Chapter 50:

Gossip from the old village chief

After Jing Qizhen’s jab, Earth threw a tantrum in his mind and bickered with him incessantly.

Despite the emotional whirlwind of the past night, everyone felt a mix of relief and exhaustion upon their successful return.

Since Tang Song had said the support team was en route, they decided to stay put and wait quietly.

Meanwhile, Jing Qizhen stood with his head slightly bowed, one hand covering his face, lost in thought.

If he and Earth continue harming each other like this, he was unclear if Earth would be so angry to the point of bursting, but he was certainly a hair away from dying on the spot…

Earth was furiously ranting in his head, filling his mind with a cacophony akin to living between neighbors all remodeling their homes simultaneously. The sounds of drilling, hammering, sawing, and pounding, all blended into an endless, chaotic symphony.

As Earth stomped and hollered, Jing Qizhen could swear the noise had achieved some bizarre echoing resonance within his skull.

His companions, standing nearby, were oblivious to the mental battlefield playing out inside Jing Qizhen’s mind—or how close Earth was to imploding from anger, and Jing Qizhen to giving up entirely.

Lu Lingxi glanced up at the sky and suddenly smiled. His innocent, Bambi-like eyes seemed even more pure in the morning mist. Pointing to the helicopter hovering overhead, he teased softly, “If we hadn’t strayed from the original point, I bet they’d already have the rope ladder down for us!”

Manman, remembering something, chuckled. “Oh, right. When we arrived earlier, Xiao-ge got so carsick. Didn’t Tang Song say he could arrange a helicopter for you? Well, looks like he delivered on that promise.”

As they were speaking, Manman’s phone suddenly rang.

Recognizing the familiar ringtone, she didn’t even glance at the screen before answering cheerfully, “Jiayang!”

On the other end, Si Jiayang let out an excited ‘Woo!’ like an overjoyed golden retriever greeting its owner. He immediately launched into a flurry of questions. “Baby, you’re back! Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Have you been eating properly these past two days? What about your teammates? Are they all alright?

“That guy Tang Song, as soon as he got the news, dumped several Russian experts on me and ran off with a walkie-talkie. I just managed to shake those scientists off and now I finally have time to call you. Baby, let me wrap up with them first and I’ll come find you later.”

Manman’s eyes were filled with warmth as she replied in a soft, almost playful tone, “Alright, I know. Go finish your work. I’m fine, everyone’s fine, so don’t worry!”

Si Jiayang hummed twice in acknowledgment, reluctant to hang up but finally did so after a few more moments of chatter.

Old Xiao, hearing the clear jab Si Jiayang had thrown at Tang Song, spoke up in a quiet, objective tone, “To be fair, it probably only took him a minute longer to get rid of those Russian experts than Tang Song.”

After Manman put the phone down, she just smiled and blinked without commenting further.

After enduring Earth’s endless grumbling in his head for what felt like ages, Jing Qizhen finally saw the logistics support team arrive, with Tang Song among them. To Jing Qizhen’s relief, Earth quieted down.

The Earth: “Tan’ Son’ is here! Looks like they gathered a lot of data dis’ time!”

Jing Qizhen: “Mm.”

The earlier message from Earth about the two distinct energy fluctuations in the erosion area had, in fact, helped confirm the key presence of Xu Siya and Xu Erya in the area.

The support team members were all in full protective gear, save for Tang Song, who came dressed casually.

Seeing him approach, Jing Qizhen greeted him with a grin, “What’s this? Ready to join us in quarantine again?”

Tang Song chuckled, quickly scanning everyone to ensure they were uninjured before replying in kind, “Of course. Makes communication easier, doesn’t it?”

When Lu Lingxi spotted Tang Song, he instinctively saluted like it was a natural reflex.

Tang Song returned the salute and gave Lu Lingxi’s shoulder a firm pat. “As the only military volunteer in the group, well done!”

Lu Lingxi smiled sheepishly.

Tang Song also noticed Jin Guijuan’s slightly reddened eyes, clearly from crying earlier. Seeing her attempt to smile, he tactfully refrained from asking questions and instead nodded to everyone, suggesting, “Let’s head down the mountain.”

At that moment, Jing Qizhen suddenly thought of something. “Wait!”

Tang Song paused. “What’s wrong?”

Jing Qizhen recalled that the mountain in the erosion area still reflected its state from thirty years ago. Due to the depletion of plant vitality by Xu Erya and the villagers’ reliance on the forest for sustenance, the area was far less lush than it was now. Additionally, with the Shennongjia region designated as a nature reserve, years of protection and restoration had made the forest much denser.

He began pushing through the nearly person-high wild grass and headed toward the graves of Xu Erya and Xu Siya.

Jin Guijuan froze for a moment, then quickly realized what he was doing and followed after.

