Chapter 1183: I Want to Make You Stay (61)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
An Xiaoning shifted her gaze onto the items in the coffin and said to Wang Jinsheng, “Get someone to put on a pair of gloves and remove the items from the coffin.”
“Alright.” Wang Jinsheng immediately did as instructed.
The moment An Xiaoning saw the items, she immediately understood why they had waited for her to arrive before retrieving them.
The items were of no archeological value and were merely just tools used for performing rituals.
She could tell that the corpse was indeed not an ordinary one.
“Can you guys deduce when this corpse dates back to?”
“It has been around for about three decades.”
“Got it. I’ll be making a trip to the police station now. Keep me posted and call me if there are any updates,” An Xiaoning instructed.
“Alright.”
She pondered over the incident throughout her journey to the police station.
The matter was rather serious. If the people had gone missing because of the corpse, she could easily solve the problem by nabbing the zombie in time and getting rid of it afterward. However, her greatest fear was that she might not be able to get a hold of it in time. Things would blow out of proportion, and it would be difficult to keep the situation under control if that were to happen.
Upon arriving at the police station, An Xiaoning alighted from the car and sprinted toward the lobby.
Before she even reached Pan Zhenghui’s office, she heard him hollering at the top of his voice. As soon as she opened the door, the deafening sounds of him barking filled her ear.
“What do you want!?!” he exclaimed in frustration. Upon discovering that it was An Xiaoning, he immediately mellowed his tone and said, “Xiaoning… you’re here.”
“Bureau Chief, why are you so riled up?”
“I’m being driven to my grave. Are you here because of that corpse too?” Pan Zhenghui asked sulkily.
“Yes, I just came from the archeological research center.”
“The higher-ups have ordered us to find the missing corpse and solve the issue within a day, by hook or by crook. Otherwise, they’re going to strip me of my position. How could I not panic? Everything was going fine peacefully and yet something like that had to crop up again. We’re already busy enough as it is.”
“No matter how busy you may be… you’ll still have to solve the problem when it arises. Do assign more manpower to work on this case.”
Stomping his feet in anger, Pan Zhenghui said, “We were told to keep this matter hidden from the public and not to divulge any details, lest we instill fear amongst the citizens. However, I think it’s a good idea to let the news spread. At the very least, it would be easier for us to find the target with the additional aid from the public.”
“There are more cons than pros to that. There hasn’t been any reported injuries or casualties that arose because of the corpse, has there? So, we must step on it,” said An Xiaoning.
Pan Zhenghui said with a frown, “That’s all we can do for now. Should we find the corpse, we’ll have to trouble you to step in and resolve the issue. Xiaoning, you’re our country’s hope and support. You’ll have to render aid whenever your help is needed.”
An Xiaoning was speechless. The only reason she was willing to help the police out was that she wanted to do something meaningful, like doing her best to reduce the number of innocent victims of crime.
Unsure when there would be an outcome, she said to Pan Zhenghui, “Why don’t I wait at home first while you keep me posted? Call me when there are any updates. There’s no point in me waiting aimlessly right now.”
“Alright, alright. Xiaoning, you must keep your phone with you at all times. We never know when I might call you. It’ll be troublesome if we can’t contact you.”
“Yes.”
An Xiaoning returned to her car and called Fang Erlan. Xiao Yue was the one who picked up.
Upon hearing that Fang Erlan was still in the midst of filming, An Xiaoning told Xiao Yue to call her when Fang Erlan was free. Xiao Yue expressed assent and ended the call.
As soon as she returned to Wei Ni Estate, she received a call from Fang Erlan.
An Xiaoning answered, “Erlan.”
“Sis, is there something urgent?”
“What are your birth characters?”
Fang Erlan stammered, “Sis Erlan, why… are you asking for that? Are you trying to read my fortune?”
An Xiaoning decided to come clean with her. “Yes, I’d like to read your marriage prospects,” she admitted.
“Sis Xiaoning, can you not read my fortune? I don’t want to know about it. Please don’t tell me how my life is going to turn out either. I want to let nature take its course.”
After a few moments of silence, An Xiaoning asked, “You really don’t want to know?”
“Yes, I used to be curious about it in the past but I no longer want to know.”
“I shall respect your decision, then.”
“Sis, could you help me out?”
An Xiaoning asked, “With?”
“When we were in Y Nation, Xiao Chenyang had a wedding gown and a diamond ring custom-made for me. Could you help me pass them to him? I want to return them to him.”
“The wedding gown was tailored to your measurements and the ring is sized to fit you perfectly. What is he supposed to do with them? Even if he meets another woman in the future, he can’t gift those things to her either. Besides, they were a gift for you. It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to give them to someone else again. Since he’s already given them to you, just keep them properly. At least, he’ll feel much better that way. Erlan, I’d like to say something to you,” said An Xiaoning.
“What…”
“Xiao Chenyang was really true to you, but it can’t be helped if you don’t love him. Stop brooding over it and just follow your heart, like you said you wanted to.” She shifted her gaze onto the figure approaching and said, “I’m hanging up now.”
An Xiaoning alighted from the car with her mobile phone. She squinted at Xiao Chenyang and said, “I’m sorry, she doesn’t want me to read her fortune. She didn’t divulge her birth characters, so…”
Xiao Chenyang pressed his head against the bonnet of her car and said, “Hua Jin, I know it’s impossible, but there’s something I’d like to do with you guys.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the curse. There isn’t much hope in breaking the curse that has been put on you and Xihou Ling, just like the curse of devotion that I had put on myself. I’d like to break mine now. Shall we work together and try to break our curses?”
An Xiaoning asked in bafflement, “You want to break the devotion curse? Why…”
“Are you very surprised? There are no dead ends in this world. I spent so many years trying to find her and I finally did. However, if we’re not destined to be together in this lifetime, I really don’t know if I have the patience to wait until the next lifetime to search for her again. There are so many people in this universe, it’s going to take me ages to find her again. My greatest fear is that she might already be in her eighties with plenty of offspring by the time I find her. I’ll still be the way I am now. That’d be impossible for us…”
“Have you really thought about it carefully?”
“Yes, I’ve made up my mind today. If I can find out the predicted course that her life will take, I’ll go ahead with the plan that I had mentioned to you this morning. But since she doesn’t want to know, I decided to just forget it.”
An Xiaoning looked at him and asked, “When do you plan to explain to us about the curse?”