"The chickens in the coop were neatly perched on the racks, but all of them had no heads..."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Hu Zi interrupted Zhang Molin oddly, "Young Taoist, what did you say? The chickens have no heads and can still perch on the racks?"
"It was Er Dan who said it; I didn't see it with my own eyes! He was also startled at the time, and the others urged him to hurry up, so he didn't look closely. I reckon there's a serious problem with that house!"
A hint of seriousness appeared on Zhang Molin's face.
"I've only temporarily suppressed the evil aura around Er Dan for now. I'm worried that if we don't get rid of that haunted house, something will happen to Er Dan sooner or later."
"Lu Fei, if it's convenient for you, could you go with me now?"
With that, he downed the water in his cup in one gulp and stood up.
"No problem!"
Anyway, Lu Fei had rested enough and naturally had no reservations.
He quickly packed up, hung a sign on the door saying he was out for something, and set off with Zhang Moli.
Hu Zi rushed all the way.
Two hours later, they arrived at the village near Wuxing Temple.
Zhang Moli walked fast, leading the two into the village, heading straight for Er Dan's house.
"Uncle, is Er Dan feeling better?"
"Moli is back, he's already awake, in the room."
The three of them entered the room.
They saw a teenage boy, looking rather weak, half-lying on the bed, being fed chicken soup spoon by spoon by his mother, with a towel wrapped around his head.
Lu Fei found it somewhat amusing, thinking it looked like he was in confinement after childbirth.
The child seemed to be mostly fine, but there was a thin red mark around his neck, as if it had been cut by a knife, which looked quite frightening.
"Erdan, tell Mo Lin the truth! Where did you steal those dirty things?" Erdan's father frowned at his own son, his eyes full of disappointment and frustration.
"What's the rush? Can't we wait until he finishes this soup? Look how tormented the child is!" Erdan's mother complained.
"Doesn't he have his own hands? How old is he and he still needs to be fed! This is all your spoiling! At such a young age, not learning anything good, stealing with others outside, almost losing his life! An incapable thing, I think Mo Lin has done more than enough saving him!"
Erdan's father was fuming with anger.
"Uncle, you're just venting! Erdan was just momentarily misled by bad company, that's why he went astray." Zhang Mo Lin quickly tried to calm him down, "Erdan definitely knows he's wrong and will never do it again, right?"
After saying that, he gave Erdan a meaningful look.
"I know I was wrong," Erdan said softly, taking the chicken soup from his mother and gulping it down in several sips, then wiping his mouth, "Brother Mo Lin, is what you said true? If we don't return those jewelry, I'm going to be in big trouble?"
"Why would I lie to you? You already had a sore neck last night, and you've forgotten so soon?" Zhang Mo Lin looked serious.
"I don't want to die! Brother Mo Lin, you have to save me!" Erdan's face suddenly changed, covering his neck, tears welling up in his eyes.
Last night, after he brought the gold bracelet home, something wasn't right.
First, he felt itchy on his neck, then it became painful. Soon, the skin around his neck was broken, as if being slowly cut by a knife, and the wound kept getting deeper, bleeding profusely.
Fortunately, his parents found Zhang Molin in time; otherwise, his head might have been severed last night.
"Molin, didn't you cure him already? How could this happen again?" Thinking of her son's terrifying condition last night, Er Dan's mother was in a panic, her voice trembling.
"I could only temporarily suppress it!" Zhang Molin said with a serious face, "They stole something that doesn't belong to them. As long as the cause and effect are not resolved, the red line on their neck will not disappear, and they are bound to have trouble sooner or later."
Er Dan cried even louder.
"Now you know how to cry!" Er Dan's father, agitated, stomped his feet, "Hurry up and tell us! Where did you steal from?"
"It's not that I won't say, I just don't know where it was..." Er Dan, filled with regret, wiped his eyes and sobbed, "It was pitch dark at night. The older brothers picked me up at the village entrance in their car."
"They told me to sleep, and when we arrived, they woke me up. Then we sneaked into a house, and I took whatever they told me to take."
"After we were done, they dropped me off outside the village and gave me a pair of gold bracelets, telling me to go back on my own."
"All I remember is that the house was freezing cold."
"By the way, none of the chickens in their house have heads. I told Big Brother and the others, but they didn't believe me, saying I was mistaken."
Hearing this, Lu Fei couldn't help but feel puzzled: "You didn't know anything, and you went to steal with them?"
"Big Brother said that when you're out in the world, you have to be loyal... otherwise, they won't play with me..." Er Dan lowered his head.
Everyone fell silent.
This child, has he been watching too many delinquent movies, poisoned by so-called gang loyalty?
"I'll break your legs and see if you dare go out in the world again!" Er Dan's father, furious, picked up a broom.
Er Dan's mother, protecting her trembling son, shouted: "How can you still hit him when he's like this? Do you even have a heart? If you're going to hit, hit me too!"
"Isn't it all because you spoiled him..."
"Uncle! Calm down, we'll deal with this later!" Zhang Molin held back Er Dan's father, "Now, let him call those big brothers and find out where the place is."
"Yes, yes, make the call quickly!"
ErDan's parents hurriedly looked for their phone.
"Forget it, calling won't help," Lu Fei waved his hand, "They let ErDan sleep in the car to keep an eye on him! They definitely won't tell us anything if we call. ErDan, do you know where they live? Lead us there directly!"
"I know where Second Brother's house is, it's in a nearby town," ErDan replied meekly from behind his mother, a hint of confusion appearing on his young, unblemished face, "What do you mean they're keeping an eye on me?"
This foolish child, he doesn't even realize he's being used.
"Auntie, give him more chicken hearts to eat in the future to boost his energy!" Lu Fei waved his hand, "We can't waste any time, let's go right now."
Without delay.
Everyone got into the car with ErDan.
ErDan's father, feeling uneasy, came along as well.
It was only about ten kilometers from the village to the town, and it took less than twenty minutes to get there.
"Second Brother's house is over there."
Following the direction pointed by Erdan, the car stopped outside a self-built house on the outskirts of the town.
"Open the door!"
"Yang Erduo, are you at home?"
Several people got out of the car and knocked on the roller shutter, but no one answered for a long time.
Lu Fei had a bad feeling and moved closer, peering inside through the air holes on the roller shutter.
A smell of blood came out.
Not good!
"Hu Zi, open the door quickly!" Lu Fei's face darkened.
Hu Zi took out a small wire and picked the lock in a few seconds, then grabbed the roller shutter and pulled it up with a clatter.
A strong smell of blood hit their faces.
Inside the house, tables and chairs were overturned, with messy bloodstains all over the floor and walls.
It was a horrifying sight.
"Oh no, is Second Brother..."
Erdan, this silly kid, had only been tricked into loitering outside and, at worst, engaging in some petty theft; he had never seen such a bloody and terrifying scene. His head spun, and he fell backward.