The Tian Xiner suddenly stopped and pressed a finger to his lips. "Shh, don't talk."
He pointed forward with his left hand. "Look, what's that?"
Xu Dongsheng was a local, so of course he was familiar with the terrain in the mountains.
Looking around, there was an open space among the weeds. The terrain was relatively flat, and the surrounding shrubs were as tall as a person. When the wind blew, the branches and leaves would rustle, sounding like the cries of a woman. Among them, there were dozens of tombstones piled on top of each other. Looking at it under the moonlight, it inexplicably made people shudder.
Xu Dongsheng coughed and muttered in a low voice, "Ahem, how did we end up in the unmarked graveyard?"
He turned his head to the Tian Xiner. "Are you kidding me? This graveyard has been here since the Qing Dynasty. No one knows who is buried here. For so many years, the villagers have avoided this place. No one comes here during the day or at night. How did they end up here? Mi Xaing 'er, Mom, it's the middle of the night. You can't come here."
The Tian Xiner waved his hand confidently. "My little snake won't make a mistake. Listen."
There seemed to be a few weak sobs in the night wind. Hearing this in the dark graveyard, even Ni Dahai had goosebumps. He could not help but spit on the ground and muttered softly, "Heavenly spirit, earthly spirit, Taishang Laojun is here to show up. Bah, I'm full of Yang Qi, evil spirits, get out of the way!"
The Tian Xiner squinted at him. "You're such a coward. How can you call yourself a man?"
Ni Dahai straightened his shoulders. "If I had to fight with someone, I wouldn't be afraid at all. Do I have to stand in the unmarked graveyard all night? Hey, you don't say. I'm really scared."
Xu Dongsheng shook his head secretly. Although this person was also tall and strong, he couldn't be compared to Head Of Yun. Yun Laohu had been through bloody battles on the battlefield. How could she be afraid of this unmarked graveyard?
It seemed that there really was something he couldn't do.
Mi Xaing 'er did not say much. She grabbed Tian Xiner's arm and said, "I think I heard someone crying."
The Tian Xiner tilted his ear to listen, and the sound disappeared intermittently. "I heard it too, but the wind is strong in the forest, so I can't tell where it came from."
She squeezed Mi Xaing 'er's hand. "Don't worry. My little snake is still looking for you."
He pouted his lips and blew out a few short notes. The little green snake seemed to have received an urgent order. It quickly circled around the surrounding weeds a few times before rushing towards a grave mound. In a flash, it disappeared behind the grave mound without a trace.
The Tian Xiner made a sound of surprise and was about to walk over when Ni Dahai pulled her back. At this critical moment, he didn't fall behind. "You silly girl, stand aside. I'll go over and take a look first."
Although he also felt that his heart was thumping, he still strode over to the grave mound. He glanced at the weeds and trees from the corner of his eyes. He was extremely nervous. He didn't know if it was to guard against people or ghosts.
Although Xu Dongsheng was older, he was mature and prudent. "I'll follow and take a look."
He walked over slowly.
The Tian Xiner naturally followed. Mi Xaing 'er walked at the back and looked around vigilantly.
When they reached the grave, the little snake was nowhere to be seen. Ni Dahai cursed softly, "Where's the damn snake? Did a ghost really appear?"
He tilted his ear to listen carefully. There seemed to be a sound coming from the grave mound. He took a closer look and saw that the soil on the grave mound was new. It was obvious that someone had just built it.
He hurriedly turned around and asked Xu Dongsheng, "What … what's going on? Is there a newly-buried grave in the village?"
Xu Dongsheng shook his head. "No, why don't we dig it up and take a look?"
This was the so-called boldness in numbers.
If there was only one person, no one would dare to dig a grave in the middle of the night. Now that there were several people standing here, Xu Dongsheng felt a little more confident.
Ni Dahai didn't hesitate. He couldn't drop the ball at this critical moment. How could he back down in front of two young girls?
He looked around and saw that there was nothing to do. He simply spat on his hands and stretched out his long arms. "All of you, take a step back."
He was about to make a ruthless move.
He took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and kicked the grave mound with all his strength. Surprisingly, there was a "bang" sound. It wasn't a solid mound, but a wooden plank. Then, the topsoil scattered with a crackling sound, revealing half of the old coffin.
The coffin wasn't buried underground.
It was floating on the surface.
The few of them were stunned.
Ni Dahai's face was completely "going all out". He rubbed his hands hard on his lapels and rushed over to push open the coffin lid. He looked down and saw a woman curled up motionlessly inside. Her hands and feet were tied, her mouth was gagged, and her eyes were closed. From the looks of it, she was on the verge of death.
