Chapter Forty-Five: The Weeping Bride (15)

Su Man’s interest was piqued.

“Our tour group had a man go out yesterday. Later, I did hear some commotion outside, but I can’t be certain it was caused by him.”

“Would you recognize who it was?”

“If I hear his voice again, I’ll know for sure.”

“Alright, let me think of a way to find this person.”

Huang Mei hadn’t expected that Su Man’s idea was to call Lin Qi over once more.

“What’s this? Only think of me when you need me?” Lin Qi muttered under his breath, holding back his annoyance.

But his gaze kept flickering toward Su Man, curiosity eating away at him—he was dying to know what she and Huang Mei had been discussing.

“If you help me, I’ll tell you exactly what we were talking about,” Su Man offered.

No sooner had she spoken than Huang Mei shot her a tense look, but Su Man signaled for her not to worry.

Lin Qi brightened immediately and agreed with barely concealed eagerness, “Deal, but you’d better not go back on your word!”

Once Su Man had told him, Lin Qi’s face fell in disbelief. “That’s it?”

“She just worries that with me as your helper, you’ll drop her for slowing you down?”

He secretly admired Huang Mei’s discernment, but honestly, was that worth all the hesitation? Suspiciously, he glanced at Huang Mei, uncertain if it warranted such anxiety.

“Yes, that’s all. You wanted to know, now you know. Now go chat with everyone, casually draw out some information—whether it’s useful or not doesn’t matter,” Su Man instructed, assigning him the task. After all, Lin Qi was a journalist; he should be adept at this.

“Just casually?” Lin Qi replied sarcastically. “So I could just ask if they’ve eaten?”

“That’s fine.”

Lin Qi was left speechless. In the end, it was always him who got the short end of the stick.

But Lin Qi was nothing if not professional. He barged into the others’ rooms and struck up casual conversations with ease.

Meanwhile, Huang Mei listened intently to every voice, trying to identify the one she’d heard the night before.

Su Man, for her part, sat by and drank tea, unconcerned—she couldn’t hear anything herself.

When Lin Qi had finished speaking with everyone, Huang Mei shook her head ever so slightly at Su Man. None of those voices matched what she’d heard.

Su Man wasn’t anxious. Instead, she looked to Lin Qi.

Lin Qi, his enthusiasm dulled, reported what he’d learned: “Most people have eaten, just the meals provided here, and all claim they didn’t go out last night.”

He paused, then added, “Three people aren’t here—I didn’t get to speak with them.”

“They are Wang Cheng, Zhao Ming, and Sun Li. They share a room. According to their roommate, they’re all from the same hometown, know each other, and, restless as they are, went out together for fun.”

Su Man nodded. It seemed the voice she’d heard belonged to one of those three.

And they were conveniently together—no need to search for them one by one.

When Su Man suggested finding them, both Lin Qi and Huang Mei tacitly agreed to join her.

The three left together. As they turned a corner past a dilapidated building, Su Man suddenly stopped.

“What is it?” Huang Mei and Lin Qi halted too, curiosity in their eyes.

“Nothing,” Su Man shook her head, pulling her gaze back. “Is there a bridge ahead? I think I hear a commotion over there.”

At Su Man’s words, Huang Mei pricked up her ears. Her hearing was sharp, but too much noise often overwhelmed her, so she usually kept it subdued.

But now, her ability was needed.

“Yes, it sounds like someone’s died over there,” she confirmed.

“Let’s go see,” Su Man said.

When they reached the bridge, a crowd of villagers had already gathered, gesturing and pointing at the water.

Su Man didn’t force her way in but stood to the side, able to see clearly enough—a corpse floated face-down in the river, arms and legs splayed.

Lin Qi was already weaving through the throng, trying to extract information. But the villagers, seeing his unfamiliar face, pegged him as a tourist and took an instant dislike to him, hurling curses his way.

“It’s you outsiders who bring misfortune and trouble!”

“The dead one’s an unlucky outsider too!”

Not content with berating Lin Qi, they even turned on Su Man, who had remained silent.

“A whole group of jinxes—you all deserve to die here!”

Su Man turned and looked steadily at the speaker.

The man hadn’t expected her to meet his gaze. Bullying the weak yet fearing the strong, he faltered, his bravado slipping as his eyes darted.

“What? What are you staring at?” he blustered.

“I’m just curious how someone so blessed with good fortune manages to shout so loudly,” Su Man replied coolly. At her calm words, the crowd fell silent—not out of fear, but surprise that an outsider dared address them so boldly.

“What, nothing more to say? Are you finished?” She withdrew her gaze and looked down at the corpse in the water. “Don’t always talk about misfortune and bad luck. Isn’t this supposed to be Celestial Master Village? Aren’t you all Celestial Masters? Can’t you dispel bad luck? Oh, forgive me—I suppose not everyone here is that capable, am I right?”

Her final words left the crowd red-faced, both angry and ashamed.

She’d effectively mocked them all. Not everyone present was powerless; those with real ability had already been summoned by the village chief. If not, the corpse in the water would have been retrieved long ago—there’d be no need for outsiders to gawk.

Was Su Man doing this on purpose? Of course she was. She wanted to gauge the villagers while also expressing her disdain for their sarcastic hostility.

“We Celestial Masters can certainly dispel bad luck!” someone retorted, unwilling to yield.

“Then do it, don’t just talk,” Su Man replied, leaving the speaker flustered. “Or do you plan to exorcise me with your glare? I’m afraid I won’t acknowledge that.”

The reputation of Celestial Master Village was not to be insulted. Immediately, a few hot-blooded young men could not stand the provocation and prepared to jump into the river to retrieve the body.

“Just watch! Keep your eyes wide open!”

Some wanted to dissuade them, but her words had left them no room to back down—any hesitation would be an admission of incompetence.

Sensing the situation was getting out of hand, some bystanders hurried off to fetch the village chief.

Su Man paid no mind, focusing instead on those who had jumped into the river.

She noticed their faces change dramatically as soon as they entered the water. Some began to choke and flounder, as though they couldn’t swim at all, their hands flailing desperately at the surface.

“I told you it was forbidden to go in—that’s the Taboo River! Those without the skill won’t come back up,” someone on the shore exclaimed in alarm.

Su Man silently took note. So this was the Taboo River—clearly, something was wrong with it.

And then, an even stranger phenomenon occurred.

The corpse floating in the river suddenly seemed to come alive, stiffly rising to its feet in the water. Its rigid hands pressed down on the heads of two villagers beside it, as if trying to drown them.

A villager cried out in terror, “It’s over—he’s someone who’s come into contact with a cursed object!”