Only after the gaunt old man had walked away did Ruan Qing'an finally breathe a sigh of relief. Heaven knows how much she wanted to disregard her public image and just kick him, then punch him twice.
Fortunately, Jiang Shihe intervened in time. His 1.9-meter height blocked the gaunt old man, otherwise, a woman alone there might have been in danger.
After confirming that no one was around, they turned their attention to the small house in front of them. The house was surrounded by a fence, and inside was a small brick and tile house that looked quite old.
At this moment, the door to the inner room was tightly closed, and only a withered black mongrel guarded the yard outside, looking rather lifeless...
"Let's go in and knock on the door first. Didn't that old man say that Aunt Li has gone mad?"
As Ruan Qing'an spoke, she carefully stepped over the stray dog and entered the courtyard. Just as she was about to knock on the door—
Behind her, the black mongrel, which had been nearly lifeless, began to howl loudly, barking incessantly at Jiang Shihe, who had just entered the yard, as if it had seen a ghost.
Jiang Shihe was startled and took several steps back. Only after he had walked out of the yard did the dog finally quiet down and lie down on the ground again.
Just as Jiang Shihe tried to lift his foot again, the dog suddenly sprang to life, baring its teeth at Jiang Shihe. It was clearly withered, but it looked exceptionally imposing.
Seeing this, Jiang Shihe couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that I'm not allowed to come in here."
"It's alright, Mr. Jiang. Didn't that old man just say that only Aunt Li lives here? She's a woman, so I guess it's because of the difference between men and women. I'll go."
Seeing that Jiang Shihe seemed about to object, Ruan Qing'an quickly said, "It's just a small room, Mr. Jiang, don't worry. You stay outside and I'll call you if anything happens."
Jiang Shihe glanced at the black mongrel on the ground, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded in agreement.
After receiving permission, Ruan Qingan went to the closed door. Just as she was about to knock, she realized that the closed door had been silently opened a crack at some point.
And right there in that gap—a pair of terrified, tense eyes were staring intently outwards, pupils constricted, the whites of the eyes excessively large, and even filled with a lot of blood vessels!
Just seeing this, one can imagine an elderly woman crouching behind a door, her hands gripping it, her fingernails digging into the doorframe and making a creaking sound...
Before Ruan Qing'an could react, the door closed tightly again. She quickly knocked on the door: "Aunt Li, is that you, Aunt Li?"
"We have some questions for you. May I come in? I'm the only girl here, is that alright?"
"..."
Inside, all was silent. Ruan Qing'an could only wait patiently at the door.
After waiting a minute or two, there was finally movement inside, like the clanging sound of a heavy iron lock being removed. The door opened a crack, and a voice said, "Come in, come in..."
Ruan Qing'an was overjoyed. With her hands behind her back, she gestured to Jiang Shihe outside before going inside.
The windows inside were tightly closed. Despite it being daytime, there was hardly any light, so dark that it was difficult to see the surroundings clearly. A scent similar to face powder floated in the air.
Nguyen Thanh An took a quick look around and found that the tables, chairs and decorations in the room were very old. Moreover, they looked dirty and messy, probably because they hadn't been cleaned for a long time.
As for the sound I just heard, it was indeed coming from the large brass lock hanging behind the door. I don't know why Aunt Li would lock the door from the inside when she was at home. What was she afraid of?
"You, who are you...who are you?"
An old, trembling voice came from behind him, and Ruan Qing'an subconsciously turned his head to look.
The woman who opened the door for her, Aunt Li, was huddled in a corner, dressed in dirty old clothes with some patches, looking rather shabby, even her gray hair was matted.
Aunt Li's face was covered with wrinkles and age spots, making it difficult to see her features clearly. She didn't look at all like the beautiful Ruan Qing'an that Uncle Zhang had described. It was hard to tell how long Aunt Li hadn't left the house.
But when Ruan Qing'an saw her, she felt a vague sense of familiarity, and a slight unease crept into her heart: "I...I came to visit relatives with someone."
"Girl, a girl?"
"I am."
"The same to you……"
Aunt Li started crying and making a scene halfway through her sentence, completely ignoring Ruan Qing'an.
Just then, a dog barked. Ruan Qingan initially thought it was the black mongrel outside again, but then he realized that the barking was coming from behind the house.
On the wall behind the house, there was a broken dog hole, and a spotted mongrel was waiting at the dog hole with a cloth bag in its mouth. It impatiently scratched the ground with its paws, whimpered several times, and then put down the bag and left.
Before Ruan Qing'an could even have a chance to wonder, Aunt Li, who looked like a madwoman, scrambled forward, opened the cloth bag, and found some leftover food inside, which she then began to eat in a disheveled manner.
These must have been obtained by that Dalmatian dog...
Ruan Qing'an stood there, feeling endless sorrow in her heart. She couldn't help but squat down next to Aunt Li and place the half-eaten steamed bun that Jiang Shihe had brought her next to Aunt Li.
But Aunt Li ignored Ruan Qing'an and continued to wolf down her food—this was the first woman Ruan Qing'an had seen in Fengxian Village, yet she lived a life of poverty and misery.
037: [Ancestor, this...]
"She won't talk to me anymore; I'm just trying to put my mind at ease."
Ruan Qingan sighed deeply, stood up, and turned to look at the small house where not even a ray of light could get in.
After a while, her gaze was finally drawn to the only clean wall, on which hung a picture frame that had been wiped clean.
She paused for a moment, then stepped forward to take a look. In the photo frame was a strikingly beautiful woman.
Her face was like a lotus emerging from clear water, appearing innocent and beautiful, yet her expression was numb and empty. She held a baby girl in the woman's arms, and her gaze softened only when it fell upon the baby.
Most importantly, her features were indeed as beautiful as Uncle Zhang had described, just like Ruan Qing'an's.
Because... they look so alike.
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