Xu Dongsheng looked down. "Oh my, it's Mi Xaing 'er's mother. Mi Xaing' er's mother, wake up!"
He bent down and stepped into the coffin with one foot. He slapped the Tang Xiling's cheeks hard and pulled the rag from her mouth in a flurry. Ni Dahai followed suit and stepped into the coffin to help untie the ropes. For a moment, the scene was a little chaotic.
Mi Xaing 'er vaguely heard movement behind her. She turned around and saw someone hiding in the dark bushes. When she looked closer, the shadow suddenly disappeared into the bushes.
She didn't have time to think carefully. She had a stone in her hand, right? She threw it with all her strength in that direction. She heard a muffled groan. So there was really someone there.
Mi Xaing 'er was "ruthless" again. She didn't care about anything else and chased after him alone. With the dim moonlight, she could vaguely make out a tall man. He was holding the back of his head with his hand and running quickly towards the foot of the mountain.
He looked down and saw spots of blood on the ground. There was also a pool of red on the stones. It seemed that the man's head was smashed.
Little Tian Xin shouted from behind, "Xiang, stop chasing. You can't catch up with him even if you chase. Let's take a look at Mi Xaing 'er's mother first."
Mi Xaing 'er turned around. Several people carried Tang Xiling out of the coffin and laid her flat on the ground.
She roughly checked her mother's limbs and body to make sure that there were no external injuries. She also checked her mother's pulse. Although she was weak, her pulse was stable. It seemed that Tang Xiling fainted because she was suffocating.
Mi Xaing 'er quickly unbuttoned her mother's collar and massaged her mother's chest and back a few times.
Tang Xiling took a deep breath, coughed twice, and slowly opened her eyes.
The moment she saw Mi Xaing 'er, her eyes reddened. She sat up and hugged her daughter. Tears fell down her cheeks. How could she not be emotional after experiencing a near-death experience?
She muttered repeatedly, "I thought I would never see you again. I thought I would never see you again."
Mi Xaing 'er patted her on the back. "Mom, don't say such things. I'll take you home."
Xu Dongsheng echoed, "Yes, let's go home quickly. Let your mom have a good rest. We'll talk about other things in detail when we have time."
Ni Dahai consciously squatted down. "I'll carry Auntie down the mountain."
That was the only way.
Mi Xaing 'er helped her mother onto Ni Dahai's back. Tian Xiner waved her hand to call back her little snake. The group hurried down the mountain and went straight to Mi Xaing' er's house.
As soon as they entered the house, Fu Bowen immediately came out to greet them. He was so excited that his nostrils flared. He circled around Ni Dahai's legs and jumped up high, wanting to see Tang Xiling's face. "Mom, is my mom okay?"
This child regarded Tang Xiling as his only family member. He always felt that if he lost this godmother, he would lose everything.
Mi Xaing 'er patted his head. "Lil Six, don't worry. Mom is fine."
Ni Dahai was stunned. "Don't say so much. Where are we going to carry her to?"
Fu Bowen hurriedly led the way. "I've already boiled the hot water in the upper room."
They went straight into the main room and put the Tang Xiling on the bed. Then, they poured hot water, washed her face, and wiped her body. They started to get busy.
Xu Dongsheng and Ni Dahai were men after all. It was not convenient for them to take care of her in the house. The two of them sat in the outer room and whispered about what happened tonight.
Tian Xiner was very considerate. She followed Mi Xaing 'er in and out of the house.
After finally tidying up the Tang Xiling, Mi Xaing 'er sat by her mother's bed. "Mom, how are you feeling?"
Tang Xiling leaned weakly against the headboard of the bed. She quickly glanced at Tian Xiner. There was a hint of wariness in her eyes. "I'm … I'm fine. This is …"
Mi Xaing 'er hurriedly introduced her. "Mom, this is Miss Tian. She helped us find you."
Tang Xiling nodded politely and distantly. "Thank you for your hard work."
Then, she stopped talking.
She was still wary of outsiders. When there were others around, she still pretended to be ignorant.
Tian Xiner was very smart. She saw through the Tang Xiling's intentions. She smiled and patted Mi Xaing 'er on the shoulder. "Everyone is tired. It's getting late. Find a place for me to rest."
Mi Xaing 'er did not say anything else. She held onto Tian Xiner and walked out of the bedroom.
The two men in the outer room immediately stood up. "How is it? Is everything okay?"
Mi Xaing 'er explained formally, "My mom is probably a little scared and needs to rest. Everything else is fine. Thank you for your help."
After thinking for a while, she turned to Xu Dongsheng. "Village Chief, did you see the man on the hill clearly?"
