Shocking Mountain Moon

Chapter 2 Returning Home
There are endless green hills and quiet valleys, and a deep pool sparkles in the sun, seemingly unfathomable.

The surface of the water suddenly opened up and a man emerged, scaring the little deer that were drinking water by the pond so much that they fled in all directions.

Ah Heng wiped her face, looked around, and was shocked when she saw the familiar scene, and she covered her face and cried.

She’s back. Her husband didn’t lie to her. She’s really back!
Without thinking too much, Ah Heng's first reaction was to go home. As soon as he got ashore, he heard a loud bang and a bolt of lightning struck the water. Then there was thunder and heavy rain, accompanied by lightning that cut through the sky.

Ah Heng started running towards home, with lightning and thunder chasing after her. Inexplicably, she had a thought: it seemed as if the lightning was meant to strike her.

Why? This is her home, where she should be!

A surge of anger rose up in his heart, slightly suppressing his excitement to return home, and Ah Heng walked faster.

In the rain and thunder, the girl was as fast as the wind, passing by on the mountain road. If anyone saw her, they would definitely suspect that she was a ghost.

The outline of a house finally appeared in front of him, and Ah Heng slowed down.

Her house is closest to the mountain pass, just in front.

Perhaps because of the sudden rain, no one was seen walking around in the village. This made Ah Heng, who was soaked all over, feel more at ease until he arrived at his doorstep.

Why... is there a white banner hanging at the door?

Ah Heng stared at the home she had longed to return to, feeling as if she were falling into an icy cave.

With a loud bang of thunder, the heaven and earth seemed to tremble, and lightning rushed towards them like a ferocious dragon.

Ah Heng was pulled back to his senses. He pushed the door open with trembling hands, and heard an anxious voice: "Madam, Madam——"

It was Fangzhou's voice, and the one Fangzhou called "wife" was mother!
Ah Heng stumbled into the house.

The crying girl who was holding the woman's arm heard the noise and looked towards the door. She was stunned at first, and then she rushed over with great surprise in her eyes: "Girl, you are back!"

Ah Heng seemed not to hear the girl's cries. He rushed to the bedside and held the woman's hand: "Mother——"

The woman with her eyes tightly closed trembled her eyelids, and she tried to open her eyes. She saw that the dead eyes of the person in front of her had a spirit: "Heng'er, Heng'er, you're back!"

Ah Heng nodded continuously, crying, "Mom, I'm back, what happened to you?"

The pale-faced woman smiled with difficulty: "Mom, I'm fine. I just miss you..."

Ah Heng felt heartbroken.

Mother is not fine at all, she is clearly at the end of her rope...

"Fangzhou, didn't you call a doctor for mom—"

Before Ah Heng finished speaking, the woman started coughing violently, almost unable to breathe, like a candle that could be extinguished at any time in the wind.

"Mom——" Ah Heng shouted in horror while patting the woman's back.

The woman grabbed her hand tightly and asked breathlessly, "Heng'er, where have you been? Are you hurt? Why did you take so long to come home?"

"How long...have I been away from home?" Ah Heng asked, enduring the pounding of her heart.

"The girl has been missing for ten days!" It was Fangzhou who interrupted.

"Ten days?" Ah Heng's face turned pale and he muttered to himself.

She was pushed into a deep pool by her best friend and stayed there for ten years in the shattered Daxia thirty years later.

Her one year was just one day for her mother and her friends... But why did her mother become seriously ill in just ten days? And why was the white banner at the door hung?

The chill penetrated into her bones, and a guess was about to come out, but Ah Heng didn't dare to ask it out loud, for fear of irritating her critically ill mother: "Mom, you should rest first, I'll go get a doctor for you--"

"Don't call a doctor, don't call a doctor!" In her excitement, the woman suddenly sat up, her expression horrified.

"Okay, okay, I won't call a doctor." Ah Heng comforted the woman softly, with many doubts in his heart.

Why did my mother react so strongly to calling a doctor?
At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Boom, boom, boom - the thunder stopped at some point, and the sound of knocking on the door was clearly audible.

Ah Heng glanced at Fang Zhou.

Fangzhou ran out and opened the door, and was stunned: "Who are you?"

There were two people holding umbrellas standing outside the door, a man and a woman, both wearing silk clothes. The woman asked with a smile, "Excuse me, is this Mr. Chen's family in Chenqiao?"

Chenqiao is the name of Ah Heng's father.

Fangzhou became alert: "Who are you?"

"We are from the capital, and we have something to ask Mr. Chen."

"My master has passed away, please go back——"

Fangzhou was about to close the door when he heard a sound behind him, the crisp sound of a coarse porcelain bowl falling to the ground.

Ah Heng walked out quickly, ignoring Fangzhou's worried look, stared at the woman and asked, "Are you from the capital?"

The moment the woman saw Ah Heng, her pupils suddenly dilated: "Similar, so similar!"

The man who looked like a manager was much calmer than the woman. He looked at the girl with a scrutinizing gaze and nodded. She really looked like the deceased third wife, but why didn't she change her clothes even though she was soaked?
"Ahem." The man coughed and reminded the excited woman, "You'd better ask first."

The woman came back to her senses and stared at Ah Heng: "Miss, do you remember your childhood?"

Ah Heng frowned: "You two should just tell me your purpose. My family is in trouble, and I don't have the energy to speculate."

The woman regained her composure and opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

You can't just tell a little girl that we suspect you are our lost child for many years, so we came to your house.

