Why Did You Provoke Her? She Can Tell Fortunes!-Chapter 302 - 275: Captain Zhou, You May Need to Respond to a Call
In the passenger seat, Mu Yunchu wasn’t idle either. Once she confirmed Wen Xu was still calm, she shifted her gaze back and called Zhou Zhicheng.
"Captain Zhou, you might need to respond to an incident."
The other two heard her words, but each was lost in their own thoughts and didn’t ponder the implications behind them.
...
After forty minutes of bumpiness, it finally ended just before Li Xiuqiu felt like her backside was broken.
With the conductor’s help, she hobbled off the bus, her feet touching the ground with a sensation of her legs not belonging to her.
There was no help for it; rural roads are like this, rarely flat, either bumpy or potholed, making even short distances feel like an obstacle course, adding to the time.
The bus behind her hadn’t left yet, and the conductor’s concerned voice sounded: "Can you manage to carry all that stuff up yourself?"
"If not, you could borrow a handcart from me?"
She was referring to a very simple cart, four wheels underneath, a wooden board on top, and a rope to pull along.
Li Xiuqiu hesitated for a moment but declined.
Because she didn’t want to waste time.
Besides, dragging something like that up the hill might not be easier than carrying the two large bags.
After all, these paper money and gold ingots were merely large in volume but very light in weight.
So she ended up carrying one on her shoulder and the other in her arm up the hill.
In their region, people aren’t in the habit of purchasing burial plots, especially her father’s generation, who prefer ancestral burial sites in the mountains, rather than being buried elsewhere.
Before her father passed away, he instructed them, saying he wanted to be buried together with his father, which to him was the true ’returning to roots’.
She imagined that if given the chance in the future, they might move the grave together.
Perhaps because the surroundings were so quiet, going to the mountain alone stirred random thoughts in Li Xiuqiu’s mind.
The mountain was full of trees and weeds. If not for her good memory, she might have missed the gravesite while walking.
Just when she was uncertain if she was on the wrong path, she keenly spotted the familiar crooked-neck tree.
Once she saw the crooked-neck tree, just a few more minutes of walking, and she’d be at the gravesite.
Pushing aside the weeds, there was a large clearing. She stepped forward and used a prepared clean cloth to wipe the tombstone clean.
First a wet wipe, then a dry one.
As she was about to clear the weeds as usual, she noticed the area in front of the tombstone was unexpectedly bare.
A sense of doubt arose in her heart.
Could someone have been here?
A few people flashed through her mind but were quickly ruled out.
No need to mention her sister.
They had only met before today, and if her sister had been here, she would definitely have mentioned it.
Other than her, the only relatives connected to her father were her uncle and her cousin.
She snorted coldly.
Those two who disregarded family ties practically severed connections with the Lao Li Family when their grandmother was bedridden.
Aside from causing trouble at their home a few times, they hadn’t helped at all when her father was bedridden.
To think they would come to tend to the grave — Li Xiuqiu wouldn’t believe it even in her dreams.
Maybe some bugs ate them away.
Li Xiuqiu brushed this insignificant matter aside. After cleaning the tombstone, she began setting out offerings.
She prepared five items, all things her father liked to eat when he was alive.
Carefully placing the pastries and fruits on top, as she did so, she muttered: "Dad, what exactly do you want to tell me and sister in our dreams?"
"Are you running out of money down there?"
She sighed, her voice unknowingly becoming a little hoarse.
Though her tone carried some grievances, it sounded more like a playful pout.
"My sister and I sent you money just last month during the New Year; did you not receive it?"
"Ah... or are you upset because we don’t visit you often?"
It seemed that this possibility appeared more likely.
"Isn’t it your fault though?"
"I told you then, I wanted to buy you a burial plot in town, but you insisted otherwise."
"Now see, do you know how long it takes for us to come back once?"
After placing the last apple, Li Xiuqiu stopped her murmuring.
"You little old man, if you miss us, you miss us. Why do you have to be so fierce in our dreams?"
Li Xiuqiu pouted playfully, "Hmph, be careful we get angry and really stop visiting you!"
After saying this, she placed incense that she had prepared beforehand.
A bundle of yellow incense sticks, tied together, wasn’t easy to light. After several tries, with no wind fortunately, she finally succeeded.
Placing the bundle in the incense burner, Li Xiuqiu busied herself getting the basin out of the bag, missing how the smoke from the incense, despite the calm, moved directly towards her.
Given they were on a mountain, Li Xiuqiu was extra cautious with the open flame. So, she prepped water ahead of time and began burning all the paper money bit by bit in the basin.
Yet, this was when something odd happened.
The lighter she had purposely brought seemed to malfunction.
Li Xiuqiu didn’t smoke, and she had bought it from the convenience store downstairs before she left. She even tested it several times for reliability, finding no issues.
But now, just as she pressed it, the yellow flame appeared, barely lasting a second or two, and as she brought old paper money close, the flame mysteriously extinguished.
One or two times could be accidental, but Li Xiuqiu tried at least seven or eight times, with the same result each time.
No matter how swiftly she brought the paper money close, the end result was unavoidable.
Li Xiuqiu: ???
She stared at the once reliable lighter, now stubbornly refusing to ignite, feeling a bit helpless.
If only she’d bought more of them.
Strangely, as long as she wasn’t attempting to light the paper money, the lighter had no issues. One trial nearly singed her eyebrows.
Li Xiuqiu: "..."
A scary thought slowly formed in her mind.
She turned her head to look at the tombstone beside her, somewhat helpless: "Dad, is this your doing?"
Another breeze blew through, and the lighter in her hand extinguished again.
Li Xiuqiu’s eyes brightened.
But quickly dimmed again.
They brightened because she knew her father was here. Even though they were separated by life and death, she could feel his presence.
And dimmed because, "Could it be you’re still mad at me?"
"Even if you’re mad, at least let me burn the money for you."
"And I promise, from now on, my sister and I will visit you often."
Not knowing which of her words had an effect, the lighter that had just gone out suddenly ignited. Taking advantage of the moment, Li Xiuqiu coyly smirked and quickly set the stack of paper money ablaze while her father didn’t react.
Simultaneously, a furious voice shouted beside her:
"Don’t!"
