Chapter 215 - Chapter 215: Chapter 215: Deceiver (Additional Monthly Ticket Chapter)

Chapter 215: Chapter 215: Deceiver (Additional Monthly Ticket Chapter)

Translator: 549690339

“How did your questioning go?” Shen Quan asked.

But Qi He, having choked on water, was lost in coughing after being hauled up, barely escaping suffocation. He gasped heavily and was utterly incapable of answering Shen Quan.

“It seems you have yet to get a clear answer. We’ll need to question further.”

With that, Shen Quan once again shoved Qi He into the bamboo cage and, once again, threw it into the lake.

A moment later, as Qi He was hauled up again, Shen Quan interrogated him anew: “How did the questioning go? Did the Water Ghost say anything?”

This time, Qi He choked even more severely on the water. His face was pale, his body shaking uncontrollably, still unable to answer Shen Quan’s questions.

“It seems we need to further question more.”

And so, Qi He was once again stuffed into the bamboo cage, once again thrown into the lake, and once again filled with water.

After several similar rounds…

When Qi He was thrown into the water, he no longer had the strength to struggle, and when hauled up, his breaths were shorter and fewer.

“We’ve done this numerous times. Can you tell us anything you found out?”

Seeing that Qi He did not respond, Shen Quan stroked his chin: “Seeing as you’ve been silent, I assume you still haven’t figured it out. Could you bother to make another trip for us?”

“This Water Ghost is quite a formidable creature. It hardly seems the type easy to converse with. These trips surely aren’t enough. Let’s make a few more. Firstly, the more we make, the more sincere we appear. And secondly, we can get more information, to avoid any mistakes due to unclear information.” “Here, let’s send you down…”

Hearing these words, Qi He’s eyes, which had lost all their luster, suddenly lit up. His entire body began to struggle, grabbing onto Shen Quan’s leg, shaking his head like a drum rattle.

“It seems you have something to say.” Shen Quan squatted down, looking at the pale and terrified Qi He. He gave a laugh: “What do you want to say? That the Water Ghost wishes to take a wife?”

“Or perhaps, you wish to tell us about your own affairs?”

Qi He turned deathly pale.

If he admitted to these matters now, it’d be equivalent to jumping into a pit of fire.

But if he did not admit, he would be on the verge of being thrown back into the water at any moment.

Even though falling into a pit of fire might burn him, he could still save his life. It would mean years of labor, filled with hardship and exhaustion, but at least there was hope. But if he fell into a pit of water…

His life could be taken at any moment, and they could cleanly shrug off any blame, simply claiming that the Water Ghost had taken his life. Then, he would truly die with a grievance.

Upon weighing his options, Qi He quickly made his choice.

Unable to speak due to the water in his lungs and continuous coughing, Qi He rapidly shook his head and nodded frantically.

“It seems you’ve come to your senses.” Shen Quan stood up and ordered the boat to be rowed towards the shore.

Once the boat had steadied at the shore, Shen Quan and the others, dragging Qi He, jumped off the boat.

It seemed like their task was accomplished.

Ding Gaochang felt joy in his heart but maintained a calm exterior, asking only, “How did it go?”

“Sir, it seems like he has something to say,” Shen Quan replied with a bow.

“Oh?” Ding Gaochang raised his eyebrows: “Since he has something to say, let him say it before everyone.”

By now, the villagers who had been waiting anxiously to hear the results of the questioning had eagerly crowded around, hoping to learn what the Water Ghost wanted and what Qi He had managed to find out.

With all eyes on him, Qi He, his face ashen, opened his mouth but failed to speak for quite some time.

“Looking at him, it seems he hasn’t found anything yet?” Ding Gaochang’s face darkened: “Perhaps we should…”

“I’m speaking, I’m speaking.”

After a chill ran down Qi He’s spine, he quickly opened his mouth.

He no longer wished to be thrown into the lake, to endure the terror of being completely submerged by the lake water, crying for help but receiving no answer, with water filling his mouth and nose about to suffocate at any second.

“There’s no Water Ghost in Cuiwei Lake, it was all a lie I made up to scare people…” said Qi He feebly.

The crowd was like a calm sea stirred by a gust of wind, suddenly thrown into tumult.

In surprise, they started to discuss noisily.

“What does that mean, it was fake, he lied?”

“What exactly is going on, is he saying there’s no Water Ghost?”

“It appears that way, he said he lied…”

“So, we have been deceived all these days? Is he a fake?”

“I don’t know…”

“Why would you make up such a lie?” Ding Gaochang demanded.

“Originally, when I heard about the accident on Cuiwei Lake, where a person had drowned, I jokingly said that a Water Ghost must exist in the lake, aiming to take human lives. My words were careless, but my cousin took them seriously. He suggested that since people are afraid of ghosts and spirits, we could deceive the villagers by telling them about the Water Ghost. They would be terrified, and if we claimed we can control the Water Ghost, they would be grateful, giving us money and valuables. My cousin was sure this could solve our struggle with life’s basic necessities.”

“At first, I was hesitant. But after losing money in gambling and the creditors came knocking, I found no way out. So, I joined him here in this village, lied about the existence of the Water Ghost stealing lives, and planned to fraudulently sell them talisman paper, and conduct rituals.”

“The villagers were initially skeptical, but when two people in the village died suddenly overnight, we seized the opportunity to say that the Water Ghost had taken their lives. The villagers began to wholeheartedly believe us and bought our talismans and ritual services.”

Qi He explained the entire situation clearly: “So that’s more or less it…”

“If this whole matter is a scam, why did you say the Water Ghost wants a wife and threaten the life of an innocent girl?” Ding Gaochang demanded.

“If it was all for money, why harm a life?”

“I initially refused to harm anyone. It was my cousin, Qi Shen, who took a liking to the girl. The girl’s parents had died, and she was living with her grandmother. He felt attracted to the girl’s beauty and the fact that she had no one to take care of her, so he made advances towards her in the middle of the night. He hoped to offer her some money to follow him.”

“No matter what, the girl refused, and even her frail old grandmother, with her formidable spirit, chased Qi Shen off with a hoe. Enraged, Qi Shen declared that she invited trouble for not walking the path of survival and insisted on choosing death.”

As Qi He spoke, seeing Ding Gaochang’s expression darken like the bottom of a pan, ready to burst in any moment, he hurriedly added: “I originally found this plan deplorable, but Qi Shen threatened to deduct my money if we didn’t proceed…”

“So, I just, I just…”