Muchuan and Xiang Wan

Old Mr. Xu sat silently, barely moving.

For a long time, he muttered to himself, “Zhaodi’s a very obedient girl when she was young. No matter what I say, she never went against me. But ever since she went to university and met Zhao Jiahang, she changed…”

Xiang Wan did not say a word.

She was unable to communicate with him.

She thought that maybe the Old Sir just needed a listening ear.

Sure enough, he did not bother if Xiang Wan was listening and just continued talking.

“What can I do? She’s my only daughter! She wants to get married, fine. My only wish for her is to be well. But she never stopped making me worry! Even when she suffered a terrible accident and got paralyzed, she still loved that man. She refused to listen to me and defended Zhao Jiahang by not visiting me for three years…”

Old Mr. Xu lowered his head.

His voice sounded as if it sprouted from the cool breeze from the ground.

“… In the end, I didn’t even know when she died. The whole episode only ended today after countless formalities and procedures that I finally managed to get her ashes back from Ganzhou…

“It’s no use. Even if I got it back, she wouldn’t know.

“The man that she loved till her death had killed her. The father that she hated to the core, travelled a long way to bring her back and buried her. Alas, she would never know all of these.”

Xiang Wan kept quiet.

In the 720 case, Mr. Zhao had used Er Niu’s identity to bury Mrs. Zhao in Er Niu’s hometown. The Xu Family only knew about this after the police solved the case.

Although Xiang Wan had never been a parent, she could understand that Old Mr. Xu must have been devastated to learn of his daughter’s death.

Old Mr. Xu’s eyes were cloudy as he sat there motionlessly. His slightly hunched back seemed to curve more and he looked lonelier than before.

“Those who harmed her will be punished. I’m already old, there’s a lot of things I can’t control. But as for you…”

He lifted his head all of a sudden, and Xiang Wan felt his piercingly sharp gaze on her face.

“Young lass, what kind of punishment do you think you should receive?”

Xiang Wan’s face was burning!

It was due to pain, from his gaze.

Old Mr. Xu’s gaze was too sharp.

Xiang Wan took a deep breath. “Old Sir, I’m only writing a novel, I didn’t do anything…”

Old Mr. Xu snorted as he interrupted her, “You wrote a story using Zhao Jiahang’s identity.”

Uh, he actually knows about this , thought Xiang Wan.

Seems like my book is pretty famous…

Even the famous entrepreneur, Xu Zhuming, which was Old Mr. Xu, knew about it.

Xiang Wan did not know if she should be delighted or depressed about this fact. Nevertheless, for an old man who just lost his child, she should try to compose herself. “Old Sir, I didn’t expect such a thing to happen either. In fact, you also know that this is not a coincidence but premeditated. I can do nothing to those who wanted to replicate my story. I’m also a victim just like you…”

Old Mr. Xu did not respond.

He was still sitting there, staring blankly at the room.

Xiang Wan did not know what he was thinking, much less whether he had been persuaded by her.

The air felt as if it was still.

Thump! Thump! Xiang Wan’s heart was about to leap out of her chest.

Just then, Old Mr. Xu puffed a sigh as he struggled to stand up with his knees.

“Young lass, follow me!”

This Old Sir really doesn’t seem to be a criminal , she thought.

Xiang Wan felt a bit uneasy, but she didn’t have a choice and had to follow.

Outside the room, the two “door gods” lowered their heads and asked respectfully, “Uncle Ming, it’s dark outside. Where are you going?”

Old Mr. Xu waved his hands. “Bringing this lass out for a stroll.”

His tone was kind, and his sorrowful face was that of an ordinary old man who lost his kin. He did not treat Xiang Wan as a foe, rather, it was as if he was bringing a neighbor’s daughter to visit his garden.

If Xiang Wan was being invited instead of being abducted here, she would definitely think that there was no hostility from the old man.

The backyard was very quiet.

There were deep lines in the damp mud.

Whose house is this? Xiang Wan wondered.

With the Xu Family’s wealth, why would they own a house like this?

Holding that doubt, she followed behind Old Mr. Xu.

Someone was holding a flashlight in front to lead the way. There were two men following behind within a distance.

The old man walked very cautiously. Xiang Wan exhaled deeply as she watched his unsteady steps.

Whatever!

Even if it’s a misfortune, I can’t hide from it.

