After skipping an hour of tearful embraces and pleasantries, the Qian family's conversation finally got on track.

Qian Handuo looked at the scruffy-looking scarecrow on the ground, and after holding back for a long time, she finally asked:

"Excuse me, who are you?"

Still grieving, Qian Huailin was deeply struck by these words. Before he could react, his wife, amused by her daughter's question, spoke first:

"My dear daughter, he is your second brother, Huailin!"

Upon hearing Qian Huailin's name, Qian Handuo's lifeless eyes suddenly lit up: "Second, Second Brother, Jingxuan survived and is here!"

"ah?!"

Qian Huailin hadn't seen Qian Jingxuan's letter. He still thought his youngest son had been buried with them in the ancestral home hundreds of years ago. Upon hearing the good news, he was somewhat incredulous: "Duo Niang, are you serious? This can't be a joke!"

Qian Handuo was very certain of this:

"Really, I heard Jingxuan open the mechanism and escape from inside the box. I even called his name a few times!"

Thinking about it now, he probably couldn't hear me anymore when it was my turn to speak.

Madam Qian also testified: "There is a letter in the secret compartment of your father's room. It was left by Jingxuan after he returned here after settling in."

Although they were living in anonymity, the children were doing well, and Jingxuan was already preparing for their wedding before he returned.

"Good, it's good that you're alive, that's wonderful!" Qian Huailin, who had always been exceptionally rational, burst into tears at this moment.

He never expected to hear the news of his youngest son's marriage. If Wan Niang were still of sound mind, she would surely be very pleased.

Qian Huailin didn't say what he was going to say; he just lay on the ground and cried uncontrollably.

Seeing that her son hadn't done anything drastic, Madam Qian turned her attention back to Qian Handuo:

"Duo Niang, what did you mean by 'in the box' just now?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Qian, who was standing nearby, quickly came over and looked at Qian Handuo with concern.

Looking at her parents' worried gazes, Qian Handuo felt her eyes well up with tears again; she hadn't experienced such a strong emotional fluctuation in a long time.

“After Mother sent me, Jingxuan and I into the secret compartment, we hid there for a very, very long time.”

Later, Jingxuan was so hungry that his mouth turned white, but he still told me it was okay.

I was worried that if I kept going hungry, something bad would happen, so I ran out of the hidden compartment to find food. Unfortunately, I ran into the thieves who had returned as soon as I entered the kitchen.

Perhaps because of the reunion with her family, Qian Handuo found herself surprisingly calm when talking about the incident: "He didn't...he didn't kill me, he just knocked me unconscious."

When I woke up again, I found myself locked in an extremely narrow and cramped place.

Later, I fainted because I couldn't breathe. In between, I heard Jingxuan calling my name. I responded loudly, but he didn't react.

Looking back now, I think I might have already died.

Qian Handuo tried to make her death sound more ordinary, but seeing the grief in the eyes of the two paper figures opposite her, she knew she had failed.

Qian Huailin's emotions had calmed down by then.

He listened intently to the commotion coming from the neighboring courtyard, and after confirming that the people inside wouldn't be coming out anytime soon, he finally confessed his experience to his family:

"Back then, that evil cultivator's formation succeeded, and I was the one who was buried alive."

"Didn't you say you were stabbed to death?!"

Wang Dahai, who had been quietly observing the situation, suddenly exclaimed. Chunhua, who was next to him, quickly covered his mouth, but it was too late.

Qian Huailin looked at the two bears huddled in the grass and finally remembered what he had forgotten.

After issuing a brief warning, Qian Huailin shuffled back to his original spot with his short legs and continued the previous conversation.

Upon seeing this, Ji Qian quickly pushed aside Director Liu, who was in the way, and sat down herself.

To hear more clearly, Ji Qian even put on the director's headphones next to her.

Director Liu, who was pushed away, staggered a few steps before barely managing to stand up.

He looked at Ji Qian, who was sitting in the chair with a focused expression. Although he was filled with anger, it was quickly extinguished by the image of Ji Qian carrying stones in his memory.

Ji Qian was unaware of Director Liu's complex emotional journey behind her. She listened with her headphones on for a long time before finally figuring out the truth of that day.

It turned out that in those few days, because his younger sister was about to get married, Qian Huailin and his older brother Qian Huaiwen, who were feeling a little sad, would often get together to drink.

On the day of the incident, after dinner, Qian Huailin took his wife to the backyard as usual.

Perhaps due to the effects of alcohol, the eldest brother, Qian Huaiwen, inadvertently mentioned his other younger sister, Qian Hanying, who had passed away early, during a casual conversation.

Qian Huailin then remembered the wooden doll that was still hidden in the secret compartment.

And for some reason, Qian Huailin suddenly felt a strong urge to go back and visit, so he used the excuse of going to the outhouse to leave the banquet.

Qian Huailin originally planned to take a quick look and then go back, but as soon as he entered the courtyard, he bumped into the man in black who had barged in.

Qian Huailin was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground. Before losing consciousness, he saw the Sun family's waist tag hanging on the side of the man in black.

When Qian Huailin regained consciousness, he was already lying in the pit, covered with a thin layer of soil.

With his hands and feet bound, Qian Huailin could only shout for help, but his mouth was quickly blocked by a continuous stream of mud thrown down at him.

As the layers of soil piled up on him, Qian Huailin gradually lost consciousness.

Perhaps because he had cultivated himself in life, Qian Huailin quickly accepted the reality of becoming a ghost after his death.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!