Chapter 107: Sorting Out the Clues

Losing the bronze jar, I hurried to find Xie Lingyu and told her everything.

Miss Xie laughed, “So her name is Guo Qiqi—what a formidable woman, even fooling me. Poor Xiao Qi, not only were your things stolen, but you were also slept with.”

Just as I was silently grieving with my head down, my phone buzzed with three messages from Brother Jun, Shen Yihu, and Jie Se, all concerned about my situation. I was so moved I nearly cried.

Xie Lingyu added, “Those who have been deeply hurt by women often end up seeking comfort in men’s arms, especially in a country like Thailand. Though I wouldn’t recommend you fall for a man.”

“Do you have no conscience at all?” I pretended to be angry.

Xie Lingyu paced back and forth, holding the numbers “29-34-110-78,” muttering, “Pretty women are always snakes in the grass, hiding their true nature while pretending to love you, only to stab you in the back… I’m different. I’m the kind of beautiful woman with a good heart. And you, ignoring someone so good for you, running after flowers and grass—serves you right!”

A chill ran down my spine as I listened.

“Is it too late to love you now?” I asked.

“Too late!” Xie Lingyu glanced at the numbers. “These digits have no connection. There’s nothing to make of them.”

My mind was a tangled mess. I grabbed a piece of paper and asked Xie Lingyu to help me analyze.

I listed eleven names: He Qingling, Wu Tieqing, Zuo Shan, Ruan Nan, A Lang, Dai Hao, Dai Zhong, Guo Qiqi, Ma Ruoxing, Anbeichun, and Ye Gu Yi.

Under Xie Lingyu’s guidance, I crossed out Wu Tieqing and Dai Hao as secondary characters, leaving nine names.

Next to He Qingling, I linked Anbeichun. Beside A Lang, I drew an arrow and marked it “A,” connecting it to Guo Qiqi and Ma Ruoxing. Next to Dai Zhong, I drew another arrow, labeling it “B”—the one who left the golden compass that later ended up in my hands—and linked it to Ye Gu Yi.

Everything that happened in Thailand was laid bare.

My first question: Anbeichun claimed He Qingling crawled out of an ancient tomb. Which tomb? Where did He Qingling go—was she taken, or did she leave on her own? Why would the Japanese want to capture her?

Xie Lingyu believed He Qingling, being a highly spiritual cat, was unlikely to be captured. We assumed she was taken, but it might have been a ruse she created herself. Still, the possibility of her being captured couldn’t be ruled out entirely…

My second question: Ma Ruoxing said he approached A Lang to get close to the mysterious “A,” who had a Shanxi accent. But Guo Qiqi spoke with a Hubei accent. When she made a call, she spoke to a father with a Shanxi accent. Were they the same person? Were they from the Hedong Guo family? And why did the Guo family have such close ties to Southeast Asia? Who were the skull in Zhe Yin Mountain and the homebound monkey?

Xie Lingyu said, “Guo Qiqi used a Hubei accent to win your trust. In my opinion, ‘A’ is from the Insect Tribe. Everything you experienced in Thailand was planned—the ultimate goal was for Guo Qiqi to steal your bronze jar. As for the Guo family’s connections in Southeast Asia, it’s simple: they all deal with insects. In their circle, the Guo family is the most powerful, hence the ties.”

I recalled Guo Qiqi murmuring in her sleep, “Father, give me freedom.” Did she want to trade the bronze jar for her freedom?

Hearing Xie Lingyu’s words, I fell silent.

“You’re just too kind-hearted. You don’t want to believe Guo Qiqi betrayed you, but the evidence is clear. I have more proof—when Guo Qiqi supposedly took Bai Yueming to the outskirts, she went alone and came back unharmed. I’m certain A Lang helped her stage the whole thing.” Xie Lingyu’s words were simple, but each one struck me deeply.

That night, we used mother-child coins to track Xie Lingyu (later revealed to be Bai Jingren). But if A Lang and the others had already discovered the coins on Bai Jingren, and Guo Qiqi made a call before leaving—which I thought was just updating friends or family—it was likely she was communicating with “A.” The deception was carefully planned.

It seemed “A” and Guo Qiqi were indeed from the Insect Tribe, and “A” was Guo Qiqi’s father.

After Fake Wang Han and Insect Lao Wu died, they changed tactics—no more brute force. Instead, they orchestrated coincidences to get Guo Qiqi close to me and steal the bronze jar unnoticed.

I didn’t voice all my thoughts, only sighing, “It seems ‘A’ is the one who severely injured my grandfather—Guo Qiqi’s father.”

There were still many loose ends, but for now, the most accurate assumption was that “A” and Guo Qiqi were father and daughter.

