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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 7: It's Not Easy Being a Mother
"That's just how my mom is. She's kind-hearted and doesn't want to be looked down upon, even if my dad treats her poorly. She always thinks the best of him in front of others, not realizing that my education is funded by her hard work," Zhu Gang said.
"What do you mean?"
"I'll put it this way: my mom is half of our family, a pillar of support. Honestly, without my dad, my mom could live a better life."
"Where does your dad's favorite woman come from?"
"I don't know. But once, my mom saw my dad on a video call with a woman. When she asked who she was, my dad exploded in anger and cursed at her, saying she should have died earlier." Zhu Gang's eyes reddened again at the memory, his nose slowly turning pink.
I felt a pang of discomfort as well.
It reminded me of the Woman Who Hanged Herself.
Similar fates but with different outcomes. After all, Zhu Gang was filial; despite his father's shortcomings, he still fulfilled his duties as a son, kneeling and burning paper offerings for him.
"Has your mom's illness been diagnosed?"
"Yeah, it was checked at City Second Hospital. My dad brought back the report."
"Have you thought about getting a second opinion? What if they made a mistake?"
"Not really. My mom has come to terms with it. She feels that her life has been like this; when she was young, she was always busy and never had a moment to spare. Unfortunately, my dad is suspicious and often hits or scolds her, doubting that she has someone else and even stalking her. Now that I've grown up, we thought we could endure the hard times together, but then she got sick."
"Hmm, I can't shake the feeling that there might be a misdiagnosis regarding your mom's illness." This was my intuition. After calculating Zhu Gui's birth date and then asking Su Aizhen for her birth date to analyze it further, I concluded that her life shouldn't end so soon; she should live until at least eighty-two and wouldn't succumb to a terminal illness this early.
"Really?"
"Really." I affirmed and then asked Zhu Gang, "Did you take time off to come back?"
"Well, please invite four."
"Not enough, invite a few more. Take your mother to City Hospital to find Chi Xinrong; she will arrange for a re-examination. Trust me." I handed him a business card with Chi Xinrong's name on it.
Zhu Gang took it with both hands, looking grateful as he said, "Thank you. Thank you."
"No need to thank me. I hope it's just a misdiagnosis and that your mother recovers soon."
"Okay, thank you."
I glanced at Zhu Gang and asked about his father, "Where did your dad like to go the most? Tell me now."
"The Forbidden Area. My dad liked going there. He would get a big net to catch birds and then sell them at the market."
I see. I wondered if Zhu Gui's death was related to this so-called Forbidden Area. Just as I was planning to go check it out with Zhu Gang, someone in the inner courtyard screamed. We both rushed in and saw someone retreating in terror.
"What happened?"
"That chicken... it's moving..."
Zhu Gang and I squeezed through the frightened crowd and entered the mourning hall, where we saw a flailing chicken on the ground. Its head was tilted at an odd angle, half-open eyes staring blankly as if mocking everyone. Not a feather was left on it; it had been cooked, and there were bits of Joss Paper ash scattered all over it. If this chicken could move, it would truly be encountering a ghost.
I set the flailing chicken upright again, stretching my neck to look at the curious onlookers and those too scared to approach, trembling in fear.
"What are you afraid of? The living shouldn't fear shadows. If you haven't done anything wrong, there's no need to fear ghosts causing trouble."
One middle-aged woman peeling potatoes looked panic-stricken as she said, "Master Ma, my child really saw that chicken's head moving; its eyes were half-closed as if it were dozing off."
"Hans's Aunt, your child must have seen it wrong. That chicken is dead; how could it possibly blink?"
I didn't fully believe what others said, but I was somewhat skeptical. I had to consider the possibility that one of the chickens in their backyard had once spoken human language.
"Everyone, stop arguing and don't be afraid. After a person dies, they don't even realize they're dead. Perhaps he's out there flirting with girls, completely unaware that he's passed on and has even set up a mourning hall. So you all can relax a bit and just carry on with your business."
With a shout, I managed to get the villagers to stop staring at each other. Some of them started to work, while others hesitated and found excuses to leave. I turned to Zhu Gang and said, "This situation with your father is a bit tricky. Why don't we disband the group and just leave a few trusted relatives to take turns watching over the mourning hall?"
"Alright," Zhu Gang quickly arranged for the group to be disbanded and informed everyone that he would need their help again on the second day of the eighth month. As they left, he handed out red envelopes, and those who helped accepted them eagerly, promising to come back on time before departing.
Only a few trusted relatives remained in the house.
On one hand, I arranged for two people to take Su Aizhen and Zhu Gang to the City Hospital for a follow-up check. On the other hand, I assigned someone to guard the mourning hall, ensuring that my phone would be turned on by eight o'clock.
Once Fatty had finished his tasks, I asked him to come with me.
"Where are we going?"
"To find two beautiful women to hang out with." I packed a few things and casually poured the bowl of chicken blood into a plastic bag before stuffing it into Fatty's backpack. We walked out one after the other.
Hearing about beautiful women made Fatty beam with excitement. "Is this for real? Did you stumble upon some good fortune? Otherwise, why would we have such benefits out of nowhere?"
"Go if you want; if not, then forget it."
Fatty hurriedly followed me, chuckling, "Of course we're going! Who are we kidding? We share blessings and burdens together."
If this kid were my disciple, I'd definitely turn around and slap him until he was searching for his teeth on the ground. I stayed silent as I pondered Zhu Gang's forbidden area.
Zhu Gang's forbidden area lay in the northwest.
Among the four directions—east, south, west, and north—the north was particularly heavy with Yin Qi. Plus, since the Ghost Festival wasn't over yet, Fatty couldn't just go there casually. However, I couldn't explain this reason to him; he was always so bold unless his grandfather took him along on an assignment.
Since my grandfather passed away, I rarely took him along when I accepted jobs.
"Let's go."
The fat one glanced at me, understanding my words without hesitation, and quickly ran ahead. As he passed by me, I casually stuck a talisman on his back and swaggered toward the forbidden area.
After walking for a while, he realized something was off. How did we end up in this remote location instead of looking for the beautiful woman? Moreover, there were no residents around; only low shrubs surrounded us. Among the bushes, half-buried was a stone tablet with two large black characters: Forbidden Area.
Is this really the Forbidden Area? Looking around, wild Mugwort Trees grew everywhere, blocking out the sun. No wonder Zhu Gang's father wanted to come here to birdwatch; as soon as we stepped in, the chirping of birds sounded like a singing competition.
The fat one loved to play. He picked up a clump of mud from the ground and threw it at the chirping birds, startling them. After a flurry of flapping wings and loud noises, countless birds took to the sky.
I noticed a tattered piece of fabric on one of the Mugwort Trees, faintly revealing the fur of a Sparrow.
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