Chapter 263 The Illness Has Occurred

Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen were awakened by Hu Jue's voice.

Qin Suisui felt something slapping her face. She frowned, opened her eyes impatiently, and saw Hu Jue covered in mud and sweat, anxiously calling to her, "Suisui, Suisui, wake up!"

The one slapping her face was Aunt Zhang. Aunt Zhang's hands were probably covered in some juice made from local plants, and she was anxiously slapping it on her and Jia Zhenzhen's faces.

Hu Jue squatted between the two of them, patting her one moment and Jia Zhenzhen the next, his face full of anxiety.

She sat up abruptly and looked at Hu Jue and Aunt Zhang: "Brother Jue! Aunt Zhang! We think we've encountered something evil!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Aunt Zhang put her index finger to her lips, gesturing for her to be quiet: "Shh! Don't talk, we'll talk when we get back."

Qin Suisui then noticed that they were still on the mountain, at the entrance of a huge tree hole.

The "cave" they had just discovered turned out to be a large tree hollow! There were no old household items or murals inside, nor was there the child's body.

For some reason, she and Jia Zhenzhen crawled into the tree hole, their bodies bent low! They huddled inside and fainted!

Jia Zhenzhen woke up at this moment. She sat up with a blank look on her face, clearly not realizing what had happened.

Just then, Captain Li walked over with a frown. Seeing that Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen were awake, his expression finally softened a bit, but his brows remained furrowed. He said something to Aunt Zhang that Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen didn't understand:

"It's confirmed, it's that child."

Before Qin Suisui could ask any further questions, Aunt Zhang and Hu Jue each helped one of them and led Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen down the mountain: "Hurry up and go back first, it's almost nine o'clock!"

Qin Suisui could only swallow her questions for the time being. It was only then that she noticed that, in addition to Captain Li's family, there were more than a dozen strong men who had come to find them. Through the dim light, they seemed to be carrying something.

At this moment, the mountains were shrouded in darkness, and the mountain wind was blowing. Only her flashlight and the torches of Captain Li and the others emitted a faint light, which seemed extremely thin and weak in this vast mountain.

Fortunately, Captain Li and Aunt Zhang were locals. With their help, Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen were able to get down the mountain path that they couldn't walk any further, and returned to Captain Li's home in just over half an hour.

As soon as they got home, they heard a child crying, so lively and bright, like a ray of light that dispelled the gloom in Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen's hearts.

Just as Qin Suisui was starting to relax, she suddenly remembered something: "Auntie, when you found our cave earlier, did you find anything else?"

Aunt Zhang's expression suggested she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Qin Suisui's heart skipped a beat. On the way back, she had been wondering if what had just happened was a nightmare, and if there were really no child ghosts or corpses.

But Aunt Zhang's expression right now told her that it might not be a dream! It might be real!

Seeing the look in her eyes, Aunt Zhang sighed and then whispered, "We found the body of our village's chicken along with the two of you!"

Qin Suisui felt a chill run down her spine and described the pitiful appearance of the child in her "dream." Aunt Zhang nodded: "It really is him! He was bitten by a rabid dog half a month ago, and then he fell ill and was kept at home for treatment. Somehow, he suddenly ran away a few days ago and we haven't been able to find him since!"

"If you hadn't found his body in the tree hollow today, we probably still wouldn't have found it!"

"By the way, weren't you following behind me? How did you end up there?"

Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen exchanged a glance, both clearly still shaken. In the end, Jia Zhenzhen recounted everything that had happened to them since they realized they had lost Aunt Zhang, with Qin Suisui occasionally adding a comment.

Before anyone knew it, Captain Li, his three sons, his eldest daughter-in-law, and his eldest grandson Tiedan arrived. After listening to Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen's words, they all turned their attention to the youngest, Tiedan.

Captain Li sneered, threw away his cigarette butt, bent down, took off his straw sandals, and swung them at Tie Dan'er: "You little rascal! You're such a troublemaker! Didn't I tell you those mushrooms were for entertaining guests and not to touch them? You son of a bitch, did you throw poisonous mushrooms in there again?"

Tie Dan'er screamed and cried as his grandfather beat him. He couldn't run away; he was always blocked by his father or his two uncles. He could only stand there and take the beating. Finally, he sobbed and admitted that he had indeed been naughty that afternoon and had mixed a few hallucinogenic red mushrooms into the mushrooms.

Jia Zhenzhen and Qin Suisui looked at each other in bewilderment. Could it be that the glowing lamp flower, the child ghost, and the cave they saw were all hallucinations caused by eating poisonous mushrooms? But it was precisely because of this twist of fate that they were led into the tree hole by the "child ghost" in their hallucinations and discovered his small corpse?

Hmm... how can this not be considered fantasy? The intertwining of reality and illusion is truly... quite frightening.

Captain Li showed no mercy, and Tie Dan'er was still crying on the side, sobbing and making his little face turn red.

Qin Suisui hadn't noticed it at first, but when she turned around, she discovered a small hole on the back of the child's neck.

Acting on her instincts as a doctor, she asked, "Tie Dan'er, how did you get that wound on the back of your neck?"

Tie Dan'er was still angry because Qin Suisui and Jia Zhenzhen had been severely beaten by their grandfather. When he heard Qin Suisui ask him a question, he didn't want to answer. He turned around, puffed out his cheeks, and looked like he was saying, "I hate you and I don't want to talk to you."

Seeing how impolite the child was, Captain Li got itchy again. He pointed at Tie Dan'er, glaring angrily, "You brat, is this how your father teaches you? To be so rude? Why aren't you answering the auntie's questions?"

Seeing that the fire was now burning him, Boss Li quickly kicked Tie Dan'er in the butt: "You brat, answer properly, or I'll beat you up!"

Tie Dan'er had just been beaten by his grandfather, so he was afraid that his father would beat him again. He could only turn around with a wronged look and pout at Qin Sui Sui: "Auntie, I was playing with San Zhu Zi and the others this afternoon when I was bitten by him by accident."

Before Qin Suisui could react after he finished speaking, she saw Li Laoda's wife's expression change drastically. She rushed over, grabbed Tie Dan'er's shoulder, and checked the back of his neck.

Aunt Zhang was also very anxious and wanted to come up, but at that moment, the door was knocked on again.

Before she could even open the door, a frantic voice rang out from outside: "Captain, something terrible has happened! Sanzhuzi has also fallen ill!"