Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 435, 434: Old Lady Panting for Her Son
Evil spirits? A ritual?
Feng Xiuhu became more and more confused as he listened—so Lin Zhengying was involved in this?

Just as Feng Xiuhu was about to press for more information, he suddenly heard a voice calling from behind him.

"Big Brother, is that you? Big Brother, why are you only just getting back!"

Looking back, he saw an elderly woman across the street gazing in his direction, waving at Feng Xiuhu as she hobbled towards him.

The crowd on the street had not yet dispersed, and the old woman was inevitably bumped into as she walked by. However, she was unaware of this and was accidentally bumped into by a running person, about to fall.

Fortunately, Fang Youliu acted quickly and rushed forward to help the old lady steady.

The old woman didn't even say thank you, and pushed Fang Youliu aside to continue walking towards Feng Xiuhu.

Her tone was urgent yet reproachful: "My dear son, where have you been these past few days? Your mother has been so worried..."

Fang Youliu noticed something, looked at Feng Xiuhu, and pointed to his eyes.

Feng Xiuhu looked closely and then discovered the problem—the old woman's eyes were covered with a layer of white film.

No wonder she mistook someone for someone else.

Taking advantage of Feng Xiuhu's distraction, the man inside slammed the window shut.

Feng Xiuhu was so angry that he was about to smash his window, but the old woman behind him stumbled over and grabbed Feng Xiuhu's wrist.

She said urgently, "Hurry, it's almost time, let's go home with Mother."

Shunzi was about to step forward to explain, but Feng Xiuhu raised his hand to refuse.

Fang Youliu saw through Feng Xiuhu's intentions and whispered to Shunzi, "Let's hide here first and see how things go before we talk about anything else."

Feng Xiuhu helped the old woman, half-pushing and half-reluctantly following her across the street and into an earthen house.

The house was dark and without light, with only two rooms, one inside and one outside.

Feng Xiuhu glanced at it quickly and frowned – not because he disliked the dilapidated and simple interior, but because the furnishings were illogical and aroused his suspicion.

The room was empty, without even a bed. There was only a stool with a missing leg lying on the floor, and the stove was covered with a layer of ash, indicating that it hadn't been used for a long time.

Fang Youliu parked the carriage outside and came in with Shunzi.

Hearing the extra footsteps, the old woman instinctively turned around, only to see two blurry silhouettes.

She asked nervously, "Who's here?"

Feng Xiuhu spoke up to explain, "My friend."

The old woman paused for a moment, then didn't say anything more, only patting Feng Xiuhu's hand: "My friend is alright...it's good that you're alright."

She pulled Feng Xiuhu along and continued walking into the inner room.

Upon entering, the first thing Feng Xiuhu saw was the wooden plank in the middle of the floor—a single piece made of many wooden strips nailed together, haphazard and messy.

The old woman walked over shakily, slowly bent over, supported herself on her knee with one hand, and used the other hand to lift the wooden board.

Seeing that she was struggling, Feng Xiuhu quickly stepped forward to help.

As the wooden planks were lifted, a row of rammed earth steps was revealed.

The stairs led all the way down into the ground, but there was no light below; Feng Xiuhu could only see pitch blackness.

The old woman pulled Feng Xiuhu down the stairs, muttering to herself, "Eldest brother, go down first. We'll be home soon. Mother will close the door."

Feng Xiuhu said, "My friends are still behind us. They need to be on guard. You'd better lead the way."

The old woman nodded repeatedly: "Listen to Dalang... Follow your mother, and your mother will take Dalang home."

Feng Xiuhu felt the old woman grip his hand even tighter.

As Shunzi covered the staircase with the wooden board, the area was plunged into complete darkness, so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face.

But the old woman didn't stop walking—she was walking entirely based on her memory.

A snap.

Feng Xiuhu lit the lighter, and as the light appeared, he was finally able to see his surroundings clearly.

The stairs weren't long; you soon stepped onto solid ground after going down a short distance.

This place resembled a cellar. Feng Xiuhu finally understood why there was no furniture in the rooms above ground—because everything usable was piled up here.

Straw mats, tables and chairs, clothes, and so on—it seemed as if this cramped cellar was the place where people lived daily.

The old woman released Feng Xiuhu and walked towards the table in the middle.

Feng Xiuhu watched quietly, wanting to see what she planned to do.

The old woman took out a flint from her pocket, struck it for a while, and finally lit the oil lamp on the table.

Only a thin layer of grease remained in the oil lamp, and the surface was covered with a layer of ash, indicating that it had not been lit for a long time.

The dim, yellowish light barely filled the space.

The old woman didn't stop walking. She turned around and went to the wall, took out a bowl from a cabinet with only half a door, and then walked towards Feng Xiuhu.

Her eyes were veiled by a white film, making them appear dull, but a smile appeared on her face: "Big brother, are you hungry? This is what your mother saved for you. Share it with your friends."

Feng Xiuhu looked down and saw that there was half a bran cake in the bowl, which had already developed a few mold spots.

Feng Xiuhu took the bowl and handed it to Shunzi.

The old woman turned around and walked back to the cabinet, continuing to rummage through something.

In a short while, Fang Youliu had finished checking everything that needed to be checked—after all, the cellar was only so big.

Fang Youliu pointed to a spot and gestured to Feng Xiuhu. Feng Xiuhu looked up and saw a wooden door in the corner of the wall, but he didn't know where it led.

Suddenly, a soft click was heard, and Feng Xiuhu and Fang Youliu turned their heads to look at the sound.

It turned out that Shunzi was curious about what the old lady was doing hiding to the side, so he took the cake and went over to check.

But they saw the old woman hunched over, her back to them, feeding herself something in small bites with her hands.

When Shunzi tried to get closer, the old lady noticed him and turned her head to look at Shunzi blankly.

Shunzi also saw what was in her hand at that moment.

That was moss covered in mud.

Startled, he lost his grip on the pancake and dropped it to the ground.

Shunzi, ignoring the pancake, snatched the moss from the old woman's hand: "Grandma, why are you eating this!"

The old woman panicked and instinctively looked in Feng Xiuhu's direction.

As if afraid that Feng Xiuhu would be embarrassed, she quickly smiled and explained, "I love to eat this. The moss is sweet and delicious."

The old woman squatted down, groped around on the ground for a moment before picking up the pancake, and then stuffed it into Shunzi's hand: "Good boy, you two quickly share it, I'll go next door and get you a bowl of water."

After saying that, the old woman walked straight toward the door in the corner.

next door?

Feng Xiuhu and Fang Youliu exchanged a glance, both of them having some guesses in their hearts.

Feng Xiuhu stepped forward and grabbed the old woman: "I'll go."

Then, Chong Fangyou said, "I remember there's still a lot of dry rations left in the car, take them all down."

Fang Youliu nodded in agreement, then turned and walked up the steps.

The old woman raised her head and stared blankly at Feng Xiuhu's silhouette.

She gripped Feng Xiuhu's sleeve tightly, as if she wanted to say something, but after hesitating, she said nothing and let Shunzi help her to the table to sit down.

Feng Xiuhu went to the door, removed the bolt, and slowly pushed the door open.

What came into view was a narrow, low passageway, which Feng Xiuhu could not see at all.

Now he finally understood.

Why is the city on the ground an empty city?

It turns out that Zizai City has moved underground.

(End of this chapter)