Grandma left me three brocade pouches before she passed away.
“On the seventh day after my death, give it to the seventh person who offers incense.”
On the day of the funeral, I obediently did as she said. The man who opened the pouch turned deathly pale with fright and fled in a hurry.
Later, I found out that the man was a rapist and murderer.
He had intended to attack me tonight.
The first brocade pouch was filled with his criminal record.
The second brocade pouch, she told me to open it before getting married and consummating the marriage.
This time, the brocade pouch was very thin.
There was only a single word in it.
“Escape!!!”
1
I fled from my wedding.
Half an hour before the wedding, I left my boyfriend of many years behind and ran away from the scene.
Just because of that word “escape” left by Grandma in the brocade pouch.
She was a well – known shaman in the neighboring villages during her lifetime. Before she died, she had told me:
“Girl, you will have three life – threatening disasters in your life.”
Grandma was lying on the bed, dying. Her emaciated hand somehow had so much strength that it hurt my handback. “These three brocade pouches can help you survive three close calls with death. You must keep them safe!”
Her turbid eyes looked at the first brocade pouch.
“On the seventh day after my death, give it to the seventh person who offers incense!”
I didn’t have time to ask why, and she passed away.
Many villagers came to the funeral. They were mostly familiar faces. I held the brocade pouch tightly in my hand and silently counted the people offering incense.
Outside, the rain was pouring down. In the desolate and dim rain curtain.
A man wrapped tightly in a raincoat came in.
He was exactly the seventh one.
2
He was a completely unfamiliar face.
My heart tightened involuntarily.
The incense of others lit up easily, but his just wouldn’t catch fire.
After coming in, he didn’t greet like other guests. Instead, he pretended to look around casually. When his cold gaze suddenly swept towards me.
An indescribable chill shot straight to my head.
When he was leaving, I summoned up my courage and stopped him. “Uncle, wait a moment.”
In his slightly defensive eyes, I handed the brocade pouch to him.
“It was my elder’s last words that this must be given to you.”
3
The man opened it in confusion.
Almost instantly, his face turned ashen. I had never seen anyone change their expression so quickly. He was in a panic, bumped into several people, and then fled in a hurry.
I picked up the brocade pouch in confusion.
There was a long list inside. Zhang Li, Xu Amei, Deng Huifang… My heart skipped a beat. There were two names on the list.
Weren’t they the names of the girls who were raped and killed in the village recently?
They disappeared in the reed fields on their way home from evening self – study. A few days later, their naked bodies floated out of the gully.
When I saw the end, I stood there dumbfounded. Fear instantly filled my whole body.
Because at the end of the list, my name was written:
Jiang Shanshan.
4
I realized that this man was the rapist!
He came to the mourning hall to scout the place!
But my call to the police only got me a few laughs. “Little girl, we haven’t even identified the suspect yet, and we haven’t released any facial information. How do you know?”
No one believed me. After the funeral, my mother finally arrived.
I was scared and asked if I could go back to the city with her. My mother made excuses, saying it wasn’t very appropriate.
After my father passed away, she remarried. My grandma had mentioned to her several times: “The girl is smart. The school in the village is not good and will delay her. Take her to the city. I’ll send you money every month.”
My mother said yes, but every time there was a new excuse.
Like she just changed jobs, just started a new relationship, just got remarried, just gave birth to a son and was still in confinement.
This time, I was really scared. I pleaded desperately, but my mother pulled a long face. “Don’t listen to your grandma’s nonsense. What rapist? Who would have thoughts about a little girl like you? She’s just scaring you to get attention! Shanshan, it’s not that mom is cruel. Your Uncle Zhang’s house is small, and your little brother needs to be fed at night. It’s very noisy. You won’t get used to living there.”
“If you’re really smart, where can’t you study?”
In the whole house, there was only me left.
Outside, the wind was howling and the rain was beating against the glass, making a crackling sound. In the middle of the night, I couldn’t sleep and sobbed softly, holding my grandma’s clothes.
Suddenly, I heard a click from the toilet on the first floor.
Someone was prying the door open and came in.
5
I heard the creaking sound of someone going upstairs.
He was coming up!
My hair stood on end in an instant. When I didn’t know what to do, my grandma’s teachings came to my mind.
