Free Web NovelChapter 199: Chapter 199: 1 Escaped
"I’ve been much better lately," An Zhihan said with a smile.
"Last year, A Cheng bought some mushrooms from the black market. After I ate them, I noticed that some of my chronic ailments had eased considerably. But once they were gone, he couldn’t find any more. Even though I was taking ginseng every day, a heavy snowfall still landed me in the hospital. Later, A Cheng managed to get another batch of dried mushrooms, and I started feeling better. This batch was quite large, and I’ve been eating them ever since. My health is genuinely much better now than it was at the same time last year."
An Zhihan thus concluded that the mushrooms were genuinely beneficial to his health, perhaps even more potent than ginseng. What he didn’t know, however, was that those mushrooms had been stored in Su Qing’s special space for a long time, allowing them to absorb a great deal of Spiritual Energy. Furthermore, Su Qing’s Wood Ability had now reached the Fourth Rank, making the Spiritual Energy within her space even more concentrated. As a result, the mushrooms were indeed far more effective than ginseng.
"Let me see." Du Chaoran took An Zhihan’s pulse and nodded. "You really are much better. What have you been eating lately?"
"The usual," An Zhihan said with a smile. "Just eating more mushrooms. I’m not sure if they’re the reason."
"Mushrooms are good for you, sure, but they shouldn’t have *that* dramatic an effect," Du Chaoran chuckled. "But it’s true that you’re in better shape than last year. Keep it up."
"It’s a shame," Du Chaoran added with a sigh. "My teacher refuses to see you. If he were to treat you, there might be a chance for you to recover."
An Zhihan smiled. "You can’t force these things. My grandfather wronged him back in the day. The fact that he merely avoids the An Family is generous enough."
"Sigh." Du Chaoran was, of course, aware of some of the history between Mr. Gong and the An Family, so all he could do was sigh and shake his head. ’It’s a feud from our grandfathers’ generation, but it’s ultimately harming the descendants. I wonder if Mr. An ever regretted it.’ "Unfortunately, I can’t convince my teacher either."
"Don’t try. Just let things be," An Zhihan said with a faint smile.
Du Chaoran gave An Zhihan a helpless look. "It seems like nothing can ever faze you. I mean, look at you. You’re barely in your twenties, but you live like some seventy- or eighty-year-old man. I’ve never once seen you get excited."
An Zhihan’s smile remained placid. "If getting excited would help, I’d be willing to give it a try."
"That’s true. And then there are your uncles..." Du Chaoran shook his head, trailing off. ’If I were in An Zhihan’s shoes, I’d be losing my mind. He’s tormented by this illness, and his own relatives are the very enemies who caused his parents’ deaths. But they’re so wealthy and deeply entrenched that he can’t touch them. Forget getting revenge; it’s hard enough just to vent his frustrations.’
’And even though the An Family matriarch feels guilty toward An Zhihan, she’d never allow the younger generation of the clan to kill one another.’
’Sometimes, Du Chaoran truly felt that An Zhihan, for all his status as a young master from a prestigious Xiangcheng family, was far less happy than any ordinary person. Even something as basic as a happy family reunion was an impossible dream.’
"Alright, let’s not talk about such depressing things today," An Zhihan said with a smile. "If you’re free, stay for dinner tonight. It’ll be the perfect chance for you to try those mushrooms I mentioned. They’re truly delicious."
"Great! I’d love to," Du Chaoran grinned.
Back in Lihua Village, Cheng Beilin was still fuming. Seeing her, Su Qing laughed. "What’s the point of sulking about it behind his back? Either go force him to explain what happened all those years ago, or just pretend he doesn’t exist and let it go completely. You’re just going to make yourself sick with anger. Are you being silly or what?"
"You have a point." Cheng Beilin nodded after hearing Su Qing’s words. "I really am an idiot. I haven’t dated anyone else for years because of that jerk. Hmph! From now on, I’m forgetting all about him. This girl is still a hot commodity, you know. I just have to give the word, and plenty of guys would line up to be my boyfriend."
Su Qing shook her head. ’All right, she’s still just sulking. Never mind. I’ll let her figure it out on her own.’ fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"How about this for dinner: pan-fried dumplings, stewed blackfish, chicken and mushroom stew, and some egg drop soup?" Even though it was still a while until dinnertime, Su Qing decided to try and distract Cheng Beilin.
"Ooh, I love it!" Sure enough, the moment food was mentioned, Cheng Beilin’s eyes lit up. "Su Qing, I love it here so much! I don’t ever want to leave."
"We’ll see if your older brother agrees to that," Su Qing said with a laugh, taking out a variety of snacks. The two of them began to chat as they ate.
The next two days were rather peaceful. Since Cheng Beilin had injured her ankle, she couldn’t go out and had to stay at Su Qing’s house to rest.
On the third day, however, Aunt Cuihua and Aunt Tao came to visit.
"Oh my, big news! Big news!" Aunt Cuihua announced to Su Qing and Cheng Beilin the moment she stepped inside. "You’ll never guess! That case with the woman’s body in the Pond? It’s been solved! Guess who the killer was?"
"Who was it?" Su Qing asked with a smile. "Don’t tell me it’s someone I know."
"You don’t know him personally, but you’ve definitely heard of him," Aunt Cuihua and Aunt Tao said in unison.
At this, not just Su Qing, but even Cheng Beilin looked at Aunt Cuihua and Aunt Tao with curiosity. "Who are you talking about?"
Aunt Cuihua grinned. "Su Qing, you remember what happened last year with the Tao family, right? Your Aunt Tao’s husband’s cousin’s family? I’m talking about Tao Chunshan’s son, Tao Shuqing, the business with him being scammed out of money in a card game."
As soon as Aunt Cuihua mentioned it, Su Qing remembered. ’That incident was how I found out about what Tao Chunshan did to wrong this body’s previous owner.’
"Yes, I remember," Su Qing nodded. "Don’t tell me it’s related to their family."
"Not directly," Aunt Cuihua said, "but Zhang Da Kui, the one who scammed Tao Shuqing, is one of the murderers."
Su Qing froze for a moment.
’Zhang Da Kui!’
’It all clicked into place for Su Qing. No wonder one of the men’s voices had sounded so familiar when she was underwater. Now she remembered—she had heard Zhang Da Kui’s voice when he was talking with Tao Shuqing in the woods late one night.’
’No wonder.’
"Have they all been caught?" Su Qing asked. "If he’s just one of the murderers, there must have been more than one person involved, right?"
’Based on what I heard at the time, there were at least three of them.’
"They say there were five of them in total. Four were caught, but one got away," Aunt Tao said. "No idea where he ran off to."
