Qin Changsheng and Jiang Zhongxue left the house one after the other.
Outside the old-fashioned room was the main hall. With the door open, the hall was much brighter than the room. The ground was still uneven, and the doorstep was high. Several women, dressed in drab, patched clothes with frayed edges, sat around a table. On it sat a black iron bowl, still half-filled with sunflower seeds.
A circle of sunflower seed shells lay scattered on the floor.
Qin Changsheng walked past them confidently, while Jiang Zhongxue followed silently behind, carrying a black umbrella.
As Jiang Zhongxue passed by, the women’s eyes lit up in unison. Some held sunflower seeds in their hands, while others had a few seed shells in their mouths. They all paused their actions at the same time, leaning in to whisper and giggle among themselves: “What a pretty girl~”
Qin Changsheng could understand the Sichuan dialect fairly well. The women watched Jiang Zhongxue leave with smiling eyes, then waved to Qin Changsheng: “Girl! Come sit here!”
Qin Changsheng obediently took a seat.
Outside, sparse bamboo shadows fell across a half-built earthen wall. The leader of the women was stout, with a dark, plump face and a loud voice: “Girl, are you here traveling?”
Qin Changsheng nodded and sat down. One of the women beside her shifted to make room, smiling as she said, “City folks sure love to explore. Here, have some sunflower seeds, we grew them ourselves!”
Qin Changsheng didn’t hesitate, rolling up her sleeves and accepting a handful. The dark, plump woman watched Jiang Zhongxue’s back disappear outside the door, then lowered her voice and asked Qin Changsheng, “Are you two together? Where is she going?”
After a pause, the woman added with curiosity, “This girl hasn’t said much since she arrived today. She’s been frowning, like she’s in a bad mood. As soon as she got back, she’s heading out again. In an unfamiliar place, what’s she going out for?”
Qin Changsheng glanced in the direction Jiang Zhongxue had gone and said, “It’s nothing. We’re together. My friend here just went through a breakup. She came here to clear her mind, so it’s normal for her to want to wander around all day.”
She looked outside and asked, “People need to see new sights. Is there anywhere to eat around here?”
The dark-faced woman immediately replied, “Are you asking about a convenience store? There’s no store in this village. If you want snacks, you’ll have to walk two hours to the next town. But it’s almost noon, why don’t you just eat with us?”
Her expression was enthusiastic. Qin Changsheng politely declined at first, but the woman cracked a sunflower seed and said briskly, “Don’t worry, I’m not trying to rip you off! No need to say more, you’ll eat what we eat. Homegrown vegetables and our own chickens, just ten yuan a meal! Don’t you worry, Aunt Zhang here isn’t heartless. I won’t cheat you!”
It would be pointless to refuse further. The deal was promptly settled. Qin Changsheng watched a clucking hen pass by outside and nodded in satisfaction. Then, she asked the woman who called herself Aunt Zhang, “What’s the name of this village?”
Aunt Zhang was cracking melon seeds while several other women sat nearby, laughing. One of them grinned and asked, “You city girls! You come traveling without even knowing the place and just wander around! If you get lost, your families wouldn’t even know where to look for you!”
Her tone was half teasing, half joking. Qin Changsheng replied with a smile, “No worries. My friend and I have traveled far and wide, we’re used to life on the road. We originally planned to visit Jishan but took a wrong turn and somehow ended up here.”
The woman nodded repeatedly, as if listening intently. Aunt Zhang, loud and articulate, chimed in, “Our village here is called Shanjiao Village, nothing formal about the name.”
Upon hearing the name Shanjiao Village, Qin Changsheng’s first reaction was amusement, and she followed up with a question, “So, if you’re Shanjiao Village, how far is the nearest town?”
Aunt Zhang thought for a moment and said, “Well, that depends on which town you mean. The closer one is Jishan Town, but you’d have to take a long detour, it’d take over a day on foot. The nearer option is Luoshan Town. From here, it’s a three-hour walk to the mountain highway, where there’s a bus stop. If we need to go down the mountain, we usually leave by eight and wait a bit. If we’re lucky, we might catch a bus. But if it rains and no buses run, we have to walk to town.”
