NOVPUBSeeing Chen Nan’s mischievous smile, a blush unwittingly crept onto Jiang Li’s face, and her heart began to beat uncontrollably like a deer caught in headlights, "Didn’t you say that you weren’t interested in me?"
Chen Nan’s heart skipped a beat.
Crap!
She should be calling me a scumbag by now.
Why isn’t she scolding me?
Could it be she’s actually developed an interest in me?
Regaining his composure, Chen Nan let out a hearty laugh, "I was just making a joke, and you took it seriously?"
"Drop dead!" Enraged and embarrassed, Jiang Li kicked Chen Nan’s butt. Because they were on a downslope, her kick sent Chen Nan stumbling several meters away, which brought Jiang Li to fits of laughter. 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝙢
Afterward, it took Chen Nan more than half an hour to choose a gravesite. He made a mark on it and directly sent a photo to Zhao Xing, instructing Zhao Xing to send someone to dig the grave.
As for himself,
he continued walking towards the Hu Family village with Jiang Li.
Upon reaching the back of the Hu Family village, Jiang Li had Chen Nan stand guard while she found a secluded spot to relieve herself.
And she even warned Chen Nan not to peek.
Naturally, Chen Nan wouldn’t stoop so low as to sneak a peek at Jiang Li relieving herself and looked around instead.
When he looked to the southwest, the scene before him made Chen Nan frown slightly.
Ahead was a wasteland.
Overgrown with wild grass.
Yet, there was one area where the grass seemed unusually lush, a sight that puzzled him.
Logically, the growth of weeds in one area shouldn’t vary much.
So why was the grass in that area so overgrown?
At that moment,
an excited voice reached Chen Nan’s ears from Jiang Li, "Chen Nan, take a look, what’s in my arms?"
Chen Nan turned his head to look at Jiang Li and saw her approaching with an oval-shaped watermelon cradled in her arms, grinning, with the watermelon appearing to weigh around five pounds.
"Err..."
Upon seeing the watermelon in Jiang Li’s arms, Chen Nan realized why the wilderness grass appeared uneven; clearly, someone had defecated there...
Jiang Li could hardly contain her excitement, "It’s truly incredible, I actually found a wild watermelon while I was going to the bathroom."
"In this sweltering heat, there’s nothing more refreshing than eating a watermelon."
"Especially outdoors."
With those words, she placed the watermelon on the ground, split it open with one chop of her hand, and its bright red flesh looked absolutely mouthwatering, not to mention the scent of the watermelon was particularly invigorating.
"Here, you try it," Jiang Li handed Chen Nan a piece of watermelon, then started eating eagerly herself, relishing the delicious and sweet flavor.
Chen Nan also took a big bite, then looked at Jiang Li and said with a smile, "Do you know what this melon is called?"
Unable to resist asking, Jiang Li said, "Isn’t this a watermelon?"
Chen Nan laughed, "Although it’s a watermelon, it has another name, a ’shit melon.’"
Seeing Jiang Li’s puzzled look, Chen Nan explained, "The so-called ’shit melon’ refers to someone eating a watermelon and not digesting the seeds, which are then excreted."
"The watermelon seeds take root and sprout in the wild, and then you have what’s called a ’wild watermelon’!"
Gross!
Jiang Li threw away the watermelon slice in her hand and began to violently retch.
Clearly, she hadn’t expected ’shit melon’ to mean that.
"Why such a big reaction?" Chen Nan said indifferently, "The vegetables and fruits grown by rural people are mostly fertilized with manure, aren’t they still edible?"
"And you city folks label it as organic fertilizer," he said, savoring the taste as he started eating.
Jiang Li looked at Chen Nan displeased and continued to eat the melon. Although the name ’shi melon’ was somewhat unpleasant to the ear, having melons to eat in the wild mountains was indeed a great pleasure.
A moment later.
The two had finished dividing up a watermelon between them and took the winding dirt road to the Hu Family village.
It was noon and the temperature was high.
Almost no villagers were to be seen in the village.
Jiang Li took Chen Nan straight to Hu Jing’s house and upon reaching the doorstep, called out politely, "Is anyone home?"
A moment later.
An old man in his late fifties wearing a tank top and large shorts came out. He eyed Jiang Li and Chen Nan warily, "Who are you looking for?"
Chen Nan replied with a courteous face, "Old sir, I am a Taoist wandering the world, sent by my master to gain experience. By chance, I have come to your honored place and would like to ask for a bowl of water to drink, if you would be so kind?"
"Please come in!"
The old man turned and led Chen Nan and Jiang Li into the courtyard.
Rural people still held a sense of reverence towards Taoists and monks, let alone when the latter were only asking for a bowl of water.
In the yard, there was a lush Chinese parasol tree.
Under it stood a wooden table and several benches.
With a face full of courtesy, the old man looked at Chen Nan and Jiang Li, "Our home is humble, please wait here. I will fetch water immediately," saying this, he went inside the house.
A woman’s voice could be heard from within.
Chen Nan couldn’t help but exclaim, "I never expected to meet such a learned and cultivated elder out here in the wild!"
Jiang Li whispered, "His name is Hu Xingbang, Hu Jing’s father, he used to teach. If he hadn’t, how could a girl from rural origins like Hu Jing have become the secretary to a municipal party committee secretary?"
Chen Nan nodded slightly, feeling that Jiang Li’s words made sense. Without a good family atmosphere and education, it was indeed difficult for anyone significant to emerge from the countryside.
Jiang Li then asked, "How can we find out Hu Jing’s whereabouts?"
Chen Nan shrugged helplessly, "We can’t find her."
Jiang Li’s pupils trembled violently, "What do you mean?"
Chen Nan’s face was grave, "I just carefully observed Hu Xingbang’s face. The area of his children’s palace was empty and devoid of any signs of life, which means that in his life, he has no descendants."
His simple words felt like an invisible heavy punch to Jiang Li’s chest, giving her an almost suffocating feeling.
All this time, she had clung to the hope that Hu Jing was still alive.
If they could find Hu Jing, they would be able to bring Dai Shouyi to justice and make him pay dearly for his past misdeeds.
But now...
With Hu Jing dead, all evidence had vanished into thin air!
Even though they knew Dai Shouyi had committed many evils, they had no evidence to arrest him.
At that moment.
Hu Xingbang came out carrying a black kettle and two bowls; the blackened kettle contained cool, boiled water which was sweet to the taste and starkly different from the tap water in the city.
After drinking the two bowls of water, Chen Nan said, "Old sir, to repay your kindness for this bowl of water, I can give you a free divination. Is there something you wish to know? If there is, I could try to help you find out!"
After hesitating for a moment, Hu Xingbang looked at Chen Nan nervously. "Taoist master, I want to know... the whereabouts of my daughter. I want to know if she is still of this world."
"That can be done," said Chen Nan. "Tell me her birth date and time, and also, I need one of your hairs."
Hu Xingbang immediately pulled out a hair and also told Chen Nan his daughter’s birth details.
Then, he looked at him full of anticipation, wondering if he could calculate his daughter’s whereabouts.
