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墨書 Inktalez
Li Zhisheng chewed on his food, muttering to himself, "It really proves that old saying: evil begets evil, and good begets good..."
"That's true, but she's not a completely irredeemable person. This retribution does seem a bit excessive for her..."
Meng Zhuang, hearing my words, comforted me, "Shen, I know you're blaming yourself right now, but her death is not your fault."
I looked at Meng Zhuang with some confusion and replied, "I'm not feeling guilty; I just think her punishment was too harsh. You should eat too; we need to catch the bus soon." With that, the four of us quickly finished our breakfast.
Afterward, we boarded the train heading to Guiyang. I spent most of the journey sleeping. Once we arrived, we transferred to a car and reached Luodian. By then, it was already past eight in the evening. After grabbing a bite to eat, we found a hotel to stay in, preparing for the final leg of our journey the next day.
The next morning, as the Bright Golden Rooster crowed three times, we checked out of the hotel. Standing at the entrance, I asked Meng Zhuang, "What’s our next step?"
He glanced at his watch. "In about an hour, there will be a bus heading towards the village. But once we get there, we'll still have to walk for about an hour..."
"We have to walk that far? Can't we rent a car and drive there?" Hu Fang said with a very reluctant expression.
After hearing this, I repeated my question to Meng Zhuang: "So, can we rent a car?"
Meng Zhuang scratched his head. "That might not work. Most of the roads are mountainous. Even riding a motorcycle would be quite difficult. A few years back, someone in the village bought a motorcycle but crashed it on the way back before they could even use it..."
"Then we'll just take the bus and walk," I said while patting Hu Fang on the shoulder. "You heard him; we have no choice but to walk. Just accept it..."
However, Li Zhisheng had no complaints. I figured he was just eager to meet that fortune teller.
On the bus, since I had slept so much yesterday, I felt completely energized and wide awake. In contrast, Meng Zhuang had barely started driving before he began to doze off.
Along the way, the four of us didn't talk much. I sat by the window, gazing outside, thinking, "What a delightful scenery! It would be so nice to be here on vacation. I must come back if I get the chance." Lost in my thoughts, Hu Fang nudged me and said, "Shen Xu, do you remember Aunt Wang from your village?"
I smiled and replied, "After all these years, it wouldn't be surprising if she doesn't remember me..."
She looked a bit disappointed, pouting like a child. "Well, no matter what, I remember her. If she doesn't recognize me when we get there, I'll just show her this bottle of osmanthus oil!"
I comforted her, saying, "It's possible she might still remember. Don't be too down about it; we'll find out when we get there..."
We chatted back and forth like this until Meng Zhuang in the back seat stood up and patted me on the shoulder. "Alright, it's time to get off..."
I looked around at the surrounding mountains and asked, "Is this it?"
Meng Zhuang confirmed, "Yes, that's it. We need to cross over that mountain." He pointed to a hill in the distance.
Just then, the car came to a stop. We gathered our Luggage and got out, following Meng Zhuang up the mountain path.
After an hour and a half of walking, we finally caught sight of the village not far ahead. This village was completely different from what we had seen before; it wasn't too large but was lush and green, with many houses covered in climbing plants.
Looking down the road, I noticed several villagers busy in the fields, creating a vibrant scene full of life.
I pointed ahead and asked, "Is this where we're going?" At that moment, Li Zhisheng caught up with us and praised, "What a paradise!"
Meng Zhuang beamed with pride. "That's right! Isn't it beautiful?"
Hu Fang, panting heavily, chimed in, "It is beautiful, but it's so hard to walk! You all should look back; I've hurt myself and you didn't even care! Is there any humanity left?"
Upon hearing this, I quickly turned around and saw a patch of deep red blood seeping from the hem of Hu Fang's left pant leg.
Seeing this, I hurried over and bent down to check. "What happened? Why didn't you say anything about your injury?!" I gently rolled up her pant leg and noticed that her ankle had been scraped by something, leaving a small but bleeding wound.
"I didn't want to hold everyone up," she replied. "The path is so difficult to navigate, and if it gets dark, it would be even more troublesome... Hey, Shen Xu, what are you doing?!"
Before she could finish, I scooped her up onto my back without hesitation. "Stop talking and hold on tight so you don't fall off. We need to get to the village and treat your wound. If it gets infected out here, it won't be a joke."
As I passed by Li Zhisheng, I asked, "By the way, Li Zhisheng, did you bring any disinfectant?"
He nodded. "I did. Every time we go out, you're always covered in injuries. This time, I was smart enough to prepare."