“Girl, grandma is leaving. From now on, you have to walk your own path. Do you understand?”
“Don’t be afraid. Be brave. Don’t be timid in front of anyone!”
I couldn’t just sit and wait for death! I dried my tears, quickly closed the bedroom door latch, and rushed towards the balcony. I threw the cup on the desk down heavily.
My house is an old – style self – built building with a front yard and a back building. The sound of the cup hitting the ground distracted the man for a moment.
I hid in the hidden grain storage bin at home, not daring to breathe. I didn’t move until I heard the sound of the door closing.
Had he left? After a long time, I opened the bin door gently. Suddenly, I felt a moist breath on my cheek.
“Little sister, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
My whole body stiffened. The man was right at the door.
He had just pretended to leave!
6
“Tell me! How did you know it was me at the mourning hall!”
I struggled feebly. The man was choking my throat tightly. It was the hysteria after his secret was revealed.
“I was so careful. Even the police couldn’t find me. That old hag never went out. How could she know this? It must be you! You saw it, right? Do you want money? Do you want to blackmail me?”
In despair, a beam of light suddenly shone over.
First, a hunting dog rushed over. Seeing the situation, the man turned to run. The police officer who came quickly hit him with a baton and soon pinned him to the ground.
I was miraculously saved.
It turned out that several old police officers in the village were lazy. But by chance.
The phone number that grandma left me was that of the neighboring sentry post.
The young police officers transferred there had just dealt with a series of rape cases.
“I knew you called. I was worried and came to take a look. Fortunately, the murderer specifically targets female students who are alone. He knew your family was empty and was going to commit a crime here.”
Everyone said I was so lucky.
But I knew clearly in my heart that this was not a coincidence. I looked at grandma’s portrait in shock and awe, and my heart was filled with great sadness and tenderness.
Before leaving, Grandma meticulously explained where the family passbook was and how to use it, as well as which stores to buy oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar from.
She even wrote down on the phone book what phone number to call in case of danger.
I was impatient at that time and said I was already in the third year of junior high school and knew everything. But grandma just smiled sadly.
Carefully and reluctantly:
“No matter how old you are, Shanshan is still a little girl!”
She was worried about me, so she blessed me.
I hugged grandma’s clothes and found that the smell of her on it was fading, cruelly reminding me.
Time really takes away everything.
7
The remaining two brocade pouches accompanied me as I grew up.
In high school, I moved to the city. Life as a dependent was very difficult.
I didn’t have a room. The folding bed was set up on the balcony. It was hot in summer and cold in winter. The worst was when it rained. I could only huddle in the corner to sleep.
My mother was biased. My stepfather was mean and an alcoholic. My three – year – old brother would scold me in front of me: “You freeloader, get out of my house!”
I was never discouraged. As long as I held the brocade pouch, I felt that grandma was still with me.
She would look at me with the most satisfied and happy smile: “Our Shanshan is smart. She can succeed in anything she does!”
During college, I met my current boyfriend, Gu Weizhi.
He was three years older than me, gentle and considerate, and from a well – off family. The first time he came to my house, my mother knew about the good conditions of the Gu family.
She asked for an exorbitant betrothal gift of 880,000 yuan.
I was so embarrassed and ashamed that I didn’t know what to do. But Gu Weizhi firmly held my hand.
“Auntie, 880,000 yuan is no problem.”
Before my mother could be happy, he changed the subject. “But not in the form of a betrothal gift. I will transfer it to Shanshan before we get married. Our marriage is not a business deal. This money is for my wife to buy things. She has suffered too much in your house. I won’t give you another chance to bully her.”
His appearance perfectly made up for my regret about my family.
After accepting his proposal, I was impulsive and almost opened the second brocade pouch.
Because grandma had emphasized: “The second one, you have to wait until the day of your marriage and consummation to open it. One day more or one second less is not allowed.”
This brocade pouch had a dark blue coarse – cloth bottom with strange patterns embroidered on it. It somehow gave people a sense of solemnity that one should not act rashly.
I didn’t dare to cross the line and endured until the wedding day.
I opened it happily. I had fantasized countless times about what would be inside.
