Chapter 28 Bracelet

　　River Village was less than a hundred li from Mountain City—neither too close nor too far. After leaving the restaurant, I didn’t head back to the guesthouse. Instead, I made straight for River Village. Once I got off the bus, I hiked another twenty li or so on foot, finally arriving just as night was falling.

　　There wasn’t any place to stay in the village, so I had to find somewhere to rough it for the night. But in the barren mountains, there weren’t many good options.

　　After some searching, about four or five li outside the village, I found a big tree with a patch of grass around it, and a small river flowing nearby. I figured I’d camp here for the night and head into the village early tomorrow morning.

　　Lying under the tree, legs crossed, I stared up at the star-filled sky, while the insects in the grass chirped away. My thoughts wandered to Xu Xiaoli—I wondered how she was doing. Since she’d been discharged from the hospital, her mental state should be stable, right?

　　I drifted off to sleep with those thoughts on my mind.

　　I’m not sure how long I’d been out when I was suddenly jolted awake by the sound of shouting.“Daughter, please stop running! Come back!” an old woman’s voice rang out, filled with desperation.

　　“Heh heh, kill you, kill you!” The voice was chillingly close, like it was right beside me.

　　I snapped my eyes open, and there, not even two meters away, was a wild-haired woman charging at me with a cleaver in her hand!

　　I barely managed to roll out of the way as the blade slammed into the tree where I had just been lying.

　　I glanced at the cleaver, then back at her. Her face was twisted, eyes bloodshot, like she was under some kind of dark spell.

　　“Heh heh heh, kill you, kill you!” she repeated, almost in a trance.

　　I had no idea where she was getting this strength, but she yanked the cleaver out of the tree and came at me again, faster this time.

　　There was no way I was just going to stand there and let her take a swing. In one swift motion, I kicked off the ground, leaping nearly three meters into the air. With a mid-air flip, I landed behind her and quickly locked her arm in place. She struggled hard, but I held tight, and the cleaver clattered to the ground.

　　“Daughter, please, stop this! I’m begging you!” The old woman had caught up, sobbing and pleading.

　　"She’s out of her mind! Running around with a knife in the middle of the night—she’s gonna kill someone!" I shouted, still holding the woman in a vice-like grip.

　　“I’m so sorry, I’m so, so sorry! Please, don’t hurt my daughter!” the old woman cried, her voice trembling with fear and desperation, as she begged me for mercy.

　　"You're all gonna die, all of you! Heh heh!" The crazy woman was laughing and crying at the same time, completely out of control. I knew I couldn’t let this go on, so I knocked her out with a quick strike.

　　Her mother rushed over, cradling her daughter, sobbing as she held her.

　　I glanced at them both and said, "Ma'am, your daughter’s in a bad way. You’ve gotta keep a close eye on her—this is way too dangerous!"

　　“Xiaoli wasn’t always like this. I’m sorry, young man, I’m so sorry!” the old woman cried.

　　I froze. “Wait, Xiaoli? Xu Xiaoli?”

　　She looked at me, confused, trying to figure out who I was. "Who are you?"

　　Without wasting a second, I knelt down and brushed some hair from Xu Xiaoli’s face. “I’ve been looking for her,” I said.

　　“You’re looking for Xiaoli... why?” She seemed a little scared, so I quickly reassured her.

　　“Don’t worry, ma’am, I’m not here to cause trouble,” I said, then picked up Xu Xiaoli. “Let’s get her home first.”

　　The old lady wiped away her tears and led me back.

　　About fifteen minutes later, we arrived at Xu Xiaoli’s house.

　　Her home was pretty run-down, with a cow shed in the yard housing an old cow, along with a cart for hauling things and a stone mill. In the corner of the east wall, there was a hand pump.

　　Inside, things weren't much better—a dirt bed, two wardrobes, and a bunch of old knickknacks. I gently laid Xu Xiaoli on the bed and covered her with a blanket.

　　Her mother was still wiping her tears. “Young man, who are you?” she asked.

