After a thorough examination at the hospital, Yu Man received a diagnosis of a mild concussion. The doctor prescribed medication, advised her to rest extensively, maintain emotional stability, avoid strenuous mental activity, and sleep for at least eighteen hours a day, predicting a full recovery within a week.
Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
She immediately hailed another taxi back to the village to cause trouble.
Perhaps knowing that decisions made within the village held more weight than anything she could tell Ding Yun, she didn't seek out Ding Yun at all. Instead, she went straight to the village chief's house, caused a scene for a while, and then, after the village chief whispered something in her ear, she left abruptly.
Without asking for anything, she took a flight back that very day.
The next day, Ding Yun, hearing this news from others, paid a curious visit to the village chief.
Before asking about the progress of the investigation, she specifically inquired how the village chief had managed to send her mother away:
"Village Chief, the rumors in the village are quite wild. They say you scared my mother away with just two or three sentences. What exactly did you say to her?"
"Nothing much. I just repeated what you told me yesterday: that Xianglan didn't die naturally, and that you almost died on the third day of the wake. I didn't even get to say anything else before Yu Man got scared and ran off.
I was baffled at first. It was only when I thought about it carefully last night that I realized. You, as the granddaughter, understand some metaphysical knowledge. It's unlikely your mother doesn't. Even if she doesn't have the talent, she must have some common sense about these things. So, she probably guessed that Xianglan encountered some formidable opponent and that it might even endanger her descendants.
Afraid of being implicated herself, she fled in a hurry.
By the way, your maternal grandmother didn't call her before she died, nor did she ask you to tell your mother anything. I assume she must have told your mother some things about her situation before."
Having thought for an entire night and feeling confident that he had deduced the truth with high accuracy, the village chief, with a self-satisfied smile, recounted his speculations.
Ding Yun also found the village chief's explanation somewhat plausible:
"Thinking about it this way, it does seem to be the case. I vaguely recall that on the fifth day of the wake, when you asked me to call her back, she sounded a bit surprised on the phone. Then she rushed back the next day.
Now that I think about it, she was probably surprised that I was still alive, and thus felt there was no longer any danger, which is why she returned.
Now that she knows I had a brush with death and it's uncertain if there will be any retaliation, she's become fearful and fled. That seems quite logical."
In reality, what Ding Yun and the village chief were guessing was indeed very close to the truth. The original host's maternal grandmother, Ding Xianglan, had specifically instructed her daughter long ago that if she died a natural death, she would definitely call her before she passed.
This was because she could sense her own lifespan.
However, she could only sense her natural lifespan, not accidental deaths or being ambushed by others.
And if she died unnaturally, it would definitely be at the hands of someone else. Although she didn't know if the perpetrator would eliminate all traces, Ding Xianglan had repeatedly warned her daughter, Yu Man, not to return if she died unnaturally.
She was to leave her assets to the village and not return herself.
She should at least wait for three to five years before returning to pay her respects.
Later, when Yu Man received the call from the original host asking her to return, although she felt a pang of sadness and even considered returning immediately to prevent her daughter from taking all the inheritance, she was still overcome by the fear of those strange methods she had witnessed her mother use when she was young. Thus, she didn't go back.
It wasn't until Ding Yun called her again and she realized her daughter was fine, and consequently assumed she would also be safe, that she quickly booked a flight and then took a train back.
Afterward, upon learning that Ding Yun had also narrowly escaped death and the future retaliation was still uncertain, fear once again took precedence, and she fled.
Having finished discussing this piece of gossip, Ding Yun then turned to the main business: "Village Chief, I still want to ask about yesterday's matter.
How is your investigation going? Do you know whose house your grandmother went to for work and to perform an exorcism?"
"I've found out.
I first asked around the village, and then in the county town, and after much effort, I managed to get a general idea of your grandmother's whereabouts that day. According to the daughter-in-law of Yu Hui's family in the village, your grandmother was picked up by a car that day.
She even said goodbye and was asked where she was going, but your grandmother only said she had business in the county town.
So, I went to the county town to inquire further.
Let me tell you, I went through a lot of trouble for this matter of yours. As a grown man, I spent several hours chatting with a group of elder ladies to find out which families in the county had experienced strange occurrences recently, whose children or family members were ill, couldn't be treated at the hospital, and were currently seeking spiritual help.
I inquired about five families in total.
One family was Buddhist and had visited a supposedly very efficacious temple in a neighboring county. Another family went to a church to seek holy water. After comparing them, only one family had sought out your grandmother.
That was the family of Li Xinglin, from the Li Family Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic in the county.
They claimed their son was possessed.
He had been mentally unstable for over a month. The hospital couldn't find any issues, but they suspected mental illness and wanted to admit him to a psychiatric hospital. His family refused, so they kept him at home.
Reportedly, they had tried traditional Chinese medicine treatments themselves, but they were ineffective. Later, they felt the situation was quite unusual.
They had consulted many people, but none could help.
About half a month ago, they somehow heard about your grandmother's capabilities and specifically paid thirty thousand yuan to invite her. The latest news is that their son seems to have recovered.
So, I'm not entirely sure if it's that family.
After all, if your grandmother could cure him, she shouldn't have been no match for whatever caused his illness. By the way, you could check your grandmother's bank statements for income. If there's a deposit of thirty thousand yuan, then it's likely their family. If not, it's hard to say. I'll ask around again later.
Can you check your grandmother's transaction records?"
"I did check my grandmother's transaction records. Ten days ago, she did have an income of thirty thousand yuan. But that was ten days ago! My grandmother passed away eight days ago. Moreover, after that thirty thousand yuan income ten days ago, there were no other earnings.
If she had received income on the day she passed away, I wouldn't be so troubled. I would just check the account to which the money was transferred. It wouldn't be this complicated."
Judging by this, the family the village chief mentioned probably wasn't the one the original host's grandmother visited on the day she died. It's just unclear whether that family refused to pay because the original host's grandmother failed in the exorcism, or if they refused to pay after knowing she had passed away.
"What about your grandmother's phone records?"
"There were none. There were no call records that day, or even in the preceding few days. So, that family most likely didn't contact my grandmother by phone."
"If not by phone, how else could they have contacted her?"
"Through an introduction?"
"Even with an introduction, there should have been a phone call. It's not like they came in person to say they wanted to introduce a job.
Wait, I think I remember something.
Li Sanshen from Little Li Village came that day.
That's right, the day before my grandmother died, only Li Sanshen suddenly visited and said something to my grandmother!
I was reading and didn't pay attention to what they were talking about."