Chapter 377: Chapter 324: Body Double
Her legs couldn’t help but weaken, Liu Haiping was so terrified that her tongue trembled, her voice breaking as she cried, "Why me, why?"
Yet this question was destined to go unanswered, and at the same time, Tong Han Mishu who were not chosen couldn’t help but heave a quiet sigh of relief. Given the unknown nature of the mission, being chosen as a body double at this time could only imply extreme danger.
The Clan Leader’s daughter was mad and baffling, Tong Han himself couldn’t figure out why she would choose Liu Haiping as her body double.
The term body double, by its very nature, implies substituting for oneself, and it certainly would be best to choose someone who resembled oneself as closely as possible, to deceive by passing off unnoticed. Yet among the three, whether in terms of body shape, appearance, or age, Liu Haiping differed from the Clan Leader’s daughter the most.
In terms of body shape, Tong Han, Mishu, and the Clan Leader’s daughter were all typically petite, while Liu Haiping’s build was more solid and burly; in terms of appearance, the three were quite delicate and graceful, only Liu Haiping had prominent cheekbones and narrow eyes, showing clear Mongolian ancestry.
As for age, there was even less need for comparison. Tong Han, Mishu, and the Clan Leader’s daughter were all about the same age, differing by no more than 5 years, but Liu Haiping was already middle-aged.
"Ning’er, you’re being extremely rude!" Even the Clan Leader’s wife couldn’t look away from her daughter’s inappropriate behavior. She signaled the elderly housekeeper to come forward and pull her away.
The crazed Clan Leader’s daughter was practically sprawled on Liu Haiping, her eyes bloodshot and flickering with madness, her mouth agape as saliva dripped out. It was only with the housekeeper’s intervention that they finally dragged her away. Even so, until her figure completely disappeared, the Clan Leader’s daughter’s gaze never left Liu Haiping, that obsessive madness striking fear into the heart.
After this ordeal, Liu Haiping was completely dumbfounded, standing there helplessly. Her clothes were torn and messy, her already shabby attire now ripped apart further, revealing the skin underneath through the tears.
The Clan Leader’s daughter had been groping Liu Haiping’s body like a maniac, even trying to reach inside her clothes to touch her skin—such thuggish behavior hard to imagine occurring to a young girl.
The Clan Leader’s wife came over and gently took Liu Haiping’s hand, appeasing her in a sincere tone, "Miss, don’t mind, my daughter was too rude. I apologize on her behalf. She wasn’t like this before, she was... she was literally frightened into this by that monster."
As she spoke, the Clan Leader’s wife seemed to recall past events and couldn’t help but start sobbing. Before Liu Haiping could react, she suddenly felt a coolness in her palm—the Clan Leader’s wife had stuffed a long, hefty object into her hand.
Looking down, Liu Haiping finally saw it—it was a small, bright, shining gold bar. The casting of the gold bar seemed somewhat irregular, with odd protrusions on it.
"Miss, this is a little token of my sincerity. You must accept it," the Clan Leader’s wife urged as she folded Liu Haiping’s fingers around the gold bar. "You have a very auspicious face, and you surely will turn calamity into blessing. That thing will only harm the Du Family Village people. Just be cautious, and you will be safe, Miss. I will have Ning’er chant sutras for you all night."
Seeing the Clan Leader’s wife hold Liu Haiping’s hand and call her ’Miss’ repeatedly made Tong Han Mishu’s arms break out in goosebumps. Judging just by their ages, the Clan Leader’s wife was probably not much older than Liu Haiping, especially considering that ancient people could not maintain their youth as well as modern people.
With things having come to this, Liu Haiping could only resign herself, "Madam, what do you need me to do?"
"In a moment, the housekeeper will take you to Ning’er’s boudoir. You will change into Ning’er’s clothes and stay in her room tonight. The housekeeper will tell you what specifically to do," seeing Liu Haiping’s cooperative demeanor pleased the Clan Leader’s wife greatly.
"Will it just be me alone?" asked Liu Haiping.
"Yes," the Clan Leader’s wife nodded.
Although she had expected as much, hearing it from the Clan Leader’s Wife still inevitably filled Liu Haiping with despair. At this moment, holding the gold bar in her hand felt like a joke. What was the use of it? Even if she could survive, she couldn’t take it with her.
Before long, the old housekeeper woman returned and was about to take Liu Haiping away, but Tong Han stopped her. Tong Han looked toward the Clan Leader’s Wife, who ultimately had the final say, "Madam, we would like to accompany Sister Liu. Could you please allow us that?"
"No." The old housekeeper woman’s face darkened as she spoke first.
However, the Clan Leader’s Wife sighed and nodded, "Go ahead, it’s good to have some company, but make sure to leave before nightfall."
"Thank you, madam."
With the Clan Leader’s Wife’s approval, the old housekeeper woman had no more objections. She led the three of them out towards the Buddha hall. The house was even larger than they had imagined; after passing through two courtyards, they reached a quiet side yard within the residence.
As they approached, Tong Han and his companions involuntarily paused their steps, only to see a large double happiness character affixed to the tightly closed wooden doors of the courtyard.
A white double happiness character.
Under the eaves on both sides of the courtyard door, two White Lanterns were also hanging, each adorned with a double happiness character. A creeping breeze caused the lanterns to sway from side to side, inadvertently revealing a hidden character behind the lanterns—a Du character, from Du Family Village.
The leading old housekeeper woman, unhesitating, pushed open the door. The courtyard was modest and uniquely arranged, also meticulously decorated with double happiness characters, White Lanterns, and several pairs of paintings.
The paintings had a red paper background, with pairs of white paper mandarin ducks glued on top. The mandarin ducks were dynamically shaped, and the craftsmanship of the paper-cutting artist was commendable. Everyone could see the paintings were meant to depict the scene of mandarin ducks playing in the water. However, against the bright red background, these pairs of pale paper mandarin ducks seemed as though they were swimming in a pool of blood, leaving an impression of horror and eeriness.
"Creak—"
The old housekeeper woman, familiar with the place, pushed open the door to the room, which could be seen to have been Miss Du’s boudoir. But now it had been decorated as a bridal chamber. A glaringly pale double happiness character was pasted on the wall facing the door, and on the side of the dressing table stood two bright red candles.
Between the two candles, there was also a small incense burner, from which clouds of incense smoke kept rising, emitting a strong herbal odor that was somewhat pungent.
"Stay here and don’t move around; I’m going to get the wedding garment," said the old housekeeper woman, still with a cold demeanor. Then with a "bang," she shut the door, locking the three who had just entered inside the room, then turned and departed, her footsteps gradually fading away.
Once her footsteps had faded, Tong Han quickly walked to the door and gently pushed, opening a crack.
Seeing that the door could still be opened, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"What’s that smell?" Suddenly, a puzzled voice came from Mi Shu behind her, "Why do you... why do you smell so awful?"
