Chapter 181: Lonely Grave in a Desolate Village

When the train stopped at Zhengzhou Station, it was already the early morning of the third day. Li Ping'an took his sister's hand and stepped down from the platform, and the Central Plains' cold wind immediately hit them, much colder than Beijing.

"Brother, is this Henan?" Li Pingle tightened her scarf and curiously surveyed the unfamiliar city.

"Hmm, we still have to change trains a few more times before we reach home." Li Ping'an slung his sister's luggage onto her shoulder and told her to stay close to him.

They squeezed onto a dilapidated big truck at Zhengzhou Bus Station. The vehicle was packed with people returning home for the New Year, chickens and ducks flapped in cages, and the air was thick with the smell of smoke and sweat. Li Pingle leaned by the window, gazed at the endless wheat fields outside, and asked softly: "Brother, do we still have any relatives?"

Li Ping'an shook his head: "During the famine that year, everyone who could leave did, and those who stayed probably starved to death as well!"

The big truck rattled on the dirt road for most of the day and finally stopped in a small county town. There wasn't even a decent station here, and a few donkey carts waited by the roadside seeking passengers.

"To Li Family Hollow?" an old man sized them up, "That place has been deserted for ages; what are you going there for?"

"To pay respects to our ancestors," Li Ping'an replied briefly.

The donkey cart creaked on the rugged mountain road, and the farther they went, the more desolate it became. Most of the villages along the road were dilapidated, some clearly abandoned for years.

"This is the place," the old man stopped at a fork, "go another three li forward and you'll reach Li Family Hollow. The donkey cart can't make this road; you'll have to walk."

Li Ping'an had overpaid for the ride, and he took his sister's hand onto the path almost swallowed by overgrown grass. As the setting sun slipped westward, the cold wind brushed the withered yellow weeds, producing a whimpering-like sound.

"Brother, I'm scared..." Li Pingle clutched her brother's hand tightly.

"Don't be afraid; we'll be at Li Family Hollow soon."

They called it Li Family Hollow, but in reality only a ruin remained. A few crumbling earthen walls stood amid the overgrown grass, the old well in the courtyard had long dried up, and the only recognizable feature was the dead old jujube tree in the corner of the yard.

"This is it..." Li Ping'an's voice trembled a bit, "We used to live in this house."

He led his sister to the small hill behind the house. Two tiny earthen mounds stood side by side there, their tops nearly covered by the overgrown grass.

"Father, Mother..." Li Ping'an fell to his knees with a thud, "I've brought Pingle back..."

Li Pingle also knelt, took the twin lotus embroidered piece from the Cloth Bag, and placed it carefully before the grave.

"Father, Mother, I am Pingle..." she choked, "I have returned with my brother..."

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled over the desolate hillside, coating the two lonely graves with a layer of gold. Li Ping'an took out incense candles and paper money, lighting them one by one. Thin green smoke curled upward, spiraling in the cold wind.

"During that famine, Father saved the last morsel of food for us..." Li Ping'an whispered to his sister, "Mother kept muttering before she died that I must find you..."

Li Pingle's tears kept flowing: "Brother, these years have been hard on you..."

That night, they set up a makeshift shelter among the ruins of the old house. Li Ping'an built a fire, and the siblings huddled around it for warmth.

"Tomorrow I'll look for some bricks and stones to repair Father and Mother's graves." Li Ping'an handed dry rations to his sister and said they would also erect a tombstone.

Late at night, Li Ping'an jolted awake. His Divine Perception caught a faint disturbance in the distance—a set of footsteps, and more than one person.

"Pingle, wake up." He gently nudged his sister awake, "Someone's coming."

"Is it someone from the village?"

"No, it doesn't seem so." Li Ping'an furrowed his brows; the steps were too light—those of a cultivation practitioner.

He quickly extinguished the campfire, pulled his sister behind a broken wall. In the moonlight, three dark silhouettes were silently climbing the hillside.

"Are you sure it's here?" a lowered voice asked.

"Can't be wrong; we saw them go to the graves during the day."

Li Ping'an's heart startled—those people had actually come for them!

The three dark silhouettes searched among the ruins and soon discovered the makeshift shelter they had just used.

"Someone's gone!" one shouted, "Split up and search!"

Li Ping'an held his breath, his Divine Perception firmly locked onto the three uninvited guests. From their movements, they were clearly not ordinary bandits.

"Brother, who are they?" Li Pingle trembled all over in fear.

