"Uncle Tang, what do you mean? Fian…)"
My words were cut off abruptly.
Because, Tang Quan showed an extraordinary pain and agony.
Sometimes, the old Qin head would have me dig specific fresh corpses.
When people are buried, I would hide in a concealed spot and wait, with the exception of joyous funerals, the families of the deceased are mostly as distressed as Tang Quan is now.
"Master, come with me." Tang Quan trembled once again and walked towards the left side door with his head hanging low.
I followed him inside.
The room was about seven to eight square meters.
The room was decorated in shades of pink and white that girls favored, in stark contrast to the disorder and dirtiness of the living room, making it particularly tidy and spotless.
The faint fragrance of yellow jasmine blooms filled the room.
The girl's bedroom should have been warm, but now it was only foreboding.
A spirit tablet and incense burner were placed on the desk against the northern wall.
In the portrait, the girl had a ponytail, her long hair draped over her shoulders, her youthful and pure features still unmarred by time, her eyes smiling in a curve like a crescent moon.
The face with its plain, unadorned appearance gradually became larger in my eyes!
A series of crisp voices resonated in my ears!
"Xian Shen brother, you've been crying for a long time. Don't be sad anymore."
...
"Dad said, life will slowly go on, and we all have to move forward."
...
"I'm already doing summer jobs to earn money to help with the household expenses."
...
"You child, losing your life's fate, losing your company's heart, it's hard to tell who is human and who is dead."
"I have died, but I can't rest in peace!"
Finally, the persistent voice turned into the resentful shout of Old Qin on his deathbed!
I stared blankly at the portrait.
The heart felt as if a massive stone had pressed down, causing suffocation.
Yes, in this late autumn, the streets were covered with silver maple leaves, where could there be summer jobs?
Tang Qianqian certainly couldn't deceive my senses and quietly appear behind me.
She grabbed my back, and I felt my hands and feet go cold, and I felt drowsy.
Was it really because I hadn't rested well?
The driver kept asking for the address because he couldn't see her at all!
Tang Qianqian had long "said" that she was dead...
I didn't notice it.
nor did I hear it!
And I also revealed Tang Quan's scar!
For a moment, my heart ached again and again.
I was alone in the world when I left Xu's house, until I met Tang Qianqian. Her words and actions gave me a bit of warmth.
But this warmth was like sand between fingers, vanishing in an instant...
Taking a step forward, I raised my hand, my index finger touching the girl's cheek in the portrait.
The feeling of coldness was just like when I held her hand!
"Why?" My voice was very hoarse: "She's so young. Did something unexpected happen to her?"
Tang Quan stared at the portrait with a dazed expression, his pain and regret deepening. With red-rimmed eyes, his voice became hoarse: "It's all my fault..."
"I'm just a useless failure who ruins everything!"
His left hand was so tightly clenched that it felt like a rock, he used it to knock the twisted right leg.
A muffled groan, Tang Quan's forehead was covered with sweat beads the size of beans, and he gasped heavily.
My face was as cold as ice, and I didn't stop him.
After gasping for a while, Tang Quan finally struggled to recount the whole story.
Nine years ago, he was broken by my uncle's blow, and his wife suddenly fell ill.
He sold all his property to treat his wife's illness, but he was left with nothing in the end, leaving only him and their daughter to depend on each other.
Without any source of income, life became increasingly strained.
Tang Qianqian worked part-time during high school to support the family.
It was fine at first, but later she started staying out all night and was never seen during weekends.
Initially, everything was fine, but then she started coming home late at night and disappearing during weekends. Although the money she brought back increased, this only made Tang Quan more worried.
Just before the summer vacation, he secretly followed Tang Qianqian and found out that after school every day, she would go with some female classmates into a KTV in their home.
He felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
That night, Tang Qianqian was beaten severely when she came home!
After finally finding out the reason, it turned out to be a job introduced by a director's son, with many female classmates also working there.
The next day, Tang Quan filed a complaint, and Tang Qianqian identified the principal and his son.
They were arrested on the same day!
The KTV was shut down for rectification, and the principal was replaced.
At the time, Tang Quan felt a great sense of relief and was overjoyed.
My daughter is about sixteen or seventeen years old. What could she possibly understand?