Would it write the name of my future husband, or the number of years we would grow old together, or the situation of our future children…
But inside, there was nothing.
Only a bloody – looking –
Escape!!!
8
This word was written by my grandma with her blood.
In the first brocade pouch, her handwriting was still relatively stable. But this word “escape” was like a last – ditch effort written by someone on the verge of death.
It was shocking.
After I fled from the wedding, my phone was constantly ringing.
My mother was furious. “Jiang Shanshan, all the guests have arrived. What on earth are you going crazy about? You regret at this time? Do you think you have good conditions? Gu Weizhi was blind to fall in love with you. Now come back quickly and apologize to Weizhi immediately!”
My best friend also tried to persuade me. “Shanshan, what problem can’t be solved privately? Everyone can see how Gu Weizhi treats you. Don’t waste his feelings. I really feel sorry for him!”
The initial fear gradually faded away, replaced by confusion and guilt.
Escape, escape from whom? Escape from where? I knew nothing.
I only knew that Gu Weizhi, dressed in a suit, was standing at the end of the red carpet, looking happy and expectant.
In full view of everyone, I turned around and ran away.
Making him the laughingstock of relatives and friends.
In the last message, it was Gu Weizhi’s hoarse and tired voice:
“Shanshan, tell me what happened?”
“Did I do something wrong, or did something happen that I don’t know about? If there is, please tell me. We’ll face it together.”
“It’s getting cold tonight. Remember to put on more clothes.”
“Remember… I still love you.”
9
The guilt was like a tide, making it hard for me to breathe.
Nothing happened at the wedding scene. Everything was calm. Could the person who wanted to harm me be at the wedding scene?
The most urgent thing now was to find the source of danger.
The first person I suspected was my stepfather.
He loved gambling. Especially after I fell in love with Weizhi, he harassed us even more. Before the wedding, he asked me to borrow 300,000 yuan.
I refused flatly. He became angry and arrogantly threatened to get even with me. “I raised you for so long. Now you want to climb high and get rid of us? No way. If you don’t give me the money, I won’t let you get married!”
On the wedding day, he didn’t come to the scene.
I immediately went home to look for him.
When she saw me, my mother started cursing. “How dare you come back? Do you know how bad Gu Weizhi’s face was yesterday? You’re going to drive away such a good catch. Tell me the truth. Do you have another man outside?”
I suppressed my anger and searched the room inside and out. “Where’s Uncle Chen?”
My mother raised her voice unhappily. “Where could he go? He went on a business trip to purchase goods!”
Really? I narrowed my eyes and my gaze stopped on the basin of peanuts that hadn’t been peeled on the dining table. I sneered and exposed her. “The three of us are allergic to this. Only Uncle Chen likes to eat it. Who are you peeling it for?”
My mother’s eyes became more evasive.
Sure enough, it was him! I didn’t beat around the bush. “Okay, if you don’t say, I’ll call the police. I still have evidence of Uncle Chen prying open my apartment and moving things. It’s enough to send him to jail.”
“Don’t, don’t, don’t!” My mother panicked and stammered that my stepfather had owed debts again.
“He said he was going to make trouble at the wedding. That’s not okay. We should ask for money after you marry into the Gu family. So I… I tricked Uncle Chen into the warehouse and locked him inside first. Who knew you were so useless!”
I’ve known she was mercenary and greedy since I was a child. But why.
At this moment, my heart was still torn by anger.
I checked the surveillance. On the wedding day, my stepfather was indeed still inside.
If it wasn’t him, then who could it be?
When I left in a daze, my mother suddenly grabbed me:
“You have to be careful of your best friend. She has a problem!”
10
My best friend, Su Wanru?
We were college roommates, as close as sisters and told each other everything. How could it be?
My mother became excited. “After you fled from the wedding, I went to apologize to Weizhi. I saw her telling Gu Weizhi that you were with him for the money and that you had someone you really liked outside. I recorded it!”
She immediately opened the video.
On the wedding bench, Gu Weizhi was slumped over, looking depressed. Su Wanru was gently patting his back to comfort him.
“Weizhi, some words may not be pleasant to hear, but I have to say them. Shanshan’s family background is not good. You’ve always been her life – saver, her fallback.”
“But, are you really her only one?”
