Chapter 79: [Midnight Mountain Venture]
They drove back to He Village, but Chen Yan got out of the car at the entrance of the village. He told Chu Keqing that he wouldn’t go back to He Family Mansion for dinner and stood by the roadside, watching her drive into the village. Then, he turned around and strolled to the convenience store at the village entrance.
He walked through the shop and directly pushed open the door to the mahjong room inside. Several tables were fully occupied with players.
After a quick glance, Chen Yan noticed that two of his fellow players from yesterday were missing, but the one called "Old Stick" was still at the table.
Chen Yan greeted him, took out the remaining cigarettes from yesterday, offered him one, and found a stool to sit beside him to watch the game.
After watching for over an hour, one of the players left, freeing up a spot that Chen Yan could take.
He greeted the owner and ordered a bottle of orange juice, then glanced at Old Stick and asked, "Win much today?"
"Bullshit." Old Stick shook his head, looking very displeased. "Lost all afternoon, only just making a bit of it back tonight."
Chen Yan knew the temperament of these idle villagers playing cards. Losing always meant cursing, so he didn’t mind.
Following the same routine as yesterday, he played cards while making small talk.
Chen Yan asked Old Stick if he had heard of a family surnamed Sun in the nearby ten-mile vicinity.
Old Stick shook his head immediately, indicating he hadn’t heard of them.
One of the other players, having been given a cigarette by Chen Yan, interjected, "Around here, we have Yang Village, Zhao Village, and our He Village. Never heard of any Sun family."
Chen Yan then casually mentioned the nearby mountains, "Ever heard about a hollow in the mountain back there?"
Two players shook their heads, but Old Stick nodded, "Yeah, there’s an old tomb site there."
Old Stick then lifted his head and looked at Chen Yan curiously, "Why are you asking about that place?"
"Have you been there?" Chen Yan asked.
"Who in their right mind would go there?" Old Stick mumbled, chewing on his cigarette and swiftly arranging his tiles. "It’s shady and filled with old graves. Who’d go there just for fun?"
With Chen Yan’s further questioning, Old Stick added a few more details.
Few people in He Village knew about the old tombs in the northern hollow, especially the young people. Who would venture into the mountains for no reason?
Nowadays, only a few elderly folks in the village knew about the place.
It’s far from the mountain entrance and requires climbing over two ridges and through the woods to reach. Regular folks wouldn’t go there.
There’s nothing valuable in the hollow.
The cemetery is just a pile of broken stones, worthless.
Years ago, an expert from the county came to inspect the site and declared it of no historical value due to the heavy damage. So, no one cared about it.
Villagers had a simple mindset: if there were treasures, the government would have sent people to excavate long ago.
If even the officials didn’t care, it must be worthless. So, no one got curious enough to dig for treasures.
This round of mahjong didn’t yield any valuable information, and Chen Yan lost interest.
After a couple of casual rounds, he made an excuse to leave and went back to He Family Mansion.
Having eaten a bowl of fried rice in the mahjong room, he wasn’t hungry and went straight to his room in the backyard.
Chen Yan locked the door behind him, pulled out his suitcase, and took out his supplies: talisman paper, brush and ink, cinnabar...
He spent over two hours drawing runes on his desk, then meditated on his bed for a while.
Shortly after midnight, Chen Yan, sitting on his bed, slowly opened his eyes.
The room was pitch dark. He listened intently. The He Family Mansion was completely silent.
Chen Yan jumped out of bed, put on his shoes, and went outside.
He walked to a room across the small courtyard and lightly knocked on the door, calling, "Chu Keqing."
Soon, Chu Keqing’s response came from inside, "Senior?"
"Hmm, I need to talk to you."
After a moment of silence, sounds of someone getting out of bed could be heard.
Then, the light inside turned on, and the door opened a third of the way.
Chu Keqing stood partially behind the door, her long hair down, and a slight blush of sleep still on her face. But her eyes, looking at Chen Yan, were a mix of curiosity and tension.
"Senior... it’s so late, do you need something?"
Chu Keqing spoke cautiously, her posture somewhat defensive—standing behind the door, arms crossed, blocking the entrance with her body.
Chen Yan knew well enough what she was nervous about.
He stepped back boldly, "I need you for something... Get dressed quickly, and we’re going out."
"Out?" Chu Keqing was startled, "Where to?"
Chen Yan’s face showed a sinister smile, "Up the mountain!"
Chu Keqing swallowed hard, staring at Chen Yan. "Senior... it’s the middle of the night, we..."
"Want to find Sun Zhihui?" Chen Yan smiled. "Then stop questioning and get dressed, come with me!"
Chu Keqing’s expression turned serious. She gave Chen Yan a complicated look, then steeled herself, "Alright! Give me a moment!"