Chapter 108

I ran all the way back to Dang Pu and went straight to the main hall.

When I saw that the Língchí dāo was still properly placed on the offering table, my frantic, uneasy heart instantly calmed.

Thank goodness, thank goodness, the Língchí dāo wasn't lost.

I said, no one should dare break into the main courtyard and main hall of Dang Pu.

I closed the door of the main hall and returned to the rear wing when Li Qingying also came back.

She asked concernedly, "Xiao Jiu, what happened?"

"Nothing," I said, "just a false alarm."

Li Qingying also said, "Are you tired? Your complexion looks a bit off; why not rest a while? The corpse-fetchers are coming, I need to keep watch."

I nodded: "Mm, Sister Qingying, please keep an eye on the details; when you come back, tell me—I have a few things I want to discuss."

Li Qingying agreed and went out again.

I poured a cup of tea, held the cup, and sat behind the counter.

Since the Língchí dāo wasn't lost, this shows it may not necessarily have been done by Zhao Zixun.

A 16-year-old blossom-age girl, always studying, pure and clean… this suddenly made me think of one thing—a skin drum.

The origin of the skin drum is that a girl is selected and made mute from childhood, then almost completely isolated from all external impurity and raised; at age 16, the skin on her back is entirely peeled off alive, stretched over a drum frame, and made into a skin drum.

The evil monk controlled the black cat to attack us, using precisely the skin drum.

After the skin drum was hit by Feng Wu's flame, it exploded, leaving only the drum frame.

Even if we concede ten thousand steps, even if the evil monk wanted to re-peel a patch of skin from a girl's back and remake a skin drum, he would still need to have that ability.

One of his hands was blown off, one leg crippled, his external and internal injuries piled up; he may not even be alive now.

For him to personally peel skin and make a skin drum is currently very unrealistic.

Then, in all of Wufu Town, besides Zhao Zixun and the evil monk, who else has this motive and means?

At the moment I thought of that, my hand jerked, tea spilled out and landed on the back of my hand, instantly turning red.

I thought of a person—Bai Jingmo!

Bai Jingmo is first and foremost the heir of the Bai Family; his medical skill goes without saying.

What's more frightening is that he has studied abroad for many years and is already a miracle worker in difficult and miscellaneous diseases!

His pair of hands can not only wield needles, but also grip a scalpel!

But if it really is him, why would he do this?

What is the motive?

I set down the tea cup, leaned my whole body against the chair back, and my right hand unconsciously moved to touch the scale armor on my left arm; the cool sensation let me stay calm, as if Liu Junyan were beside me, accompanying me in solving these matters.

Bai Jingmo, the girl's skin, Wufu Town, Zhu Pan River…

The moment I thought of the Zhu Pan River, my thoughts suddenly opened up.

The eight red coffins in the Zhu Pan River, and that night when Granny Bai wanted to seal me in a red coffin and sink it into the Zhu Pan River, are vivid in my memory.

And Mei Lin Shuang's skin was nailed into that red coffin placed in the attic of the town chief's house!

So…

"Xiao Jiu, we failed," Li Qingying rushed in and said, "Three corpse-fetchers came, all failed; Chen Tao is still standing in the water, like a nail driven there, unable to move an inch."

I asked, "Then what?"

The corpse-fetchers said the corpse was too evil, probably an omen of great misfortune; they took half the deposit and left." Li Qingying said, "Now it's dark, everyone is scared, and there's no one by the river."

I nodded, deep in thought.

Li Qingying leaned in, asking my opinion: "How about this, Xiao Jiu? I'm good at water, or… I'll go down to take a look?"

"No!" I said, "Don't take risks for now; I'm afraid this is a trap, there are too many strange things at the bottom of the Zhu Pan River, we can't just go in the water."

"All right." Li Qingying thought, then said, "Then I'll go make dinner; tonight might be uneasy, let's close up early and sleep."

I replied okay, sat back down, and continued my earlier train of thought.

After dinner, I made a decision: "Sister Qingying, I want to visit Chen Tao's parents and ask a few things."

Li Qingying didn't understand: "Now?"

"Mm," I said, "This should be done sooner rather than later."

Li Qingying then locked the door and went out with me.

But I hadn't expected Chen Tao's parents to be right by the Zhu Pan River.

In the night, a minivan was parked by the river, its headlights illuminating a small area.

The whole riverside was quiet; one could faintly hear Chen's mother hoarse crying.

Li Qingying and I slowly approached and saw that in front of Chen Tao's parents lay a two-tiered cake, with cherry pudding elements, topped with pink candles forming the number 16.

On the cake it read: "Dear daughter, happy birthday!"

Beside the cake lay some gifts: pretty little dresses, thin wool coats, cherry pudding plush toys…

These gifts don't look like they were hastily bought after dark.

Chen's mother was weeping; Chen's father sat cross-legged to one side, holding a miner's lamp whose beam struck the water and shone directly onto Chen Tao's bloody corpse.

Under the lamp light, Chen Tao's corpse looked even more gruesome and terrifying; everyone would fear her, yet only her parents felt no fear.

No matter what form their daughter took, she remained their most beloved daughter.

We walked over and comforted Chen's mother.

Chen's mother had been washing her face with tears for days, her spirits very poor.

She lifted her gaze toward us; perhaps because I am only two years older than Chen Tao, her mother's eyes lingered on me.

I opened my mouth to say something when Chen's mother suddenly lunged forward and grabbed me in a hug.

"Taotao, is that you?" Chen's mother held me, one hand stroking my hair while she cried, "Did you come back to see Mom, right?"

Li Qingying was startled, instinctively wanting to pull Chen's mother away; I waved at her, signaling her not to act rashly.

It's all Mom's fault; Mom shouldn't have put all her heart into the factory; Mom should have gone to the county town to keep you company in your studies.

Chen's mother's tears broke the levee; she mistook me for Chen Tao, chattering apologetically: "Money can't be earned enough, but my precious daughter is only one; how could I be so foolish, leaving my daughter alone at school boarding without coming to keep her company in her studies!"

If Mom had gone to keep you company in your studies, you wouldn't have gotten lost, right?

If Mom had gone to keep you company in your studies, on your 16th birthday you could have eaten sweet cake, worn your favorite clothes, slept hugging your favorite little toy, instead of postponing until the end of the month when you get vacation, postponing until it's too late for everything.

Taotao, you must be in a lot of pain, right?

Underwater it's very cold, isn't it?

Chen's mother held me tighter, opened her coat to wrap around my body, her tears continually hitting my face: "Mom holds my Taotao tight, this way Taotao won't be cold."

But no matter how she held or wrapped me, it still didn't feel enough.

Finally she actually moved toward the riverside holding me like that: "Taotao, don't be scared, Mom will come keep you company, okay? With Mom keeping you company, you won't be scared anymore..."