Exile: Empty half of the capital and blow up the enemy's palace

The shop owner asked his son to serve tea and water to Yun Qingqing and her group.

Yun Qingqing and her group found an empty table and sat down.

"Shopkeeper, why is your town so deserted?" Bai Qianqian asked the shopkeeper curiously.

The shopkeeper sighed and said, "Sir, you may not know, a strange thing happened in our town recently. A man who was beheaded has disappeared. After that, he wanders around the town every night.

Many people in the town have seen him walking around without a head, holding his own head in his hands. It's so scary!

Various strange things happened frequently in the town. For example, all the chickens in someone's house died overnight, and the water in someone else's water tank suddenly turned red, like blood.

From then on, everyone would lock their doors at dusk and not dare to go out at night, and the town became deserted.

When everyone heard this, they were so surprised that they couldn't close their mouths.

Bai Qianqian's eyes widened and she said, "This is too bizarre! Is this really a ghost?"

Wu snorted coldly and said, "There are no ghosts in this world. Someone must be pretending to be a ghost to scare everyone."

"Sir, there are ghosts in this world. Many people in our town have seen that headless ghost." The shopkeeper said seriously, with a hint of fear in his eyes.

Wu disagreed, "Shopkeeper, even if someone saw a ghost, it might be someone pretending to be one."

The shopkeeper fell silent upon hearing this, thinking, forget it, I won't waste my breath talking to this woman. Once she sees the headless ghost, she will believe that ghosts really do exist in this world.

"Shopkeeper, what was the identity of the man who was beheaded?" Yun Qingqing immediately found the key point after hearing what the shopkeeper said.

This is not a ghost at work, it is clearly someone using ghosts to take revenge.

When the shopkeeper heard Yun Qingqing's question, he was stunned for a moment, then he told her: "The man who was beheaded was Zhang Dalang, a carpenter in the town. He was an honest and kind man, and was well-known for his warm heart in the town.

But some time ago, the old man Li who sold tofu said that Zhang Dalang bullied his daughter, and reported Zhang Dalang to the county government. With witnesses and evidence, Zhang Dalang was beheaded by the county magistrate.

"Ah, that Zhang Dalang really died unjustly. Old Man Li's daughter, Li Cuihua, wasn't very pretty, with a pockmarked face and a sweet potato figure. Zhang Dalang already had a beautiful wife at home, so how could he be so cruel as to bully her? Besides, Zhang Dalang was kind-hearted and a good man, so how could he do such a beastly thing?"

"Zhang Dalang has a beautiful wife?" Yun Qingqing grasped the key point again.

The shopkeeper nodded and said, "Yes, Zhang Dalang's wife is so beautiful, like a fairy. She didn't mind Zhang Dalang's ugliness and married him. She also gave birth to a big fat son for him. Before Zhang Dalang died, all the men in the town envied Zhang Dalang for having a beautiful wife.

Alas, now that Zhang Dalang is dead, his wife cries every day, her eyes are swollen from crying. What a good woman she was."

The garden was full of spring, and a branch of red apricot came out of the wall.

After hearing what he said, Yun Qingqing suddenly thought of this sentence in her mind. She subconsciously thought of the story of a certain official who climbed over the wall and a certain Jinlian who had an affair. Of course, this was all nonsense.

You have to see with your own eyes to know what kind of person Zhang Dalang’s wife is.

After hearing this, the elder lady commented, "There might be something wrong with Zhang Dalang's wife."

"Old lady, you are wrong. Zhang Dalang's wife is a good woman. She has been behaving herself in the six years since she married Zhang Dalang and has never flirted with any man." When the shopkeeper heard what the old lady said, he hurriedly defended Zhang Dalang's wife.

The elder lady fell silent upon hearing this. Her intuition told her that there might be something wrong with Zhang Dalang's wife, but this matter required evidence and could not be based solely on intuition.

Wu asked the innkeeper, "What's Zhang Dalang's wife's temper like?"

At this time, the shopkeeper's son came over with tea. Hearing Wu's question, he continued, "Zhang Dalang's wife has a gentle temper and speaks softly to him. Once, when I went to Zhang Dalang's house to deliver something, I heard her talking to him. It was so gentle that it made my bones melt.

Because of this, many men in the town like her, but Zhang Dalang's wife is deeply in love with him and doesn't care about anyone else except him.

"Is Zhang Dalang very handsome?" Bai Qianqian asked curiously.

