USWHC -Chapter 74 A Curse About Water (Part 4)

Huaihua nodded vigorously, a look of deep sympathy on her face. She seemed so earnest that it didn’t feel like she was lying. “Hey, Xiaotao, have you heard of her?” Her voice unintentionally rose with curiosity.

Then she went on, talking to herself as much as to Zhu Jie: “Even you haven’t heard of her, so they definitely wouldn’t mention her in front of you. She was Brother Ji Yi’s first fiancée. I still remember her. Back then, she was quite pretty. But she died so strangely just a few days after the engagement. Many people say she fell into the river and drowned.”

Zhu Jie was genuinely surprised by this, her mouth involuntarily opening. Someone actually died?

“Ah, she was so unfortunate, so young and gone, without even a body being found!” Huaihua continued, sighing in pity.

“Wait!” Zhu Jie blurted out urgently, “You didn’t find a body—how do you know she’s dead?”

“Someone saw her fall into the river!” Huaihua said matter-of-factly.

Seeing Zhu Jie’s incredulous expression, she quickly tried to prove her point with an example: “It’s not just her—me too! I fell into a well once. I almost died. If it weren’t for Old Master Ge passing by the village at the time and saving me, I’d have ended up just like Xiaotao!”

“You fell into a well too?” Zhu Jie exclaimed in surprise.

“Yeah!” Huaihua nodded wildly. “You might not believe it, but it was terrifying! I felt a cold wind behind me, and before I could react, I suddenly plunged straight into the well!”

A cold wind? Zhu Jie suddenly remembered the cold wind she felt behind her just now. Her brows furrowed sharply as a faint sense of unease pricked at her instincts.

“Did you hear any sound? Or feel anything else? Like… did it feel like someone pushed you from behind?” Zhu Jie asked tentatively.

Huaihua immediately shook her head frantically: “No, nothing—just a cold wind!”

Then, as if realizing something, she said, “Oh, are you thinking someone wanted to harm me?”

Zhu Jie noticed her staring at her so seriously, neither confirming nor denying anything.

But Huaihua shook her head vigorously: “No! It wasn’t a person, it was a ghost. That feeling… it was just like the ghosts in the stories. Even now, thinking about it makes me shiver all over!”

Zhu Jie noticed Huaihua looked around in panic as she spoke, clearly frightened. Her own heart sank a little. That feeling was exactly the same as what she had just experienced. If she were just an ordinary village woman, she might have thought it was a ghost too.

Seeing Zhu Jie silent, Huaihua assumed she believed her and, adopting the tone of someone with experience, leaned closer and whispered, “How are you? What did you encounter just now?”

Zhu Jie looked at her curious eyes and just smiled: “Nothing, maybe I overthought it.” Then she smiled gently at Huaihua.

Huaihua seemed a little disappointed, as if she hadn’t uncovered any juicy gossip. She gave a sheepish laugh and awkwardly fiddled with her hair bun. “You’re really lucky!”

Zhu Jie, seeing her like this, couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What happened afterward?”

“Afterward? I just broke off the engagement!” Huaihua said, lowering her head with a hint of disappointment. “Actually, it was my parents who insisted on it. They thought Brother Ji Yi was dangerous—how could they dare marry me off to him?”

“Did the others also have accidents? And then all the engagements were broken off?” Zhu Jie asked, slightly startled, though she already had an inkling of the answer.

Sure enough, Huaihua nodded sheepishly, then quickly added: “Actually, everyone thinks Brother Ji Yi is a good person, really. It’s just that we weren’t lucky enough—not like you!” She looked at Zhu Jie with envy.

Zhu Jie couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. Luck? It’s probably not that simple. She didn’t believe in ghosts or spirits. So many people got hurt—clearly, someone did it on purpose. Yes, someone didn’t want Ji Yi to get married.

But… who exactly would want to prevent Ji Yi from marrying?