Chapter 1762: Chapter 1011: Chao Wei Village_3
The two parties agreed that if they did not see their car return by 4 o’clock, they would return to the hotel on their own.
Yang Xiao, Qingshui Cangjie, and Heize Lin set off on their journey again. Without a clear route, they asked as they traveled, combining the road signs along the way. The path became more and more off the beaten track until they drove onto a mountain road. After a bumpy ride along the way, they finally reached a small village nestled at the foot of the mountain by noon.
Looking around, the village is not very small, there are at least a hundred houses, but most are abandoned. At a glance, the village looks dead and lifeless.
But Yang Xiao knew there must be people in the village because he had paid special attention on the way here and noticed tire marks left on some muddy road sections.
They parked their car at the entrance of the village, and the three of them got out to walk. Heize Lin’s clothes were stained with blood from a previous fight, fearing it might cause trouble, he casually pulled a piece of clothing from the car’s back seat and put it on.
After walking along the village path for a few minutes, they finally discovered a house with "life". Outside, a motorcycle was parked.
A relatively large box was strapped behind the motorcycle, the kind that could transport goods.
Yang Xiao considered himself the most presentable among the three and volunteered to knock on the door. Soon, the door opened, and a short elderly man with a cane stood there, looking warily at Yang Xiao, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"Sir, we heard there’s a beautiful beach around here. Could you tell us which direction it’s in?" Yang Xiao asked politely, his smile impeccable.
"You don’t live nearby, do you?" The old man glanced outside, confirming there were only three of them, all unfamiliar faces.
"We’ve driven a long way to get here, and we parked the car at the village entrance," Yang Xiao explained.
"Then you’ve probably run out of food," the old man said as he opened the wooden door wide, revealing an old-style wood counter inside, filled with various snacks, food, and some daily necessities.
Yang Xiao, being smart, immediately figured out that the old man wanted them to buy things; it was a grocery store.
Yang Xiao and the others bought a bunch of food. The old man visibly happy, but after taking the money, when Yang Xiao inquired about the current situation of Chao Wei Village, the old man suddenly turned hostile, raised his cane, and drove them out, "Leave now, hurry! There’s no beach here and no vacation allowed!"
"What do you mean, you could have said earlier we couldn’t go to the beach?!" Heize Lin, with a bad temper, fumed, knowing the old man was clearly taking advantage of them as outsiders.
As the argument grew fiercer, suddenly a crisp bell rang from outside, it was the sound of an old bicycle bell. When Yang Xiao and the others turned around, they saw an elderly man on a bicycle stopping at the entrance.
The old man was wearing a suit, with a black leather bag in the bicycle basket. Although the suit was old, it was clean and neatly ironed. The man’s hair was groomed neatly, and he wore thin gold-framed glasses, giving off the vibe of an old scholar.
"Principal Suzuki," the grocery store elder called out, immediately becoming much more courteous upon seeing him.
The elderly man, addressed as Principal Suzuki, stared at Yang Xiao and the others for a few seconds, then asked the grocery store elder to leave, motioning Yang Xiao and the others to follow him.
Principal Suzuki pushed his bicycle ahead, with Yang Xiao and the others following behind him. Yang Xiao tried several times to converse with the elderly man, but he received no response, the atmosphere incredibly oppressive.
Yang Xiao and the others sensed something was amiss, but they decided to observe silently. Regardless, they felt they could not leave Chao Wei Village empty-handed.
Moreover... this Principal Suzuki seemed very influential in the village; he could be a good entry point.
After arriving at a secluded alleyway, Principal Suzuki tossed the bicycle aside and turned to face Yang Xiao and the others, his expression furious, his first sentence leaving them stunned, "Didn’t you promise me you’d never return, why did you go back on your word?!"
"I’ve told you countless times, that matter has nothing to do with us, and everyone involved back then faced misfortune. What exactly do you want, what do you intend to do?!"
"The child’s death had nothing to do with us, and...and you don’t understand the situation at the time, you don’t understand at all! He nearly drove us insane, if...if we didn’t do what we did, the whole village would be dead! He wasn’t human; he...he was a ghost! The most terrifying ghost!" Principal Suzuki growled, his eyes bloodshot, his entire demeanor appearing manic.
