Chapter 278 - 277: Guessed Correctly

Chapter 278: Chapter 277: Guessed Correctly

Master Huo wanted to explain, but he felt anything he said would sound like a weak excuse, so he simply kept his mouth shut.

He had only heard rumors about this village before. He only confirmed them after arriving, but by then, it was too late. They were already caught in the scheme—not just Gu Qingyin and the others, but he had been set up too.

After calming down, Gu Qingyin also realized this. She looked at Master Huo with a hint of pity. "Just how threatened is the Heavenly Master Association by you?"

’To set someone up and gain leverage over them, especially when your relationship is still relatively amicable... they’re truly black-hearted.’

Master Huo’s lips curled, but his eyes were filled with icy coldness.

Gu Qingyin tutted to herself, then got up and went into the courtyard. She was still thinking about that doghouse and felt she had to take a look.

It was completely bright outside now. The newly risen sun was pleasantly warm, like a cooked, salted egg yolk. Gu Qingyin walked through the sunlight to the doghouse and bent over to peer inside.

It was almost the same as in her dream. Inside the doghouse was just an empty, dangling chain. The only difference was the pile of white bones on the ground. The dog had probably died, and with no one to take care of the body, it had turned to bone over time.

"Sigh." Gu Qingyin sighed, put on a pair of gloves, dug a pit in the courtyard, and buried the remains.

Just as she finished piling up a small burial mound, Huo Xingchen came out to call her back for breakfast.

"Is that the dog?" Huo Xingchen glanced at the small mound. "Tonight, let’s ask Niu Niu what its name was. We can set up a tombstone for it."

Gu Qingyin took off her gloves and ruffled his hair. "Let’s eat. After we’re done, we’ll take a walk around the village."

Breakfast was simple: milk with handmade sandwiches and fruit. After eating and cleaning up, the group headed out.

The village was eerily quiet. Everyone was hiding in their rooms, curtains drawn tight, not letting even a sliver of light peek through.

They walked from one end of the village to the other and found nothing.

Gu Qingyin sighed. "This village is so boring during the day. I want to leave."

Huo Xingchen thought for a moment, then reached into his storage bag and rummaged around. He pulled out a deck of playing cards and held it up to Gu Qingyin like a treasured prize. "Mama, let’s go back and play cards!"

Gu Qingyin was both surprised and delighted. "Let’s go, let’s go! Let’s go back and play right now. What can the four of us play?"

Huo Xingchen was also very happy. "Lots of things! Mom, I’ll teach you..."

The two men, Huo Yunjing and Master Huo, followed behind them, listening to their excited discussion the whole way. Once they got home, they started playing cards.

That evening, Niu Niu had just woken up when she was startled by the commotion downstairs. She was even a little afraid to open her door and go down. It was so lively, it felt like an illusion.

She took a deep breath and opened her bedroom door. The commotion grew even louder.

"HAHAHA... We can’t even see your eyes anymore!" Huo Xingchen’s young and boisterous voice drifted over, startling Niu Niu so much that she froze in the doorway again. He seemed so different from the little boy she’d met yesterday.

Niu Niu composed herself and kept walking. As soon as she reached the top of the stairs, she saw the scene in the living room.

Three adults and one child were sitting in a circle around the coffee table, each holding a hand of cards. Their faces were covered with varying numbers of white paper strips. She couldn’t tell if the person whose eyes were nearly covered—the one they’d just been laughing at—was Huo Xingchen’s father or his uncle.

Niu Niu’s expression was complicated. ’Aren’t these people a little too relaxed?’

After he finished laughing, Huo Xingchen looked up and saw Niu Niu. A bright smile on his face, he waved to her at the top of the stairs. "Hi! Good evening! Want to come play with us?"

Niu Niu hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay." It wasn’t that she really wanted to play; she just wanted to see if the game was truly that interesting.

And so, when Village Chief Liu and Aunt Liu had finally composed themselves and were ready to face the "storm," they came downstairs only to see their precious granddaughter already hitting it off with the "enemy."

Village Chief Liu and Aunt Liu found it incredible. Niu Niu had never been such a reckless child. How could she do something like this?

Then, in a pause between playing her cards, Gu Qingyin looked up, saw them, and broke into a grin, giving them a little wave.

And so, the army of card players gained two more generals.

After a couple of rounds, Village Chief Liu and Aunt Liu finally relaxed and were able to immerse themselves completely in the game.

Gu Qingyin felt the time was right and asked casually, "So where did your son go?"

Village Chief Liu’s hand paused as he was about to play a card. A complicated look crossed his face. ’Is this really the right time to talk about this?’

Before he could decide whether to answer, he caught sight of a snow-white hand stealthily reaching out from Huo Xingchen’s side and drawing a card from the deck...

"Stop!" Village Chief Liu shouted.

The card thief clearly had weak nerves. Startled, it threw the card back and shrank behind Huo Xingchen.

But it forgot that Huo Xingchen was too small to hide anything at all.

"A paper person?!" Village Chief Liu stood up, his face changing drastically once he got a clear look at the thief. He screamed in terror, "It’s haunted! The paper person is alive!"

At his words, everyone except Aunt Liu and Niu Niu gave him a strange look.

’If we’re talking about ghosts, don’t you think you look more like one?’

Aunt Liu and Niu Niu were startled too, but seeing how timid the paper person was, their fear subsided and was replaced by a bit of curiosity.

"A paper person?" Niu Niu snuck a peek at it and couldn’t help but ask Huo Xingchen, "Is it your pet?"

Huo Xingchen shook his head. "It’s a playmate. My mom made it."

Niu Niu’s head snapped toward Gu Qingyin, her eyes screaming four words—I want one too!

Gu Qingyin’s lips curved into a smile. "If you win, I’ll make you one."

Niu Niu sat up straight, her eyes filled with fighting spirit.

At this point, Village Chief Liu also came to his senses, feeling he had overreacted. He cleared his throat awkwardly and, while looking at the cards in his hand, answered the previous question.

"He went to the Capital City. Said he opened a breakfast shop on Old Street and is very busy."

"Old Street?" Gu Qingyin looked at Master Huo. "Do you know where that is?"

Master Huo frowned in thought. "It should be the area in the city center."

Gu Qingyin played a card and continued asking, "Do you remember what year they left?"

As Village Chief Liu was trying to recall, Aunt Liu suddenly interjected, "Eighty-nine. They left right after Niu Niu’s third birthday."

Gu Qingyin let out a silent whistle. ’That was a long time ago.’ "How old was your son when he left?"

Aunt Liu: "Just turned twenty-two. That’s the age to go out and make something of yourself. He had the ambition, so I didn’t stop him."

Huo Yunjing, in a very detached tone, brought up the gossip. "You didn’t think to have them give you a grandson before they left? In that era, boys were valued more, weren’t they?"

As soon as he said it, the card table fell silent for a few seconds. Everyone snuck glances at Niu Niu out of the corners of their eyes.

Niu Niu’s expression remained unchanged, as if she wasn’t the one squeezing her cards so hard they were starting to warp.

Village Chief Liu gave a dry laugh. "Haha, having a boy or a girl is the same. Our family doesn’t favor sons over daughters."

The words had barely left his mouth when Niu Niu let out a cold laugh.

A thought struck Gu Qingyin. "Did they have another child while they were away?"

Niu Niu shot to her feet, threw her cards on the table, and walked out.

Seeing this, Village Chief Liu and Aunt Liu also fell silent.

Gu Qingyin blinked. ’Looks like I guessed right.’