Chapter 444: Livestock Hanging Themselves

Chapter 444: Chapter 444: Livestock Hanging Themselves

Ji Xiu’e was furious at his incompetence. "You think killing Ji Huan would have been the end of it? That wasn’t ruthless, it was stupid!"

Huang Juncai didn’t understand what he had done wrong.

"I’m not the only one who wants her dead. You were the one who said to strike first and gain the upper hand, Mother. Since you’re afraid of her and Ji Mu reuniting, afraid she’ll dredge up what happened back then, what’s wrong with me shutting her up for good? My only regret is that Heizi was so useless!"

"It’s a good thing Heizi was useless! With so many people watching, if it had really mauled Ji Huan to death, do you think you could have gotten away clean?"

The more Ji Xiu’e thought about it, the angrier she got, but she had to force herself to be patient and persuade her son.

"Juncai, think about it. If it were as simple as just killing her, why would I have spent so much time and effort scheming?

She has to die, but not by our hands. Understand?

Juncai, you’re all I have. I don’t want to lose you too."

According to the original plan, they were to use her fourth brother. If the goal was achieved, all would be well. Even if it was unfortunately exposed, her fourth brother would be the scapegoat, and the investigation wouldn’t trace back to mother and son.

But for all her meticulous planning, she never imagined her fourth brother couldn’t even get the numbers right.

All those years of study had been for nothing. He couldn’t even outsmart a coffin-born child, and on top of that, he let Ji Huan seize the chance to expose his past!

And to think that after the county examination fiasco, her parents still held a sliver of hope for him, convinced he was a great scholar who was just down on his luck and had temporarily lost his way.

Down on his luck? Lost his way? What a joke! It was all just hot air—utterly worthless!

If her fourth brother hadn’t been so proud and arrogant, if he’d just been willing to take a simple laborer’s job, Ji Huan probably wouldn’t have stood in his way, and things wouldn’t have spiraled out of control.

The situation was already out of control, and now her own son had to come and make things worse. Ji Xiu’e was so frustrated she could spit blood.

She couldn’t stay at her parents’ home any longer.

Her fourth brother, feeling humiliated, vowed to return to the academy, swearing he wouldn’t give up until he passed the exam to become a Scholar.

But where would the family get the money for his antics?

He had his ways, though. In the blink of an eye, he’d started a hunger strike to prove his determination.

Her heart aching for him, Aunt Kang tried to persuade Ji Qingshan to sell some land to fund their son’s continued studies.

The family property had been divided, anyway, so they didn’t need to consider the other two sons’ opinions. The old couple’s share, plus Ji Liantang’s, totaled over a dozen mu, so selling a few wouldn’t be a big deal.

However, Ji Qingshan, having been publicly humiliated, was now truly dead inside. He lay on the kang, silent and unmoving, completely ignoring Aunt Kang’s pleas.

Helpless, Aunt Kang ran into the courtyard and began to curse endlessly.

She mainly cursed Ji Huan, but also hurled insults at Du Caizhu, not forgetting Mrs. Zhu, who had made sarcastic comments.

The house was in an uproar all night, and Ji Xiu’e suffered a headache through it all. At dawn, she gathered her things, took Huang Juncai, and left without so much as a bite to eat.

The mother and son argued the whole way, both fuming. By the time they reached Huangban Village, they couldn’t even be bothered to make small talk with the villagers they passed on the road.

Strangely, no one greeted them either.

Ji Xiu’e ran a mill, was well-connected, and had always maintained good relationships with people. Normally, she could strike up a conversation with anyone she met, so this was a very rare occurrence.

Huang Juncai also felt that something was very off today.

"Mother, are they avoiding us?"

’It was one thing not to greet them, but why did everyone look like they’d seen a ghost? It was as if he and his mother were a plague to be avoided at all costs, with people scurrying away only to stand at a distance, whispering.’

Both mother and son concluded something must have happened at home. Filled with suspicion, they quickened their pace.

Something had indeed happened at home, but it wasn’t what they expected, like a debt collector showing up.

To be honest, it was downright eerie.