"Great, let's hurry to the village then. Da Zhuang, lead the way..." As I spoke, Meng Zhuang quickened his pace to head ahead of us while I followed closely behind with Hu Fang on my back. However, for some reason, ever since she got on my back, Hu Fang had fallen silent, and I could feel her breathing becoming a bit rapid.
This made me even more worried; I feared she might have contracted some kind of infection. I urged Meng Zhuang on while also quickening my own pace.
We ran for a while and soon entered the village. Meng Zhuang led us to his home, which was empty at the moment. We asked him to get some water so we could treat Hu Fang's wound.
Li Zhisheng pulled out a first aid kit from his bag. After cleaning and disinfecting the wound, he bandaged it up simply and gave Hu Fang some anti-inflammatory medicine before declaring it done.
After finishing up, I looked at Hu Fang again; her face was flushed and she sat quietly with her head down. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell anywhere else?!" I asked anxiously as I reached out to touch her forehead.
"It's a bit hot," she replied. "Li Zhisheng, do you have any fever medicine?!"
Li Zhisheng looked at me in surprise as he responded, "I don't think she's running a fever; it might just be..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Hu Fang slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Shut up! You talk too much!" She then turned back to me and said, "I'm feeling much better now; thank you! Let's go find Aunt Wang!" With that, Hu Fang suddenly stood up, looking somewhat excited.
"Alright, let's head over now..."
With that, we left Meng Zhuang's house and made our way to a small building at the edge of the village. The house appeared to have only two or three rooms, and in front of it was a yard filled with various flowers and plants. Not far from the house, there was a pond, its blue water reflecting dazzling light under the sun.
"Meng Zhuang called out at the door, "Wang Po, are you home? Wang Po~"
"Oh my, I thought it was someone else! It's Zhuangzhuang back!" an elderly woman with a frail frame responded as she walked out.
She approached Meng Zhuang unsteadily, pursing her lips as she said, "Zhuangzhuang, you didn't come back last year. I thought you were living outside and wouldn't return. I've missed you so much!" She stepped forward to hug Meng Zhuang, who also opened her arms to embrace the old woman.
I wondered how close Wang Po and Meng Zhuang were. I hadn't heard anything about their familial relationship.
"Who are these people?" the old woman asked, pointing at me, Hu Fang, and Li Zhisheng, who were standing nearby.
Meng Zhuang quickly gestured for introductions. "This is Shen, my boss at work who treats me very well. The other two are Shen's friends. However, you might have met this lady before," she said, pointing to Hu Fang.
Hu Fang anxiously widened her eyes and pointed to herself. "Wang Po, do you remember me?"
The old woman smacked her lips and leaned closer to Hu Fang for a better look. After pondering for a long moment, she replied, "Dear girl, I'm getting old and my memory isn't what it used to be. Please don't hold it against me; who exactly are you?"
Hu Fang had been eagerly anticipating a heartfelt reunion but was disappointed to find that the old woman didn't remember her. Though somewhat disheartened, she didn't give up. She pulled out a bottle of Ghost Oil from her bag and held it up in front of the old woman. "This is what you gave me years ago; do you remember?"
Upon seeing the Ghost Oil, the old woman paused for a moment before clearing her throat twice. "This item... I've given it to many people. If you have it too, it means we've crossed paths before. Now that we can meet again, it's even more fateful! Since that's the case, let's not stand outside talking; come in... come in..."
With that, the old woman turned and walked into the house, and we four followed her inside.
As soon as I entered the house, I noticed that although it appeared small from the outside, there was a back hall inside that seemed to accommodate five or six rooms, resembling a traditional courtyard. The interior environment was quite elegant, giving off the vibe of a recluse living deep in the mountains.
The Old Woman led us to the courtyard and, sitting on a stone bench, got straight to the point: "Zhuangzhuang, it's neither a holiday nor a festival, and you suddenly bring so many friends to see me. It can't just be to visit, right?"
Meng Zhuang scratched his head and chuckled, "You’re still as sharp as ever; nothing escapes your notice."
The Old Woman waved her hand and frowned slightly. "Enough with the flattery. Just get to the point."
Seeing that the Old Woman was somewhat displeased, I worried she might not want to help us later, so I quickly smoothed things over. "Wang Po, it’s not like that. Actually, Da Zhuang has been talking about you ever since he started working at the company. He always asks me to give him time off to come see you. It's just that there’s too much going on at work; he couldn’t manage it. The main reason he came back this time is to see you. Please don’t be angry."
"I'm not as calculating as you think," she replied. "It's not because Zhuangzhuang said something wrong that I'm unhappy; it's because..." She slowly extended her arm and pointed at Li Zhisheng. "This person has Soul Burial on him, and that's the real reason you came to find me, isn't it?!"
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