Chapter 17 : Father and Daughter of the Jiang Family
Chapter 17: Father and Daughter of the Jiang Family
Shen Qingzhou walked over and opened the door, only to find that standing outside were not just Jiang Xinyue and her daughter, but also a gray-haired old man.
The moment Shen Qingzhou opened the door, the old man began sizing him up from head to toe without pause.
“Master Shen, good morning. Sorry to disturb you.”
Compared to the day before, Jiang Xinyue looked even more haggard—listless, her eyes red and swollen, as though a gust of wind could knock her over.
“It’s fine. Come in and talk.” Shen Qingzhou stepped aside to let them in.
“This is my father, and also Xiao Qiu’s grandfather.”
“Mr. Shen, hello. My name is Jiang Haichao,” the old man introduced himself.
He reached out and lightly shook Shen Qingzhou’s hand.
Jiang Haichao’s back was slightly hunched, his face thin, wearing black-rimmed glasses, with an air of refinement about him. When he spoke, his voice was soft and gentle, like that of an educated man.
And in fact, that was indeed the case.
“I work at the cultural center. I used to be involved in the collection, organization, preservation, and research of folk culture. People like Mr. Shen have been recorded many times, but none have ever been verified. It’s all due to cultural backwardness and the ignorance of the common people…”
“Dad, you promised me…”
It was obvious that Jiang Haichao was questioning Shen Qingzhou’s abilities, doubting whether what he claimed—letting his daughter see her child—was real.
Shen Qingzhou ignored him. Instead, he stuck his head out the door and said to Xiao Qiu, who was counting the steps, “Stop playing and come in.”
“Okay~”
A child was still a child. Even in death, she remained carefree.
Jiang Haichao was instantly choked into silence and could say no more. Seeing Shen Qingzhou close the door, he immediately pretended nothing had happened and began looking around the room.
As soon as the door was shut, Jiang Xinyue’s gaze swept across the empty surroundings, and she asked worriedly, “Did Xiao Qiu come in?”
“She’s in. She’s standing right next to you. Sit down and let’s talk.”
As for Jiang Haichao’s earlier doubtful remarks, Shen Qingzhou did not take them to heart at all.
Over the years in this line of work, he had seen plenty of such skepticism. Jiang Haichao was neither the first nor would he be the last.
“Sorry, the place is a bit messy. I haven’t had time to tidy up,” Shen Qingzhou said casually.
But at this moment, Jiang Xinyue had no mind to care about such things.
As soon as Shen Qingzhou sat down, she spoke almost impatiently, “Master, the day before yesterday I carefully asked Xiao Qiu about how she died. Although she wasn’t very clear, I still managed to find the murderer based on the clues she gave… but… but…”
Tears streamed down Jiang Xinyue’s cheeks, pattering as they fell.
Jiang Haichao looked at his daughter with eyes full of heartache, gently patting her back, yet not knowing how to comfort her.
“I’m fine… I’m fine… I’m doing well…” Jiang Xinyue choked as she pushed her father’s hand away.
“That scumbag—I called the police, and even if they arrest him, so what? For him, it’s practically a good thing. Once he’s inside, he’ll have food and shelter… But I hate it! I’m not willing to accept this!”
At this point, Jiang Xinyue gritted her teeth, her eyes wide with fury.
A mother who once loved her daughter deeply now hated just as fiercely.
Even Xiao Qiu, who had been comforting her mother at the side, was a little frightened.
Jiang Xinyue was already hysterical, on the verge of collapse. At this moment, no amount of comfort would help.
So Shen Qingzhou did not speak. Instead, he took out a brand-new paper figure, picked up a worn brush from the side, and casually drew a few strokes on it.
Then he pulled open a drawer, took out a stick of incense and lit it. Holding the paper figure between his fingers, he circled it counterclockwise around the incense three times, murmuring under his breath.
Xiao Qiu immediately leaned her little head over. The child was very clever—she had already learned to anticipate.
So Shen Qingzhou directly slapped the paper figure onto her forehead. In an instant, Xiao Qiu appeared inside the room.
Seeing this scene, Jiang Haichao’s eyes widened in shock, his jaw dropping.
Just moments ago, he had been thinking of asking Shen Qingzhou to help comfort his daughter, so he had been watching all of Shen Qingzhou’s strange actions closely.
