Chapter 172 The Truth

The eight ropes fell from all directions, wrapping around the necks of the three of us. Lin Zhao's claw shadows erupted like a flood from the car, surging out of every window.

The seamless claw shadows met the approaching ropes, and the ropes thick enough to bind a strong man began to shatter inch by inch from their ends, pushed out of the car by Lin Zhao's force.

Before the ropes could fall, Lin Zhao's second claw struck the roof, hundreds of finger winds piercing it and shooting into the air. At the same time, a stream of phosphorescent green light flowed from around the car.

As the phosphorescent light drifted from the car windows, I raised my hand and tapped the spirit tablet: "Your name is in my hands. You can't escape. If you don't want to die, come out and talk."

I only tapped the spirit tablet a few times, and the matchmaker appeared in the car: "Lord Li, you've brought me out several times. What more do you want?"

I said calmly, "Who is Meizi? How did she die outside the village back then? I want the truth."

The matchmaker's face paled: "I really don't know… I hadn't even arrived in Zaomu Village at that time."

Before she could finish speaking, I clenched the spirit tablet in my hand, and cracks immediately appeared in the wooden surface.

The matchmaker panicked: "Don't… don't…"

If I crushed the spirit tablet, the matchmaker would immediately vanish into thin air. She couldn't help but be afraid!

I said coldly, "If you don't speak clearly, you won't be getting out of my car today."

The matchmaker said, "I dare not say, I really dare not say! I'll die if I say it!"

"You'll die whether you say it or not!" My voice deepened. "My promise to you still stands. Tell me the truth, and I'll leave you a way out."

As soon as I finished speaking, the temperature in the car dropped sharply—a woman in a wedding dress and a veil had appeared in the car.

She was sitting right behind me, next to Lin Zhao.

The moment I saw the woman in the rearview mirror, Lin Zhao had already raised both palms in careful guard.

The matchmaker tilted her head to look behind me and said, "Lord… Lord Li… behind you…"

"I know!" I looked at the matchmaker with a non-committal smile. "You can choose whether to tell the truth now!"

The matchmaker gritted her teeth: "Someone asked me to buy Meizi back then. The person who bought her was Xue Li Hong."

"Xue Li Hong gave me a sum of money to help him find a bride. If I succeeded, he would give the family five hundred silver dollars. But he only married the dead, not the living. Whoever killed the girl after she put on the wedding dress, Xue Li Hong would give another hundred silver dollars."

"Six hundred silver dollars! Do you know how much you could buy with six hundred silver dollars back then? Anyone who had six hundred silver dollars would at least become a small landowner!"

"I knew it was a wicked thing to do, but the money was just too much."

As the matchmaker said this, the Yin energy behind me suddenly surged, and the biting baleful aura pierced through my clothes, stabbing into the joints of my arms like steel needles.

I frowned slightly, shifted my body, and blocked the matchmaker in front of me: "Keep talking!"

I knew there was a resentful ghost sitting behind me, but I also knew that Lin Zhao was sitting next to her. With Lin Zhao there, I didn't worry about any danger from behind.

And I could also feel that the ghost wanted to hear the matchmaker continue.

The matchmaker said tremblingly, "I helped him search several villages, and finally found Meizi in Zaomu Village. Meizi wasn't beautiful, but fortunately, she had no parents and was raised by the villagers. I found the people in the village who could make decisions and told them about it. The villagers also agreed."

"I don't know how they tricked Meizi, but I saw what happened on Meizi's wedding day."

"That morning, the villagers had Meizi put on her wedding dress and sent her to the village entrance. Those people that day were truly like evil spirits! Some had red eyes, some gritted their teeth, and the flesh on some of their faces was twitching wildly. None of them made a sound, just followed behind Meizi."

"Later, someone shouted 'Go!' and several people rushed up and smashed Meizi's head with clubs. Meizi didn't utter a sound before falling to the ground. I don't know if she was dead or alive."

"Someone went up and wrapped a rope around Meizi's neck, and several people together hung Meizi from a tree."

"Those people were afraid that Meizi's veil would fall off, and Xue Li Hong wouldn't give them the money, so they wrapped the veil around Meizi's head."

"You don't know how scary Meizi's corpse was then. Her face was covered with a red cloth, and you could see her nose and mouth through the cloth. It was a terrifying sight."

"After the villagers killed Meizi, they all ran back to their houses, every household with their doors and windows tightly closed. Not a single person dared to go out. They didn't dare to look at Meizi, and they didn't dare to look at Xue Li Hong."

"No one cared that Meizi had died unjustly. They were all worried that Xue Li Hong wouldn't send the money as promised. Some people asked me several times a day if Xue Li Hong was trustworthy."

"At that time, I wasn't sure either! Xue Li Hong was a bandit. Who knew if he would kill someone and then give the money?"