Wei Xun didnāt seem to be aware of the undercurrents surging through the tour group. He listened to the melodious and festive music, and his expression reflected how depressed and sad he was.
āPingping, my Pingping.ā
At this moment, even Miao Fangfei, who was very astute, couldnāt detect any abnormalities from Ah Cheng. He appeared like a young man who was deeply in love and upset because his sweetheart was getting married. Except for Wang Pengpai, no one noticed Ah Chengās momentarily provocative smile.
Only Wang Pengpai saw through all that faƧade. III-9 was much more difficult to deal with than he had expected. However, he was already mentally prepared for facing him, so he calmed down and did not act rashly. Instead, the look in his eyes grew sharper.
āI donāt know if Pingping has seen my āLeaving Grandmother Chickenā and if she knows about my heartfelt intentions.ā
III-9 was still putting on a very āprofessionalā performance. Wang Pengpai thought that it was a fucking pity that this man didnāt want to become an actor.
āI canāt find the marriage deed. If I want to elope with her, then I have to get it before the third cry.ā
āWhere is the marriage deed? Why do you have to get it before the third cry?ā
They were now in an urgent predicament. Miao Fangfei winked at Wang Pengpai, and the two groups of people gathered again.
āThe marriage deed was hidden somewhere by the village head, and I didnāt find it.ā
Wei Xun shook his head sadly and said with a sigh, āAfter the third cry, she will get married. If I canāt destroy the marriage deed, then Pingping and I must leave Cordoned-off Village before she gets married. Otherwise, Pingping will have to marry Ah Long.ā
Ah Long was buried in the mountains behind Cordoned-off Village, where his familyās grave was. As long as Pingping was far enough from Cordoned-off Village, the marriage deed between Pingping and Ah Long would not take effect.
Miao Fangfei looked at Zhao Hongtu. Zhao Hongtu shook his head with an ugly expression. He and Wang Pengpai hadnāt found the marriage deed at the village headās house just now.
āBrother Cheng, donāt fret for now. Grandma Xu will definitely give your āLeaving Grandmother Chickenā to Pingping.ā
Miao Fangfei winked at Hou Feihu. Hou Feihu nodded slightly and gestured at Zhao Hongtu. The two hurried to Xu Chenās side. First, they wanted to tell the latest information theyād gathered to, Xu Chen, Lin Xi. Second, Hou Feihu informed Zhao Hongtu of their doubts regarding Wang Pengpai. They then discussed what had happened at the village headās house.
āAh Cheng, go back and wait for our news,ā Miao Fangfei persuaded.
In fact, she wanted to clear things up with Wang Pengpai while they had the time to do so. It was best to do so now, instead of during a dangerous time. This was to prevent them from having an internal conflict and needing to have their guards up against each other.
However, Ah Cheng shook his head and looked at Pingpingās house in a daze.
āNo, Sister-in-law Miao, I wonāt go. I have to wait for Pingpingās reply.ā
As Miao Fangfei thought about it, worry festered in her heart. It was likely that Pingping and Ah Cheng would discuss the time they should elope together during the second cry. Indeed, it was very important for Ah Cheng to stay here. Ah Cheng specially gazed at Miao Fangfei and stammered, āSister Miao, thank you for helping me so much. It was only when I saw you that I felt relieved.ā
Yes, Ah Chengās meaning was very obvious. Miao Fangfei had to wait with him.
āLeader Miao, should Iā¦ā¦ā
Shi Tao hesitated, but Miao Fangfei shook her head, looked directly at Wang Pengpai, and said softly, āSister-in-law Wang, you should wait together with them.ā
Miao Fangfei didnāt want to doubt her teammates, but after experiencing so many tours, she knew that humans were generally not trustworthy. Miao Fangfei hadnāt seen Wang Pengpai on the leaderboard, but who knew if he had hidden his identity? The way Wang Pengpai acted and his view of the overall situation were indeed far beyond the level a tourist would have on this tour. It didnāt matter what kind of reason he had to hide his identity. Miao Fangfei didnāt want Shi Tao and her to get involved in Wang Pengpaiās matters again.
