Chapter 424 Is This Retribution?
Duanmu Lin: "Okay, Dad, it's not safe to go up the mountain at night, let's get going now!"
Nangong Lan: "I've been waiting for you to say this. Let's go. You lead the way."
Duanmu Lin drove a modified bulletproof off-road four-wheel drive vehicle and rushed to the mountain with a bumpy ride.
On a hill they passed by, they found more than a dozen bodies lying in the mud on the side of the road in the car, and there was a mud pit next to them that had not been dug yet.
The corpses were still very fresh, and they could still smell the strong smell of blood. The vitreous humor of those eyes that had died with their eyes open had not even become cloudy and was still clearly visible.
Duanmu Lin had no intention of stopping to check, and even stepped on the accelerator and drove past.
Nangong Lan: "Don't you need to go down and check who these people are?"
Duanmu Lin: "Needless to say, I already know they are the recent illegal loggers. Everyone living in this area knows that the timber industry is a family business that is monopolized by my Duanmu family. No matter how powerful you are here, whether you are local or foreign, you are not allowed to get involved. The logs in this primeval forest are becoming increasingly scarce. They still dare to come and log illegally. They deserve to die."
Nangong Lan: "So, those people just now were you..."
Duanmu Lin: "That's none of my business. They were probably killed by the nearby villagers who volunteered to guard the forest. Our company carries out planned ecological logging. Wherever we cut, we plant. We never exploit resources or damage the environment. They're not as rampant as these illegal loggers. The nearby villagers only did this because they couldn't stand it any longer."
Nangong Lan sighed after hearing this: "These are all wealth and resources that cost lives. There are so many poisonous snakes and ferocious beasts in this primeval forest. Who would want to take such a big risk to come here if there were other ways to survive?"
Suddenly, Nangong Lan saw rows of small tombstones without any words inscribed on them through the car window. He asked curiously, "Who are the people buried here? Why are there no words on the tombstones?"
Duanmu Lin: "Those who broke the rules are buried inside. Judging from these, we should be close to our destination. We use these blank monuments as road signs. We didn't mean to leave them without names, but we really don't know their names. Besides, people who deserve to die don't deserve to have names left behind."
His tone was full of disdain, revealing his disgust for these dead people.
Duanmu Lin's indifferent and callous attitude made Nangong Lan's heart tremble.
Nangong Lan: "Why bury them here?"
Duanmu Lin: "How should I know? I heard from the housekeeper that they were using the dead to sacrifice to the gods. Later, as more and more people were logging, they simply abandoned the bodies in the wilderness without even burying them. This caused a large-scale outbreak of flesh-eating bacteria and dysentery in the village. It's really retribution for their sins!"
Nangong Lan: "Let's talk about your brother-in-law!"
Duanmu Lin: "My eldest brother-in-law, Wu Shenghua, his ancestors came here during the expeditionary force. They made their fortune in jade and mineral resources. After my second wife, Ji Jihua, died, my adopted daughter, Rongrong, lived with her uncle and got married during that time. In fact, I don't know much about the process because I was still in China at the time, and it was actually my brother who stayed here. A few days ago, my son-in-law, Qiu Shanhe, died. There is a custom here that says that the house is not clean after a family member dies, so you have to live outside for 49 days, chanting sutras and praying for the deceased every day before you can go home to live. Although Rongrong is not my biological daughter, she has called me dad for so many years after all, and she is a well-behaved and lovely person. Now that this has happened, I am not very happy, so I decided to let my small house on the mountain let them stay for a few days. Here we are."
As soon as he finished speaking, the car stopped at a remote cement ground. Among the yellow mud fields all over the mountains, this piece of cement ground stood out particularly.
Nangong Lan: "Did you build this newly opened cement ground?"
Duanmu Lin: "If not me, who else could it be? Wu Shenghua and Rongrong, one old, one young, and they have a baby in their arms. I'm afraid the snakes, insects, rats and ants on the mountain will disturb their peace, so I can only clear out the area around where they live. Maybe that will be safer."
Nangong Lan: "It can be seen that you care about your daughter very much!"
Duanmu Lin: "It can't be said that I'm doing my best, but I just want to do my best and have a clear conscience! The orphans, widows, old people, women and children are really pitiful. I'll take you to see them!"
After entering the house, Nangong Lan saw an old man kneeling in front of a Buddha statue for a long time and was unwilling to get up.
Duanmu Lin was getting impatient waiting, so he whispered, "Old Wu, my dad is here to see you and Rongrong. How are you guys doing lately?"
Wu Shenghua, who was kneeling on the ground chanting and praying, ignored Duanmu Lin who looked unhappy, and just chanted his Diamond Sutra with a clear mind.
Just when Duanmu Lin was thinking of forcibly pulling Wu Shenghua up, Nangong Lan stopped him.
"If you have something and you're impatient to wait, then go ahead! The old man is chanting sutras and praying for blessings that are greater than heaven! You can't be so rude and forcibly pull someone up. People will say you have no manners and that I don't teach you."
Duanmu Lin: "Okay, then you wait for him to finish chanting and then have a good chat with him. I'm leaving first. Call me when you're done and I'll come pick you up. But if you don't mind and want to stay here overnight, that's fine too."
Nangong Lan: "Okay, see you later."
Duanmu Lin turned around and drove away.
After waiting for more than half an hour, Wu Shengshi finally stopped reciting the scriptures, opened his eyes, put away his rosary, clasped his hands together and stood up.
"Are you Rongrong's grandfather?" He squinted his eyes and looked Nangong Lan up and down carefully.
"Yes. She must be feeling bad after her husband passed away! As a grandfather, I have to come over to check on her and comfort her."
Wu Shenghua smiled and said, "Don't lie in front of the Buddha. I'm afraid your real purpose for coming here is not that simple."
Nangong Lan: "The old man is indeed clear-minded. Then I will tell you my purpose. The group that killed Rongrong's husband also captured a woman. If I'm not mistaken, they are coming for me, so I want to ask Rongrong in detail about what happened that day so that we can formulate a plan to fight back."
Wu Shenghua: "Don't call me old man, I can't bear it. If we talk about seniority, I don't think I'm qualified to call you ancestor. But Rongrong has become extremely depressed after this incident. Now she doesn't even want to take care of her children. If her sister-in-law Mengmeng hadn't come to help her frequently, her son would have starved to death. She often talks nonsense now, saying that she killed her husband because of too many sins. I have never seen her like this. Even her mother didn't act like this when she passed away. I want you to help her."
Nangong Lan: "The sorrows in this world are not mutually exclusive. There is no such thing as empathy. Unless she figures it out on her own, even gods can't help her, let alone me."
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