Yang Hu sighed slightly, but Feng Yi looked at An Xin. The girl's face was indifferent and seemed aloof, but the light in her eyes was as bright as the evening star. What was she thinking at this moment?
Feng Yi found that his curiosity was higher than ever before when he was with her.
"Uncle Xu has died tragically. Please accept my condolences, sister-in-law." An Xin stepped forward and spoke. Sister-in-law Xu, who was crying, was taken aback when she saw An Xin and the others, and asked timidly, "What are you going to do?"
“To find the murderer who killed Uncle Xu, we need to find clues about how the murderer committed the crime. I think the murderer must have left something behind before Uncle Xu died. Please cooperate, sister-in-law.” An Xin glanced around, not intending to explain further, but seeing the woman’s desperate face, she suddenly felt that explaining might make her feel better, at least letting her know that there were still people in this world willing to find the real killer for her.
The woman said resolutely, "Miss An, you must catch the murderer, otherwise I... as long as I can help you, I will do anything, even if it means my own death."
An Xin said calmly, "You still have children, and life must go on. You just need to pull yourself together and raise your children to adulthood, and that will be enough to comfort the old man's soul." Her gaze carefully searched among the weeds in the yard. These words, spoken casually, made the woman's body tremble suddenly.
An Xin leaned down by the window, her hand gently brushing across the weeds. Then her fingers paused, and she casually lifted the weeds. When she saw what was under the weeds, her eyes suddenly darkened.
Beneath the weeds, there was another small wooden figure, its face grotesque and terrifying at first glance. But what was most frightening was that the little figure's head was broken off, hanging limply, adding to the horror.
An Xin's fingers slowly tightened. This meant that every person who was going to die would have one of these small wooden figures in their hand!?
Uncle Thirteen!
An Xin suddenly stood up and ran outside.
Yang Hu, who was searching in complete confusion, asked anxiously, "Miss An, where are you going?"
Feng Yi had already followed them out.
An Xin's heart pounded. Since Uncle Thirteen had the little wooden figure, he must be connected to the murderer, and the murderer's next target might be him!
Stepping into the courtyard, the crowd had already dispersed. Dewdrop exclaimed happily, "Miss, you're back!"
An Xin turned and ran towards Uncle Thirteen's house without looking back, while Dewdrop cried out in confusion behind her, "Miss, Miss..."
At that moment, An Xin's heart pounded like never before. What if she saw something she didn't want to see? What if Uncle Thirteen was already dead...? What should she do...? An Xin suddenly closed her eyes, her body abruptly stopping in front of Uncle Thirteen's door.
She wasn't a hesitant person, but at this moment, she suddenly felt a helpless sadness about life. This sadness lasted only a moment before An Xin casually pushed open the door.
"Squeak—"
An Xin paused.
The door opened by itself!
"Xin'er?" Jinqiao was startled, his eyes widening. "What's wrong? Why are you out of breath?"
An Xin was stunned: "Sister Jinqiao...how could you..."
Jinqiao suddenly laughed and said, "Uncle Thirteen was emotionally unstable, so Uncle and I brought him back together. Uncle is inside too."
An Xin was taken aback: "Father is here too?"
Jinqiao looked at Anxin strangely and said, "Thirteenth Uncle and Uncle are close by now, so naturally Uncle should deliver it. Has Xin'er forgotten?"
An Xin suddenly came to her senses and laughed repeatedly, "No, I just came to see Uncle Thirteen." As she spoke, she walked into the room.
Uncle Thirteen, still shaken, had fallen asleep. An Youwei was tidying his bedding when he saw An Xin return and said in a low voice, "Why did you just run off like that, you little brat?"
An Xin chuckled awkwardly and said, "I'm a woman of action, aren't I? I suddenly thought of a clue and ran out. Dad, how is Uncle Thirteen?"
An Youwei sighed and said, "I don't know what he saw, but he was suddenly frightened. I've always been close to the thirteenth brother since childhood. After you were born, of you and your sister, the thirteenth brother loved you the most. When you were little, you wandered into Beilong Mountain by mistake. Your parents searched for you for a day and a night but couldn't find you. Your mother was heartbroken and almost cried herself to death. The thirteenth brother took a wood-chopping knife and went to Beilong Mountain. When he found you, you were being stared at by a tiger. Your thirteenth uncle fought the tiger to save you and almost lost his life. Later, the tiger was injured and escaped. Your thirteenth uncle was covered in blood, but he still dragged himself back and carried you back. Then he lay in bed for more than a month. At that time, you were very sensible and took care of your thirteenth uncle every day. That's why you were closest to your thirteenth uncle. Alas... later, everything changed."
An Xin understood what An Youwei meant by the phrase "things have changed, people have changed" in his heart.
Although she had no memory of it, she knew that she had not lived well after marrying Ling Xiyao. An Youwei had become an official, and she must have become estranged from her thirteenth uncle. When she returned, her thirteenth uncle was crippled and his personality had changed drastically. Over the years, everyone had experienced things that they would never forget in their lives. This is life, isn't it?
“I will be setting off back to the capital in the next few days. Please take good care of your thirteenth uncle while you are here, as we won’t have many more days to meet,” An Youwei said softly with a sigh.
An Xin nodded and said, "Don't worry, Father, I will do my best to arrange things for Uncle Thirteen." It seems the murderer's next target isn't Uncle Thirteen. Then who could it be?
An Xin took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and resolved not to let the tragedy happen again.
****
However, Anxin's worries eventually came true.
An Youwei and Xu Ruolan returned to the capital first. Although Xu Ruolan was worried about An Xin's safety, An Xin coaxed her and finally got her to reluctantly agree.
Dewdrop stayed to keep Anxin company. Anxin originally planned to let the girl go with her parents, but she had to leave her behind because of Xu Ruolan's worries.
Interestingly, from the time An Youwei received the imperial decree until his departure, not a single member of An Dayou's family came to congratulate or bid him farewell. An Youwei felt bad and wanted to personally go to say goodbye, but Xu Ruolan stopped him.
Surprisingly, Wang Baishi was more enthusiastic and personally came to offer help. He specially hired a carriage and sent soldiers to escort An Youwei to the capital. An Youwei naturally declined in every way, but Wang Baishi was extremely hospitable.
An Xin forced a stiff laugh and answered on An Youwei's behalf. After all, she was still a little worried about her parents coming to Beijing, which made things much more difficult for her.
After An Youwei left, Lu Zhu, like a little bird, wanted to sleep in An Xin's room, because she was terrified of ghosts.
That night, An Xin suddenly sat up from the bed, and a shrill scream broke the silence of the night, like the cry of a vengeful ghost!
An Xin jumped out of bed and pushed open the window.
The night was pitch black, without a single star, dark and oppressive, making it hard to breathe.
The piercing scream seemed as if it had never happened, yet it cast an unsettling sense of oppression over the night.
An Xin turned and walked out. Lu Zhu sat up groggily, rubbed her eyes, and asked, "Miss, where are you going?" It seemed like she had to ask this question several times a day before she was satisfied.
An Xin said, "Go for a walk, you go to sleep."
Dewdrop immediately sobered up a bit. She looked at Anxin nervously and said, "Miss, you're not going to catch ghosts, are you? No..."