Though unsure of their intentions, Tang Song trailed behind Jing Qizhen, asking with concern, “Is there something wrong here?”

Jing Qizhen: “I have a theory I’d like to confirm. It’s a bit of a long story. I’ll explain in detail later.”

“Alright. What are you looking for?” Tang Song nodded and asked.

Jing Qizhen: “A tombstone.”

He hesitated slightly, a trace of uncertainty crossing his face. Shaking his head, he added, “Honestly, I’m not sure if the tombstone should even exist.”

“A tombstone?” Tang Song was momentarily taken aback.

Jing Qizhen gave a faint ‘Mm’ in reply.

The ravine wasn’t particularly large and despite the obstruction of weeds and fallen branches, it didn’t take long to search. Within just a few minutes, Jing Qizhen, Jin Guijuan, Lu Lingxi, and the others had thoroughly combed the area where the tombstone should have been. Yet, not even a fragment of one was found.

Abandoning the search, the group exchanged puzzled glances.

From 1992 to 2020, nearly thirty years had passed. It was reasonable for an untended grave mound to erode over time, especially without anyone adding fresh soil yearly. But it seemed unlikely for the erected tombstone to also vanish completely.

Seeing the complicated look on Jing Qizhen’s face, even Earth, who had been quarreling with him earlier, offered rare words of comfort.

The Earth: “Don’t stress about it! I figure de’ erosion area is just a projection of de’ real world. There’s bound to be some misalignment, especially with parallel dimensions and all that interferin’.”

Jing Qizhen stayed silent for a moment before responding seriously in his mind.

Jing Qizhen: “If I get you a copy of last year’s ‘Complete Guide for Standard Mandarin Proficiency Test’, do you think you could fix your accent?”

The Earth: “…! Get lost, ye’ jerk!”

Jing Qizhen was unsure how he felt, so he shook his head and told Tang Song, “There’s no tombstone. Let’s head back.”

Tang Song didn’t argue. As he led the way down the mountain, he casually asked, “What’s the story? Give me a quick rundown and I’ll have someone look into it.”

Jing Qizhen nodded and recounted the tale of Xu Erya and Xu Siya, incorporating details like the February 29, 1992 calendar he’d seen at the villagers’ home and Old Xiao’s previous calculations about the Xu sisters’ birth years.

Tang Song listened and replied, “There aren’t many people with the surname Xu in this village. Plus, 1992 wasn’t that long ago. If we ask some of the older folks, we should find answers pretty quickly.”

Without hesitation, Tang Song called the village chief and explained the situation to him.

By chance, the current village chief was the youngest son of the elderly village chief Jing Qizhen and his team had met earlier. Known for his encyclopedic knowledge of local gossip, the village chief quickly pieced together the story.

Tang Song switched his phone to speaker mode.

The next moment, the group heard the village chief’s loud, accented voice, “You’re asking about the tombstone on the mountain? Oh, that was back in the early 2000s. Xu Lu came back and moved Xu Erya’s grave!”

The group’s eyes widened in surprise.

Jin Guijuan couldn’t help but press further. “What about Xu Siya? What happened to her?”

Though puzzled by the sudden change to a female voice, the village chief didn’t dwell on it and continued reminiscing, “Xu Lu came back for Xu Erya’s grave, and Xu Siya… oh, right! She was having all sorts of conflicts with her family back then. So Xu Lu took her away too!

“Come to think of it, Xu Siya must’ve just turned eighteen then. Her family had arranged a marriage for her but she didn’t agree and smashed all the windows in their house and ran off.

“Hey, Xu Siya was already eighteen at the time. She was already an adult. Her parents couldn’t control her anymore! Honestly, good for her. What kinds of scumbag parents push their own daughter into a pit of fire just for some money? That’s just disgusting!”

Jin Guijuan: “=口=???”

Jing Qizhen and the others were equally stunned by the unexpected twist.

The village chief’s voice lowered slightly, as if mindful not to laugh too loudly at others’ misfortunes. “Hey, didn’t I write to you before about the happenings in our village? What you mentioned has to be about the Xu family over on the west side of the village. The parents were disgraceful, so the kid obviously would not be filial either. Everyone just enjoys watching the drama in their family.”

Jing Qizhen and team: “…???”

Wait, you had mentioned this before?

Manman, who had carefully reviewed the village gossip notes Tang Song had provided earlier, took out her phone and checked the highlighted sections she had photographed. Calmly, she said, “It seems you forgot to include their surname back then.”

The village chief let out an ‘Oh, oh!’ in realization and explained loudly, “That’s what it was! We only have a few family names in the village and everyone’s related. The Xu family is the only one with that surname in the west side. No one needs to spell it out usually, so I must have left it out by habit!”

(need final revision)