Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Killer Bees, Man-eating Butterflies
Hearing Huo Qing’s question, Wu Xueyan thought back to seeing Qiao Siyuan that day. She was just as puzzled. ’It hasn’t been that long, so how did Qiao Siyuan get so thin he barely looks human anymore?’
His hand, when he held hers, had no strength at all. He was practically skin and bones, his eyes sunken and terrifyingly hollow.
"He was acting all strange that day, muttering something about being latched onto by something. He didn’t say anything else," Wu Xueyan said, looking at Huo Qing seriously.
Huo Qing nodded. "Alright. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Wu. If you hear anything more about Qiao Siyuan, I hope you’ll inform us immediately."
"Okay." Wu Xueyan stood up and walked out.
Lu Xingye sat in his chair, lost in thought for a long while. In the end, he pulled out his phone and sent a question to Wu Ming.
The message had barely been sent when a call came in from Wu Ming.
"Hello, Officer Xiao Lu. What can I do for you? Why isn’t Jiang Li the one calling me?"
Lu Xingye’s mouth twitched at being called "Officer Xiao Lu." He was only a year younger than her.
"Ahem, Master Wu, I wanted to ask about something..."
Lu Xingye carefully explained Qiao Siyuan’s situation to Wu Ming.
A sharp CLANG echoed from the other end of the line.
"Wu Ming! Are you trying to get yourself killed?! That’s my family heirloom! If you broke it, I’ll have your hide!"
"Master, I didn’t do it on purpose!"
Wu Ming muffled the phone and dodged Cao Kun’s Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. Only after running a safe distance away did she speak. "Lu Xingye, have you ever seen Jiang Li go to the beach?"
Lu Xingye thought for a moment. Every day with Jiang Li had been incredibly hectic. When would they have had time to go to the beach?
"No!"
Wu Ming swallowed hard. She looked up at the sky, closed her eyes, and thought, ’It’s over!’
"Ahem, maybe, it’s just... he has a guilty conscience. Yeah, think about it. He harmed so many children, so he’s haunted by his own demons. He can’t sleep well, so he’s looking for some spiritual comfort..."
Wu Ming continued, "Ahem, I have something else to do, so I can’t talk anymore. Gotta go."
Wu Ming quickly hung up the phone and patted her chest, filled with admiration.
’Jiang Li, you’re ruthless!’
’Everything on Qiao Siyuan was confiscated at the time, so where could she have hidden it?’
Wu Ming couldn’t figure it out for the life of her, and her head started to ache.
"Hiss!"
"What are you muttering about? Hurry up and pack!"
Wu Ming rubbed her aching head where she’d been hit and scurried after Cao Kun to help.
"Master, after we’re done with this job, where are we heading next?"
"This old master has observed the celestial signs. We head south!"
Wu Ming’s mouth twitched. "Just tell me what we’re taking to get there!"
"A tractor."
Wu Ming rolled her eyes, speechless. After finishing packing, she resigned herself to her fate and climbed onto the tractor with Cao Kun.
"Sir, is there a place around here called Zhaozi Village?"
"What village?"
"Zhaozi Village." Cao Kun raised his voice, figuring the old man must be hard of hearing.
"Zhao-what village?"
Cao Kun: "..."
"It’s nothing, sir. You can just drive," Wu Ming said, forcing a smile.
"You got it!"
"Son of a bitch, so you can hear just fine!"
Wu Ming quickly held her master back. "Master, calm down, calm down! Your disciple here is an influencer with millions of followers. If you dare become a stain on my reputation, I’ll disown you as my master!"
Cao Kun shot Wu Ming a vicious glare. "An influencer? Is being an influencer such a big deal?!"
"I get fifty thousand for a single sponsored post!"
Cao Kun immediately sat up straight. ’Okay, that is a big deal.’
