I stared at him blankly, unable to say a word.
Lao Jiang said calmly: "What a coincidence?"
The middle-aged man grinned, showing his big yellow teeth: "Yes, what a coincidence, you guys also get up at night to pee?"
Lao Jiang and I were startled for a moment, then nodded repeatedly.
The middle-aged man looked us up and down thoughtfully: "Why are two grown men so careful when peeing? If I hadn't held up the lamp, I might have bumped into you."
Fortunately, I thought quickly this time and pretended to be timid: "I was scared, so I took the teacher with me."
"Yes, it's dark and haunted here. It's not as good as outside." The middle-aged man smiled and suddenly pointed his hand to the left: "But the toilet is over there, you just went to the wrong place."
"Yes, yes, I'm so sleepy!" I pulled Lao Jiang and hurriedly walked towards the toilet.
However, just as we were leaving, we were stopped by a man: "Why are there so much mud on your feet?"
My heart suddenly thumped. To be honest, even if I was almost discovered by a tomb robber, I was not so nervous. But now when facing this rural man, my heart twitched and I was on edge, as if he had already seen through us.
I looked at Lao Jiang silently again, and Lao Jiang's face obviously didn't look good either.
However, at this moment, the man's hoarse voice sounded from behind again: "You guys take off your shoes later and put them at the door, and I will wash them for you! Otherwise, the house will be filled with mud, and my mother-in-law will scold me again..."
I was about to say no, but Lao Jiang turned around and said with a smile, "Brother Lao!"
The two sides parted in this way in the night.
In order to avoid alerting the enemy, we made a special trip to the toilet. When we came out, we saw that the man had disappeared, so we knocked on the door of the room.
When she saw us coming back, Yin Ling'er smiled happily and looked left and right, for fear that I would be hurt.
Ge Weihan was tinkering with small inventions and said, "This female doll was really annoying me all night. She was chirping and kept asking me, are you in danger?"
"Not to mention, there are indeed weird things happening in Sanxing Village at night!"
Lao Jiang stared out the window and glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, and then told everyone what he had discovered tonight.
Ge Weihan was a smart man, and he immediately concluded that there must be something else going on under the stage, and it was very likely that the burglary hole was opened there. And he also speculated that the reason why these tomb robbers lingered in Sanxing Village must not have found what they were looking for.
In other words, we still have a chance!
Lao Jiang did not get comfort from Ge Weihan's words. He was still smoking and his eyebrows were tightly knitted into a lock, obviously with something on his mind.
I asked Lao Jiang what was wrong, why did he look so depressed?
Lao Jiang took a long breath and exhaled a puff of thick white smoke. After scanning everyone, his eyes finally landed on me: "Li Jinglan, weren't you very curious about that group before?" What is the identity of the troupe? Now I am 100%25 sure that they are the Western Sichuan Ghosts, and they have probably arrived at Sanxing Village."
This is the second time I heard Lao Jiang mention this name.
Immediately asked: "Are these people scary?"
Lao Jiang nodded: "Yes, according to Qilin's intelligence, they were all wiped out decades ago. But I didn't expect that the spring breeze would blow again, and they would actually show up in Xichuan again, and they were still in Sanxing Village..."
The Western Sichuan Evil Ghosts were first established in the late Qing Dynasty and were mainly active in Xichuan and Western Hunan. On the surface, they were a wandering opera troupe in the west, but in fact they were a group of ruthless tomb robbers.
Everywhere this group of people go, they will inquire about the local celebrity graves, and then take advantage of the opportunity of hosting a red and white wine banquet to dig holes and rob the tombs behind their backs. In order to avoid leaking the news, they often silence all the local people after obtaining the treasure!
They ranged from eighty-year-old women to crying babies, and even pregnant women were not spared.
Therefore, not to mention serious people, even fellow tomb robbers disdain to associate with them and call them: evil ghosts.
There is a popular saying: If you encounter an evil ghost at midnight, no one, young or old, will be spared. Even the Lord of Hell will be beheaded if he encounters one.
This shows how ruthless the evil spirits in Western Sichuan are!
Lao Jiang told us: "The masks worn on the faces of these evil ghosts in Western Sichuan are also very particular. When they talk to you in a friendly manner, they show a plain face; when they are angry, they show a black face; when they kill people, they show a red face!"
His words made me break into a cold sweat.
The person who discovered me last night wasn’t just a red-faced Guan Gong. He was intent on killing me!
I felt as if I was being watched, and there was a little ghost on the back of my neck blowing air-conditioning, so I immediately discussed with Lao Jiang that we must pretend to be at home the next day.
Because that group of tomb robbers will definitely search the whole village, but will this couple report us?
"If it doesn't work, should we give this couple to..." I made a knife gesture.
But I regretted it as soon as I said it, and even wondered if such a vicious plan came from my mouth?
Yin Ling'er's eyes suddenly widened, she covered her mouth and said: "Uncle and aunt are very good to us, they should...should not betray us."
She looked at Lao Jiang, who rarely got angry at me, and warned me with a serious look on his face: "Li Jinglan, remember, Qilin will never hurt innocent people, no matter what time!"
Even Ge Weihan frowned and no longer treated me as amiably as before: "My child, if we attack innocent people, how are we different from these tomb robbers? God said that when a person becomes a devil, he often becomes a devil. Just because of a difference of thought.”
I opened my mouth, wanting to defend myself, but I felt that any explanation now was pale.
Fortunately, Yin Ling'er secretly pulled me with her little hand under the table, and I found some comfort in her soft little hand.
For a moment, the darkness deep inside me slowly faded away.
After a while, a figure suddenly appeared at the door. It looked like a middle-aged man.
He took my and Lao Jiang's shoes and left. At that moment, my heart was in my throat again, for fear that he would use this evidence to inform us!
Lao Jiang looked indifferent and asked me to calm down.
After a while, the man came back again, carrying two pairs of shoes...
After he left, Lao Jiang and I opened the door a crack and put our shoes in. The muddy soles had been washed clean, but the uppers were still slightly dusty, which was exactly in line with how clean our shoes were in the afternoon.
Is it a coincidence?
Or did he do it on purpose?
