The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 785 Ghost Shave (5)_1

Chapter 785: Chapter 785 Ghost Shave (5)_1

As for the road they took, it was no longer the same one they arrived by.

Qian Wanxiu could no longer walk, so Pei Zongli called a halt and let her mount the mule.

As they were helping Wanxiu up, Pei Wensheng suddenly lost his balance and fell off.

Several people exclaimed and reached out to catch him.

But they were too late, and he fell straight down. The field was planted with wheat and covered with snow, so the fall wasn’t too severe.

However, what none of them expected was that after Pei Wensheng fell and rolled a few times, he suddenly disappeared on the snowy ground, swallowed up by the snow beneath him.

"Ah ah..."

A splash sounded as someone hit the water.

Everyone was stunned, "Fell... Fell... Fell into a well!?"

Pei Zongli’s vision darkened, nearly unable to stand steady, his mind buzzing with a blankness as if struck by a hundred tolling bells.

"Wensheng... Wensheng! Wensheng!" screamed Wanxiu, as she frantically scrambled over.

As the snow fell, the mouth of the well was revealed.

Pei Wensheng desperately struggled in the water, trying to cry for help, but he couldn’t get the words out completely, "...Save... Save... Mmph... Save me..."

Wanxiu lay prostrate at the edge of the well, screaming, "Wensheng! Wensheng!"

"Quickly save him! Quickly save him!" Pei Zongli regained his wits and shouted.

But none of the three men who accompanied them knew how to swim, and if not for the considerable pay, they wouldn’t have come to help search.

The servant Shu Mao knelt on the ground with a deathly pale face, "Young Master Five..." He too couldn’t swim.

"This isn’t like a river or a lake, where the area is large and the water deep, so it’s possible to dive in and save someone. This is a well, and the water level is deep in winter; without a rope to lower down a slender person to pull him up, there’s no way!"

"But where can we get a rope now? And in the middle of the night?"

"You must go down to save him! Quickly go save him! Didn’t you see my son is about to die!? Quickly go save him! You took Silver, now hurry and save him!?" Wanxiu shrieked with horrified fury, scrambling to her feet to grab someone and push them toward the well.

Seeing her act mad, not only the three men who had come to search dodged, but even Shu Mao stepped aside.

"Wensheng... Wensheng..." Pei Zongli cried out in agonizing sobs. Knowing there was no salvation, all he could do was watch helplessly as he drowned in the well.

Wanxiu, unable to push anyone, turned her crazed gaze towards Pei Zongli and charged at him, "Pei Zongli? You go down! You go save Wensheng! Quickly go down! Go down!"

"Wanxiu... There’s no saving him, there’s no way to save him now..." Pei Zongli sobbed heavily.

The floundering at the bottom of the well continued to sound, but it grew weaker and weaker.

The three men kept their distance, "None of us can swim, and without a rope, who could possibly have such an ability to save him!"

Wanxiu collapsed to her knees on the ground, listening as the struggles grew fainter, until there was silence, "Ah ah——"

Pei Wensheng was undoubtedly doomed.

The three men decided it would be best to first return to the city and discuss how to retrieve the body; they would come back when it was daylight. The situation was too sinister and eerie. Should another accident occur, it would be tragic.

With great difficulty, Pei Zongli turned his head towards the wild mountains two miles away, shrouded in dark shadows. Overgrown with jumbled shrubbery, tendrils clinging to the trees, leaves fallen, the wilderness appeared in the darkness like demons with bared teeth and claws, ready to devour any living thing. His hair stood on end, and he felt chilled to the bone. Could it really be... a vengeful ghost claiming a life?

Shu Mao and the others shared the same thought, finding it too eerie and frightening.

Wanxiu refused to leave; her son had drowned in the well, how could she abandon her child in this desolate wilderness?

Overtaken by fear, Pei Zongli grasped her, "Wanxiu! Let’s leave now! Let’s go! We’ll call for people and come back!"

Forcefully, they hoisted her onto the mule and hurriedly departed.

After getting several miles away, they looked back, saw nothing unusual, and quickly continued their journey.

Only after reaching the city walls, having the gates opened for them, and returning inside, did they all finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Wanxiu, in despair, entered her home. Seeing Zhao Liniang, she lunged at her, intent on strangling her to death, "I’ll kill you, you vile woman! I’ll kill you! You’ve caused my son’s death, I’ll kill you!"

Zhao Liniang, her neck fiercely grasped, also reached out to claw at Wanxiu’s hair and eyes, "Let go... you wretch let... let me go..."

Mother Qian and Shu Hua hurriedly stepped in to separate them.

Pei Zongli also intervened promptly, preventing Wanxiu from committing another act of violence in her frenzy.

Finally separating the two women, Wanxiu’s face bore two bloody claw marks, and Zhao Liniang was left coughing and wheezing from being strangled.

Looking at Wanxiu, and seeing that Wensheng had not been found, Liniang asked, "Is Pei Wensheng dead?"

Pei Zongli bowed his head in sorrow, his hands rubbing his face as tears fell.

Liniang laughed maniacally, "Good that he’s dead! Good! He caused the death of my son, and now my son has come for revenge! Good that he’s dead! Retribution! It’s all retribution! Hahaha! Retribution!"

Mother Qian and Shu Hua gasped, their expressions changing dramatically, "Young Master Five is really..."

After only a brief rest, Pei Zongli headed to the Government Office to find help.

But it was the dead of night, freezing cold with fresh snowfall; no one was willing to leave their homes, let alone their warm beds.

They had to wait until daylight to pay a high price to bring some people to search.

Curious onlookers also followed to watch.

But in the bitter cold, no one was willing to enter the water, opting instead to use iron hooks to probe below.

Wensheng was already half afloat.

The hooks descended, and after hooking several times, they finally caught hold of the body. Several people together pulled the corpse to the surface.

Even those who were usually brave blanched at the sight, trembling with fear.

The hook had stuck right into Wensheng’s mouth, penetrating his face, another hooked his teeth, dragging him up by the brain, causing a horrifying scene with just one glance.