123: Chapter 3 Niujia Village, Silly Girl

Upon arriving at Niu Family Village, Meng Li found an elderly villager to ask around, learning that the misfortune of the Guo and Yang families occurred sixteen years ago.

In other words, Guo Jing and Yang Kang should be sixteen years old now, and there are still two years before the plot of Legend of the Condor Heroes officially begins.

Having reached a conclusion in his heart, Meng Li inquired about Qu Lingfeng's situation. He learned that the man had changed his name to Qu San after going into seclusion and had disappeared about ten years ago, leaving behind only a dim-witted daughter—Silly Aunt—who wandered around the village.

Qu Lingfeng's secluded residence was the village tavern, or rather an Inn, which was currently dilapidated and abandoned.

Aside from Silly Aunt taking shelter there, basically no one stayed there.

After gathering information, Meng Li did not immediately go to that dilapidated Inn to search for the Treasure Trove, but instead went to the former residences of the Guo and Yang families first.

After all, this was where the story of the Condor Heroes began. He was somewhat curious, his mindset similar to a tourist checking in at a famous landmark.

Walking to the site, Meng Li looked around and found the situation to be much as he expected.

The Guo and Yang families lived across from each other.

The Guo family home was alright; although it appeared old and worn due to the erosion of time and weather, it was still relatively intact.

The Yang family home, however, only had its courtyard walls left; the spot where the house should have been was completely empty.

Regarding this, Meng Li had a vague recollection that Wanyan Honglie, in order to win Bao Xiruo's favor, had sent people to move the entire Yang family house to his princely manor.

One had to admit, this move had the flair of an overbearing CEO.

The fact that the land of the Guo and Yang families had not been encroached upon by others even after eighteen years likely had an inseparable connection to this.

Of course, it was also related to the unstable political situation and the fact that Niu Family Village itself had plenty of land but few people.

After visiting the two "tourist attractions," Meng Li did not linger and headed straight for the village Inn.

Unexpectedly, just as he arrived, he encountered a young girl with messy hair and a filthy appearance, whose behavior was clearly abnormal at first glance.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the girl asked, looking at him.

When Meng Li saw her face clearly, he was stunned on the spot—Mo Xiaobei?!

No, it should be Silly Aunt!

It was just that the actress playing her was the same one who played Mo Xiaobei.

So, this world was the 2008 version, or rather, the Hu Ge version of the Condor Heroes world.

The reason Meng Li could be so certain was, firstly, that his memory had been strengthened after living three lives. Secondly, ever since he knew this world was the Condor Heroes, he had repeatedly recalled the several versions he had seen to confirm the specific one, and the 2008 version was among them.

In this version of the Condor Heroes, besides a few main characters like Hu Ge and Cecilia Liu, the person Meng Li had a slight impression of was Silly Aunt.

For no other reason than she had Mo Xiaobei's face, which looked familiar.

Having confirmed the version, Meng Li showed a smile and said to Silly Aunt, "My name is Meng Li. I've come here to take a rest."

As he spoke, he used his clothes as cover to take a small bag of candied fruit from his portable space, opened it, handed it to Silly Aunt, and asked, "And who are you? What are you doing here?"

Seeing there was food, Silly Aunt quickly reached out to take it and replied, "My name is Silly Aunt. This is my home. I'm here because I'm coming home."

After speaking, she took a piece of candied fruit, put it in her mouth, and said happily, "It's sweet and sour, delicious."

Meng Li smiled and said, "I see. Then can I rest at your home for a night? I won't stay for free; I'll give you more delicious food."

Silly Aunt thought for a moment and readily agreed, "Okay."

After saying that, she actively ran forward to push the door open for Meng Li.

Meng Li crossed the courtyard and walked into the house, instantly smelling a foul stench of rot, and couldn't help but frown.

Silly Aunt, however, seemed completely oblivious.

This made Meng Li feel a bit strange.

