi Zong sometimes watched.

Once, Zuo Sanqiu got a plot involving homosexual themes and reacted very negatively.

So Shi Zong guessed Zuo Sanqiu was probably homophobic.

He obviously wouldn’t yield to a man disguised as Jiang Wan’er.

As expected, that was true.

Looking at Zuo Sanqiu, Shi Zong said, “Forget it, Zhang Lang, I suddenly feel a little tired. Next time.”

Zuo Sanqiu: “……”

When the red line on his hand disappeared, Zuo Sanqiu breathed a huge sigh of relief.

The previously gentle, charming Jiang Wan’er completely vanished; Shi Zong’s expression turned cold and stern.

“The wedding is coming. That’s a red-line plot, which cannot be directly violated. Our time is limited. I ask quickly; you answer quickly. Why did you marry me?”

Zuo Sanqiu answered promptly. “I really fell in love with you the first time I saw you. I’m not lying! Look, I dare not go against your demands. I really am your loyal follower!”

Recalling his story carefully, Zuo Sanqiu continued, “But… there are strange things. Mainly, my parents’ attitude was very odd.

“I brought you home, said I wanted to marry you, and my parents strongly opposed it. Then I knelt in the rain for three days and nights for you, almost passing out from fever. You remember, right?”

Shi Zong nodded. “After you regained consciousness, you threatened your mother—you wouldn’t take medicine if she didn’t agree. Only then did she consent.”

Zuo Sanqiu scratched his head and continued, “This morning, the driver took you back to the Li family to see Ershao one last time, while I stayed at the Zhang estate to receive guests who arrived first.

“This morning, when I passed my mother’s room, I saw her holding my ceremonial clothes and smiling. Her smile… was truly joyful. I felt that was unusual.”

Normally, if a mother opposed her son marrying, and the son forced her with threats, the mother would hate the daughter-in-law even more.

Even if she reluctantly agreed, she wouldn’t show happiness.

Why was Zhang Ye’s mother happily welcoming this wedding?

Indeed unusual.

Zhang Ye’s mother, and Li Dasha and Li Ershao’s mother, Liu Jinhua—both outwardly unkind to Jiang Wan’er, always sarcastic, yet what was their true attitude?

Additionally, Shi Zong remembered his story specifically mentioned—

“Jiang Wan’er desperately craves marriage.”

Why? Where does this desire come from?

Was it from harm caused by her original family, or trauma during her youth?

Shi Zong had no memory of this.

As Jiang Wan’er, his impression of the past was very vague.

The dusk deepened; the sky seemed brushed with faint ink.

Calculating time, in about six hours, Jiang Wan’er and Zhang Ye’s auspicious wedding time would arrive.

Marrying at midnight—what kind of auspicious time is that?

…Could it be a ghost marriage?

Thinking this, Shi Zong squinted and carefully studied Zuo Sanqiu beside him—

Could this character already be dead?

When did Zhang Ye die?

Did he not actually wake after kneeling in the rain for three days and nights, high fever collapsing?

Tonight’s wedding is a ghost marriage.

That’s why Zhang Ye’s mother didn’t oppose and secretly smiled happily.

After a while, Shi Zong said, “My first husband, Li Dasha, died of hepatitis. My second husband, the Wang family young master, died of sudden heart failure. My third husband, Li Ershao… according to the town doctor, developed a fatal condition during his hunger strike, then died suddenly.

“These are just preliminary judgments by the doctor. In my memory, no autopsies were done. The town’s medical technology probably couldn’t manage it.

“In Changming Town, everyone lives long. Why were my husbands all short-lived? My husbands, that’s their commonality as victims. So it’s not impossible this is a serial murder case.”

Shi Zong looked at Zuo Sanqiu with a pressing gaze. “Are you the killer? Would you kill to have me?”

Zuo Sanqiu immediately said, “No! How could I kill them? The three families rise and fall together! Though I don’t fully know how we do business outside, it’s tradition, ancestral rules—I could never kill them!”

Shi Zong asked, “Then regarding their deaths,

After all, once the marriage was completed, she would no longer have any use to the Zhang family.

But Jiang Wan’er couldn’t escape the wedding at this time, or the Zhang family would think she had discovered something.

This was the world of the three major families; escaping would be difficult. If caught, she would most likely be killed immediately.

Shi Zong couldn’t run either. He had to go to the Zhang family first and figure out a way to explore.

There was enough time before the wedding; he should be able to find a way to reverse the situation.

During this process, he couldn’t do it without the help of the Zhang family’s eldest young master.

To make Zuo Sanqiu do his best to help, Shi Zong temporarily didn’t mention the suspicion that Zhang Ye was already dead.

