Chapter 178

Chapter 178 - 178 171 The True Cause of Death of My Uncle The True Chapter 178: 171: The True Cause of Death of My Uncle, The True Cause of Death of Ah Na (Second Update) Chapter 178:

171: The True Cause of Death of My Uncle, The True Cause of Death of Ah Na (Second Update) Sunday, West City Avenue.

Gu Yihuan leaned forward restlessly in the front row of the stands, peering toward the entrance.

“What to do? It’s almost eight o’clock, and Wen Changling isn’t here yet,”

He Dongzhou, annoyed by the glaring overhead lights, sat with his eyes half-closed, lazily, like a drowsing wild lion.

Gu Yihuan was like an antelope that couldn’t stay still, pacing back and forth in front of He Dongzhou, “Why are there so many people here? These greedy bastards!” His gaze frequently darted to the time, his blond hair a tousled mess, “If it really comes to it, I’ll go and call Changling’s grandmother over.”

“Don’t rush, let’s wait a bit longer.”

He’ll come.

He Dongzhou liked to do things by unconventional methods. He had someone keeping an eye on Wen Changling’s whereabouts.

If he didn’t come, then he’d be brought here by force.

He Dongzhou’s eyelids lifted, “Here she comes.”

Gu Yihuan turned to look.

It was Wen Changling, not wearing glasses. A few scantily clad car models just happened to pass by her, yet Gu Yihuan spotted her instantly. She had that kind of allure, the magic to stand out even in the most unassuming clothes, no makeup, her unpermed hair casually pinned up with a shark clip, always walking slowly as if nothing mattered to her. Yet, she radiated a narrative aura, as if she had stepped out of a Hong Kong movie, full of mood and despair.

As she walked over, she didn’t greet anyone, her eyes searching, looking for something.

He Dongzhou glanced at his watch: Eight o’clock, impressive, right on time.

The game begins.

The spectators were excited.

Someone said, “Ten million, man, I’d crash into death with my eyes closed for that much.”

Another countered, “Then why don’t you go for it?”

“Heh heh, I’m fond of my life.”

“Ten million isn’t that easy to earn. The bookie’s car doesn’t look ordinary at all.”

Tonight’s bookie was Xie Shang.

This is an underground racetrack, no real names required. People might not recognize Xie Shang, but his car was recognizable, GAA201, never defeated.

Watch, there’s a good show coming.

The spectators stretched their necks.

It started, both sides took off.

Wen Changling found the most conspicuous place—the high platform where a car model was holding a checkered flag. She walked over, didn’t climb up, just stood beside the platform.

Xie Shang saw her, and the next second, he hit the brakes.

There goes ten million.

Wen Changling thought: What a mess.

Is it over? The spectators were confused.

Xie Shang got out of the car and only took off his mask when he was in front of Wen Changling.

Wen Changling was a bit annoyed, truly annoyed. She didn’t want to see Xie Shang’s face, but couldn’t help looking at him, the feeling like getting hooked on drugs, knowing it’s dangerous and harmful, but the allure is too great.

“Did you know I’d come?”

Xie Shang had slimmed down from before, his contours more defined, eyes piercing, as if he wanted to see through her exterior and into her bones, “I didn’t know.”

He was merely gambling.

He was just going crazy because he couldn’t wait for her.

“Let’s talk,” he said.

“Okay,” she agreed.

The game had been botched from the start, but Xie Shang couldn’t care about anyone else. He hadn’t seen Wen Changling in almost a week, his bones were itching, and his nerves were roaring.

To quench his thirst with poison turned out to be addicting indeed.

He took Wen Changling to a room, probably a storeroom. There were shelves but no chairs, so he took off his coat and laid it on top of a plastic crate.

Wen Changling sat on his coat.

He didn’t mind the dirt and sat on old, filthy tires, not sitting too close to her.

Wen Changling spoke first, “I came today to pawn something to you. That’s how we began, so let’s end it the same way.”

“What do you want to pawn?”

“A story.”

Xie Shang had never been able to see through Wen Changling. Even when he entered her body in their most intimate moments, even when he touched her flesh and bones, it always felt like there was something in between.

She was like the hazy white moon on a foggy winter’s night.

