The door of the small Buddhist hall was kicked open with force. Aunt Zhang was leading the way in front, with seven or eight burly men standing behind her. They looked ferocious and fierce, with murderous looks on their faces, and the big knives in their hands had residual bloodstains.
"Aunt Zhang, it really is you!"
Ningxiang held the broken porcelain pieces in her hand, clenched her teeth, but there was not a single tear in her eyes.
Her parents were murdered, and the murderer was right in front of her. Since she couldn't run away, she would use her last bit of strength to avenge her parents!
Aunt Zhang no longer had the frail look she had when she asked for help. She crossed her arms, squinted her eyes, and smiled, "You silly girl, you're the only one who slipped through the net!"
There were about a hundred people in the village, and Aunt Zhang and her husband were all recorded in the book, except Ningxiang.
After waiting in the village for three whole days, Aunt Zhang still didn't find anyone. She thought Ningxiang went to the mountains to chop firewood and might have been eaten by wild beasts. If she was hiding in the village and couldn't bear the hunger, she would definitely come looking for food.
Besides, it was too hot to keep the corpse, as rats were running around everywhere, so we had to dig a hole and bury it first.
Aunt Zhang became suspicious and claimed that the village was attacked by bandits. She ran to the official road to call for help, hoping to find someone to report to the police and resolve the matter as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, Ningxiang was smart and hid in the cellar for several days. If they hadn't found someone to search the village, they would have been careless!
"Speaking of which, the young lady has helped us a lot!"
Aunt Zhang looked at Jiang Yuzhu and said with a sigh, "What a beauty! Her delicate skin is so tender that it would make her look like water. It would be a pity if she died like this. It would be better for her to be given to our brothers!"
Aunt Zhang took the lead, and several men looked at her with lustful eyes and acted recklessly.
Xie Zhao stood in front of his wife without leaving a trace, his dark eyes filled with murderous intent.
Ningxiang was terrified by the overwhelming force of the enemy. Even so, she stood in front of Xie Zhao and Jiang Yuzhu and said, "Aunt Zhang, you've already committed a great sin. Don't implicate innocent people!"
"Innocent? If they hadn't rescued you, we could still part ways amicably, but now..."
Aunt Zhang squeezed out a few words through her teeth, "They must die. Only the dead can keep secrets."
"But I didn't tell anyone the village's secret!"
Ningxiang was shocked and looked at Xie Zhao and Jiang Yuzhu with deep apology.
Especially since there was no movement outside the courtyard gate, Ningxiang thought that the people who came had been dealt with by the people brought by Aunt Zhang, and she felt even more disheartened.
Inside the Buddhist temple, the candlelight grew dimmer and dimmer, only illuminating the outlines of the people, not even their expressions.
A cool breeze rushed in through the crack in the door, bringing with it waves of the stench of corpses.
Jiang Yuzhu stared at a cluster of gorgeous dianthus trees planted beside the Buddhist temple and asked, "Aunt Zhang, we came here with good intentions, but we've ended up on a path of no return. Is this the fate of kind-hearted people?"
"If you hadn't rescued that dead girl, and the village secret hadn't been leaked, we wouldn't have gotten involved. You can only blame your own bad luck."
Aunt Zhang had a cold smile and didn't care about life or death. Killing a few more people was no big deal anyway.
"In that case, we must get to the bottom of it. What is the secret of Xiahe Village?"
Jiang Yuzhu originally suspected that the villagers were all bandits who had retired from the underworld and settled here. In this case, the large amount of treasure hidden in the small Buddhist temple made sense.
However, after visiting several households and observing the villagers' living habits, Jiang Yuzhu changed her mind.
Although the villagers are rich, they still raise chickens, ducks and other animals and work hard, which contradicts the conclusion reached by the bandits earlier.
"Why, to buy time?"
Aunt Zhang didn't care, they still had other people.
She was about to speak when Ningxiang spoke first, "My hometown is in the southwest, and my ancestors all worked in the mines."
"About two years ago, Aunt Zhang and her husband came to my parents and said they had relatives working in mines near the capital and wanted to hire experienced miners to work down there."
Originally, the family did not agree with my parents moving away from their hometown.
At that time, Ningxiang was a girl and was often bullied by the boys in the clan.
"My father felt sorry for me, so in a rage he brought my mother and me here, and we stayed here for two years."
After arriving, my parents realized they had been cheated.
Aunt Zhang doesn’t have any relatives who manage the mine, but... a gold mine was discovered around Xiahe Village.
Jiang Yuzhu looked at the clusters of carnations at the door and immediately believed it 90%.
It has been confirmed that dianthus is often associated with gold mines, and it seems to be true!
When Ningxiang mentioned the word "gold mine", no one reacted. Xie Zhao stroked his chin and fell into deep thought again.
"The Daqi gold mine is extremely rare. If the news gets out, it will definitely be known to the government. Not only that, but the private mining will also be held accountable."
The deceived craftsman was helpless once he got on Aunt Zhang's pirate ship, and Aunt Zhang used this to threaten everyone.
As the scale of mining expanded and the amount of gold produced increased, many simple people could not withstand the pressure and had the idea of going to the government to report.
"Da Qi is currently plagued by internal and external troubles. Ever since my parents learned of the war in the north, they haven't slept peacefully for a single day. They wanted to report the good news to the government even if it meant jail time. However, Aunt Zhang, out to gain wealth, ostensibly appeased the villagers, but in reality..."
Those who agreed to inform the authorities were all killed, including hungry children. These people were so cruel!
Ningxiang finished speaking in one breath and finally burst into tears.
These days, she hid in the cellar, thinking about her parents' previous instructions.
Her parents told her that if she encountered any accident, she should never leave unless she starved to death. Aunt Zhang was suspicious and would definitely send someone to guard the village entrance.
Ningxiang remembered it and hid in the cellar for a few days.
After hearing this, Jiang Yuzhu almost dropped her jaw. She thought making some money was already pretty good, but she didn't expect to accidentally discover a gold mine.
"I am just a dying man, I am not afraid of you knowing."
Late at night, Aunt Zhang smiled strangely, which was creepy.
It would be the same if she sent a few more people on the road. After two days, she would try her luck on the official road.
Xiahe Village is a new village. If all the villagers disappeared, it would also arouse vigilance. In order to make the conspiracy perfect, they had to blame the bandits for the tragic deaths of the villagers.
Jiang Yuzhu seemed to be lost in thought. She asked, "So, based on the time, where is the gold you mined for two years?"
Aunt Zhang is so cautious that she would never deposit money in Wantong Bank.
The gold must be hidden in the village.
Aunt Zhang glared at him with a venomous look and snorted, "Why would you have so many questions about a dead man?"
Aunt Zhang's patience had reached its limit, so she took a step back. Several strong men behind her stepped forward and blocked the escape route.
Xie Zhao, who had been silent the whole time, slowly opened his eyes and said coldly, "Have you seen enough, you people?"
At the end of his speech, Xie Zhao's tone became even colder, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Aunt Zhang's husband thought he was talking to her, so he swallowed and teased her, "Haven't you seen enough? Your wife is a beauty. We not only want to see her, but we also want to touch her..."
Before the word "touch" was uttered, a stone suddenly pierced through Aunt Zhang's husband's throat.
He fell to the ground with a thud, his eyes wide open and twitching as if he had seen a ghost.
Immediately afterwards, a gust of wind blew outside the door, and more than twenty men in black fell from the sky.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
