Those who were chatting were the local Hired Hands.
In the feudal era, the Servants of wealthy Households were divided into two types: those who sold themselves to the Master's Family as maids and Servants, and those who were hired with money, the Hired Hands.
The former, in reality, were slaves, and their lives and deaths were decided by the Master's Family. They had no wages, and their marriages and funerals were not up to them.
It sounds miserable, but in fact, if they met a kind Master's Family, they would at least not starve. They would also have some benefits during the New Year and festivals, and their lives would be much better than ordinary people during a famine.
Of course, there was also a Threshold for wanting to sell oneself into slavery—one had to be good-looking.
The wealthy Households also had something to say: "Just this, how many people want to kneel, but don't have the connections!"
The ones chatting, for example, were the Hired Hands hired with money when the wealthy Households lacked Personnel, doing things like Cleaning and repairs. Money and goods were cleared, which was actually short-term work.
Speaking of the Gossip Rumors of the wealthy Households, most of them came from the mouths of these people.
Because those who sold themselves lived and ate in the Master's Family, and their lives and deaths were decided by the Master's Family.
If they were found to be gossiping, their lives might not be guaranteed.
And the Hired Hands, they themselves went back and forth between the various wealthy Households. After finishing their work, they would have a small gathering before going home. After a few rounds of drinks, this Gossip would naturally spread.
At this time, these people had already been after Three Rounds of Drinks, their faces flushed and their hearts warm, and they were muddle-headed.
Seeing Li Miao coming over with wine, they knew from the Wine Pot that it was good wine that they couldn't usually afford, so they naturally wouldn't refuse.
They quickly made way for Li Miao, and one after another, they told the story of this "Haunted" place.
Speaking of Master Wu, he was a famous Wealthy Household in the Pingshan Guard, with thousands of acres of good land, and his mansion was resplendent.
The process of Master Wu's Ancestors starting their fortune was actually very cruel.
The original accumulation of capital was bloody, especially naked in the feudal era.
Thousands of acres of good land certainly didn't fall from the sky, often relying on trickery and extortion.
Resplendence certainly wasn't something they were born with; every penny was stripped from people.
Fortunately, Master Wu's Ancestors were smart people, knowing that the key to allowing wealth to be passed down was not to make the wealth more, but to make everyone feel "you deserve to have so much money".
So he began to Associate With Officials and powerful people, finding some Backers for himself.
On the other hand, he also began to restrain his habits, accumulate virtue and do good deeds, and also gave out some porridge during the years of great famine. When the tenant farmers were a few days late in paying rent, he also had his subordinates go to their doors to say things like "the Landlord also doesn't have any surplus grain", and took the initiative to extend the time.
In this way, after two or three generations, in Master Wu's generation, his Reputation in the Pingshan Guard became "no wonder they have money".
Master Wu himself wasn't very smart. He couldn't study, so he just stayed in the Pingshan Guard as a Wealthy Household, and his life was considered comfortable.
But starting a month ago, Master Wu's days began to become difficult.
At first, the Courtyard Guards in the mansion, when patrolling at night, always felt cold and scared, but couldn't find the reason.
Later, the flowers and plants in the mansion also began to wither.
After a few more days, when the Servants were Cleaning the Courtyard, they always found some animal Corpses in some nooks and crannies.
At first, they were snakes and insects, then birds, and then some Wild Cats.
You must know that it was already late autumn at this time, and the weather was getting cold. Ordinary Corpses would usually take Two or Three Days to start Rotting.
These Corpses seemed to have been dead for a while, and had already begun to breed maggots, Rotting and stinking.
At first, the Servants thought that it might be some Wild Cats that had brought the Corpses in and hadn't finished eating them. Or maybe some children were mischievous and threw them in along the Courtyard Wall, so they didn't pay much attention.
As a result, they cleaned up a batch, and the next day another batch died. The Corpses were getting more and more, and the originally serene Courtyard was filled with a stench.
After more than ten days, Master Wu finally couldn't bear it anymore, so he had the Courtyard Guards stay in the Courtyard at night to see what was going on.
This look, and then something happened.
According to the Courtyard Guards on duty, the night was exceptionally cold, and the moon was also covered by clouds.
The entire Courtyard was only lit by the lanterns. A group of people were scattered in the Courtyard, barely able to see each other's figures, and couldn't even see the faces of the people opposite them.
A group of people in the Courtyard, smelling the faint smell of the Corpse, all felt scared.
Just as they mustered their spirits and stayed until the fourth watch, thinking that tonight would just pass.
Meow~~
In the silence, they heard a cat's meow.
A Snow White Big Cat came over from the Courtyard Wall, its two eyes were green, like two points of ghost fire floating in the air.
This Big Cat's steps were Stiff, completely unlike the agility of an ordinary Wild Cat, but instead limped, almost like a Corpse that had just learned to walk.
A Courtyard Guard held a lantern and mustered his courage to look, and as a result, he was so scared that he sat on the ground with a cry of "Mom!".
That Big Cat, its Skin and flesh was Decayed, its form was wasted, and the flesh on its face had fallen off, revealing its Snow White Teeth.
Its Abdomen was empty, its Dry Grass Intestines were dragging on the ground, and its Ribs were unevenly arranged on its Chest.
That Big Cat was obviously a Corpse!
A pair of eyes were staring at that Courtyard Guard!
Hearing this, Li Miao, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally, glanced at Little Four, who was whispering to Wang Hai, and turned to pour a glass of wine for the person speaking.
"And then?"
That person drank the wine, lowered his voice, and continued to speak.
That Courtyard Guard cried out in pain and fell to the ground, and the rest of the people hurried over to help.
People in this era were generally superstitious. At most, they had heard a few ghost stories from their elders at home, and had never seen such a scene.
As a result, they were all so frightened by the Big Cat that they were stunned in place, not daring to move.
The Big Cat stopped when it saw people, its two green eyes staring at them without blinking.
On that face with only half of its Skin and flesh, it clearly revealed a Stiff, human-like smile!
Meow——!!!
With a scream, it pounced on the group of people!
There was an Old Courtyard Guard among the Courtyard Guards, who had been a wanderer in his youth, had seen a lot, and was brave. He used the long stick in his hand to block in mid-air.
Pa cha.
It was a crisp sound, and the cat Corpse was swept into two halves.
The upper and lower halves of the Big Cat fell to the ground, still struggling, trying to crawl on people.
Everyone was so frightened that their faces turned pale, and some of the timid ones vomited on the spot.
It was still the Old Courtyard Guard who called for someone to bring Dry Grass and Oil, and burned the Corpse with a fire.
A group of people waited until dawn to report to Master Wu. Master Wu didn't believe it at first, but a group of people all swore that they had seen it clearly, so he didn't doubt it anymore.
He publicly rewarded the Old Courtyard Guard with twenty Silver, gave him a few days off, and let him go home to rest for a while.
But after a few days, they waited and waited, but didn't see the Old Courtyard Guard return.
When Master Wu sent someone to check the Old Courtyard Guard's home, they found that the Old Courtyard Guard had already died at home, and the entire Corpse was so rotten that it was beyond recognition.
The Skin and flesh on his face was also, like that Big Cat, missing half.