"Pitter patter, sorrowful, the heart is frightened. Listening to the distant mountains and trees, the wind and rain, the high and low cries.
"Drip after drip, drip after drip, the sorrowful blood and tears burst forth. To this sorrow, I turn it to the Desolate Grave of Memories. "
Grandmother Wang's residence.
The opera troupe on the stage wept tears of blood.
The white silk, the flickering candlelight, and the drizzle at night made the scene even more sorrowful.
Grandmother Wang's wife fainted a few times from crying. She called a doctor and prescribed a few doses of calming soup before she finally fell asleep a few hours ago.
The two young grandchildren, a boy and a girl, were still running around in the courtyard. They had no idea what was going on.
Tang Ling was sitting in the front yard of Grandmother Wang's residence, munching on melon seeds at the table in the corner and sipping the yellow wine from time to time.
It tasted sour in the mouth, but Tang Ling could not describe the long taste.
However, he could not resist the persuasion from the group of like-minded teenagers at the table, so all he could do was take a few sips from time to time.
"The daughter-in-law of the Wang family is quite pitiful. Her husband died in the mountains a few years ago, and now, the old lady of the Wang family is also …" A teenager beside Tang Ling could not help but sigh when he saw the children running around in the courtyard.
"I heard that the Wang family's Dalang's death is also quite interesting. Is that true?" Tang Ling peeled a peanut and put it in his mouth.
Eating in the Dream Domain was a unique experience. Whatever the taste and aroma, one could smell it with one's nose and taste it with one's mouth, but one's stomach was empty.
Even so, Tang Ling enjoyed it a lot.
Ever since the so-called lunch at home, he had been shocked by the ancient Huaxia food culture.
'One can never get tired of eating fine, and one can never get tired of eating fine.' This was extremely meticulous.
The freshest spring bamboo shoots were only the most tender part of the bamboo shoots. The best bamboo shoots were thinly sliced without any extra seasoning and served on the table. A handful of tender spring onions tasted like spring in one's mouth. The saltiness was just right and it had its own freshness.
He also took a fresh orange and rotated it three-quarters of the way. He carefully peeled the skin, hollowed out the orange flesh and squeezed out some juice. He did not want the flesh. Then, he took some crabs from the lake and carefully peeled them. The crab roe and crab meat were put together and placed into the intact orange peel. Then, he covered the peel with the orange lid, added water, wine, and vinegar, and steamed it until it was cooked. Finally, he served it with salt and vinegar as a dipping sauce.
These dishes were just two of the dishes that Tang Ling had for lunch. In comparison, the Purple Moon era was like pig swill.
Was the ancient Huaxia of the old civilization that extravagant? If a mere country gentleman was so particular about food, what would those high-ranking officials and nobles eat?
Tang Ling was curious, but at the same time, another question popped up in his mind. Was the Dream Domain showing the real life of ancient Huaxia? Or was he deliberately exaggerating? If this was real life, then did what he was experiencing now really happen in history?
Tang Ling frowned and unknowingly took another sip of the yellow wine. He felt like he had grasped something important and it would be of great help to the Dream Domain in the future, but he still needed proof.
It was at that moment that a young girl interrupted, "Second Brother Tang, if you want to talk about the death of the Wang family's eldest son, I do know the truth. It's much more reliable than those hooligans who spread rumors."
"Oh?" Tang Ling raised a brow. The young men around him teased him. Second Young Master Tang must be looking for some chivalrous deeds again.
However, the young girl who spoke did not care about the group of young men. Her big round eyes stared at Tang Ling as she said, "My brother is a constable in the county and he went to collect the body himself. Rumor has it that it was a zombie that caused trouble, but the cause of death was obviously a palm strike that crushed his organs. Then, then … "
The young girl's face turned a little pale as she spoke.
In the mourning hall, under the candlelight, two pale lanterns swayed in the wind. The dark wooden coffin reflected the candlelight. Two children of the Wang family ran around the coffin. The older girl shouted, "Grandma, grandma, get up quickly. There are many guests at home."
"Grandma, grandma, there's a lot of delicious food in the house!" The little boy echoed the younger girl's cry and spoke in a childish voice.
The two children kept slapping the coffin with their palms, making banging sounds and causing the entire coffin to tremble slightly.
"What happened after that?" Tang Ling glanced at the big black coffin and the naive child. He did not care as he continued to ask.