Finally, the white moon was about to lift her veil.

“Fragrant City has a beautiful nickname, Flower City. The Wen family of Wind Town in Flower City have daughters who take their mother’s surname. They have lived secluded from society since their ancestors’ time, seldom interacting with others. People say they can cast spells, the kind that make men crazy with desire. Men under such spells never come to a good end, they either die unnatural deaths or enter the monastic life as a form of burial—a rule with no exceptions.”

Her voice was soft yet had strength.

“You must have heard this part before. Now, I will tell you something you haven’t heard.”

This part, Fu Ying had pawned off initially; it was the apparent cause of Xie Qingze’s death—that he had fallen for a woman who could cast spells, cursed, and met his unnatural end.

Wen Changling wasn’t very good at telling stories, no ups and downs in her tone, just dryly and numbly spitting out words:

“Seven years ago, Xie Qingze disguised himself as Xie Ze and came to Wind Town of Fragrant City in pursuit of inspiration. He fell in love with Wen Yuan, a tea picker on the mountain, at first sight. At the time, Wen Yuan already had a pair of adult children and was not considered a suitable match. Xie Jingxian, upon learning this, opposed vehemently and repeatedly urged Xie Qingze to return home to no avail.” She locked eyes with Xie Shang, her gaze like a tightly drawn arrow on a bowstring, “At that time, your father Xie Liangjiang was also in Fragrant City on official business. He visited Wind Town, did you know that?”

“I didn’t know.”

Sure enough, it had been completely erased by Xie Liangjiang.

“Xie Liangjiang visited the guesthouse where Xie Qingze stayed. The red house halfway up the mountain I pointed out to you last time used to be a guesthouse,” Wen Changling continued the story that had haunted her dreams for a time, “It was about to rain that day, and I, this fool, still managed to get lost on a route I had walked dozens of times. I had an arrangement with my brother Ah Na, if I got lost, I’d wait for him at the highest point. Ah Na came out to look for me and passed by the guesthouse where Xie Qingze was staying. I don’t know when Xie Qingze also started looking for me, but it was Ah Na who found me first. He gave me his raincoat, and as we were on our way back, we accidentally saw something.”

Xie Shang had just locked the door; the room was soundproof and very quiet. This quietness unsettled him, felt like a foreboding, a buildup, as if making a prelude for a tumultuous outburst to follow.

Only Wen Changling’s voice was heard, like the incessant drone of a Gu coming from a primeval forest.

“Guess what I saw?” Her pace slowed, as if fearful Xie Shang might not catch every word, stressing each phrase, “Your uncle slipped and was trying to climb up by grabbing hold of a tree branch. Ah Na and I were about to go help when we got close and saw someone on the cliff. It was your father.”

She suddenly laughed, “Your father, he gave a push.”

Her words were accompanied by the sensation of a hand, pulling Xie Shang down into a deep well, his mouth and nose blocked, and the sensation of suffocation followed.

Stormy waves surged from the calm in his eyes.

“Why he would push, you probably know better than I do.”

Xie Shang knew very well.

Because at that time, his grandfather had begun considering delegating authority. Unlike his father, his uncle was upright and honest, always adhering to the ethical boundaries of being a lawyer. Even though his uncle had no desire to become a lawyer, he was still his grandfather’s favored successor.

Wen Changling’s gaze was like darts made of ice, hurling straight at Xie Shang: “Ah Na and I were too panic-stricken then. We stepped on a stone, and Xie Liangjiang discovered us. Only I was found; Ah Na wasn’t, but I was wearing Ah Na’s raincoat.” As she continued, the undisturbed surface of her eyes began to roil with waves—hatred that seven years had not pacified, “I found someone to go up the mountain to rescue him, but it was too late. Xie Qingze’s body was not intact. The villagers all said my mother had cast a spell, that our Wen surname was ominous. How could we defend ourselves? Dare we even attempt it?

Crushing our family was too easy for them. So, we moved away; it was I who chose to move. I thought by remaining silent, by hiding, we could avoid the strife of the Xie family.”

But it wasn’t over.

The end hadn’t come, Xie Liangjiang wouldn’t let it.

“Two months later, Ah Na was framed and sent to prison. The opportunity your father was waiting for had arrived.”