Chapter 80

Chapter 80

The ripple-like pattern wrapped around the base of my left middle finger in a light blue circle, resembling a Dragon with its head meeting its tail-a minimalist version, at least.

Its appearance confirmed that my dream last night was real, and it solidified my resolve to take a trip to Wangting Mountain.

Blood was still seeping from Tang Tang’s finger, but fortunately, it was a normal bright red, free of poison or malevolent energy.

I hurried to help her stop the bleeding, but she didn’t seem to care at all. She actually used that same finger to touch the ripple again.

This time, however, her movements were agile; she withdrew immediately after a light touch.

The moment her finger made contact, the point where the Dragon’s head and tail met separated, and the head lunged as if to bite Tang Tang.

But as Tang Tang pulled away, it instantly retracted.

It was as if Tang Tang had discovered a new world; she kept teasing it with her finger.

The ripple loosened and closed repeatedly, and Tang Tang let out a laugh. “Junior Sister, what is this thing? Why does it seem so cowardly?”

I said helplessly, “If I told you I just had a dream and it was there when I woke up, and that I have no idea what it is, would you believe me?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” Tang Tang replied. “This kind of thing might be strange to ordinary people, but it’s no big deal in the Tang Family. Your big sister here is a woman of the world.”

The wound was tiny, and the beads of blood had already clotted. Tang Tang wiped it with a tissue and then drove the car into the manor’s courtyard.

The butler came over to help open the car door, and Tang Tang instructed him to have someone deliver the gifts I had brought over to Tang Ao’s side.

Afterward, she pulled me into the living room to sit on a leather sofa, and the butler served juice and small desserts.

“Oh, Uncle Ming,” Tang Tang called out to the butler. “I remember there’s a Wangting Mountain tourist attraction here in Huicheng, right? Help me put together an itinerary. I want to take Xiao Jiu there tomorrow.”

Uncle Ming thought for a moment and shook his head. “Eldest Miss, if I remember correctly, that tourist attraction was never actually developed. Quite a few people died in that area back then. You should probably choose somewhere else to entertain Miss Jiang.”

Tang Tang’s interest was immediately piqued. “A lot of people died? Uncle Ming, quick, tell me what happened.”

I also clutched my juice, staring expectantly at Uncle Ming.

“I’m not entirely sure about the specifics of the incident,” Uncle Ming said respectfully. “I only remember that the tourism project started about thirty years ago, and the Song Family won the bid.”

“Whoa, thirty years ago. That’s older than me,” Tang Tang remarked. “Is this Song Family the same one that’s at the head of the four great families of Huicheng?”

Uncle Ming nodded. “Yes, that Song Family. But at the time, the Song Family couldn’t even break into the top ten in Huicheng, and many big shots looked down on the Wangting Mountain project.

“After the Song Family won the bid, something happened on the very first day of construction. It’s said that an excavator dug up a nest of Snakes, and immediately after, people started dying one after another on the construction site. It caused quite a stir for a while, and rumors flew everywhere. Everyone said the Song Family had failed to worship the mountain god before breaking ground and had invited disaster. Boss Song’s twins also died during that period.”

Both Tang Tang and I were startled. Tang Tang quickly asked, “Then what happened? How was it resolved?”

“Boss Song invited a master,” Uncle Ming explained. “The tourism project was halted. Boss Song spent a fortune to hold a ritual at the foot of Wangting Mountain, placed his twins’ graves on the mountain, and renovated the pavilion up there. He provided offerings and incense year-round. From then on, the Song Family’s fortunes soared. In thirty years, they successfully rose to become the number one family in Huicheng.”

For some reason, I felt very uneasy when I heard about those twins.

Tang Tang pondered for a moment and said, “Speaking of which, I used to be classmates with the third daughter of the Song Family, Song Ruoqing. But she was quite cold and aloof, so we didn’t really hang out.”

Uncle Ming added, “Eldest Miss, you might not know this yet, but Third Miss Song has been bedridden for nearly half a year. I heard from a friend a few days ago that she might not last much longer.”
“What?!” Tang Tang practically leaped off the sofa. “Uncle Ming, you’re not joking, are you? Song Ruoqing is two months younger than me. How could she…”

Uncle Ming’s expression was somber. “Eldest Miss, the world is unpredictable.”

Tang Tang’s mood instantly soured, and she pulled me back to her room.

We both lay on her ridiculously oversized bed. Tang Tang hugged a pillow, her head resting on my lap, and said gloomily, “Xiao Jiu, did you know? Back in high school, Song Ruoqing and I were actually quite close.”

I didn’t say a word, simply watching Tang Tang quietly and listening to her speak.

At this moment, she needed a listener.

“We were attending a private school in Huicheng back then. It was small-class teaching, with no more than a dozen students per class. There were even fewer girls. Song Ruoqing… she looked like a celestial being. They said her mother was a classic Jiangnan beauty, and she inherited all the best parts of her mother’s looks. The moment she walked into the classroom, she’d draw everyone’s eyes.

“But she had a cold personality and hardly made any friends. She studied incredibly hard and was almost always at the top of the class. Me? I was the complete opposite. I was loud and brash, and back in high school, I was a bit of a chuunibyou. I couldn’t stand Song Ruoqing’s ‘pretentious little white lotus’ act.”

At this point, Tang Tang reached out and gave her own cheek a light smack. “Looking back now, I was such a jerk. How could I think that about such a wonderful beauty?”

“Did something happen?” I asked.

Tang Tang hummed in affirmation and continued, “Song Ruoqing was incredibly gifted at painting. Whether it was sketching, ink wash, or even oil painting, she could do it all effortlessly. But she always painted in secret. Our school had all these art certifications and painting competitions, but she never entered any of them.

“Even though she didn’t participate, she followed those competitions closely and would always create a piece related to the theme on her own. In the winter of our senior year, a girl in our class stole one of Song Ruoqing’s paintings to enter a competition. She ended up winning the grand prize.”

I was stunned. “What happened next? Did she report it?”

“No! She didn’t!” Tang Tang sat up abruptly, her voice filled with indignation. “Winter in Huicheng is very cold, and it snows toward the end of the year. After school on the day the competition results came out, I accidentally saw Song Ruoqing hiding in a corner of the school sports field, crying.

“It was so cold that day, and the snow wouldn’t stop falling. I don’t know how long she’d been standing there crying, but she was covered in snow and her cheeks were purple from the cold. I was afraid she’d freeze to death, so I ran over, gave her a shove, and dragged her around the field for two laps before stopping.

“That was the day we became friends. She told me about the painting. With my temper, could I just let it slide? Of course not. I was cursing that girl out while insisting on reporting it to the principal’s office.

“But Song Ruoqing stopped me. She said to forget it, that she wasn’t going to pursue a career in art anyway. Xiao Jiu, do you know how angry I was? My head was filled with thoughts of serving justice and getting Song Ruoqing the fairness she deserved.”

It was true; if that had happened to me, I wouldn’t have been able to accept it either.

“So, what happened after that?” I asked.

“Afterward…” Tang Tang’s eyes reddened instantly. “Afterward, I took it upon myself to expose the truth. The student who stole the painting got the punishment she deserved, and the school cleared Song Ruoqing’s name, making an exception to award her the grand prize certificate.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Isn’t that a happy ending?”

Tang Tang shook her head, looking like she was on the verge of tears. “If I could turn back time, I would rather have stayed silent and endured it alongside her.”

I was confused. “Why?”

Tang Tang said, “Because from that day on, Song Ruoqing never came back to school. When I finally found her, she was in the hospital. Her right index finger… had been cut off.”