False evidence

Chapter 224 Only Three People I Hate (Part 2)

After Tong Jiawen married Jiang Baohan, she initially had a very good life.

However, Jiang Baohan later discovered by chance that Tong Jiawen had secretly hidden some jewelry.

In addition, he made a tremendous discovery.

Among the items Tong Jiawen hid was a cast iron fan!

Jiang Baohan has a family tradition of building tombs, and he has a keen eye for them. He recognized it at a glance as the legendary Yin-Yang Fan!

(Why the Yin-Yang Fan ended up in Tong Jiawen's hands was something she didn't explain at this point, and I still didn't ask.)
Jiang Baohan did not know any other uses of the Yin-Yang Fan, but he did know a great secret about it: every sixty years, the Yin-Yang Fan could grant the holder of the fan one wish!
The jewelry and fans, naturally, were taken for himself.

Afterwards, his life with Tong Jiawen seemed to continue as before, but Tong Jiawen had a premonition in her heart—this man was kind on the outside but evil on the inside, and if anything happened in the future, he would definitely not treat her well.

Sure enough, a few years later, the situation changed. Jiang Baohan knew that someone would likely report him based on the rumors that his Jiang family had been 'grave robbers', and he seemed to know that the next year for making a wish on the Yin-Yang Fan was still far off, so he hid the jewelry and silver dollars that he had always kept as his savings, as well as the Yin-Yang Fan, in a place that no one knew about.

Then, he actually tattooed the location where he hid the items onto Tong Jiawen's back!
At this point, I finally couldn't help but interrupt Tong Jiawen: "What's the point of him doing this? Does he have any children?"

It's normal for me to ask this question, because when Tong Jiawen mentioned this, I had already thought of the origin of the human skin map.

I have found the jewelry that originally belonged to Tong Jiawen.

That means the map has never been discovered or used.

Why would Jiang Baohan draw a map of things he'd hidden himself? Was it to prevent himself from getting dementia?

Even if there were sufficient reasons to draw the map, why did they have to tattoo it on Tong Jiawen's body?
Tong Jiawen was silent for a moment, then replied, "Can I not answer?"

Although I was puzzled, I nodded and said, "Please continue."

Tong Jiawen lowered her eyes and said, "He's a smart man, and he's right. Later, he really was reported. When he heard the news, the first thing he did was... peel the skin off my back."

I felt a chill run down my spine as I listened, but I never imagined that the situation would be a hundred times more terrifying than I had imagined.

Tong Jiawen said that on the day of the incident, after dinner, she felt dizzy and fainted not long after.

Then Jiang Baohan carried her to the bed, took off her clothes, and while peeling them off with a knife, he grinned maliciously.
"I'm going to jail... I'll make sure you can never be intimate with another man again..."

(At this point, Tong Jiawen indirectly explained one reason for the origin of the human map. Whether Jiang Baohan actually robbed tombs is unknown, but his mentality was definitely twisted. In order to prevent his beautiful wife from having an affair with another man, he actually stripped his wife naked...)
Even more frightening, Tong Jiawen said, was in a semi-conscious state at the time.

It means—I can't wake up, but I can hear sounds and feel the pain of being stripped!
Later, Jiang Baohan went to jail and then disappeared without a trace.

After being skinned alive, Tong Jiawen was physically and mentally traumatized and couldn't even straighten her back. Knowing that her days were numbered, she gave Cao Furui a black umbrella, the only thing that Jiang Baohan didn't want and which rightfully belonged to her.

Tong Jiawen's story has come to an end here, but it has left me with so many questions.

Tong Jiawen is a smart woman. Although she was immersed in painful memories, she still said to me in a hoarse voice:
"Ask whatever you want. If I don't want to answer, I won't say anything, so please don't keep asking."

"You're the one who delivered the umbrella to Cao Furui? You're that old woman..."

Tong Jiawen nodded: "As I said, Cao Furui is not an ordinary tailor shop; this umbrella is not an ordinary umbrella either. In any case, not long after, I died of illness, and my soul went to Cao Furui and ended up in this umbrella."

"No!" I waved my hand. "You're lying to me. Cao Furui, the manager at the time, drew a portrait of you. Although I haven't seen it in person, they said you were wearing jewelry when you went there. You're saying that Jiang Baohan took your jewelry long ago? Isn't that a contradiction?"

Tong Jiawen laughed: "I wasn't wearing any jewelry, really not. But the shape of jewelry that a person has worn since before marriage has already changed with the person. I can only say that Manager Cao has an extraordinary eye."

"This explanation is really far-fetched."

Tong Jiawen shook her head. "I wasn't lying."

I shook my head vigorously: "I have another question. When Jiang Baohan was peeling... hurting you, she must have drugged you. Since you could hear and feel, how come you couldn't wake up?"

Tong Jiawen countered, "The land of black sweetness and its recipe, are they already in someone else's possession? Also, I said Fang Ling has had something of mine since she was little, do you know what it is? Right?"

Despite my doubts, I didn't want to deceive this poor woman, so I nodded immediately.

Tong Jiawen looked at me and shook her head: "You're definitely not Lü Xin. He wouldn't pity anyone."

Tong Jiawen continued, "The Black Sweet Land and its recipe both belong to Jiang Baohan. He used Black Sweet Land on me back then. He thought he had taken everything from me, but he didn't know that I still had a ring made of Netherworld Insect Amber."

He was peeling my skin off in bed, and the ring was hidden under the floor tiles. The amber insect could resist sleeping potions, including those from the Land of Darkness. But the amber wasn't with me. Too far away. So, I could hear and feel, but I couldn't wake up.

Before Jiang Baohan was arrested, he was only concerned with hiding his jewelry and money, but forgot about the drug, Hei Tian. Perhaps, well, he didn't forget it; he knew that leaving the drug and formula behind would only harm people.

I kept the "Hometown of Black Sweets" (a type of dessert), along with the recipe and my amber ring, in the house. Later, it must have been Dad... Fang Cheng who discovered these three things and gave the ring to Fang Ling.

When I heard her last sentence, my mind went blank.

'dad'?
I kept watching her expression, and it was definitely not feigned; she naturally called out "Dad" when talking about Uncle Cheng.

Could it be that her consciousness has truly merged with Fang Ling's at this moment?
At this moment, Tong Jiawen got up and came to me, looking at me quietly and said:
“I’ve said everything I needed to say. Right now, I haven’t settled my worldly grudges, and I don’t want to enter the cycle of reincarnation yet. There’s also Fang Ling; we get along well, and I’m willing to help her. And Lü Xin, Lü Xin… Once I’ve finished what I need to do and Fang Ling is alright, I’ll leave. Is that alright?”

(End of this chapter)