Chapter 76

This blood letter was probably written hastily in a particularly panicked situation, the characters large and crooked.

I have seen Zhao Zixun's pen and brush writing; it is vigorous and strong, full of backbone.

The opening of the blood letter explains his situation and his wishes for Fu Wan's future.

Next comes a summary of the battle at that time.

"In early July, we fought at Small Camp Mouth, pushing all the way to the enemy's doorstep, but we never expected that in the night the enemy would suddenly bring out a troop of yin soldiers, catching us off guard; this was our only defeat in years, with heavy casualties."

"In mid-July, the marshal ordered me to go alone to the ancient battlefield of Wufu Town, seize a Red Flag, then return with it, using the Red Flag to command the yin soldiers, turning defeat into victory."

"I thought that after winning this battle I could return to be reunited with you, but I underestimated the marshal's ambition…"

The blood letter ends here; Zhao Zixun seems overly grief-stricken, with several drops of blood staining the tail.

"Wanwan, after receiving this letter, if someday you meet me again, be sure to run quickly! Stay far away!"

"That will no longer be the original me."

The letter ends here.

At the signature, he didn't even write the three characters "Zhao Zixun"; instead he drew with blood a long-eared little rabbit and a cute little pig, snuggled together.

I held the blood letter, my feelings unable to settle for a long time.

Zhao Zixun and Fu Wan's Republic-era love affair stabbed me twice!

I thought it was merely Fu Wan's one-sided affection, but I never expected Zhao Zixun also to be helpless.

Why are these two so difficult!!

Viewing this blood letter together with the earlier town gazette, the dates and events all match.

In July 1920, Chen Ping led troops into a battle that ended in defeat, nearly annihilating the entire army.

The cause was that they encountered yin soldiers.

In mid-July, Chen Ping ordered Zhao Zixun to seize the Red Flag and then charge back, turning defeat into victory.

Not long after that, Fu Wan received news that Zhao Zixun had won the battle and would return to Wufu Town, whereupon she eagerly went to mail a letter to him.

But unexpectedly, on the day she mailed the letter, Fu Wan suffered humiliation and later died miserably.

And at this moment Zhao Zixun, under Chen Ping's insatiable greed, became the first victim.

Zhao Zixun also sensed his own destined tragic end, which is why he wrote this blood letter, together with the silver ring, postage stamp, pawn ticket, and even the shield, and handed them all to his confidant.

Who should pay for all these karmic debts?

A hundred years have passed, and Fu Wan still could not redress her own grievance; in the end she had no choice but to offer her soul to the hexagonal palace lamp.

And Zhao Zixun remains bound by that coffin nail in his brow to this day.

The more I think about it, the sadder I feel; I want to gather these things first and keep them, perhaps they will be useful later.

While gathering the items, I inadvertently saw again the pouch that the Red Flag Child used to redeem the pawned silver dollars.

The Red Flag Child himself did not have enough silver dollars to redeem the pawn; this pouch must have been begged from someone.

My gaze was drawn to the plum blossom at the bottom of the pouch, to that inconspicuous "Mei" character.

Mei…

Many people have the character "Mei" in their names, but those surnamed Mei are few in Wufu Town.

This immediately brought to mind one person—Mei Lin Shuang.

That was thirty-three silver dollars!

Nowadays ordinary people hardly ever see that much silver, let alone produce it all at once.

At this juncture, who among those whose name contains the character "Mei" could come up with that much silver and willingly help a child ghost for free?

Besides Mei Lin Shuang, I can't think of a second person!

Thinking of Mei Lin Shuang makes my feelings even more unpleasant.

I put the things away, sat on the bedside for a while, still feeling uneasy, so I went to the back to find Li Qingying for a chat.

I went straight with my pillow, intending to sleep with her tonight.

Just as I raised my hand to knock, I heard Li Qingying's suppressed sobbing from the room, accompanied by vague muttering.

I was startled; Li Qingying is not someone who cries easily.

She bears new wounds over old ones; that time her shoulder was hacked to the bone, yet she didn't even blink.

In the dead of night, how could she be hiding in her room crying so sorrowfully?

I thought it over, then pushed the door open and went in.

The room had no lights on, everywhere pitch black; I walked from the outer room inward, switching on lights as I went.

When I reached the inner chamber, I saw Li Qingying asleep.

She was crying in her sleep.

"Don't, please don't break my horn, please!"

"Don't jump!"

"You all come back! Come back! Please don't jump again!"

……

She muttered these few lines over and over in her dream; after hearing them several times I managed to piece together a rough meaning.

Li Qingying had a nightmare.

And the content of this nightmare is likely related to her origin.

Her horn was cut off by someone else!

And she was trying to stop someone from jumping down—jump what?

I couldn't figure it out, so I just grabbed Li Qingying's hand, shaking it while calling her name, gently waking her from the dream.

When Li Qingying finally woke up, tears still hung at the corners of her eyes.

She instinctively reached to wipe it, but her hand felt a patch of blood.

That blood wasn't mixed with tears streaming down; it was from her nose tip... that red mole had burst at some point, continuously oozing blood.

I quickly grabbed a tissue and pressed it for her; after the mole stopped bleeding, I worriedly said, "How come this mole is bleeding all of a sudden? Green Cherry Sis, let me take you to the hospital tomorrow."

Li Qingying quickly adjusted her mood, shook her head: "It's fine, it's bled before; maybe I've been stressed lately, got a bit of internal heat, just rest a bit."

Then she asked again: "Xiao Jiu, how did you get into my room?"

"I couldn't sleep, came to chat with you."

Li Qingying shifted over to make space, I climbed onto the bed with my pillow, and we lay down head to head.

I didn't ask about Li Qingying's nightmare, since it involved her past; she was upset and also heated, so I didn't want to rub salt in her wound.

I slowly told her about the pouch and the blood letter, we talked in low voices for a long time, only falling into deep sleep late in the night.

The next day, I let Li Qingying rest properly, I cooked and watched over the pawnshop.

I lay in bed all the way until evening before Tang Tang finally replied to my message.

Meng Po sent a bowl of soy milk: "Xiao Jiu, I went into the tomb with my mentor; there was no signal inside, and only after leaving did I see your message. The stamp can be repaired; I'll contact you again when I get back."

I replied with a message, telling her to relax and do her work, I'm not in a hurry.

Knowing the stamp can be repaired, I feel much better.

I didn't sleep well last night; as soon as I got into bed tonight I fell asleep.

I don't know how long I slept; in my dream I seemed to hear footsteps, then the sound of a door opening.

At the time, half-asleep, I thought I was dreaming.

But the next moment I jolted awake from my dream, slipped on my shoes and ran out.

The pawnshop's front door stood wide open; outside it was pitch black, the streetlamp across the way glowed dim yellow, unable to illuminate far.

I stepped out the door, looked left and right, and saw Li Qingying staggering westward...