"After that, he was bitten into a mess, but the bite marks weren't from a zombie. There were two types of bite marks. One was from a human and the other was from a wild beast. "The young girl finished in a single breath and quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at the mourning hall.
The young man beside her was not convinced. "Why isn't it a zombie? If it isn't, what are you afraid of? You don't even dare to look at the coffin. You're not even as bold as the two children. "
"Three people have died this month, and there's not a single piece of flesh on them. If it's a normal murder, who would eat human flesh? Rumor has it that they even pry open human brains and eat their brains! "Another young man shouted loudly and extended his claws to scare the young girl.
The young girl shrieked in fear. At the other side of the mourning hall, the youngest granddaughter of the Wang family was overjoyed. She clapped her hands and laughed loudly. "Grandma is waking up! Grandma is waking up!"
"Huh?" The young girl was so scared that tears almost rolled down her cheeks.
Tang Ling smiled and stood up. He walked over with his hands behind his back and held the two children's hands in front of the mourning hall. He said, "Quiet down. Grandma is tired. Let her rest for a while. Later, the chef is going to fry some fruits. You two can eat them later. "
The two children clapped and cheered when they heard that they were going to eat the fruits.
Tang Ling squinted his eyes as he watched the two children leave. He then glanced at the central room where the main chair was placed. His cheapskate father from the Dream Domain was talking to several respectable elders in the town.
His cheapskate brother was writing something on the side. He was probably writing an obituary or something similar, but the content should be about persuading the townspeople not to believe in the supernatural.
Master Tang had mentioned in the afternoon that it was unreasonable for the townspeople to shut their doors and stay in fear. As the most influential family in the town, he had to step up to rectify the situation.
Therefore, the grand funeral at night, which was paid for by the Tang family, was held. Everyone in the town came out of respect for Master Tang.
Firstly, he wanted to hear the explanation of this matter from a reputable person.
Secondly, they would not be afraid if there were more people around.
However, Tang Ling could not help but laugh at his cheapskate father. His cheapskate father was righteous and concerned about the people, but the door to the house was always shut during the day. The moment it was opened, he would be nervous and anxious.
Master Tang and the other elders seemed to be having an argument. Judging from the way they talked, they sounded a little agitated.
Tang Ling was not concerned. He slowly walked around the black coffin and touched it with his left hand as if he wanted to know what kind of good wood the Tang family had paid for the coffin.
The opera troupe continued their lively singing. The tune from before was too tragic, so it was replaced by a sentimental song called "A Male Phoenix Seeking for a Female Phoenix". The young men and women were mesmerized by the song. Their gazes were intertwined as they hid their thoughts.
"The ancient Huaxia people are so cool." Tang Ling did not return to the table in the corner. Instead, he picked a table that was closest to the mourning hall and sat down.
He was not used to such a collective scene. His love had yet to be awakened, so when a few young ladies looked at him with lustful eyes, he glared back at them.
It was quite boring after all this commotion.
The opera troupe was lively, and the chef in charge of the banquet had prepared some fruits and pastries.
Since it was the Tang family's doing, dried fruits, fresh fruits, and pastries were all served. Tang Ling sat beside the mourning hall and ate to his heart's content. Somehow, Master Tang glanced over and saw Tang Ling's table manners. He could not help but glare at Tang Ling fiercely.
Grandfather Han, who had been standing beside Master Tang, stepped forward and shouted, "What are you talking about? Did you become a hungry ghost after two days outside? Look at your big brother, then look at you. Go back to the house and keep your big brother company. "
"I'm not going." Tang Ling rejected with a grin.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but when Grandfather Han uttered the word 'ghost', the wind at night got stronger. The gusts of wind blew, and it was chilly.
There were many eyes in the hall, so Grandfather Han did not want to argue with Tang Ling. He glared at Tang Ling and said softly, "You are the second young master. Watch your face."
Tang Ling stuffed a delicate-looking pastry made of unknown materials into his mouth and nodded in agreement.
Grandfather Han was furious, but he stomped his feet and went back into the house.
At this moment, Granny Wang's two grandsons each held a pair of chopsticks with freshly fried fruits stuck in them. They surrounded her again.
The children were fearless. They circled Tang Ling's table twice before they ran back to the coffin.
At the same time, another group of children with a big yellow dog on a leash started to whisper among themselves.
"My dad beat me to death in the afternoon." The child who spoke was not bluffing. The bruise on the corner of his mouth was not a lie.
"My mom punished me to kneel for two hours and I still can't stand straight," said another child softly.
