Linbiangui Village-Infinite Streaming Chapter 25
byThe Legend of the Qing Girl
Chen Jin was unsure what Aunt San Rong’s intentions were. The old woman had a strange temper, so Chen Jin moved cautiously, his muscles tight beneath his clothes. He kept a poker face, ready to counter any sudden malicious action from the old woman.
As he approached Aunt San Rong, her cloudy gray eyes suddenly trembled. Her hunched body sprang up like a machine freshly oiled. She swung her cane with one hand, her expression fierce, completely unlike a frail, elderly woman.
The cane whistled through the air, aimed straight at his head. Chen Jin’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and the hand tucked behind his back instantly clenched. Yet, the face he presented to Aunt San Rong remained calm and fearless. He stared directly at her, not moving an inch.
With a loud clang, Wu Zeng’s arm blocked Chen Jin. The muscles in his forearm, exposed by his short sleeve, bulged as his hand firmly gripped the descending cane. Blood beaded from the web of skin between his thumb and forefinger, bruised by the powerful impact.
“Hey, your hand…” Chen Jin quickly helped Wu Zeng support the cane, but the old woman’s strength was truly terrifying. Chen Jin pushed with all his might but found the cane completely immovable.
In a spot unnoticed by the two men, the alligator snapping turtle shell in Chen Jin’s pocket faintly emitted a green light.
Excitement flashed in Aunt San Rong’s eyes. Her aged body instantly erupted with even more astonishing power. This surge of brute force caused the cane to sink another three points.
Wu Zeng frowned, twisting his wrist. He wrapped four fingers around the cane, then used a clever technique to push the cane head back up. However, the web of skin on his hand was now bloody.
With a snap, the cane broke in mid-air from the opposing pressure. The sudden release of force caused Aunt San Rong to stumble.
A yellowed piece of cowhide paper silently rolled from the broken end of the cane onto the ground.
Wu Zeng tossed the cane head in his hand onto the dirt, his expression visibly displeased. “We respect your age, but don’t push it too far.”
Aunt San Rong ignored Wu Zeng. She slowly used the remaining half of the cane to nudge the cowhide paper to her feet. Her finger, like a dry twig, picked it up, rubbed it twice, and then she extended her palm toward Chen Jin. The expression on her face had softened, finally resembling a helpless old woman. “What you want is all here.”
Chen Jin reached out to take it. The rough cowhide paper scraped against his palm, but Chen Jin dared not relax his guard. Facing the unpredictable old woman, Chen Jin said nothing more, merely nodding politely to her.
Aunt San Rong stopped looking at the two of them, returning to her previous state of being hunched and decrepit on the stool.
Chen Jin held the paper by both ends and opened it. Inside were Chinese characters of various sizes, documenting the origin of the Changlin people in Mengle Village.
The Changlin people were originally a minority group living by the river, not native to Mengle Village. In the 1960s, fishing was banned on the river. The Changlin patriarch led his people to retreat from the riverbank into the mountains. After climbing over a sheer cliff and traversing a dense forest, they reached Mengle Village, found an unoccupied piece of land, and settled down. This dense forest was the Meiziqing of Mengle Village. In the eyes of the villagers, the Changlin people were brought by the Meiziqing, so the villagers often referred to the Changlin people as the descendants of the Qing Girl.
At that time, the native people of Mengle Village themselves struggled to eat and stay warm, so they were naturally unwilling to let these foreign fishermen settle. To ensure his people’s survival, the patriarch led the young and strong of the clan. Using their superior swimming skills, they swam across the river to Sha Country to trade goods for grain. This secured a lifeline for them and, unexpectedly, opened up an unofficial smuggling route, commonly known as “swimming the private water.”
Although only separated by a river, the situation in Sha Country during those years was the complete opposite of Mengle Village. Mengle Village suffered from food shortages due to unpredictable climate but had abundant timber from the surrounding mountains and a variety of civilian handicrafts. Sha Country, however, was sparsely populated with ample grain but insufficient capacity for civilian goods. This unofficial smuggling route proved highly useful.