The waters in the tour parties ran very deep. These matters werenāt something people like them, who were not in a fixed tour party, could get themselves into.
If only Guide III were here. Miao Fangfei couldnāt help missing III-9. If the tour guide was here, the situation would not be so chaotic. However, this was a scene reenactment attraction. Usually, most of these attractions were only experienced by the tourists, while the tour guide would wait at the exit of the scenic spot and would not participate in the attraction.
Therefore, when III-9 had disappeared, Miao Fangfei only felt that he was waiting for them at the exit.
Miao Fangfeiās words to Wang Pengpai sounded very polite, but they also revealed that she did not trust him and did not want to be close to him. Wang Pengpai took everything into account, but he still smiled as he replied,āOkay, Iāll follow Leader Miaoās instructions.ā
āHongtu and I found something very important at the village headās house. Leader Miao, look.ā
Miao Fangfei first hesitantly glanced at Ah Cheng. Was it really fine to let Ah Cheng know that they had combed through the village headās house?
But seeing that Ah Cheng didnāt respond, and his gaze was focused in the direction of Pingpingās house, Miao Fangfei no longer hesitated and took the things from Wang Pengpaiās hand. After taking a look at them, even though she had a calm personality, she was stunned for a very long time before her spirits finally returned.
āAh Longās flying fox statue and the marriage deed between Ah Long and Pingping.ā
Miao Fangfei immediately grasped the key point, but Wang Pengpai shook his head. āZhao Hongtu and I didnāt find them.ā
Instead, he asked Ah Cheng, āAh Cheng, did you find these two things when you went to the village headās house? This is related to the lifelong happiness of you and Pingping.ā
āI, I didnāt. How could I dare to rummage through his things.ā
Ah Cheng looked a little frightened as he spoke, as if he was trying to hide something. Miao Fangfei eyes sharpened. She felt that something was wrong, so without a change in her expression, she interrogated, āAh Cheng, you know that Pingpingās wedding was originally a major event in the village. According to the rules, we shouldnāt help you elope with Pingping.ā
Miao Fangfei sighed and continued, āNow it seems that we truly should follow the village headās instructions. Pingping and Ah Long areā¦ā
āNo!ā
Ah Cheng had a very strong reaction. āThe village, village head, heā¦ā
As he spoke, Ah Cheng hesitated again. It wasnāt until Miao Fangfei pressed him for the truth again that he gritted his teeth and whispered, āThe village head, heās become a jiangshi.ā
After his voice rang out, Ah Cheng sobbed as he whispered in a hurry, āSister Miao, I, I swore to the village head that I wouldnāt say anything about him turning into a jiangshi. I, Iāve only told you this. Please donāt tell this to the others.ā
It turned out that Ah Cheng was afraid because of this matter.
Miao Fangfei looked at Wang Pengpai, saw him nod, and knew that what Ah Cheng had said about the village head of Cordoned-off Village becoming a jiangshi was true.
When she glanced at Ah Cheng again, her tone eased as she said, āDonāt worry, I wonāt tell the others.ā
Although this āI only told you this, so please donāt tell the othersā secret usually wouldnāt take long until everyone knew about it.
Miao Fangfei broke out from her deep thoughts, but she couldnāt help but worry. Something they didnāt know about must have happened that had caused the village head of Cordoned-off Village to turn into a jiangshi. However, at the present, the most important things they should ensure the safety of were Ah Longās flying fox statue and the marriage deed between Ah Long and Pingping. If they lost these items, it would really cause Miao Fangfei to be anxious. Hence, she decided to find a chance to visit the village headās house again.
Wang Pengpai watched the exchange between III-9 and Miao Fangfei coldly. After basically confirming that Ah Cheng was III-9, Wang Pengpai felt that every time he saw III-9, he gained a new understanding of him.