“This…”
Jiang Haichao rubbed his eyes, thinking he was hallucinating—or perhaps something had been added to the incense to cause illusions. Just as he was about to say how impossible this was—
He heard Xiao Qiu cry out, “Mom, don’t cry, don’t be like this, I’m scared, waaah…”
At Xiao Qiu’s cry, Jiang Xinyue, who had been immersed in grief and anger, immediately snapped back to her senses and pulled her daughter tightly into her arms.
“Xiao Qiu… Mommy’s precious baby… wuwu… it’s all Mommy’s fault… Mommy didn’t take good care of you… it’s all my fault…”
An overwhelming sense of guilt flooded over Jiang Xinyue like a tide, washing away her anger.
“Xiao Qiu… Xiao Qiu…”
Jiang Haichao was also in tears, reaching out as if to touch Xiao Qiu.
At this moment, he no longer cared whether this was an illusion.
Everything felt far too real—so real that he was completely immersed in it, unwilling to wake up.
Jiang Xinyue was his only daughter, and Xiao Qiu his only granddaughter. In truth, he cherished this little treasure even more than Jiang Xinyue did.
Ever since Xiao Qiu went missing, Jiang Xinyue had thrown herself entirely into searching for her daughter, free of any other worries—because he and his wife had been silently supporting her from behind.
With her daughter’s sudden appearance, Jiang Xinyue gradually regained control of her emotions.
A qualified mother always showed her best side to her child.
Holding Xiao Qiu in her arms, Jiang Xinyue continued the earlier topic.
“So I hope Master can help me. I want him to receive the punishment he deserves. Otherwise, I won’t have peace for the rest of my life…” Jiang Xinyue said, her voice trembling.
But before she could finish, Jiang Haichao immediately cut in, “If payment is needed, I’ll cover it. Any amount.”
After speaking, Jiang Haichao deliberately emphasized his words.
Just as he had said when they first met, he had indeed participated in the collection and organization of folk culture.
So he knew very well that these “unorthodox techniques” all required a corresponding price. If his daughter wanted revenge, she would have to pay a price—perhaps even suffer backlash.
Thus, Jiang Haichao took the matter upon himself. He would bear all the costs. After all, he was already old. At worst, he would trade his life for a life—as long as his daughter could live well in the future.
Shen Qingzhou was unaware of his thoughts. If he knew, he would probably laugh at the old man’s naivety—because here, death was never the end.
“Oh right, this is for you.”
At this moment, Jiang Xinyue took out a receipt and handed it to Shen Qingzhou. This was the agreed payment.
Shen Qingzhou glanced at it. It wasn’t one hundred thousand, but one hundred twenty thousand.
“We agreed on one hundred thousand. There’s no need for you to give an extra twenty thousand,” Shen Qingzhou said, setting the receipt down.
In fact, he had already known—he had received a message from the welfare institute’s accountant yesterday at noon.
“It’s for the children. Consider it my way of accumulating merit for Xiao Qiu,” Jiang Xinyue said.
Hearing this, Shen Qingzhou said nothing more. From the way Jiang Haichao and Jiang Xinyue were dressed, their family wasn’t extraordinarily wealthy, but they were certainly not poor.
“Oh, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask Master to help with,” Jiang Xinyue continued.
“Go ahead.”
“I want to ask you to help me find Xiao Qiu’s remains… We can’t just leave her exposed in the wilderness… I asked Xiao Qiu, but even she couldn’t explain clearly, so I’d like to trouble you to take action…” She held her daughter tightly, her voice trembling, the end of her sentence almost inaudible.
Jiang Haichao, who had been sitting quietly to the side listening, clenched his fists tighter and tighter.
“That’s no problem,” Shen Qingzhou agreed without hesitation.
Since he had accepted the payment, he would see the matter through. For him, finding remains was not difficult.
Whether by tracking the soul through the corpse or locating the corpse through the soul, he had his methods.
The only difficulty was if the remains had already turned to ashes—then nothing could be done.
Just like Su Xi’s husband. When he accepted that commission, the man had already been dead for nearly a year, his ashes scattered into the river. Even with heaven-defying abilities, there was nothing he could do but sigh in regret.
“As for your desire to take revenge on the murderer, that’s also not a problem. But to what extent do you want it done?”
As Shen Qingzhou spoke, he habitually reached into his pocket, only to remember that he had already run out of cigarettes.