FVN Chapter 398 Shuang'er is not dead?
Chapter 398 Shuang'er is not dead?
The water in the pot in front of the temple was still boiling, and white steam climbed up the eaves, the firelight making the hem of Manager Hu's skirt shine.
The string of soul-suppressing coins she handed out hung in mid-air, the red string soaked in mist, its color dark and somber against the edge of the copper coins.
Mo Chengyue did not answer.
Old Zheng stared at the copper coin with the character "Lin" in the very center, and his face twitched twice.
"Manager Hu, is your sister's name Shuang'er?"
Manager Hu looked at him, the corners of his eyes glowing red in the lamplight.
"Hu Shuang'er".
The old man gripped his cane and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence.
"The bride from Whitestone Town twenty years ago?"
Xiao Liu huddled by the pot, holding an iron spoon, and asked.
"Isn't Baishi Town upstream?"
Old Zheng scolded him.
"Shut up and listen."
Xiao Liu replied softly.
"I'm listening, I just have one question."
The fat shopkeeper, supporting his back, took two steps closer, but then, fearing the string of copper coins, stopped on the other side of the fire.
"Manager Hu, what exactly happened twenty years ago?"
Shopkeeper Hu brushed his fingertip across the engraved copper coin, but the coin made no sound.
When she spoke, even the sound of the pots in front of the temple slowed down by half a beat.
"That year, Shuang'er was seventeen years old and married into the Chen family downstream."
"The wedding boat came down from Baishi Town, passed Hongfeng Ferry, and then entered Fenglin Bay."
"The boat contained the groom, the matchmaker, the musicians, and the dowry from both families."
Xiao Liu felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but interject.
"And then it capsized?"
Manager Hu glanced at him.
"The official records state that the boat capsized."
Mo Chengyue brought his palm close to the fire, and the red lines flickered under his skin.
"You don't admit it?"
"That's what Manager Hu said."
"I saw with my own eyes that there was no wind on the river that night."
Old Zheng's expression changed.
"How can you flip it without wind?"
"That's what Manager Hu said."
"That's why I don't acknowledge it."
A woman holding her child tightly by the temple gate asked a question that trembled in her voice.
"What about the people on the ship?"
Manager Hu looked down at the copper coins.
"Sixteen bodies were pulled up."
The old man added a sentence.
"One is missing."
Manager Hu nodded.
"Shuang'er is missing."
Old Zheng slammed the iron ladle against the edge of the pot, making a jarring metallic clang.
"The body wasn't recovered?"
"no."
"Where are the living people?"
"No, not at all."
Xiao Liu swallowed.
"So, did she run away?"
Manager Hu looked up at him.
Xiao Liu immediately lowered his head.
"I was just talking nonsense."
Manager Hu did not scold him.
"I also hoped she would escape."
"But on the second night, someone was singing a wedding song outside the inn window."
The crowd in front of the temple fell silent without prior agreement.
The firewood cracked, and a few sparks flew upwards.
The chubby shopkeeper asked cautiously.
"What are they singing?"
Shopkeeper Hu's lips twitched, but he didn't sing.
"The little tune that Shuang'er hummed before she got married."
Old Zheng developed bumps on his arm.
Did you hear that?
"That's what Manager Hu said."
"I heard you."
"My mother heard it too."
She opened the window that night.
The old man said in a low voice.
"And then?"
Shopkeeper Hu wrapped the red string around the back of his finger, leaving a shallow mark.
Later, she went to the riverbank and said that Shuang'er was cold and wanted to give her a cloak.
"My dad tried to stop her, but he couldn't."
"When dawn broke, only one shoe remained by the river."
Xiao Liu opened his mouth, then swallowed his words back.
Mo Chengyue looked at the white paper lantern in Manager Hu's hand.
The lamp flame was small, yet it was able to keep the damp mist around her away.
"Your mother was also taken away by the ship."
"That's what Manager Hu said."
"Um."
Old Zheng got angry and pointed in the direction of the inn.
"So you knew all along that the Red Light Boat would take attendance?"
Manager Hu countered with a question.
"Does knowing this even work?"
Old Zheng's temple veins throbbed.
