Chapter 273

Chapter 273

Xujia Village?

I was surprised. “Does that place still exist?”

It might have existed a hundred years ago, but few villages from that era remained intact today.

Because of the wars, many people had left their homes. In some cases, entire villages migrated elsewhere.

Song Xiaotian took out his phone, lit the screen, and placed it before me. “See for yourself. Xujia Village, a century-old village and a famous local social-media attraction.”

I picked up the phone. The place really did exist.

The description of Xujia Village focused on its long history. It had existed since the Qing dynasty. Because it had been extremely remote a hundred years ago, it was one of the few villages the wars never reached.

Put simply, it lay deep within remote mountains and forests, so enemy troops had never swept through it.

And it was only sixty or seventy kilometers from the original site of Luo Mansion.

“Sixty or seventy kilometers is a quick drive today, but a hundred years ago, it was still quite far.”

Song Xiaotian said, “Xu Xiu and Xu Changming were probably from Xujia Village. It’s a large clan village, and its clan traditions have survived to this day.”

I nodded. It was certainly possible.

In that era, villages were usually named for the clan’s surname, and almost everyone in a village shared that name.

“If Xu Xiu survived back then, she should have descendants. Even if she didn’t, Xu Changming probably did. And even if neither of them had children, someone in the Xu clan should know what happened at Luo Mansion.”

Song Xiaotian’s analysis made perfect sense.

If only Seventh Master and I had brought him along from the start.

After all, three ordinary men working together could rival Zhuge Liang.

“There’s something else that’s strange.” I told Song Xiaotian and Meng Yifan how Seventh Master and I had entered the construction site two nights ago but had only emerged today.

I was certain we had been inside for no more than twelve hours, and even that was a generous estimate.

Yet by the time we woke, it was already the day after next.

Time had not merely jumped quickly. It had moved so absurdly fast that I could not accept it.

Song Xiaotian and Meng Yifan were both shocked.

“Could you have overlooked the time between losing consciousness and entering the Ghost Wall?”

Meng Yifan said, “You only counted the time you and Seventh Master spent inside the Ghost Wall. You didn’t count the interval between first losing consciousness and entering it. What if you were unconscious for a very long time before the Ghost Wall began?”

I froze. “That’s possible, but my body wouldn’t lie. Going without food and water for so long would make me feel terrible, yet I didn’t feel anything like that.”

A person could go a day or two without eating, but one or two days without water would cause dehydration.

“Then how do we explain it? Did time itself go wrong? That isn’t scientific.” Meng Yifan looked completely baffled.

Song Xiaotian said nothing. This probably lay outside his knowledge as well.

At the hospital, I had asked Seventh Master about it. He was equally shocked to learn it was already the third and could not explain what had happened.

Song Xiaotian said, “If we can’t explain it and it hasn’t caused any other problems, then don’t dwell on it. You have things to do tomorrow, so get some sleep.”
I nodded. I still had to pick Anning up from the airport early the next morning.

It was a holiday, so flights were nearly impossible to book. The earliest ticket Anning could find was for the following morning.

Meng Yifan returned to his room, but Song Xiaotian showed no intention of leaving.

I asked if he needed something. He said no, but he wanted to sleep in my room that night.

“Don’t you have your own room?”

I was baffled. “Boss Lin booked each of us a room with a king-sized bed. This place isn’t even haunted. What are you afraid of?”

He seemed unable to explain himself. “D-don’t ask so many questions. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

Just then, someone knocked on the door, followed by Pan Xiaorou’s voice.

“Mr. Chen, is Xiaotian with you?”

The instant I heard her, I understood. Song Xiaotian was hiding from Pan Xiaorou.

But she was already knocking. I could not simply ignore her.

As I moved to open the door, Song Xiaotian grabbed me. “Brother, I’m begging you. Don’t open it. Tell her I’m not here. Say I went to look after Seventh Master!”

I was speechless. “Brother, Seventh Master is already confined to a hospital bed. You still want her disturbing him? I have things to do tomorrow, and I need to sleep. Just go back to her room.”

With that, I opened the door.

Pan Xiaorou stood outside in a bathrobe. She smiled at me, then looked past me at Song Xiaotian. “Xiaotian, it’s late. Don’t disturb Mr. Chen’s rest. Come back to the room.”

Song Xiaotian’s hair practically stood on end, and his face twitched. “Well… Chen Mo and I… still have things to discuss. I’m afraid we won’t be sleeping tonight.”

Pan Xiaorou looked at me with a smile. “Is that true, Mr. Chen?”

I froze, helpless. Suddenly, I understood exactly how Meng Yifan had felt when she called him in Qiongcheng.

“Well… you can discuss things tomorrow. Staying up late isn’t a good habit.”

I looked back at Song Xiaotian. “Brother Tian, go get some sleep. Don’t keep her waiting.”

Song Xiaotian glared at me as though he wanted to stab me.

Pan Xiaorou marched into my room and forcibly dragged him back to theirs.

His face was full of despair. I wondered why he resisted her so much. She was such a wonderful woman and utterly devoted to him.

I closed the door and returned to bed.

I was physically and mentally exhausted. Less than two minutes after lying down, I fell asleep.

Sometime in the middle of the night, a stomachache abruptly woke me with an urgent need to defecate.

As I climbed out of bed, I checked my phone. It was exactly two in the morning.

Still half asleep, I stumbled into the bathroom. The instant I sat down, the pressure in my stomach eased. But I was so tired that my eyes drifted closed again.

I did not truly fall asleep. It was only a light doze.

When I finished and staggered back out, ready to return to bed, I suddenly froze and stared through the window in disbelief.

The sky outside was already beginning to brighten.

How could dawn come this early in Lincheng?

At two in the morning?

Most of my drowsiness vanished. I hurriedly grabbed the phone beside my pillow and checked the time. It was already after five!

I had spent more than two hours on the toilet?