Xie Lingyu comforted me, “Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. Losing the bronze jar might free you from the Insect Tribe’s harassment. And well… you did sleep with Guo Qiqi. Not a total loss.”

I wasn’t satisfied. Guo Qiqi’s Hubei accent suggested she had lived there, perhaps even studied in Jiangcheng. Searching online for “Guo Qiqi” and “Qi Qiqi” yielded no matches. I considered asking Shen Yihu for help but kept it to myself.

I understood Xie Lingyu’s point—she didn’t want me chasing after them. Losing the bronze jar might be a blessing. But it was my grandfather’s legacy—I couldn’t just let it be stolen.

What secret did the bronze jar hold?

“One last question: Who is ‘B,’ the one who gave me the golden compass? Could it be my grandmaster Ye Gu Yi, who foresaw my arrival here years ago? And what do these numbers mean?” I asked.

Xie Lingyu rubbed her temples. “Headache, headache. Your Ghost Faction has too many secrets. I don’t know who ‘B’ is. But if your grandmaster went through all that trouble to give you a compass, he was either bored or insane.”

“How can you talk about my grandmaster like that?” I frowned.

Xie Lingyu chuckled. “Ye Gu Yi might not even be as old as me. What’s wrong with saying that? He arranged for a buried corpse to wait for you—whether to deal with Zuo Shan or the bronze jar, who knows? There are at least a hundred possibilities.”

After Xie Lingyu’s rambling, I lost interest in the three questions and became curious about her—a century-old ghost. But she was a master at dodging questions, quickly steering the conversation back to He Qingling.

“Maybe these seemingly unrelated questions are connected. He Qingling and the bronze jar might be linked; ‘A’ and ‘B’ might be connected too.” Xie Lingyu’s summary gave me a headache.

Finally, I summarized on paper:

1. The mystery of He Qingling.

2. The mystery of the bronze jar.

All other branches stemmed from these two core questions. To unravel everything, the best approach was to dig deep—solve He Qingling and the bronze jar’s mysteries to see the truth clearly.

My head ached from thinking. If He Qingling really came from an ancient tomb, she must be much older than Little Rascal, who wasn’t even two. Age didn’t seem to matter between them.

Xie Lingyu and I decided to find A Lang in Chiang Mai’s outskirts for clues about “A.” But A Lang was gone, taken by a tall, beautiful woman.

Now I was convinced—A Lang and Guo Qiqi were in cahoots.

During the day, the Thai village was crowded with tourists. Most came to worship the “Twin-Headed Ghost Infant” (though many called it the “Twin-Headed Divine Infant”) supposedly raised by A Lang, rumored to be highly efficacious.

I wanted to ask questions, but Xie Lingyu, being a ghost, refused to get too close and waited outside the temple. With Little Rascal in tow, I joined the worshippers, offering incense and silently praying, “I’m Chinese. I want to know how to find the Seven-Apertures Exquisite Heart and learn more about Guo Qiqi and Xie Lingyu.”

I didn’t expect much, but looking at the preserved infant statue in the shrine unsettled me. Though part of Thai tradition, I couldn’t understand why a dead child’s body had to be kept—it was heartbreaking.

“I hope you’re at peace,” I whispered, bowing twice before leaving.

Xie Lingyu seemed to read my thoughts, tapping my forehead. “Don’t pry into my affairs. Did you ask about the Seven-Apertures Exquisite Heart?”

Heh, she knew me well.

I nodded. “I did…”

After searching the village, I found no trace of Bai Jingren’s remains—likely buried and never returning home.

That night, planning to return to China the next day, I drifted off and dreamed of someone speaking to me.

In the darkness, a golden, glowing child approached—two heads, two arms, two legs. The Twin-Headed Ghost Infant (or Divine Infant), its eyes pitch-black.

“You asked about us…”

“You asked about us…”

Their voices boomed in unison. My heart ached seeing them.

“We cannot reach China. But in Shangri-La, there’s a spirit medium who answers all questions. Seek her…”

(Additional Notes)

1. Origin of the Ghost Infant:

After Huang’s death, the madman buried her but later exhumed her out of longing, even preparing a freezer. During this time, the deceased Huang became pregnant. She fled, abandoning revenge when she sensed her pregnancy, returning home to give birth.

Thus, the father was the madman. Animal blood aided the infant’s growth—human blood worked best. After Ma Ruoxing took him, his habits changed, and he grew faster than normal. The ghost infant wasn’t afraid of sunlight but disliked it.

2. Jade Corpse?

Jade corpses resemble humans, akin to those with soul loss, feeding on moonlight. Their intelligence matches a three- or four-year-old’s.

They can endure sunlight briefly but lose control or die if exposed too long.