Fearing that Bai Jie might act impulsively and really go to Stone Town to join the excitement, Zhou Yong also tried to dissuade her, "Bai Jie, Dadan isn’t lying to you, Stone Town really is haunted!"
In Bai Jie’s eyes, Zhou Yong was like Zhang Dadan’s close accomplice, and he was surely trying to help Zhang Dadan deceive her. Naturally, she treated his words as if they were wind passing by her ears.
Annoyed, Bai Jie said, "Can’t you guys stop scaring people? I’m exactly going to Stone Town to see the ghosts, so what?"
The driver, who was driving, had also heard the rumors about Stone Town being haunted from his buddies. Now, with Zhang Dadan and Zhou Yong as additional confirmation, he believed it even more firmly.
Out of good intentions, the driver also advised, "Miss, they’re really not lying to you!"
"I’ve heard about the haunting in Stone Town too. It’s best if you don’t go there for now!"
Zhou Yong’s words were certainly untrustworthy, but this driver had no relationship or ties with Zhang Dadan and wouldn’t help him lie, right?
"Who did you hear that from, sir? Don’t tell me you’re just following their joke on me too?" Bai Jie asked with a frown.
The driver was merely giving a kind reminder, but seeing that Bai Jie didn’t appreciate it, he sighed and said, "Alright! Consider it my nonsense. If you don’t believe it, that’s fine!"
His vague words actually aroused Bai Jie’s suspicion. Could it be that Stone Town was really haunted? Are there really ghosts in this world?
Zhang Dadan saw the fear and doubt on her face and thought she might back out, so he gave her an excuse and said:
"The town has been unsettled these past few days, with many people leaving to stay with relatives elsewhere!"
He originally said this to make Bai Jie understand the seriousness of the disturbance and find an excuse to stay in the county.
However, despite finding it frightening and horrifying, Bai Jie’s nerves and excitement grew, making her even more determined to investigate.
"It’s just some ghosts! I haven’t done anything wicked, what’s there to fear?" Bai Jie argued.
Zhou Yong, who was sitting in the passenger seat, didn’t know whether to cry or laugh upon hearing Bai Jie’s bold words.
Something that had scared him so much was something Bai Jie, a mere woman, faced without fear at all. Did that mean he was worse than a woman?
Zhang Dadan saw that she was determined to go and sighed as he gave up on persuading her, for it was already too late. The car had arrived at the bus station.
The three got off the taxi, bought three bus tickets to Stone Town, and boarded the almost empty bus.
In the spacious bus, apart from them and the driver, there were only two old men and an old woman.
The old woman, sitting not far from Bai Jie, glanced at her suspiciously and asked, "Miss, are you going to Stone Town too?"
Lost in her thoughts, Bai Jie didn’t quite hear the old woman’s words, so she moved over and sat beside her, asking, "Granny, what did you just say?"
The old woman was only trying to pass time by talking, but Bai Jie’s enthusiasm made her somewhat flattered.
"Miss, I asked if you’re also going to Stone Town? You should get off midway, Stone Town hasn’t been peaceful lately!" the old woman kindly reminded.
Bai Jie was touched by her well-meaning advice, but once she’d made a decision, she wouldn’t change it easily.
"Granny, I know Stone Town is haunted lately, but I’m not afraid!" Bai Jie laughed heartily, seemingly indifferent to it all.
The old woman, seeing her nonchalant attitude, sighed sadly and said, "Miss, you’re still young, you probably don’t believe these things!"
"But the resentful spirits in Stone Town are no small matter, they’re very vicious. If you’re not involved, it’s best not to go there."
The old woman’s confident words made Zhang Dadan suspicious. From her tone, it seemed like she’d faced those things before?
Zhang Dadan got up, walked over slowly, and sat in the seat in front of the old woman, then turned around and politely asked, "Granny, have you encountered those things before?"
The old woman glanced at him suspiciously and asked, "Young man, you are..."
Before Zhang Dadan could respond, Bai Jie interjected, "Granny, he’s my friend, he means no harm!"
"Oh! Young man, are you also heading to Stone Town?" The old woman smiled and nodded at Zhang Dadan.
Zhang Dadan nodded with a smile and repeated his previous question, "Have you encountered those resentful spirits before? It seems like you know a lot about them."
Upon hearing his question, the old woman’s eyes dimmed instantly, her expression turning sorrowful and somewhat terrified, as if she were recalling extremely painful and horrifying memories.
Her sorrowful and mournful look made Zhang Dadan feel a bit regretful and remorseful, as if he had asked something inappropriate!
"Granny, if you have any concerns, just forget it, pretend I never asked." Zhang Dadan quickly added.
The old woman sighed sorrowfully and said, "What is there to be concerned about? I do know some things."
"It was nineteen years ago. My husband worked at the slaughterhouse. One day, while looking for the manager, he accidentally entered a secret room."
A secret room? Zhang Dadan, upon hearing this, felt a little confused. Granny, you wouldn’t be telling stories, would you? But out of respect, neither Zhang Dadan nor Bai Jie interrupted her.
The old woman’s eyes looked to the right, her pupils slightly enlarged, and she said, "He saw many toys and some doll statues in that secret room."
"Since the secret room was in the manager’s office and had an eerie atmosphere, he didn’t dare to look closely and quickly left."
"Who knew that just a few days later, many strange things happened at the slaughterhouse. First, someone cut their own arm accidentally while butchering a pig. Then another person got gnawed on by a cow!"
Her words left Bai Jie pale but plunged Zhang Dadan into deep thought. ’Secret room’, ’toys’, ’doll statues’—all pointed to the same thing.
That is, the ghost children of Stone Town were indeed raised by someone, and that someone was the manager of the slaughterhouse back then.
After the old woman finished recounting the slaughterhouse’s eerie events, she paused, her expression even more sorrowful, and her eyes somewhat misty.
Although Zhang Dadan felt it inappropriate to touch the old woman’s sorrowful memories, he had to play the villain to get to the bottom of this.
"And then? What happened afterwards?" Zhang Dadan hesitated for a moment before asking forcefully.
The old woman glanced at him, seeing his eager look, and felt puzzled. Why was this young man so concerned about past events?
"Young man, who... who are you? Why are you asking about this?" The old woman felt something odd and asked.
Zhang Dadan was stunned and sighed, "My father also worked at the slaughterhouse back then, and he was wounded by those things too."
Upon hearing this, the old woman was taken aback and, after a long pause, sighed, "Your father was really lucky then!"
Waves surged in Zhang Dadan’s heart—Wha... what? Lucky? My father was injured by those things and still considered lucky? Granny, your words are too much, aren’t they?
The old woman, seeing his uncomfortable expression, feared he misunderstood her, quickly added, "My husband was actually killed by those things."