Chapter 47: The Child Who Eats Offerings

As Shi Guanming's corpse sank into the water, the mist on the lake gradually dispersed, and Shi Dali seized the opportunity to steer the boat toward the shore.

Not long after stepping onto the shore, they heard a burst of hurried footsteps approaching; turning their heads to look, a White Lantern drifted out from around a corner.

It was Chu Xi carrying the White Lantern, with Kuang Hongyi following behind him; looking closely, Kuang Hongyi was slightly hunched over, with someone else strapped to his back.

"What happened?" Shi Dali went to meet them. At this moment, the mist on the lake had completely cleared, and the dark clouds overhead had split open, allowing moonlight to spill down; the crisis of this night had passed.

Shi Dali was also carrying a Lantern in his hand, which Yang Xiao had noticed just now. "Exhaustion; they fainted the moment the final line of the opera was sung."

Kuang Hongyi looked around the vicinity but could not find any sign of Shi Guanming, and an ominous premonition immediately rose in his heart. "Where is Shi Guanming?"

"He... he is dead." Shi Dali's eye sockets turned red. "I wanted to save him, but I couldn't. Something went wrong under the water; Xi Yao disguised herself as the Third Young Master. She didn't leave! She is still there!"

Kuang Hongyi was stunned, looking at Shi Dali in disbelief. "How is that possible? Didn't Xi Yao's Resentful Soul go to sing the opera?"

This sentence completely ignited Yang Xiao's suspicions. He had felt that the ghost singing on the stage earlier was not right, different from what he had heard by the lake, but when he looked with his right eye, it was indeed a drowned ghost on stage, and the singing technique was top-tier—all of which matched the characteristics of Xi Yao.

"Can you be sure that the one under the water is Xi Yao?" Compared to these things, Yang Xiao was more skeptical of Shi Dali's judgment.

"That's right, I saw it with my own eyes. Xi Yao was wearing the Third Young Master's clothes, floating on the water surface. Her face was completely rotted; the Third Young Master's corpse had only been soaking in the water for a day, it would be absolutely impossible for it to turn into that ghostly state."

Shi Dali recalled the side profile of the Third Young Master's corpse as it drifted downstream and still felt lingering fear; furthermore, there was what Shi Guanming had said to corroborate it. "The other end of the rope under the water was tied to the Third Young Master's foot; that corpse is definitely Xi Yao, there's no mistake!"

Subsequently, Shi Dali briefly explained to the two what had happened on the lake, though, in his narration, he erased the part about him plotting against Shi Guanming.

In the new story, Shi Dali went into the water first, leading Shi Guanming to search together, but unfortunately, the visibility underwater was extremely poor; Shi Dali got lost himself and finally had no choice but to surface for air, while Shi Guanming naturally found the boat and also found Xi Yao, which was why he was killed.

This also perfectly explained the perspective in the subsequent narrative, as to why Shi Dali had seen it from the water surface.

Also, Shi Dali did not hide the fact that Shi Guanming's Resentful Soul had come to find him after death, and he recounted everything Shi Guanming had said and how he had acted.

After thinking for a moment, Yang Xiao judged that Shi Dali would not lie to him about such a critical issue; there was indeed a problem underwater, and the one who killed was Xi Yao.

Thus, the crux of the problem appeared: since Xi Yao was in the lake, who was singing on the opera stage tonight? Or rather, what kind of ghost thing was it?

Seeing the soaked Shi Dali shivering non-stop, Kuang Hongyi suggested that Shi Dali squeeze into their room for the night and take the opportunity for everyone to gather and clarify the ins and outs of the matter, but Shi Dali shook his head and refused, citing the worry that he would be targeted by Xi Yao and end up implicating everyone else.

After returning to the room and settling the unconscious Su Tingting, Yang Xiao and Kuang Hongyi sat together; the night's experiences were too perilous, and the two had not fully calmed down even now.

"Brother Kuang, what do you think of what Shi Dali said?" Yang Xiao opened the conversation.

Kuang Hongyi sneered. "I can only believe half of it at most. Shi Guanming's death definitely has something to do with him. I don't believe that a Boxi Boat that even an old player like Shi Dali couldn't find could be easily found by a newcomer like Shi Guanming."

"But I don't think he lied to us about Xi Yao. After all, Shi Guanming is truly dead; that cannot be faked. And since all the Resentful Souls in the manor were attracted to the Ghost Opera, I can't think of anything else that could kill besides Xi Yao."

Kuang Hongyi's line of thought was consistent with Yang Xiao's. Now the problem was becoming increasingly clear: most likely, something went wrong with the Soul Summoning Ritual, and the Resentful Soul they summoned was not Xi Yao.

"Is the Feng family trying to harm us?" Kuang Hongyi's expression was suspicious. "They gave us a fake Birth Date and Time; this person isn't Xi Yao at all!"

Before Yang Xiao could speak, Kuang Hongyi overturned his own hypothesis from just a moment ago. "But... but this makes no sense. What benefit would they get from killing us? Our status is Lucky Guest; if we can't protect the Feng family, wouldn't they be at a dead end too?"

There were quite a few clues, but they were very messy, like a tangled ball of yarn, leaving one unable to find the thread for a moment. Yang Xiao looked at Su Tingting and sighed. "It seems we have no choice but to wait for her to wake up; she must know something about the situation."

While watching the opera, Yang Xiao had realized that the possessed Su Tingting had self-awareness and could see many things he could not.

Yang Xiao had a good temperament and could wait, but Kuang Hongyi could not; the next second, he stood up directly. "No need to wait, I'll go wake her up."

While walking over, he backhanded the candlestick from the table; a moment later, they saw Su Tingting sit up abruptly with a start, a scene that was no different from a corpse rising from the dead.

"Ghost! There's a ghost!" Su Tingting screamed. "A ghost is stabbing me!"

This scene also gave Kuang Hongyi a start, and he quickly covered Su Tingting's mouth. "Keep it down! There is no ghost; it's us who have returned."

Not until Yang Xiao walked over did Su Tingting settle down slightly, her face covered in cold sweat. However, the next second, as if suddenly remembering something, Su Tingting grabbed Yang Xiao's hand, her voice trembling. "Those... those ghost children? Did they follow us?"

This sentence left Yang Xiao and Kuang Hongyi confused. Yang Xiao was stunned for a moment before he reacted. "Ghost children?"

"Yes, that is... those ghost children who were gathered around the offerings eating; my god, it was terrifying..." Su Tingting's face turned deathly pale at the thought of the scene at that time.

Yang Xiao suddenly remembered. "Are you talking about the 4th Offering Platform?" The 4th Offering Platform was filled with candies and preserved fruits, things that little children loved to eat. At that time, the 4th Incense Burner had suddenly burned exceptionally brightly, which had made him suspicious.

Su Tingting nodded repeatedly, her pupils filled with fear. "Yes, that's the place. At that time, a lot of little children suddenly appeared under the platform, wearing colorful clothes, lined up in a row, one after another with their heads lowered, the one behind holding the hem of the one in front, walking over so stiffly."

"These children gathered around the 4th offering, and the incense smoke drifted straight into their nostrils. The candles... the color of the candles nearby changed, and the flames turned a ghastly green."

"These children kept their heads lowered; I couldn't see their faces, but I could see them stretching their heads toward the offering plate one by one, as if they were licking those candies."