Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Brothers United
Steward Liu led them there and then turned to leave, seemingly with more important matters to attend to, probably waiting for the Paper Talisman Artisan who would never return.
With Steward Liu gone, everyone spoke more freely. Kuang Hongyi’s experience was similar to Yang Xiao’s, with the encounter with the Paper Man Third Young Master soon after getting into the water. They realized the deception and immediately steered their boat away, heading in the direction where the Kongming lanterns had been released.
Just like what Yang Xiao had thought, neither team had actually released any Kongming lanterns.
The unexpected occurred at that moment when Kuang Hongyi and his companion came across a boat with a White Lantern hanging on its bow. Thinking it was their comrades, they approached, only to see that the person standing on the boat was the already dead Sun Amao.
Fortunately, the two reacted in time and narrowly avoided a collision at the last moment. But before they could catch their breath, the other boat chased after them, stubbornly latching onto their vessel.
By now, Kuang Hongyi and his companion didn’t dare to flee, because in the fog ahead, the vague silhouettes of several boats appeared, each with figures standing on them.
And so, Sun Amao’s boat rammed into them from behind, and then Sun Amao, along with another bloated figure of a Drowned Ghost with strange movements, climbed onto their boat.
Relying on his agility, Kuang Hongyi managed to fight off the attackers and seized the opportunity to jump onto Sun Amao’s boat. However, Xu Su wasn’t so lucky. She was caught by Sun Amao; the three entangled figures fell into the water together.
Kuang Hongyi, holding a punt pole, attempted to help, but it was too late. After a struggle in the water, the three figures sank.
Kuang Hongyi, his expression grave, sighed, "Later, when I saw the large red lanterns being raised in the distance, I rowed over, and that’s how I got ashore. It’s just a pity about Ms. Xu Su..."
"Kuang brother, you have a kind heart, you shouldn’t blame yourself too much for Ms. Xu Su’s demise," Shi Dali comforted him understandingly, "After all, no one wants to see such things happen."
"Yes, yes, Kuang, you already did your best," Shi Guanming chimed in as well.
By comparison, the experience of Shi Dali and his companion was much simpler; they encountered no strange events. Shi Dali explained that he was a boatman and knew a lot about navigating the waters, but had never heard of the rule of offering incense at the bow of the boat. So, once their boat was out of Steward Liu and the others’ sight, he checked the incense burner and discovered the issue.
The top layer of the incense burner was indeed full of ash, but underneath was white rice soaked in blood. This was not an item to ward off evil—such a thing would only attract it!
Upon discovering the problem, Shi Dali decisively tossed the incense burner into the lake. Afterward, unable to find the other two teams in the rising fog over the lake, they had no choice but to follow the guidance of the red lanterns and return to the shore.
"If we had encountered Shi earlier, we wouldn’t have suffered so much, and Ms. Xu Su wouldn’t have died," Yang Xiao said with some emotion.
After glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, Kuang Hongyi lowered his voice, "Everything about Feng Mansion is not right. This time they openly had us search for the Third Young Master, but in reality, it was to send us to our deaths. Xu Su didn’t return, and they don’t even ask."
"And the boat I came back on was clearly a shipwreck! It must have been sunk in the lake for some time now. I saw many similar boats in the fog; how can there be so many shipwrecks in this lake, and just how many people have died?"
Shi Dali nodded, his expression turning serious, "If we go by what you’re saying, most of the dead in the lake are the mansion’s servants. I suspect Master Feng is using the lives of his servants to prolong his own life, and the death of Sun Amao was likely orchestrated by them."
As they were talking, a mansion servant hurried over, saying Steward Liu had asked them to return to their rooms to rest and secretly admonished them, reminding them that the night’s events must not be disclosed.
Upon reaching the room, Yang Xiao and Kuang Hongyi paused in their steps as they saw a red lantern hanging on each side of their door.
Pushing the door open, Yang Xiao saw Su Tingting still lying on the bed, and it seemed that she was really asleep; listening closely, he could even hear the faint sound of her snoring.
The servant who had escorted them back explained that they were worried about Su Fuke’s hysteria acting up in the middle of the night and disturbing their rest, so they pleaded with the doctor to prescribe a sedative herbal remedy. It had just been prepared and forced down Su Fuke’s throat, guaranteed to ensure a good night’s sleep until dawn.
"Newlyweds have it so easy, heartless and mindless, they can fall asleep the moment their head hits the pillow," Yang Xiao even felt a tinge of envy towards Su Tingting at that moment.
But no sooner had he turned around than he saw Kuang Hongyi staring at him with a strange look, "Ahem, Brother Chu, you are also a newlywed."
Yang Xiao froze for a moment, and it took a few seconds for him to realize that he had unwittingly assumed the role of an experienced player. He then waved his hand and chuckled bitterly, "Maybe it’s because I’ve been spending too much time with Brother Kuang, I’ve progressed too quickly."
Kuang Hongyi did not dwell on this matter any further, and after dismissing the servant, he approached Su Tingting to ensure she was indeed asleep. Then he pulled Yang Xiao over to sit down on another bed. His whole demeanor changed as he rolled up his trouser leg to reveal a piece of cloth stained with splatters of blood. Unraveling it, a fresh wound was revealed underneath.
The scar was fresh, still oozing blood, and the wound was very smooth, prompting Yang Xiao to immediately think of the short knife stuck on the ship’s railing.
Clenching his teeth, Kuang Hongyi’s eyes held a hint of ferocity, "Ms. Xu Su wants to kill me!"
"What exactly happened?" Yang Xiao pressed for details.
"Earlier, in front of Shi Dali and the others, there were things I couldn’t openly discuss, but I trust you, Brother Chu. Here’s the thing, after our boat was chased down by Sun Amao, I noticed Ms. Xu Su wasn’t panicked at all. She wouldn’t say a word no matter what I asked her, and moreover, Sun Amao and the other Drowned Ghost... they seemed to be able to see only me!"
"It’s the burial soil," Yang Xiao immediately realized. "Ms. Xu Su had burial soil in her mouth."
"Exactly," Kuang Hongyi nodded vehemently. "I thought of that too, so I asked her for some, but not only did she refuse to give it to me, she even came at me with a knife! That woman is utterly despicable; she knows that if one of us dies, those things will leave us alone."
"Those things will only kill one person at a time?" Yang Xiao seemed to catch the crucial point.
"Yes, that’s generally the case."
Later, Yang Xiao went to look for medicine. There was still some left from when Su Tingting had been injured. Kuang Hongyi’s skills in treating wounds were very professional, clearly the result of targeted practice.
After rebandaging the wound with clean cloth, Kuang Hongyi leaned against the bed and exhaled deeply, "Brother Chu, that Shi Dali is no simple character either. He noticed something was off with the incense burner at the bow early on, yet he didn’t say anything. You must be cautious around him."
"Don’t worry, I’m aware of it," Yang Xiao patted Kuang Hongyi’s arm, "Besides, I have you, Brother Kuang."
"Right, with us brothers united, we will surely find a way out!"
