Chapter 35:
Tombstone in the ravine

Originally, Jing Qizhen only asked Lu Lingxi to continue sewing clothes. When he focused on his companions, Manman and Yan Hong both looked at him with the ‘0_0’ look.

Jing Qizhen gave them a helpless expression.

Soon, another sound came from the earpieces. Lu Lingxi was really busy doing needlework and Manman couldn’t help giving a thumbs-up to Jing Qizhen.

She approved Jing Qizhen’s endless methods of dealing with those strange creatures.

Jing Qizhen frowned and said, “I originally thought that the little girl could only appear at night, but it’s still daytime now and she is already here. Her range of activities seems to be much larger than we expected.”

Manman: “And it seems that she likes to appear behind Lu Lingxi in particular?”

Last night, that little girl suddenly appeared behind Lu Lingxi and talked to him. This afternoon, it happened again.

When Manman said that, Yan Hong suddenly became alarmed and added, “And each time, the little girl appears when Lu Lingxi is alone…”

After pondering for a moment, Yan Hong hesitated and said, “Why do I feel that she is targeting Lu Lingxi specifically?”

Manman: “Don’t tell me, it seems to be true. But to be honest, Lu Lingxi is the one with the softest facial features in our group. After all, his Bambi eyes are really lethal.”

Generally speaking, women were likely to be less aggressive, but among their group, the three women had their own characteristics.

Although Jin Guijuan was kind, there was an extremely tenacious and fierce spirit in her who grew up freely in the mountainous village. Manman seemed to be quite friendly, but she had ambitious ideas and was naturally strong in her bones. Just look at Si Jiayang who was as gentle as a rabbit beside her, and everyone could get a glimpse of their relationship.

As for Grandma Fang, she was old after all. Although she was really kind and nice, there was a rigorous and solemn atmosphere that solely belonged to a scholar. She was not the type of warm-hearted grandma that children would flock to.

There was no need to mention the few gentlemen.

It was only Lu Lingxi who looked innocent and simple when his eyes were filled with confusion. His Bambi eyes alone could make children feel close to him. Who knows where Tang Song recruited such an amazing sniper.

Jing Qizhen rubbed his chin. “From the perspective of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, it seems the weird little girl follows the instinct of a child.”

After thinking carefully for a while, Jing Qizhen continued, “I suddenly had a guess, but there is no telling evidence to support it yet. It’s just a pure guess.”

Manman: “Tell us about it.”

Jing Qizhen said simply, “That weird little girl and Xu Siya… one is like an illusion, but the other can create illusions.”

Manman widened her eyes slightly. “You mean to say that weird little girl comes from Xu Siya’s imagination?”

Jing Qizhen: “There is no evidence to confirm this at present. I just have a vague feeling.”

Yan Hong frowned. “But in that case, one thing does not make sense. Xu Siya did not show any reaction to our appearance. There was no sign of surprise or determination, but the weird little girl from before clearly said, ‘You are not in my memory.’ She obviously knew more than Xu Siya.”

Manman: “This is not difficult to explain. In many works, the imagination forms a second personality whose power gradually exceeds the power of the main personality, and in turn, wants to take over the main body. This is a common plot. However, no how powerful it is, the biggest weakness the second personality has is usually the main personality itself.”

Jing Qizhen: “At the moment, I cannot feel any maliciousness from that weird little girl towards Xu Siya.”

Jing Qizhen, Manman, and Yan Hong were still bouncing around ideas as they continued to aimlessly search for any possible clues in the mountains. In the process, they also diverted some attention to Lu Lingxi, who was immersed in mending a cotton-padded coat again, along with the weird little girl’s movements in the house.

When the weird little girl was sprawling on the table watching Lu Lingxi work and unintentionally hummed the nursery rhyme ‘Jingle Bells’, the trio on the mountain suddenly stopped in their tracks.

Sure enough, the next second, Lu Lingxi asked directly about the origin of the nursery rhyme ‘Jingle Bells’ without even realizing it.

The little girl looked at Lu Lingxi without blinking. He held the needle with his thin, calloused, slender, and strong fingers. Those hands did not look like they were used to needle-working, but his movements were different. He was very meticulous and attentive, leaving rows of fine stitches on the fabric.

The little girl didn’t look offended at all by the question thrown by Lu Lingxi who had always kept his head down while working. She tilted her head seriously and recalled things carefully for a while. She then said, “If I think about it, it should be from a music box, right?”

Lu Lingxi’s hand paused slightly. “Music box?”

The little girl made a gesture that was exactly the same as Xu Siya’s when she was describing the book that morning.

“It was such a big wooden music box, with a deer as big as a coin engraved on it,” the little girl said with a smile, and raised her head to look at Lu Lingxi. “And big brother’s name is Little Lu!”

Lu Lingxi felt cold sweat suddenly flow down his back.

Jing Qizhen and the others naturally heard the little girl’s voice and were shocked at the revelation.

Yan Hong frowned. “The reason why she keeps eyeing Lu Lingxi is because Lu Lingxi’s surname is Lu?”

Manman: “…But if there is no one surnamed Lu in the erosion area, who will she approach then?

Jing Qizhen said in a deep voice, “It may be that the little girl is just talking about herself. It’s important that we find the music box first.”

