The next day, Tang Li and the others woke up very early. The sun had just risen, and it was still raining outside.
The three of them walked west with umbrellas.
At this moment, many families were not up yet. The doors were all tightly shut. When some people saw the three of them, they would ask where Butler Yang was going.
Butler Yang would stop and tell the people who asked, “Go to my old house.”
When they heard this, they would say, “Your old house is in ruins. It’s useless even if you go. Plus it’s raining today, you’d better not go.”
Butler Yang would say, “It’s alright. I’m just going over to take a look.”
After the three of them walked for a while, Qi Yihan said to Butler Yang, “These people are worried that you’ll be tormented by the old memories again once you see the house.”
“I know.” Butler Yang’s expression was very calm. “But I’m determined to find my sister.”
The three of them walked for nearly half an hour. When they walked out of the street and reached the entrance of the village, they saw large paddy fields and a lotus pond.
Between the paddy field and the lotus pond stood a few houses.
Butler Yang led the two of them along a limestone road. There was a house at the end of the limestone road. Most of it had collapsed, covered in weeds.
The three of them walked to the courtyard in front of the house and stood there. Tang Li asked, “When was this house burned down?”
“It’s been twenty-five years.”
Then, he added, “On the day the house was burned down, my parents happened to go out to look for my sister. I was at school. When I rushed back, the fire had already been put out by the people in the village, but pretty much everything was gone.”
Tang Li looked at the house and took two steps forward.
Qi Yihan and Butler Yang followed.
Qi Yihan asked Butler Yang, “How did this fire start?”
“At that time, the rice was harvested and there was a lot of straw in the field. A few children grabbed some straw behind my house to burn grasshoppers and the fire spread to my house.”
When he said this, Butler Yang’s tone was mixed with emotions. It was obvious that he was still brooding over what happened at that time. “Although we had already moved away at that time, the house was filled with my sister’s stuff. We didn’t dare to let Mom know. Later on, Mom found out and her condition worsened. Soon, Dad and Mom went out to look for my sister again and died in an unexpected accident.”
Hearing that, Qi Yihan patted Butler Yang on the shoulder to comfort him.
Tang Li said to the two of them, “I’m going to use a special method to see if this house has anything connected with your sister.”
With that, a talisman appeared in her hand. She threw the talisman into the air, and a thick fog suddenly surrounded this area.
Qi Yihan looked at Tang Li calmly and gestured for Butler Yang to move back.
Tang Li took out the copper bell that she had not used for a long time.
When the copper bell was rung, a crisp bell sound was heard. A few seconds later, the house in front of them was quickly restored. Then, a scene that Butler Yang was familiar with appeared.
The boy inside was only six years old and the girl was four years old.
The little girl looked especially loveable. She had two braids and a sweet smile.
Butler Yang couldn’t help but call out, “Sister.”
The little girl actually looked at Butler Yang.
Butler Yang’s heart started racing.
At that moment, Tang Li said, “Since you and your sister can still sense each other, it means that your sister is still alive. Quick, ask her where she is.”
Butler Yang’s heart skipped a beat and his voice trembled. “Sister, where are you? Brother has been looking for you. Tell me and I will come and bring you back immediately.”
The little girl seemed to not understand him. She tilted her head and made a thinking gesture.
Butler Yang was a little anxious, so he called Tang Li, “Madam.”
“Don’t be anxious.”
After saying that, Tang Li continued to shake the copper bell in her hand.
As the copper bell rang, the little girl suddenly hugged her head and squatted down to cry.
Butler Yang became even more anxious. “What happened to my sister? Why is she in so much pain?”
Tang Li’s expression turned solemn, and she shook the copper bell even faster.
After hugging her head and crying in pain for a while, the little girl stood up and pointed in one direction.
“Madam, is my sister telling us something?”
“Yes.”
The little girl’s lips twitched a few times before she stopped and lowered her hand.
“Yingying said she’s afraid.” Butler Yang had learned lip-reading before and understood what the little girl said. “She said I’m afraid.”
Butler Yang looked at Tang Li and became even more anxious. “Madam, my sister said she’s afraid, but she didn’t say where she was. What should we do? Can we really find her?”
“She already told us,” Tang Li said and put away the bell.
The bell was put away and the scene disappeared. The house in front of them returned to ruins.
Before the fog dissipated, someone was talking in the distance.
“Why is it suddenly foggy? It’s really foggy.”
“We can’t even see the road in this fog. Let’s go back.”
“Alright, it won’t be good if we fall into the lotus pond.”
The two voices gradually faded away.
At that moment, Tang Li said, “Let’s go back too.”
On the way back, the three of them did not speak.
When they entered Butler Yang’s house and the courtyard door was closed, Butler Yang asked Tang Li impatiently, “Madam, my sister was pointing southwest just now. Can we find her as long as we look in that direction?”
“Yes.” Tang Li thought for a moment and told him, “But you have to be prepared.”
Butler Yang was in so much discomfort that it became difficult to breathe. He nodded. “I understand. As long as my sister is still alive, it’s already a good thing.”
Tang Li nodded and did not say anything else.
Soon, someone from Butler Yang’s Third Uncle’s family came to call the three of them over for breakfast.
Butler Yang said to Tang Li, “I have to stay here for a few days. We’ll leave after my third uncle is buried.”
Qi Yihan and Tang Li had no objections, but the two of them did not plan to go for breakfast. Qi Yihan said, “We can go over for lunch, but we won’t go in the morning and at night.”
Butler Yang nodded. “Alright, I’ll come back and cook for you.”
“No need. We’ll prepare the food ourselves.”
Butler Yang wanted to say that there was no reason for them to prepare it, but looking at Qi Yihan, he could tell that Qi Yihan wanted to do the cooking for his wife, so he didn’t say anything else. “Then I’ll help you prepare the ingredients.”
