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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 7: Searching for Someone (Part Four)
"You're only giving half the story; what do you mean by that?" Qin Jian pressed on, this time letting Zhang Wang take the lead. He was close enough that he didn't have to worry about losing sight of them, so he could talk to me without dozing off!
"You wouldn't understand, so I won't waste my breath explaining it to someone who doesn't get it."
"Looking down on people?" Qin Jian huffed, clearly displeased, and stopped responding to me.
I smiled. "In that case, I won't assume you don't understand, and I won't delve too deeply into this topic. I'll simply tell you a story."
"I'm all ears."
"Not too long ago, back when my grandfather was around, there was a family consisting of a grandmother, a daughter-in-law, and a son, along with a child they were raising. The four of them lived quite well together. The grandmother was a formidable character; she couldn't stand the things her daughter-in-law did and didn't want to live with them. Stubbornly, she insisted on cooking for herself and lived downstairs from her son. One day, the grandmother fell seriously ill. As the daughter-in-law looked after her, she considered hiring a nurse but feared being ridiculed for being unfilial. So she sacrificed her job to care for her mother-in-law instead. However, the grandmother was difficult and made life hard for her daughter-in-law while forbidding her from complaining about it. The daughter-in-law felt stifled and wronged, wanting to cry but having to swallow her tears. Not long after, the grandmother's health improved, but the daughter-in-law collapsed and went to the hospital where she was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer. A perfectly healthy woman had become ill due to her mother-in-law's relentless torment. Before this, during annual health checks at work, she had never shown any issues. After just over a month of caring for the grandmother, everything went wrong. With nowhere to vent her grievances while lying in a hospital bed, she shed silent tears. She passed away six months after being diagnosed with cancer. Immediately afterward, the grandmother insisted that her son find another wife without a shred of compassion."
"Alas! How tragic! How could that grandmother be so heartless?"
"In short, the grandmother is not the daughter-in-law's real mother; she's someone trying to take her son away from her. There's an old saying: 'Once you have a daughter-in-law, you forget your own mother.' This phrase actually reflects the grandmother's complaints about her son and resentment towards the daughter-in-law that has persisted through generations."
Qin Jian sighed. "Why must there be rivalry between two people born on the same earth?"
"Exactly! Unless they live apart, you'll never stop worrying or arguing."
"You..." Qin Jian hesitated but didn't continue.
The car moved slowly forward; nothing particularly strange happened along the way.
We both struggled to make sense of the odd events from earlier.
We took the same route as before; how could our experiences differ so drastically?
"It can only be explained this way: what we saw were a group of nonexistent Yin Soldiers borrowing a path. These Yin Soldiers can be explained through scientific theories as natural phenomena; those who have died are like photographs preserved in nature. Under certain conditions—time, place, and people—a chemical reaction occurs, allowing us to witness everything that happens. Meanwhile, Zhang Wang saw a flock of sheep without anyone driving them away; one even died without leaving behind a body. This can also be explained in another way: we saw wandering souls while they witnessed death."
"Everything you say now seems very philosophical," Qin Jian teased with a smirk.
"Ha! Go ahead and mock me!"
"Not mocking you, just think it's a pity you've read so little." Qin Jian urgently turned the steering wheel to avoid a head-on collision with an oncoming car. This was the first time we encountered a vehicle coming from the opposite direction on the Seven Bends Road. I had to admit, Zhang Wang's driving skills were quite impressive.
In any case, the drivers of vehicles navigating this stretch of road clearly had some skill. From a high vantage point, this section appeared like a gray ribbon, elegantly winding around the mountainside, sometimes ascending and sometimes descending. The passing cars resembled tiny reptiles, struggling to crawl along the serpentine path stretching into the distance.
"It's strange that Chi Xinrong hasn't contacted you by phone. Is she really that at ease with you being out here?"
"What’s there to worry about? I thought it was you."
"What about me?"
"I heard from Rongrong that you're quite the heartbreaker, with women besides Mi."
Chi Xinrong really had a big mouth; such matters were best kept quiet. Sigh! It's tough to deal with women.
"Ma Qi, you wouldn't actually have feelings for that Han Lan who looks so much like Mi, would you?"
"You're blind; I haven't even spoken to her."
"Sorry for bringing up Mi right now..."
"It's nothing; I'm quite strong." I said this with bravado, but my nose felt sour and my eyes were stinging with heat. It was uncomfortable, and fearing Qin Jian would notice, I leaned my head against the car window to look outside.
The roadside plants and steep peaks flashed by, and occasionally I spotted a woman carrying a basket, her cheeks flushed as she hurried along.
Ahead was a rest area, and Zhang Wang's car headed straight for it—there must be something urgent going on.
Qin Jian and I quickly followed suit.
Indeed, there was something amiss. Zhang Wang's mother had woken up and upon seeing her daughter-in-law and grandson, her face twisted in horror as if she had seen a ghost, causing her to faint. Having just regained consciousness only to be frightened like this made Zhang Wang anxious; he feared his mother might die in the car or on the road—this was not a good omen. So he stopped at the rest area to ask me what was happening.
Even if Zhang Wang's mother went to the hospital now, it wouldn't resolve the root of her fears—what terrified her were those closest to her.
After applying the Calmness Mantra and a soothing talisman, Zhang Wang's mother seemed to calm down considerably. I suggested that Zhang Wang take his wife outside while leaving the child with Qin Jian.
This was Qin Jian's first time being around such a young child; it was all very new to him, yet he couldn't handle the child's mischievous provocations. Several times he glanced over at us for help, and I waved my hand indicating he should hang in there a bit longer.
I continued my conversation with Zhang Wang, asking him, "Are you Mongolian?"
Zhang Wang nodded and glanced at his wife. "Yes."
"Mongolians have a custom where if a child dies young, the body is left outside, and whoever finds it becomes the child's guide in the afterlife. Then the child will be reborn into their family, right?"
Zhang Wang looked surprised. "You really know everything; you even found out about this."
I felt pleased by Zhang Wang's words but also a bit embarrassed, scratching my nose. "It's not that I know everything; I've just spent some time with my grandfather and learned a bit about these matters." I shifted the topic directly to the main point. "Your deceased child was left outside by your mother. You didn't see who picked them up, but who were you with at the time? And where was your wife?"
I turned my gaze toward his wife as I asked.
His wife had a graceful demeanor, the kind of woman who exuded elegance and virtue. Her complexion was delicate, and as I stared at her, her face immediately flushed crimson. She quickly lowered her head and stammered, "I... I was sleeping."
Earlier, Zhang Wang had told me that Old Mother took the child outside to handle things while he stayed by his wife's side. Given her state, I felt it would be inappropriate to press further on this matter. Yet for some reason, I couldn't shake off my curiosity; I needed to get to the bottom of it.
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