Gu Weizhi looked up blankly and asked what she meant.
“Shanshan complained to me that she felt a lot of pressure being with you, but she could endure it for the future.”
My ears were buzzing.
I couldn’t believe these words of sowing discord came from my best friend.
“See for yourself!” My mother said, hating that I couldn’t live up to expectations. “You’ve been good at studying but can’t see through other people’s thoughts. Anyone can tell that Su Wanru likes Gu Weizhi. She’s just waiting for you two to have a conflict so she can take your place.”
The first time I heard about Gu Weizhi was from Wanru.
She dragged us to attend his reading club. Gu Weizhi was handsome and tall. She was determined to get him.
But by chance, Gu Weizhi had a crush on me.
He asked me to read books, play ball, and picked me up after evening self – study. Because of Su Wanru, I refused him cruelly.
That was the first time Gu Weizhi got angry. “What do you take me for? A gift that can be given and taken away? I like you and only care about your feelings. You don’t owe Su Wanru anything. Now, think it over. Qin Shanshan, do you like me?”
Our eyes met. I didn’t say a word, my eyes stubborn.
But he smiled and said he knew the answer.
“Shanshan, your eyes are not good at lying.”
After we got together, our classmates gossiped behind our backs. “Qin Shanshan is so poor. What’s so good about her compared to Wanru? I think some people are just shameless. Maybe she’s good in bed…”
Su Wanru slapped the person in the face in public.
“Watch your mouth! Who dares to spread rumors about Shanshan? I won’t let it go!”
She was forthright and magnanimous. Seeing my uneasiness, she even comforted me. “Come on, it’s just a man. Do I look like the kind of person who would fall out with her best friend over a man? There are plenty of fish in the sea.”
In front of Gu Weizhi, she was also very straightforward. “You’d better not bully my Shanshan, or I’ll get angry with you.”
At that time, I swore in my heart that we would be friends for life.
If the murderer was Su Wanru…
Then what on earth would she do?
11
I made a phone call to my roommate.
In the dormitory, apart from me, she and Su Wanru were the closest.
After the call was connected, I first remained silent, suppressing my voice and pretending to know everything. “I know what Wanru has done. Why did she do this to me? You know what she did at the wedding, right?”
On the other end, the breathing became chaotic.
“You… you know everything already…”
Sure enough, I took the opportunity to press. “Yes, otherwise why would I call you?”
My roommate panicked completely. “No, Shanshan, listen to me. I didn’t participate. I’ve already tried to persuade Wanru. You were about to get married. No matter how unwilling she was, there was nothing she could do. It wasn’t me who swapped the contents of your brocade pouch!”
My mind went blank.
All the blood in my body seemed to freeze, and my whole body was soaked in this coldness.
“You said the brocade pouch was swapped?”
12
Half an hour later, in the coffee shop.
Su Wanru rushed into the private room in a hurry. “How did she find out? Did you let it slip – “
When she saw me coming out from behind the screen, she was struck like by lightning.
Back then, when we were drinking in the dormitory, I drunkenly told them about the brocade pouches.
They were curious why I cherished the brocade pouches so much.
I said they were the relics left by my grandma, and I had to wait until my wedding day to open the second one.
I stared at her with cold eyes. “Why did you do this? Where is my brocade pouch?”
Su Wanru calmed down, raised her chin, and no longer pretended to be affectionate and friendly. “Why? You knew I liked Gu Weizhi, so why did you still flirt with him?”
“In terms of family background, appearance, and personality, I’m better than you in every way. What right do you have to compete with me?”
I felt like I was looking at a familiar stranger.
The person I had trusted unreservedly all these years was a liar.
“Heh, you think I’d just break you two up directly? You don’t deserve that. That’s what low – class women do. I’ll let time prove that I’m the more suitable partner for Weizhi.”
Her father was a high – court judge, and her mother ran a business. After leaving campus.
The gap between us would be huge.
“But why, Gu Weizhi still only wants you.” Jealousy completely distorted her face. “I hinted to him many times, but Weizhi didn’t respond at all. He wouldn’t even let me sit in the front passenger seat! After you fled the wedding, he could actually forgive you. He said you must have your reasons. What makes you so special?”