"Did you tell your parents about what you saw?" the child with the big yellow dog asked softly.
"I did, but my parents scolded me for seeing things. They didn't just punish me, but they also forbade me from telling anyone." The last child shrunk his neck.
"My parents didn't say whether they believed me or not. They just wanted me to hold Big Yellow's hand no matter where I go tonight," the child who spoke first added.
Big Yellow? Tang Ling smiled. They must be referring to that dog, right?
With Tang Ling's amazing memory, how could he forget these children? Were they not the children who ran around crazily in the morning?
The incident in the afternoon was quite a big deal. A few families cried and screamed that they could not find their children and that they were eaten by a monster.
Some even said that there was a zombie in the town and the county, but the elders did not do anything about it. Now that the children were gone, they wanted to report it to Lord God.
In the end, the children were found in Grandmother Wang's house.
It turned out that the children sneaked out to watch the show.
With that in mind, Tang Ling grabbed a handful of fruits and walked over to the children. Grandmother Wang's two grandsons were squatting beside the big black coffin, eating fried fruits.
"Come on, tell me, what did you guys see?" Tang Ling smiled as he passed the fruits in his hand to them.
The children took the fruit, but all of them hesitated and didn't say anything.
Tang Ling was not in a hurry. He glanced over at the big black coffin and took out a couple of coins from his pocket.
"Tanghulu, dough figurines, what do you want to buy? I'll give the money to whoever tells me. "Tang Ling grinned like a sly old fox.
The dog named Big Yellow seemed to be a little afraid of Tang Ling. It laid down beside Tang Ling's feet, wagging its tail and exposing its tummy. It looked like a good-for-nothing.
Compared to the dogs in the Purple Moon era, Big Yellow was much cuter. Tang Ling pinched the dog's face as if he thought it was cute.
The dog's face was twisted, but it still whimpered and tried to please Tang Ling. It was as if it was saying, 'As long as you're happy, sir.'
At that moment, one of the children mustered his courage and took a coin from Tang Ling's other hand.
He then said softly, "Grandmother Wang was eaten. Even her brain was eaten. I went to the back and saw a big hole in her head. It's empty inside."
"His stomach was dug clean." Another child also came forward and took a large coin.
Tang Ling was smiling, but his gaze slowly turned heavy.
The children chattered about their findings while Tang Ling touched Big Yellow and hummed in agreement. He also asked some strange questions.
"Tell me, what kind of hole is there in her brain?"
"Her stomach was dug open? What does it look like? "
"The back of her head, I mean the back of her head. Is there a wound?"
"Yeah, her brain wasn't eaten clean, was it?"
What did the children know? They thought that the second young master of the Tang family was a little too curious for him to ask such horrifying questions.
However, children were honest and said whatever they saw.
Tang Ling was in deep thought. Behind him, his two grandsons started to knock on the coffin. "Grandmother, have some fruit. It's fragrant and crispy."
The scene made many women shed tears as they felt sorry for her.
At the same time, Master Tang walked out of the central room with a few pieces of paper in his hand.
The troupe automatically stopped singing. The young boys and girls' charming thoughts were also interrupted. It was only then that they remembered that it was a funeral with a terrifying meaning. What were they talking about?
Master Tang walked up to the stage.
The five hundred or so people in the courtyard immediately quietened down.
With a sorrowful expression, Master Tang looked at his fellow villagers and said loudly, "Recently, Qingxi town hasn't been peaceful.
There are man-eating demons and murderers roaming the town. There are also meddlesome people who are using this incident to spread false rumors and disturb the people's peace.
As the first family in the town, I, Tang Jili, am indignant, heartbroken, and helpless.
"About the man-eating demons, Qingxi town can't sit still and wait for death. At the same time, we can't allow the rumors to spread. This matter will be discussed later since all the villagers are gathered here. However, Grandmother Wang, as the third person in town, died because of the murderers' evil deeds. As a fellow villager, I'll send her off on behalf of everyone. "
After that, Master Tang took the obituary and walked up to the mourning hall in a dignified manner.
Grandmother Wang's two grandsons were still calling for their grandmother. Wang's daughter-in-law was also helped out of the hall with a pale face.
The group of children who were interrogated by Tang Ling ran outside to play. Somehow, Goldy, whose face was swollen from Tang Ling's touch, started to run around the courtyard madly. It turned out that it saw an old hen picking up food on the ground, so it chased after it.
The children called for Goldy and chased after it.