Sha Country and Mengle Village were not purely separated by the river; a mountain range actually connected the two countries. This mountain was located directly behind the village’s Meiziqing. However, the people of Mengle Village could not cross this mountain to reach the neighboring country for two reasons: First, the Meiziqing forest was heavily shaded and the paths were winding, so few people entered; second, due to a war many years ago, the mountain pass was mined by both armies for defense. The guardian deity during the war became the killing god after the war, and this mountain passage was permanently cut off.
The water-adept Changlin people bypassed this blockage by swimming the river, reopening the connection between Mengle Village and Sha Country. The Changlin people’s lives in the village visibly improved.
But poverty breeds desperate people, especially when the locals couldn’t even feed themselves, yet these foreign fishermen were thriving. The people of Mengle Village naturally grew jealous. During this time, multiple conflicts arose. They even compared the Changlin people to water ghosts and blamed them for the famine in Mengle Village, hoping to completely cut off their retreat in the village. The Changlin people were not to be outdone. Their years of swimming made them physically strong. Even though the Mengle villagers had a numerical advantage, they could only fight the Changlin people to a draw.
It wasn’t until later that both sides reached a consensus for survival: the money and grain earned by the Changlin people from goods taken out of Mengle Village had to be returned to the Mengle villagers at a certain ratio. Only then did peace return to Mengle Village.
As the country developed, the hard times gradually passed, and food security was no longer an issue. Villagers began to move outward, seeking work elsewhere to earn more money. The agreement between the Changlin people and Mengle Village gradually became irrelevant, but both sides had long grown accustomed to each other’s presence. Therefore, even without the village pact, the two groups coexisted harmoniously.
Later still, the core strength of the Changlin people who used to smuggle gradually aged. The new generation, lacking the experience of living by the water, could not compare to their predecessors in swimming ability, so few continued to swim the private water.
In the 1990s, the trend of migrating south for work was prevalent, and the young men of Mengle Village left in droves. Some of those who left home mysteriously disappeared. The Changlin patriarch at the time was over seventy. Although his physical strength was much diminished, he would occasionally sneak into the water to bring back some river fish for his clan. On one return trip, he unexpectedly discovered the remains of the missing people in the Meiziqing. He intended to bring them back out of kindness, but he was unexpectedly framed again.
The families of the remains were irrational, blaming the Changlin patriarch entirely. The anti-outsider faction in the village seized the opportunity to fan the flames, and the rumor of the Changlin Curse resurfaced: Anyone who trespasses into the Meiziqing without reason will be dismembered and eaten alive by the Qing Girl.
With no favorable timing, location, or human support, the Changlin people once again became the vulnerable party. Even their traditional water burial was rejected by Mengle Village. After repeated suppression, only Aunt San Rong remained of the Changlin clan.
After reading this historical account of the Changlin people, Chen Jin was filled with doubts. Regardless of the overall veracity of the story, what the villagers said and what the old woman recorded were two completely different narratives. The core issues were two-fold:
First, the survival of the other Changlin people: Uncle Liao and Aunt San Rong offered conflicting accounts. According to Uncle Liao, most Changlin people went out to work after they could no longer fish, which is why Aunt San Rong lived alone. But Aunt San Rong’s record stated that the Changlin people were suppressed to death, leaving only her.
Second, the whereabouts of the missing people: Sister Li claimed the Changlin Curse caused the workers to disappear, while Aunt San Rong stated that the Changlin patriarch accidentally discovered the remains of the missing people.
Who was lying?
If Aunt San Rong’s words were true, then she should have a deep-seated hatred for the villagers. Why would she participate in the village’s pig-slaughtering feast like a normal person? Conversely, if the villagers’ words were true, then the old woman was a complete liar. Could she be the embodiment of the world’s obsession, attempting to mislead the two of them?