"Yesterday morning, someone went out back to call for me. I came over to look, and I... I saw..."

As Huang Junping spoke, he peeked at Ji Xiu’e’s expression.

Seeing she was relatively calm, he braced himself and continued.

"I saw that all the chickens, ducks, and geese... they had all... all hanged... hanged themselves to death."

In front of the Huang family home stood a decades-old tree, so thick a person couldn’t wrap their arms around it. It was tall with a canopy like an umbrella, and in the summer, neighbors loved to gather in its shade.

But now, over a dozen chickens, ducks, and geese were hanging from the tree’s bare branches.

All of them were dead, and the manner of their death was bizarre.

"Absurd!" Ji Xiu’e’s voice suddenly shot up.

She paused for a moment, then turned and sharply rebuked Huang Junping. "I told you to watch the house! It’s one thing to fail at that, but now you’re making up this nonsense to fool me?"

Huang Junping had a grievance he couldn’t voice. "How would I dare try to fool you, Auntie..."

Ji Xiu’e pointed at the old tree and demanded, "These animals hanged themselves? Do you even believe the words coming out of your own mouth?"

It was indeed hard to believe... but it was true.

With a grim expression, Huang Juncai circled the tree twice and came to a conclusion. "It must have been the villagers."

"Even Juncai has more brains than you! You obviously didn’t watch the gate properly and let someone slip in. I’d like to see which black-hearted bastard dared to come to my house and pull such a vicious stunt!"

Ji Xiu’e shot Huang Junping a vicious glare and began to rack her brain for suspects.

She thought and thought but came up with nothing.

She had never made any enemies in the village. Unless...

"Has your uncle been back in the past two days?"

Huang Junping shook his head.

"Then has anyone from outside the village been here?"

Huang Junping shook his head again.

Huang Juncai snorted. "Did no one really come, or did you just not notice?"

The mill was right behind the house, converted from the old house left by their grandparents after they passed away. Huang Junping lived there, just a few steps away. If someone had come looking for them, or if there had been any other commotion, it’s impossible he wouldn’t have noticed.

At first, he had also suspected that it might have been those few ruffians from the village, who took advantage of the empty house to cause trouble at night.

But on second thought, it didn’t seem likely.

Those guys did have a history of petty theft, but whenever they stole something, they’d hide and cook it. Who would be bored enough to hang the poultry from a tree?

"Besides..." Huang Junping pointed for Ji Xiu’e to see.

"They really did hang themselves. There are no ropes..."

Suppressing her fury, Ji Xiu’e tilted her head back. When she got a clear look, her pupils shrank, and the color drained from her face.

’It’s actually true!’

There was nothing tied around the heads of the chickens, ducks, and geese, nor were they stuck. They were just hanging directly from the branches, their necks bent and their bodies hanging down stiffly.

No matter how you looked at it, it was bizarre.

A chill ran down Ji Xiu’e’s spine, but not wanting to show it, she unleashed her fury on Huang Junping.

"Useless! You discovered this yesterday morning, and you’ve just let them hang there until now? I think you’re trying to anger me to death! Get them down now!"

"We can’t take them down!"

This was the first time Huang Junping had ever defied Ji Xiu’e.

Under Ji Xiu’e’s dark glare, he swallowed hard.

"I was going to take them down, but an old Taoist happened to pass by. He stopped me and said... said..."

"Can you just spit it out!" Huang Juncai urged impatiently.

Huang Junping clenched his fists, steeling his resolve.

"He said this house is a place where a baleful aura gathers. The owners of the house have blood on their hands and an unpaid karmic debt. This aura has been building for years and is now starting to backlash..."

"Bullshit!" Huang Juncai cut him off. "What kind of charlatan told you that? Our family is perfectly fine! Blood on our hands? Unpaid karmic debt? That’s ridiculous!"

Huang Junping glanced around and lowered his voice. "That Daoist said that humans are the spiritual essence of heaven and earth, so the people living in the house can still resist it for a time. But the livestock can’t. That’s why they die first. After them, it’ll be..."

He trailed off and lowered his head.

Ji Xiu’e’s expression had become utterly terrifying.