SES Chapter 76 Part 1

Chapter 76

Old Man Yan was shaking all over with anger. “Hongsha, shut your mouth!”

He’d spent his whole life making decisive moves and getting things done, only to end up with such a clueless granddaughter. This was serious business, and she had the nerve to blurt it out in front of outsiders. Did she have no sense of discretion at all?

“How many more good years do you think I’ve got left? If I pull off this last job, maybe I’ll last a few more years. I’m only doing this to leave something for you youngsters. One by one, all of you are useless…”

The more worked up he got, the more his chest heaved until a violent fit of coughing overtook him. His eyes rolled back, and Yan Hongsha, suddenly frightened, ran over to pat his back—only to be shoved away hard.

Useless. Every last one of them.

Did Yan Jiuxiao really think he didn’t know what he’d been up to outside? The man clearly had no head for business, yet he took family money and kept making one bad investment after another, losing everything. He’d even mortgaged the family’s mansion. The only reason the creditors hadn’t come knocking was that they assumed the Yan family was still wealthy enough to pay eventually. But if things really fell apart, how much money would be left?

Jiuxiao had been keeping quiet lately, and the old man knew exactly why—most likely too ashamed to show his face.

This job was meant to set Hongsha up for a comfortable life, but she was turning out to be an even bigger headache. Complaining about hardship along the way was one thing, but bailing when it mattered most? That was another.

His original plan had been simple: when they got close to unearthing the corpse, he’d find an excuse to send Mu Dai away, then quietly rebury it and erase that old scandal without anyone knowing. But now…

Old Man Yan thought for a moment, then covered his tracks and told Mu Dai, “It’s nothing serious. Back in the day, when I was treasure hunting, a friend of mine from the same trade fell ill and died on the road. There happened to be a treasure well nearby, so we buried him there. Now that we’re digging again, we’ll have to unearth it. Hongsha’s just spooked.”

Mu Dai had her doubts but knew this was his personal business and didn’t care to pry. She played along, saying, “No wonder Hongsha’s scared. I’d be scared of a corpse too—just don’t make me look at it.”

She tugged Hongsha’s sleeve, silently signaling her not to make her grandfather angrier, then climbed back into the tree.

The surroundings were unusually quiet—only the wind rustling through the leaves. Strange. Not a single bird in the forest.

The sun slipped behind the clouds, and the sky darkened. Looked like rain was coming again.

No wonder people in these mountains hung weather dolls to keep the rain away.

Thinking of the weather doll, Mu Dai felt a chill.

If it had truly walked back to the well on its own… why? Could it be possessed by the Xiongjian?

No, that didn’t fit. Xiongjian needed a living host to act, and the cloth doll was just an inanimate object with no abilities. Besides, the well had water, and Xiongjian feared water.

Which meant someone had thrown it back in.

It couldn’t be Hongsha or Old Man Yan. Last night, Hongsha had been the last to go upstairs, and no one had gotten up during the night.

So… could someone else be living in that village?

Crack! A branch snapped somewhere nearby.

Mu Dai tensed, standing to look. Raindrops had begun to fall, and the darkening sky made it harder to see.

The pit Hongsha was digging was already about a meter deep.

Mu Dai took out her binoculars again, scanning the trees. This time, she definitely saw something.

A piece of rouge-colored amber on a black silk cord was hanging from a nearby tree branch, swaying gently. Now and then, it turned toward her, resembling a long, narrow red eye.

Someone had put it there. She was certain. She’d scanned these trees dozens of times before—this was new. Someone had just hung it up.

Mu Dai screamed, “There’s someone! Someone nearby!”

Cao Yanhua was singing.

“Forward, forward, forward, our ranks march toward the sun, our feet upon the motherland’s soil—ow!”

A small rock hit the back of his head, making him yelp and turn around.

After tripping repeatedly earlier, Wan San now looked like he’d rolled through a mud pit. “Can you just keep quiet? What if you attract something?”

Yesterday, Zhazha’s story had left Wan San with a lingering sense of dread. He kept feeling like wild men might be lurking nearby, watching them. And here was big-mouth Cao, singing away. It was getting on his nerves.

Luo Ren walked ahead, occasionally crouching to examine tracks, his frown deepening.

Cao Yanhua shot back, “If you don’t like it, stop following me.”

He jogged forward to overtake Luo Ren. Wan San hurried after him—no way was he letting himself get too far behind. If a wild man grabbed him, Luo Ren might not even have time to save him.

The two of them quickly pulled ahead of Luo Ren.

Cao’s sharp eyes spotted something, and he shouted happily, “Three! Three! I found a three, look!”

Following his pointing finger, they saw a patch of bark stripped from a tree, with three vertical knife marks carved into it.

Cao sneered at Wan San. “See? This is the trail my sister—the little master—left just yesterday. And she was with a half-blind old man! And you’re huffing and puffing like you’re about to die.”

Luo Ren came over, staring at the marks for a long moment before shaking his head. “No. Something’s off.”

Cao frowned. “What do you mean by off? Didn’t Zhazha say my sister’s group was the only one who’s been up here lately? These marks are fresh—they must have been left by her.”

Luo Ren said, “The trail’s too rough. Some of the thorny paths haven’t been cleared at all. Yesterday, they had Old Man Yan with them. How would they have made it through?”

Cao brushed it off. “Maybe they went around. My little master’s got great lightness skills, Hongsha’s not bad either, and who knows—Old Man Yan might be even better. The three of them, zip, zip, zip—”

He waved his arm to mimic flying through the air, then made sure to jab at Wan San again. “San-san, maybe the wild men will just grab you first.”

Wan San was fuming. The deeper they went into the mountains, the less confident he felt. If it weren’t for the lack of a way back, he’d have already turned around. With his measly abilities, what business did he have tagging along out here?