Chapter 1246: I Want to Make You Stay (124)

The woman was lying on the bed with her eyes wide open. Upon the sight of An Xiaoning, the woman sat up straight and said, "I've thought about it for the whole of last night. There's something I must tell you about clearly."

"Go ahead."

"If the truth is that I didn't kill anyone, you must return my home to me!"

"It's already been destroyed. How am I supposed to return it to you?"

The woman said in exasperation, "I don't care. The destruction was uncalled for. Just who did I provoke? Why did you guys have to do that to me?"

"Frankly speaking, before we found this tomb, we incinerated several other corpses that were found nearby. Since you're human and not a mutated corpse, you can't continue staying there. How could you ask me for compensation? I'm giving you two options now. You must either be obedient and stay here for the time being or leave this place. However, there are definitely different outcomes, depending on which option you choose."

"The difference is, I would either be kept here like a prisoner or enjoy the freedom that I deserve."

An Xiaoning corrected her coldly, "Wrong. If you're obedient and stay here, I can guarantee that you'll be safe. If you choose to leave, the only thing that awaits you would be death."

The woman flew into a rage and barked, "I told you, I didn't kill anyone!"

"No one said that you're the one who did it. I won't be the person killing you either." Noticing how confused the woman seemed to be, An Xiaoning said bluntly, "I made a trip to the netherworld yesterday to meet the deceased. Just like you had mentioned, the murderer wasn't you. However, I've already told the police that I'm handling you myself. We weren't the only people who saw your face yesterday. You're all alone and penniless, where can you run to? Even if the police can't find you, do you really think that that man will let you off?"

"He didn't see me anyway. He doesn't know that I had witnessed him murdering that man either. Why wouldn't he let me off?"

"Do you really think that the police and we were the only ones who saw your appearance last night? I reckon he must have gone to the site last night. He's keeping himself well hidden, and he may not know now that you had witnessed him in the act, but he'll definitely find out one day. It's also only a matter of time before I confront him. It won't be now, though. So, I'm sure you're fully aware of how to make a wise decision."

"I bet you're just trying to force me to stay within your surveillance."

"If you continue being so ignorant and senseless, we'll choose not to keep you. So? Have you thought about it?" An Xiaoning questioned.

She answered without hesitation, "I must stay here, of course. However, can you tell me what amulets these are?"

"Humans have seven spirits and six souls, one of which takes the physical form. Those that are only spiritual can be warded off and subdued by amulets and rituals. You were able to survive for so many years in the cold and humid tomb simply because your body is full of the Yin energy, unlike ordinary humans. It's extremely difficult to subdue you. Since you've decided to be obedient and stay here, I definitely won't ill-treat you. Now that you're no longer staying in that area, you'd better draw the curtains open and soak up the sun more often. Once this matter comes to an end, you're free to go wherever you want."

Seeing that An Xiaoning was about to turn around, the woman said, "I shall introduce myself. My name is Qing Zhu."

"An Xiaoning."

....

"Young Madam, there are some people asking to see you. They claimed to be the deceased archeologist's family."

"Let them come in." An Xiaoning instructed the servants to serve the tea while she waited patiently on the couch.

Soon, a middle-aged couple entered together with a young woman who was carrying an infant in her arms.

All their eyes were swollen, and they appeared to be in a somber mood.

"Hello, take a seat."

"Ms. An, I heard that you'd seen my son's spirit. Is that true?" the archeologist's mother asked while sobbing.

"Yes, Auntie, I met him in the netherworld. He said that he's already on his way to reincarnation. He wanted me to relay a few words to you guys." An Xiaoning pulled the archeologist's wife's hand and said, "No one wanted this to happen, but there's no turning back now. My condolences."

The archeologist's father nodded and asked, "What did he say?"

"He said that he had let you guys down by passing away too soon. From now on, he'll no longer be able to take care of you guys in your old age, and he hopes that you'll take good care of yourselves. He hopes that you guys won't be too devastated about his death." She looked at his wife and continued, "He wants you to know that he's very sorry for no longer being able to take care of you and your child. He hopes that you'll find a good man and remarry, as well as raise the child to adulthood. He regrets letting his greed get the better of him, but there's nothing he can do to salvage things now."

His wife began bawling loudly while covering her mouth, and so did the infant in her arms. The living room was instantly filled with sounds of incessant weeping.

An Xiaoning was disturbed and felt sympathetic toward them.

"Did the archeological team compensate you guys?"

The middle-aged couple nodded and answered, "They've already given it to us."

"That's good."

An Xiaoning took out an envelope of cash from her purse and stuffed it inside the archeologist's wife's hand. "Here's a small token from me. It's for your child. I hope he'll grow up healthily."

"Well... Ms. An..."

An Xiaoning patted her hand and said, "Take it."

The deceased's wife nodded with tears in her eyes. "Thank you."

After they left, An Xiaoning handed the money she wanted to give to the other deceased man's family to Xiao Bai and instructed him to send it to the police station. She told him to get the police to deliver it to the family of the deceased, on her behalf.

An Xiaoning then headed upstairs to get changed.

She picked out a black suit and left the blazer unbuttoned. She paired the suit with a white shirt underneath the blazer, as well as a pair of stilettos.

She had never fancied wearing stilettos. However, for the sake of vanity, she decided to put on a pair of black-colored ones.

She grabbed her dark brown vintage purse and headed to the restaurant on Mingyuan Road.

As soon as An Xiaoning alighted from the car, she looked up at the hotel's signboard and entered without hesitation.

She made her way to Zong Jingyi's room and pressed the doorbell several times until he finally answered the door. Zong Jingyi had a towel wrapped around his waist and water dripping from his hair. He had clearly just taken a shower.

"Have you eaten?"

Shaking his head, he answered, "No."

"Just like I had guessed. I brought you these," An Xiaoning said, raising the bag in her right hand.

Zong Jingyi closed the door and asked, "What are those?"

"Some delicious food," she said calmly, making sure not to let the cat out of the bag. She placed the items onto the table before taking a seat.

Zong Jingyi retrieved a few containers from the bag and opened them to see that there were lots of delicious food. The aroma of the delectable dishes wafted up to his nose.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

An Xiaoning stared at him to discover that he was extremely handsome and suave, with features that matched his face's shape perfectly. He did not seem like a cunning murderer at all.

"Someone died again yesterday. I visited the lake and arrested the owner of the tomb."