Even just for this matter alone, although Miao Fangfei had acted much colder to Wang Pengpai, they were still teammates with the same goal. However, there was no such natural connection between Ah Cheng and Miao Fangfei. Wang Pengpai showed Miao Fangfei the village headās version of the statue and half of the diary. With Miao Fangfeiās intelligence, she naturally knew how important the other two items were.
In addition to Wang Pengpai and Zhao Hongtu, at present, only Ah Cheng had gone to the village headās house to search for the items.
After she became aware of this, Miao Fangfei would naturally grow suspicious of Ah Cheng. In addition to the small reports Wang Pengpai had made to Miao Fangfei about Ah Cheng, even if III-9 wanted to use Ah Chengās identity to break Miao Fangfei and the others apart in the future, it would take him more effort to do so.
However, III-9 had taken the first step in confessing what had happened. With a hesitant tone and an evasive look in his eyes, he had aroused Miao Fangfeiās suspicion. After facing several of Miao Fangfeiās questions, he had revealed the important information that the village head was a jiangshi. This was a vital piece of information that Wang Pengpai and Zhao Hongtu hadnāt had time to tell Miao Fangfei.
So, when Miao Fangfei had asked Wang Pengpai to check the truth of this matter, Wang Pengpai could only nod. Later, III-9 had confessed that he swore to keep it secret from the village head and that he couldnāt tell others about it. āIāve only told you this. Please donāt tell the others.ā
How does one make someone quickly develop trust in them? How does one make someone develop a sense of fondness for them?
Of course, one should make the other become their āaccompliceā and keep the same secret together.
Humans had a tendency of continuing on one chain of thought. When III-9 had said that the village head had became a jiangshi, and Wang Pengpai and Zhao Hongtu had testified that it was true, Miao Fangfei would subconsciously think that the other things related to the village head, such as III-9 previously saying that āhe didnāt find the marriage deedā were also true.
From this short dialogue alone, III-9 had temporarily passed the crisis of being suspected by Miao Fangfei. Furthermore, the information that he had revealed regarding the village head being a jiangshi was something that Miao Fangfei would certainly have learned from Wang Pengpai.
This man had a good grasp of peopleās hearts, and he also knew very well how to grasp opportunities available to him.
Between the second cry and the third cry, Miao Fangfei and the others would definitely be busy helping Pingping and Ah Cheng prepare for their elopement. Given the other touristsā prowess, it would be very difficult to survive the dangers they would face, let alone have time to think about these things.
The slaughterer tour guide, III-9.
Wang Pengpai was lost in thought.
After being fooled for a moment, Wang Pengpai forced down the urge to place III-9 under his control for the time being. He did this not only because III-9 had Ah Chengās special identity, but also because Wang Pengpai wanted to observe III-9 more.
This person really wasnāt simple. He had totally subverted their previous understanding of III-9.
If Wang Pengpai had not sealed his strength, he would have really begun to suspect that this person was not III-9.
However, since his strength was still sealed, Wang Pengpai had never thought about this. Now, after his strength was unsealed, Wang Pengpai occasionally felt confused, but every time he had doubts in his heart, he didnāt pay enough attention to them.
It was just like the previous events. Wang Pengpai occasionally questioned, āIs this person really III-9?ā However, his subconscious would tell him, āThis is III-9.ā Afterwards, he found it difficult to change his perception about it.
Forget it, he didnāt want to think so much. He didnāt care whether III-9 was Li Kui or Li Gui. He decided that he would take him back when the time came. With just a look, the captain would know the answer.
āGrandma Xu and the others are out.ā
Within this short period of time, both Miao Fangfei and Wang Pengpai were thinking deeply. Only Ah Cheng was eagerly awaiting the othersā return. He was the first to discover Xu Chen and the others coming back.
āTwelve oāclock.ā
Miao Fangfeiās heart rate sped up. The second cry was finally about to begin. Now, the pressure on Xu Chen and the others was heavier than it had been before!