Chapter 560: Chapter 560 The Old Apricot Tree in the Village_1
Li Qing spoke a few harsh words with a smile, and turned to leave.
There was not the slightest hint of hesitation or any further explanation.
Qin Wenjun clearly believed him.
That was enough!
Li Qing’s purpose in doing this was simply to scare her, he hadn’t really thought about actually doing anything.
That old woman wouldn’t be able to strut around this time.
Returning home in a good mood, Han Mei had already cooked the meal.
Lately, Han Mei had been in charge of the meals at home.
With Wu Xingxing around as a shield, no village gossip circulated.
At any rate, nothing had reached Li Qing’s ears.
Han Mei seemed to feel quite at ease herself, with no sign of restless anxiety.
Now, the only thing left was for Han Mei to pack up her things and move in.
Li Qing certainly noticed this, and was pleased at heart.
As long as he persevered, it was just a matter of time before Han Mei moved in.
After dinner, Li Qing asked Han Mei to stay, "Sister-in-law, stay and keep Xingxing company tonight, I’ll be back in a bit."
"If you’re coming back tonight, why would you need me to keep Xingxing company?" Han Mei retorted.
"Before, when you were gone all night, you never asked me to stay with Xingxing. Why the sudden change today?"
Her instincts told her that Li Qing surely wasn’t harboring any good intentions; he was definitely devising some plan for her to share a bed with Wu Xingxing and to sleep with him, and she wasn’t going to fall for that trick.
Having one around was fine, but three was just too awkward.
"Because I have to come back later tonight, the door can’t be locked," Li Qing said.
He really hadn’t thought about anything else.
Before, although he was gone all night, with Wu Xingxing locking all the doors inside and out, there was no need to worry.
But tonight, he’d still have to get her to open the door late at night, and although the girl was pretty brave, it wasn’t by much.
"Where are you going today?" Han Mei asked.
"Not far, just to our village," Li Qing thought about it and didn’t hide it.
He had to meet the old apricot tree by the riverbank tonight.
According to Dian Chunqiu, the longer that thing lived, the more lethal it became, and it could even grow legs and run.
Li Qing certainly did not want to see another villager hanging from the southeast branch of that old apricot tree.
"Just our village? The village... also has...?!"
At Li Qing’s word, Han Mei’s hair stood on end, and her gaze darted around uneasily.
"I can’t be sure yet, so I need to go take a look," Li Qing said.
This kind of thing left Han Mei both nervous and curious, "Qingzi, where exactly? Tell me about it."
Li Qing carefully recalled Section Nine’s confidentiality regulations and it seemed it wasn’t stated that he couldn’t talk about this.
So he said, "Sister-in-law, I can tell you, but you absolutely must not spread the word."
Although it wasn’t written in the confidentiality regulations, Li Qing believed that widespread knowledge of such matters would definitely not be good, so he reminded Han Mei very seriously.
Han Mei, full of curiosity, stared at Li Qing and nodded intensely, "I... I shouldn’t have asked, but I’m really curious, where in the village could there be that kind of thing?"
"By the riverbank," Li Qing said, "There’s something not quite right about the riverbank below our hamlet."
"There’s a very old apricot tree there, sister-in-law, you should know it, right? That thing, that’s probably it."
Han Mei exclaimed, "I know, I know, I heard that several people have hanged themselves on that tree."
"But, how can a tree be something invisible and intangible?"
Mentioning ghosts directly in the dead of night made Han Mei’s back feel a little chilly.
"It’s not one kind of thing, to be precise, it’s almost becoming a spirit," Li Qing explained faintly.
"Almost becoming a spirit? Do such things really exist in the world?" Han Mei asked in surprise.
"I can’t explain it at the moment, but this world is far more... complicated than we think," Li Qing said as he scratched his head, "Some things that are merely rumors do indeed exist."
"Sister-in-law, when I have time, I’ll explain it to you slowly."
Listening intently and curiously, Han Mei nodded repeatedly and then, somewhat worried, asked, "Isn’t it dangerous for you to go there?"
"If I don’t encounter something extraordinarily vicious, generally there won’t be any problems. But if I come across one of those big fellows that have been hidden for hundreds, or even thousands of years, then, sister-in-law, you might have to become a widow again," Li Qing said with a half-joking laugh.
Annoyed, Han Mei instantly shot back, "What are you talking about, Spit, spit, spit!"
"It’s okay, it’s okay, I was just joking, sister-in-law." Li Qing smiled and said, "I’m leaving, there won’t be any problems."
After telling Han Mei to lock the door, Li Qing walked barehanded down to the river beach.
The river beach was actually not far from home, and the road from the house to the entrance of the village passed right over top of it, a route almost taken daily.
In the dead silence of the night, the village was almost completely invisible, shrouded in pitch darkness.
Furthermore, it seemed the sky was overcast, devoid of even a sliver of moonlight; the darkness around was so dense it felt like a thick wall.
This silent, soundless darkness, especially in the depths of this densely wooded gully, was unnervingly spooky.
Li Qing, flashlight in hand, headed towards the Apricot Tree following the direction from his memory.
Although his courage was now greatly bolstered by experience, he couldn’t help the chills down his spine, suspecting spirits around every corner and feeling as if countless pairs of eyes were watching him from the darkness.
This made Li Qing feel extremely uncomfortable.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination or if there really was something around him.
But the more he walked, the more intense the feeling of being watched became.
"Halt!"
Suddenly, Li Qing issued a thunderous shout.
His loud voice travelled far across the river beach, the echo resonating from a great distance.
"All of you, behave yourselves, or else, be careful I’ll call down thunder to blast your souls to pieces!" Li Qing shouted sternly.
Perhaps it really was psychological.
After his threatening shout, the feeling lightened considerably.
It even seemed that the thickness of the surrounding darkness had weakened quite a bit.
Only a few dozen steps away, Li Qing saw the old Apricot Tree, now barren and without any leaves.
However, the moment he laid eyes on it, Li Qing suddenly froze.
A faint glow of light was shining on the bare trunk of the Apricot Tree, and in the pitch-black night, it seemed to become the sole existence.
On the low trunk, a slender figure was hanging there, gently swaying with the breeze.
Li Qing quietly swallowed saliva.
During these past few days with Dian Chunqiu always around, he had no such extra sensations.
But now, alone, facing this scene before him, his eyelids twitched uncontrollably, and cold sweat emerged from the soles of his feet.
In the dead of night, this was truly frightening.
Hissss... something was wrong.
It seemed like there was no wind at all today!
