Chapter 384: Qionglong Stone Shadow: A Strange Description

"I have a very strong intuition about many things from tombs. The building she drew—the moment I saw it, I felt something was off. The structure was bizarre and uncomfortable to look at, with a sinister aura." The old woman said, "I thought she was obsessed with the project. At the time, I had a serious talk with her, and during the conversation, I felt she was very off—her entire demeanor was abnormal. It's hard to describe this feeling. She was both nervous and unfocused. Later, when I analyzed her behavior for others, a friend summarized it in a way that struck me as very apt: 'It was as if there was another person hidden in her room, and she didn't want me to find out.'" The old woman took a sip of tea and said, "This description is very strange. Usually, when we describe an odd state, we use words like nervous, anxious, distracted, but this description is very specific."

"Could she have hidden her boyfriend in her room?" I couldn't help blurting out. At that time, Old Mrs. Huo was still the mother of a teenage girl, and like all mothers, she was concerned about her daughter's various changes. I could understand her state of mind.

"Our family compound isn't something just anyone can enter. If she had hidden someone in her room, we definitely would have found out. Besides, I went into her room more than once when she was out, and I knew perfectly well whether anyone was there. I was very worried, so I had someone follow her to find out what had caused this change. But then, after leaving home one time, she never came back—until now."

"She disappeared?"

The old woman sighed deeply, nodded, and continued, "To find her, I started my own investigation. I looked into the Zhang Family Tower archaeological project from back then. But as soon as I looked into it, I found that project was very obscure—not like a typical archaeological activity. Even with my connections, I couldn't get the records smoothly. And my daughter—it was as if she never existed in this world. Suddenly, there was no trace left. I spent countless efforts and gained nothing. We don't know what happened after they went to Guangxi that year." She paused. "Over the years, I've been collecting everything about this project. These blueprints—I gathered them one by one from the market. This is the seventh one, and it's been over twenty years. I just hope that in my lifetime, I can find that building through these blueprints and see what happened to them."

Looking at her expression, I immediately remembered the look Third Uncle had when he talked about Wenjin to me. The premonition in my heart grew stronger. I felt things suddenly become chaotic, but it wasn't a muddled confusion—it was the overwhelming feeling of everything suddenly connecting.

"When it comes to sadness and grief, I'm actually used to it. I just want, before my old bones are buried in the ground, to have an answer. Whether she's dead or whatever, I just want to know the outcome. Otherwise, this old woman's eyes won't close." She said, "So this has nothing to do with money or anything, boy. Do you understand?"

I nodded subconsciously, and she made a gesture for me to leave. "You can take your friend and go. As a friend of your grandfather, let me give you a piece of advice: you'd better leave the country for a while. Also, keep your word and have someone send me your Yangshi Lei."

I nodded, but I had no intention of leaving. I suddenly realized I had even more questions that needed answering. Of course, first I needed to verify my idea. So I asked, "Granny, the place where they found that building—is it in Banai, Guangxi?"

The old woman looked at me, her expression changing. "You've heard of that project?"

"Actually, I just came back from Guangxi," I said. "I encountered some strange things there. Involving an archaeological team and a bizarre building."