“I knew how much you cared about that brocade pouch, so I swapped it when I accompanied you to try on the wedding dress last time!”
She burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“But who would have thought that you actually ran away!”
13
She fiercely threw the second brocade pouch out of her bag.
“What relics from your grandma? There’s nothing in it. The poor old woman gave birth to a poor girl. So shabby!”
A note fell out of the brocade pouch.
The moment I opened it, my heart seemed to jump out of my chest. There was nothing in it.
Just a blank piece of paper.
The tense nerve “snapped” and broke. I was so angry that my eyes turned red, and I hysterically rushed at her, forcing her to hand it over. Su Wanru also pushed and shouted back unyieldingly.
In the chaos, someone suddenly protected me.
“Stop it!”
The scene instantly quieted down. The man who came was wearing a black windbreaker, tall and handsome, unforgettable at first sight.
It was Gu Weizhi.
14
“So, this is the reason why you fled the wedding?”
After hearing the whole story, Gu Weizhi looked at me deeply.
I nodded with tear – filled eyes. It was not easy to tell the story of that case from years ago.
“I… almost died at the hands of the rapist. The first brocade pouch saved me.”
That memory gave me a sense of trance and magic.
“Because it’s so unbelievable, my mother even thought I had delusions. So I didn’t tell anyone. It’s normal if you don’t believe me.”
“I believe you.” He hugged me in his arms, gently soothing and comforting me. “If you’re willing to tell me, I’m willing to believe. The world is so big, anything is possible. This is more believable than what Su Wanru said about you having a new lover outside, right?”
I finally stopped crying and laughed.
Su Wanru insisted that there was only a blank piece of paper in the brocade pouch. I didn’t believe it.
But Gu Weizhi sent the two pieces of paper to the appraisal center, and the result was that the blank piece of paper.
Was the real one.
My mind was in a mess, and I was more confused.
Why did grandma leave me a blank piece of paper?
Grandma had Miao ethnic blood. It was said that there were witch doctors in our ancestors who could predict good and bad fortune, but the more accurate the prediction, the greater the harm to themselves.
“Could it be because she was too weak at that time?”
Gu Weizhi shook his head. He guessed, “No, she should have anticipated that Su Wanru would swap the brocade pouch, so she left the blank paper.”
My heart trembled.
“The word ‘escape’ that Su Wanru swapped might be what she really wanted to tell you.”
“She just used Su Wanru’s hand to give you the real brocade pouch.”
15
Grandma’s death anniversary was approaching.
I planned to go back to my hometown. Gu Weizhi came with me this time. “Such a miraculous old lady, I have to pay my respects. I hope she blesses me and her granddaughter to grow old together.”
I hadn’t been back for several years. The old house was more dilapidated than in my memory, covered in dust everywhere. I said we should go to a hotel, but Gu Weizhi said we should clean it up.
“Perfect, I’ve been thinking about how to renovate the old house. When we have children, we can bring them back here during the winter and summer vacations.”
When it came to renovation, he had a lot of ideas. Listening to his little ideas, my heart felt warm.
There was a sense of stability and a promising future.
When we walked to the toilet, he pointed to a window. “This needs to be reinforced. Otherwise, what if there are thieves again in the future?”
Something flashed through my mind. I pretended to be normal and said, “Yes, it does.”
But the moment I turned my head, all the smiles on my face disappeared.
A chill spread through my body like the sea.
I had never.
Told anyone.
That the murderer back then came in through this window.
There were toilets on both the east and west sides of the first floor, with a total of four windows. But the position Gu Weizhi pointed at.
Was exactly.
The position where the murderer climbed in back then.
15
Was I being overly suspicious?
But what if, it was another misunderstanding?
Then our just – repaired relationship would really be beyond repair.
To be on the safe side, I had to leave myself a way out.
I touched my pocket for my phone, but it wasn’t there. Then I remembered it had run out of power on the way and had been with Gu Weizhi.
I took a deep breath and asked with a smile to give it back to me when it was almost charged. Gu Weizhi was not far away, not looking back. “I’ll keep your phone for you. Didn’t the doctor say your intra – ocular pressure is high and you should play with your phone less? Have a good rest and don’t worry about this.”
