Chapter 490: Chapter 490: Being Watched by Snakes?

Zhao Weiming and his son parted on bad terms after an argument. Zhao Weiming sighed deeply, a sudden sense of failure washing over him. ’I’ve failed in his upbringing,’ he thought. ’After his mother passed away, I should have found another woman to manage the household. Then I wouldn’t have been too busy with work to look after him.’ But now, Zhao Lianfeng wouldn’t even listen to him, having grown so headstrong and stubborn.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Weiming’s thoughts drifted to Li Wan. Realizing today was her wedding day, he sighed and returned to his room.

Meanwhile, the private kitchen was incredibly lively. The Li family’s relatives and friends, neighbors from the residential compound, Gu Xinsheng and Li Wan’s colleagues, and Fu Yuzhen’s family, who had traveled all the way from the Northeast, filled more than a dozen tables. Even the courtyard was packed with them.

The food on the tables was just as lavish: wine-braised duck, four-joy meatballs, braised pork belly, potato and wild rabbit stew, clay pot pork belly with pickled cabbage, red-braised spareribs...

With eight meat dishes and four vegetable dishes, the wedding guests couldn’t stop praising the feast.

The Li Family members, close relatives, and important guests were all seated in the private kitchen’s main hall. Su Qing sat with Fu Yuzhen’s family. Ever since Li Wan had returned to Beijing, she had gotten back in touch with Fu Yuzhen. Though they hadn’t seen each other in years, their bond was as strong as ever, and they wrote to each other constantly. Last year, Li Wan, accompanied by Gu Xinsheng, had even made a trip back to Xiyuan County to reunite with Fu Yuzhen. It was only natural that Fu Yuzhen’s family was invited to Beijing for Li Wan’s wedding.

"Qingqing, your mother’s bitter days are finally over," Fu Yuzhen said to Su Qing with a sigh, watching as Li Wan and Gu Xinsheng made their rounds, toasting each table. Seeing the bright smile on Li Wan’s face, she continued, "Back then, I felt so sorry for my dear friend. Su Shengjun’s family wasn’t great, but Sheng Jun himself was a wonderful man and completely devoted to your mother. It’s just a pity that the good die young. His sudden passing was so shocking and unexpected. But thank goodness, Li Wan has found new happiness now."

"Yes," Su Qing said with a smile. "Uncle Gu is a very good person. He’s wonderful to my mom and me, and my grandparents are very fond of him too."

"I can tell," Fu Yuzhen said, smiling. "Things will only get better from here."

"Mhm." Su Qing nodded.

Beside them, Pan Youming chimed in with a laugh, "Definitely! Life is only going to get better. Mom, I really hope we can move to Beijing soon."

It was the first time the two Pan Family brothers had been to Beijing. After arriving two days prior, Su Qing had shown their family around the city. The brothers’ eyes could hardly take it all in, and they had been clamoring to move to Beijing ever since. This suggestion actually made Fu Yuzhen and her husband consider it seriously.

Seeing this, Su Qing suggested that they could buy a house in Beijing while the real estate prices were still affordable, then look for an opportunity to transfer their jobs to the city. That way, the whole family could settle down in Beijing.

Fu Yuzhen and her husband were genuinely tempted by the proposal. Fu Yuzhen, in particular, liked the idea of settling in Beijing, as it would mean she could see her good friend more often.

The couple discussed it and decided to first look into the possibility of a work transfer when they returned home. If they could really move their jobs to Beijing, they would come back to look at houses.

Li Wan’s wedding went off without a hitch. Afterward, Su Qing returned to Xiyuan County with Fu Yuzhen’s family. As for her reason for going back, Su Qing simply told Fu Yuzhen that she had some business to take care of in Lihua Village.

Upon arriving in Xiyuan County, Su Qing bid farewell to Fu Yuzhen’s family of four and set off in the direction of Lihua Village.

However, Su Qing didn’t return to Lihua Village. Instead, she took a detour and went straight into Baihua Mountain.

Her memory of the cliff’s location, as described by Du Xiangbao, had faded over the years. However, from her previous excursions into Baihua Mountain to look for medicinal herbs, Su Qing had a good grasp of the general terrain. She had a rough idea of where Du Xiangbao’s cliff was and could pinpoint its approximate location. The only thing was, she had never been to the bottom of that cliff before. She never imagined that it might be the place where Su Jian Country’s remains lay.

Following the general direction in her mind, Su Qing entered Baihua Mountain and headed straight for the cliff.

Once she reached the top of the cliff, Su Qing fashioned a thick vine into a rope and began to rappel slowly down the rock face.

The cliff was over a hundred meters high and almost completely vertical. However, the cliff face was lush with vegetation, covered in wild grasses and flowers. There was also a crooked tree growing from it, but it seemed to have been struck by lightning and was now dead wood. To Su Qing’s pleasant surprise, she found two decades-old Lingzhi mushrooms growing on the dead tree, so she picked them along the way.

The bottom of the cliff was overgrown with weeds and wild trees, with barely any clear ground visible. The shortest weeds were half a person’s height, to say nothing of the trees that had been growing at the base of this cliff for who knows how many years.

After reaching the bottom, Su Qing immediately scanned the surrounding area. However, aside from the skeletons of a few small animals, she found no trace of human remains.

Su Qing frowned slightly at the sight. She looked up at the top of the cliff. A fall from such a height would be impossible for an ordinary person to survive.

And yet, she couldn’t find any remains that might belong to Su Jian Country. ’Did he survive the fall? Was his body dragged away by wild animals? Or is this the wrong cliff entirely?’

Uncertain, Su Qing decided to search the area at the base of the cliff first. If she couldn’t find anything here, she would look for other similar cliffs. In any case, she still hoped to find the remains of this body’s biological father and give him a proper burial.

Although it was winter, it wasn’t cold at the bottom of the cliff. In fact, the temperature was quite high.

Suddenly, Su Qing noticed that there seemed to be more and more snakes around her.

’Hmm? The snakes here aren’t hibernating?’

She saw them coiled on rocks or hanging from tree branches, all of them watching her and flicking their tongues from time to time. But Su Qing realized they didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking her. It felt more like they were monitoring her.

The thought surprised her. ’Was she being monitored by a group of snakes?’

Since the snakes weren’t attacking, Su Qing decided to just pretend they weren’t there. She didn’t like snakes, nor did she like to eat snake meat. But as long as they didn’t attack her first, she had no desire to kill them wantonly.

To be fair, these snakes lived at the bottom of the cliff. She was the outsider who had suddenly barged into their territory.

However, as Su Qing moved, the snakes moved with her, slithering along as if to follow her wherever she went. But still, they made no move to attack.

This struck Su Qing as very strange. She decided to use her control over the surrounding plants to see what lay further ahead.

And then, Su Qing was stunned by what she saw!

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