Although Lu Lingxi was extremely nervous and the movements of his hands were tense as he continued to sew the cotton-padded coat, he casually pulled out a few rags and asked the little girl, “Which color do you like?”

The little girl’s attention was immediately taken by the rags in Lu Lingxi’s hand and she hesitated. After a short while, she deliberately lowered her head to look at the patchwork cotton coat of contrasting colors she was wearing. She then stretched out her hand and pointed to the light brown one on the left. “I like this.”

She directly chose a different color from those on the coat that Lu Lingxi mended before.

Lu Lingxi’s heart twitched slightly, and he deliberately said aloud, “You like something unique? Okay, then let’s use this color to sew.”

The little girl rested her chin on her hands, hummed softly, and nodded her head seriously.

The old cotton-padded coat she had just taken off was exactly the same as the one Xu Siya was wearing. The only difference was it looked a little neater than Xu Siya’s.

However, after Lu Lingxi’s sewing and patching work, so many rag patches of different colors were added. Naturally, the difference between the two cotton coats was highlighted.

Obviously, Jing Qizhen heard Lu Lingxi’s explicit hint.

Manman: “The little girl obviously rejects the similarities between her and Xu Siya. She wants to be different.”

Jing Qizhen: “Is this consistent with a second personality’s way of thinking who wants to get rid of the main personality?”

Manman: “Yes, it’s obvious.”

After being frightened for a while, Lu Lingxi gradually figured out how to get along with the weird little girl, and his tense body naturally relaxed a little.

Lu Lingxi generously offered to mend the little girl’s cotton-padded clothes, let her happily select the rags’ color, and then sew them on the cotton-padded coat based on her ideas.

In that period, Lu Lingxi took a moment and casually asked the little girl, “You have been humming that song for a while. Do you really like that music box?”

The little girl said, “Yes! That’s the first birthday gift I received when I was fifteen years old.”

Lu Lingxi was shocked, but he concealed it well and asked, “What happened then?”

The girl was supporting her chin with one hand and picking through the rags with the other hand as she softly whispered, “Later…”

Jing Qizhen, Manman, and Yan Hong looked at each other.

Manman whispered, “The time here just doesn’t match up. Xu Siya is only seven or eight years old!”

Even though Xu Siya was smaller than other children of the same age due to malnutrition since childhood, but fifteen years old and seven or eight years old had essential differences due to the changes brought about by a girl’s physical development.

Jing Qizhen immediately turned on the microphone and reminded Lu Lingxi in a whisper, “Don’t ask any more. There may be something wrong with this question!”

Lu Lingxi was startled. Seeing that the little girl was still thinking in confusion, he quickly interrupted her thoughts and said, “These two places require about two pieces of clothes. How do you want to put them together? With the same color or different ones?”

The little girl really didn’t think much. After her attention was distracted, she hesitated before she lowered her head to examine the coat on her body again. After finding roughly the same position, she found that there were two pieces of clothes of the same color there. She immediately made a decision. “Little-big brother Lu, helps me sew two pieces of different colors!”

Lu Lingxi simply agreed. “Okay!”

The little girl no longer recalled his question just now. She continued to hold her chin up and smile at Lu Lingxi, whispering as if she were sharing a secret, “Little-big brother Lu is so kind. It would be great if little-big brother Lu could always stay with me.”

Lu Lingxi was frightened and pricked his hand with a needle again.

This time the needle went deep and he started to bleed.

However, after being frightened by the little girl, who sent chills down his spine and made his hair stand on end, he curled up the finger with a drop of blood on it, rubbed the red liquid onto his palm, and did not dare to say anything.

Jing Qizhen calmly pressed the earpiece and gave Lu Lingxi a piece of advice. “Tell that little girl that her body is cold and she has no body temperature.”

Lu Lingxi: …?

Although he was confused, but he trusted Jing Qizhen, and Lu Lingxi still did as he was told.

Immediately afterward, Lu Lingxi heard Jing Qizhen continue leading him astray. “Then tell her that if you stay, you will become cold. Once you become dead cold, how can you accompany her?”

Lu Lingxi: =口=!!!

Lu Lingxi calmed down before repeating Jing Qizhen’s second sentence.

The little girl looked very disappointed after hearing him. “Is that so?”

Now, without Jing Qizhen giving guidance, Lu Lingxi took the initiative and nodded. “Yes! Big brother can only do simple things for you, like helping you patch up your cotton-padded coat.”

Fortunately, the little girl was still a child at heart, so she was quite easy to fool…

The little girl lowered her head again, slumped on the table in depression. “Well… I understand, little-big brother Lu.”

At that moment, Jing Qizhen and the others, who had been searching around the mountain, finally made their way to a secluded small ravine.

Though the place was clearly a low-lying place similar to a valley, the vegetation and plants there grew extremely lush.

All three of them felt a surge of energy.

“The vegetation here is much lusher than elsewhere on the mountain. There is definitely something here!”

Manman took out her mobile phone and clicked open the pictures of the leaves of the plants that Grandma Fang had identified before. She compared them simply, and then said, “From an unprofessional perspective of mine, the plants in this small ravine are most probably the same as those outside, and the characteristics of the leaf are quite similar.”

Yan Hong had already taken out all the tools they had for digging.

With sharp eyes, Jing Qizhen suddenly discovered a tilted half of a stone tablet within the half-meter-high weeds.

“That’s… a tombstone?!”