My forehead twitched. “Mainly because I’m afraid the leader might have something urgent to find me.”
“How could that be? I’ve applied for your wedding leave. The leader can’t do anything about it.”
I pressed my lips tightly. Seeing my unhappiness, Gu Weizhi hugged me, half – joking and half – serious, acting coquettish.
“Is it my fault for making decisions on my own? I just don’t want anyone to disturb us. I’m always afraid that you’ll leave without saying goodbye again like last time. Keeping it with me makes me feel at ease.”
He lowered his head and kissed me.
Our bodies were close, affectionate and lingering, but what rose in my heart was no longer sweetness.
But deep – seated fear.
I didn’t ask for the phone anymore. I turned around to check the stove. When I came out, I pretended to complain. “Weizhi, the stove won’t light. I have to ask my mom what the phone number of the gas cylinder delivery store is. Otherwise, we won’t have hot water for a bath tonight.”
I had to be circuitous and get the phone back first.
Gu Weizhi was a clean – freak and had the habit of taking a bath every day. I said reluctantly, “Actually, it’s okay not to wash for one day. You’ll have to make do tonight. We can go to the village to find a store tomorrow morning.”
The roads in the village were muddy and difficult to walk on. Driving out was very troublesome.
Gu Weizhi looked at the sky and then handed me the phone.
My heart was pounding. I said “hello” several times and pretended that the signal was bad, then walked outside. As soon as the call was connected, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gu Weizhi following me.
He snatched the phone from me.
My heart sank quickly.
16
“Silly girl, didn’t you say you were going to call Auntie?”
He turned the phone screen over and smiled more gently.
“Why was it a call to 110?”
A bone – chilling cold rose from the soles of my feet. I felt my fingers starting to go numb. I tried to stay calm. “Oh, I just accidentally touched Siri’s voice – dialing. I misheard. It’s really unreliable.”
If I had still been hopeful just now, now I was almost certain.
Gu Weizhi had a problem.
But why? What was the point of him doing this?
He skillfully got in touch with my mother. “Auntie, we’re at the old house. Shanshan is asking for the phone number to order gas. Oh? There’s a store selling it next to the old house? I see. Well, she probably hasn’t been back for too long and remembered wrong.”
As he spoke, his gaze swept over me. In the moment our eyes met, I could clearly see that there was only coldness in his eyes.
After hanging up the phone, he naturally put the phone back in his pocket.
“Honey, with your memory, I’d better keep it for you.”
In the evening, taking the opportunity of taking a bath, I quietly took the car keys from Gu Weizhi’s trouser pocket.
I went around to the backyard and carefully inserted the car key, but I couldn’t turn it no matter what. Just then, Gu Weizhi’s playful voice came from behind.
“Shanshan, it’s so late. Where are you going?”
“Look at you, so careless. The car key has been changed. How didn’t you notice?”
I turned my head mechanically. Gu Weizhi walked out of the shadows. He still looked gentle and refined.
But behind his glasses, his undisguised gaze made me shudder.
I wanted to run, but the next moment my body went weak.
In a dizzy state, I heard him laugh softly.
“Shanshan, this time, where do you think you can run?”
17
When I woke up again, I was tied up tightly.
My whole head was dizzy. I chattered my teeth and asked why. Gu Weizhi reached out and gently stroked my face.
“Why? Of course, because the man who was arrested because of you was my father.”
My mind went blank for a moment. Absurdity and fear filled me.
“That man, you said Wu Ninghao? That rapist and murderer? How could he be…”
Perhaps my distress amused him. Gu Weizhi laughed.
“Why not? After he was arrested and sentenced to death, my mother also committed suicide. My distant relatives adopted me.”
“I am the son of a murderer.”
18
When talking about his father, he was not ashamed.
Instead, he was very nostalgic and admired him deeply.
“My father was the bold and careful type. Every time after he finished his ‘work’, he would use sulfuric acid to destroy the victim’s lower body. He was also very cautious in choosing his prey and would do background checks.”
“Baby, you always praise me for being careful. I think this is the good gene I inherited from my father.”
So he had always known.
That his father was committing crimes.
“Of course, I was already in high school at that time. There are no secrets between father and son.”
