Chapter 3: Feng Yusheng

A bizarre cry, half-sob, half-laugh, jolted Ning Zhe instantly; before his mind could react, his body spun around and kicked out instinctively toward the sound.

When he looked closer, the source of the sound lay sprawled on the ground, clutching his abdomen and curling up in pain.

“It’s a living person.” Ning Zhe exhaled in relief.

Inside the ancestral hall behind him, Zhang Yangxu and the female office worker had already begun walking toward the side gate.

Knowing he was exposed, Ning Zhe abandoned thoughts of fleeing and swiftly scanned the man who had suddenly appeared outside the gate and been kicked down by him.

She was a middle-aged woman, apparently in her thirties or early forties, though the estimate was unreliable—she wore numerous expensive, glittering jewels, and her attire was lavish and vivid.

The pearls on her necklace were perfectly round and lustrous; on her left wrist, a translucent white jade bracelet—its shop price might exceed the compensation for Ning Zhe’s ancestral home’s demolition. Her long, sleek black hair was neatly coiled with a golden phoenix hairpin adorned with jade; her snow-white, delicate skin showed not a single wrinkle, clearly never sunburned. On her right hand, a string of polished, glossy bodhi seeds suggested she might be Buddhist.

She wore a deep purple fitted long dress, cinched at the waist with a pink-purple sash embroidered with delicate lace trim; the meticulous design and cut accentuated her full, mature figure. Her round, oval face bore a radiant, elegant beauty like a lotus emerging from water—her features were refined and dignified.

…All these details clearly marked her as a leisurely noblewoman accustomed to luxury, meticulously preserved. People with good living conditions aged slowly; Ning Zhe couldn’t be sure of her true age—she looked thirty, but might be forty, or even past seventy.

Hearing Zhang Yangxu’s footsteps drawing nearer behind him, Ning Zhe gently patted the woman’s shoulder: “Sorry, are you alright?”

Though that kick had been instinctive, the narrowness of the side gate had prevented him from using full force—he felt it had delivered only a moderate impact to her abdomen, unlikely to injure internal organs or cause internal bleeding.

He’d always been precise in such calculations; since elementary school, he’d mastered beating up bullies until their faces were bruised and swollen, yet always kept every wound precisely within the bounds of superficial injury—never once escalating matters. This time was no exception.

After a moment, the opulent, jewel-encrusted noblewoman struggled to her feet from the stone path, leaning against the wall and gasping for breath while clutching her stomach.

“H-how could you just hit someone on meeting them…?” Her voice, weakened by pain, was unexpectedly free of hostility.

“I’m truly sorry,” Ning Zhe apologized earnestly. “You suddenly appeared behind me without a sound—I thought it was one of those inhuman He family members trying to sneak up on me. I overreacted.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine…” She shook her head rapidly. “I understand—in this ghostly place, everyone’s nerves are on edge. It’s not your fault, not at all…”

Ning Zhe noticed her expression was complex: her pale face betrayed unease at this strange, unfamiliar place; her slightly pursed lips revealed lingering fear and dread toward the boy who had struck her—but mostly, there was relief and comfort after enduring prolonged terror, finally encountering another living person.

“This woman is timid, indecisive. After being assaulted, she showed no hostility or disgust—instead, she actively excused my actions, tried hard to appease me, seeking to win my favor.” Ning Zhe rapidly dissected the noblewoman’s personality traits in his mind.

He turned to face Zhang Yangxu, who had reached the side gate, and greeted him: “Hello, Mr. Zhang. Didn’t expect to see you here. I’m Ning Zhe, a senior at Taoyuan City No.1 High School.”

“Hello. I’m Zhang Yangxu,” Zhang Yangxu replied indifferently.

“I’m Zhang Zong’s legal advisor, Xie Sining,” said the woman behind him, her tone noticeably warmer. Zhang Yangxu’s gaze flickered quickly between the woman leaning against the wall and Ning Zhe, surprised: “Lady Bai is here too…? Ning Zhe, right? Do you know me?”

“Who in the world doesn’t know you, Mr. Zhang? At least in Qinzhou, hardly anyone is unfamiliar with you,” Ning Zhe smiled lightly. “Thanks to you, I even took leave from school to return to my hometown—I thought I’d finally become a demolition beneficiary, collecting rent all day. But when I opened my eyes, I ended up in this hellhole.”

Zhang Yangxu nodded slightly: “I see.”

He hadn’t expected Ning Zhe to be a native of Guzhen.

Ning Zhe pointed his chin at the noblewoman leaning against the wall and asked: “You called her Lady Bai—is her surname Bai? Do you know her, Mr. Zhang?”

Zhang Yangxu remained silent; his legal advisor, Xie Sining, promptly stepped in: “This is Lady Feng Yusheng, wife of Bai Fugui, the largest shareholder of the ‘New Home’ Group. Mr. Bai and Mr. Zhang both targeted this region of Guzhen, each seeking the development contract—our two companies are currently competitors.”

“I see,” Ning Zhe smiled at Xie Sining. “But in a place like this, business rivalries seem meaningless.”

Zhang Yangxu smiled too: “Indeed, they mean nothing.”

Outside, Zhang Yangxu might be a billionaire with vast social connections—but here, in this isolated village, this strange, supernatural place, he was merely a middle-aged man with a paunch and thinning hair.

That was why he was willing to speak to Ning Zhe as an equal.

Here, Ning Zhe wasn’t a high school student grinding through problems until midnight—he was a strong, energetic adult male.

Ning Zhe walked to the wall and extended his hand to Feng Yusheng, the woman adorned in gold and jade, helping her up: “How did you end up here, Lady Feng?”

Feng Yusheng, still wincing from the pain, brushed dust off her dress and spoke hesitantly: “I came to Guzhen with my husband and daughter. He’s always busy with work, rarely home. This time, we planned to come together for the site inspection—rare chance to relax in the countryside, enjoy the scenery—but we didn’t expect…”

Unexpected changes had struck, dragging her into this eerie place called Hejia Village.

“Where are your husband and daughter? Did they come here too?” Ning Zhe pressed.

Feng Yusheng shook her head: “No. I searched the village all day yesterday, broke several taboos, but found nothing. It seems I’m the only one who got lost here.”

“Understood,” Ning Zhe nodded, satisfied—he now had a basic grasp of everyone’s situation.

Meeting living people here was good, but beneath the surface harmony of grouping together, the reality was far from peaceful.

Behind Zhang Yangxu, Xie Sining’s phone vibrated slightly; she unlocked the screen without expression, glanced quickly—there was a text from a contact labeled “Mr. Zhang”: “Ning Zhe flipped the almanac. He arrived before any of us. Watch him.”

(End of Chapter)