Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 315 The Strange Ran Jianfei

Ran Qing's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

The middle-aged woman's unusual reaction gave him a sense of foreboding.

Every time they met before, this middle-aged woman would greet him politely and considerately, always putting on a show of courtesy.

But this time, even though the middle-aged woman saw him, she no longer wanted to talk to him.

Even the faint, sorrowful sense of death emanating from the middle-aged woman, like a walking corpse, gives the impression that she doesn't care much about the daughter in her arms.

This unusual situation...

Ran Qing's expression changed slightly. She slowly stepped forward and asked, "Aunt Luo, isn't my dad with you...?"

Ran Qing's voice rang out, and the little girl in the tent, who was happily looking at picture books and listening to her mother tell stories, was startled.

The moment she looked up happily and saw Ran Qing outside, the little girl's eyes lit up, and she quickly broke free from her mother's embrace and stood up.

Wow! Brother Ran Qing!

The little girl happily tugged at her mother's hand and said, "Mom, it's Brother Ranqing! Brother Ranqing is here!"

Inside the tent, the middle-aged woman, held by her daughter's small hand, remained expressionless, like a walking corpse, showing no reaction whatsoever.

But the young girl had not yet noticed her mother's unusual behavior.

She happily said to Ran Qing, "Brother Ran Qing, are you also here waiting for Dad to come back?"

As she spoke, the little girl frowned and said, "...My mom and I have been waiting for so long, why hasn't my dad come back yet?"

The little girl was a little upset.

But Ran Qing froze upon hearing her words.

He glanced sharply at the mother and daughter inside the tent, then at the nearby chokepoint...

Ran Qing's throat suddenly felt dry: "Aunt Luo, did my dad leave on that minibus?"

The middle-aged woman inside the tent finally nodded.

But she remained seated and did not get up to greet the three young men.

Sitting calmly and blankly in the tent, the middle-aged woman looked at Ran Qing and said, "He left last night in that minibus, telling us to wait for him here."

At this point, the middle-aged woman paused, then added, "When he left, he said that if he hadn't returned by dawn, we shouldn't wait anymore and should go home ourselves."

"..."

"..."

The middle-aged woman's answer caused a sudden stillness in the air near the tent.

Ran Qing, Long Zongshu, and Mo Li all fell silent at the same time.

A sense of astonishment and confusion welled up in Ran Qing's heart.

He stared in astonishment at the middle-aged woman before him, at the bewildered daughter in her arms, and at the bizarre path leading to the execution ground...

What is Ran Jianfei doing?
Why bring your wife and daughter to such a dangerous place?
He even got on that minibus himself?!
Ran Qing asked in surprise, "Aunt Luo, what was he doing on that minibus?"

Ran Qing came to find this minibus to catch a ghost.

Why would Ran Jianfei, who was perfectly fine, bother to provoke this evil spirit?
Wasn't this guy wandering around Old Wang Mountain before, seemingly looking at feng shui?

This minibus on the dead-end road, it probably has nothing to do with feng shui, right?

Ran Qing found it hard to understand, so he could only ask the only middle-aged woman in front of him who might know the truth, his stepmother.

But the middle-aged woman named Luo Xuefang lowered her eyelids and said slowly, "...I never interfere with what he does."

"He makes all the decisions in this family."

"He wouldn't tell me about those dangerous things either."

At this point, Luo Xuefang paused and said, "Did you come here to take that minibus too?"

Looking at the young faces of Ran Qing and the other two, Luo Xuefang said to herself without waiting for their reply, "I'll wait another hour and a half. If he's not back by 11:30, I'll leave."

“If you come back alive, come to my house tomorrow, or I will come to you.” Luo Xuefang said this while looking directly into Ran Qing’s eyes.

Her swollen, bloodshot eyes were filled with a desolate, wooden expression.

Now, she is like a puppet whose soul has been hollowed out, her body completely empty.

She said, "Your father has a total of 187,000 yuan in his savings account."

"Because he didn't even have a body, it saved us the trouble of buying a coffin and land for burial."

"According to custom, you and Xiaoya will each receive half, and I will withdraw 93,500 yuan in cash."

"Of course, you'll also be shown the passbook, which contains all the deposit and withdrawal records."

"That house should have one of your rooms, you can move in, I don't mind."

The middle-aged woman said blankly to Ran Qing, "If you're willing, it's best if you wait with me until 11:30 and we leave together."

"Since your dad isn't coming back, you'd better not take that minibus."

The middle-aged woman was talking about serious business.

But these serious topics that adults talk about are obviously too boring for young girls.

The little girl, who had just been happily looking at picture books and listening to stories with her mother, had somehow fallen asleep in her mother's arms amidst the adults' conversation.

Luo Xuefang gently stroked her daughter's cheek and helped her comb her messy hair.

Only when she looked at her daughter did a trace of warmth finally appear in her red and bloodshot eyes.

The young people outside the tent fell silent.

Ran Qing had even forgotten how she left the tent.

He returned somewhat dazed to the crossroads of the road to beheading, to the place where he had nailed the soul banner.

The cool night wind blew against her face, but Ran Qing still felt a dazed and confused feeling.

I always feel like I'm living in a hazy, dreamlike state.

Why would Ran Jianfei, that guy, go and take a midnight minibus?
And they haven't come back yet...

Although Ran Qing harbored resentment and contempt for this nominal father.

They resented his failure to raise them and despised his selfishness.

But when Ran Qing actually heard the news of his death, she found that she felt no joy at all.

Instead, there was a strange... sadness.

Why would someone feel sadness when their father, whom they have almost no visual memories of, is dead?
Ran Qing was somewhat dazed.

Mo Li and Long Zongshu also hesitated, trying to guess.

"...Uncle Ran's behavior is truly unpredictable."

"Yeah, why would he come looking for this midnight minibus for no reason?"

"It was strange that he inexplicably appeared at Lao Wang Mountain last time, and this time it just so happens that we came to look for this minibus together... It's weird..."

"Could he also be looking for those ghost breeders?"

"That's not right. It's one thing if Old Wang Mountain is related to ghost breeders, but the midnight minibus has been haunted by evil spirits for decades. It has absolutely nothing to do with ghost breeders."

Ran Qing remained silent.

Long Zongshu and Mo Li then speculated back and forth.

But the two became more and more confused as they talked, not knowing what Ran Jianfei was really up to.

I have no idea what this guy is busy doing running around everywhere.

Now all I know is that this despicable, selfish man boarded that strange midnight minibus alone last night.

disappeared.

(End of this chapter)