"Most of the villagers died mysteriously not long after they fled. Only a few managed to escape alive."
"As a result, the village was left deserted." After the old man finished his story, he let out a long sigh.
Yuan Meng raised an eyebrow. "If that's the case, why weren't you killed by the ghostly woman?"
Hearing this, the old man's expression suddenly turned ferocious. Then, there was a commotion from the innermost room, as if someone was pounding on the door with great force.
However, the noise stopped after a while.
The sound of the pounding door brought everyone back to their senses. Yuan Xingcheng murmured, "Right, this old man is also one of the culprits."
He was also a villager here. He must have paid to buy a wife. Maybe it was the wife he bought with money who was pounding on the door.
According to the old man's description, the wives bought in this way didn't have a good life. They could be killed or tortured at will.
It was quite normal for them to be locked up.
However, the others didn't take this matter to heart. After all, it was just a script from the program crew. Being too serious would only mean losing.
"Aren't you here to film a program? Don't take it too seriously," the old man said with a smile.
He looked as if he had completed the task of an NPC and was chatting with the guests.
"Of course we won't take it seriously," Xiang Bo replied with a smile.
Yuan Meng frowned. She felt something was wrong. When the old man heard the sound of the pounding door just now, his face suddenly turned very ugly. Such a quick reaction couldn't be faked.
If he had such acting skills, he would have become a leading figure among the veteran actors in the entertainment industry.
Moreover... she flared her nostrils and sniffed.
Since they entered, she had felt that the smell inside was off. It was as if there was a faint smell of blood floating in the air, which made Yuan Meng's heart pound.
"Since you're also from this village, there might be hidden clues in the room where the pounding sound came from just now. Could you let us search it?" Yuan Meng said with a smile.
Hearing her words, the others all nodded. This dilapidated wooden house was the only one on the mountaintop. There must be clues inside.
The old man glared at Yuan Meng viciously and then pushed them out. "Search what? There are no clues here."
His reaction made everyone even more certain that there were clues. Xiang Bo immediately grabbed the old man's hands. "Guys!"
"I'll hold him back for you. You go in and search quickly!"
His expression was ferocious, looking like a heroic martyr. The old man was so anxious that two big drops of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
He waved his hands frantically, trying to stop them. However, Xiang Bo, this bold fool, was very strong. He tightly held the old man, making him unable to move.
Several guests began to explore the house, while Yuan Meng walked towards the room where the sound came from.
Seeing that she was about to enter, the old man lowered his head and was about to bite Xiang Bo's arm.
Xiang Bo noticed what he was going to do and quickly let go of his arm, muttering, "It's just a variety show. Do you have to be so ruthless?"
His voice wasn't very loud, but Yuan Meng, with good ears, heard it clearly. Now, the old man's actions made her even more certain that there was something special inside.
Today, she was determined to go in.
"You're acting like robbers!" the old man immediately rushed over to guard the door of the room.
"Hey, director! Are you going to do something about this?!"
"When we negotiated, we didn't say that these robbers would be allowed to search my house. Hurry up and stop them!"
The old man roared hoarsely at the cameraman. Even the audience watching through the camera could feel how angry he was.
[The guests really went too far this time. The old man said there were no clues, but they still kept trying to get in. If there were clues, would he have stopped them like this?]
[Yuan Meng has always been nice, but today I really feel something is off about her. Why does she have to go in?]
[I'm turning from a fan to a hater. It's so disgusting.]
[Yuan Meng is so ill - mannered. Look how anxious she's made the old man. Can the program crew do something about it?]
The bullet - screen was full of comments hating Yuan Meng because it was her who made the guests want to search the house.
Moreover, she was the most active one.
"Wait, there really aren't any clues set up in this room. Stop searching randomly," the director's helpless voice came through the ear - piece and reached the guests' ears. Hearing his words, everyone stopped searching.
Yuan Meng frowned. She still felt something was wrong, but since the director had said so...
She silently walked to Yuan Xingcheng's side, looking at her nephew, then at the old man.
Yuan Xingcheng immediately understood and nodded slightly, indicating that he knew.
Yuan Meng raised her voice. "I think the director must have set up clues here. Otherwise, why is he so nervous?"
She pointed at the old man with her slender finger. "Anyway, the director is always so sneaky. When he says there are no clues, he's just trying to mislead us. Don't be deceived by him."
The guests who were originally going to stop searching thought this made sense, so the house became chaotic again.
This time, it was Yuan Xingcheng who held the old man back. He didn't use too much force, but still made it difficult for the old man to move forward or backward.
Yuan Meng secretly opened the room that the old man had been guarding and slipped in.
The director really couldn't do anything this time. It seemed that his usual image among the guests wasn't very good. No one believed his words.
The old man stretched his neck, trying to see if Yuan Meng had gone to a place she shouldn't.
However, there was a tall guy blocking him on purpose, so he couldn't see anything.
"Get out of the village! We won't rent the place to you for filming anymore!"
"I've said there are no clues, but you still rummage through my house. Have you no shame?"
"Get out of here!"
The old man was really angry this time. He roared with a red face. Seeing his appearance, everyone felt that there might really be no clues.
Xiang Bo put down the porcelain basin in his hand and scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry, old man. Our director is really sneaky. We don't dare to believe his words."
"It's not our fault. It was Yuan Meng who kept saying there were clues in this room, so we searched."
"If anyone should apologize, it should be her. What does it have to do with us?" Yang Liu crossed her arms in front of her chest and said in a bad tone.
[Yes, I also think it's Yuan Meng. She was acting like a crazy person and insisting on searching the old man's house. Look, now the old man is angry.]
[If it were me, I'd be angry too. Is Yuan Meng really possessed by a ghost?]
[Take away our Yang Liu sister. She's right. Why should she take the blame for others?]
Seeing Yang Liu deliberately shifting the blame, Yuan Xingcheng frowned. Although he didn't know what his aunt was up to, she would never do something unnecessary.
"We're a team. Sister Yuan Meng just suspected there were clues in the room. Even if she didn't say it, I would have. "
"If we're really wrong, then we should bear the responsibility together. How can you shift all the blame onto her?"
"If it's wrong for her to suggest searching the room, then are you right for searching without using your own judgment?"
Yuan Xingcheng's words made Yang Liu's face turn as white as a sheet. Just as she was about to retort, they heard Yuan Meng's scream and a man's roar coming from the inner room.