The courtyard was in chaos with the children playing around. There was no sign of mourning at all.
Master Tang furrowed his brows, but it was inappropriate for him to scold the children, so he opened the obituary in his hand and read it word by word.
"Alas, Lady Liu of King Yan's residence …"
"Grandmother … Why aren't you getting up?" Following Master Tang's solemn and heavy voice, the youngest granddaughter of the Wang family stopped eating the oily fruit and called for her grandmother with a sobbing tone.
When the younger boy saw his sister in such a state, he raised his head and started to cry.
Wang's daughter-in-law was weak, so she did not have the strength to care for her children. However, when she saw how sorrowful the children were, she seemed to feel something for Grandmother Wang's death. She could not help but feel sorrow from the bottom of her heart as she lowered her head and cried.
The people's hearts were shrouded by a layer of dark clouds. Indescribable sorrow filled their hearts. As Master Tang read the obituary, his voice gradually turned furious. He was criticizing the bloodthirsty, cannibal demon for ignoring the laws of heaven and not recognizing humanity. His heart was like a demon from hell.
Cluck! Cluck! Cluck! The mother who was being chased by Goldy dashed to the coffin.
Goldy chased after her excitedly.
When she reached the coffin, the hen seemed to be confused by the crying of the two children. She circled around the coffin.
Big Yellow had also caught up to the bottom of the coffin. It extended its beak to bite the hen.
"Goldy, you can't bite her. You'll have to pay if you bite her to death!" The group of children chased after Goldy. Among them, Goldy's master, who was running at the front, shouted as he tried to grab the rope around Goldy's neck.
Big Yellow seemed to understand the little master's words. At this moment, it actually let out a fearful whimper. With a flash, it quickly scuttled out from the other side of the coffin.
The children were running too fast, so they did not have time to react. Thud! Thud! All of them crashed into the coffin.
The hen under the coffin flapped her wings in fear and flew out awkwardly.
However, the coffin on the two long benches was knocked over by the children.
Tang Ling could not help but furrow his brows when he saw the scene.
It was not time for the burial yet, so the coffin lid that was not nailed on fell to the ground and fell to the ground.
Following a muffled rumble, Master Tang, who was reading the obituary notice in front of the coffin, was startled.
When he turned around, he saw Grandmother Wang's body rolling out from the coffin. Her slightly tidied up face and the funeral robe that she wore were also lifted up.
"Her left hand has been gnawed clean. Not a single piece of flesh is left.
"Her abdomen has been cut open. The incision is big and neat like a grinning mouth. The flesh is white.
"Her neck is twisted, revealing the hole at the back of her head."
Master Tang had never seen such a scene before. He was scared out of his wits and staggered a few steps back.
On the other hand, the two crying grandchildren were fearless. They threw away the fried fruits in their hands and threw themselves at Grandmother Wang's body.
The children who caused trouble were also stunned on the spot. They looked at the scattered coffin helplessly, not daring to move.
"Grandmother." The grandson grabbed Grandmother Wang's other cold hand.
It was at that moment that a chilly night breeze blew, causing the candles in the mourning hall to flicker and flicker. The white lantern fell to the ground.
As the lantern fell to the ground with a soft thud, Grandmother Wang's eyes flew open. Her grandson's hand, which was being held by the grandson, tightened. She pulled the grandson over and sat up.
"The corpse has come back to life!" the crowd shouted.
"Ah! My son!" Grandmother Wang screamed at the top of her lungs in agony.
At this moment, a figure leaped up high and directly flew over Old Master Tang's head. Before anyone could see clearly, they saw a silver saber light flash past.
Grandmother Wang's stiff arm that was holding her grandson's hand was chopped off.
In the next moment, the saber light twisted and slashed in another direction. Granny Wang's head was neatly cut off. It rolled to the side and was caught by another hand. Granny Wang's head was directly held in her hand.
The corpse had come back to life. It really had come back to life.
However, before the corpse could do anything, it was chopped off?
The shocked crowd finally got a clear look. The person who chopped off Grandmother Wang's arm and decapitated her and held the head in his hand was none other than the second young master of the Tang family, Tang Chongwu.
Under the crowd's astonished gaze, Tang Ling used the candlelight to examine the head in his hand. A part of the grayish-white matter in the cranial cavity had been removed, but a layer of dense and complicated neural network was preserved like a spider web.
This was getting interesting.
At that moment, a message finally popped up in Tang Ling's mind.
