After Tang Li went out, she went straight to ask the grannies and grandpas, who were sitting by the door smoking a cigarette.
She was good-looking and had a look that old people were fond of. Later, someone brought her a small stool and everyone sat under the tree and started chatting.
Tang Li soon found out.
“Hang Hang died suddenly. His body has to be kept in the ancestral hall for seven days. In these seven days, there are masters who come to chant scriptures for Hang Hang every day.”
“This kind of sudden death is very unfortunate and forebodes a disaster. Don’t go out at night.”
“Do you see the talismans we put on our doors? If there isn’t one on your door, go to the east side of town and buy some talismans.”
“Believe me, It’s true. We’ve had this kind of incident once seven or eight years ago. When a child suddenly died, we didn’t invite an expert to chant scriptures for him. After that, many children died one after another.”
“The Feng Shui of the burial location has to be carefully planned too. Otherwise, something bad will happen.”
Tang Li put on a look of disbelief. “Won’t the government send people here if this kind of thing gets out of hand?”
“Girl, we won’t let these kinds of rumors out. We rely on tourism here. If word gets out, people will be afraid to come.”
“We’re just reminding you out of kindness because you don’t seem like the kind of person who will spout nonsense. Don’t go out and say anything, okay?”
“Grandpa, Grandma, don’t worry. The best thing about me is that I’m a tight-lipped person.”
“That’s good.”
…
Tang Li listened to the gossip for more than an hour before going to the place they pointed to to buy the vegetables.
This place was basically filled with mountain treasures. Tang Li bought some chickens and some mushrooms. She carried them and walked toward the place where the talisman shop was located.
Initially, she thought that the talisman seller was a stall set up by a master. She did not expect it to be a shop. The shop was very large and looked like it had earned a lot of money.
Tang Li narrowed her eyes as she sized up the store, wondering why such a scammer could exist for so long.
At this moment, a fifteen-year-old girl came out of the store.
The girl was also wearing mourning clothes, but inside she was wearing a school uniform. When she came out, she immediately saw Tang Li standing there. Her expression changed. Then, she walked over and looked at her arrogantly. “If you want to buy talismans, go in. If not, leave. Don’t block our door.”
Tang Li looked at her and asked, “Where I’m standing is still a few meters away from your store. How is that blocking your door?”
The girl did not expect Tang Li to talk back to her like that. She glared at her unhappily. “Do you know who you’re talking to? Do you believe if I shout, you’ll be done for?”
“What are you gonna shout? Are you gonna shout that you saw a monster or a ghost?”
At that moment, another middle-aged woman came out. When the middle-aged woman saw the girl in front of Tang Li, she asked, “Xiaowen, what happened?”
Liu Xiaowen did not answer the middle-aged woman. She threatened Tang Li in a low voice, “Don’t stand here and block the way, or you’ll regret it.”
The middle-aged woman walked over. After looking Tang Li up and down, she asked, “Miss, are you here to buy talismans? Come in.”
“Mom, she’s not here to buy talismans,” Liu Xiaowen said without batting an eye. “She is a blogger who does videos. She wants to enter our store and take photos of everything inside and upload them online.”
When the middle-aged woman heard that, her expression instantly turned twisted. She chased Tang Li away. “If you don’t want to buy the talisman, leave. Don’t stop us from doing business.”
With that, she gestured to the girl. “Come in. Since she’s not here to buy talismans, why are you talking to her?”
With that, she turned and left.
Liu Xiaowen quickly followed.
Tang Li looked at their backs and narrowed her eyes before turning to leave.
Upon turning, she heard the conversation between the mother and daughter.
The mother: “Why are there more and more bloggers now? I have to talk to your grandmother and ask her not to let these bloggers in.”
The daughter, “Mom, what we do is considered superstitions. If the higher-ups find out about it one day, we’ll have to shut down our shop.”
“It’s not superstition! If it weren’t for your grandma and masters, this town would have been finished.”
“There are no ghosts!!!”
“Shut up!”
When Tang Li heard this, the corners of her lips curled up.
She carried the vegetables and walked around the town casually. As she walked, she ended up near the Liu family’s ancestral hall.
The ancestral hall was a very ancient building. The decorations were especially imposing and solemn.
The child who died was from the head of the family, and his seniority was high, so the mourning hall was specially set up.
Sounds of wailing and talking came from inside.
Tang Li did not approach and just watched from afar. However, she could feel that there was no evil spirit’s aura inside, but the chanting inside sounded strange.
She didn’t mind and turned to walk towards her house.
Just as Tang Li reached the alley of the residential area, she saw Qi Yihan walk over.
When he saw Tang Li, he quickened his pace and walked up to her. He took the groceries from her and held her hand with his other hand, asking, “Why did you take so long?”
Tang Li tilted her head to look at him and found that the tense expression on his face gradually relaxed. She suddenly realized that the reason Qi Yihan came out to pick her up was because he was worried about her coming back so late.
With that, they walked back to their house.
Qi Yihan brought the vegetables to the kitchen. Tang Li followed behind him and said, “The scammers here should be a team. I took a look at the mourning hall and saw no Yin Spirit. Also, the scriptures that the masters are chanting are nonsense.”
“You can tell the government to investigate.”
Tang Li nodded and did not continue.
After dinner, Tang Li stood by the door and looked into the alley. At this time, the sky had just turned dark, and every family had shut their door.
Tang Li retreated and clicked her tongue.
Qi Yihan, who had just finished washing the dishes, looked at her in confusion.
Tang Li closed the door and walked over to hold his arm. She said, “Looks like we won’t be able to go to the night market tonight. It’s still so early. What should we do to kill time?”
Qi Yihan tilted his head to look at her and pondered for a moment before asking, “Do you know how people used to spend their nights without lights or entertainment?”
Tang Li was stunned for a moment and said, “Making babies.”
In the next second, she was carried up.
Qi Yihan carried her and said as he walked, “That’s right. There’s a prize.”
Tang Li wrapped her arms around his neck and asked with a smile, “What’s the prize?”
Qi Yihan looked at her with a smile. “The prize is I’ll take you to cloud nine.”
