Hearing Xiaomei Jie's description, I could roughly guess the man's identity. He should be the one I saw on the second floor of Shopkeeper Wang's villa, the one Shopkeeper Wang referred to as "Xiao Er" (Little Two).

At this moment, Xiaomei Jie continued, "I saw that the man looked like he had drowned and was on the verge of death. I was afraid he would die, so I took him back home and asked my mother to take care of him."

Jiang Yongguang nodded gently upon hearing this and said, "Well, saving a life is better than building a seven-storied pagoda. This is only natural."

"And then?" Uncle Mei asked.

Xiaomei Jie's face became very unpleasant as she said this. She sighed and said slowly, "I didn't expect that this decision would lead to all the things that happened later..."

I immediately realized that something was wrong.

Xiaomei Jie continued, "After that man came home, it was already getting dark. I saw that he was not very old, about sixteen or seventeen years old, and I didn't think he looked like a bad person. He might just be a student coming to school nearby. How could a student be a bad person?"

"My mother also said that the child was very pitiful. She guessed he had been swimming in the Tuo River and encountered a dark current. He almost drowned and was lucky to have his life saved."

"We took care of him together. His condition was getting better and better, but for some reason, I suddenly saw a patch of black stuff growing on his body, like scales."

Hearing this, Jiang Yongguang immediately asked, "Was it on his back and arms, those places where the scales were growing?"

"Yes, yes, yes..." Xiaomei Jie nodded immediately and said, "It started on his arms, and then it turned to his back, and these scales grew very fast, completely out of control."

"My mother and I asked the boy if he had some kind of skin disease, but the boy didn't answer us properly. He just kept saying it was over, over, he was going to die. My mother and I panicked and didn't know what to do."

"My mother later told me to get some skin medicine for him in the county, but it was a bit late, and I guessed the pharmacies and clinics were closed, so I couldn't find any."

"As a result, while we were in chaos, something happened to my mother..."

Speaking of this, Xiaomei Jie lowered her head, her expression became very sad, and I knew we were about to get to the point.

Although Xiaomei Jie's condition had basically recovered at this time, I was still afraid that she would suddenly recall the situation at that time and her spirit would be stimulated again.

So I took Xiaomei Jie's hand and said to her, "Xiaomei Jie, don't force yourself. If you can recall it, then recall it, but if it's too uncomfortable, then wait a little longer."

Xiaomei Jie took a sip of tea, nodded to me, and said, "It's okay, Rongsheng, I'm okay."

Jiang Yongguang and Uncle Mei were also attentively watching her, waiting for her to tell the final truth.

At this moment, Xiaomei Jie slowly opened her mouth and said, "At that time, I was focused on that boy, looking for medicine and searching the internet to find out what kind of disease he had. As a result, at this moment, I suddenly heard my mother giggling, laughing in a particularly scary way."

Our expressions changed again and again when we heard this.

Xiaomei Jie continued, "I thought it was very strange at the time, so I went over and asked my mother, I said, Mom, what are you laughing at? What's wrong? Did you hear any news?"

"As a result, my mother didn't answer me, and kept laughing. The boy we rescued was also startled and quickly asked me what was going on, if the aunt had gone crazy."

"I was just about to turn around and say something to the boy when my mother suddenly stared at me with red eyes, scolding me for being like water splashed out from a married daughter, caring more for her boyfriend than her own family. Truly, a girl turns outward!"

"I was dumbfounded at the time, because Rongsheng and I weren't married yet. I had just brought Rongsheng home, and what my mother said made no sense at all. Moreover, my mother had always had a very good temper since she was a child and had never scolded me, but this time, she suddenly acted like she was crazy..."

Speaking of this, Xiaomei Jie's eyes were wet, and tears fell drop by drop. We heard it in our ears, but we all understood what was going on.

Especially Uncle Mei, he was also very sad now. Before, in the ancient tomb, we saw many people who died tragically because of the "laughing sickness", but we never expected that before that, the first person to suffer from this laughing sickness would be Aunt Mei.

At this time, Xiaomei Jie continued, "Later, my mother also pounced on me, pinching my neck hard, scolding me for being a spendthrift and telling me to die. I was directly knocked to the ground by my mother, unable to move at all."

"The boy we rescued ran away in a hurry when he saw my mother go crazy. He ran out of the house in a puff of smoke, and I never saw him again."

"I only remember that my neck was about to be strangled by my mother, and I couldn't breathe. I don't know how long it took, but I must have been strangled unconscious by my mother."

"When I woke up, I smelled a... smelled a strong smell of blood, and when I looked back, I saw my mother... my mother was nailed to the chair, the whole person... the person was already gone... gone."

Speaking of this, Xiaomei Jie lowered her head, tears dripping down, and her voice was shaking.

I knew that although she had recovered, when she recalled this past, the inner torment and pain had not diminished at all.

Hearing this, Jiang Yongguang couldn't help but ask, "Xiaomei, who saved you? And who killed Aunt Mei? Was it Ge Xueying, right?"

Xiaomei Jie did not hide anything, but nodded very readily and said, "Yes, although I didn't see her do it with my own eyes, it should be her. She also told me afterwards that she killed my mother..."

When Uncle Mei heard this, he immediately clenched his fists and cursed, "Damn it! It really is that White-Clothed Immortal! I'll make her pay for her life sooner or later!"

But then, Xiaomei Jie said, "Dad, although Ge Xueying killed my mother, she also saved my life. She told me afterwards that my mother was cursed, and she had completely lost her mind. At that time, she had become a monster without emotion or memory, and the only way to stop her was to kill her."

Uncle Mei actually knew this, after all, this was not the first time we had encountered the "laughing sickness". According to our previous experience, people who got the "laughing sickness" would indeed lose their minds, and we have not yet found a way to save them.

Xiaomei Jie continued, "I didn't accept it at the time, and I wanted to fight Ge Xueying desperately, because I was so crazy when I saw my mother like that... But Ge Xueying told me that if I didn't kill my mother, not only would I die, but everyone in the village would die. She was infected with a curse, and people who were cursed like that would sooner or later become like her, completely mad."

"At this time, I saw that my mother's arm also had those black scales, but because Ge Xueying pierced five acupoints on her body with a bronze knife and gradually drained the blood from her body, the black scales also disappeared."

"Ge Xueying told me that this is the curse, and the only way to get rid of it is to empty all the blood from the victim's body, otherwise the curse will spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, until it spreads endlessly."

"Only then did I remember that it was because I took that boy home that my mother was infected with this curse. In the final analysis, I was the one who harmed my mother..."