「That night, in Zhaozi Village.」
Jiang Li lay beside Yu Shuzhen, smelling the faint floral scent coming from her. Her mind couldn’t help but drift back to the sea of flowers from her dream.
Jiang Li smiled and drifted into a deep sleep.
In the middle of the night, Yu Shuzhen stroked Jiang Li’s face, her heart filled with a whirlwind of emotions.
’Silly child, why did you come back? You never should have come back.’
Yu Shuzhen watched as Jiang Li nuzzled against her hand, and a smile touched her lips before she lay back down.
In her dream, perhaps because of the floral scent, Jiang Li once again found herself in that beautiful sea of flowers.
Only this time, the air wasn’t filled with the fragrance of flowers, but with the stench of blood.
A pleasant melody from a flute began to play, and a BUZZING sound rose from the flowerbeds.
Thumb-sized bees and twenty-centimeter-wide butterflies emerged from the sea of flowers and flew toward her.
Jiang Li’s breath caught at the beautiful scene before her.
She saw the bees and butterflies fly to a spot behind her. She turned around as well and saw the scene clearly.
Jiang Li stared in horror at the person tied up among the flowers.
"MMMPH! MMPH!" The man’s body struggled frantically, his face contorting in agony as bees stung his face and hands.
The butterflies fluttered nearby, waiting for something.
After an unknown amount of time, the struggling man gradually lost his strength. His blood-flushed face turned deathly pale. More and more bees covered his body, and within moments, he stopped breathing.
She took out something else and poured it over him, and a SIZZLING sound filled the air.
The butterflies waiting nearby flapped their wings excitedly, then swarmed forward, unable to wait any longer.
In a short while, the corroding corpse vanished completely.
Jiang Li stared in shock at the incredible scene. ’Such a brilliant method.’
She instinctively began to search for clues, but her subconscious resisted fiercely.
Amid this internal struggle, she startled awake.
She was panting heavily as she looked around the small room. Yu Shuzhen’s voice came from beside her.
"What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" Yu Shuzhen picked up a clean handkerchief from the side and gently wiped away the sweat that had beaded on Jiang Li’s brow from the shock.
Jiang Li looked at Yu Shuzhen’s worried face, nodded with tears in her eyes, and hugged her again.
"Yeah... Aunt Yu, I’m so glad I have you and Little Li."
Yu Shuzhen patted her on the back. "Don’t be afraid. Aunt Yu is here. No one will ever dare to bully you again. There, there. Go back to sleep."
Yu Shuzhen coaxed Jiang Li back to sleep as if she were a child.
When Liu Deceng woke up again, it was the middle of the night. His head was throbbing. He slapped his forehead, remembered Jiang Li in the main hall, and immediately pushed open his door to look.
There was no sign of Jiang Li. ’Looks like she ran off.’
As soon as it was light, Liu Deceng first went to Jiang Dewang’s house. As expected, he didn’t see Jiang Li. Only then did he turn and start banging on the Yu family’s door.
"Jiang Li, come out! You still haven’t told me how to solve the village’s problem!"
Liu Deceng pounded on the door so hard it thundered.
Yu Huannian locked Ning Rou’s door and hurried over to open his.
Liu Deceng snorted coldly. "Get Jiang Li out here. She stopped halfway through what she was saying yesterday!"
Jiang Li walked out from inside. "Xiao Nian, you can go back for now."
Jiang Li came out, closed the door behind her, and then faced Liu Deceng.
"Jiang Li, what exactly is this solution you mentioned?"
Liu Deceng narrowed his eyes at Jiang Li. ’This damn girl isn’t trying to play games with me, is she?’
"Village Chief, don’t be so anxious. When I was in school, I heard a teacher say that this kind of illness...
It usually happens when siblings, paternal cousins, maternal cousins, or even uncles and nieces... you know, get together. The children they have are born with defects and get all sorts of diseases."
"Nonsense!" Liu Deceng roared, but his eyes darted away guiltily.
Comments