Chapter 1339: I Only Want You (37)
It was rather easy for them to find the information since they could search the household registers that were registered under their real names.
Ma Jianguo, Zu Dong, Gong Le, and Ding Liang split up to search for Juan Zi’s children, after which they brought them back to the Widows’ Village.
It was already noontime by the time they returned.
Juan Zi’s children did not believe what the police officers told them at first, and they thought that the police officers were just telling them tall tales. However, they had a sudden awakening after chatting with An Xiaoning.
It was as if she had brainwashed them into believing her words.
An Xiaoning’s plan was to use Juan Zi’s children to lure her out and make her let her guard down.
An Xiaoning spent the entire day making preparations. When evening arrived, it was time for her to carry out her grand plan.
She brought them to the reservoir.
However, An Xiaoning clearly did not plan to head there straight away.
Instead, she said to Juan Zi’s children, “You two go to the reservoir first and do what I had instructed you to. Remember to put on the earphones.”
The two of them nodded and began walking toward the reservoir slowly.
However, An Xiaoning still did not see any spirits on the surface.
She knew that all the spirits in the reservoir had already brought their guards up after being alarmed by Zhang Lili’s incident.
It was not surprising at all. However, An Xiaoning was planning to use Juan Zi’s children to lure her out.
She was certain that Juan Zi would definitely surface to take a look at her children, whom she had not seen in decades.
An Xiaoning was very confident.
She and Fan Shixin proceeded to walk forward slowly.
They stopped in their tracks when Juan Zi’s children called her name and declared who they were out loud.
After a long while, a head finally popped up from the surface of the water.
An Xiaoning squinted to take a closer look and said softly into the mic, “Her head is out. Continue calling her… louder…”
The pair of brother and sister yelled Juan Zi’s name a few times while holding hands, not daring to go too near the water reservoir.
An Xiaoning finally saw Juan Zi clearly. The latter was moving toward her children quickly and stopped when she reached a spot in front of them. However, An Xiaoning decided not to tell them yet, for they would definitely be frightened and terrified, even though Juan Zi was their mother.
Instead, she stealthily took out the ten pieces of amulets that she had prepared beforehand and placed them near Juan Zi.
Upon the sight of the revolving amulets, Juan Zi’s children stepped backward in shock.
An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin finally walked toward them.
“Juan Zi, I’m sure you’ve been yearning to see your children. Are you happy now that I’ve brought them here to see you?”
“What on earth are you doing? Are you a medium?” Juan Zi questioned in displeasure.
“Well, I can’t tell you that. It doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is, who are you and what have you done?”
Juan Zi guffawed loudly and quipped, “What have I done? What could I have possibly done? All I did was pay those people who had killed me back in their own coin. Why aren’t they being punished for framing me and drowning me here? Why should I be the one who’s guilty?”
Juan Zi’s daughter said fearfully, “Mother… I heard that you were the one who killed all the male villagers. Stop killing others. Go and reincarnate.”
The sullenness of Juan Zi’s expression vanished, and she stared at her children who had already become full-fledged adults. She sobbed and exclaimed agitatedly, “Your father was the one who killed me first. It’s already been so many years and I still bear a grudge against them. I hate them, I hate them!”
“Mother, you’ve already killed so many people. Just let go of your grudges. Brother and I didn’t know the truth at first and we misunderstood you as well. We felt ashamed to have a mother like you and we didn’t want to acknowledge you at all. However, we now understand that you had been framed after hearing Officer’s explanation. Mother, you were the victim at first but you’ve now become a murderer. Don’t go on anymore, please.”
Juan Zi’s son said, “Sister and I both find you very pitiful, Mother. However, we also feel guilty toward those victims whom you’ve killed. Sister and I have families of our own now. We’re living very well…”
“…”
Juan Zi’s children had managed to talk some sense into her.
At last, she looked at An Xiaoning with a gentler expression and said, “You’re very intelligent. You actually thought of using my children to lure me out of the water. More often than not, children are the weaknesses of parents.”
“I was merely a little curious about you after hearing about your story from the villagers, but I didn’t expect that you would turn out to be the cause of all these tragedies. You’re just a troublemaker who turned your grudges into motivation to kill those innocent lives indiscriminately.”
Juan Zi hung her head low, at a complete loss for words.
….
An Xiaoning performed an elaborate ritual.
She had spent the entire day preparing for this.
The entire ritual ended at twelve midnight.
An Xiaoning had expended lots of her own energy while performing the ritual. It was the most energy-consuming and large-scale ritual that she had ever performed in her life.
She passed out right after performing the ritual.
Fan Shixin had to carry her back to Madam Wang’s home.
Upon seeing how pale she was, Fan Shixin could not help but feel extremely worried. Juan Zi’s children proceeded to leave together with Ma Jianguo and the other police officers. Fortunately, Fan Shixin had given Zu Dong the car keys and told him to drive the car back from the village to the town, so as to make it easier for them to leave the next morning.
Fan Shixin adhered to An Xiaoning’s instructions and did not call Jin Qingyan to inform him about the situation. An Xiaoning did not want Jin Qingyan to be worried and hence told Fan Shixin that she would be alright.
Thus, Fan Shixin stayed wide awake by An Xiaoning’s side and waited for her to come to.
An Xiaoning’s mobile phone rang at past six o’clock in the morning. Fan Shixin struggled to keep his eyes open and took a look at the caller display to see that it was a call from Jin Qingyan. He was stuck in a dilemma and was unsure if he should answer.
After trying to call An Xiaoning twice, Jin Qingyan decided to call Fan Shixin instead.
Fan Shixing had no choice but to pick up.
“Young Sir.”
“Is your Young Madam still asleep?”
“Yes, she performed a major ritual last night that made her extremely exhausted. We’ll be rushing back to the city today.”
Upon hearing his words, Jin Qingyan asked gleefully, “Is the truth out already?
“Yes. Young Madam is very efficient, and she never fails to solve tricky cases within an incredibly short amount of time. Young Madam is really impressive. Young Sir, you’ve got such great taste.”
“That goes without saying. Okay, let her continue sleeping. Come back after she wakes up.”
“Alright.”
Fan Shixin ended the call and stifled a yawn.
An Xiaoning regained her consciousness at around eight. She opened her eyes and realized that she felt extremely energized and rejuvenated.
She looked up to see that Fan Shixin was sitting beside the bed, his elbows on its edge and his eyes tightly shut.
Her heart was filled with warmth.