I am a Flower Vase in an Infinite World / I Am a Useless flower in an infinite

Chapter 84

The old lady continued to silently stare at Lin Yun, her aged face appearing particularly sinister under the white light.

Lin Yun fell silent as well.

In the decrepit room, the only sound was the incessant sucking noise produced by the infant sucking on the old lady's finger. Then, suddenly, Ji Liangyun, who had been leaning against Tang Ning, coughed lightly.

His cough was barely audible, but the infant, who had been vigorously sucking on the finger, suddenly stopped, closing its eyes as if tired and curling up in the old lady's arms, quiet as a mouse.

The old lady, who had been silent all along, hugged the infant in her arms. Her voice was dry, as if she hadn't spoken in a long time. "I don't know any old lady who enjoys listening to operas, but there's one old woman, her daughter likes to sing that."

"Daughter?" Lin Yun furrowed his brow. After a moment of consideration, he asked, "Did the old lady you're talking about only have one daughter?"

"There was another one, named Wang, who hanged himself."

Tang Ning's eyes widened. Was Wang the same Wang who hanged himself? Was the old lady and Wang related by blood?!

At first, Tang Ning was somewhat uncertain, but as the old person in front of him slowly recounted the events of the past, Tang Ning could confirm that the old lady she was referring to was indeed the ghostly old lady.

It turned out that the ghostly old lady's husband had passed away early, leaving behind a daughter. Wang was the old lady's son, and she treated Wang very well, doting on her only son from a young age, unlike her daughter. It was like a family meal; when Wang ate, the old lady and her daughter drank soup together.

The ghostly old lady's daughter was very beautiful, both in appearance and figure. She joined a theater troupe, intending to learn acting. She worked hard at her studies, and all the money she earned was given to the ghostly old lady. She often sang in the dilapidated old house for the old lady, and her favorite song was the line "What's inferior about a girl compared to a boy." After singing, she would lean on the ghostly old lady's knees and ask with a smile, "Mother, was my singing good?"

It must have been very beautiful. It was said that the ghostly old lady's daughter was going to leave someday to join a better theater troupe.

At this point, whether it was because of Ji Liangyun's presence or not, the infant curled up in the old lady's arms suddenly cried out, and the old lady quickly offered her own finger to the infant's mouth. The infant sucked forcefully, and the old lady's voice became strained with pain. She continued to tell the rest of the story.

In a village far from here, there was an old bachelor who wanted to marry the ghostly old lady's daughter. He offered a hefty bride price. In this remote village, every marriage required a sum of money, and when the times were tough, regardless of whether the daughter was willing or not, the ghostly old lady would sell her daughter off, using the bride price to build a new house.

It's said that the old bachelor didn't allow the ghostly old lady's daughter to sing, not a single word, and often beat her. The daughter somehow passed away. After her death, the ghostly old lady fell ill as well. Some said it was the daughter's resentment haunting the ghostly old lady, while others said it was just old age catching up with her.

In any case, the ghostly old lady was very sick. Afraid of causing trouble for her family, she voluntarily moved out of the house and into the crumbling old house. She had no money, and she could eat the same dish with flies for a week. Sometimes, she didn't even have the strength to clean herself after urinating and would sleep on filthy bedding, her body rotting away. After living such a half-dead existence for some time, the ghostly old lady took a hemp rope and prepared to end her own life.

She didn't tell anyone about her intention to "commit suicide." Quietly, in the old house, she hung herself. It happened to be the day when Wang, her son, who hadn't seen her for almost a month, rarely went to visit her. He happened to catch her in the act, with the noose tight around her neck, kicking away the stool with her feet.

Wang saw everything but didn't intervene.

He just stood in front of the old house, watching the ghostly old lady hang herself before his eyes.

As Tang Ning listened to the story, he suddenly felt an indescribable chill. He squeezed Ji Liangyun's hand and continued to listen to the old lady sitting at the head of the bed recounting the events of the past.

After the ghostly old lady's death, faint singing could be heard from the room where she hanged herself, hoarse and piercing, extremely unpleasant.

Later on, Wang also hanged himself in the new house.

It was said that he used the same hemp rope and hanged himself, with such force that no one could stop him.

As the old lady finished her story, Tang Ning couldn't help but feel puzzled—

Was it Wang who caused Tang Xianheng's hanging? Why was Wang constantly meddling, causing so much harm? Why was Tang Xianheng the person he seemed to want to harm the most?

Tang Ning voiced his doubt, while the old woman holding the baby, under Ji Lianyun's gaze, spoke freely. She said, "Back then, Wang Shu's new house was built right next to Tang Xianheng's. Tang Xianheng knew about those things, and good folks say he wanted to intervene, and he could."

But Tang Xianheng ended up like Wang Shu, watching each other hang themselves in their own homes.

Tang Ning paused for a moment, suddenly recalling his inquiry about Wang Shu's identity on the first day in this game. Wang Shu had claimed to be a neighbor of the Tang Ning family.

So, that's how it was.

After the story was told, everyone fell silent for a moment. In the end, it was Lin Yun who broke the silence, asking, "Where is her grave?"

"At that time, the atmosphere in that house was terribly ominous. She refused to help with the body, and her family couldn't bear to leave her rotting in the house. In the end, it was Tang Xianheng who buried her. It's in the back mountain. Over the years, only Tang Xianheng would occasionally burn offerings for her."

The old woman trembled as she stood up. "Let me take you there."

With the thin baby in her arms, as the old woman approached Tang Ning, the strange baby suddenly opened its eyes, staring straight at him.

Tang Ning felt a shiver down his spine. Before he could react, he felt the weight of Ji Lianyun's head on his right shoulder.

Ji Lianyun looked at the baby in the old woman's arms.

The baby whimpered and closed its eyes, letting out a wailing cry. The old woman hastily shoved her own fingers into the baby's mouth, trembling as she walked ahead, not daring to expose the baby in her arms to Ji Lianyun's gaze.

In the pitch-black night, Tang Ning didn't know what to say. He watched the silhouette of the old woman in front and asked, "What about this woman's daughter? Did anyone burn offerings for her?"

"I don't know about that. She died of illness in another village back then. I'm not sure if anyone went to claim her body," the old woman said indifferently. "I heard everyone in the family she married into died. Since there's no one left, I suppose there wouldn't be any."

"Why?" Ji Lianyun asked. "Do you want to burn offerings for her?"

Tang Ning nodded, whispering, "She's so pitiful."

With a heavy, muffled laugh, Ji Lianyun pressed close to him like a koala. Tang Ning felt perplexed, and Ji Lianyun kissed his earlobe, softly saying, "She just wanted to eat you a moment ago. I won't let you burn offerings for her."

What?

Tang Ning seemed to realize something, abruptly turning around to see the small house behind them engulfed in darkness, a hemp rope swaying from the ceiling beam.

Stiffening, he turned his gaze back to the old woman's ankles ahead. There was no hemp rope tied around them, but there were marks left by long-term binding.

He suddenly remembered that he never remembered what the ghostly old woman looked like in that illusion.

Yet, the voice of the ghostly old woman sounded exactly like this old woman narrating the tales of yesteryears.