Chapter 257: Chapter 257: Wei Shan Is Rescued

After watching Zhao Jingyang walk into the distance, Wei Qing turned and returned to the Wei residence. She slipped into the kitchen and, while making a meal, pondered her next move.

’I can’t stay cooped up in this village forever. I have to find a way back to the city.’

’The fastest, most effective shortcut is to marry Zhao Jingyang.’

’Since Zhao Jingyang isn’t playing along, I’ll have to resort to other means.’

Once lunch was ready, Wei Qing brought the dishes to the table and called the Wei Family to eat.

The Wei Family quickly gathered around the dining table, but Liu Sufen was not among them.

For the past few days, Liu Sufen had been drowning in tears over her daughter’s disappearance, unable to eat or drink. She was lying in her room right now.

Wei Shuan told his eldest son, Wei Guojun, "Get some food and take it to your mother in her room."

"Alright."

Wei Guoliang prepared a bowl of food and went into the inner room on the left.

Soon, the sound of a smashing bowl, followed by sobs and curses, came from the room.

"As long as Xiao Shan isn’t back, I’m not eating! If we can’t find Xiao Shan, I don’t want to live anymore! Waaaaah..."

Wei Shuan sighed heavily and put down his chopsticks, having clearly lost his appetite as well.

Bai Chunyan urged, "Dad, this family is counting on you to hold it together. You can’t fall apart now."

"I know. You all eat. I’m going to take a walk."

With that, he clasped his hands behind his back and walked out the door.

Bai Chunyan quickly shot her younger brother-in-law, Wei Guoliang, a meaningful look.

Wei Guoliang took the hint, picking up his rice bowl and following Wei Shuan out the door.

Turning to see Wei Qing still eating with relish, Bai Chunyan couldn’t help but seethe. "The whole family is worried sick about Xiao Shan, and you’re acting like nothing is wrong."

"If not eating could guarantee Xiao Shan’s safety, I would fast for the rest of my life."

Rebuffed, Bai Chunyan huffily turned her head away and continued feeding her son.

Wei Qing lowered her head to eat, her eyes filled with mockery.

’Eat or don’t, it’d be best if she starved to death!’

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she suddenly heard Wei Guoliang shouting from outside: "Mom! Mom! They found Xiao Shan! They found Xiao Shan!!"

Wei Qing froze.

Bai Chunyan was also taken aback for a moment, then she turned and yelled toward the inner room, "Mom, they found Xiao Shan!"

Before the words had even left her mouth, Liu Sufen burst out of the room, her eyes bloodshot. She wasn’t even wearing a coat or shoes, and she was screaming "Xiao Shan!" as she ran outside.

Wei Guojun followed right behind her.

Bai Chunyan also picked up her son, following the mother and son duo.

A beat later, Wei Qing put down her bowl and chopsticks and followed the rest of the Wei Family.

Whether from panic or a guilty conscience, she tripped over the threshold as she stepped out of the main room and fell flat.

By the time she scrambled up and reached the rest of the Wei Family, she heard Wei Guoliang saying excitedly, "...Uncle Hu found her! He found her on the West Slope! Dad went to the West Slope to get Xiao Shan and sent me back to tell you!"

The knot in Wei Qing’s stomach loosened.

’Wei Shan is in a cave on the North Slope. There’s no way she could have been found on the West Slope.’

The moment she heard her daughter was on the West Slope, Liu Sufen took off running like a madwoman.

"Xiao Shan! Xiao Shan!"

The two Wei brothers followed closely behind her.

Bai Chunyan, holding her two-year-old son, couldn’t move quickly but still headed toward the West Slope.

Driven by curiosity, Wei Qing also followed them toward the West Slope.

Behind them, many villagers were also heading up the mountain in groups.

They had all heard that Wei Shan was found and were coming to see the commotion. It was the middle of lunch, so many of them were still carrying their rice bowls.

Before they even reached the West Slope, they could see Wei Shuan in the distance, running down the mountain with someone covered in mud on his back.