Fortunately, nothing irreparable happened, giving him a warning.
But she disappeared not long after that.
He went to the school every day to make trouble, went to the KTV that had reopened after the incident, but it was all in vain.
Until he received a phone call from the police, he finally saw Qianqian.
At that time, she had just been pulled from the water, her face unrecognizable...
Tang Quan suspected it was a revenge killing, but the principal and his son had already been detained.
Tang Quan wanted the school to give an explanation, but the school refused, saying that during the summer vacation, Tang Qianqian was already a problem child, and they could only deal with her once. How could they possibly deal with her again?
When he found the KTV again, they directly reported to the police, saying that Tang Quan was making false accusations and deliberately causing trouble.
With this, Tang Quan's face turned ashen, and he trembled as he said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reported it."
"These are people I can't afford to offend... Why didn't I just stop her from going back?"
"Qianqian is dead, my heaven, it has collapsed. If it weren't for seeking revenge, I would have followed her long ago!"
"I sharpen my knife every night!"
"But I don't know who the enemy is!"
Tang Quan's voice was laced with sobs, and he ground his teeth, his body swaying unsteadily.
My eyes felt hot, with bloodshot veins.
Leaning to the side, I looked at the pigtails on Tang Qianqian's young and innocent face in the portrait.
In my mind, I could see her smiling after wiping away my tears.
Blood surged to my head!
Touching her portrait again, I felt a chill, which somewhat kept me calm.
I scanned the entire room with my eyes, "Tang Qianqian" was not here.
After leading me back, she left.
Turning to leave the room, Tang Quan immediately limped after me, looking extremely anxious: "Master, where are you going?"
Walking past the dirty and disordered living room, I opened the front door. The lonely and quiet old road was blown by the wind, making the willow leaves rustle loudly, as if they were jumping out with sharp shadows that kept writhing!
"Master…Are you really leaving?" Tang Quan's anxiety grew.
"I'm not leaving." I shook my head.
Tang Quan finally let out a breath of relief.
Stopping at the front door, I put down my backpack and took out two things.
A bronze gong the size of a palm, and a copper gong wrapped in yellow cloth with a glazed top.
"Wh-What are these?" Tang Quan looked bewildered.
With my left hand holding the thin rope above the gong, and my right hand gripping the mallet, I struck it down abruptly!
The deep, heavy sound, accompanied by the sharp and ear-piercing sound of the gong, penetrated the night air!
"At the dusk of the sixth hour, when people are exhausted, the first hour has arrived, and the chickens and dogs return home!"
Another strike of the mallet!
"By the deep of the eleventh hour, the night wanderer of the world, the second hour has arrived, and living people fall asleep!"
The third strike made the gong face hum, as if it formed overlapping shadows.
"The eleventh hour disperses all ghosts, at the midnight of the third hour, family spirits return to their places!"
"Tang Qianqian, come home!"
The sound of the gong and the voice echoed together, creating a resonance that could be heard throughout the street.
Tang Quan understood everything.
He echoed in a shaky voice: "Qianqian, come home! Dad and Master are waiting for you!"
The wind howled sharply, like wailing ghosts and wolves!
The mist suddenly thickened, and for a moment, my vision became somewhat blurry.
A faint tap-tap sound, as if someone was walking barefoot in the mist, gradually approaching us.
"Tang Qianqian is back?" Tang Quan became excited.
I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the thick mist.
There indeed is a shadow there.
However, the shadow was tall and slender, even though it wasn't clear, it was definitely not like that of Tang Qianqian!
I pushed Tang Quan into the house with one hand, holding the mallet and the backpack with the other, and retreated back inside.
"Thump!" I closed the door.
"Master... This is Tang Qianqian!" Tang Quan was full of confusion.
Tap tap, the knock came.
A clear voice came: "Dad... Master, open the door, I'm coming home."
It's really Qianqian!
Tang Quan wept bitterly and reached out to pull the door!
I pressed my hand on his shoulder and shook my head alertly with my eyes.
"It's not Qianqian!"
Tang Qianqian? How could she call me master?
She's always called me Xian Shenge Ge brother since we were children!
"Big Brother Xian, it's so cold... Can you open the door?"
Suddenly, the voice became extremely weak, as if a girl was shivering.
