The elder woman took a sip of water and checked the time. Today was her daughter's day off, and she had planned to finish selling vegetables early and accompany her for hotpot or barbecue. However, this incident had occurred, filling her with a sense of loss that tinged her voice with melancholy.
"Everyone at home thought my grandfather wouldn't survive this scorching summer that could kill a person alive. But on a sweltering day when several people had already died, my grandfather, who had been confined to his room due to illness, managed to walk out of his dim abode on his own.
No one knew how he managed to dress himself in plain clothes and find his walking stick, which hadn't been used for half a year, to leave his room. I only know that in my memory, my grandfather spoke a great deal that day, his face radiant. He even gestured as he recounted Zhao Zilong's seven in-and-seven-out charge at Changban Slope, as if he had returned to his youth.
The family was overjoyed, but no one expected that day to be the last day of his life.
That evening, at dinner, my uncle got up to call my grandfather. As soon as he entered the room, he smelled a strange odor. I still remember that smell today; it wasn't the scent of an old man, but a scent that carried death.
My uncle let out a startled cry, and I was the first to rush outside, diving straight into my grandfather's room. I remember that smell so clearly even now. If I had to describe it, it would be similar to the smell of a mourning hall left for three days – a mixture of the scent of decay and incense, paper money, filling the entire room.
My uncle saw me run in and kept pushing me out, his expression seeming to say, 'You shouldn't be here, how could you be here?' My weight had become rather alarming then. After being pushed a couple of times, and with the air not circulating well, my uncle and I were drenched in sweat. But at that moment, my grandfather called my name. My uncle froze instantly, his grip loosening. I slid like a dog face-planting right under my grandfather's bed!
My uncle stood there, frozen, while I scrambled onto the bed. My parents had also rushed into my grandfather's room at that very moment. But then, by the faint moonlight, I saw the most terrifying object of my life!"
As she spoke, the elder woman trembled involuntarily, her face drained of color, as if suffering from heatstroke. Her lips parted and closed, her teeth flashing with a deathly white gleam!
The security guard had already cowered behind Ren Yuanhao, his usual proud demeanor completely gone. The scorching evening wind remained fierce, and curled leaves swayed dejectedly.
She gulped down nearly half a bottle of water, as if gathering courage to continue.
"My grandfather's hands were almost withered, as dry as the cured preserved meat for the New Year in the south! Yet, they had been perfectly fine earlier!
I was very scared then, but my grandfather's emaciated hand clutched mine tightly, as cold as if devoid of warmth. His finger bones, sharp as blades, tore at my flesh.
My parents stepped forward, intending to pull me out, but for some reason, my grandfather's grip had become so strong. They struggled for a while but couldn't pry me away. It was then that my grandfather weakly uttered two words, 'the ring.' My parents, trembling, removed that ring from his right hand. Da Feng Novel Network.
My grandfather held that ring and spoke to me at length, but all his vitality from the day was gone. He sounded like a dead man, speaking in a toneless, emotionless voice.
He said this ring must be thrown away somewhere hidden, as discreetly as possible. If not thrown away, it must never be worn by a man. But he didn't explain why and then completely gave up his last breath. In truth, I still don't know if my grandfather had already passed away at that moment, perhaps the day before the final burst of vitality, or a few days prior. All I know is that he held my hand tightly while speaking, and did not let go even as he passed away."
Saying this, the elder woman suddenly extended her left hand, her withered palm etched with a mark like a tattoo!
"It's a pity you didn't listen to your grandfather and throw the ring away, but instead took the second option." Ren Yuanhao was drawn into the story. The best explanation for what had happened to the elder woman's grandfather was that the ring held some sort of miraculous power!
The elder woman's face was deathly pale. She downed the water in a gulp and then nodded, "That's right. This is an heirloom passed down through generations. Your grandfather's words must be obeyed, as must the words of the ancestors. The compromise was to entrust it to my care, so I've worn this item for forty years. Even a shard of glass would develop a sentiment."
Ren Yuanhao could understand this feeling. He once raised a dog, starting around the age of nine. It was entirely gray, with a black vertical stripe along its belly, which led him to name it "Black Stripe." It accompanied him through his innocent childhood, through the arduous years of studying and exams in junior and senior high school, through countless nights of studying by lamplight.
However, dogs only live for ten to twenty years. You can have many dogs in your life, but a dog only has one owner in its entire life.
Three years ago, Ren Yuanhao returned home with a bag of dog food, which he had hesitated for a long time to buy in the city, intending to give Black Stripe, who had accompanied him for half his life, some novelty.
But as he crossed the threshold, ready for Black Stripe's enthusiastic greeting, the dog, which should have pounced quickly, lay limp in its straw bed. Upon seeing its owner, it could only wag its tail feebly, swaying left and right like a candle in the wind. Before he could react, it peacefully closed its dull, lifeless eyes.
According to his mother, Black Stripe had stopped eating half a month prior, and it was only by the intense desire to see its young master one last time that it had clung on until then…
Therefore, Ren Yuanhao completely understood the woman's pain and became even more determined to help her find the ring.
"Young man, I don't know if my story has been of any help to you. I'm also shamelessly asking for one favor." As the elder woman spoke, she suddenly rose, about to kneel before Ren Yuanhao!
"Auntie, doing this is too much for me. You've always taken such good care of me, and I'm naturally obliged to help." Ren Yuanhao prevented the elder woman from kneeling, supporting her plump frame, and then added, "Auntie, one last question. Do you have any recollection of that man's whereabouts?"
"Yes, that man in the hoodie left the community after buying his items. However, the security camera footage didn't capture him anywhere. It's truly strange. It couldn't have been a coincidence that the camera malfunctioned, could it?"