CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 50: THE LUCKY STAR IS ALSO LOST

Zhu Xiuxiu left the house, her mind racing with possible places Wu Yixiu might have gone to seek help, and she hurried off to find her.

Suisui had said Zhou Yanchen would face danger but emerge unharmed. She had to tell Wu Yixiu quickly, or the woman would die from worry.

With this thought, Zhu Xiuxiu asked around and eventually made her way to Ling Village.

In Ling Village, Wu Yixiu encountered Tiger’s mother, whose own mother was from the same village as Wu Yixiu. Tiger’s mother had also lost her child.

"What? Your son, Tiger, is also missing?" Wu Yixiu stared at her incredulously.

"Yes! And it’s not just my family. Other families have lost children too. Look, we’re all gathered here trying to figure out what to do!"

Tiger’s mother pointed towards a group of people beneath a large willow tree. "Look at those people over there," she said. "They’re all helping to search for the children. Among them is the mother of our village’s Lucky Star, Li Yanyan."

"What? Even your village’s renowned Lucky Star is missing?"

Tiger’s mother nodded vigorously. Before she could speak, they heard the sounds of people in the crowd sobbing.

Wu Yixiu and Tiger’s mother rushed over. It turned out that the parents whose children were missing had started crying out of fear and worry, and the entire area under the large willow tree was filled with the sound of weeping.

Those whose children were not missing began to console the crying parents.

"Don’t worry. Isn’t Yanyan among the missing children? She’s our Lucky Star! Perhaps it won’t be long before the children are found."

Zhao Chunxiang was among the crying parents. Hearing these words of comfort, her wails immediately ceased.

"That’s right! My little Yanyan is the Lucky Star. Whoever dares to take her will suffer great misfortune. She will definitely return safely!"

As soon as Zhao Chunxiang said this, someone immediately retorted, "If your Yanyan were really a Lucky Star, she wouldn’t have gone missing in the first place. Besides, I heard your family’s third uncle was kicked by a pig the day before yesterday while she was there. Why didn’t her good luck help your third uncle then?"

Tiger’s mother had always disapproved of the Li family bullying Xiaosuisui. However, as long as it didn’t involve her, she usually kept her opinions to herself. Thus, she neither criticized the Li family nor openly pitied Xiaosuisui, preferring to mind her own business. But now, her own child was missing. These people weren’t focused on finding the children; instead, they were pinning all their hopes on a mere infant. She found this intolerable.

"Tiger’s mother, what are you implying? It’s a well-known fact that my Yanyan is the Lucky Star. Everyone acknowledges it! Besides, she was born under a Celestial Phenomenon!" Zhao Chunxiang spoke of the Celestial Phenomenon with a proud expression, as people generally believed in fate and revered such signs.

However, Tiger’s mother countered, "On the day of that Celestial Phenomenon, your Yanyan wasn’t the only child born. Don’t forget, there was also Li Suisui!"

"Ha! Everyone knows Li Suisui is a jinx, an ill-fated solitary star! Her parents were cursed to death by her right after she was born. And look at our third branch of the family—Suisui had only been with them for a few days when they suffered a broken leg and a miscarriage! How can she possibly compare to our Yanyan?"

"Exactly! Li Suisui is dead. And since she died, the Li family has had incredibly good fortune. Not only that, but other families in our village have also started experiencing good luck."

Once these words were spoken, many people started to criticize Tiger’s mother. They called her ungrateful, reminding her that her father-in-law had only recently passed the scholar examination—an achievement they attributed entirely to Li Yanyan’s good fortune. They warned her that if she kept calling Li Suisui a jinx, her own family would surely suffer misfortune, and she should stop spreading such nonsense. They firmly believed that all the children would return safely thanks to Li Yanyan’s luck.

Seeing everyone gang up on Tiger’s mother, Wu Yixiu silently turned and walked away.

"Yixiu! I finally found you."

After walking some distance, just as she was approaching Baiyun Town, Wu Yixiu heard Zhu Xiuxiu’s voice call out from behind her.