As she loosened up her tense emotions, she noticed that there was a faint smell of osmanthus in the air.

It was a sweltering summer night. In a small backyard at the countryside where the surroundings were dark and spooky, the fragrance of the osmanthus was especially abrupt.

“It smells so good.” She sniffed her nose.

“It’s fragrant, right? It’s my sweet osmanthus.”

Only then did Xiang Wan notice that the dark enormous shadow in the backyard was actually the osmanthus tree.

Old Mr. Xu suddenly turned around. “Do you like it?”

His eyes suddenly went bright. When illuminated by the flashlight, there was an abnormal hue of blue which made Xiang Wan jump…

With her predicament, she had no mood for this…

Nevertheless, Xiang Wan smiled reluctantly. “I kinda liked it.”

Old Mr. Xu pointed toward the area beyond the backyard, “There’s still a lot over there.”

Xiang Wan: “…”

So am I’m being abducted to appreciate the osmanthus trees?

…

Under the dark sky, one following the other, they were like osmanthus seekers in the night. With the guidance of only a flashlight, along with the fragrance of osmanthus, they walked out of the yard and went inside the osmanthus forest.

When the eyes adapted to the darkness, Xiang Wan started to see better in the dark.

She could faintly distinguish the shape of the mountain and the surroundings.

This house was situated inside a col.

The surrounding land was rather flat and surrounded by mountains.

The winds were strong, and the occasional bird chirps sounded chilly.

Xiang Wan rubbed her arms for a while. Old Mr. Xu, who was in front, suddenly halted his steps.

“Jin Gui[1], are you well? Are you well?”

In the night mountain winds, the old man’s cries sounded like a wailing ghost.

Xiang Wan’s heart missed a beat.

Is this old man crazy? He’s talking to the osmanthus?

It’s scary.

She tried to move further away, preparing to run if the situation was not right. Old Mr. Xu sighed suddenly and took a few steps forward. He squatted down below an osmanthus tree where there was a mound and started to sob.

“Jin Gui, sorry. I took so long to visit you, are you angry with me…”

Ah!?

Xiang Wan was too stunned to say anything.

The mound was overgrown with weeds and seemed lonely amongst the osmanthus trees.

Under the dim light, there seemed to be a tattered piece of paper money swaying at the top of the mound…

Is it not a mound, but a grave?!

Countryside; lone grave; an old man’s sobbing under the night… as well as the sounds of birds…

Xiang Wan felt a rush of goosebumps.

Fortunately, she was not the only person standing there. Otherwise, she would have been scared to death.

Xiang Wan was not sure how long Old Mr. Xu spent talking to the grave.

Her legs had almost went numb when he suddenly stood up and his body wobbled from the action. Two men rushed to help him.

Old Mr. Xu pushed them aside, his gaze landing on Xiang Wan.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to bury my daughter here, so that she can accompany her mom. In this way, the three of them can reunite in the netherworld. It’s good! Good that the three of them can take care of each other over there.”

The three of them?

Xiang Wan was startled. She pursed her lips, not saying a word.

She did not dare to ask Old Mr. Xu if he was muddle-headed or there was something that she did not know.

In all aspects, it was not suitable for her to ask. She should be thinking about how she could get out of the situation.

“Lass,” Old Mr. Xu took a breath of the scent in the air and beckoned to her.

Xiang Wan braced herself as she walked over.

He spoke slowly, “I… changed my mind.”

Eh? Xiang Wan’s eyes lit up, “Old Sir? You mean?”

Old Mr. Xu looked at her, “Tomorrow morning, you’ll accompany me to send off my daughter. You’ll have to pay your respects, as well as offer your apologies at her grave. Then I’ll send you back…”

What?!

Xiang Wan did not know if she should be agitated or excited.

She had thought she would be in deep sh*t as she was being abducted. In the end, they had let her off lightly?

This was totally not following the script in her mind!

Xiang Wan was jumping with joy inside. She controlled her excitement and expressed her heartfelt thanks. “Sure, I… thank you, Old Sir. You’re really a good person!”

Old Mr. Xu did not answer her.

Just as he brought her to the osmanthus forest without rhyme or reason, he returned an inexplicable smile.

…

[1] The chinese name for Sweet Osmanthus is Jin Gui (金桂). In this context, Old Mr. Xu should be calling his wife, whose name was Jin Gui.