Chapter 47:

Confrontation

Xu Siya’s words sent a jolt through the villagers, though Jing Qizhen and his team, having anticipated something like this, remained calm.

After a moment, Jing Qizhen said to Xu Siya, “You should handle your own matters. That’s a lesson all children need to learn.”

The weird little girl had already had her worldview shattered and rebuilt by Jing Qizhen at least twice before. Yet this was the first time Xu Siya faced him and his bluntness left her speechless.

Jin Guijuan frowned and added, “Especially when it’s a matter of life and death. Why would you order the villagers to commit murder? How does that make sense? They’ve done nothing to harm you.”

Jin Guijuan had always seen a bit of herself in Xu Siya, so she took a deep interest in her situation. Seeing what Xu Siya had become filled Jin Guijuan with sadness and helplessness.

Children were innocent by nature but Xu Siya’s harsh family environment had forced her to become what she was. The roles of victim and perpetrator seemed reversed, but even if Xu Siya succeeded in her revenge, how would the villagers view her?

This impossible situation was created entirely by Xu Siya’s parents, yet it would leave no winners in the end.

The village chief remained silent, but the other villagers, moved by Jing Qizhen and Jin Guijuan’s words, nodded in agreement.

They sympathized with Xu Siya, knowing she had been mistreated. But given her parents’ identity, there was little they could do.

One villager murmured, “Sometimes I’d see Siya go without food at home. So I’d sneak her a steamed bun or call her over for a bowl of porridge because I felt sorry for her…”

The village chief sighed deeply as he looked at Xu Siya.

The Xu parents’ poor character was evident, causing their children to suffer greatly. That much was clear to everyone.

If Xu Erya or Xu Siya had faced injustices, the village might have rallied to help. But no one could take a child’s demand to commit murder lightly, even if it was to fulfill Xu Siya’s request.

Jing Qizhen heard the villagers’ murmurs growing louder.

“What’s going on with this child?”

“Her parents are in the wrong but isn’t this kid’s thinking a bit extreme?”

“Why haven’t we seen Erya? Wasn’t it always said her wrongful death was the reason for the hauntings?”

“This is getting creepy.”

“Siya is still a child. I think maybe Erya’s spirit has possessed her!”

“Can’t someone talk some sense into her?”

“We never noticed Siya being this stubborn before. It must be Erya’s ghost!”

Jing Qizhen and his team: “…”

Manman turned her head and mumbled, “If I’d known these villagers were so imaginative, we should’ve just paid the village chief to convene a collective meeting. Then they could brainstorm solutions and outsource the whole project—I mean task—to them.”

Even searching the mountain to find the tombstone would be more efficient with locals who know the area better than the outsiders like them running around blindly!

Old Xiao: “…”

As a middle-aged office worker, Old Xiao couldn’t help but side-eye Manman’s classic words from a client in a contract. He sighed inwardly at how the rich people think!

Xu Siya, however, ignored the villagers’ chatter entirely.

Her gaze remained fixed on her mother, her frostbitten and childish face etched with hatred.

The village chief tried to reason with her, “Siya, you can’t do this. No matter how much resentment you hold toward your mother, you can’t throw her into the oil pan. After all, she’s still alive!”

Hearing this, Jing Qizhen glanced at the village chief with raised eyebrows.

Lu Lingxi whispered, “If the chief had said, ‘After all, she’s your mother,’ I’m pretty sure Xu Siya would’ve lost it right there and then.”

Jing Qizhen silently nodded in agreement.

“She’s still alive?” Xu Siya suddenly turned her head. “Then what about my second sister? Is her death supposed to mean nothing?”

Yan Hong hesitated before replying, “In cases like this, where a family member causes someone’s death unintentionally, even if you report it, the court usually sentences the offender to two or three years in prison. Considering there’s a young child—yourself—who needs care, the judge will almost certainly grant a suspended sentence.”

As Yan Hong began explaining legal details, Old Xiao, Grandma Fang, Lu Lingxi, and even the village chief and his wife turned to look at him in disbelief.

Before Xu Siya could respond, Jin Guijuan burst out, “What? Killing someone only gets such a light sentence? That’s a human life!”

Yan Hong gave a bitter smile and shook his head helplessly.

He could tell Jin Guijuan was restraining herself but the plight of the Xu sisters likely had her thinking, ‘If that’s the case, we might as well follow Xu Siya’s plan and throw her mother into the oil pan.’

Suddenly, Earth, who had been silent until now, spoke up, “What’s goin’ on now? I don’t get it at all!”

Jing Qizhen summarized the situation in his mind, “The parents failed as human beings. Xu Erya died unexpectedly, turned into a ghost, and couldn’t let go. Xu Siya was traumatized and developed extreme personality in seeking revenge. Xu Erya might have been holding Xu Siya back from doing something foolish, which led to this stalemate.”

Earth interjected, “Ye’ humans ar’ so complicated. I get it now. It’s all their parents’ fault for stirrin’ up trouble.”

Jing Qizhen sighed inwardly. “Yes, all of this tragedy could have been avoided.”

The Earth: “Hey, why ar’ ye’ lookin’ at me? This is a mess. What ar’ we supposed to do now?”

