Chapter 38: Attending the Feast

Inside the tent, there were more than ten black round wooden tables, each with four long wooden chairs, all filled with empty bowls and chopsticks. The tables were arranged along the sides, leaving a clear aisle down the middle that led directly to the spirit hall.

The spirit hall was a temporary setup, separated by hanging white cloth and some yellow symbols. In the center, there was a long table with the deceased's photo on it, surrounded by incense and candles. Behind the photo, a large coffin could be seen, with a few women and children wearing mourning clothes, kneeling beside it, whispering to each other.

Officer Huang stepped up to the spirit hall, took an incense stick from a man, bowed three times respectfully to the photo on the table, then knelt on the grass mat, knocking his head three times. The young people, unfamiliar with the customs, still followed suit.

Nearby, a small band of musicians began playing gongs and drums, and the sound of a suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument) could be heard. Outside, firecrackers were being set off. The women and children in the hall began crying and wailing loudly, speaking in dialect. The general meaning was phrases like "You died so tragically," "What am I going to do without you," and "I won't live either."

After the funeral rites, Officer Huang sat down at a table in the corner. At this moment, a sturdy middle-aged woman came over with five cups of hot tea: "Here, have some tea."

The five of them politely took the tea bowls but didn't drink.

Officer Huang smelled the tea's fragrance, pretending to hesitate about drinking it. "Are the people behind the spirit hall relatives of the deceased?"

"Ah, relatives? Hua's family wasn't close, and they didn't have many relatives. Now with this incident, no one dares to come and pay respects. The people behind are just some kind-hearted neighbors who helped out. The funeral was also arranged by the villagers," the woman explained.

"They're very kind," Officer Huang said.

"Yes, Hua was an honest and good man in life, and it's hard for the villagers to accept his tragic end. We're just trying to help them go with dignity, hoping they can reincarnate quickly," the woman added.

Officer Huang nodded. "What should I call you?"

"Just call me Sister Fan," she replied.

"Thank you, Sister Fan. You go ahead and get back to your work."

"Don't mention it. The meal is about to start, Officer Huang. Why don't you stay and eat before you leave? If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm a neighbor of Hua's, so I know a bit about his family," Sister Fan said before leaving.

After she left, the five of them whispered among themselves.

"Did you guys see the photo on the spirit table?" Fat Jun asked, uneasy.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Wang Zikai asked, not concerned.

"It's not right. There are only four people," Fat Jun's voice trembled. "Wasn't it supposed to be a family of five?"

Hao Yang also noticed. The photo only showed four men, taken as a group photo. In the center was a middle-aged man with dark skin and a simple expression, around fifty years old. A young man sat beside him, and two teenagers stood next to them, all in black-and-white photos with a cheap and distorted backdrop of the Great Wall.

Officer Huang spoke up: "Before coming to Guxia Village, I specifically reviewed this unsolved case. The head of the family was Gu Huihua, 54 years old, a farmer. His wife was also a farmer, and she died of breast cancer a few years ago. His eldest son, Gu Chunxiu, was 27 years old. One younger brother dropped out of school to farm, and the other was still in middle school."

"So who's the fifth person?" Hao Yang asked.

"Gu's daughter-in-law, Gu Chunxiu's wife. She had just married into the family and hadn't had time for a photo yet. On their wedding night, the entire family was dismembered," Officer Huang explained.

"Wedding night?" Wang Zikai perked up. "That's intense!"

"What was the wife's name? What about her family?" Hao Yang asked.

"That's the strange part. There's no information on the wife's identity," Officer Huang said, pulling out a cigarette.

Hao Yang fell silent.

"The bodies of the family were dismembered into over a hundred pieces, scattered all over the village. The coroner spent two days putting the bodies back together. There were indeed four male bodies, but the female body was missing its head, and it was never found," Officer Huang lit his cigarette.

Clang! Clang! Clang! A man started shouting loudly, "The meal's ready!"

The villagers who had been busy stopped and rushed into the tent. In no time, the ten tables were filled. Several village women brought hot dishes, and the tables quickly filled with fish and meat. The five of them looked at each other but didn't dare to eat.

Hao Yang tried to call the system in his mind, wanting to inspect the food on the table. He suddenly realized that he couldn't inspect anything here. Hao Yang sighed and turned to look, only to be startled. Wang Zikai had already picked up a piece of braised pork and was about to eat it.

"Wang Zikai, you..." Hao Yang said.

"What?" Wang Zikai was already chewing with oil all over his mouth. "Hey, this is delicious! You guys should eat too."

"I'm not hungry," Fat Jun said, swallowing his saliva but not meaning it.

Although they didn't know exactly how much time had passed, from entering Guxia Village to all the strange events that followed, they were already thirsty, hungry, and tired. But in such a dangerous and unfamiliar environment, eating random food was definitely not a good idea. This was common sense to any normal person.

Unfortunately, Wang Zikai was not a normal person—he was an idiot.

By the end of the meal, Wang Zikai was full and satisfied. Not only that, but he also struck up a conversation with a drunken villager. Though they weren't making much sense, they seemed to get along fine, and soon they were laughing and drinking, finishing two bottles of baijiu.

After the meal, the five of them left first.

Hao Yang and Fat Jun supported the slightly drunk Wang Zikai as they walked to the village entrance.

Officer Huang was at a loss: "From the current situation, it seems that the time in this Guxia Village is about ten days after the incident, around thirty years ago. The police couldn't solve the case in time, so the villagers decided to hold a funeral. It's all recorded in the case file."

"Could it really be time travel?" Fat Jun asked nervously. He suddenly thought of something. "Then... when did the villagers disappear?"

"On the second day after the burial, when my team leader came back to investigate, there wasn't a single person left in the village," Officer Huang explained.

"So that's tomorrow," Hao Yang said.

"Damn! That means we have to wait another day?" Wang Zikai grumbled, still smelling of alcohol. He was about to say something more when he suddenly heaved and vomited, stumbling to the side of the road and kneeling down, throwing up uncontrollably.

Qing Ling looked at Wang Zikai with a disgusted expression. "Did he drink too much or get poisoned?"

Officer Huang shook his head, walked over, and patted Wang Zikai on the back. After a couple of pats, his face darkened, and he turned to wave at the others. "Come take a look."

Hao Yang had a bad feeling and rushed over, his scalp tingling.

The vomit at Wang Zikai's feet wasn't just undigested food; it was a pile of wriggling earthworms and mud worms.