Proofreader&Editor: Howard Wong
We sped along and finally left the mansion behind.
After departing from the mansion, a loud "boom" was heard, followed by a thick plume of black smoke rising behind us.
When the smoke cleared and we looked again, the mansion had vanished, leaving only the rolling hills dotted with graves and the wild grass swaying in the wind…
In no time, we returned to the hot springs.
There, Yellow Hair, Stutterer, and Glasses suddenly blocked my path.
"What's the meaning of this?" Wen Rou, both shocked and angry, said, "He just saved you, and now you treat him like this?"
The muscular uncle patted my shoulder, signaling me not to worry, and declared, "If you three dare to touch my little brother, you'll have to get past me first!"
Soon, the female tour guide and the other tourists joined in, condemning Yellow Hair and his two companions for being ungrateful and unworthy of being human!
Unmoved by the barrage of curses, the trio suddenly knelt before me in unison!
"Big brother above, please accept our bow!"
Yellow Hair, pulling Stutterer and Glasses with him, actually kowtowed three times to me!
I was bewildered: "What are you doing?"
Yellow Hair said, "From today on, you are our big brother! Our lives were saved by you, and we will follow your lead from now on!"
After saying that, Yellow Hair took out a dagger, slashed his palm, and then passed the knife to Stutterer.
After Stutterer cut his palm, he handed the knife to Glasses.
The three of them made a blood oath, leaving me completely at a loss!
I asked weakly, "Should I do it too?"
Yellow Hair replied, "Whether you do or don't, we've already recognized you as our real big brother!"
I breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then I won't do it!"
After the oath was sworn, the three stood up, turned to Wen Rou beside me, and bowed, saying, "Greetings to sister-in-law!"
"Pfft…"
Hearing this, many people in the crowd burst into laughter.
After the incident in the small woods, everyone knew that Xu Ming and Wen Rou were husband and wife.
Now that Yellow Hair and the others had called me big brother, they immediately called Wen Rou sister-in-law, which was completely absurd!
Wen Rou, blushing with embarrassment, quietly hid behind me.
Xu Ming, his hair practically turning green with anger, said, "You three comrades, how can you mess up the matchmaking!"
Stutterer said earnestly, "A couple is a couple, love is love…"
The laughter grew even louder!
Although Yellow Hair and his friends were a bit offbeat, their antics instantly livened up the atmosphere.
Everyone felt the joy of a narrow escape from disaster and hummed songs as they walked back.
When we were close to the safety net, a honking sound came from the highway, along with headlights shining our way.
The female tour guide exclaimed happily, "The driver is back, the car is fixed! We can continue our journey!"
***
Night fell.
The sounds of snoring rose and fell in the bus, with most people asleep.
In the darkness, Wen Rou gently nudged me and asked, "Are you asleep?"
I shook my head.
Wen Rou said, "No wonder you refused to undress at the hot springs; you were hiding a secret!"
I replied, "It's not really a secret; it's just that the tattoos are too frightening, and I didn't want to scare you!"
Wen Rou urged, "I want to hear more!"
I gathered my thoughts and said, "To put it simply, I was targeted by a female ghost, then a Taoist priest saved me and asked me to deliver two items to Longhu Mountain."
"Is the golden gourd one of them?" Wen Rou asked.
I nodded and said, "And a letter."
"Did you read the letter?" she inquired.
I answered honestly, "No."
Wen Rou said, "I don't mean to pry, but in this day and age, it's best to be cautious!"
I was puzzled, "What do you mean?"
Wen Rou explained, "What if the letter says to kill you after you've delivered the items? That would be a death wish!"
"Surely… it can't be that bad?"
Hearing Wen Rou's words, I actually started to panic.
Wen Rou continued, "I'm just giving an example, but this whole affair sounds too bizarre! If the items were easy to deliver, why wouldn't he do it himself?"
I said, "He was nailed to a rock by the female ghost!"
"So he found a scapegoat!" Wen Rou concluded.
I was speechless, but indeed, I began to hesitate.
Wen Rou added, "I'm not afraid of much, but I do worry about you! Being manipulated by others… I've had my own experiences with that."
Curious, I asked, "Who manipulated you?"
Wen Rou glanced back, saw Xu Ming asleep, and whispered in my ear, "Him!"
I was astonished, "How did he manipulate you?"
Wen Rou pulled out her phone and opened a document, "See for yourself!"
I skimmed through it.
It was a personal accident insurance policy.
Wen Rou was the insured, and Xu Ming was the beneficiary!
The policy stated that if Wen Rou met with an accident resulting in injury or death within a year, Xu Ming would receive compensation ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands of yuan!
Looking at the sleeping Xu Ming, I was incredulous!
Wen Rou gave a bitter smile and said, "Wouldn't have guessed, right?"
I asked, "Didn't he tell you about this? Or did he take out a policy on himself with you as the beneficiary?"
"No!"
Wen Rou said, "Luckily, my classmate works at the insurance company and sent this to me, or I'd still be in the dark!"
I was even more puzzled, "Then why did you dare to go on a trip with him alone?"
Wen Rou snorted, "I wanted to see what he planned to do to me!"
I couldn't understand, "At least on the surface, he seems to love you! Why would he do this?"
Wen Rou hesitated before finally revealing, "He's infertile, and our only son is adopted! After we got married, he became paranoid, suspecting me of being too friendly with this person or that, and he often followed me!"
I asked, "Did he catch you in any wrongdoing?"
Wen Rou gave me a look, "Do you think I'm that kind of woman?"
"No, no!"
I quickly clarified, "I mean, did he mistakenly think he had something on you?"
"I don't know!"
Wen Rou said, "Let's drop it, it's pointless! My life is what it is, and whether I live or die doesn't matter to me! I came out this time to see if he really dared to kill me!"
I was filled with emotion.
I had thought Wen Rou was being too harsh on Xu Ming.
But now… well, well!
"It's true that you can't judge a book by its cover!"
I couldn't help but sigh.
"Indeed!"
Wen Rou said, "So, do you still trust that Taoist priest's words?"
I took out the letter and suddenly had a bold idea, "Sis, do you want to play a game with me?"
Wen Rou's interest was piqued, "What game?"
I said, "I'm going to open this letter right now! If the content is unfavorable to me, it means you guessed right, and you can ask me to do anything, no refusals!"
"And if I'm wrong," Wen Rou countered, "you can ask me to do anything?"
"Yes!"
I smiled, "Do you dare to play?"
"Of course!"
Wen Rou seemed even more eager than me, "Open it!"