After Uncle Yang finished speaking, I pretty much understood the whole story.
"Oh, right, Yang, doesn't your wife often have nightmares? You should talk to Boss Lin and ask him for some guidance," Zhang Shifu reminded him.
"Yes, yes, yes." Uncle Yang nodded repeatedly. "It's like this: ever since Xiuyu married into the Liu Family, my wife has often had nightmares. She dreams of Xiuyu standing by her bed, bleeding from all seven orifices, constantly crying and screaming in pain. Every time my wife wakes up terrified, she cries loudly and can't go back to sleep."
"How many times has she dreamt it?" I asked.
"I can't remember how many times, but it's roughly once every three or four days, and it's always the same," Uncle Yang said.
My heart sank. "Exactly when did it start?"
As the saying goes, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night.
If it were just an occasional nightmare about her daughter, that would be normal, but for it to have been happening for three years, that's no coincidence.
As the saying goes, a mother and daughter are connected by heart. This could very well be an ominous premonition.
"It was probably... probably about three months after Xiuyu married into the Liu Family. Yes, that's about right," Uncle Yang calculated.
I asked if she still dreamt it now.
"Not recently. It seems like... it stopped about two months ago," Uncle Yang said.
Seeing that I didn't speak, Uncle Yang nervously asked, "You... do you know what's going on? Is it my daughter... my daughter, she..."
"This doesn't necessarily mean anything. It's best to go to the Liu Family and take a look," I comforted him.
"Then... then can I ask you to accompany me to the Liu Family? I heard from Old Zhang that you are a very capable person. We don't understand the Liu Family's affairs, but you definitely will," Uncle Yang said excitedly.
"Alright, then let's go together," I nodded and agreed.
Originally, I thought Liu Hao lived nearby, but Zhang Shifu drove the car directly to the city's outskirts.
"The place where the Liu Family lives now, I heard, was originally an old residence of the Cao Family. Because Liu Hao rendered outstanding service, the Cao Family gave this old residence to Liu Hao. That place is very valuable," Zhang Shifu said enviously.
"They really are rich and powerful," I said with a smile.
"Isn't that right? The Cao Family now is not what it used to be. For us, that old residence is something we couldn't earn in a lifetime, but for the Cao Family, it's just a drop in the bucket," Zhang Shifu exclaimed with a sigh.
Seeing Uncle Yang sitting there in a daze, I asked with a smile, "Uncle, what did Xiuyu usually like to do?"
"Xiuyu, she used to like to do many things, but after her younger brother went missing... alas, she only liked to do one thing, and that was to inquire everywhere about her brother's whereabouts," Uncle Yang sighed deeply.
However, mentioning his daughter seemed to open him up, and he chattered with us all the way.
The car drove for about half an hour.
"It's just ahead," Zhang Shifu stopped the car.
Ahead was a large residence with white walls and black tiles, a very old-fashioned style, probably passed down for many years.
We got out of the car and walked up.
At the entrance of the residence stood two stone lions, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, looking very fierce.
The main gate was open, and two long benches were placed at the entrance, on which sat four broad-shouldered, thick-waisted Hanzi, with fierce expressions, clearly not to be trifled with.
However, what was strange was that although it was autumn, the temperature was not low, yet these four were wearing thick clothes, heavily bundled up.
"Who are these four people?" Zhang Shifu said in surprise, letting out a sound of wonder.
"Haven't seen them before?" I asked him.
Zhang Shifu shook his head. "No, before, at most there was an old man guarding the gate, whom I knew."
"Who are you looking for?"
As we were talking, the four Hanzi saw us coming, and one of them shouted a question.
His voice was very loud and his tone was extremely unfriendly, which startled Uncle Yang, who stammered, "I... I'm looking for my daughter. This is my daughter's home..."
"What do you mean, looking for your daughter? No visitors today!" That Hanzi waved his hand, telling us to leave quickly.
Zhang Shifu hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Brother, is this Mr. Liu Hao's house?"
"Of course," that Hanzi said, rolling his eyes.
"Then that's it," Zhang Shifu said with a smile, pointing to Uncle Yang, "This is Mr. Liu Hao's father-in-law."
"Father-in-law?" That Hanzi glared at him. "Are you lying?"
"How could I be lying? You brothers must be new here, so it's normal not to recognize him. Why don't you bother to go inside and ask?" Zhang Shifu had a wide range of contacts, and he spoke much better than Uncle Yang.
That Hanzi glanced at Uncle Yang again and said coldly, "Even if he's the father-in-law, it's the same. No one can enter today."
"This... what happened?" Zhang Shifu was stunned for a moment and asked.
"Go, go, go, why so much nonsense?" That Hanzi impatiently waved his hand, pushing Zhang Shifu and Uncle Yang out.
Uncle Yang pleaded, "I'm here to see my daughter. Why don't you go inside and tell them, and we'll wait outside."
"Can't you understand human language?" That Hanzi's face darkened.
The three Hanzi sitting on the long bench also sprang to their feet, glaring at us menacingly.
Zhang Shifu and Uncle Yang were so scared that they stumbled back a few steps, nearly falling.
I supported them from behind and said with a stern face, "Don't talk to these four ghosts. Quickly spit a few times towards the doorway!"
"Ah?" Zhang Shifu and Uncle Yang were both stunned for a moment.
However, Zhang Shifu didn't dare to ask any more questions and quickly spat three times towards the direction of the main gate. Seeing this, Uncle Yang also hurriedly followed suit.