Jing Qizhen: “…” He had no response to that.

Even though it was only early March and still winter, the oppressive heat felt like midsummer.

Jing Qizhen tugged at his collar to breathe easier. Holding the village chief’s megaphone, he stepped forward calmly and asked Xu Siya, “Where’s your sister, Xu Erya?”

Xu Siya froze. “My sister?”

Jing Qizhen nodded. “Yes. You’ve been standing up for her, haven’t you? So, where is Xu Erya now?”

Xu Siya lifted her head, her eyes darting around.

At that moment, she seemed like a normal child again. The wild hostility and defiance that had surfaced when talking about her mother were gone. Even the hatred in her gaze toward her mother softened slightly as she searched for Xu Erya.

Jing Qizhen followed Xu Siya’s gaze to scan the walls, rooftops, and treetops around them but he saw no sign of the strange little girl.

“Xu Siya, if you truly want revenge yourself, I won’t stop you.” Noticing that Xu Siya’s emotions had calmed after mentioning Xu Erya, Jing Qizhen pressed on, “Even though you’re still a child and your thoughts may seem extreme to us adults, if you’ve decided and are willing to face the consequences, no one can change your mind.”

Failing to find her sister, Xu Siya’s gaze returned to Jing Qizhen with a hint of disappointment.

Jing Qizhen continued, “You’ve had the ‘Journey to Hell’ and been using it for a while, haven’t you? But every time you tried to take revenge on your parents, your sister Xu Erya stopped you, didn’t she? Xu Erya has passed away and the power of her attachment is finite. Meanwhile, as you grow older, your hatred deepens. Her strength and your abilities are in a balance, waxing and waning.”

“What are you trying to say?” Xu Siya looked directly at Jing Qizhen.

Jing Qizhen said sincerely, “Xu Siya, you shouldn’t act in Xu Erya’s name to do things she never wanted you to do. Sacrificing yourself or doing things for someone else without their consent might not be what they wanted at all.”

Xu Siya didn’t respond to Jing Qizhen’s words but her gaze dimmed slightly.

She was, after all, just a child; stubborn and willful.

In the remote mountain village, at the age of nine, Xu Siya had never formally attended school. Her world was small and her late sister Xu Erya was her only source of warmth, yet she died young.

The temperature of the surrounding oil pan hell continued to rise.

“The temperature around us has reached 33°C and is still climbing,” observed Lu Lingxi, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Manman whispered, “Xu Siya is pretty stubborn. It’ll be hard to convince her with Little Jing’s logic alone.”

Earth, now anxious, asked, “Ar’ ye’ even capable of handlin’ dis’?”

Jing Qizhen: “Even if I can’t, you can’t step in either.” =.=

The Earth: “…Ugh.”

Ignoring Earth, Jing Qizhen refocused his attention on Xu Siya.

Jin Guijuan glanced around and asked, “Where’s Xu Erya? Didn’t she like Little Lu a lot? Why hasn’t she shown up?”

Lu Lingxi who was suddenly named froze: “…”

Xu Siya’s gaze shifted sharply toward him and she asked in surprise, “My sister liked him? You’ve met my sister?”

Lu Lingxi: “…”

He felt a cold sweat break out alongside the heat on his back as Xu Siya’s defiant gaze locked onto him.

Not wanting to provoke her further, he quickly explained, “I… I mended cotton-padded coats for both you and her. She chose a different color from yours.”

Xu Siya unexpectedly smiled. Her frostbitten and cracked face softened for a moment, revealing a childlike innocence.

“My sister thought kids all love wearing new clothes. I always wore her old clothes. She used to tell me that when she got married and had her own home with brother-in-law, she’d make me a brand-new coat. Back then, I was still small and the children’s clothes she made for me wouldn’t fit others, so no one could take them away.”

As she spoke, Xu Siya’s smile turned strange as she glanced at the woman standing by the water pump in the Xu family courtyard.

It was clear that both Xu Erya and Xu Siya understood their parents too well. They knew Xu Erya’s dowry would be seized and even getting fabric to make a coat for Xu Siya would have been impossible.

Xu Siya’s mother stood trembling by the water pump, clutching the handle tightly. Yet her gaze toward Siya held only fear and no trace of remorse.

Just as Jin Guijuan had said before, some people, even when facing death, never believe they did anything wrong. Instead, they failed to understand why others resist. They would think that girls in other families live like that and survive with just food to eat. Why were their daughters so ungrateful, selfish, and willful? Why must their daughters fight back?’

Unrepentant to the end.

Jing Qizhen and his group frowned deeply.

Jin Guijuan, unable to hold back her anger, spat in the direction of the Xu family courtyard before turning away in disgust.

The stalemate dragged on, yet Xu Erya still hadn’t appeared.

Suddenly, Jing Qizhen had an idea. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a music box.

The music box’s spring had already been wound, so Jing Qizhen simply opened the lid.

“Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way…”

In an instant, the familiar sound of a girl softly humming the nursery rhyme filled the air.

Dahliya: I can’t run this thru Grammarly for some inexplicable reasons, so it’s lacking a final revision. Sorry for any glaring mistakes that  I might miss. I’ll come back to this later.