"No, it's too dark, and that person ran very fast." Xu Dongsheng scratched his forehead. "However, it's easy to investigate this matter. Didn't you hit the back of his head? Tomorrow morning, I'll summon all the villagers to the grain-sunning field. We'll know which family's man is injured at a glance. If that doesn't work, we'll call the police.
He pondered for a while. "I don't know what this man's purpose is. Why did he kidnap your mom and hide her in the coffin?"
Ni Dahai did not understand the Mi family's situation. He put his hands in his pockets and directly suggested, "This is easy. You can ask Auntie herself."
Xu Dongsheng glared at him. "You're smart. Mi Xaing 'er, there's something wrong with Mom's brain. Well, I'm afraid you won't be able to get anything out of her in a short time."
He paused for a while. "It's getting late. Anyway, I can't solve anything here. I'm going back."
Mi Xaing 'er could only see him out. "Uncle Xu, take care. Thank you for your help today."
Xu Dongsheng sighed, put his hands behind his back, and left the Mi family's house.
Mi Xaing 'er took care of two rooms. After tidying up, she ran into the kitchen and cooked two bowls of noodles. Tian Xiner and Ni Dahai came to help. She could not let them sleep on an empty stomach, right?
When the noodles were ready, the three of them sat in the courtyard and ate.
Tian Xiner asked for an empty bowl from Mi Xaing 'er. She took out a black pill from her pocket and threw it directly into the bowl. She lowered her head and bit the tip of her finger. She dripped a few drops of blood into the bowl, then poured half a bowl of water into it. She gently stirred it with her fingers. In an instant, a fragrant smell filled the air.
Only then did she let the little snake out. She muttered, "Good boy, it's time to eat."
The snake crawled into the bowl and swallowed the pill in one gulp.
Ni Dahai was interested. He moved the small stool under his butt closer to Tian Xiner. "Why are you feeding the snake with your own blood?"
“”
"Hey, let me ask you something. I see that you're quite amazing, so you must know a thing or two. I asked around, and many people said that the Miaojiang people know how to use voodoo, especially the love voodoo. As long as it's someone you like, the love voodoo will follow you for the rest of your life. Is this true?"
Mi Xaing 'er kicked him under the table.
Ni Dahai was unwilling. He directly waved the chopsticks in his hand. "Why did you kick me? I was just chatting. I didn't say anything taboo, did I? Comrade Xiao Tian didn't have the words' Don't ask me about the love Gu 'written on her forehead."
Tian Xiner didn't get angry. Instead, he answered seriously, "For this kind of thing, I can only say that you believe it. If you don't believe it, then it's irrelevant. To put it simply, I think that the fate of a person's love has long been determined on the Three-Life Stone. It's written clearly on the stone who will be your lover in this life. You can't change it even if you want to."
Ni Dahai quickly glanced at Mi Xaing 'er. There was some inexplicable emotion in his eyes. He paused and then asked Tian Xiner, "Hey, I see that you know how to read fortunes. Can you read my fortune for me?"
"No."
"What's wrong? I'm not short of money. How about this? I'll give you 20 catties of food stamps and five yuan. This price is not small."
Tian Xiner squinted at him. His eyes were bright and dark. "You want to ask about the fate of love, right?"
"Yes, yes. Men and women should get married when they grow up. I'm not young anymore." Ni Dahai rubbed his hands excitedly. He didn't look embarrassed at all. "Tell me about it."
Tian Xiner lowered his eyes. "Your feelings can only be summed up in four words: Love but can't get it."
He picked up the bowl of porridge. His meaning was obvious. He didn't want to talk about it anymore.
Ni Dahai lowered his head and muttered these four words over and over again. "Love but can't get it."
He secretly glanced at Mi Xaing 'er from the corner of his eye.
He didn't know what to feel in his heart.
Their conversation …
Mi Xaing 'er didn't listen at all. She was thinking about the Tang Xiling in the house. After politely sitting with them for a few minutes, she immediately stood up. "You guys eat first. When you're done, wait for me to clear the table. I'll go back to the house to see my mom."
Tian Xiner was very understanding. "Go ahead."
Mi Xaing 'er entered the house and looked at Tang Xilin, who was on the bed. "Mom, I'll make you a bowl of porridge too."
Tang Xiling shook her head slowly. "Come here. I want to talk to you."
Mi Xaing 'er knew that she was going to get to the point. He walked slowly to her side and held her hand. "Take your time. I'm listening."
Tang Xiling sighed. "Xiang 'er, it's a long story. Didn't you ask me once if I had any gold bars at home? Now I'm telling you that I do, and it's a huge sum. In the past, it's enough to feed an army for two years."
Mi Xaing 'er was stunned. Good lord, he's obviously a nouveau riche.
