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墨書 Inktalez
The news brought by Liu Ling'er shocked us all. Just yesterday, Liu Shaoming was fine, wielding his cane against Mu Xuanche, and now he was dead?
Who would believe such a thing? Was he going to take revenge on the people of Hong Village?
What on earth had gone wrong that led to his sudden death?
“How did your grandfather die?” I asked Liu Ling'er.
She sobbed, “Grandfather committed suicide.”
Suicide?
Wasn't Liu Shaoming determined to protect Hong Village? How could he suddenly take his own life?
Mu Xuanche suddenly spoke up, “Take us to see him.”
Liu Ling'er was taken aback by Mu Xuanche's question, unable to respond for a moment.
Seeing the atmosphere grow tense, I stepped in to ease the awkwardness. “Ling'er, my husband wants you to take us to see the old man.”
I thought my tone was quite reasonable, but Ling'er looked at me as if I were her enemy.
Her jealousy was truly frightening. I hadn’t done anything to provoke her; she was just staring at someone else's husband with such intensity.
Not wanting to flatter her any further, I turned back to Mu Xuanche and wrapped my arm around his, thinking, who’s afraid of whom?
I even deliberately shot her a provocative glance; she wouldn’t know her place unless I showed her.
On this side, Mu Xuanche showed no interest in her at all, which only made her stomp her feet in frustration.
The girl seemed to have no regard for her grandfather's recent passing, still focused on vying for a man. I didn't know what to make of her.
It was fine if she didn't move; the village chief was aware of her family and led us there.
I was surprised to find that the Liu Family's house was in such disrepair, just two wooden rooms without even a brick in sight.
When we entered Liu Shaoming's room, the only thing left in the center was a coffin. This coffin must have been the most valuable item within the Liu Family's reach.
Bai Qiling walked over, preparing to lift the coffin lid.
Liu Ling'er dashed forward, colliding with Bai Qiling and pushing her away.
She guarded the coffin, glaring at us with anger. "What do you want? My grandfather is dead, and you still won't leave him alone?"
She was almost hysterical. Bai Qiling had no choice but to call upon Mu Xuanche for help.
Mu Xuanche approached, gently placing his hand on the coffin lid. With a slight push, the nails at each corner of the coffin slowly popped up and floated in the air before falling to the ground.
Liu Ling'er was stunned by this scene, forgetting to resist Mu Xuanche as he opened the coffin lid.
As soon as it was opened, I rushed forward to see if it really was Liu Shaoming inside.
An old, wrinkled face lay peacefully in the coffin, with seven bloody wounds on his body, each pierced by a wooden stake.
"That old man is truly ruthless."
Bai Qiling silently gasped at the sight.
I noticed it too; seven Peach Wood Nails sealed the corpse. Liu Shaoming was indeed ruthless towards himself.
With seven Peach Wood Nails in his body, he had driven himself to the brink of despair. Why would he do this to himself?
I truly couldn't understand. I could only seek help from Mu Xuanche. "Do you know why?"
"He doesn't want to tell you about Liu Qingfeng."
After hearing Mu Xuanche's explanation and recalling Liu Shaoming's behavior last night, it struck me that he had been particularly happy ever since he learned that Liu Qingfeng had been hiding in our village for over a decade.
Then he asked us to go back first, leaving himself behind. He must have already planned to take his own life at that moment, and asking us to leave was merely a delaying tactic.
My heart ached for this old man; seeing his corpse suddenly reminded me of my grandfather.
He had also passed away with such determination years ago, protecting my life in the process.
Liu Shaoming dedicated his entire life to Hong Village, only to end up with a tragic fate.
Out of sympathy for Liu Shaoming, my attitude towards Liu Ling'er improved significantly.
She was quite pitiful too, having lost her only companion in her grandfather. I took her hand to comfort her.
"Once someone dies, they cannot come back. Please accept my condolences. Can we help you bury your grandfather?"
She cried until her eyes were red, unable to speak, only able to nod in response.
It was not easy for a frail woman to bury such a large coffin. Since we happened to be here, I decided to lend her a hand.
In the end, everyone worked together to choose a spot with good feng shui and buried Liu Shaoming's coffin there.
Because the village was too remote and isolated from the outside world for so long, the people here hardly had the habit of cremation.
I performed a ritual for Liu Shaoming at his grave. Whether it was effective or not, I didn't know; I only knew that by doing this, I could feel a bit safer.
