Chapter 1335: I Only Want You (33)

s.h.i.+ Shaochuan said, “I’ll leave if you let me take Bao’er’s corpse away.”

“Why should I let you do that? Qingyue holds the rights to her custody. You don’t have the right to take Bao’er’s corpse away,” said An Xiaoning, who immediately instructed her bodyguards to chase s.h.i.+ Shaochuan out of the house.

He was then driven away.

An Xiaoning was fuming with anger. All of a sudden, No. 5 got onto his knees in front of her and said apologetically, “Sis, it’s all my fault. I’m willing to give my life up as a punishment.”

She looked down at No. 5 and sighed before saying, “You may have made a mistake, but it doesn’t warrant a death sentence. Get up on your feet first.”

No. 5 stood up with tears in his reddened eyes and proceeded to follow her to the living room.

Still unconscious, Jin Qingyue was lying down on the couch with a needle and tube attached to the back of her hand.

An Xiaoning sat down while No. 5 stood beside her, feeling as if he was stepping on eggsh.e.l.ls.

“Do we see to Bao’er’s funeral now or wait for Qingyue to come to?” asked An Xiaoning.

Ling Ciye answered, “Let’s do it now.”

Jin Qingyan instructed Fan s.h.i.+xin to prepare a coffin and mark out a s.p.a.ce on the burial ground. The burial ceremony for children was usually kept simple.

A deafening silence filled the air in the living room.

Jin Qingyue finally regained her consciousness.

She appeared extremely haggard after having suffered a huge blow.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she began tearing up again.

Upon the sight of No. 5, Jin Qingyue questioned angrily, “What did I tell you? Why did you refuse to listen to me? Why!?!”

“Bao’er was constantly crying and begging me to let her visit her father. I took pity on her so I gave in. I made her promise that she wouldn’t take any longer than ten minutes…”

“You took pity on her? I ordered you to ensure her safety and yet you took matters into your own hands and defied my orders. If you hadn’t taken her to the hospital, she probably wouldn’t have died!”

An Xiaoning looked up and explained, “Qingyue, I sent No. 5 to discipline Bao’er and take her in hand, not to be her bodyguard. No. 5 did make a mistake this time, but he wasn’t the cause of everything. Don’t guilt-trip him or make him feel emotionally burdened. If I hadn’t let No. 5 follow Bao’er to the boot camp this time, you wouldn’t have blamed him, would you? Bao’er was destined to die at that timing today. Even if No. 5 didn’t allow her to visit s.h.i.+ Shaochuan, she would still have died at that exact timing. There was a spirit on s.h.i.+ Shaochuan’s back that had been summoned by Bu Xianxian. That spirit was in control of s.h.i.+ Shaochuan, so Bao’er would have definitely met him, one way or another.”

She continued, “Besides, the purpose of Bao’er’s existence in your life was so you could atone for the sins that you had done and repay her everything that you had owed her in her previous lifetime. Everything happens for a reason. Don’t you agree? Honestly speaking, No. 5 did a great job at disciplining Bao’er, and it was apparent that she had become much more sensible. It was very possible for Bao’er to have turned over a new leaf. Qingyue, think about all that Bao’er had done in the past, including the instances where she tried to kill you and Ciye by leaving the gas stove on, as well as the one where she set Wen Lele on fire. There were problems with the way you educated her in the first place. You didn’t take her in hand since she was a child and it resulted in her flawed character. But of course, genetics have a part to play as well. You can’t just be concerned about your own daughter. You have to remember that your daughter ruined someone else’s life as well. Wen Lele is also someone else’s daughter. That’s all I have to say. Give my words some thought. Karmic retribution is the reason for everything.”

Jin Qingyue was at a loss for words and instead continued weeping incessantly. She absolutely regretted spoiling Jin Bao’er rotten and giving in to her despite her wayward behavior.

It was all too late now.

The tragedy had already taken place.

What had been done cannot be undone.

Jin Bao’er’s corpse was cremated, and her ashes were placed inside the coffin.

Jin Qingyue requested, “Sis-in-law, could you let me talk to Bao’er?”

An Xiaoning sighed and said, “You’re pregnant right now, it’d be detrimental to your fetus…”

Before she could even finish, Jin Qingyue pleaded, “It’s alright, Sis-in-law, please.”

“I’ll give it a try. Come with me.”

Jin Qingyue followed An Xiaoning to the ritual room. Ling Ciye was not allowed to enter and thus had to wait outside the door.

More than an hour later, Jin Qingyue exited.

She appeared much less agonized.

However, An Xiaoning had turned as pale as a sheet.

Such rituals would definitely take a huge toll on An Xiaoning’s health.

She would usually avoid it whenever possible.

“Qingyue, how did things go?” Ling Ciye asked.

Jin Qingyue nodded and said, “Let’s bury her now. Don’t wait until tomorrow.”

….

The sky had already turned pitch black by the time Jin Bao’er’s ashes were buried. An Xiaoning had no choice but to delay her patrol around the water reservoir in the Widows’ Village.

However, it was not too late yet and, hence, An Xiaoning and Fan s.h.i.+xin rushed back to the village.

The female maintenance worker was still waiting for her, just like she had expected.

“Officer, why are you here at such a late hour?”

An Xiaoning answered, “We were tied up with something in the city. Rest early, we’ll just look around.”

“I’m not tired. Shall I go with you guys?” the female asked.

An Xiaoning had no choice but to agree with a nod.

Fan s.h.i.+xin initially suggested that she take a break tonight and conduct the investigation the following night instead.

The water reservoir was extremely spooky at night.

It looked rather bizarre at first glance.

After walking for a long while, An Xiaoning stopped in her tracks and stared at the water in the center, only to discover that there was a figure that had its back facing them.

The figure’s body was submerged in the water from the waist down.

The night vision goggles allowed them a clear view at night.

The figure had long hair and a thin frame.

It was clearly a woman.

An Xiaoning remained silent and refrained from disturbing the figure.

They then headed back again. They told the female worker to rest before returning to Madam w.a.n.g’s house.

After soaking their feet, An Xiaoning lay down in bed and began telling Fan s.h.i.+xin what she had seen at the reservoir. Although he did not see the spirit, her description of the terrifying sight gave him gooseb.u.mps.

“Seems like there’s really a major problem with this reservoir.”

“Young Madam, why didn’t you intervene when you discovered the spirit back then?”

“I expended lots of energy while performing the ritual for Bao’er tonight. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. She doesn’t know that I can see her, and she’s not the only one inside the reservoir anyway. After all, there had been so many casualties all these years. There are definitely more spirits.”

Tears welled up in An Xiaoning’s eyes and she said, “Frankly speaking, I really regret promising Qingyue to discipline Bao’er. Although there are significant changes in her att.i.tude, it still…”

She continued, “I’m just afraid that No. 5 will blame himself for it and live in guilt.”