I Have Yet to Become a Doll Today

Bai Youwei paid no mind to Fu Miaoxue’s scrutinizing gaze. She looked Lan and Du Lai up and down, then doubtedly asked, “Why didn’t you change outfits?”

After being gone for so long and not changing their clothes, could they have been delayed by something?

Shen Mo calmly replied, “We found a place and will take you there later. For now, let’s talk about what you’ve discovered on this side.”

“Yes.” Bai Youwei slightly nodded, “During the mourning ceremony, Lizheng’s head fell out of the coffin, and his wife, Lady Ma, suddenly started to laugh hysterically. Some guests said that when a tragedy befell the Li family, he also laughed like this, so we plan to visit the Li family’s house.”

“What a coincidence.” Shen Mo chuckled, glancing at Du Lai, “We found a place, which is just the Li family’s house, where they used to live.”

Bai Youwei immediately asked, “Where did the Li family live?”

Du Lai said with a cold smirk at the corner of his mouth, “In the east of the village, near the old willow tree.”

…

The sky was gloomy as if it would rain at any moment.

The four of them quickly headed east of the village.

On the way, Bai Youwei and Fu Miaoxue also told Shen Mo and Du Lai about the hatchet.

Du Lai speculated, “Given this, the murderer who killed Lizheng must be someone from his family. The game wouldn’t provide useless clues. Is it possible that the murderers on both sides are the same person, and due to grievances, the corpse bearer has been delaying her husband’s burial?”

“People in ancient times indeed believed in the concept of having unfinished business,” deliberated Shen Mo, “Li’s husband, like Ma’s husband, was decapitated. The murderers might very well be the same person. If we go by the line of reasoning that they want to see justice served, we’ll only be able to let Li give her husband a proper burial once the murderer is found.”

“What if we don’t go by that line of reasoning?” questioned Fu Miaoxue curiously.

Bai Youwei answered, “When a person dies but cannot rest in peace, there are generally two reasons—unfinished vengeance or unfulfilled wishes.”

So is the corpse bearer seeking unfinished vengeance, or does she have unfulfilled wishes?

The village is not large, and the four of them unknowingly arrived at the eastern end where a mud house stood.

Compared to Lizheng’s green-bricked and tiled house, Li’s home looked quite shabby.

─ There was only one brick room, the kitchen was a makeshift straw shed in the yard, the courtyard wall even simpler, made of branches and wheat straw mixed with yellow mud and built half a person high. The top was lined with bamboo sticks, which rattled and dropped clods of dirt when pulled with force.

The gates were locked, rusted all over. Shen Mo didn’t use much force to pull the rusty lock off the wooden door.

Inside, everything lay desolate…

No one lived here after Li Laitou and Li died.

Dust-covered underworld paper flew all over the courtyard, with the wild grass on the rooftiles rustling. The door squeaked when lightly pushed open…

As this place has hosted two successive funerals, remnants of the funerals remained in the house, several pieces of underworld paper covered with dust, some burnt candle stubs, and an ancestral tablet placed in the middle of the house.

The wooden tablet read: In memory of the deceased husband Li Qianggui.

Li Qianggui. That must be Li Laitou’s real name.

“Didn’t Li also pass away? Why is there only one ancestral tablet in the room?” Fu Miaoxue curiously poked at the tablet.

Du Lai pulled her hand back, “After Li’s death, since there was no one left in her family, no one set up an ancestral tablet for her.”

Sometimes when a household’s population was sparse, the neighbors had to help with the funeral arrangements, but only immediate family members could set up the ancestor tablets.

Bai Youwei glanced around the room and muttered, “How do they not have any children…”

“Perhaps we should ask the neighbors,” suggested Shen Mo.

As soon as he spoke, everyone fell silent.

They had been through ancient texts and solved a puzzle, so this time… what would it be?