Qin Changsheng was taken aback. She did a quick mental calculation and asked skeptically, “Three hours? And there’s no convenience store or retail shop in your village, where do you buy daily necessities like oil and salt?”
This place was far more remote than she had imagined. Just getting to the nearest road took three hours, she couldn’t fathom how treacherous the terrain around the village must be.
There were no paved roads here, not even running water. The only electrical appliance was an incandescent light bulb. Qin Changsheng had always known that many impoverished and backward places still existed in the world, but being in one herself brought a far deeper sense of shock and reflection than any news report ever could.
Aunt Zhang chuckled dismissively, “What else can we do? Of course, we go to town to buy what we need! This place is poor, and the government won’t build a road here. We don’t even have telephone lines. Li Er’s family at the village entrance bought a landline phone, but it’s just for show!”
Qin Changsheng looked stunned. Seeing her expression, Aunt Zhang added proudly, “The road to town is long, but we keep mules at home. Riding a mule is much faster than walking!”
Qin Changsheng’s expression turned complicated. “………..”
Shanjiao Village was indeed as remote and backward as a village could get.
She didn’t know what Jiang Zhongxue had said to Aunt Zhang, perhaps the offered price was right, or maybe it was the inherent kindness of mountain folk, but by lunchtime, Qin Changsheng was treated to an authentic, spicy wild boar dish and even helped Aunt Zhang shuck some corn.
Aunt Zhang wasn’t a bad person, she was warm-hearted, enthusiastic, and straightforward. During the meal, she asked Qin Changsheng, “Isn’t your friend coming back for lunch? Should I save some for her and keep it warm in the pot?”
Qin Changsheng shook her head. “No need, no need. My friend is on a diet lately and can’t eat.”
Aunt Zhang’s expression froze for a moment, then she muttered skeptically, “Such a sweet girl… why lose weight? Ah, city kids just love to fuss.”
As she spoke, she brightened up again: “Eat more, eat more! This is wild boar hunted by the old hunters in our village, you definitely can’t get this in the city!”
Aunt Zhang’s house had two floors. The upper floor was laid with wooden planks, usually used to store dry branches and chopped bamboo they gathered from the mountains as firewood. When Qin Changsheng climbed up, the wooden stairs to the second floor creaked noisily. Outside, the wooden beams were neatly stacked with corn stalks.
She carefully stepped onto the thicker beams and made her way across the wooden structure. In this village, Aunt Zhang’s house was considered relatively tall. Standing on the upper floor, Qin Changsheng looked down at the fenced yard below, where a cluster of emerald-green bamboo grew beside it. A proud little yellow hen led a flock of fluffy chicks, pecking here and there.
The sunlight bathed her in a gentle warmth.
Ever since her Ghost Eye seal had been released, Qin Changsheng had never had the chance to truly rest and relax.
Now, this was a rare moment of tranquility she had experienced in the past two years.
Qin Changsheng straightened her clothes slightly and lay back comfortably on the pile of corn stalks behind her. Tilting her head, she basked in the sun, squinting as she watched the little chicks below.
The Qin Family of the Ghost Eye.
The Qin Family of the Ghost Eye, a lineage that had been passed down for thousands of years in the ancient lands of Shu. They inherited a pair of Ghost Eyes, capable of seeing all things from the netherworld.
Walking alongside spirits and demons, they had to remain constantly vigilant, lest one day they be bewitched by evil forces, abandon their humanity, and become monstrous beings.
Throughout history, none of the Ghost Eye bearers had met a peaceful end.
This was the ultimate fate of the Qin family.
Qin Changsheng raised her hand, watching the brilliant sunlight filtering through her fingers, painting the blue sky.
This was the fate of her Qin family, but it was not her fate, Qin Changsheng’s fate.
She would definitely find a way to break free from this destiny and discover a method to completely destroy the Ghost Eye.