My Childhood Sweetheart Is a Crazy Beauty
Chapter 164: The Truth Adds Another Mystery

Chapter 164: Chapter 164: The Truth Adds Another Mystery

Tang Jianjun and Tang Jianbing wore strange expressions as they dug the earth, while their mother and sister watched from the side.

"Mom, is it really appropriate for us to be doing this?"

As soon as Tang Jianbing spoke, Madam Tang impatiently retorted, "What? Do you want to see me and your sister do it?"

Tang Jianbing shut his mouth immediately.

As for Tang Jianjun, he knew very well that this wasn’t the time for questions, it was better to just get on with the work.

It was midnight, the cold air had frozen the ground solid, and each strike of the shovel against the soil sent an uncomfortable resonance through the eardrums.

Tang Chuxia tugged at Madam Tang’s arm: "Mom, what are we doing?"

"Digging up a grave!"

Could she not see it? She just didn’t understand why Madam Tang wanted to dig up a grave in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, Madam Tang didn’t keep it mysterious, she squatted down and began to explain.

"I just can’t figure it out. If your grandparents died of the No. 2 disease, their corpses should show some signs. If that dead girl did something to them, there shouldn’t be no traces left!"

Tang Chuxia suddenly understood, and Tang Jianjun helplessly said, "Mom, it’s not that we don’t want to clear the name of our grandparents, it’s just that there isn’t anyone among us who can tell anything, right?"

Tang Chuxia nodded emphatically.

She couldn’t either.

Madam Tang stood up and looked into the distance: "They’re coming soon!"

This made everyone’s hearts tremble a bit, not understanding what Madam Tang meant.

But soon Tang Chuxia saw an old man swaying towards them. If it wasn’t for his steady steps, they’d have thought he was a ghost!

When Madam Tang saw the old man, she walked over respectfully and called out, "Third Grandpa!"

The old man grunted in acknowledgment, waved a hand to indicate for Madam Tang to step aside, and squatted by the grave mound, urging the halted Tang Jianjun and Tang Jianbing: "Didn’t you eat? Put some strength into it!"

Tang Jianjun gritted his teeth but couldn’t do anything but comply.

Madam Tang urged them: "All of you, put your hearts into it, let’s get it done quickly so we can go back!"

It was so cold!

The old man rubbed his hands and took out a bottle of strong liquor from his waist, took a swig, and instead of looking at the two brothers digging the grave, focused his gaze on Tang Chuxia: "Is this girl your daughter?"

Madam Tang nodded hurriedly.

The old man shone his flashlight on Tang Chuxia’s face, and she squinted against the glare, raising a hand to shield her eyes.

"Tsk-tsk—she’s got a hard life!"

Madam Tang laughed: "Right? A hard life is good!"

Tang Chuxia was extremely curious, as the old man’s behavior was just odd.

She quietly asked Madam Tang who he was.

Madam Tang whispered an introduction, the old man was indeed a mysterious figure in the Tang Family, more mysterious than that great uncle.

If that great uncle was a spooky one, then this old man was slightly disreputable. Not that he had done anything shady, but because he had once watched over a mortuary, later overseeing the mortuary at a hospital, also working part-time arranging the dead’s appearance and such.

Tang Chuxia still didn’t understand the purpose of Madam Tang bringing the old man over.

"This elder has seen too many people who died of the No. 2 disease, even when the corpse was rotten, he could still tell!"

Madam Tang gave a hint and said no more.

The old man downed a bottle of liquor, and finally, Tang Jianjun and Tang Jianbing managed to dig out the coffin. They were about to lift the coffin lid when the old man stopped them.

"Are you asking for death?"

The old man stopped the two brothers, then jumped down himself, gesturing for Tang Jianbing to hold up the flashlight, while he walked around the coffin twice, clicking his tongue: "Didn’t see that coming, your grandparents were pinned down here by someone!"

Tang Jianjun couldn’t bear it and asked, "What do you mean?"

The old man pointed at the coffin lid: "What’s on top?"

Tang Jianjun looked closely; there were many messy lines drawn on the coffin lid. He didn’t know how it was drawn, but he recognized it as runes, and how did he know?

Anyone who’s been to a Taoist temple has seen similar things.

Though he couldn’t read them, a glance was all it took to identify them as runes.

"Is this a talisman?"

Tang Jianjun uncertainly questioned, and the old man nodded: "It’s even to ward off evil spirits!" He continued, "Looks like someone was scared!"

Madam Tang snorted coldly: "I knew it, those people were so eager to bury, there must be something wrong!"

Speaking of this, Madam Tang got agitated.

Back then, the grandparents died very quickly. By the time they returned from the city, the bodies were already in the coffin, even the coffin had been sealed, saying it was to prevent infectious disease. It rained heavily during the burial, and nobody examined carefully, resulting in a hasty burial.

In hindsight, everything seemed like a coincidence, yet every step was strange.

The old man laughed: "Without even opening the lid, I can tell your grandparents didn’t die of the No. 2 disease!"

He pointed around the coffin, letting them take a closer look.

The flashlight lit up the ground, clearly showing the area around the coffin, and Tang Jianjun cursed and jumped up in surprise, with Tang Jianbing doing the same.

Because the area around the coffin was crawling with bugs.

The old man, fearless, stepped out of the grave on the coffin.

"Don’t open it, it’s a coffin full of bugs, likely nothing but a mess inside!"

As Madam Tang was about to say something, the old man told her to keep quiet.

"You don’t need to see it to know something’s off, and there’s no way to know who’s behind it, so don’t open it for your own good!"

Madam Tang was reluctant, and the old man ordered the two Tang brothers to refill the soil. He sighed: "I don’t care if you dug up the grave behind the family’s back, but no opening the coffin, that’s the bottom line!"

The old man heard a rooster crow, yawned, and said: "I’ll be honest, your grandparents didn’t die of the No. 2 disease, they were poisoned. As for what poison it was, this old man couldn’t tell! And you are not to tell anyone I was here!"

The old man left, even taking off at a small run, as if chased by a fierce ghost.

Madam Tang took the kids back home.

She couldn’t sleep and went to make hot water for her sons to bathe; digging a grave was an unlucky business.

Though Tang Chuxia didn’t do much, she was still made to use wormwood for a smoke cleanse by Madam Tang.

They got things done by daybreak, and only then did Tang Chuxia go to sleep, but she was soon woken up by noises just as she drifted off.

What a headache!

Tang Chuxia held her head, confused, as Xiuxiu ran in to gossip with her.

"The mad woman killed someone!"

Xiuxiu’s face was full of fear, and Tang Chuxia’s sleepiness disappeared. She remembered the mad woman Xiuxiu had mentioned before.

"What happened?"

Xiuxiu rubbed her arms: "She killed her in-laws last night, and even hung her husband’s head on the door frame."

Tang Chuxia:...

She’s completely gone mad!!!

"The patrolling militiamen found her. That mad woman saw she’d been discovered, and brazenly gave birth to her baby right in front of everyone."

Tang Chuxia:...

As Xiuxiu spoke, her face turned pale.

"The thing is, she didn’t scream in pain, but was calling your name, Xiaxia!"

Tang Chuxia:...