Because he remembered that in the original drama, it was Silly Aunt and Old Imp shouting about how stinky the room was that made Huang Rong, Guo Jing, and the others suspicious, leading them to discover the secret room, learn about Qu Lingfeng's affairs, and confirm Silly Aunt's identity.

But Silly Aunt's current performance...

"Don't you smell a stench?" Meng Li asked.

Silly Aunt looked dazed. "Stench? Home has always smelled like this. Is this called a stench?"

Immediately after, she added, "I can't eat in a stinky place. I'll go eat outside; it's not stinky outside."

After saying that, she backed out.

Meng Li: "..."

So it wasn't that you couldn't smell it, but that you were used to it and didn't know it was a stench.

On second thought, he felt it was reasonable.

Qu Lingfeng had been dead for nearly ten years, and Silly Aunt had stayed here without leaving. Over time, she naturally became accustomed to the smell.

As for whether it was stinky or not, her mind was not normal; she likely didn't have that concept.

The reason she shouted about the stench in the original drama was probably because she saw her playmate Old Imp say so and then imitated him.

Having figured out the reason, Meng Li said no more. Following the foul smell, he came to the side of the wine cabinet, tapped the wall a few times, and determined by the sound that it was hollow behind. Knowing he hadn't looked in the wrong place, he moved the wine cabinet aside.

Soon, the door to the secret room appeared.

Meng Li pushed the door open and then couldn't help but retreat; the stench was too overpowering!

After waiting for the smell to dissipate somewhat, he entered the secret room holding a candle.

The secret room was not large. The first things that met his eyes were two sets of skeletal remains: one had a long sword thrust into it, and the other had its femur and tibia bones separated.

Meng Li pulled out the long sword and took a closer look, finding the character 'Qu' near the hilt.

Clearly, the skeleton struck by the sword was the Imperial Guard who had been pursuing Qu Lingfeng, and the other skeleton was Qu Lingfeng.

He searched the skeleton suspected to be the Imperial Guard and found a token inscribed with: 'Bestowed by the Emperor, Martial Arts Grandee, Defense Envoy of Zhongzhou, Attendant of the Imperial Armory, Shi Yanming.'

The identities of the two skeletons were further confirmed!

Meng Li turned to look elsewhere and saw a large chest, which he assumed contained the treasures Qu Lingfeng had stolen from the imperial palace over the years.

He opened the chest and looked; as expected, a pile of gold, silver, and jewelry met his eyes.

Looking closer, there was a hidden compartment.

The second layer contained antiques such as emerald jade plates and bronze tripods.

At the very bottom were many calligraphies and paintings.

Meng Li didn't have much knowledge of these things; after a brief inspection, he waved his hand and swept them along with the chest into his portable space.

Afterward, he searched the surroundings again and found a hidden niche in the wall next to Qu Lingfeng's remains, containing a blood-stained page of paper.

Meng Li unfolded it to check and found it was Qu Lingfeng's suicide note addressed to Medicine Master Huang. The general meaning was that he had taken some calligraphies, paintings, and treasures from the imperial palace to present to Medicine Master Huang for appreciation, but was pursued by Imperial Guards and ultimately died, leaving behind a daughter.

After finishing the letter, Meng Li sighed softly and looked at the two sets of remains: "Since I have gained benefits here, I will help you both rest in peace."

The next day.

In Silly Aunt's name, Meng Li buried Qu Lingfeng's remains.

As for Shi Yanming, with the thought that the dead should be respected, he also buried him along the way.

Before Qu Lingfeng's grave, Meng Li looked at the ignorant Silly Aunt: "Silly Aunt, do you want to continue staying here, or come with me?"

"Go?" Silly Aunt let out a small sound of surprise, then swallowed the candied fruit in her mouth and asked, "Go where?"

Meng Li thought for a moment and replied, "To a place where you can have delicious food every day."

Delicious food every day?

Silly Aunt's eyes lit up: "Silly Aunt will go with you. Silly Aunt wants to eat delicious food every day."

...