Chapter 84

After circling the village, Yang Jian didn’t find anything particularly unusual.

Everything was very peaceful.

But this peace made Yang Jian feel somewhat uneasy.

After all, the data showed that there were indeed paranormal events here, and that company would never use a false message to bring Yang Jian and the members of the Xiaoqiang Club here.

Simple deception had no meaning and would only bring endless trouble.

"There must be something unusual here; I just haven’t found it yet. It’s better to ask someone," Yang Jian thought to himself.

Unconsciously, he came to the back of the village.

At that moment, an elderly man in his sixties was tending his vegetable garden.

Yang Jian walked over and greeted him, "Grandpa, are you planting vegetables?"

The old man turned his head to look, then continued with his work.

"Grandpa, I’m a tourist from the city. I want to ask you, why does this village seem so deserted, and why is there a funeral at the village entrance... Has something happened?" Yang Jian asked.

"Get lost!"

"..."

Yang Jian’s lips twitched, but he wasn’t angry. He continued, "Grandpa, do you know how the person at the village entrance died? He was young and good-looking; it’s a pity he died like this."

"Get lost!"

The old man spoke clearly, the word "get lost" steady and forceful, as if it had been honed through countless repetitions.

"Grandpa, can’t you just talk properly? Is that the only word you know?" Yang Jian asked.

"You brats, get lost. Can’t you see I’m busy?" The old man glared at Yang Jian, his attitude not just unfriendly but downright hostile.

Yang Jian thought for a moment, then pulled out a hundred yuan from his pocket: "Three questions for a hundred yuan, how about that?"

The old man was taken aback by the hundred yuan, then quickly dropped the seedling in his hand and ran to Yang Jian, swiftly snatching the money and smiling: "Which family’s child are you? You’re really impressive. Ask whatever you want; there’s nothing I don’t know about Huanggang Village."

Money is indeed powerful.

Yang Jian sighed inwardly and asked, "Grandpa, has Huanggang Village always been this quiet, or has it been like this recently?"

"It’s always been like this. The young people in the village have all moved to the city to live. The village is only lively during the New Year and other festivals. The rest of the time, it’s just us old folks here," the old man said.

"Has anything strange happened in Huanggang Village recently?" Yang Jian asked again.

"Nothing strange has happened," the old man shook his head.

Yang Jian asked, "Who is the person who died in the funeral hall at the village entrance?"

"I don’t know him. There’s no one like that in the village; he might be a relative from somewhere else," the old man said.

He doesn’t know him?

Yang Jian was taken aback. Someone died in the village, and a funeral was being held, but this old man didn’t know him.

This clearly didn’t make sense.

According to normal village customs, when someone dies, the news spreads everywhere.

"Actually, what I want to ask is, has there been any... ghost activity in Huanggang Village recently?" Yang Jian finally asked directly.

Ghost activity?

The old man was clearly stunned, seemingly finding it hard to believe, but then he rubbed his fingers, giving a strong hint.

"..."

I almost forgot, this is already the fourth question. I didn’t expect this old man to be so straightforward.

Yang Jian gave him another hundred yuan.

The old man then said, "Every year, people in the village say there’s ghost activity. It’s been going on for decades, but nothing has ever been seen. You look like an educated young man; are young people nowadays really interested in ghost stories?"

"Not really, just asking around out of curiosity," Yang Jian said casually.

He was a bit disappointed.

He felt he hadn’t gained any useful information.

Is there really any paranormal activity in Huanggang Village?

"By the way, Grandpa, is there anywhere I can stay? I want to stay here for a few days," Yang Jian asked.

"I have an empty room. It’s a hundred yuan per night. Do you want to stay?" the old man said, doing business with Yang Jian.

And so,

He temporarily stayed, or rather, rented a room in the old man’s house.

The old man’s name was Liu Genrong, one of the village’s elderly residents.

He said his two sons lived in Dachang City and only returned home when there was something to deal with. His wife had passed away last year.

"I’ll stay for three days. If nothing happens in three days, I’ll return to Dachang City and find that Sun Lihong to settle the score."

"Even if there is paranormal activity here, if the ghost is hiding deep and doesn’t plan to show itself, I don’t have the time to search for it. I can’t afford to waste my time."

With this thought, Yang Jian fell asleep in the room at Liu Genrong’s house.

The agitation of the ghost’s revival made his sleep uneasy.

He was in a state of torment, his body paralyzed as usual, and he felt something inside him taking control of his body.

This feeling was very strange, indescribable.

However, while Yang Jian was sleeping,

A weak, feeble cough suddenly sounded from downstairs.

"Cough, cough."

The sound seemed to come from Liu Genrong’s front door.

This sound instantly made the paralyzed Yang Jian open his eyes.

"Is this... the same voice from earlier?"

"Wait, something’s wrong, someone is coming upstairs." Yang Jian’s face changed abruptly as he heard heavy footsteps from the staircase.

He was staying on the second floor of Liu Genrong’s house, while Liu Genrong lived next door.

In other words, no one was on the first floor.

Moreover, it was dark outside, and the front door was locked. Even if someone was there, they couldn’t possibly get in.

"It can’t be, this bad luck. Why now?" Yang Jian’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat.

His body was paralyzed, and he couldn’t move.

"Thump, thump!"

Heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway.

They were getting closer.

Clearly, someone was walking up the stairs to the second floor, one step at a time, neither skipping nor missing any.

Their movements seemed slow.

Yang Jian tried to look towards the door, but his head couldn’t move, only his eyes could turn a little.

But... he couldn’t see clearly.

There was no light outside the window, and he couldn’t see the direction of the door.

Suddenly,

The heavy footsteps on the stairs stopped.

The thing had reached the second floor.

At this moment, Yang Jian wasn’t concerned about how the thing got in or where it came from; he only cared whether it was coming for him or for Liu Genrong.

Of course, it could also be random.

However, the structure of the village house was simple, with two rooms on the second floor facing each other.

If it was random, Yang Jian had a fifty percent chance of not being chosen.

"Wait, the thing doesn’t seem to be coming in."

Suddenly,

He heard footsteps outside the door again.

It sounded like someone was pacing outside, the footsteps echoing back and forth.

"Cough, cough."

Like a person on the brink of death, as if they could die at any moment.

The thing outside didn’t seem to be leaving.

Yang Jian stared intently at the door, his heart tense, afraid the thing would come in.

In his current state, he couldn’t escape even if he wanted to; he could only pray.

"It shouldn’t come in, right?"

After a moment, hearing that the footsteps outside the door didn’t seem to be coming in, he let out a slight sigh of relief.

Of course, he couldn’t be that unlucky.

But when he thought about the way the ghost at school killed by knocking on the door, he couldn’t relax.

What if the thing at the door didn’t need to come in to kill?

"No, it’s impossible. If the thing outside is a ghost with the ability to knock on doors, no one in this village would still be alive. They would all be dead," Yang Jian refuted his own worry.

However, at that moment,

The footsteps at the door suddenly stopped.

"Creak..."

In the darkness, the sound of the door opening was heard.

Yang Jian’s heart tightened instantly.

Was the ghost that had been pacing outside about to come in?