　　“You can call me Xiaofeng, ma’am!”

　　“Xiaofeng, do you know Xiaoli?”

　　I glanced at Xu Xiaoli and said, “I didn’t know her before, but I do now!”

　　She looked at me, a bit puzzled and still scared. “What do you want with Xiaoli?”

　　“My friend’s brother died—his name was Zhou Yong!”

　　The moment I mentioned Zhou Yong, she immediately knelt down. “He wasn’t killed by my Xiaoli! Please, don’t hurt her!”

　　I was taken aback by her reaction and quickly helped her back up. “Ma’am, you’ve got it wrong. I’m not here to cause trouble; I’m here to help you!”

　　“Help us?” She looked at me, disbelief written all over her face.

　　Not wanting to say too much, I walked over to the bed, first giving Xu Xiaoli a once-over before checking her pulse. That’s when I noticed a bracelet on her wrist.

　　The bracelet was thin and light, but beautifully made. It was clearly something special. However, to my surprise, a faint but continuous malevolent energy was seeping out from it. It wasn’t the kind of dark energy associated with ghosts; it was much weaker.

　　As if that wasn’t enough, I noticed a faint charm glowing on Xu Xiaoli's forehead.

　　“A calming charm,” I murmured softly to myself. Indeed, the charm on her forehead was just a plain, ordinary calming charm.With that thought, I gently brushed her forehead, causing the calming charm to disappear.

　　Immediately, I pulled out a dispelling charm and recited, “With a clear mind, dispel evil and malevolent energy, break!” The yellow charm suddenly straightened out.

　　Without hesitation, I pressed the charm onto Xu Xiaoli's forehead. I could see a gray mist surge out from within her, though her mother couldn’t perceive it.

　　“What did you do to Xiaoli, Xiaofeng?”

　　I didn’t respond right away. Instead, I quietly removed the bracelet from Xu Xiaoli's wrist and placed it in her mother's hands. “Ma’am, don’t let her wear this again. Find a place to bury it.”

　　“But this is a jade bracelet! It’s a nice piece; it’d be a shame to throw it away.”

　　“Unless you want your daughter to die, this bracelet will eventually take her life!”

　　She gasped, her body trembling. “How can that be? Xiaoli has always worn this...”

　　“Ahem!”

　　Xu Xiaoli suddenly coughed a couple of times and slowly propped herself up.

　　“Sweetheart!”

　　“Mom.” They rushed into each other's arms, both crying as they poured their hearts out.

　　I didn’t want to intrude, so I turned away and sat quietly to the side, my mind focused on the bracelet.

　　Xu Xiaoli's mother was right—the bracelet was a beautiful piece, worth a lot. Given Xu Xiaoli's state, it looked like it had been a gift from someone special.

　　But it had been tampered with, tainted by malevolent energy. I couldn't help but wonder if the person who gave it to her knew. If they were unaware, that could be excused; but if they had known about the problem and still gave it to her, then that was downright cruel!

　　“Did that person really want to kill Xu Xiaoli?” I thought aloud, shaking my head. After all, she had that ordinary calming charm on her forehead.

　　It was strange—she was given a bracelet imbued with malevolent energy, yet also had a calming charm placed upon her. What on earth were they trying to accomplish?

　　“I need to find a place to bury this bracelet!” Xu Xiaoli’s mother suddenly announced, her tone firm and resolute, a sharp contrast to her earlier panic.

　　“Ma’am!” I quickly called out to her, pointing at the bracelet in her hand. Then I turned to Xu Xiaoli and asked, “This bracelet was given to you by someone else, right?”

　　Xu Xiaoli shot a glance at her mother, then lowered her gaze, gripping the bed sheet tightly with both hands as she nodded slowly.

　　I could feel the simmering hatred inside her, an almost desperate rage that she seemed unwilling to acknowledge.

　　“Miss Xu?” I prompted again, gently.

　　She lifted her head and met my eyes, her voice barely above a whisper as she replied, “It was him.”