Song Lili didn’t go to console him, Instead, she fetched some water and found a towel; she wiped Tang Xiaohua’s face and body, All the while, she meticulously examined Xiaohua’s body.
She had indeed been raped and murdered.
Song Lili found a set of clean clothes in the wardrobe and dressed Tang Xiaohua in them, The blood-stained bedding from the bed was piled in a corner by Song Lili.
"Tang Xiaohua, fate really has a way of fooling people. If only you had waited for me to come, I would have given you some money, and you probably could have had a decent life with your brother."
"Now... I should go to the nearby village police and have them search for the murderer, but I can’t... A dead person’s identity is meaningless to me."
Song Lili looked at Tang Xiaohua and muttered to herself, behind her was the unceasing crying of the boy...
"However, I won’t use your identity for nothing. I will take care of your brother, and before I leave this place, I will find your murderer..."
Song Lili was sitting at the doorway, She had changed into a set of clothes, ones from Tang Xiaohua’s wardrobe.
On the horizon, the sunset was like spilt blood, The crying of the little boy inside the house had slowly subsided. Not long after, the little boy came out and sat down next to Song Lili.
Song Lili took a deep breath and removed her mask...
The little boy’s eyes suddenly widened as he looked at Song Lili!
Song Lili touched the little boy’s head and asked him,
Without saying another word, the boy threw himself into Song Lili’s arms and hugged her fiercely!
Song Lili looked at the little boy, and for a moment, her mind wandered to what could have been. If her child had lived, he would probably have been about this size.
It had been a boy, prematurely born at seven months and perished, That year she was twenty-seven, and that premature birth had left her infertile, creating an everlasting rift between her and Wen Nian.
"My name is... Xiaocao..."
Song Lili suddenly smiled a little. Xiao Hua, Xiaocao; it was quite fitting. It seemed she and this little boy must have been fated somehow...
Lili was originally on the grass...
The wildfire cannot burn it all, and the spring breeze brings it back to life.
"Xiaocao, is that uncle’s house far away?"
Tang Xiaocao pointed towards the area where the village houses were clustered.
"I’ll take you for a walk. If we see that uncle, will you point him out to me?"
Carrying Tang Xiaocao on her back, Song Lili walked through the unfamiliar village while it was still not dark.
It was evident that Tang Xiaohua wasn’t well acquainted with the villagers; hardly anyone greeted her.
The village dogs barked at her, but Song Lili wasn’t afraid of dogs. When a dog came close, she stood still to let it sniff her scent.
After having their fill of her scent, the dogs ceased barking.
As Song Lili walked, she observed the reactions of the villagers; they weren’t close with Tang Xiaohua, but they weren’t strangers either.
"Bang!" A sound rang out!
A bowl shattered on the ground!
Song Lili stood still and looked toward the middle-aged man crouching at his door, eating. His skin was oily and dark, his belly round, and at that moment, his small eyes looked at her in utter horror!
"What did you break the bowl for! Have you seen a ghost or something?"
The woman of the house came out on hearing the noise and scolded the middle-aged man while picking up the scattered food.
The middle-aged man trembled where he stood, and slowly, his shorts became wet as a stream of liquid ran down.
The woman looked up, her frown deepening,
"You damned spirit! What are you doing—!"