Xia Tian was still in a daze when Hu Xing rushed over, swept him into her arms, and pulled his trousers down from behind.
The little boy's bottom was covered in dense red spots. Some had already turned black, while others might have oozed pus and become large scars.
Zhang Juan, who had been fidgeting all this time, spoke first. "Aunt Xia, the child was just talking nonsense! He-" She pointed at Qingmu. "Who knows what sorcery he used to make the child say those things? You can't take it seriously! Ask the child again if you don't believe me. When have I ever done anything like that?"
"No one asked you to speak!" Aunt Xia commanded authority without anger, and that single sentence frightened Zhang Juan into silence. "Li Wei, get Tiantian's father over here to see this. If he can't even manage his own household, what business does he have running a company?"
Li Wei acknowledged her and was about to leave when Qingmu suddenly walked over and whispered a few words in his ear. Li Wei hesitated, then went over to consult Aunt Xia in a low voice. Aunt Xia nodded.
After Li Wei left, the hall fell quiet for a while.
Xia Tian glanced at Qingmu and asked timidly, "Are there really crows that big?"
Qingmu smiled. "I do have a crow. Not only can he fly, he can talk, too. As for how big he'll grow in the future, I don't know. If you want to see him, you can ask her-" He pointed at Hu Xing. "Ask your big sister Hu Xing to take you."
Hu Xing pulled Xia Tian's trousers back up and held him in her arms. "It's true. This strange uncle has a talking crow at home, and he talks really well. I'll take you over to play in a few days."
Xia Tian nodded, no longer looking as tense and frightened as he had at first.
"We really have you to thank this time, Mr. Qingmu," Aunt Xia said.
Qingmu got up and returned to the sofa. He wanted to pull out his cigarettes, but after looking at his surroundings and the three women around him, he thought better of it. He rubbed his head. "Well, um... ma'am, I suppose? I wonder if I passed my test?"
Aunt Xia laughed. "You did far more than pass. Even full marks wouldn't be too much! Unfortunately, I'm just a woman and have no authority to grade you!" Then she added, "Oh, right. My name is Wu Lixia. You can also call me Mrs. Xia."
The name sounded a little familiar to Qingmu. Connecting it with her husband's surname, Xia, he suddenly thought of someone.
There weren't many people surnamed Xia among the very wealthiest, and in Wuzhong, there was probably only one whom even someone like Qingmu, who disliked joining the bustle and listening to gossip, had heard of: old Mr. Xia Wenyuan of the Xia Family, known as the foremost clan of the Three Wu.
In fact, Xia Wenyuan was much less famous than several of his sons and nephews, particularly Xia Bozhou, chairman of Huanyu International, and Xia Zhongwan, chairman of Changzhou International. These two brothers appeared on the Forbes Rich List every year, both ranking in the top thirty. But for the sake of expansion, both groups had moved their headquarters to Shenzhou, so the two men seldom appeared in Wuzhong anymore.
Yet the entire Xia Family's roots lay in Wuzhong, and most of its businesses were in the Three Wu region of Wuzhong, Wuzhou, and Wuxing. Huanyu and Changzhou were merely the Xia Family's two feelers reaching out into the world.
The mainstay of the Xia Family was still Xia Wenyuan. Although his name never appeared on the rich lists, few in the business world of the Three Wu, or even eastern China, could rival his power and influence. With all the Xia Family assets he owned, if he really were to enter the rich lists, he would probably rank among the world's wealthiest.
No wonder even Professor Mei Yiqiu had found it difficult to refuse. Though Professor Mei feared neither heaven nor earth, if he truly offended a family like the Xia Family, while he was unlikely to bring trouble upon himself as a scientist, he would certainly find his hands tied when trying to get things done in Wuzhong afterward.
This Mrs. Xia had taken good care of herself, making her actual age hard to tell; she was probably somewhere between forty and fifty. Her speech and manner did fit the position of Xia Wenyuan's wife. Since the others called her Aunt Xia, she was presumably Xia Wenyuan's second wife.
About an hour later, Li Wei returned carrying a large plastic bag, with a middle-aged man following behind him.
As soon as Zhang Juan saw them enter, she stood up and whined, "Oh, Changzheng, you're finally here! They're all ganging up on me!"
Xia Changzheng first greeted Wu Lixia. "Aunt Xia!"
Wu Lixia merely nodded.
Only then did Xia Changzheng turn to Zhang Juan. "What nonsense are you talking? Why would Aunt Xia gang up with outsiders to bully you? The old man is resting upstairs. If you disturb him, don't blame me for being harsh!" He glanced at his son Xia Tian, disgust showing in his eyes, and said with a dark expression, "Tiantian, what are you doing here? Hurry up and go home with your second mom!"
Xia Tian looked a little frightened and hid in Hu Xing's arms, trembling.
Wu Lixia said, "I asked him to come. What? Am I not allowed to see my grandnephew?"
Xia Changzheng said meekly, "Aunt Xia, that's not what I meant! It's the boy's good fortune that you like him. We couldn't be happier!" He paused, then asked cautiously, "It's just... how has Xiao Juan offended you?"
Xia Changzheng had no choice but to tread carefully. Although he ran a large real estate company, the business belonged to the Xia Family. A single word from the old man could send him packing at any time. As the old man's own nephew, he wouldn't be stripped of his shares in the company or his family dividends, but he was in his prime and had no wish to go home and retire.
Wu Lixia said, "You'll have to ask that wife of yours. Li Wei, let him hear it."
Li Wei took out a voice recorder, set it on the table, and pressed a button. Qingmu and Xia Tian's conversation came through clearly.
The longer Xia Changzheng listened, the darker his face grew. Zhang Juan wanted to stop it but didn't dare walk over.
Once it finished, Hu Xing pulled the child's trousers down again. "My dear cousin-uncle, take a good look at your son's bottom! Don't tell me there are just too many mosquitoes in your house!"
Xia Changzheng's face was as dark as Zhang Fei's and as stiff as a chopping board. He asked Zhang Juan, "What's going on here?"
Zhang Juan protested tearfully, "How would I know what's going on? It really has nothing to do with me!"
Wu Lixia said, "Enough. Stop putting on an act! Li Wei, what's that you're holding?"
Li Wei opened the plastic bag and took out a green cardboard box.
At the sight of the box, Zhang Juan cried, "How could you search my home! You..." Suddenly realizing something was wrong, she hurriedly shut her mouth.
Xia Changzheng took the box from Li Wei and opened it for a look. His hand shook, and he flung the box away.
A toy doll tumbled out. It was extremely lifelike, its body curled up like a fetus, but it had an enormous face. The face was deathly pale, with bright red blood streaming from both eyes. Its bluish-purple lips were spread wide, revealing two rows of sharp white teeth.
A horrifying doll like this was chilling enough to look at in broad daylight, let alone encounter at night.
"You found this in Zhang Juan's room?" Wu Lixia asked.
"Yes," Li Wei said. "Following Mr. Qingmu's instructions, I found it in a hidden compartment in the cabinet in her room."
Wu Lixia's and Xia Changzheng's faces darkened at the same time.
Zhang Juan, meanwhile, stared at Qingmu as though she had seen a ghost. "Impossible! He... he's lying!"
At that moment, Xia Tian, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly pointed at the doll on the floor. "Little brother, that's little brother. Look, little brother's crying again. I killed little brother. He wants me to go play with him..."