After the ritual was complete, Mu Xuanche helped me stand up. My limbs felt numb from sitting cross-legged for so long.
The moment I got up, I collapsed into Mu Xuanche's arms.
I could feel the jealous gazes directed at me from nearby. But thinking of the person lying in the coffin, I had no desire to argue with them.
Liu Shaoming was gone, and we had no way to break the curse on this village. The three of us decided it was best to head to Xuanzong to prevent more disciples from suffering persecution.
That afternoon, just as we reached the village entrance, we heard rapid footsteps behind us.
I turned around and saw Liu Ling'er.
She had been running hard, and when she stopped in front of us, she bent over, supporting her legs while gasping for breath.
I crossed my arms and watched her, unsure of what she intended to do. Did she not realize that leaving the village would mean her death?
"Wait for me, I want to go with you."
Liu Ling'er suddenly said this. Just as I was about to retort, Bai Qiling beside me chimed in with a smirk.
"Sorry, but we don't like having others follow us."
To my surprise, Liu Ling'er completely ignored Bai Qiling, perhaps because she found Bai Qiling's appearance utterly unimpressive.
Liu Ling'er gazed deeply into Mu Xuanche's eyes, her large, watery eyes fixed on him without a hint of movement.
Unfortunately, while she had feelings, Mu Xuanche remained indifferent, not even glancing her way.
I couldn't help but chuckle coldly; she was too straightforward at such a young age and clearly had no idea how to conceal her feelings for a man.
"Ling'er, we have things to do. It's not convenient to take you along. You should go back. Besides, your grandfather said that people from the Liu family can't leave the village. It's too dangerous for you to go out."
She pouted and glared at me. "I can go out! My grandfather cast a spell for me so I can leave. He told me to find Uncle Liu, and I need to stick with you all to do that."
Looking at Liu Ling'er, who seemed so self-righteous, I didn't know what to say. Did we owe her something?
Why did she insist on coming with us? Her grandfather might risk his life for her, but we had no familial ties to her—why should we let her tag along?
The three of us chose to ignore her and continued walking ahead.
To my surprise, Liu Ling'er followed us like a shadow, oblivious to our disinterest; with every step we took, she took one right after us.
We took the bus, and she did too.
Bai Qiling originally intended to shake her off, but was stopped by Mu Xuanche.
He assigned Bai Qiling a task: to take Liu Ling'er away.
In the end, it turned into Liu Ling'er being forcibly taken by Bai Qiling, while I went to Xuanzong with Mu Xuanche.
This arrangement left both Bai Qiling and Liu Ling'er furious. Bai Qiling couldn't defy Mu Xuanche and couldn't stand Liu Ling'er, so she ultimately had no choice but to scare Liu Ling'er unconscious and take her away.
Sitting on the bus heading to Xuanzong, I asked Mu Xuanche why he did this. His implication was that they were accepting Liu Ling'er.
If there was no intention of keeping Liu Ling'er, they could simply ignore her, and she would naturally fall behind and disappear.
"Keep her; she might become a useful card for us."
That was Mu Xuanche's answer.
I sat in the vehicle, repeatedly contemplating the meaning of his words.
A useful card? It felt like Mu Xuanche was playing a game of strategy with the bigger picture in mind, as if there were still useful cards to play.
After much speculation, the only conclusion I could draw was that Mu Xuanche planned to use Liu Ling'er to counter Liu Qingfeng. The only connection she had with us was indeed Liu Qingfeng.
However, what puzzled me was how clever Liu Shaoming was. He should have been able to guess that if Liu Ling'er followed us, she would inevitably become our bargaining chip. Why then did he send Liu Ling'er into such a perilous situation?
I shared my guess with Mu Xuanche, and he told me that Liu Shaoming had no choice in the matter.
Liu Shaoming was willing to self-destruct to conceal the truth, but after his self-destruction, his granddaughter would be left without protection.
He was determined to take a gamble, to see if we would have the heart to push Liu Ling'er out.
It was truly pitiful for Liu Ling'er, having grown up in the mountains, unaware of the world. She couldn't understand the game her grandfather was playing and was destined to become a pawn.
As I lost myself in thought, time passed particularly quickly.
Before I knew it, we had arrived at the territory of the Xuan Sect. Suddenly, I felt a sense of unease within me.
I wondered if I would encounter Mingyue up there.
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