"Little monkey, what did you call me? Aunt Ma? I think you're itching for a beating! Have you forgotten how I used to teach you?"
Madam Ma's almond-shaped eyes narrowed, a fierce glint in them. Her face was flushed, a sign that those who knew her temperament understood she was getting angry. Those who didn't might have thought she was in heat.
I had mixed feelings for Madam Ma, both love and hate.
I loved her because she had always been good to me since I was little. I hated her because she constantly wanted me to be her husband. Although she was quite beautiful, arguably the most stunning woman in the village, the nearly ten-year age gap was something I simply couldn't accept!
Speaking of Madam Ma, her life hadn't been easy. She had only been married into our village for three days when she caused her husband's death. That's why she tearfully sought out my master back then, wanting to know the reason so she could be more careful in the future.
My master wasn't someone who would tell fortunes for just anyone. Coincidentally, Madam Ma had asked when my master was drunk, so he casually fabricated a reason, telling her that her husband had a congenital heart condition and died from shock.
As the village's semi-divine figure, my master's prestige was unquestioned. Although Madam Ma was half-believing and half-doubting this assessment, she accepted it as true due to my master's reputation.
They say that troubles often surround a widow's door. Despite Madam Ma's fiery temper, she couldn't withstand the constant instigation from others behind her back, with whispers of "knocking on a widow's door at night" and "carrying water for her." Every man who desired her had tried their luck. In the end, Madam Ma, unable to bear the gossip any longer, gritted her teeth and decided to marry the honest man of the village, Old Ma, to settle down.
For this, a group of the village's "dogs" would often gather and sing, "The bride is married, but the groom is not me," to express their frustration.
Madam Ma was more attractive than some of the young girls and wives in our village. Before Old Ma could even get into bed, he suffered a stroke and became paralyzed right there on the bed.
To prove she wasn't a jinx, Madam Ma devoted herself to taking care of Old Ma. However, fate was not on her side, and after a year, Old Ma also passed away.
Enraged, Madam Ma went to my master's house and made a huge scene, accusing him of miscalculating her fortune. As a renowned Yin-Yang master in the surrounding ten villages, my master naturally wouldn't admit his calculations were wrong.
Instead, he argued with Madam Ma, trying to reason with her. The result was a miserable defeat. I was twelve years old that year, and Madam Ma was twenty. To prove that my master's fortune-telling was a fraud, she insisted that I become her child groom.
Although I was young then, the changes in my family had made me more mature than other children my age, so I always objected. However, because she had pestered my master to no end, he "reluctantly" agreed, but with one condition: I had to be eighteen.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but shiver. With my master gone, was Madam Ma going to make me fulfill my vow today?
I, this young master, was still a virgin! To be given to Madam Ma so easily, wouldn't I be at a huge disadvantage?
"Oh, Sister Ma, you see, I was so agitated just now, calling you uncle and then grandpa, it just slipped out. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against a child. I'll slap myself. Is one slap enough? If not, two, three..."
After I slapped myself hard six or seven times, Madam Ma finally smiled at me.
"Oh, my dear little brother, please stop hitting yourself, or sister will feel heartbroken. Our wedding day is not far off. Seeing you mistreat yourself like this makes me feel so distressed..."
You're almost heartbroken to death, but I'm about to vomit. You're almost thirty years old, yet you insist on pretending to be an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl. How disgusting!
Although I felt extremely disgusted in my heart, as the most well-informed person in the village, I couldn't afford to offend Madam Ma right now. Otherwise, getting information would be harder than climbing to heaven.
"Sister Ma, my dear sister, you are the most well-informed person in our village. Can you tell me where my master went?"
I looked at her with hopeful eyes.
"Your master?"
Madam Ma was taken aback, her brows furrowed as if she were trying to recall something. After a moment, she replied, "Isn't your master always at home? How come your master is lost?"
What do you mean my master is lost? He's not even home! But why does it feel like Madam Ma doesn't know where my master went either?
I was still unwilling to give up and pressed on, "Sister Ma, I've been away for a month. When I returned, my master was nowhere to be found. I bought him some good things, and I should at least show my filial piety. As a good sister, I haven't forgotten you either. Look what I brought for you?" Saying this, I took out a heart-shaped box from my pocket. Bai Ling'er had insisted on eating chocolate on the train. After buying it, she ate two bites and then said it was bitter. I couldn't bear to waste it, so I put it in my pocket. It was perfect for tricking Madam Ma.
Madam Ma was stunned at first, then her face lit up with joy. She was about to open the gift box, but I stopped her.
"This gift is a bit special. Sister Ma can take it home and look at it slowly. If you open it now, it won't be a surprise." Su Dan Novel Network
Madam Ma giggled, reached out and stroked my chin, then tucked the chocolate box into her ample bosom. After looking around, she said in a low voice, "Qingyun, did your master offend someone?"
My master offended someone?
That shouldn't be right!
In this small territory of Northeast China, my master might not be someone whose stomp would shake the ground, but any itinerant immortal or geomancer would give him some face.
It's not that he had friends everywhere, but he could still make his voice heard in this area. Otherwise, I wouldn't have let Bai Ling'er go and catch wild spirits to eat.
"What do you mean? You know my master's prestige. In this area, it's more likely that others would offend him, not the other way around. How could he possibly offend someone?"
I wasn't bragging about my master; he truly had the capability.
"Tsk, an old rogue with a young rogue. Who knows which girl they were with, and now someone's come looking for them."
Madam Ma's words almost made me choke on my own spit. What do you mean an old rogue with a young rogue? My master has never done anything outrageous!
As for sleeping with girls, are you kidding me? How old is my master? Would he still have a junior brother for me?
My face darkened, and I said sternly, "Sister Ma, I'm just asking if you know. If you know, say you know. If you don't know, say you don't know. Don't badmouth my master in front of me, or don't blame me for being impolite..."
"You..."
Madam Ma's eyes narrowed, and she was about to throw a tantrum again. But after touching the box in front of her ample bosom, she started smiling again.
"Little brother, don't say I didn't warn you. Your master was taken away by a group of people in black. Those people are very fierce. My husband, who has been unconscious for ten years, was also taken with them. If I hadn't woken up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, I wouldn't have noticed... I advise you not to look for your master anymore. It's more important to marry me quickly and continue the Song family lineage..."
I didn't pay attention to Madam Ma's rambling afterwards, as my attention was completely captured by her earlier words.
People in black? Holding guns? Who could they be?
If they were ordinary police, my master's connections would have resolved it with a single phone call. But from what Madam Ma said, my master not only didn't resist, but even my father was taken away by them. This clearly indicated a force that my master couldn't resist.
Could it be that some big shots from the capital made a move?