After five bigwigs in Beijing's elite circle fell into their trap, I fled.

Chapter 41 The Mysterious Red Silk

The next day, just as dawn broke, Assistant Yang walked in with a pale face, greeted Jiang Shu listlessly, and then found a corner to catch up on sleep, feeling weak all over.

Jiang Shu looked at him with concern: "I told you you wouldn't be used to living in that grave of the village chief."

Assistant Yang's eyes reddened, and he thought to himself with a heavy heart, "I didn't know back then that the village chief's humble abode was a grave! A huge grave, hollowed out and lined with straw. Even though the village chief said it was an empty grave that had been abandoned for more than thirty years, it was still a challenge to my mentality!"

Especially when he was on the verge of a breakdown at night and wanted to vent to his boss, he found that there was no signal at all. That feeling of isolation and helplessness almost crushed him.

He finally made it to dawn and crawled out of the cold grave, shivering. He secretly decided that the first thing he would do when he got back was to ask his boss to fund the construction of several rows of large bungalows in Xinghua Village. If his boss refused... then he would suggest that his boss also come and lie in the grave!
Assistant Yang only regained some of his composure when he was told to have breakfast.

He walked unsteadily to an open area in the village, where a dozen or so large, dilapidated round tables were set up. At that moment, all sorts of vegetarian dishes were being served on the tables.

Jiang Shu, holding a cat in her arms, introduced the local customs and culture to the person and the cat: "Our village always holds its banquets here. Today we can only eat vegetarian food, but our village's tofu and cabbage are actually quite good. You should eat more later—next time when I hold a graduation banquet, I can prepare several tables of meat, and I'll invite you all over again."

Assistant Yang walked and looked around. During the day, everything was desolate, not as frightening as at night. But looking around, just as Jiang Shu had said, the surrounding mountains were large swathes of malnourished, yellowish-brown, as if they had been drained of their vitality.

"I'll take a picture and show it to the boss so we can set up an afforestation project team." Assistant Yang took out his phone.

Jiang Shu warned, "It's fine to take pictures of the mountains and forests, but don't take pictures of the apricot trees in our village—the village chief says they are our village's lucky trees, and we have to keep them secretly to bring prosperity to the village. If outsiders find out, we'll be in big trouble."

Assistant Yang thought to himself, "They've been reduced to living in a graveyard, and the auspicious tree hasn't been able to exert its power at all!"
He chuckled and casually glanced at the surrounding trees. Only then did he notice that in front of every house—including the one in front of the village chief's grave—there was a very thick apricot tree. And those apricot trees were covered with dense red ribbons, becoming the only bright spot in the impoverished village.

In front of a dilapidated thatched hut, an apricot tree that seemed to be several decades old had just been cut down by a group of villagers, and Jiang's mother was collecting the red ribbons from it and putting them into a basket.

Assistant Yang asked curiously, "What's the explanation for this?"

“I don’t really understand either. From the first day they enter Xinghua Village, the villagers have to plant an apricot tree that is half a person tall. Then every now and then, they will hang red ribbons on it…” Jiang Shu pointed to the village’s “mansion”—the only mud-brick house in the village, “That’s my house. The apricot tree in front of the door was planted by my mother. She heard that it’s been planted for as many years as I am. It’s not the tallest, but it has the most red ribbons in the whole village. Every time the villagers pass by my house and see those red ribbons, they are so envious—but I still don’t understand what they are envious of.”

Assistant Yang didn't understand either.

He then pointed to the felled tree: "Since your village values ​​apricot trees so much, why did you cut them down?"

“That’s my second grandfather’s tree.” Jiang Shu’s tone lowered slightly. “When someone in the village dies, the apricot tree in front of their house will be cut down, red silk will be used as burial offerings, and the trunk will be made into their tombstone.”

Assistant Yang exclaimed, "Every village has its own customs. The customs of Xinghua Village are quite unique."

In Jiang Shu's arms, the leopard cat that FY's young master had transformed into trembled slightly.

He spent last night with his future mother-in-law.

As dawn approached, Jiang Liuyun and Li Erniang suddenly said to Jiang Shu, "We're getting old, we can't hold on any longer."

