The Brides of High Hill

I read a review of The Brides of High Hill in late March. I loved all of the earlier volumes, so I pre-ordered this one. This time Cleric Chih of Singing Hills Abbey has joined the merchant Master Pham and his wife as they and their retinue are taking their lovely daughter, Pham Nhung, to an old estate dating from the defunct Ku Dynasty so the girl can marry the current owner. Lord Guo is strong but he must be 60 if he's a day. His son, Zhihao, would be more suitable for Nhung, if he weren't said to be insane. Sane or not, why did Zhihao suggest that Nhung ask his father how mant wives he's had, and tell Chich that they're not in Shu? Are we dealing with a Bluebeard? Nhung herself is nervous and keeps asking Chih to check out buildings for her. After all, there's an old legend about the estate of Dio Cao and monsters. The more things that happen during the first two days and nights, the more worried Chih becomes for Nhung's fate. If only Almost Brilliant, her neixin (memory spirit in the form of a talking hoopoe bird), were with her to explain things! For example is Zhihao insane or merely suffering from a lockjaw curse that prevents him from telling the truth about what's going on? What's with those creepy shadows, anyway? I got just as spooked as Cleric Chih as I kept reading. I didn't see the climax coming at all, but once I thought about the earlier chapters, I realized that there were plenty of clues I had missed. I think this is the best volume yet! I'd love to see this story adapted into 2-d animation.