Chapter 42

Qi Xu sat in the car once again, but this time she did not fall asleep. She sat there thinking about the Wolf Granny’s tale and realized: it was so similar, truly similar. But for the moment, she had no idea how to ask Xia Zhiming about it. She could not just blurt out, “Could it be the Wolf Granny committing the crimes this time?”

She merely thought about it. At most, some ghosts were imitating the Wolf Granny’s methods. After all, no monsters could become spirits these days.

Since she was not asleep, Qi Xu had time to observe the road signs. A sign for Yellow Mountain flashed by, then vanished in an instant. She watched as Xia Zhiming turned onto the road marked “She Nan County” and realized they were almost at their destination.

She pulled out her phone and began searching.

There was plenty of information about She Nan County online. According to the more official descriptions, it was the birthplace of Hui culture, the origin of the Hui merchants, and the production site for the famous She Nan inkstone, one of the Four Treasures of the Study.

It was now a county-level city under Huangshan City, and development there was decent enough.

But after reading all that, Qi Xu still did not understand why Xia Zhiming had brought her here. They drove through She Nan County for a long while before stopping in an obscure little village.

There were small hills and rivers nearby, making it something of a minor scenic spot. It was summer vacation, peak tourist season, and people were everywhere. Fortunately, Xia Zhiming had superpowers and quickly snagged a double-bed room.

It was the only option left; even the standard rooms were booked.

They had arrived at a truly inconvenient time. By the time they reached the homestay, it was already 10 p.m. Once inside the room and tidied up, it was time to wash up and sleep. Qi Xu eyed the large bed, feeling rather awkward.

Though nothing had happened between them so far—just the usual two kisses a day like a normal routine—that little flower of infatuation in Qi Xu’s heart had long since bloomed. With the daily kisses and “diligent studying,” Qi Xu could not help but think of things that should not happen upon seeing the bed.

Especially since there was only one quilt on it.

Xia Zhiming, however, reacted calmly. She went to shower first, then kicked Qi Xu to lay out the disposable bedding set. After she emerged, she sent Qi Xu to shower. When Qi Xu came out with her hair blow-dried, Xia Zhiming was lying on the bed playing with her phone. Qi Xu called out to her, and Xia Zhiming rolled over, simply turning her back to Qi Xu without a word.

By the time they had both showered, it was already 11:30 p.m. They really ought to sleep.

Qi Xu pursed her lips and carefully lifted a corner of the quilt before getting into bed. She had slept too much during the day and could not fall asleep at night. She wanted to look at Xia Zhiming but feared being scolded, leaving her feeling rather timid.

Xia Zhiming played on her phone for less than half an hour before turning off the light. She said to Qi Xu, “Sleep.”

Qi Xu let out an “Mm,” but Xia Zhiming ignored her and fell asleep right away.

Sharing the same quilt, with Xia Zhiming right beside her, Qi Xu inevitably felt excited, which only made it harder to sleep. She lay there staring at the ceiling with wide-open eyes. Once accustomed to the dark, she could even make out the ceiling light.

Xia Zhiming beside her had already fallen asleep, her breathing long and steady. Qi Xu could not help turning her head to look at her. The tip of her nose still carried the scent of shampoo. Qi Xu thought to herself that Xia Zhiming’s hair must smell the same.

They used the same shampoo. Living together every day, they truly seemed like a couple cohabiting.

But Xia Zhiming’s obvious rejection made Qi Xu sigh inwardly.

It seemed pursuing her would require a very, very long effort.

Unable to sleep, she simply picked up her phone and scrolled for a bit. The Vice Bureau Chief had messaged her, asking where they were. Qi Xu gave a rough reply, and the Vice Bureau Chief sent an OK emoji. Only then did it belatedly dawn on Qi Xu, and she messaged the Vice Bureau Chief:

【You wouldn’t be waiting for us to arrive, then sharing the location with the other investigators, would you?】

The Vice Bureau Chief dropped the pretense and sent a “haha” emoji. Qi Xu got it—she had planned to do exactly that!

Qi Xu sent another message, but the Vice Bureau Chief went silent. Qi Xu pursed her lips, convinced she was doomed tomorrow. Clutching that thought, she grew even more sleepless. She drifted in and out until three or four in the morning before finally falling asleep.

But the next day, she woke early—not due to her biological clock, but because she was freezing.

It was already hot that day; air conditioning was a must. They had set it to 24° before bed the night before. But in the mountains, mornings were cooler, and with the AC, it was even easier to freeze awake.

Normally, though, it would not be this cold. The reason she froze awake was that Qi Xu had no quilt.

Where was the quilt?

Qi Xu turned her head and saw—good grief—Xia Zhiming had rolled the entire quilt around herself.