Then, after asking the other villagers to talk to the child, the two left the mourning hall together, saying they needed to go back and catch up on some sleep. On their way out, they also took their daughter's pet cat, saying that Li Erniang's house was infested with rats and they wanted to bring it back to ward off the pests.

Thus, his life as a cat also experienced a terrifying midnight ordeal completely different from that of Assistant Yang.

The young master couldn't recall the details.

The night was very dark; you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

The bleak spring breeze carried the smell of rust—a pungent, oppressive odor.

Two elderly women, seemingly well past fifty, emerged shakily from the mourning hall, but instead of heading home, they slowly made their way to the village entrance. Several Japanese men, dressed in black ninja attire, their faces cold and bloodthirsty, had appeared at the village entrance, drawing their swords and preparing to slaughter Xinghua Village.

Li Erniang clicked her tongue: "It seems Second Master didn't handle the aftermath well; they've even tracked him down to his doorstep."

Jiang Liuyun said softly, "You've come at the right time, so I don't have to travel thousands of miles to avenge Second Master."

Li Erniang's silver knife appeared like a crescent moon in her sleeve, and her silver hair, flowing like a silver snake, snaked through the river.

Then came a dazzling display of sword light, like countless shooting stars, illuminating this corner of the night.

In FY's eyes, the two women were like two fierce demons, indifferently reaping the lives of the invaders. In just a few minutes, the menacing enemy lay scattered on the ground, staining the village entrance red.

Jiang Liuyun sensed the unease in the leopard cat's arms and gently comforted it, "Ali, don't be afraid, Grandma is just chasing away flies..."

Light footsteps sounded behind him, and the village chief strolled over slowly, carrying a hoe, his tone dissatisfied: "Why didn't you leave a single survivor and follow the trail to wipe out his lair?"

Li Erniang sneered: "With that skill, he must be either from Jitian or a member of the R country's dark organization—in a few days, I'll just go and kill Rong Jingchen from Jitian, and we'll find out by interrogating him!"

"Catch that guy? You really think too highly of yourself." The village chief scoffed. "Unless he gets a lone wolf one day and comes to China, you'll never have a chance."

Jiang Liuyun interrupted the two: "Alright, if we stay out for too long, Shubao will become suspicious. Bury what needs to be buried and throw away what needs to be thrown away."

The old village chief began burying people on the spot.

Li Erniang pointed to the apricot tree and said to Jiang Liuyun, "One red ribbon represents one life... I have five, you have seven. Remember to hang the red ribbons up later..."

FY's heir thought this was the end.

However, this was only the beginning of a terrifying night.

He was carried into his future wife's boudoir by his mother-in-law. Before he could even feel shy or excited, he saw Li Erniang and his mother-in-law tear off their face masks and then peel off a layer of wrinkled skin from their exposed arms...

Next, the wig with the full head of white hair was removed...

The bulky, tattered outer garment was removed...

In just two minutes, she transformed from an old woman into a beautiful young woman!

The Crown Prince stared in disbelief at the two who had undergone their transformation. Long, curly hair cascaded down like a waterfall, their youthful skin showed no signs of age, their features were stunning, and their aura was imposing…

At this moment, Li Erniang gently tapped Jiang Liuyun with her slender, slender hand: "You, you're already forty, how come you look younger than someone like me who's thirty? No wonder that guy surnamed Nie has been so hung up on you for so many years..."

"Why bring him up?" Jiang Liuyun said indifferently. "After that mess with Shubao's scumbag father, no man is worth my time now."

The young master pricked up his ears, eager to hear more gossip. However, the two only exchanged a few words before going to their rooms to wash up. When they reappeared before the young master, they were once again two village women, panting as they walked…

Jiang Liuyun hung seven red ribbons on the apricot tree by the door, then casually tossed a piece of beef jerky into the cat's mouth. Li Erniang clicked her tongue: "You, out here killing people, what are you doing carrying a cat?"

“Second Master’s coffin lid wasn’t closed properly,” Jiang Liuyun sighed. “I think this cat is restless. What if it flips the coffin lid open… and Jiang Shu asks her why her Second Master has so many gunshot wounds? How will we explain that?”

(End of this chapter)