Gu Weizhi smiled nostalgically. “He had a bit of a collecting habit. There were often all kinds of girls’ school uniforms in the warehouse. It was me who told him to destroy them. And with the development of urban surveillance cameras, the rural areas would catch up sooner or later. Crime should be done early.”
“So, I suggested that he choose a poor and remote place that was connected by a main road, like your village.”
I couldn’t catch my breath. Tears welled up in my eyes, making them sore.
“You… you were the one who chose the victims for him.”
The three girls who died in our village were all in their prime.
Once when I went back to the village, I saw a crazy woman wandering in the reed fields. It was Sister Huifang’s mother.
She would poke around every day in the place where her daughter had an accident, asking everyone she met if they had seen her daughter. My heart went cold. These were all real lives!
“We’re a family. One prospers, all prosper. I had to help him.”
Gu Weizhi said matter – of – factly, with a hint of regret. “If it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have been caught. Our family of three would still be fine.”
“I’ve been keeping an eye on you, Jiang Shanshan. I’m very curious how you found out my father’s true identity. You two had clearly just met for the first time.”
His gaze always only stayed on me.
Fiery, persistent, unwavering.
Because I was his only prey.
“Girls like you who live at the bottom, you seem self – respecting and innocent on the surface, but you’re especially easy to be deceived by fairy – tale love. Just say a few sweet words to you, and you’ll believe that I love you deeply. Seriously, don’t you ever look in the mirror?”
“You’re so rustic. Every time I take you out, I have to endure the sympathetic looks from others. But playing with you really gives me a lot of pleasure.”
He grabbed my hair and forced me to raise my head.
“After all, what my father didn’t have time to enjoy.”
“The son will enjoy it for him.”
19
His original plan was to murder me on the wedding day.
“But you ran away. I thought you had noticed something, but you don’t have any extraordinary criminal investigation talent. On the contrary, you’re careless, not very scheming, and emotional.”
“You couldn’t even notice that Su Wanru has been flirting with me. So how could you have discovered my father’s disguise back then?”
“You said it was the brocade pouch that changed everything.”
“I don’t believe it, so I decided to try it myself.”
“I’m very curious. This time, can you still escape with the help of the brocade pouch?”
20
Gu Weizhi tortured me for three whole days.
That day was the anniversary of his father’s death. Gu Weizhi went to the village entrance to buy paper money.
Taking this opportunity, I broke free from the ropes and struggled to get up on my elbows.
With the fingers that hadn’t been crushed, I tremblingly took out the necklace.
Su Wanru taught me a lesson. I had long taken out the note from the third brocade pouch and put it inside.
Regarding the third brocade pouch, grandma didn’t tell me the specific time to open it. She only said, “When you need to open it, you’ll naturally know.”
Now, this must be that time.
A drop of blood fell on the paper. I quickly wiped it off. There was a faintly visible sentence on it:
“Girl, everything is in its right place.”
Things? What things? I suddenly trembled.
Grandma was so afraid of being poor all her life that she always liked to stock up on things in the warehouse. She told me, “There’s everything at home. I’ve prepared everything you need to eat and use.”
Outside the courtyard, Gu Weizhi finished burning the paper money for his father.
A dutiful son, afraid that his ancestors would be lonely, always had to burn something. Others burned paper figurines.
He had to burn real gold and silver.
Just as he opened the warehouse door, ready to end this game.
What greeted him.
Was the muzzle of a black hunting gun.
20
A few minutes ago.
I struggled to pry open the floor compartment. Inside, besides grain, oil, and medicine, there was also an old – fashioned hunting gun.
There were many mountains in the village. Almost every family would go hunting in the mountains.
When I was a child, grandma took me up the mountain and taught me hand – in – hand. “Shanshan, the hunter’s first shot is the most important. Your heart must be firm, and your hand must be steady. Just like this – “
I tried my best to suppress the rising nervousness, constantly adjusted my breathing, squatted down against the wall, stabilized my posture, and pressed the hunting gun against my shoulder.
The footsteps were approaching——
The door slowly opened, and the moment Gu Weizhi appeared.
I forcefully pulled the trigger. The strong recoil burst the wound on my shoulder. I ignored the excruciating pain and immediately reloaded.
