Chapter Fourteen: The Ends of the Earth

I went to Chen Shitou’s house with Chen Qingshan. His home was probably the only earthen house left in our village, and this was the first time in twenty years that I had set foot inside. When Chen Shitou saw me, his expression was strange, as if he still felt guilty for what he’d dragged me into as a child. Looking a bit embarrassed, he said, “Yezi, you’re here. Sit down. Ah, but there’s nowhere to sit in this place. Let me see if I can find something for you.”

Chen Qingshan waved his hand impatiently. “Enough, don’t bother. Just bring the girl out.”

“Village chief, didn’t you see her just a few days ago?” Chen Shitou replied timidly.

At that moment, Da Kui came out of the house, followed by his two brothers. Pointing at Chen Qingshan, Da Kui said, “Chen Qingshan, haven’t you had enough? I’ve told you again and again, she’s not some trafficked woman. She’s a distant cousin of mine!”

“Stop spouting nonsense! Get the girl out here now. Don’t give me that look, or I’ll call the police, believe it or not! You don’t even know I’m trying to help you, and you’re still babbling?” Chen Qingshan cursed.

Da Kui and his brothers had no choice. He pointed at Chen Qingshan and said, “This is the last time. If anyone comes to my house again, I’ll break their legs.”

Chen Qingshan flared up immediately. “Who are you talking to? Say that again, I dare you!”

If it had been anyone else, the Chen brothers—the wild dogs of the family—would probably have started a fight by now. But Chen Qingshan had already beaten them into submission. Da Kui glared fiercely at him, then lifted the curtain. “Come in.”

I followed Chen Qingshan inside. I hadn’t said a word the whole time. The moment I entered the room and saw the girl, I was certain she’d been trafficked here. She had the air and grace of a girl from a big city—fashionably dressed, beautifully made up—looking entirely out of place in the squalor of Chen Shitou’s home. No family would willingly sell such a girl.

When we came in, the girl blinked her bright eyes at us. Chen Qingshan lowered his voice and said, “Yezi, maybe things aren’t as people say. Look at how well-groomed she is.”

“When something’s out of the ordinary, there’s always a reason,” I replied softly.

“Miss, let me confirm one last time. There’s no one else here now—just be honest. If you were brought here against your will, I promise I’ll get you out,” Chen Qingshan said.

“Uncle, I’ve already told you—I’m here on vacation,” she replied with a smile.

“If you’re on vacation, why don’t you ever go out? Why lock yourself inside every day? Are they keeping you from leaving?” Chen Qingshan pressed.

The girl shook her head. “Uncle, you’re overthinking it.”

Chen Qingshan looked at her, then at me, and said helplessly, “Yezi, now you see why I couldn’t do anything last time? We want to help, but she won’t let us!”

I’d been watching the exchange, just as puzzled. The girl seemed completely natural, with no signs of coercion. Yet I knew for a fact Chen Shitou had dragged her back here tied up with a rope. She couldn’t possibly have a good life in this house—so why would she lie?

Just then, the girl turned to Chen Qingshan. “Uncle, could I have a word alone with this handsome gentleman?”

Chen Qingshan was taken aback. He glanced at me, and I nodded. He muttered under his breath, “Even rescuing people depends on how good-looking you are?”

After Chen Qingshan left, the girl got up, sat by the table, and beckoned me with a bright smile that was truly dazzling. Seeing her smile, I felt as if a sudden spring breeze had swept through the room. I walked over, and she smiled at me again. “Handsome, have a seat.”

Her calmness and composure made me feel as though I was the one being rescued, not her. I smiled awkwardly and sat down.

She continued to smile, dipped her finger in the water cup, and began writing two characters on the table.

Suddenly it dawned on me—she was being cautious, using this way to communicate! I leaned in to look. She had written: Tianya.

Just as I was about to ask what that meant, she made a gesture for me to keep silent and wrote a string of numbers—it was a phone number.

In that instant, I understood. The excitement I felt was beyond words. This phone number belonged to the person who had replied to me on Tianya years ago, telling me that my father’s death was part of a ritual!

I quickly dipped my finger in water and wrote: “Why are you here?!”

She winked at me and wrote: “Investigating that matter, so don’t come here again.”

“Are you safe?” I wrote back.

“Don’t worry,” she replied.

I was about to ask more when Da Kui lifted the curtain, saw how close we were sitting, and scowled. “Are you done yet?!”

“Almost,” I replied.

He glared at me. “Hurry up, you’re getting on my nerves!”

“You should go,” the girl said softly.

I looked at her and nodded. “Be careful.”

Leaving Chen Shitou’s house, I felt elated—this was entirely unexpected. I never would have guessed that this girl was the Tianya forum user I’d searched for so long ago. Chen Qingshan noticed my obvious good mood and asked, “Yezi, what did the girl say to you? Did she confess anything?”

I hesitated, then said, “No, Chief. There’s nothing to worry about anymore. She’s just a distant relative of the Chen family, here to visit for a while. The family hasn’t really done anything to her.”

“Really?” Chen Qingshan was skeptical.

“Would I lie to you?” I said.

Chen Qingshan still looked at me in disbelief. I didn’t say much more—I was eager to get home. After saying goodbye to him, I hurried back. I still had an old laptop from university, bought secondhand for eight hundred yuan, but I’d barely used it since there was no internet in the village. Now I dug it out, set up a hotspot with my phone, and went online. I logged into Tianya and found the post I’d made years ago.

After reading it again, my earlier excitement faded, replaced by a thousand questions. In that post, I had only briefly described my father’s death and how the villagers saw him. I never mentioned the city or even the name of our village. My Tianya profile had no such information either.

So how did this girl—the Tianya user from back then—know where I was, and how did she end up at Chen Shitou’s house?

I lit a cigarette. The post had never been popular, nothing like those famous cases that go viral. It had long since sunk into obscurity, with only a handful of replies. The phone number tied to that user ID was a secret between the two of us, so no one could have impersonated her.

That girl was definitely the one who had replied to me.

But after all these years, how had she found this place, gotten into Chen Shitou’s house, and managed to protect herself from those three wild brothers? It was all a mystery to me.

After thinking it over for a long time, the only explanation I could come up with was that this user was truly extraordinary—maybe she traced my IP address back then and found me, and used some method to keep herself safe.

As I was worrying and wondering about her, I got a message from Han Xue: “How did it go?”

Han Xue was someone I trusted completely. I wanted to share the good news with her, so she wouldn’t continue to worry about the girl, and to help take her mind off things. I replied, “Wait a moment, I’ll come right over.”

I went to the school. Since I sometimes filled in as a substitute teacher, the students affectionately called me Teacher Ye. After playing with the kids for a bit, I headed to Han Xue’s office—which was really just her dorm room.

Han Xue, after all she’d been through in the past couple of days, looked even more haggard than usual. Her already pale face was almost bloodless. Still, when she saw me, she pulled up a stool and forced a smile. “Sit.”

Seeing her like this made my heart ache. I said, “I’m working on the matter with the fool—it won’t be long. But I have some good news for you.”

I told her about my visit to Chen Shitou’s house and how I’d posted on Tianya back in university. Sure enough, after hearing the story, her attention shifted. She stared at me in disbelief. “A forum user from years ago tracked you down here? And got into Chen Shitou’s house?”

“That’s right. It’s strange, isn’t it? At least now you don’t have to worry about her safety—she’s safe for the time being,” I said.