The Grim Reaper's Banquet (4) Part 2

"No, I don't want to!" Mou Xinsi, who had been listless, seemed to be startled by the sight of the two dice and recoiled sharply. "Mr. Song, I'm not crazy—I don't need to test my inspiration—"

Song Qingluo said softly, "Don't be afraid."

"I don't want to, I'm not crazy, I'm fine..." Mou Xinsi broke down crying, refusing to roll the dice no matter what, as if the things in Song Qingluo's hand were not dice, but some kind of murder weapon.

Song Qingluo was silent for a moment, then said, "You don't want to die here, do you?"

Mou Xinsi immediately fell silent.

Song Qingluo said, "Come on."

Mou Xinsi tremblingly reached out her hand, took the two dice, and then, amidst crazed sobbing, gently tossed them onto the bed. The dice spun and came to a stop—black was 9, white was 8, an 89.

Even though Lin Banxia didn't know much about it, he knew this was a very high value. But Mou Xinsi started laughing. She said, "You see, Mr. Song, I'm not crazy. I'm still fine. I'm not crazy."

Song Qingluo took back the dice. His next words were to He Huai'an: "Send her out of the village before noon today."

He Huai'an said, "This... so urgent?"

"Look at her current state," Song Qingluo said coldly. "Will she make it through tonight?"

He Huai'an couldn't argue.

"Let's go, Banxia, and inspect the body with me." Song Qingluo ignored the two of them and called Lin Banxia out of the room.

At the doorway, the two performed a simple examination of the body. No matter how they looked at it, the person seemed to have committed suicide. There were no signs of external force. Lin Banxia said, "Should we notify the Village Chief? He should know this person."

Song Qingluo said, "I'll go look for him."

He went out for a trip and came back quickly, saying the Village Chief wasn't home. He had probably gone out in the middle of the night and hadn't returned yet.

Lin Banxia said worriedly, "Then what do we do now? Just leave him here?"

"Let's move him into the main hall." Song Qingluo glanced at his watch. "Let's have breakfast first, we'll talk about the rest later."

So the two of them calmly went to eat breakfast. Of course, before they ate, they also asked He Huai'an and Mou Xinsi if they wanted to eat. The two obviously had no appetite. After learning she was being sent away, Mou Xinsi quieted down. She didn't laugh or speak, just sat huddled silently on the bed, who knows what she was thinking.

He Huai'an was a bit hungry, but he was worried about Mou Xinsi and didn't dare leave her alone, so he said he would eat later.

Breakfast was simple compressed biscuits with mineral water. They were running low on supplies, so they had to eat sparingly. Song Qingluo had a poor appetite and stopped after just two bites. Lin Banxia, afraid there wouldn't be enough for the next few days, didn't dare to eat much either. He took a few half-hearted bites to fill his stomach halfway, then asked Song Qingluo what to do next.

"Let's go check the stream," Song Qingluo said. "I went out yesterday afternoon and ran into that girl we saw in the funeral procession the other day."

Lin Banxia said, "The one holding the head?"

"Yes," Song Qingluo said. "She told me the exact place where my former colleague died. I want to go and see."

Lin Banxia said, "I'll go with you."

"Okay." Song Qingluo agreed.

Before leaving, they went to check on He Huai'an and Mou Xinsi again. Compared to before, Mou Xinsi's condition had improved slightly. She was starting to try getting out of bed and moving around. He Huai'an was sitting beside her, head down, taking notes. If not for the body they had just dealt with at the door, the atmosphere would have seemed quite harmonious.

"You guys go ahead, be safe," He Huai'an said. "I'll send her off once it's a bit lighter. But it looks like it's about to rain, so remember to bring rain gear."

"Okay," Song Qingluo said. "You don't have to rush back after sending her off. Safety first."

He Huai'an nodded and watched the two of them leave. The sky outside had turned gloomy again. Though it was morning, it didn't feel like dawn was coming. The whistling wind blew leaves against the flimsy windows. He Huai'an glanced at the quiet Mou Xinsi and got up to close the door.