I was aiming right at the heart. Click to enter “Hu Ba ③ Shi” on WeChat to enjoy free benefits.
The first bullet penetrated Gu Weizhi’s shoulder. He fell backward unexpectedly, and blood quickly spread on his shoulder.
But this wasn’t fatal!
Just as I was about to pull the trigger again, a jamming sound came from the gun barrel.
Damn it, it jammed!
21
Gu Weizhi got up.
Regardless of the blood all over his shoulder, he pounced towards me like an enraged wild beast. I hit him with the gun barrel and took the opportunity to run out of the old house.
It was pouring outside.
The dense rain covered my cries for help. The main road was too conspicuous, so I plunged into the dark reed marshes by the river.
This place had once claimed three lives.
“Shanshan, you can’t escape.” Gu Weizhi caught up, and his mocking voice followed like a ghost.
In the darkness, I couldn’t tell east from west. My feet sank in the mud, and every step was extremely difficult.
The reed leaves cut my face like steel needles. My face was covered in blood, and my body was full of wounds, but I didn’t feel any pain. The desire to survive roared in my chest.
Suddenly, a hand stretched out from the darkness.
“Ah——!!”
Gu Weizhi grabbed me. I let out a shrill scream. He kicked me in the abdomen.
I fell to the ground, powerless, and curled up in pain.
Gu Weizhi’s shoulder was injured, but he took advantage of his physical strength and rode on me, punching my face. Blood choked into my throat.
Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, illuminating Gu Weizhi’s face.
It was as hideous as his father’s back then.
“It’s over.” He told me triumphantly.
I thought in a daze, was it really going to end like this?
Grandma gave me three chances, but I still couldn’t escape? Was fate really so irreversible? Was I destined to die at the hands of these father – son pair?
The rain was pouring down. Just as Gu Weizhi raised the axe high.
A sharp whistle pierced the silence.
A disheveled woman slowly crawled out from the reeds.
It was Huifang’s mother.
The crazy woman who wandered in the reed marshes.
22
She was as dirty as a beggar, her face covered in dirt, staring numbly at the massacre in front of her.
“Get away!”
Facing the fierce Gu Weizhi, she wasn’t afraid at all. Instead, she puffed out her cheeks and blew the whistle in her mouth——
After she went crazy, she had been looking for the murderer in the reed marshes.
Over and over again.
She would tell everyone she met, “The whistle I made is very loud. When I see the murderer, I’ll blow it and scare him away! Then my poor daughter will be saved, hee – hee!”
Her crazy eyes were incredibly clear at this moment.
Facing the approaching murderer, she neither fled nor retreated, blowing until her face turned red, as if she was using all her strength in this lifetime——
Night birds were startled and flew away.
The loud whistle pierced the eardrums, swept across the reed marshes, flew towards the village, and reached the nearby patrolling police.
In the distance, lights came on, and footsteps rushed over.
“Who’s there! Stop——”
23
Before losing consciousness, I met Huifang’s mother’s eyes.
Kind, gentle, like eternal tranquility.
“Shanshan, it’s okay now. Be good.”
It was grandma. Only grandma called me like that. I excitedly reached out my hand, but the more I tried to reach her, the farther away she seemed, until I lost my strength.
When I woke up again, I was in the hospital.
I had been in a coma for eight whole days.
I had multiple fractures all over my body and a brain hemorrhage. If it hadn’t been for Huifang’s mother showing up in time, I would have died silently.
As for Gu Weizhi, he was injured during the pursuit and committed suicide by swallowing a gun in desperation.
After my body recovered, I went to see Huifang’s mother. She was still crazy.
She didn’t even remember what had happened that night at all.
Her family members were also muttering, “It’s really strange. Her whistle was so annoying, always disturbing people. We had already changed the whistle’s core.”
“Strange, then how could she blow it?”
I was stunned. A shiver ran from my fingertips to the bottom of my heart. I looked at Huifang’s mother. Her eyes were dull and lifeless.
Completely different from her that night.
When I left, the sun outside was so bright that it made my tears flow uncontrollably.
I thought, I knew who had come that night.
It was Huifang’s mother.
And it was also her.
On that stormy night of life and death, it was like an old friend had returned.
– The End –
