1TWITF[C Chapter 25

Chapter 25

After He Lou went back, he lit a stick of incense for his good friend Chen Zhenghao.

In the photo frame, a man with ordinary features moved, took a sniff of the curling white smoke, his dull eyes gradually gained luster, and he stared at He Lou with his dark eyes.

The man in the photo nodded. Shen Na winked at He Lou, and the two went out the door.

Because of the upcoming wedding, the courtyard was filled with white lanterns and wreaths. The mourning hall was already prepared, just waiting to be set up tomorrow. The weather was nice today, with low clouds but no rain. The two stood under the lush locust tree in the middle of the courtyard, and only spoke after confirming that Chen Zhenghao couldn’t hear them inside the house.

He Lou frowned upon hearing this.

Now someone actually wanted to break the rules, wasn’t this making it impossible for them to survive in Honghe Village?

“I’ll go see her.”

Shen Na nodded: “That’s all we can do. She doesn’t listen to anyone now, acting crazy and not following any rules.”

“Where is she now?” He Lou’s frown deepened.

Liu Xia said: “Because she was crying and Furiousing about going on a hunger strike, we’ve locked her in the basement. After all, she wouldn’t be so pretty if she went on a hunger strike. I had Lu Xiuxiu watching her, feeding her a little something.”

Lu Xiuxiu was another girl on the team, unremarkable in appearance and usually quiet, but she listened to Liu Xia.

“Okay, take me there.”

Liu Xia saw He Lou suddenly stop in his tracks after seeing this man, and immediately stepped forward: “Otherwise? Keep her around and make it impossible for all of us to live here?”

Liu Xia admired He Lou very much. If it weren’t for He Lou, they wouldn’t have been able to gain a foothold in Honghe Village. The years they spent together had also created a deep bond between them. In contrast, everyone’s attitude towards Lu Yanli, who came to Honghe Village with them, was relatively cold. Liu Xia knew that the village rules stipulated that they must be friendly to friends, but he just couldn’t bring himself to be close to Lu Yanli.

Lu Yanli said lightly: “Being unfriendly to friends violates the rules.”

Lu Yanli turned to look at the house, making eye contact with the man in the black and white photo. Just when He Lou thought he was unwilling, he chuckled and looked at them again with a gaze that He Lou couldn’t understand: “Sure.”

Now there were four of them going, with Liu Xia leading the way.

The weather was very gloomy today, and the cold wind howled, louder and louder. The woodshed was piled with paper ingots and gold coins. In order to prevent those things from being blown away by the wind, Liu Xia, who was the last to enter, reached out and closed the door after the four of them entered.

When they first entered the room, they could hear a faint sound. Now that the wooden board was lifted, the woman’s crying sound, which was still audible despite being gagged, became even clearer.

At the same time, an extremely cold aura gushed out of the hole. Everyone present couldn’t help but shiver, wrapping their clothes tighter, but they didn’t take it to heart.

Liu Xia said: “See, she’s been like this all the time, crying until now.”

Shen Na showed genuine disgust on her face: “Such a commotion, she really has no manners!”

Even He Lou, who was usually steady, couldn’t help but frown, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes.

Only Lu Yanli quietly stared at the dark hole, without saying a word.

Lu Xiuxiu didn’t respond, only the stifled sobbing in her throat remained loud.

“That’s strange, I clearly told her to stay in there,” Liu Xia said, completely puzzled.

With that, he jumped down.

After all, they were good friends, so they naturally couldn’t mistreat Ding Conglu. If Ding Conglu still didn’t know what was good for her…

He Lou’s face darkened.

He hoped she wouldn’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.

Lu Yanli walked last, looking around at the facilities in the woodshed, his gaze lingering on a pile of firewood. But he didn’t say anything, slowly following behind, jumping down and bending over to move forward.

As soon as he jumped in, a cold aura from the depths of the earth surged up from the soles of his feet, rushing to the top of his head.

It was a coldness that could almost freeze the soul into ice.

His feet landed on slightly damp and soft soil. With the weak light of the kerosene lamp in the front row penetrating several shadows and spilling to the back, the soil seemed to be soaked in blood, with a dark red hue. When he stepped on it, even the soles of his shoes were red.

Lu Yanli quietly followed behind them. Although the basement was large, the road was particularly narrow in the beginning, only allowing one person to pass. After walking a short distance, the walls became noticeably wider.

The coffin was not completely closed, and the woman’s crying sound came from inside.

“Lu, Lu Xiuxiu?” He Lou asked uncertainly.

“Lu Xiuxiu, is that you?” Shen Na also asked, “Don’t play pranks, you have to follow the rules.”

After shouting for a while, the woman’s crying finally returned, and the kerosene lamp relit, illuminating the entire room with a warm, dim light.

“It’s me… I’m here…”

The voice came from inside the coffin.

Before he could finish speaking, a pair of pale, bloodless arms stretched out from the coffin. These hands tightly wrapped around Liu Xia’s neck, and then pulled hard. Before Liu Xia could react, he was pulled into the coffin.

The next second, the coffin lid slowly closed.

“Liu Xia!!”

The coffin lid, which required two adult men to push open, now automatically and slowly moved towards the tail.

He Lou and Shen Na suddenly stopped, dazed for a moment.

They came to the basement to…

To… to find Lu Xiuxiu and Ding Conglu!

Had Ding Conglu run away?!

He Lou and Shen Na were instantly furious and stepped forward to help Lu Xiuxiu up.

Lu Xiuxiu sat in the coffin, reached out and slowly moved the coffin lid open. She was like a soft and cold snake, sitting up, reaching out her hands, grabbing the hands of the two who were helping her along the inner wall of the coffin, and slowly being pulled out of the coffin.

Bright red embroidered shoes dragged on the ground.

“This is too much! Ding Conglu is really going too far!” Shen Na said angrily, “Xiuxiu, do you know where she ran off to?”

Lu Xiuxiu shook her head very slowly.

Shen Na was troubled: “Then what do we do now? The wedding banquet is tomorrow.”

He Lou’s face darkened: “Tell the village chief and let everyone in the village help look for her.” His face was very ugly.

“What happens after we find her?” Would Chen Zhenghao still marry a woman who dared to violate the village rules and run away from the wedding?

He Lou said: “Deal with her according to the rules.”

He turned to look at Lu Xiuxiu, who was already wearing the wedding dress, and said: “Anyway, the wedding banquet is tomorrow, and there’s already a bride. I’ll talk to Zhenghao later, and we can change the bride to Lu Xiuxiu.”

As soon as she grasped that pale, cold hand, Shen Na was so frozen that she shivered. She steadied herself and pulled the person up.

Next were He Lou and Lu Yanli.