Song Qingluo put on his raincoat before heading out with Lin Banxia.

On the way to the stream, Lin Banxia casually asked about the dice, wondering how the values were judged.

"As I said before, the dice indicate the degree of mental contamination. So, 1-6 is an extremely good mental state, and 96-100 is a dangerous value bordering on collapse. Once it passes 96, it means the person's mind is not far from breaking down. In this state, it's highly likely for all sorts of hallucinations to appear, and they might do something drastic," Song Qingluo explained nonchalantly. "Besides, there are other things affecting people right now. In Mou Xinsi's state, if she stayed here any longer, her mental value might break through the danger threshold tonight."

Lin Banxia said "oh," then asked, "Why don't I have to use the dice?"

Song Qingluo said calmly, "Because I don't want your foolish identity exposed to others."

Lin Banxia: "..."

Song Qingluo: "Just kidding."

Lin Banxia forced a couple of chuckles in response.

As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the stream. They saw what the villagers called a stream, but no, it was more like a river. Rushing water surged downstream, heading towards the depths of the valley. It seemed to be a mountain spring flowing out from the deep mountains, but its volume had increased dramatically due to the recent abundant rainfall.

Song Qingluo walked to a few bare rocks and said, "Hao Yongnian drowned here before."

Lin Banxia looked at it and said, "This water isn't that deep. How could he have drowned?"

As the two were talking, they heard footsteps nearby. Song Qingluo gave Lin Banxia a look, and the two of them tacitly hid in the woods to the side.

A moment later, a young girl carrying a shoulder pole appeared on the forest path. The girl wasn't old and was very thin, yet she was carrying two huge water jugs. She walked skillfully to the side of the stream and methodically filled the two jugs with stream water.

"Hey, it's her again," Lin Banxia said in a low voice. "We're really fated to meet."

"We are," Song Qingluo said.

"Should we go out and say hi?" Lin Banxia asked.

Song Qingluo thought for a moment, then nodded. "Just in time. I have something to ask her."

With that, the two emerged from the bushes. The young girl was bending over to collect water. Hearing the noise behind her, she turned around and saw two grown men. She was startled and almost cried out.

"Hello," Song Qingluo said softly. "I saw you yesterday afternoon."

The girl took a closer look. "Oh... it's you." Seeing Song Qingluo, her cheeks turned half red. She gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Why have you come to the stream?"

Instead of answering, Song Qingluo asked, "Didn't someone die here? You're still getting water from here?"

"There's no other choice," the girl said. "This is the only water source in the village. We have to drink the water from here."

Song Qingluo said, "My name is Song Qingluo, and this is my friend, Lin Banxia. What's your name?"

The girl said, "I... my name is Jiang Ruonan." She glanced at Lin Banxia. "You and your friend... aren't you leaving yet? You really can't stay in this village any longer."

Lin Banxia said, "Do you know something?"

Jiang Ruonan didn't speak, but her hesitant expression already gave Lin Banxia the answer. Seeing this, Lin Banxia quickly said, "We mean no harm. We just want to help the village solve its problems. If you know anything you can tell us, please do. Even small details might give us clues."

Jiang Ruonan was still hesitant. Song Qingluo said softly, "Forget it, Banxia. Don't force her if she doesn't want to talk. She's just a young girl..."

Lin Banxia was stunned by his words, thinking this wasn't Song Qingluo's usual cold style, when he heard Jiang Ruonan begin to speak in a faint voice. She said, "I did... see something." She picked at her fingers, her voice growing lower and lower. "I saw with my own eyes your companion drown in the stream."

The author has something to say:

Lin Banxia: How on earth can I prevent others from discovering my special, foolish identity?

Song Qingluo: You could pretend to be scared?

Lin Banxia: Aiya, aiya, what is this? Boo hoo hoo, I'm so sca~red, eek, boo hoo.

Song Qingluo: ...

Lin Banxia: Why the long face?

Song Qingluo: Actually, it's pretty good that you're a bit foolish.

Lin Banxia: ...