Chapter 217: Chapter 217: Shame

Translator: 549690339

“You can see for yourselves,”

The villagers, upon hearing this, all leaned in to take a look.

Indeed, within the water bowl, a chopstick stood upright, identical to when Qi He claimed that there was a Water Ghost in the lake.

“That’s not all.”

Zhuang Qingning took out another two chopsticks and stood them in the water bowl together: “When water is present, the chopsticks will stick together. Three chopsticks are more stable.”

“Observe, this is just like two extremely smooth stones which stick together when a drop of water is added.”

Upon seeing the three stable standing chopsticks, the villagers’ faces were filled with sudden realization.

Some folks began to search the ground for smooth sticks or small branches and went to the lakeside to give it a try.

When someone managed to steadily stand a twig as thin as a chopstick on a stone near the riverbank, he excitedly shouted, “Come and see, it’s really true! What the girl said wasn’t false, this can indeed be done by anyone, Qi He is a liar!”

“It’s simply a most basic illusion, or you were just scared of the Water Ghost and hence thought this trick was real.”

“Finally, let’s talk about fetching water with a bamboo basket.”

Zhuang Qingning took the bamboo basket handed over by Shi Bao and showed it to the villagers: “As you can see, this is a perfectly ordinary bamboo basket.”

While speaking, Zhuang Qingning received a bucket of water from Shi Bao and poured it into the bamboo basket.

The bamboo basket, because of the gaps, could not hold the water, causing it to splatter onto the ground.

“Obviously, this bamboo basket cannot hold water, but if we do this…” Zhuang Qingning fumbled around inside the basket with her hands, grabbed another bucket of water and slowly poured it into the same bamboo basket.

This time, however, the water remained entirely inside the basket and did not scatter everywhere like it did before.

“The water did not spill out like it initially did, but not because I possess supernatural powers or magic, it’s because I have this…”

Zhuang Qingning showed everyone what she had in her hand.

The villagers all leaned in for a closer look, but could only see a sticky, transparent thing and did not know what it was.

“This thing is very common. It’s frog eggs. Take the eggs of a frog, remove the black dots, leave the transparent mucus, coat it inside the bamboo basket, then this basket can carry water.”

Zhuang Qingning explained, “At this time, frog eggs are very easy to find, and the steps are simple. As the frog egg has no color, it naturally can trick people easily.”

“Be it fetching copper coins from boiling oil, standing chopsticks in a bowl, or carrying water with a bamboo basket, these are all simple illusions. Because they are different from what we see every day, you mistake them for supernatural powers. But they are not.”

“Even the method of calling fish, gathering rats, and ghosts knocking on the door are nonsense. It’s just using things that fish and rats love as bait to attract them. And the horrifying ghost knocking on the door is nothing more than blood of eel smeared on the door. Bats smelling the blood will come and hit the door, creating noises. When you open the door, you can’t see the bats, so you think it’s a ghost knocking.”

“In fact, these things all have causes. You just didn’t understand and became fearful, then you imagined that it was ghosts causing the troubles. Moreover, when more and more people spread the ghost stories, they became more scary. But in reality, they are all just human imagination.”

After watching Zhuang Qingning’s demonstrations and listening to her explanations, all villagers were amazed.

Firstly, they were amazed that those things that seemed very magical turned out to be so simple upon closer explanation.

Secondly, they were amazed that Zhuang Qingning seemed to be very knowledgeable about these things, as she knew the underlying reasons for all of them.

Although Zhuang Qingning covered her face with a light veil, judging by her physique and voice, she must be a young woman.

Such a young woman knowing so many things must be very impressive!

But all these amazement aside, what’s more important is that the Water Ghost is fake and that Qi Shen and Qi He are big liars. From now on, they have nothing to fear at all.

They can do farming, set up stalls, and they can even fetch water and fish in the lake to make some extra earnings.

When the villagers thought about this, their hearts were filled with joy. They couldn’t help discussing what work they would begin with after returning home.

However, some people had not forgotten who had resolved this matter.

“Thank you, Master, it’s all thanks to you for dealing with those two villains, and patiently explaining everything. Only then did we understand…”

Someone knelt on the ground, thanking Ding Gaochang continuously: “From now on, we can finally live peacefully. We want to thank Master Ding, and thank Mr. Qingtian.”

“What are you all dawdling for? Hurry up and thank Mr. Qingtian. If it was not for Master Ding, we would still be foolishly giving money to those two!”

“Thankyou, Master Ding…”

The villagers all knelt down, their words of gratitude echoed all over.

Upon seeing this, Ding Gaochang quickly asked the bailiffs and constables to help everyone up: “Everyone, there’s no need to thank me. It’s my duty to punish evil, catch villains, and work for the welfare of the common people. I really can’t accept your gratitude.”

“In the future, you all just peacefully live your lives, then my mind and the County Magistrate’s will be at ease. If any of you want to say something, you might as well pay a visit to Daya and speak with her.”

Upon hearing these words, the villagers felt utterly ashamed.

Daya was almost drowned in the lake by the villain, Qi Shen, merely because she refused to accept his obscene proposal. As villagers in the same community, as people who are closely related, they should have protected and helped her, preventing her from being bullied. But what were they doing now…

They didn’t say a word, instead, they were relieved when someone could appease the Water Ghost and prevent it from causing troubles. When Daya cried and refused due to this incident, they even thought she was a little unreasonable and didn’t know the overall situation.

What kind of people are they? They truly are a disgrace.

Someone’s face turned the color of a pig liver as they abruptly stood up and walked silently into the village.

“Dongzi, where are you going?” someone called out.

“What else could I do? Of course, I am going to apologize to Daya. Yesterday, at Daya’s door, the person who said the harshest things was me.”

“When you put it that way, I should also go apologize to Daya. Yesterday, I also spoke badly of her…my mouth… why can’t I just keep it shut?”

“It’s not just your mouths, it’s your hearts! You only cared about your own lives and not Daya’s. Isn’t this selfishness? I truly am ashamed.”