A master of metaphysics is farming.

Chapter 109 Red

The living room fell silent for a moment.

Xiang He blinked innocently, "What's wrong? Is she still not awake?"

At this moment, Qi Xin hunched over and whispered, "Not...not yet..."

"what!--"

The sudden scream startled everyone, and the acting magistrate immediately got up and went upstairs, followed closely by a group of people. Xiang He couldn't walk fast, so he could only walk at the very back.

Xing Ji and Zhu Nan stood guard outside the inn, watching as passersby peered inside, all wanting to go in and take a look. However, there were yamen runners guarding the entrance, preventing them from entering.

The large group of people went up to the second floor. The students and a few villagers who helped them could not go in. The county magistrate knocked on the door, and an old woman with disheveled hair and loose clothes opened the door.

"Oh my sir! She's gone mad!"

Xiang He stepped closer and said, "I'll go in and take a look. You can wait outside, sirs."

A woman was staying in the room, so it was indeed inconvenient for a man to enter. The magistrate nodded solemnly, and Xiang He was allowed to enter only after receiving permission.

The old woman tugged at her clothes, refusing to go back inside, and kept cursing "bad luck."

The group stood outside the door watching Xiang He's back until the screen blocked out her view, at which point they all turned their backs to the door.

Xiang He had already walked to the bedside. Looking at the woman huddled in the corner of the bed, she asked softly, "Are you alright?"

"Don't come any closer! Ah!! Get away!"

The woman was very agitated, grabbing the pillow and throwing it at him, but Xiang He dodged it by stepping aside.

Seeing her like this, Xiang He wasn't annoyed. She simply opened and closed her mouth slowly, "...Keep your mind calm and focused, and gaze upon my solitary spirit..."

The voice was very soft, but the words reached the woman's ears.

She seemed to sense something, her trembling stopped, the tension in her body disappeared, the panic in her mind was blown away by a gentle breeze, she relaxed, and her eyes became much clearer.

"Who...who are you...?"

Xiang He stretched out her hands hanging by her sides and laughed, "I'm the one who came up the mountain last night. Have you forgotten how you went crazy and beat me up last night? I'm still injured."

"I...I don't remember..."

Xiang He slowly reached out to her, her face gentle. "Let's go, the master has something to ask."

Looking at the slightly rough hands, the woman reached out with some skepticism, "Sir? What sir..."

"You come out first."

Seemingly soothed by Xiang He's gentleness, the woman followed Xiang He step by step toward the door. The people outside were no longer there; they had all gone downstairs and were waiting for the two of them.

The old woman stood to the side, glared at the woman with hatred, snorted coldly, and turned to go downstairs.

Xiang He, limping, led her downstairs. He Suian wanted to go forward to help, but Xiang He raised her hand to stop her and looked at the woman. He Suian understood and pulled over a bench to wait for the two of them.

Everyone looked on with curiosity as they saw the two coming downstairs, wanting to know something from the woman.

After the woman sat down, Xiang He tried to pull her hand away, but the woman grabbed it, her eyes full of longing. Xiang He had no choice but to stand quietly to the side, still holding her wrist.

The magistrate asked sternly, "What did you do on the mountain last night? Did you kill that student? And what about all those bones scattered on the ground? Tell me everything!"

The woman was startled by Xiang He's harsh words and tightened her grip on his hand. "Sir, what are you saying... I didn't kill anyone..."

"Then what were you doing on the mountain?"

The woman's shoulders trembled again, she bit her lower lip and shook her head, her eyes filled with fear.

Seeing her like this, Qi Xin asked urgently, "You... how could you not know! There were corpses with their heads separated from each other all over the place, and Brother Mu's head too!"

"That's right! I don't even dare to go up there. Just one look at those skeletons is enough to keep me awake at night."

"She's a young woman, she probably doesn't have that kind of strength, right?"

“I think so too, after all, the coroner examined the bones, and those remains were all male…”

"The fog up there is so thick. If someone sneaks up behind you and hits you, you'll either die or pass out, right?"

The students chattered amongst themselves. The woman had already let go of Xiang He's hand, covered her ears with both hands, and kept shaking her head frantically, muttering, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me."

"What deep-seated hatred could there be? Killing someone and slashing their throat..."

"These are all the remains of men; could it be some kind of emotional debt?"

Xiang He's eyelashes trembled as she looked at the woman's suddenly wide eyes. Her lips turned white and stopped trembling. As if she remembered something, the corners of her mouth gradually opened up, and her eyes, filled with tears, curved into crescents.

He suddenly burst into laughter, "Hehehehe...hehehahaha! They're all dead...good riddance! Good riddance!"

This sudden change startled everyone, causing them to take several steps back. The magistrate's face turned cold. "You are students. When did you learn to act like those gossipy women?"

After saying that, he glared at the woman and demanded, "Who should die? Who did you kill?"

The woman seemed not to hear him, continuing to say "it's good that she's dead," completely absorbed in her own thoughts.

Xiang He subtly moved her right hand within her sleeve, silently chanting a calming mantra. He Sui'an stepped forward and helped her sit down to the side. "She doesn't remember anything?"

Xiang He remained silent, only looking up at the second floor. After a moment, she looked away, and her fingers stopped moving.

The woman suddenly stopped laughing and started sobbing.

"He clearly promised to marry me... why did he marry someone else... he clearly promised..."

Everyone immediately snapped out of their daze and stared intently at the woman's face.

She wept bitterly, her hands clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh. "He promised to marry me, but he got engaged to another woman and completely forgot our vows... How could he break his promise? How could he be so heartless and ungrateful!"

"So you killed him?"

The magistrate's question made her shoulders tremble, a smile playing on her lips. "I killed him. I lured him to the mountain to ask why, but he said it was just a temporary measure, that he would come and marry me once he got that woman's wealth. Haha! But he lived peacefully for many years, completely forgetting about me..."

The woman suddenly looked up, her tearful eyes wide, as if she were laughing through her tears. "In the end, when I invited him up the mountain again, he got angry and ashamed! Haha! I killed him with my own hands! Blood was everywhere, so bright red!"

She spoke of killing with a smile, as if it were commonplace, which sent chills down everyone's spines.

Her words were almost identical to those in her dream, except that the dream was even more tragic.

Xiang He lowered her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, resting her elbow on the table beside her, her expression somewhat gloomy.

He Suian noticed the weariness in her eyes, rummaged through his sleeve with his right hand, took out a sachet, and handed it to her, saying, "Smell it, it will refresh you."

The object before her surprised her. She reached out, took it, and smelled it. It had the scent of forsythia and astragalus, and it was indeed invigorating.

"Thank you."

As she smelled the sachet, the magistrate pressed her for an answer, "Did you kill all those people on the mountain?"

“Yes,” the woman smiled gently, “they were all heartless men, so they are dead now.”

She spoke of murder so casually, which terrified the students. If they had been trapped on the mountain last night, they might have been among the corpses they saw today…

The thought of it is terrifying.

"How did you manage to kill them?"