Tang Xiling pried open the kang mat and used her fingertips to pry open a loose brick underneath. She skillfully reached inside and a bright yellow gold bar appeared in her hand. "Xiang 'er, take a look for yourself."
Mi Xaing 'er weighed the gold bar in her hand. It was at least 300 grams. She was secretly speechless.
She lowered her head and looked at the bottom of the gold bar carefully. There were a few small words embedded at the bottom of the gold bar: Year 37 of the Republic of China, Chen.
It must be the year when the gold bar was made and the surname of the owner.
She didn't ask much and quietly waited for her mother to continue.
Tang Xiling lowered the corners of her eyes. "I used to have a friend. Well, he's a very good friend. He's …"
She seemed to be deliberating over her words. After thinking for a long time, she said, "Anyway, to make a long story short, at that time, his troops were withdrawing to the south. He temporarily left the gold bar at our house. After that, he didn't have the chance to retrieve it."
Mi Xaing 'er caught the crux of the problem. "How many people know about this batch of gold bars?"
Tang Xiling counted with her fingers. "As far as I know, there are no more than five. And they're all trustworthy family members. But there's no such thing as a wall that doesn't leak. I'm not sure if anyone would notice such a large sum of gold bars."
Mi Xaing 'er nodded. "Mom, you're saying this to me today because you suspect that someone is plotting against you because of this batch of gold bars, right?"
Tang Xiling smiled bitterly. "It's not a suspicion. It's the truth. After so many years, that person has secretly done a lot of things. To be honest, I was also framed by him when I was illegally here. I pretended to be crazy to avoid this matter. But now, I completely understand that no matter how much I try to keep the peace and no matter how much I try to hide, that person will definitely not give up. People die for wealth. This is the nature of greed."
She held her daughter's hand with an apologetic look in her eyes. "Xiang 'er, when I came back, I saw that you married Yun Jingting and lived a happy life. I was so happy. I secretly told myself not to bring up the past and just let it be. But now …"
She took a deep breath. "I've lived for so long and experienced so many things. Slowly, I learned that we can't run away from trouble. Since that person has already made a move, sooner or later, it will endanger our family and even your life and happiness. It's fine if it's just me, but I can't just watch others hurt you. I have to fight back!"
Tang Xiling gently caressed her daughter's face. "I'm not afraid of anything. The only thing I'm afraid of is that it will implicate you and your little family."
Mi Xaing 'er didn't wait for her to finish. "Mom, don't say anymore. If they don't offend me, I won't offend them. They're already bullying us. If we don't do anything, we'll lose our lives. What's there to hesitate about?"
She sat up straight. "Mom, tell me what clues you have. Let's analyze it together."
Tang Xiling said leisurely, "After the earthquake last night, I went back to my room and fell asleep. Now that I think about it, I was probably drugged by Xiang 'er. After that, two people came into the room. They thought that I was completely drugged, so they didn't take any precautions and whispered to each other."
"Who were those two people?"
"One was Li Bubai, and the other was Yu Hongyan."
Ah
Mi Xaing 'er was a little stunned.
How did the two of them end up together?
Tang Xiling continued, "I couldn't move at that time, so I could only pretend to be unconscious. But I heard clearly that Yu Hongyan urged Li Bubai to send me to the graveyard that night. She said that it was the safest place to hide people. She even said that she had already prepared everything. When the time comes, there will naturally be someone to receive me."
Someone to receive me?
Who?
Mi Xaing 'er couldn't help but ask, "Mom, I hit someone's head in the graveyard last night. Do you think it's …"
Before she could finish speaking, they suddenly heard someone knocking loudly on the door outside the courtyard. The mother and daughter immediately looked at each other.
Mi Xaing 'er quickly stood up. "I'll go and take a look."
She quickly walked out of the courtyard. Ni Dahai put down the bowl in his hand and stood up vigilantly.
Mi Xaing 'er opened the door and looked outside.
She saw Yun Jingting standing on the steps with a cane behind her. Second Sister Yun was behind her.
Mi Xaing 'er was surprised. She quickly went forward to support Yun Laohu's arm. "It's the middle of the night. Why are you here? Did the hospital allow you to come?"
Yun Jingting smiled nonchalantly. "I wasn't allowed to sneak out. No one can stop me from doing what I want to do."
Mi Xaing 'er glared at him. "What are you trying to do?"
Yun Jingting lowered his voice. "Xiang 'er, don't hide it from me. Something happened at home. How can I be at ease with you facing it alone?"
“”
He winked mischievously at Mi Xaing 'er. "Protecting your woman and saving the damsel in distress is what all men like to do."
----- Digression —
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