Wu Yixiu stopped and turned to look at her.

"What are you doing here? Your Suisui isn’t missing!"

Zhu Xiuxiu knew Wu Yixiu was still angry with her and quickly said, "I know you’re upset, but I have some news. I thought I should tell you first."

"What news? Is it about my Yanchen? Has he come home? Tell me, quickly!" Wu Yixiu became agitated, grabbing Zhu Xiuxiu’s arm and questioning her urgently.

"Don’t panic, listen to me first. Someone said that your Yanchen will face danger but will ultimately be unharmed."

"Danger... but unharmed? What does that mean?" Wu Yixiu asked reflexively, only understanding the meaning after she had spoken. "Does it mean what I think? He’ll be alright, won’t he?"

Zhu Xiuxiu nodded.

Only then did Wu Yixiu release a deep sigh of relief. She then pressed further, "Who told you this? Do you know who took my Yanchen?"

Zhu Xiuxiu was momentarily speechless. She then helplessly shook her head. Seeing Wu Yixiu utterly exhausted from searching for so long and traveling such a great distance, she felt a pang of pity and decided to speak.

"I won’t hide it from you. My seventh uncle is a Divine Hunter, and he’s investigating this very case. I’ve seen you searching for so long without any news; you must be exhausted. I think you should come back with me. My uncle should be home by now. You can talk to him; perhaps he can find some clues!"

Hearing Zhu Xiuxiu’s words, Wu Yixiu thought they made sense. She nodded in agreement and started to walk back with her.

As they walked, Wu Yixiu became too exhausted to continue. Zhu Xiuxiu bent down, offering to carry her. Wu Yixiu hesitated.

"If I carry you, we’ll get there faster. You can see my uncle sooner, and we can find Yanchen earlier."

Hearing this, Wu Yixiu allowed Zhu Xiuxiu to carry her on her back.

"I heard that Li Yanyan, the Lucky Star of Ling Village, has also disappeared," Wu Yixiu suddenly said.

Zhu Xiuxiu’s steps faltered for a moment, but she said nothing. After a brief pause, she continued walking.

"They say she has good luck. Everyone says that because she’s among them, all the missing children might return safely."

Zhu Xiuxiu stopped again, grinding her teeth in frustration.

"Hmph! Lucky Star? A family as unscrupulous as theirs, how could they be blessed enough to have a Lucky Star? It’s a blessing from their ancestors that they didn’t give birth to a jinx instead!"

They were capable of burying a child alive; they’ll face retribution sooner or later.

Honestly, why did I tell Big Brother and the others so early about discovering Suisui’s ability to make her words come true? If I had known I couldn’t act rashly later, I should have had Suisui curse that old Li family a hundred times over.

As she was thinking this, she heard Wu Yixiu, on her back, exclaim in surprise, "You know, they say Ling Village actually does have a jinx, also from that Li family. But for some reason, that child died at a young age."

Zhu Xiuxiu stopped, making a motion as if to put Wu Yixiu down.

"That poor child. I’m old acquaintances with Tiger’s mother from that village. I heard before that because the child had no parents, she was branded with that name and eventually tormented to death."

Zhu Xiuxiu silently continued carrying Wu Yixiu forward.

"How could that family be so heartless? I heard from Tiger’s mother that their family often wouldn’t feed that child for days and frequently beat and scolded her. They even made her do heavy labor. Anything good was always given to that Li Yanyan. Just a few days ago, under the blazing sun, that child was finally tormented to death."

Wu Yixiu chattered on from her back, while Zhu Xiuxiu walked onward in silence.

"It’s better that she’s gone. In a family like that, the child would have only suffered even if she had lived."

"I heard that a few days ago, their third son, while slaughtering a pig, got kicked and injured by it. He still can’t get out of bed. They said the Lucky Star was right there at the scene. Xiuxiu, do you think that Li Yanyan is really the Lucky Star? Will my Yanchen really come back safely because of her?"