Free Web NovelChapter 931: Chapter 927: Gone Mad?
In the small courtyard, waist-high wild grass stood before them, entirely a tender green, with dewdrops faintly visible in the morning light at the taller spots.
It was autumn, a time when even wild grass should have withered away, so such a vibrant scene was improbable. Moreover, just last night Xiao Tian had been in the courtyard experimenting with an antidote; he was certain the grass wasn’t there then.
Additionally, the patch of wild grass was oddly contained to a bowl-sized area, with none of the surrounding areas showing the same phenomenon.
Xiao Tian immediately went to examine it. After confirming it was just ordinary wild grass and not some kind of special treasure, he only felt more puzzled.
"Could it be that someone came here last night?" Xiang Yiting couldn’t help but ask.
Adison Claire replied with a somewhat uneasy expression, "Are you suggesting that Fujiwara Akita did this on purpose? But what’s the benefit for him in doing that?"
Before the words even settled, there was a sound of a gong from outside, followed by a shout: "Go to the village center, something major has happened!"
The three of them were startled simultaneously. Xiang Yiting and Adison Claire turned their eyes to Xiao Tian, adopting an attitude of taking his lead.
Xiao Tian himself couldn’t fathom the situation at hand. Just last night, he had decided they would leave today, yet this morning, inexplicably, the courtyard was filled with waist-high wild grass, and now there was talk of a major incident.
This string of events seemed suspicious, as if deliberately trying to prevent them from leaving.
As the sound of the gong became more urgent, Xiao Tian decided to set aside the strange grass for now and said, "Let’s go see what the big deal is and inform Fujiwara Daisuke that we’re leaving today."
Xiang Yiting nodded in agreement, and Adison Claire, after putting on a mask and sunglasses, followed them out.
Upon exiting, they saw scattered villagers running towards one direction, some of whom waved at them to hurry along.
Xiao Tian stepped forward first, following the crowd at a steady pace towards the village center. Soon, they saw from afar a large gathering of people forming a circle, as if observing something.
Leading the two closer, Xiao Tian peered through the gaps between people and surprisingly saw Fujiwara Akita at the center of the circle.
With disheveled hair, Fujiwara Akita knelt on the ground looking more battered than usual, with dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot eyes indicating a sleepless night. He mumbled to himself, "A ghost, a ghost, there’s a ghost in the house!"
The crowd appeared baffled, whispering among themselves and questioning others, only to receive headshakes and indications of ignorance in response.
Suddenly, Fujiwara Akita stood up abruptly, yelling, "A ghost, there’s really a ghost, everyone run! Or else you’ll all be doomed."
After shouting, he began to run wildly, like a headless fly, crashing into things, causing the surrounding crowd to have to step back.
At this point, Xiang Yiting and Adison Claire also saw the disheveled Fujiwara Akita. Watching his frenzied shouting and yelling, the two women exchanged looks, both becoming gravely serious.
Soon, another gong sounded, followed by someone calling out, "Lord Fujiwara is here, make way, everyone."
Following that, Fujiwara Daisuke appeared in the crowd’s sight, his face still impassive, as if nothing could affect him.
Fujiwara Daisuke’s presence gave the crowd a sense of stability, and they no longer appeared confused and disorderly but rather voluntarily made a path, revealing Fujiwara Akita.
Upon seeing Fujiwara Akita, Fujiwara Daisuke sternly chastised, "Fujiwara Akita, what nonsense are you up to again?!"
"Lord Fujiwara, there’s a ghost, I saw a ghost!"
Fujiwara Akita hurried forward, attempting to grasp Fujiwara Daisuke’s clothes but was restrained halfway by two people, his voice becoming tearful, "Lord Fujiwara, please save me, that female ghost won’t spare me!"
Seeing Fujiwara Akita struggling more frantically, almost slipping away from the two holding him, Fujiwara Daisuke gently tapped his forehead with the Star Staff, which calmed Fujiwara Akita significantly.
After being lightly tapped on the forehead by the Star Staff, Fujiwara Akita collapsed to the ground like a puddle of mud, his eyes vacant, still muttering about ghosts and running away.
"Does anyone know what happened to Fujiwara Akita?" Fujiwara Daisuke asked loudly.
The crowd began looking at each other, everyone shaking their heads, indicating they were unaware of what had happened.
A moment later, a young man was pushed forward. After bowing in front of Fujiwara Daisuke, he said, "Lord Fujiwara, I, I saw Fujiwara Akita last night."
Fujiwara Daisuke squinted his eyes, his voice slightly icy, "Oh?! Then why didn’t you speak up immediately?"
The young man felt immense pressure, and already feeling guilty, he knelt and pleaded, "Lord Fujiwara, forgive me, I went to a neighboring village to drink last night and was afraid to speak up."
"Tell us what you saw last night," Fujiwara Daisuke momentarily set aside his concerns, returning to the previous topic.
"Yes!"
The young man knelt and responded, "Last night when I returned, I saw Fujiwara Akita rush out of his house, shouting and stumbling. I didn’t think much of it then, but now look at him?"
"Out of his house?!"
Fujiwara Daisuke softly repeated, immediately thinking of the three outsiders, including Xiao Tian.
Though Fujiwara Akita didn’t follow his orders and returned privately after being compelled to move out, violating clan rules, this wasn’t the time to pursue such matters.
After all, no matter his faults, Fujiwara Akita was still part of the Fujiwara Clan, and as the current Clan Leader, Fujiwara Daisuke couldn’t ignore his clan members’ circumstances!
With this in mind, Fujiwara Daisuke glanced at the young man still kneeling and not daring to raise his head, then moved his gaze to an elderly man, softly saying, "Third Uncle, he’s your grandson, so let you handle his punishment."
The elderly man, addressed as Third Uncle by Fujiwara Daisuke, had a face flushed red and white, gritting his teeth, "Alright, I’ll strictly enforce clan rules to punish him and set an example for others!"
Fujiwara Daisuke nodded in satisfaction and then asked, "Where are those three guests now?"
