Chapter 49: A Strikingly Handsome Face

The brigade leader stared in astonishment, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. Good heavens! This Lin girl looked so delicate, yet how could she possess such strength? He had never witnessed anything so extraordinary in his life!

“Brigade Leader, I’ve always been strong since I was a child, and I know a bit of self-defense. You really don’t need to worry about my safety,” Lin Xiaodou said as she gently set the stone table back in place. She continued, “I won’t live here for free, either. I can pay a little rent every month, so the brigade will have a bit more income.”

At these words, the brigade leader’s eyes lit up immediately. Their Blackstone Village was the poorest in the commune. Except for delivering grain at the end of each year, there was barely a cent to be seen the rest of the time. Now someone was offering to bring income to the brigade—he was quite tempted to agree.

“All the wooden houses in the village are occupied, but there’s a vacant two-story wooden house near the back mountain,” the brigade leader said after a moment’s thought. “That used to be the home of the village landlord. After the landlord was overthrown, his family perished. The villagers consider the place unlucky and, since it was the landlord’s residence, no one wants to move in, so it’s been left empty.”

“Is it far from the village?” Lin Xiaodou asked.

“It’s not too far—about three kilometers, less than a thirty-minute walk.”

Hearing this, Lin Xiaodou was intrigued. “Then I’ll stay there.”

Living away from the village meant she would be free and unbothered, and she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone discovering her secrets.

“Well, that’s possible, but there’s one thing I should tell you.” The brigade leader hesitated for two seconds, then lowered his voice. “I’m only telling you this because I consider you one of our own, so please don’t spread it around. They say that house is haunted…”

The village children often went to the back mountain to gather firewood and pick wild vegetables. The wooden house stood right at the edge, visible at a glance. While the adults thought the place was unlucky, children didn’t care about such things. The villagers were all poor farmers, and most of their wooden houses were in tatters. The two-story wooden house, though vacant for years, was well-built and looked much better than the others. Sometimes, when the children were tired from work, they would gather to play there.

Nothing happened at first, but recently, strange sounds had been heard from the house. Sometimes it sounded like a baby wailing, other times like an elder sighing. Some bold children tried to investigate, but hadn’t taken more than a few steps inside when a shadow flashed overhead with a menacing roar. Terrified, the child fell to the ground and scrambled out, bawling all the way home with his trousers half down.

The whole village soon knew about it. People began to speculate that the landlord’s family had died so tragically, their restless spirits were haunting the place. When the brigade leader heard this, he scolded the villagers harshly. Superstition was forbidden—strictly prohibited by the authorities! If such rumors reached the commune leaders, their village would lose any chance at being selected as outstanding.

But the rumor had unsettled everyone so much that work was suffering. It couldn’t go on. The brigade leader took a few village men with him to investigate the wooden house. But not half an hour after entering, they all came running out, faces ashen.

“That place is truly strange—pitch dark inside, with weird noises echoing everywhere. One of our villagers found scratch marks on his arm for no reason. Another was standing still when a beam suddenly fell from above—if he hadn’t dodged quickly, his head would have been split open!”

With a sigh, the brigade leader added, “Later, we found that as long as we didn’t go inside, nothing happened. So from then on, no one dared go near that house. I’ve also told the villagers not to spread ghost stories; just pretend it doesn’t exist.”

After saying this, he watched Lin Xiaodou carefully. When she’d offered to pay rent, he’d been excited, but on further thought, it didn’t seem right. This girl was as beautiful as a fairy; even if she could defend herself, it might still be dangerous. So he deliberately tried to scare her with the haunted house story, which, though true, was meant to make her reconsider living alone.

He’d thought she would back down, but to his surprise, she insisted, “Brigade Leader, please let me have that house. I want to live there!”

Haunted? She had died once herself and transmigrated—what was there to fear? Lin Xiaodou didn’t believe in ghosts. Even if they did exist, they could never be more frightening than people. Whether the rumors were true or not, if they kept others away from her house, all the better for peace and quiet.

The brigade leader simply couldn’t understand Lin Xiaodou’s way of thinking. At her repeated insistence, he finally relented. He told her to spend the night in the educated youth courtyard and that he would take her to the wooden house tomorrow.

He also reminded her, “Try it for a few days first. The brigade won’t collect rent right away. If you change your mind, just let me know.”

“Thank you, I understand,” Lin Xiaodou replied. This brigade leader, stern-faced but warm-hearted, was truly a good man.

She took a packet of pastries from her army-green satchel. “These are egg cakes from home, for you and your wife. I hope you won’t mind.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly accept! Such a precious treat—you should keep it for yourself,” the brigade leader protested, waving his hands.

Lin Xiaodou simply set the packet on the stone table. “I have more. If you won’t eat it, just throw it away!” With that, she turned and left swiftly.

“What a good-hearted girl…” The brigade leader picked up the egg cakes, deeply moved. He made a mental note to look after this educated youth from now on.

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Meanwhile, in the two-story wooden house by the back mountain, a small figure leapt from the roof beam and darted into a room. With practiced hands, the figure tapped a brick in the corner. With a rumble, a revolving door appeared in the wall. The little figure slipped inside and closed the door behind them.

Down a flight of earthen steps, the little one hopped cheerfully into the cellar. Just then, a gentle, slightly exasperated voice called out, “You little rascal, sneaking out to play again?”

A tall, slender figure emerged, stepping into the glow of several luminous pearls embedded in the cellar wall, revealing an extraordinarily handsome face…

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Mingyue’s note: Darlings, my 100,000-word debut starts today~ Please give a five-star review and urge me on—your support is my inspiration!