The scenery of the Jiulong mountain was breathtakingly beautiful, but to Chen Ying, the jagged peaks looked like teeth, and the deep green of the pines felt like a shroud.
She bypassed the main village first, seeking out the families of the children Old Wu had mentioned. However, the search was a dry well. Most of those children, now young adults, had long since left the rural quiet for the frantic pulse of the city—chasing degrees, jobs, and lives far away from the shadow of the mountains.
A few elders remained, squinting at her through cataracts, offering only vague directions to neighbors who had moved years ago.
Empty-handed but undeterred, Chen Ying redirected her SUV toward the Chen family's old summer manor.