Rising from the riverside, he walked toward the carriage, leaving behind a single sentence—

“I’ll make sure you don’t die. In this copy, stick with me.”

“One comb to the end, two combs for white hair aligned with the eyebrows, three combs for children and grandchildren all around. You’ll live very happily!”

This voice came from a room in the Zhang family estate around 10:30 p.m.

A woman was combing Shi Zong, disguised as Jiang Wan’er’s hair.

The Zhang estate was vast, with pavilions, towers, waterside decks, and painted boats, resembling a Jiangnan-style garden, full of ancient charm.

Shi Zong’s current room faced south toward the location of the upcoming wedding. Bright lights and distant noise indicated a lively scene.

Looking north through the window, Shi Zong vaguely saw a small lake and a wooden bridge not far away.

Buildings across the lake were partially hidden by trees, like monsters lying dormant in the night, ready to come alive.

Unlike the lively south, the northern garden was quiet, the wind whispering warnings to stay away.

Soon, the woman finished styling Jiang Wan’er and said, “Midnight is the auspicious hour. I’m sorry, you can’t eat anything before then.

“Oh, and recently there have been rumors of ghosts. Don’t run around. Just stay in this room and wait for Madam Hua to fetch you.”

Rumors of ghosts?

Zhang Ye was probably the ghost.

Shi Zong remained expressionless, nodded, and watched the woman leave.

Then two maids entered, nodded and smiled at Shi Zong as a greeting, then stood at the door.

They seemed to be there to take care of the Zhang family’s future lady, but Shi Zong didn’t miss the subtle vigilance in their expressions.

They were likely guarding Jiang Wan’er, not letting her step outside.

A woman claimed ghosts, warning Jiang Wan’er not to leave.

Even the maids were deliberately watching her.

Perhaps the Zhang estate really was hiding something, unwilling to let Jiang Wan’er discover it.

At this moment, there was less than an hour and a half until the “auspicious marriage time.”

The key to breaking the situation should be here.

“I’m resting for a bit, don’t disturb me.”

Shi Zong said this to the two at the door, pulled down heavy curtains over the bed, and used a pillow under the blanket to roughly create a human shape.

Then he went to the window and tapped three times.

Soon, someone outside responded with three taps.

Hearing the sound, Shi Zong leapt out the window and saw Zuo Sanqiu waiting as promised.

“No one noticed you slipped out, right?”

“Not for now. We’ll explore together. That way, if I get caught, I’m with you. We can claim that our longing for each other was uncontrollable, hence we met secretly before the wedding.”

“Understood. That way, no one will notice we’re investigating clues!”

Zuo Sanqiu lowered his voice, clenched his fist tightly. “If someone really tries to kill me… could it be the Zhang family? Hiss… it’s impossible to guard against all, but a traitor within is hardest to defend against!”

Shi Zong shook his head silently and headed straight for the bridge through the northern garden.

A crescent moon hung in the sky, water flowed beneath the bridge. The deeper north he went, the quieter and more eerie the garden became.

About ten minutes later, Shi Zong found a wooden cabin in the woods.

He judged it held important clues because a brightly shining “Huarong path” mechanism hung at the door.

Apparently, the system was quite friendly to new players.

Leaving Zhang Ye outside as a lookout, Shi Zong approached the cabin, quickly solved the Huarong path mechanism alone, and entered.

The room was full of medicinal scents, with various herbs scattered on the walls, floor, and tables.

On a table in the corner was a medicine jar. Shi Zong shone his flashlight on it, finding some leftover herbal residue.

After searching through drawers, Shi Zong found a medicine record—

【Medicine Name: Love Curse】

【Key Ingredient: Jiang Wan’er’s hair】

【Recipient: Zhang Ye, male, 32 years old】

Shi Zong’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Zhang Ye was 32?

But in his and Zhang Ye’s shared perspective, why was he only 22?

Could it be that he didn’t die from the high fever a few days ago?

Could it be that he died ten years ago?

But what was a love curse anyway?

Shi Zong continued reading, finding the following text—

【Effect of Love Curse: The cursed person will fall in love with the specified target. The target’s hair must be used as the key ingredient. The recipient will consider the specified person their one true love, never oppose any of their wishes, and make marrying them a lifelong goal】

【Required Materials: Mulberry leaves, rose petals…】

【Preparation Method: Mix materials in order, recite incantation】

【Incantation: With hair as bond, I shall never betray, life and death together】

【Form: Colorless, tasteless, undetectable】

【Administration: Effect gradually decreases; recommended to take once every seven days to maintain effect】

【Last Administration: July 8】

July 8? That was four days ago?