This clue was highly suspicious and clearly required more information to understand the full picture.
Chen Jin took a deep breath. Wu Zeng’s arm lowered at the right moment, and he lightly patted Chen Jin’s shoulder twice. “Let’s go.”
Chen Jin didn’t object. He stuffed the cowhide paper into his pocket with one hand and didn’t push away Wu Zeng’s arm, which was now draped over his shoulder.
Wu Zeng took the opportunity to guide him toward the door. This posture created a blind spot. Where Chen Jin couldn’t see, Wu Zeng’s wound on the web of his hand had completely healed, leaving no trace.
The moment they stepped over the threshold, a hoarse, aged voice came from behind them. “Landmines are much more effective than the Qing Girl! ‘Bang!’ With one sound, that blind thief’s grandson was left with only an arm hanging on a tree…”
The image was truly horrifying. Chen Jin turned his head toward the sound, only to see the old woman reaching one hand behind her head. Her dry, blackened fingers stirred wildly inside her mouth, and drool slowly trickled down the corner of her lips. The entire scene was bizarre and grotesque.
Before anyone could react, Aunt San Rong began to cackle strangely, scrutinizing the two men. Her wrinkled skin writhed with her shaky laughter, and her shriveled mouth opened and closed wide. “If you can only keep one hand, which one would you choose?”
“She’s crazy,” Wu Zeng said, crushing half a worm that had crawled out of the dirt with his foot.
The surrounding chirping of insects abruptly ceased. The entire world fell silent.
When the two men passed the village office again, it was sunset. Li Ming Ming’s noisy voice leaked out from inside the building.
Wu Zeng pulled Chen Jin to walk faster, afraid that some thoughtless person would follow them again.
“Chen Jin!” Contrary to their wishes, Li Ming Ming shrieked and ran out. He rushed toward the two men, looking panicked.
He had run too fast. The moment he stopped, Li Ming Ming could only stand in front of them, hands on his hips, panting heavily, unable to utter a word.
“Speak if you have something to say, otherwise scram,” Wu Zeng stepped forward, blocking Chen Jin, effectively cutting off any chance for communication between them.
“Chen Jin, did you know?” Li Ming Ming didn’t care about the obstruction. After catching his breath, he grabbed Wu Zeng’s arm and leaned around him to speak to Chen Jin.
Before anyone could respond, Wu Zeng lifted his knee and drove a kick into Li Ming Ming’s stomach. The blow instantly silenced him in pain. He doubled over like a shrimp, clutching his stomach and collapsing onto the ground. “You… what are you doing!”
“What is it?” Wu Zeng glanced at him coldly, grabbing Chen Jin with one hand, ready to leave.
Chen Jin was dizzy from the inexplicable commotion between the two. Now, being yanked, he stumbled. He frowned and looked up, only to suddenly realize that the wound on Wu Zeng’s hand had vanished.
Before he could voice his confusion, Li Ming Ming struggled to prop himself up on the ground, still gasping for air. “Don’t go yet… I have new information. Xiao Gang is gone.”
The words dropped like a bombshell, and now the two of them couldn’t leave.
A long static noise came from the village broadcast, followed by the 7 o’clock time announcement.
“The remains of the migrant worker, Liao, were discovered at 13:00 today by the river patrol team.” Li Ming Ming’s phone clearly displayed a text message sent back by the river patrol team.
13:00? Wu Zeng distinctly remembered Sister Chen video-calling Xiao Gang at noon today.
The body was discovered so quickly. It seemed the perpetrator did not intend to conceal it. So why use a video call to fake the timing? What was the purpose of this elaborate, yet flawed, time discrepancy?
Chen Jin felt overwhelmed by a thousand threads of thought. The matter of the Changlin old woman was still unclear, and now Xiao Gang had a problem. As for Wu Zeng… what exactly was Wu Zeng…