"Don't make a sound." Li Ping'an covered his sister's mouth, telling her that whatever happens later, she must not come out.

He quietly observed through a crack in the wall, noticing that the three searched methodically, clearly having professional training. One of them stopped before the grave, shining a flashlight on the twin lotus embroidered piece.

"And they even took this..." the person sneered, apparently placing great importance on this offering.

Li Ping'an felt his anger surge—these people dared to disturb his parents' resting place!

He gently picked up a few Stones, calculating the angles. Just as the three were about to discover their hiding spot, he suddenly struck.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Three Stones shot through the air, striking the three people's wrists with precision.

The screams pierced the night sky, especially harsh.

Li Ping'an leapt out like a leopard; before the three could react, he had knocked them all down.

"Speak! Who sent you?" he pressed his foot onto one man's chest.

The man clenched his teeth, then suddenly tilted his head, black blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.

"Poisoned!" Li Ping'an was startled, hurriedly examined the other two, and found they too had already died of asphyxiation.

"Brother..." Li Pingle ran out from the hiding spot, saw the bodies on the ground, and turned ghostly pale with fright.

Li Ping'an quickly searched the three bodies, and besides the weapons, found a blurry photograph—surprisingly a picture of them at the train station!

"We've been followed..." his heart sank.

At that moment, a dog barked in the distance. Clearly the earlier disturbance had alarmed the nearby villagers.

"We must leave this place quickly." Li Ping'an lifted his sister; those people still had accomplices.

They quickly packed their belongings and hurried down the mountain under the cover of night. Before departing, Li Ping'an gave three heavy bows at his parents' graves.

"Father, Mother, I have been an unfilial son; I'll return after matters are settled..."

The siblings, guided by moonlight, trod unevenly—deep step, shallow step—along the mountain path. Li Pingle occasionally glanced back, fearing someone might catch up.

"Brother, why did those people want to hurt us?"

"It was because of me." Li Ping'an's expression grew solemn, "I am in the open, the enemy is in the shadows."

At daybreak, they finally reached the county town. Li Ping'an immediately went to the post office and sent an urgent telegram to the Steel Rolling Mill: "Under attack, urgently investigate the shadow warrior."

While waiting for a reply, he took his sister for a walk around the county town. This place was far more backward than Beijing; the streets were lined with low mud houses, with occasional newly built red‑brick buildings.

Brother Ping'an? A familiar voice suddenly rang out.

Li Ping'an turned his head and saw a young man in military uniform looking at him in surprise.

You are... Gou Sheng?

It really is Brother Ping'an! The young man ran over excitedly, "I'm Gou Sheng! When we were kids we used to dig out bird nests together!"

Only then did Li Ping'an recognize him as a child from the neighboring Wang Family; they had gotten separated while fleeing famine together.

What are you doing now...

I work at the County Militia Department. Gou Sheng sized up Li Pingle, "Is that Ping Le? You've grown so big!"

After learning of the siblings' ordeal, Gou Sheng immediately said, "Come stay at my place first; the county hasn't been peaceful lately, I heard there are secret agents operating."

On the way to the Militia Department, Gou Sheng lowered his voice and said, "Brother Ping'an, were you ambushed at Li Family Hollow last night?"

How do you know?

This morning we received a report that three bodies had been found. Gou Sheng's expression turned grave; from the wounds, it looked like a single blow killed them. Brother Ping'an, your skills are still as formidable.

Li Ping'an's heart stirred: "Could you take me to see the bodies?"

In the mortuary of the County Yi Yuan, Li Ping'an carefully examined the three corpses. Inside their inner clothing pockets, he found a common mark—a spread-winged Night Owl.

Indeed, they are remnants... he muttered.

At that moment, the post office delivered a reply from the Steel Rolling Mill. The telegram was brief: "Ying Wu Zhe has appeared; return quickly."

Li Ping'an crumpled the telegram into a ball, a cold light flashing in his eyes. This Ying Wu Zhe had actually followed him all the way from Beijing to his hometown in Henan.

"Gou Sheng, do me a favor," he said to his old friend, "find a truck to take us to Zheng Prefecture."

Leave now?

We can't implicate the fellow villagers any further.

That afternoon, a military truck carried the siblings toward Zheng Prefecture. Li Ping'an gazed out at the fields receding rapidly beyond the window, killing intent rising in his heart.

Since these people refuse to relent, I can't blame him for being ruthless. This confrontation—it's time to settle it once and for all.