Chapter 1344: People Who Were Good to Her, All Are Dead

Chapter 1330: Everyone Who Was Kind to Her Died

"Feet first, feet first! That's the rule," a porter said urgently. "If the head goes out first, the wandering soul won't rest, won't leave, will linger here, seeking revenge on the living! There's a proper way to do this; don't mess it up!"

The other person grunted as he lifted, "Looks so skinny and small, but I didn't expect her to be so heavy!"

"Otherwise, why would they call it 'dead weight'? Dead people are always heavy, whether they're ten or a hundred, no matter how skinny or small, they're dead weight."

Little An stared wide-eyed at the white cloth.

Other five or six-year-olds probably didn't understand what "death" meant, but she understood very well.

A few days ago, her mother was carried onto a hay cart just like this, but without a covering cloth.

And even before that, she had seen this scene unfold countless times.

Today, whose turn was it to die?

The two porters continued to chatter, "Such a beautiful girl, what a pity."

"Tsk, you're new here. You haven't seen much. You'll get used to it after a while. The manor pays us this much money; are we supposed to be doing good deeds for everyone?"

"Ah, but... but?" This porter was an apprentice who had just been brought in by his master a few days ago. Seeing a dead person today made his legs a little weak, especially this one; he felt a pang of pity in his heart at the sight.

He swallowed, "The manor acts like this... is it really okay?"

"What could happen? Even if you and I went to the county town and told everyone, no one could do anything. There's no one to complain, understand? These people were all bought from other places by human traffickers," his companion said. "Besides, the Wuma family runs this place; who would dare to cross them? Hey, watch out!"

His warning came too late. The first man wasn't paying attention to the round stone underfoot, tripped, and fell face-first. He spit and grumbled for a while before getting back up.

With that fall, the body he was carrying dropped to the ground.

The white cloth wasn't wrapped tightly to begin with, and it came loose, revealing part of the female corpse's face.

Little An's eyes widened.

Han Tingting!

The face was bloodless, eyes tightly shut, and looked particularly unfamiliar.

But Little An recognized her at a glance; the person wrapped in the white cloth was Han Tingting.

Her body trembled slightly, but it wasn't from fear.

The man on the ground got up, used the cloth to cover her face, and lifted her again.

"How much farther to the mule cart?"

"Not far, just fifty more steps. The cart's waiting outside."

"W-where will she be taken?"

His companion glared, "Why do you ask so many questions? Do you want to be wrapped in cloth too, so you can find out where she's going?"

"No, never mind." He had only taken this job of moving dead bodies because the pay was high.

Not until the two men were far away did Little An emerge from behind the tree and look back at the bluestone courtyard wall.

She understood what the two servants had said.

Han Tingting died here. For unknown reasons, the second young master killed her.

The girl who was talking and laughing, sewing socks for her, and promising to bring her chicken drumsticks just last night, was now a cold corpse, wrapped in a thin piece of white cloth.

An indescribable emotion welled up in Little An's heart.

Her mother was kind to her, and her mother died.

Han Tingting was kind to her, and Han Tingting also died.

Everyone who was kind to her died.

So why was the second young master still alive?

After the two porters left, the small gate was only ajar, so she slipped inside.

The courtyard was vibrant with flowers and willows, blooming wildly and unrestrainedly, as if it didn't care that a young maiden had withered away here.

Whether it was one, or many, many more, no one cared.

Hiding behind the low garden wall, Little An heard footsteps again, and the second young master's... yawn.

"What is it?" The second young master hadn't slept all night and had only caught up on sleep at daybreak, so he wasn't very energetic. "Don't tell me you can't even keep an eye on a little girl."

"Se-second young master," it was the robust servant's voice. "She... I wasn't careful. She disappeared while I was in the latrine."

"Useless!" The second young master raised his voice. "Where could a five or six-year-old girl run off to? Search, get more people to search for her!"

Little An, hidden in the shadows, watched the second young master's Adam's apple, her breathing quickening, a surge of impulse in her heart.

She had felt this same impulse a little over ten days ago.

With a "snap," she accidentally stepped on a twig near her foot. The two men who were talking immediately looked over. "Who's there!"

Little An stepped out from behind the tree, her face devoid of expression.

The second young master was startled when he saw her. "Didn't she run away? How is she here?"

"She might have..." The robust servant was overjoyed. "I'll take her away immediately!"

He ran toward Little An, but she turned her head to look at the second young master.

With the setting sun, half of the second young master's face was in sunlight, and half in shadow.

She suddenly spoke, her voice clear and crisp, "You're as fat as a pig. You're not scary at all."

This stopped the robust servant in his tracks, while the second young master flew into a rage. "Seize her!"

He hated it most when people called him fat!

"Second young master, it would be good if you died too," Little An said faintly. "Father said that people who are not kind to me shouldn't be alive!"

From the bushes behind her, she heard the familiar clicking sound again.

A chill wind blew from behind, making goosebumps rise on Little An's neck—

The monster was here, right behind her, just a step away!

Normally, she would have run frantically, but now she didn't want to.

The monster chasing her was so terrifying; it shouldn't just harm her, right?

The robust servant scooped her up and presented her to the second young master as if she were a treasure. "Second young master, how do you want to discipline this girl?"

"Interesting," the second young master said, touching her face. It felt particularly smooth and tender. "I had planned to play with you in a few days, but now..."

Before he could finish speaking, his expression suddenly changed.

First, surprise, then terror.

Liu County.

As soon as Deputy Magistrate Li returned to his jurisdiction, he became busy and was nowhere to be seen all day.

Fortunately, before nightfall, he came to find He Lingchuan.

"Progress, progress! We sent out over a hundred people to search, and finally found a body beneath the Pine Stream, five li west of Chen Family Village. Although it was already decomposed beyond recognition and gnawed to pieces by wild animals, from the remaining clothing, we can vaguely identify that it was likely a woman!"

"One body?"

"Yes, only one body, and it's an adult's," Deputy Magistrate Li added. "Children don't have such long arm bones."

He Lingchuan pondered. If this female corpse was Ah Hui, where was Little An?

It was unlikely that Chen Fu'ang and his five accomplices would have disposed of the little girl's body separately.

He Lingchuan then asked, "What about Maodun and Xingyun Village?"

Deputy Magistrate Li quickly replied, "Oh, investigating those two places will take some time."

He wasn't a mythical creature with three heads and six arms; he had been busy searching for the body all day. How could he have time to investigate these others?

A shadow flickered outside the room, but He Lingchuan remained unperturbed.

Only after Deputy Magistrate Li finished his report and turned to leave did He Lingchuan say to the outside, "Come in."