Chapter 97: Nowhere to Be Found
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Just as the two of them were chatting, a series of dog barks came from outside the door. Then, Mr. Zhao, who was carrying a bamboo basket on his back, walked in with a yellow dog behind him. When he saw Yun Qin, he was stunned.
Yun Qin quickly stood up and greeted him, “Mr. Zhao, sorry to disturb you.”
Mr. Zhao was still stunned. He put down the basket on his back and stared at Yun Qin, “Master, why are you here?”
“Oh, it’s like this. My master sent me out to train. I happened to arrive at Laoguan Village, so I came to visit you.”
After knowing the reason, Mr. Zhao nodded and said, “I know. You’re here to preach and stay for the night?”
Yun Qin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She quickly explained, “No, no, you misunderstood. But I do want to stay for a night. Is that ok?”
“Well, you can be, it’s just that...”
Mr. Zhao looked a little troubled. He looked at his wife and then looked at Yun Qin as if he was in a dilemma.
Yun Qin understood that for an old couple living alone in the countryside, letting a stranger stay for a night was risky.
Therefore, she didn’t have much hope. She just asked casually and wanted to know more about this place. If anything, she could go back to her car and sleep there tonight.
The old lady beside her was very kind-hearted. After hearing Mr. Zhao say that Yun Qin was some “Taoist disciple”, she had a good impression of her and proposed a compromise. “Don’t we have an old house? Let the little girl stay there.”
Hearing this idea, Mr. Zhao’s eyes lit up. He did not have to refuse her request and he could also avoid trouble.
Mr. Zhao’s old house was in the village, next to a few families that made coffins.
In fact, during his early years, Mr. Zhao also made coffins for a living. It wasn’t until he made enough to send his child to college in the capital did his financial situation improved. He didn’t have to work for a living anymore and he also moved out of his old house into the small villa by the river.
After having a place to sleep, Yun Qin was relieved and continued to chat with the old couple.
The big yellow dog that had been wagging its tail ran to Yun Qin’s side and sniffed around her legs.
“Big Yellow, come here!”
The old lady scolded the dog softly and then smiled at Yun Qin simply and honestly. “This fellow is lucky. The plague in the village is so serious, yet, this dog is completely fine. It just got scared and refuse to eat recently.”
Thinking of the other dead chickens and ducks, the old couple sighed regretfully.
Yun Qin rubbed the dog’s head, then said, “This dog looks quite intelligent. It will be a good guard dog in the future.”
As she deliberately inquired about the source of the black ghost mark on their wrists, Yun Qin found that perhaps because the old couple lived in a more remote area, they knew very little about the situation in the village, so she didn’t know what more she could ask. Thus, Yun Qin got up and prepared to leave.
Mr. Zhao wanted to escort Yun Qin to the old house, but he gave up after Yun Qin insisted that he didn’t need to. He said, “My old house is under a big banyan tree. There are a few families that make coffins next to it. It’s very easy to find.”
Yun Qin nodded and took the big iron key from him. Then, she walked toward the village where most of the houses were gathered downstream of the river.
After a few steps, Yun Qin saw that Mr. Zhao’s big yellow dog was following her. It was wagging its tail and drooling as it looked at her.
Yun Qin couldn’t help but laugh. This guy must have smelled the food in her backpack when he sniffed her earlier.
Therefore, Yun Qin took off her backpack, took out two ham sausages, peeled off the wrapping paper, and placed both on the ground. Then, the dog began to eat like a wolf.
“Are you that hungry? Eat slowly.”
Yun Qin took out two more ham sausages, and the big yellow dog finished them again.
“You have food at home, but you’re still picky. Be careful, you might get scolded when you go back.”
Looking at the big yellow dog eating, Yun Qin felt that the dog had not eaten its fill for a long time. At this moment, it was looking at Yun Qin with sparkling eyes and drooling.
Yun Qin gave the dog all the sausages in her backpack, so she had no choice but to pat its head and continue to walk on the ridge of the field towards the village.
As a result, the big yellow dog followed Yun Qin all the way. Sometimes it would walk in front of her and sometimes it would walk around the field. It looked like it was clearing a path for her.
When Yun Qin stepped on a small stone bridge, she saw the village in front of her.
The big yellow dog sniffed the ground, barked at Yun Qin, then turned around and ran home.
When Yun Qin walked into the village, she saw that there was a strange aura surrounding the village.
Not only were there few pedestrians on the road, but Yun Qin could see that there were black ghost marks on their wrists.
However, when probed with her evil energy, she did not find any traces of evil ghosts, she only detected a large number of black ghost marks throughout the village.
What was going on? Since there was no trace of the evil spirits here, how would there be marks left by evil spirits?