Qi Xu was speechless. Because of the foolish thing she had done before falling asleep the night before, she could not argue with Xia Zhiming about it. She even feared her waking up and finding out. So she quietly slipped out of bed while Xia Zhiming still slept and headed downstairs to see if there was any food.

Though the homestay booking had been last-minute, Xia Zhiming had paid a premium, which included double breakfast. The thrifty, pure-hearted college student Qi Xu figured that since it was included, she ought to eat plenty, or the money would be wasted.

Qi Xu was up quite early—frozen awake rather than waking naturally. By the time she finished washing up and went downstairs, it was just past seven. The homestay owner had not even prepared breakfast yet. Seeing Qi Xu, she emerged from the kitchen and called out.

“You’re up too early! Breakfast isn’t ready. Why don’t you sit and wait a bit? We have soy milk—want a cup first?”

“Sure, thanks.”

After handing Qi Xu the soy milk, the owner did not rush back in. Qi Xu peeked and saw two aunties busy inside. With nothing else to do, the owner sat across from Qi Xu and started chatting idly.

“You two booked the room so last-minute last night. Out for fun? Rooms need advance booking, especially in peak season. It’s summer vacation—tons of students traveling. Lucky for you, a guest canceled, or you’d have been out of luck.”

The owner appeared to be in her forties and could talk nonstop without pause. Qi Xu could tell she was extremely chatty. Qi Xu was not very talkative around strangers but was an excellent listener. She sipped her soy milk slowly, nodding occasionally.

With such a willing audience, the owner grew even more animated.

“Around here, Rowboat Mountain is the best sight. Back in ancient times, with no major roads, these mountain hollows had nothing but narrow winding paths. But down below us, there’s a river—plenty of boat traffic. That’s how it gradually prospered. The river’s still there, crystal clear. If you’re sightseeing, you can climb Rowboat Mountain too.”

She really got into it when mentioning Rowboat Mountain: “Let me tell you, when I was little, my grandparents told stories about it. Back then, Rowboat Mountain had plenty of fierce beasts—no one dared go up.”

At the mention of fierce beasts, Qi Xu’s ears perked up. Seeing her interest, the owner talked even more enthusiastically. She sped up, slipping into dialect, which suited her style. Fortunately, the Hui Province dialect sounded close to standard Mandarin. If it had been like the dialect at Vivid Red Hotel, Qi Xu would not have understood a word.

“I’m not scaring you—that mountain really had fierce beasts. They say boatmen docking to relieve themselves would get dragged off by one if they weren’t careful. Traveling by boat back then was dangerous.”

Qi Xu’s interest deepened; she even asked, “What kind of fierce beasts? Wolves?”

It was not for no reason. Though no monsters could become spirits these days, she had just thought of the Wolf Granny yesterday. If there were wolves here too, did that not match perfectly?

But at Qi Xu’s question, the owner smiled and shook her head: “Not that either—big tigers!” The Hui Province pronunciation of “big tigers” was odd, and with the owner speaking quickly, Qi Xu did not catch it at first.

“What?”

The owner repeated in standard Mandarin: “Tigers, big tigers.”

Qi Xu was stunned; she truly had not expected tigers here: “There are tigers around here too?”

“Of course there are.” The owner launched into a torrent: “Not just around Rowboat Mountain—Yellow Mountain, you know it? Tigers were plentiful there back then. The surrounding mountains probably had ones that wandered over from there. Long ago, we even had a tiger plague here.”

They chatted for quite a while, but Qi Xu gleaned no useful intel. Breakfast was ready by the end, though. The owner went into the kitchen and, with the two aunties, brought out the food, placing it in the unplugged warming trays on either side of the dining area.

It was hot weather, and this was just a small homestay—the trays were for show, not powered. Qi Xu was first; she quickly loaded a huge plate with her favorites and dug in.

She was a poor, pure-hearted, foolish, but voracious college student. Plus, chatting with the owner had whetted her appetite. In no time, she polished off a full three massive plates. The owner watched, stunned, as Qi Xu showed no signs of stopping.

She really could eat. Qi Xu did not just grab a light plate either—she piled it sky-high before sitting down to eat slowly. One of her plates equaled three or four normal ones, and she had already eaten three!

Most crucially, Qi Xu showed no sign of stopping.

Qi Xu knew she had been eating a lot lately—especially today—but there was no helping it; she truly could pack it away.

Halfway through, Xia Zhiming sent a voice message. Qi Xu opened it to a barrage of scolding: “Qi Xu! Where the hell did you die off to?! You had the guts to send them our location, but not to stay put in the room like an honest girl? Huh?! You sent them the location—think things are too smooth for us, so you want trouble? They’re a bunch of losers! And you’re a loser too!”