Chapter 304

Chapter 304

Qin Nan was genuinely stunned for a moment.

But once he recovered and looked at the Zhao girl again, his gaze took on a more thoughtful quality.

The Zhao girl’s initial Favorability toward them had actually been -100. There had been no sign of it at all. Brother Zhao, at least, had started with a Favorability score of 10, while Miss Xie’s preferences had been written plainly across her face. The Zhao girl, however, looked like an ordinary little girl and had shown no rejection of them whatsoever. Yet her initial Favorability was -100. Not only that, but despite clearly loving the bouquet, her Favorability had increased by only the minimum amount of two points.

This…

The stranger a person or situation was, the more likely it was to hold the clues they needed.

Qin Nan immediately began paying closer attention to the Zhao girl.

After seeing Qin Nan give her the flowers, Brother Zhao thanked him, then led Qin Nan’s group out of the house.

Just as before, Brother Zhao hung a lantern outside the door.

From the corner of his eye, Jian Fan glanced at Brother Zhao, then at Mrs. Zhao and the Zhao girl beside him.

The act of hanging the lantern might carry some hidden meaning as well.

Jian Fan silently committed the detail to memory.

Brother Zhao’s home was some distance from the Xie Residence. Brother Zhao and Mrs. Zhao walked in front. The Zhao girl had initially followed her parents, but Qin Nan had no intention of wasting this chance to ask questions.

“Ya Tou, why don’t you tell us how your town celebrates a wedding?” Qin Nan asked.

The Zhao girl seemed reluctant, but Brother Zhao smiled and patted her head. “Go keep the older brothers and sisters company for a while.”

Qin Nan was somewhat surprised.

He had been wondering how to separate the Zhao girl from Brother Zhao and his wife. Unexpectedly, before the girl had even agreed, Brother Zhao had spoken up on his behalf.

Although the Zhao girl was reluctant, she slowed down after Brother Zhao gave the instruction and eventually fell into step beside Qin Nan and the others.

“There’s nothing special. It’s just like weddings anywhere else. They set off firecrackers, exchange wedding bows, and drink,” the Zhao girl said.

Qin Nan recalled the wedding proceedings from the previous day and very much wanted to tell her that it was not the same at all. Forget being identical–the two had practically nothing in common.

After all, who had ever seen a wedding where the bride rode a horse, the groom sat in a bridal sedan, and the bride lifted the veil in the ceremonial hall?

“Then why are all of you wearing red?” Qin Nan asked.

The Zhao girl glanced at him. “I don’t know. Squire Xie told us to wear it.”

That matched what Brother Zhao had said yesterday, but it only made Qin Nan more curious about the reason behind the red clothing.

What kind of wedding had every guest dressed entirely in red, and looking sinister in it at that? Even knowing they were ghosts, Qin Nan found it difficult to accept.

“Squire Xie tells you to wear it, so you just do?” Qin Nan asked, feigning confusion.

The Zhao girl made a sound of acknowledgment. “Because he’s rich. As long as we wear red, they give us money. He gave us the clothes too, so why wouldn’t we wear them? It’s not as if wearing them costs us anything.”

That was remarkably logical.

Qin Nan asked again, “Is Squire Xie’s family very wealthy?”

“Mm,” the Zhao girl replied.

Qin Nan immediately sighed with admiration. “With the Xie Family that rich, the wedding must be a grand affair. Are the red lanterns hanging outside every house there to celebrate the Xie Family’s wedding too?”

The Zhao girl shook her head. “No, they’re not.”

“Hm? The red lanterns aren’t?” Qin Nan had not expected her to deny it.

The Zhao girl saw nothing unusual about her answer. Shaking her head, she said innocently, “It has nothing to do with us. Why would we hang red lanterns just because Squire Xie’s family is holding a wedding?”
“Then why do you hang them?” Qin Nan asked.

The Zhao girl’s expression froze, then turned puzzled. “That’s true. Why do we hang red lanterns?”

She was looking directly at Qin Nan as she spoke.

Qin Nan stared back.

Why was she looking at him? It was her own family’s business.

The Zhao girl clearly did not expect an answer from him. She soon turned away, tilted her head, and wondered aloud, “Why does our family hang red lanterns?”

Qin Nan realized she truly did not know.

And the less she knew, the more suspicious those red lanterns became.

Qin Nan glanced back at Jian Fan.

Jian Fan gave no response.

Qin Nan quickly looked away and turned back to the Zhao girl. “Do people like us come to your town every so often?”

If she knew nothing about the red lanterns, he could at least ask about something else.

At his question, the Zhao girl turned to him in confusion. “Huh? How did you know that?”

Your father told me.

Qin Nan kept that thought to himself and said with a smile, “It was only a guess. So people like us really do appear here from time to time?”

The Zhao girl nodded. “Yes, but I’m not telling you anything.”

Qin Nan stared at her.

Clutching the flowers, the Zhao girl looked innocent, but her words were anything but endearing. “You think I’m a child, so I’ll be easy to trick into talking? You’re looking down on me. I don’t talk to people who underestimate me.”

Qin Nan stared at her again.

Out of the corner of his eye, Qin Nan instinctively glanced at Qin Weiyi behind him.

Children these days were truly difficult. Not only real children, but even child NPCs like this one.

Qin Weiyi, on the receiving end of Qin Nan’s glance, fell silent.

He might be a minor, but surely he did not count entirely as a child anymore. How could anyone compare him to a little girl who looked about ten?

After saying that, the Zhao girl quickened her pace and caught up with Brother Zhao and Mrs. Zhao. Brother Zhao seemed to have completely forgotten that he was the one who had told her to stay and talk with Qin Nan’s group.

Maintaining that distance, the group continued toward the Xie Residence.

They soon arrived.

Everything outside the Xie Residence was the same as it had been yesterday. Brother Zhao took the initiative to explain, “The man welcoming the guests is our Squire Xie.”

Qin Nan nodded. “Thank you, Brother Zhao.”

Brother Zhao was about to lead them toward Squire Xie when Qin Nan’s gaze shifted and he suddenly asked, “Brother Zhao, what are those?”

Brother Zhao stopped and looked in the direction Qin Nan was pointing.

Qin Nan was pointing at the two stone statues outside the entrance to the Xie Residence.

They should have been lions, but now it was impossible to tell what they were.

Brother Zhao glanced at them and smiled. “Those are Sibuxiang.”

“Sibuxiang?” Qin Nan was shocked. Because of his line of work, he had encountered various myths and fantastical legends, including those about the Sibuxiang.

It resembled a dragon, a tiger, a dog, and a deer, yet was none of them–that was the appearance of the Sibuxiang, also known as the King of Beasts. Its real-world counterpart was the milu deer, and it was said to be a mythical beast from ancient times.

Yet the creature before them looked far more vicious. It had nothing resembling a milu deer’s antlers either. How could it be a Sibuxiang?

“Yes, it’s a Sibuxiang. It’s no surprise you couldn’t tell, because this one is incomplete,” Brother Zhao said.