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A strangely agonized cry, half wail and half laughter, sent a chill through Ning Zhe's whole body. Before his brain could react, he instinctively spun around and kicked toward the direction of the sound.
Pulling himself together, he saw that the source of the cry had been knocked to the ground, clutching her abdomen in pain.
"So it's a living person," Ning Zhe breathed a sigh of relief.
Inside the ancestral hall behind him, the startled Zhang Yangxu and the female office worker were already making their way toward the side door.
Realizing he had been exposed, Ning Zhe no longer thought of escaping. His eyes quickly swept over the person he had just knocked down outside the door.
She appeared to be a woman in her thirties or forties—but that estimate might not be accurate. She wore numerous pearl-like jewels and fine, flashy clothing.
Around her neck lay a lustrous pearl necklace; on her left wrist, a translucent white jade bracelet that would easily cost more than the demolition compensation for Ning Zhe's family's old house. Her long, glossy black hair was meticulously arranged with a gold-and-jade phoenix hairpin, and her fair, smooth skin bore no wrinkles—clearly untainted by sun. On her right wrist dangled a string of polished bodhi beads, suggesting she might practice Buddhism.
She wore a fitted, deep-purple gown, cinched at the waist with a lavender sash embroidered with delicate lace. The refined cut and design accentuated her full, mature figure. Her oval face was as radiant as a fresh lotus blossom—elegant, with perfectly balanced features.
All of these details made her seem like a pampered noblewoman who had enjoyed a life of luxury. People with good living conditions age slowly, so Ning Zhe couldn't be certain of her real age—she looked thirty, but might be forty, or even over seventy.
Hearing Zhang Yangxu's footsteps drawing nearer, Ning Zhe gently patted the woman's shoulder. "Sorry about that—are you all right?"
His kick had been instinctive, and constrained by the narrow side door he had not put his full force into it. He figured the blow only caused a moderate impact to her abdomen, not enough to injure her internal organs or cause internal bleeding.
He had always been precise in such calculations. Back in elementary school, he could beat up bullies until their noses were bruised, yet always kept their wounds superficial. This time was no exception.
After a moment, the jewel-adorned noblewoman struggled to her feet on the stone path, leaning against the wall and gasping for breath, her hands pressed to her belly.
"You… why do you attack someone as soon as you see them?" Her voice quivered from the pain, but surprisingly she did not lash out in anger.
"I'm really sorry. You appeared without a sound behind me—I thought it was one of those ghostly He family members sneaking up on me. I overreacted," Ning Zhe apologized earnestly.
"It's okay, it's okay…" The woman shook her head repeatedly. "I understand. In a place full of ghosts, anyone would be on edge. It's not your fault…"
Ning Zhe noticed her expression was complex: her pale face betrayed unease at this bizarre, unfamiliar place; the slight downturn of her lips revealed lingering fear from being struck; yet more than anything, a spark of relief and joy that she had finally seen another living person after so long.
"This woman's character is timid and indecisive. After I beat her, she showed no hostility or disgust—instead she tried to excuse me and ingratiate herself to gain my favor," Ning Zhe mentally analyzed her personality traits.
He then turned to greet Zhang Yangxu, who had reached the side door. "Hello, President 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," he replied evenly.
"I'm Zhang's legal advisor, Xie Sining," the woman behind Zhang, in a more upbeat tone, introduced herself.
Zhang Yangxu's gaze swept rapidly over the noblewoman leaning against the wall and Ning Zhe. He looked surprised. "Madam Bai is here too… Ning Zhe, have we met?"
"Who doesn't know you? You're being modest, President Zhang. At least among people from Qin Prefecture, few don't know you." Ning Zhe smiled indifferently. "It's thanks to you that I got leave from school to come back to my hometown. I was hoping I'd become a demolition tenant, collecting rent all day. Who knew I'd open my eyes and end up in this ghostly place."
Zhang Yangxu nodded slightly. "I see."
He hadn't expected Ning Zhe to be a local of Gubei Town.
Ning Zhe nodded toward the woman against the wall, then asked, "You called her Madam Bai—does her surname really Bai? Do you know her?"
Zhang Yangxu said nothing. Xie Sining, Zhang's legal advisor, spoke up with perfect timing: "This is Ms. Feng Yushu, wife of Mr. Bai Fugui, the largest shareholder of New Homeland Group. Mr. Bai and President Zhang both set their sights on developing Gubei Town, so our two companies are currently competitors."
"I understand." Ning Zhe gave Xie Sining a faint smile. "But in a place like this, business relations seem meaningless."
Zhang Yangxu smiled too. "Indeed, they mean nothing."
Outside this place, Zhang Yangxu might be worth hundreds of billions, a man of immense influence and connections. But in this isolated village, this creepy, supernatural land, he was just a slightly overweight middle-aged man with thinning hair.
That was why he was willing to speak to Ning Zhe as an equal.
Here, Ning Zhe was no longer the high-achieving high school senior who studied late every night, but a strong, energetic adult male.
Ning Zhe stepped to the wall and held out his hand to the jade-and-gold-adorned Feng Yushu, helping her up. "Madam, how did you come here?"
Feng Yushu pressed a hand to her skirt to brush off the dust, then spoke with some embarrassment, "I came to Gubei Town with my husband and daughter. He's usually busy with work and rarely home. This time, we planned to seize the opportunity to bid on-site, so our family could gather and enjoy the countryside scenery. But we never expected…"
She never expected the anomaly that pulled her into this strange place called Hejia Village.
"And what about your husband and daughter? Did they come here too?" Ning Zhe asked further.
Feng Yushu shook her head. "No. I searched the village all day yesterday, violating several taboos, but I couldn't find them. It seems I'm the only one accidentally drawn here."
"Understood." Ning Zhe nodded with satisfaction—now he had a basic understanding of the situation of everyone before him.
Finding other living people in a place like this was certainly a good thing. But beneath the harmonious facade of banding together, the reality was far less peaceful.
Behind Zhang Yangxu, Xie Sining's phone vibrated gently. She discreetly unlocked it and glanced: a message from "President Zhang" read:
"Yellow Calendar was translated by Ning Zhe. He arrived before any of us. Be wary of him."