"Xiao Shan! Is that Xiao Shan?! Waaaaah, Xiao Shan! My Xiao Shan!"

Liu Sufen let out a wail and sprinted toward Wei Shuan.

The brothers, Wei Guojun and Wei Guoliang, also picked up their pace.

Bai Chunyan, holding her son, simply couldn’t go on. She plopped down on the ground, panting.

Looking back and seeing Wei Qing frozen to the spot, she yelled, "Go see if that’s Xiao Shan!"

’Impossible. It can’t be Wei Shan.’

Wei Qing’s eyes were glued to the person on Wei Shuan’s back; she didn’t hear a word Bai Chunyan said.

"It’s Xiao Shan! They’ve found Xiao Shan!"

As Liu Sufen’s cry rang out, the blood in Wei Qing’s veins seemed to freeze, and the world spun before her eyes.

’How is this possible?’

’I clearly buried her in the cave on the North Slope!’

As Wei Shuan drew closer, Wei Qing finally got a clear look at the person on his back.

Although she was nothing but skin and bones, with her eye sockets and cheeks deeply sunken, Wei Qing recognized her in an instant.

It really was Wei Shan!

Before she could process what was happening, Wei Shan, draped weakly over Wei Shuan’s shoulder, suddenly opened her eyes.

Upon seeing her, Wei Shan’s gaze instantly turned fierce and sharp, and she pointed a trembling finger at her.

Wei Qing was so startled she stopped breathing.

"You tricked me..."

After struggling to get those three words out, Wei Shan fell into a dead faint.

Liu Sufen flew into a rage, grabbing Wei Qing by the collar. "I knew it was you! You black-hearted, rotten-gutted monster! You’re the one who hurt Xiao Shan!"

Faced with the Wei Family’s fury and the suspicious stares of the surrounding Lotus Village villagers, Wei Qing remained calm. She was even secretly delighted.

Because she had realized something...

’That night, Wei Shan didn’t see me!’

’In other words, Wei Shan has no idea I was the one who pushed her into that pit!’

...

After receiving treatment at the town clinic, it was determined that Wei Shan was mainly suffering from dehydration and malnutrition.

After waking up, she told the police everything in detail: how she had believed Wei Qing, gone up the mountain in the middle of the night to look for money, and ended up being pushed into a pit and buried alive.

The pit was full of soft mud, and by a stroke of luck, there was a shovel inside.

It was with this shovel that Wei Shan dug and dug, day after day. When she was hungry, she ate rats and mud. Eventually, she managed to dig her way into a cave on the West Slope and crawl out.

Facing the police interrogation, Wei Qing was very composed. "I didn’t lie to Xiao Shan. I really did see those people hiding something in the cave. I even told Xiao Shan that they could come back at any time. I never expected she’d be so bold as to sneak up the mountain all by herself."

The officer’s gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s. "That’s not what you said before. You said she left on the morning of the 5th. Why did you lie?"

Wei Qing answered with an air of sincerity, "Her side of the bed was empty when I woke up. I guessed she might have gone up the mountain. I didn’t want anyone else to find out about the money, so I just blurted out a cover story for her."

"I thought Xiao Shan would come right back after getting the money, but she never returned. I even took my second brother to the cave on the North Slope to look for her, but we couldn’t find her."

"I guessed she might have been harmed by that gang. I was terrified. I was afraid they’d come after me, and I was afraid my uncle and aunt would blame me, so I didn’t dare say anything... sniffle, sniffle..."

Wei Qing wept, her performance full of sobs and tears.

...

Walking out of the police station, Wei Qing looked up at the gloomy, gray sky, and the corner of her mouth curled into a smug smile.

’The police bought it. They won’t suspect me anymore.’

After a moment’s thought, she went to the local co-op, bought a small bag of fruit candies, and planned to visit Wei Shan at the clinic.

’It would be best if Wei Shan forgave me. If not, whatever.’

’This was mainly for show—for the police and the other villagers.’

’I didn’t intentionally try to harm Wei Shan. It was her own greed that nearly got her killed.’

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