'Investigate the human-eating zombie incident in Qingxi town. Find out the truth within three days. Completion: 0%. '
The missions given by the Dream Domain were always simple. There would be no hint on how far one had to complete the mission or whether one had to kill the mission target.
The mission would not provide any clues either.
However, Tang Ling's expression did not change at all. He put down the head in his hand and looked at the villagers. He said calmly, "Put Grandmother Wang back in the coffin. I'm afraid she won't come back to life again.
"Pick twenty able-bodied men tonight. Come with me to Nanli Hill. "The moment his words subsided, everyone panicked.
What kind of place was the Nanli Hill? It was where the ancestral tombs of Qingxi Town had been located since ancient times.
Tonight's reanimated corpse incident was already terrifying enough, and they still wanted to go to the Nanli Hill? Even the bravest man in the town dared not follow Tang Ling.
Grandfather Han, on the other hand, gazed deeply at Tang Ling as if he did not expect the Second Young Master that he had been talking about to be this powerful.
He slowly stood up and said softly, "I'll go with you."
"Grandfather Han, don't let Ren Chongwu fool around. Tonight's matter can be discussed later. What about going to Nanli Hill? " The master of the Tang Family didn't expect his second son to have such amazing skills, but he couldn't let him go to the Nanli Hill. If something happened to him …
"If I don't go to the South Parting Hill. The town won't be peaceful. " Tang Ling wanted to call him father, but since he was in a dream, it was hard for him to do so, so he might as well make his stand clear.
Then, Tang Ling ignored the master and looked at everyone else. "As a man, shouldn't you step up? Think about it. One day, when your mother, your delicate daughter, and your child all turn into Grandmother Wang, will you still have the face to stand in this world? "
His words stirred the men of Qingxi Town. Some of the young men stepped up and said, "I'll go."
"I'll go too."
The young master of the Tang family hid in the central room. He was anxious and doubtful as he looked at his own words. How could a few short words be more convincing than his Ten Thousand Words Book?
**
In the quiet town.
Maybe the continuous drizzle had exhausted the dark clouds in the sky.
Under the still chilly night sky, a hazy yellow moon gradually appeared.
It was just a faint crescent moon, but it still brought a glimmer of light to the dark night.
Dogwood, star anise, and fragrant leaves were tossed into the pot of boiling water.
The finely chopped shreds of meat, along with some half-cooked offal, were also put into the pot to simmer.
In an exquisite enamel bowl, there was a bowl of white tofu mixed with red sugar and sprinkled with a layer of honey. Under the light of the exquisite copper lamp, it looked exceptionally alluring.
'Love doesn't know where it started, but it goes deep. The living can die, the dead can live.'
'The dead can live. Life can't be with death, death can't be resurrected, it's not love at all. '
'Love in a dream, why must it not be real? How can there be a lack of dreamers in the world?'
The song "Peony Pavilion" was sung in the house. The singing was perfect, with three sighs in one breath. The rhythm was perfect.
The voice was melancholic and touching. When one heard it, one could not help but resonate with it. They wanted to ask which family's daughter had such a heavenly voice.
"Why is it so late? Aren't you going home yet? "The singing paused and a faint voice with a sigh came from the house.
**
A yellow moon?
Tang Ling stared blankly at the moon in the sky. Even though he looked calm, his heart was in shock like a raging storm.
"Why is it a yellow moon? Is the reality reflected in the Dream Domain real? "Tang Ling's heart was a mess.
Nanli Hill, the dead find it hard to leave, the living find it hard to leave.
Hard to leave, hard to leave, but they had to be separated by this place.
The moon was in the first quarter of the sky. After a drizzle, the cold night breeze blew, but the people who came did not mourn.
The torches burned brightly, illuminating everyone's faces with anxiety.
Two new graves were dug up, but the coffins were empty.
As if he had expected this, Tang Ling, who had become the backbone of the people, was calm.
He stared blankly at the sky as if he was only interested in the blurry moon.
He did not say a word, causing the people who stood there to feel uneasy. They could not guess what he was thinking.
"Second Young Master Tang, what do you think?" What do you think? "Finally, someone could not hold it in any longer and asked Tang Ling.
Tang Ling shook his head. "What else can I think? In the surrounding villages, several people must have died. "
"As for what will happen in Qingxi Town? It's hard to say. "
In Tang Ling's heart, he had a rough outline of the whole incident, but he needed some information.
A little information would suffice. He had to go to the county and borrow the county journal to read.
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