After Uncle Bi finished, a bitter smile appeared on his face.
Back in those days, in this society, being wealthy made everything possible. Especially for people like our family, who became wealthy from land compensation. If Bi Ping were still alive, there would definitely be a flock of girls wanting to marry him.
But unfortunately, he's already dead. It's so difficult to find a daughter-in-law even in the underworld, and it's not something that can be arranged just because of wealth.
With a deep sigh, I asked, "So they still haven't given a definite response?"
"No," Uncle Bi shook his head helplessly and sighed, "They only agreed in principle, but haven't said when they will finalize the marriage. Regardless of how much money I've offered, they haven't given me a specific time."
I squinted for a moment, then stood up and said, "Then should we go ask them?"
Uncle Bi waved his hands repeatedly, "They haven't been home recently, so I was thinking of finding someone else."
Parents' hearts are pitiful, so I glanced at Du Xiaolan and gestured to her, then looked at Uncle Bi and said, "We'll go out and inquire if there's a suitable one."
"Then I'll trouble you guys," Uncle Bi hurriedly thanked.
Walking out of the villa, Du Xiaolan scornfully asked, "Mingyang, are you idle with nothing to do? This is an arranged ghost marriage. Where are we going to find a bride?"
I replied, "You're unwilling to listen when I tell you it's simple." As I walked towards the reservoir, I said, "I'm not certain we can find one, and I don't understand ghost marriages at all. Anyway, it's foolish not to make money. Whether it's successful or not, as long as we claim it's successful, the money will end up in our pockets, as he won't see it anyway."
"Bold, so bold," Du Xiaolan came to her senses and gave me a thumbs up.
"You should learn more in the future," I said disdainfully and walked ahead in large strides.
There were still few people around the reservoir, and I could vaguely see a few people fishing on the opposite bank. I bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it hard onto the water's surface. A few ripples appeared instantly.
Seeing the calm water surface rippling, I turned around and saw Du Xiaolan squatting on the ground, with her hands supporting her chin, gazing at the water in silence.
"What are you thinking about?" I walked over and asked as I sat beside her.
Du Xiaolan turned to look at me, then gazed at the water again and said softly, "His swimming skills were so good. How could he have not even had the strength to struggle a little and just drowned?"
I casually replied, "Isn't it obvious? There must have been a water ghost looking for a substitute and pulled him down."
Du Xiaolan shook her head and said, "I also know that the water ghost dragged him down, but in this case, his soul will also look for the next substitute in the water. However, we saw him clearly standing up previously."
This question made me slightly confused. Indeed, even if the person dragged underwater by a water ghost has died, the soul will still linger in the water, and it is impossible for the soul to be sitting on the boat as we saw.
And Bi Ping did not show any painful expression or a bloated body from soaking in water, as if he did not drown, but died a normal death.
After thinking it over, I couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation. I picked up some stones again and went to the edge of the reservoir to prepare to throw out a few water floaters. However, just as I was about to make the move, I saw several large bubbles suddenly bubbling up from the water.
These bubbles were the size of a head, and when they burst, a foul smell spread out. I gagged and threw all the stones in my hand into the water. The ripples grew larger, and more and more bubbles appeared.
When the stench filled the air, I hurried to Du Xiaolan and was about to ask her to come back with me quickly, but before I could speak, I saw a figure slowly emerging from the water.
The figure did not emerge from the surface of the water, but stood straight in the water, with its back to us, its clothes intact, and the large bubbles emerged from its body.
I swallowed the words I was about to say and stared at that direction without blinking.
Du Xiaolan patted my shoulder and asked what I was looking at. I pursed my lips at her and gestured in the direction I was looking. Du Xiaolan looked puzzled and murmured, "I don't see anything."
"Look in the water!" I said impatiently.
Du Xiaolan responded with an "Oh," and then suddenly covered her mouth and muttered, "What's going on? Why is this person standing in the water?"
"How would I know," I was also puzzled, wondering how this person was able to do it.
I thought this way in my heart, but couldn't stop my legs from taking a few steps forward. When I came to the edge of the reservoir, I saw the figure standing vertically in the water, with its hands hanging down and its feet tightly together, as if it were a float.
"Water ghost!" this horrifying term appeared in my mind, and I quickly took a step back.
Grandpa once said that a person who drowned would either be face-up or back-up, but there was also a kind that would stand in the water, known as a drowned ghost.
However, not all drowned ghosts would show this state, just like the one my grandpa dealt with in our hometown, the female ghost Yu Li. She was a drowned ghost because she tied up her feet due to her overwhelming resentment and drowned in the small river, so she had very strong abilities and couldn't be compared to an ordinary drowned ghost.
The drowned ghost in front of me clearly didn't have very powerful abilities. It could only appear in the water, losing all its abilities once out of the water, even my meager abilities would be enough to deal with it.
Although my water skills were not bad, I didn't dare to go into the water, so I found a few more stones and threw them towards the drowned ghost.
The stones splashed into the water, and when they hit the drowned ghost, it swayed a bit and walked slowly towards me.
It was indeed walking. I clearly saw its legs swinging, just like a normal person walking. However, it wasn't moving quickly, and the stones I threw could easily hit it.
Du Xiaolan looked at me angrily and warned that if I kept provoking the drowned ghost, it might come to find me at night.
I wasn't afraid, and after throwing the stones in my hand, I continued to search while telling Du Xiaolan that this kind of water ghost wasn't very powerful, and I didn't need to be afraid as long as I didn't go into the water.
Du Xiaolan muttered a few words and said, "You're really asking for trouble. Don't be scared to death when it comes for you later."
I ignored her black humor, and just as I stood up to throw the dozens of stones in my hand, I saw the drowned ghost suddenly stop moving and turn its head sharply to look in my direction.
Its gaze was very deep, although it was through a layer of water, I could still see its eerie eyes locking onto me.
I couldn't help but shiver, hurriedly threw the stones on the ground, and was about to avoid the disturbing gaze of the drowned ghost, but it suddenly raised the corners of its mouth and made an extremely eerie smile at me.