"Whether it's useful or not, you should tell me."
Manager Hu turned to look at him.
"Who are you going to tell?"
"Should we tell that to the boatmen at the ferry who have to beg for food at night?"
"Should we tell Old Zhou, the night watchman?"
"Tell the authorities?"
Old Zheng gritted his teeth.
"At least it will keep people on guard."
Manager Hu gave a cold laugh.
"Old Zhou took precautions back then."
As soon as he said that, Old Zheng's face turned ugly.
"My uncle?"
"That's what Manager Hu said."
"He was the night watchman back then."
On the third night after Shuang'er went missing, he heard someone calling his childhood name from outside the watchtower.
Old Zheng took a step forward.
How did you know?
Shopkeeper Hu gripped the copper coins tightly.
"He came to ask me about it."
He said there was a boat on the river, and my sister was standing at the bow.
"I told him not to say it."
He wouldn't listen.
Old Zheng's voice suddenly rose.
"And then he went crazy?"
Manager Hu looked at him.
"He went to check the ship."
Old Zheng said angrily.
Why didn't you stop them?
Manager Hu also raised his voice.
"I tried to stop them!"
The child in front of the temple was so frightened that he started crying, and the woman quickly patted his back to comfort him.
Manager Hu's chest heaved twice, the shadow of his gray cloak obscuring half his face.
When she spoke again, her words were muffled by the sound of the fire.
"He asked too many people."
"He talked about Shuang'er's name everywhere, about the wedding song, about the red lantern, and about dead people sitting on the boat."
"After that, the roll call on the Red Light Boat became more and more accurate."
Mo Chengyue raised his hand, signaling Lao Zheng to stop arguing.
"Shopkeeper."
Manager Hu turned to him.
Mo Chengyue shook his palm.
"Was it because of this that you stopped the boatman from talking too much at the inn?"
"That's what Manager Hu said."
"Yes."
Mo Chengyue asked.
"The more people who know the name, the easier it is for the ship to find its crew?"
"That's what Manager Hu said."
"right."
Xiao Liu's face turned pale upon hearing this.
"We just mentioned a lot of names."
The fat shopkeeper slapped him on the back of the head.
"If you shut up now, you'll save one person from being killed."
Xiao Liu hugged her head in grievance.
"I didn't say Shuang'er's full name."
The old man glared at him.
"You heard that just now."
Xiao Liu immediately covered his ears.
"Then I won't listen."
Mo Chengyue glanced at him.
"You covered your ears too late."
Xiao Liu is about to cry.
"Master, can you comfort people?"
"I'm helping you face reality."
"Who learned this way of comforting people?"
"Hehuan Sect External Affairs Hall".
The chubby shopkeeper sighed.
"No wonder it sounds like they're urging us to pay a debt."
The tension in front of the temple eased slightly, and the sound of pots and pans resumed.
Old Zheng couldn't laugh.
He stared at Manager Hu, his shoulders and back tense.
"Do you know why my uncle went crazy? You've kept it from us for twenty years."
Manager Hu looked at the fire.
"What do you think I should do?"
Old Zheng said.
Tell the people at the ferry crossing.
"Manager Hu asked."
"and then?"
Old Zheng paused for a moment.
Shopkeeper Hu took half a step forward, lifting the white paper lantern. The light illuminated the lines of her brow bone, revealing a sharp edge hidden beneath her gentle appearance.
"Tell them not to listen to their relatives calling at night, not to look at red lights, not to mention old names, and not to talk about the dead."
"How many days will they listen?"
"Boatmen need to eat, merchants need to travel, and children need to see a doctor if they have a fever in the middle of the night."
"People live at the ferry crossing; it's impossible to live without relying on the river forever."
Old Zheng's facial muscles twitched.
"But we can't just stay silent."
"That's what Manager Hu said."
"I said that."
"I told them to close the windows at night."
"I'll have the inn display money for warding off evil spirits."
"I've kept the room facing the river locked for over ten years."
"I drove the person who suggested the wedding boat out of the hall."
"You call me unlucky, and you call me a heartless businessman."
The chubby shopkeeper coughed lightly.
"I didn't curse at that."