Chapter 52: Mysterious Disappearance

Having a topic to converse about made the atmosphere slightly better than before.

Chatting and walking along the way, we quickly arrived back at Madi Village.

At this time, the sky had not yet darkened, and a few villagers were still working in the fields by the road.

Back in the day, many villagers made fortunes, but there were also those who managed to grab very few antiques. After surviving the years of disaster, they remained in the village.

This return was primarily for Uncle Wangcai’s hundred-day death anniversary.

In many places, there is a concept known as a child's hundred-day milestone.

When a newborn enters the world, their soul is unstable and prone to mishaps. From the moment they touch the ground until the hundredth day is considered a dangerous period.

Only after passing the hundred days are they considered to have survived the calamity and truly stepped into the mortal world.

When applied to the deceased, the hundred days refer to the time when their soul descends into the netherworld, deciding whether they should go to hell or be reincarnated as a human again.

After descending into the netherworld, souls must also wait in line, generally with a hundred-day time limit.

Upon returning home, I discovered a car parked in front of the courtyard.

The main gate was wide open!

The car belonged to Jiang Yuanshan. He and the old man had been at odds in the past, to the point where they practically cut all ties and refused to acknowledge each other until death.

Why did he suddenly return this time?

Perhaps hearing the sound of the car outside, someone soon walked out of the courtyard.

"You're back too."

Jiang Yuanshan looked at me and said, "Come inside. What are you standing outside for?"

In the courtyard, a teenager of about thirteen or fourteen was sitting under a tree playing video games.

This was my half-brother, Jiang Hao. We had met a few times, but we weren't close, and this kid had never regarded me as an older brother.

When I entered, he didn't even greet me.

Inside the house, my stepmother also walked out. It wasn't a close relationship, but she simply asked, "Little Jiang is back. Have you eaten? I'll make you something."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Auntie."

I nodded and led Liu Qingya and the old man Zhang Yuxuan into the house.

Tonight, it seemed we wouldn't be able to sleep comfortably. My father and stepmother were back, plus the three of us.

Probably a few people would have to sleep in the cars tonight.

...

People in the countryside eat dinner early. After bustling around for a while, my stepmother cooked a bowl of noodles for each of us.

Then, without chatting much with Jiang Yuanshan, the three of us got into the car.

My original intention was for Liu Qingya to stay inside the house and sleep in a bed, but to my surprise, she still came to the car.

"Jiang Chen, Uncle Yuanshan and you..."

Liu Qingya started to speak, but halfway through, I interrupted her, "You want to ask what actually happened between the two of us, right?"

Liu Qingya nodded. She had grown up in the ancient capital and didn't know much about the village's affairs.

"Actually, it's nothing much. You probably already know what your father did in the past, so I don't need to repeat it," I said. "Outsiders say that because my grandfather refused to let my father and the others go out and snatch antiques, my father and grandfather turned against each other and completely severed ties."

"But later on, Uncle Wangcai told me it wasn't for that reason, but because of something else. I once pressed him for details, but Uncle Wangcai didn't say. To this day, I still don't know much about it."

Father and son turned into enemies, having no contact for over a decade—this reason had troubled me for dozens of days.

"Why don't you go ask Uncle Yuanshan?"

Liu Qingya suggested, "Since there are misunderstandings about certain things, you have to untie them yourself."

Untie them?

Easier said than done!

Whenever I usually spoke with Jiang Yuanshan, he would wear an indifferent expression.

When asked about crucial questions, he would either stop talking or simply claim he didn't know.

Asking him was probably a waste of time.

"Find a suitable opportunity!"

Liu Qingya patted my shoulder.

"We'll talk about it later!"

Right now, I wasn't paying much attention to this matter.

Some things demanded getting to the bottom of them, while other things would slowly and automatically rise to the surface.

...

Chatting back and forth, it was already late at night.

Lying in the car, I started looking through the driver's license test guide book again.

Liu Qingya wore earphones and closed her eyes, unsure whether she was truly asleep or just feigning it.

As for the old man Zhang Yuxuan, even sitting in the car, his sleep quality was no less than lying on a bed; by now, his snoring was like thunder.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

A sound of footsteps seemed to echo from beside the car.

I poked my head out to look and spotted a figure walking forward.

Who could that be?

I quickly switched on the flashlight on my phone and shone it ahead.

Vaguely, I seemed to see the figure of my younger brother, Jiang Hao.

Why was he running out in the middle of the night?

The countryside wasn't like the city. At around eleven o'clock at night, people had basically gone to sleep, and pitch-black darkness enveloped everything everywhere. Walking around here alone was genuinely rather eerie.

I got out of the car and called out in the direction of Jiang Hao, "Jiang Hao, where are you going?"
Ahead, Jiang Hao acted as if he hadn't heard me, continuing to walk in a daze, his steps unsteady.

Feeling somewhat concerned, I first dialed Jiang Yuanshan's phone to inform him, then quickly gave chase.

Jiang Hao kept walking ahead of me, neither fast nor slow.

Just as I was about to catch up to him, around a bend, Jiang Hao's figure suddenly vanished.

I searched all around, but Jiang Hao was nowhere to be seen.

What was going on?

He had just been not far ahead of me; how could he disappear simply by turning a corner?

"Jiang Chen, did you find him?"

From behind, Jiang Yuanshan panted as he ran up and asked.

"He's missing, right in this area."

I swept the light from my phone around.

It made no sense. No matter how fast Jiang Hao walked, he couldn't have vanished without a trace so quietly.

"Let's look around nearby."

Jiang Yuanshan draped a heavy coat over his shoulders with a anxious expression. I could tell that he genuinely cared deeply for Jiang Hao, even though the boy frequently stayed out all night.

"You should put your clothes on properly first. Autumn nights in the countryside are chilly; don't catch a cold yourself. The village is only so big, we'll definitely find him."

I reminded him.

Jiang Yuanshan didn't reply, silently putting on his clothes and pulling up the zipper.

Holding a flashlight, we split into two directions and began searching the surroundings.

Our rustling movements woke up the people in the village.

Upon hearing that Jiang Hao was missing, the villagers proved to be rather righteous; one after another, they got out of bed and, holding flashlights, helped search the village for Jiang Hao.

My stepmother muttered incessantly, saying that while Jiang Hao could be a bit of a brat at ordinary times, he shouldn't have run out in the middle of the night.

I didn't disagree with that statement.

City kids might all boast about how daring they are, but if you drop one of them in the countryside for a single night, let's see how brave they feel then!

The countryside here was different from the city; houses were spaced apart with gaps between them, and some were even hundreds of meters apart, leaving vast open spaces.

There were also quite a few farmland plots in the village, and near these fields were clusters of graves.

Walking alone at night was exceptionally creepy.

How could a little brat like Jiang Hao dare to run out alone? Could he have encountered an evil spirit?