You still need to talk to the adults in this family.

The woman was thinking when Chen's mother's voice came from the room: "Heng'er, Heng'er——"

Ah Heng quickly turned around and went into the house.

Mother Chen half leaned against the folded quilt, and seemed to be more energetic: "Heng'er, who is that person outside?"

"A man and a woman who claim to be from the capital. Mother, don't worry about these things, just take good care of them."

Mother Chen's expression suddenly changed: "Why would someone from the capital come to our house? Your father...are they here for your father? Heng'er, leave quickly, leave quickly!"

Seeing her mother was frightened, Ah Heng said hurriedly, "Don't be afraid, they are probably not coming for Dad. When the aunt saw her daughter, she said she looked like her and asked me if I remembered anything about my childhood..."

Mother Chen listened blankly, then suddenly she was startled and shouted to the outside of the door: "Fangzhou, please let the guests in!"

After hearing what Chen's mother said, Fangzhou led the two of them in.

The woman was startled when she saw the haggard Chen's mother. She bowed and explained her purpose: "You are the wife of the Chen family, right? We are from the Qiu family in Beijing. Ten years ago, my sixth daughter went missing while visiting the lantern festival with her husband... Last month, a relative passed by here to visit his nephew who was recuperating in the Taoist temple. He met your daughter and found that she looked very similar to my third wife. After returning to Beijing, he sent a letter to my family. The master of the family ordered the steward and the servant to come and confirm..."

Ah Heng was stunned.

Although ten years have passed for her, perhaps the blood-soaked Great Xia was too bitter, and the good memories of the past are deeply rooted in her bones.

Last month when she went to see Brother Bai, she did meet a woman with an extraordinary demeanor who kept staring at her.

"Cough, cough, cough." Mother Chen kept coughing, but her eyes were surprisingly bright. "You mean, my Heng'er is your lost girl, but... do you remember what your girl was wearing when she went missing?"

"My girl was only five years old when she went missing. She was wearing a red jacket and red skirt with colorful butterflies embroidered on the cuffs and hem of her skirt... Oh, there was also a sachet with the word 'Heng' embroidered on one corner. That's my girl's name..." The woman said as she looked at Ah Heng.

Not only do they look alike, but their names are both Heng'er. Such a coincidence is impossible.

With red eyes, Chen's mother ordered Fangzhou: "Go to the west room and get the box at the bottom of the cupboard."

Soon Fangzhou came over with a wooden box and opened it at the signal of Chen's mother.

The jacket, skirt and purse stacked inside were dirty and old, but they were exactly as the woman had described.

"Girl, it's really you!" The woman cried and held Ah Heng's hand, "Girl, do you still remember me? I was your wet nurse..."

Ah Heng remained silent, and Chen's mother spoke softly about the past: "Ten years ago, I met Heng'er on a mountain road in Dingzhou with her father. At that time, she was silent, not crying or making a fuss, and seemed to be terribly frightened. Not far away, there was a male corpse with a bloody head. He must have been hit by a falling rock..."

The woman and the steward looked at each other.

Dingzhou is adjacent to the capital, and it seems that something happened as soon as the kidnapper and the Sixth Girl left the capital.

"We brought Heng'er home. Since there was a word 'Heng' on the scent bag she carried with her, we guessed it was her name, so we gave her that name."

"Madam Chen, I would like to thank you on behalf of my master. We are here to take the Sixth Miss back home. Madam Chen, please feel free to ask for anything you want."

Mother Chen curled her lips unconsciously: "As long as Heng'er has someone to love her, I will be satisfied."

"mother--"

Mother Chen held Ah Heng's hand, but looked at the woman: "I want to say a few personal words to Ah Heng."

The woman and the steward retreated to the main room.

Mother Chen looked at Ah Heng deeply and said, "Heng'er, go change your wet clothes. I have something to tell you."

Ah Heng silently changed her clothes, wrapped her wet hair with a floral cloth, and returned to Chen's mother.

"Heng'er." Mother Chen raised her hand and touched her daughter's cold cheek, her eyes full of love. "Your father had an accident a few days ago, and mother... mother is also dying. Fortunately, my Heng'er is blessed, and there are still relatives... wait - wait, just go with them, go to the capital and live a good life... my Heng'er should live the life she was supposed to live..."

Ah Heng burst into tears and kept shaking her head: "I won't leave you..."

"Silly child, mother is going to look for your father... Listen to me, you have an older sister, your biological daughter, who was about the same age as you when she disappeared... Originally, mother wanted to take this secret to the underworld, but she didn't expect Heng'er's relatives to find her... Mother greedily thought, maybe your sister is still alive, maybe Heng'er can meet your sister..."

"Mom, I will find my sister."

"Mother doesn't want you to make such a promise, but I'm afraid that you two sisters will not recognize each other when you really meet. Heng'er, you must promise mother that you will not deliberately look for your sister. That's like looking for a needle in a haystack—" Mother Chen squeezed Heng's hand vigorously, "Promise mother!"

Seeing her mother's face flushed and her breathing quickened, Ah Heng hurriedly said, "I promise you!"

Mother Chen smiled. She could no longer see her daughter's face clearly, but suddenly thought of something and held Ah Heng's hand a little tighter: "Heng'er...your father had an accident on the way to the city to get a doctor for your mother...no...it wasn't because he was looking for you..."

The voice filled with love and reluctance gradually faded away: "Heng'er, don't blame yourself..."

He held his daughter's hand tightly and then suddenly let go.

(End of this chapter)