Chapter 156

Chapter 156: The Ugliness of the Human Heart 3

In the end, the matter fizzled out. But Yin Yong noticed that everyone except Eldest Brother started guarding against him. They even watched him, obvious yet subtle, like they were trying to find something on him.

Yin Yong wasn’t stupid. He knew that after his eldest nephew lost the bronze mirror, he must suspect Yin Yong did it. That was why they kept an eye on him. They were probably trying to get that bronze mirror back. So Yin Yong kept going to build the house as usual and acted like he didn’t care about their surveillance at all.

A month later, the new house was finished. After another half month of airing it out, Eldest Brother’s family moved in and held a housewarming banquet, inviting the villagers to celebrate.

But a little more than a month after they moved into the new house, one night a thunderstorm hit. Eldest Brother’s house was struck down by lightning, and all twelve people in the household were crushed to death.

Because thunder and lightning roared all night, the sound covered up the crash of the collapsing house. It wasn’t discovered until the next morning, when neighbors noticed.

When the villagers came with hoes and shovels, pried off bricks and tiles, and dragged the bodies out, everyone was already cold. The whole Peach Source Village was shaken, and people said all kinds of things.

“Did the Yin family do something wicked and get struck by heaven’s punishment? Since their little sister got married, in less than a year, people in their family have been dying one after another.”

“That’s true. Either they died far from home or got killed by bandits. This time they were directly crushed by their new house. That house was built with bricks and tiles. It should’ve been solid. How could it collapse so easily?”

“Yeah! Even my mud-brick house is fine. How did their new house collapse?”

Yin Yong looked at the row of corpses on the ground. His legs went weak, and he fell straight down. It felt like he couldn’t breathe.

That night, Yin Yong went up the mountain to the place where he had buried the bronze mirror. But there was nothing there. The big stone had rolled down the slope, and only a deep pit remained.

Yin Yong refused to give up. He dug farther down, but he still found nothing. He knew the bronze mirror was gone, and that meant someone else had dug it up.

He stumbled back to the old house in a daze, replaying every detail in his mind, trying to figure out who had taken the bronze mirror. But he had no leads at all.

Yin Yong forced himself through Eldest Brother’s family’s funeral, then prepared to sell the land and house and leave Peach Source Village. There were too many terrible memories there. He didn’t want to stay.

Because so many people in the Yin family had died, the villagers all felt their old house was unlucky. The old house didn’t sell, but all the family’s fields did, and for a decent price.

Just as Yin Yong got his travel pass and was about to leave Peach Source Village, a household in the village caught fire in the middle of the night. There was wind that night, and the wind fed the flames. It grew too fast, giving the villagers no chance to put it out. That whole family burned to death.

That news became the final straw that crushed Yin Yong. The next day, he entrusted the old house to the village head and left Peach Source Village with a bundle. He didn’t dare linger in town either. After traveling on and off for half a year, he found work as a shop waiter in Chun Tao City.

Because he could read and he was good with numbers, the shopkeeper valued him and wanted to hire him long-term. Yin Yong was tired of running, so he stayed and settled down there. If nothing unexpected happened, he would never go back to Peach Source Village in this lifetime.

After the four of them heard Yin Yong’s account, they each fell into thought. Things were definitely not as simple as he had described. Nearly everyone involved was dead, and some things were only Yin Yong’s own guesses. But those guesses were enough to scare him into never daring to return to Peach Source Village.

Liu Hao Tian said coolly, “You can go. Don’t mention this to anyone.”

“Yes. I understand.” Yin Yong trembled as he stood up, then carefully backed out of the room.

After he left, the four began discussing.

“Senior Brother Liu, do you think that bronze mirror is a cursed artifact?”

“If everything happened because of that bronze mirror, then there must be something wrong with it. Whether it’s a cursed artifact or not, we’ll know once we go see it.”

Xia You said, “While Yin Yong was explaining the whole story just now, I activated the Image-Recording Jade. That’s a lead, and it’s also indirect evidence.”

“Xia You, you reacted so fast. I even forgot to activate the Image-Recording Jade.”

“If the four of us are together, one person recording is enough. If we split up to look for clues, then we’ll need to pay closer attention.”

Yun Xi made the final decision. “Since everyone thinks something is wrong, then we’ll go to Peach Source Village and take a look.”

“I agree. If it’s a cursed artifact that harms people, it can’t be left in the mortal realm.”

“I agree too.”

“Then we’ll rest for one day and leave tomorrow. I hope we’re not too late.”

Once they confirmed their next plan, each of them went to rest and prepare.

Early the next morning, the four of them appeared before Yin Yong and wanted to take him back to Peach Source Village with them. Yin Yong looked utterly unwilling.

Yun Xi sighed and said, “Yin Yong, this started with you. You were the one who fished that bronze mirror out of the river, and you were the one who brought it home. After you realized the bronze mirror was gone, you didn’t warn anyone else. You just fled in a hurry. Have you ever thought about what would happen to the other people in Peach Source Village?”

Yin Yong’s face changed. He gritted his teeth and said, “As long as they aren’t greedy, nothing will happen, just like me.”

Liu Hao Tian said evenly, “How do you know you’re the exception? You only have one month left to live. Otherwise, why would we come to you for no reason?”

Yin Yong’s face completely drained. He thought he had escaped death, yet these people were telling him he only had one month left. His heart and his mouth both tasted bitter.

“Since you’re unwilling to go, we won’t force you. Just tell us exactly where Peach Source Village is.”

“Okay.” Yin Yong didn’t have the courage to return. He told the four of them the exact location, then went back to the rear hall in a daze.

“It looks like we’re going to miss Chun Tao City’s lantern festival,” Xia You said with a sigh, then followed the other three out of Chun Tao City.

This time, they couldn’t travel slowly. Once they reached a place with no one around, the four of them tossed out their flying swords and traveled by sword flight.

The road that sounded so far in Yin Yong’s mouth took them only two hours. But after they arrived, the four of them wandered around the area Yin Yong described for a long time and still couldn’t find Peach Source Village.

Yun Xi frowned. “Did he lie?”

“Probably not.” Liu Hao Tian took out a compass, adjusted it as he walked, and explained, “A village that large can’t just disappear for no reason. I think it’s very likely the bronze mirror swallowed enough souls, repaired itself, and then formed its own domain, quietly waiting for prey to come to it.”

Yu Qing Cheng narrowed her phoenix eyes. “Senior Brother Liu’s reasoning makes a lot of sense. This is the mortal realm. There are no spirit stones or heavenly treasures for it to devour, and it doesn’t have legs. The only way would be to confuse someone into carrying it away.”

Yun Xi nodded as well. “From what Yin Yong described, as long as you don’t make a wish to the bronze mirror and no contract is formed, the bronze mirror can’t do anything.”

Xia You nodded too. “Everyone’s guesses make sense. But Yin Yong has been gone from Peach Source Village for a long time. I’m worried the mirror has grown even stronger. He was so far away, but didn’t he still only have one month to live?”

“Don’t forget. The Yin family’s ancestral graves are in Peach Source Village.”