Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 348 - 18: Grand Sacrificial Ceremony
"Ma’am, I see you still have quite the charm." Remembering the drastic contrast of the ghostly woman, Sun Hang couldn’t help but quip, "You were a beauty, how did you end up a ghost, such a pity."
The ghostly woman froze for a moment, then began to shiver all over, it was unclear whether from embarrassment or fear. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Nevertheless, Sun Hang’s jest was not entirely unfounded—the Zhou Family’s mansion was undoubtedly the most lavish building on this street; the wealth of the Zhou Family back in the day was quite imaginable.
Even within the quarantine zone, the life of the rich is much more comfortable than that of the poor—money may not buy freedom, but it sure buys many privileges that ordinary people can only dream of.
For instance, various conveniences, an elevated social status, and preferential marriage rights for descendants.
The eldest son of the affluent Zhou Family certainly wouldn’t choose a rather unappealing wife to marry; this ghostly woman, who looks much like Sadako standing here, was probably one of the top beauties in the town during her "lifetime".
For ordinary people, this is very unfair, but that’s the reality.
Reality never speaks of fairness.
Too bad, when faced with the wave of supernatural invasions, whether it was the opulent Zhou Family or ordinary folks with basic meals, their ultimate fate was the same... This, too, is reality.
Money can make ghosts push mills, but when a wheel larger than any millstone comes rolling, no amount of money is of any use.
"Can you tell me about the events before and after this town was abandoned?" Sun Hang asked, "And how did the mayor come here?"
"I... don’t... don’t remember..." the ghost trembled and said.
"Is it that you don’t remember, or you don’t dare to say?"
"...I don’t remember."
Sun Hang felt the other party wasn’t telling the truth, but since he had already spoken, it was not appropriate to use coercive interrogation—at least for now.
"Then tell me about your children."
Upon hearing this question, the ghost immediately started to cry again, the mournful sound lingering in the courtyard, sounding eerie.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot you just lost them," Sun Hang scratched his head, "But don’t be too sad; for you, shouldn’t genuine death be a relief?"
"Wooo..."
Compared to those two little girls, this ghostly woman is evidently more difficult to communicate with.
Her emotions were not only unstable, but her mind seemed unclear, and even for the questions she was willing to answer, the responses were fragmented and cryptic.
Sun Hang could only infer the "context" from these fragmented pieces, but with extremely limited information, any slight error in inference direction could lead to vastly different conclusions...
Infer all you want, it ended up being better not to.
"Sigh." Sun Hang sighed, and at this moment, a clear bang echoed from the street outside.
"Bang!"
"It’s dry and flammable, be careful with fire!"
"Bang!"
Though watchmen have long been rendered obsolete by the times, Sun Hang still recognized this familiar line.
Hearing these words indicates it’s now hour of the dog, also called the "first watch," meaning one bang of the gong.
Sun Hang took out his phone and glanced at it, the time displayed was 2:03 PM.
However, the hour of the dog, according to modern timing standards, should reflect 7 PM to 9 PM.
Sun Hang was unsure whether his phone’s timing function was faulty or the time flow in this place was abnormal... But according to his own perception, the time flow shown on the phone seemed fine; all calculations since he entered Maoyun Town summed barely up to two hours.
Just when Sun Hang was contemplating what to use as a time reference, two more bangs echoed from the street.
"Bang! Bang!"
"Hour of the pig, second watch, close doors and windows, guard against thieves!"
"Bang! Bang!"
"Huh?" Sun Hang was quite speechless—just seconds ago it was the hour of the dog (7-9 PM), how did it suddenly become the hour of the pig (9-11 PM)?
This watchman is extremely unprofessional, or...
Or perhaps, this guy isn’t a professional watchman at all, just a lunatic imagining himself as one, roaming the streets with a gong for amusement?
If so, wasn’t he just fooled by this person, thus being quite embarrassing?
Maybe he should head out now and reason with this madman properly?
"Bang! Bang bang!"
"Hour of the rat, third watch, all is well, safe and sound!"
"Bang! Bang bang!"
"Is this endless?" Sun Hang stood up.
As if to respond to Sun Hang, before the echo of the last bangs had even completely dissipated, a new series of bangs resounded.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Hour of the ox, fourth watch, cold weather, watch out for slippery roads!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Sun Hang couldn’t help but laugh in annoyance, abruptly turned his head to the ghost hovering not far away, and asked, "What’s the call for the fifth watch?"
"Bang bang! Bang bang bang!"
"Hour of the tiger, fifth watch, early sleep and rise, take care of your health!"
"Bang bang! Bang bang bang!"
After the last gong sounded, the street outside suddenly buzzed with activity—voices, footsteps, the sound of wooden wheels rolling over the stone-laid road... This cacophony seamlessly transitioned from the previous silence.
Sun Hang quickly strode to the courtyard entrance, pushing the gate wide open.