The shopkeeper's son shook his head and said, "Zhang Dalang is not very good-looking. As the people in the town say, he looks like he's been stepped on by a cow. His eyes are as small as green beans, his nose is flat, and his mouth is crooked. The girls in the town all dislike his ugliness. No one likes him. Everyone thought he would be a bachelor for the rest of his life, but he was so lucky to marry a beautiful woman.

But then again, although Zhang Dalang is not good-looking, he has a kind and warm heart, which is why he was able to marry a beautiful wife."

"Does Zhang Dalang have any brothers or sisters?" Yun Qingqing asked the shop owner's son.

The shopkeeper's son scratched his head, thought for a moment and said, "Zhang Dalang doesn't have any brothers or sisters. He is an orphan, but he adopted a brother who is not related to him by blood and named him Zhang Xiaobao.

Zhang Xiaobao was a poor child who had been wandering the streets since he was young. One day, Zhang Dalang saw Zhang Xiaobao starving and dying on the street. He felt pity for him and took him home. From then on, Zhang Xiaobao grew up with Zhang Dalang.

It's just that Zhang Xiaobao went out to make a living six years ago and no one has seen him since. People in the town say that Zhang Xiaobao died outside. Some people also say that Zhang Xiaobao has become rich and doesn't want his ugly brother anymore, so he didn't come back to see his brother for six years.

Yun Qingqing's eyes moved slightly after hearing this. Her intuition told her that the haunting in the town had a lot to do with Zhang Xiaobao.

"Are these two brothers on good terms?" Yun Qingqing continued to ask the shop owner's son without changing her expression.

The shopkeeper's son replied, "The two brothers have a very good relationship. Although they are not biological brothers, Zhang Dalang treats Zhang Xiaobao as his own brother and gives him all the delicious and fun things. Whatever Zhang Xiaobao likes, Zhang Dalang will always find a way to get it for him. Everyone in the town says that Zhang Dalang is a good brother."

Zhang Xiaobao was a sensible kid. He knew his brother was good to him and he loved him very much. Whenever his brother worked, Zhang Xiaobao would help him. Six years ago, Zhang Xiaobao wanted his brother to have a good life, so he went out to make a living and never came back.

"Alas, this Zhang Xiaobao must have died out there, otherwise why hasn't there been any news for six years? Zhang Dalang probably died without waiting for his brother to return, and that's why his ghost is still lingering around the town every night, disturbing the townspeople."

At this point, the shop owner's son's expression suddenly became serious, and he earnestly warned them, "Sir, go to bed early tonight, turn off the lights and rest. No matter what noise you hear, don't get up to check, lest you attract the ghost of Zhang Dalang."

After hearing what the shopkeeper said, everyone felt a little scared, but they also thought that someone was pretending to be a ghost and trying to scare people.

Yun Qingqing smiled slightly and said, "Okay, thank you, little brother." Then she asked him, "Little brother, where is Zhang Dalang's home?"

"Zhang Dalang's home is in the carpenter shop with a white cloth hanging on it on the east side of the town." After the shop owner's son said this, he also emphasized that Zhang Dalang would go home every night to visit and then wander around the streets, so they should never go out at night to avoid encountering Zhang Dalang's ghost to take their lives.

When everyone heard this, a gloomy picture emerged in their minds and they felt a little scared.

Bai Qianqian widened her eyes and said, "Could it be that there are ghosts in this world?"

"There is no ghost, someone is playing tricks." Yun Qingqing said.

Bai Qianqian believed Yun Qingqing's words without a doubt. When she heard Yun Qingqing say there were no ghosts, she felt relieved. She asked with some doubt, "If there are no ghosts, then who is pretending to be a ghost and scaring everyone?"

Upon hearing this, the shop owner and his son wanted to tell them that ghosts really did exist and were not just people pretending to be ghosts to scare everyone, but thinking that they would not believe it, they were too lazy to waste their time arguing with them.

At this time, the elder lady spoke up, "Abao, do you have any ideas?"

"I have no idea yet. Don't worry about this, Grandma."

Yun Qingqing did not tell her her guess. She planned to find evidence before telling her so as not to wrongly accuse others.

The elder lady nodded slightly when she heard this. Since her granddaughter didn't let her take care of it, then she would not take care of it.

Her granddaughter is fine now and has her own ideas. As a grandmother, she just needs to support her and not interfere too much.

After Yun Qingqing finished talking to Madam Yuan, she asked the store owner to prepare some delicious meals.

After dinner, it was already dark. The shop owner's son led them to a room on the second floor to rest and reminded them not to go out at night, otherwise they would not be responsible if anything happened.

After everyone returned to their rooms to rest, Yun Qingqing quietly left the inn and went to the carpenter's shop in the east of the town.