"Sure," you nodded with absolute certainty.
"Strange, too strange. Not only has your fate been tampered with, but you've also awakened the Third Eye. This doesn't make sense," she muttered to herself before entering her own bedroom.
Your mom's true identity was that of a Feng Shui master who also dabbled in fortune-telling. She was always secretive about her work and never let you get involved with it.
Soon she came out of the bedroom, holding a turtle shell and some oddly shaped stones.
She poured the stones into the turtle shell and handed it to you, "Shake it seven times up, eight times down, then pour the stones out."
Though you didn't understand why, you shook the turtle shell as she instructed. When you poured out the stones, they arranged themselves into the shape of that curse mark!
"This... this is too mystical, isn't it?"
You picked up the stones and tried twice more, and both times the result was the same!
"Mom, what's going on?"
Your mom didn't speak. She just sat on the couch, holding her forehead, then picked up her phone and dialed a number. The call connected, and the voice on the other end sounded somewhat hoarse, "Who is it?"
"Uncle San, it's me, Xiao Hong."
"Hmph," was the response.
You had known since childhood that your maternal family had opposed your mom's marriage to your dad. They had eloped from Yanjing to Yuhang and had since cut off contact with her family.
For many years, this was the first time she had taken the initiative to call home.
"Uncle San, my mom... how is she doing? Is she still strong?"
"If you really want to know, come back and see for yourself."
After a few words, she hung up the phone, but you noticed tears in the corners of her eyes.
"Mom, if you really miss Grandma, why don't we take this opportunity to visit her? I still have more than half a month of vacation left. I'll go with you."
Your mom glanced at you and said irritably, "You? You'd probably be dead before you even set foot in the house."
"It can't be that exaggerated, right? After all, that's your maternal home, and they are my grandma and uncles."
On this matter, your mom didn't say much. It seemed she didn't want to talk about it. Instead, she stood up, took the turtle shell from your hand, and cast a divination for you.
Unlike before, the stones on the ground were scattered, but her face turned pale with shock. She then said in a very serious tone, "Pack some clothes and go hide in the countryside for a while."
You were completely baffled.
"I could explain, but you wouldn't understand. Just don't talk to any acquaintances during this time, and turn off your phone. Don't let anyone familiar find you."
Although you didn't know what had happened, seeing your mom's grave expression, you complied.
The weather was still quite hot, so your clothing was simple. While you were packing, your mom took Zhao'er to her room. Soon after, an exclamation came from her room, "So big!"
You shook your head with a smirk, feeling rather lecherous.
Soon the door opened, and you saw that Zhao'er had only changed her clothes. She was still breathtakingly beautiful, making you wish you had more eyes to see her.
Your mom pushed Zhao'er into your arms, smiling, "This girl is top-notch in every aspect. If you can find a way to bring her back to life, you'll be living the good life."
"Mom, do you have a way to bring her back?"
Your mom gave you a disdainful look, "You should be more concerned about yourself. I just did a divination for you, and you're going to face a major disaster soon!"
"Just remember, don't cause any trouble in the next few days. Just stay quietly in the countryside." Your mom handed you an address, "Go to this address and look for someone called Mama. She'll take you to a safe place."
You scratched your head and said, "Then you have to be careful."
"Don't worry, there aren't many people in this world who can take your old mom's life."
Before leaving, you put a hat on Zhao'er and took her hand as you went downstairs and took a taxi to the south of the city.
Your mom stood alone at the entrance of the building, watching the car drive away. Suddenly, she said to the empty air behind her, "This child is becoming more and more like you..."
The address was in the old city district. After asking a few people, you found it, just around the corner of an old alley.
The buildings here were quite old, and most of the residents nearby were elderly.
At the corner, you casually placed your hand on a nearby utility pole. The moment you touched the pole, an image flashed through your mind!
The flicker was too brief for you to see clearly, but you caught a glimpse of several figures huddled together, looking like a gang of thugs.
After walking about fifty meters or so, you saw several tall and burly youths gathered in front of a grocery store. The leader, a young man with yellow hair, was holding an iron rod and shouting menacingly inside.
"Old man, are you tired of living, daring to scam Brother Ma's money?"
These people were very arrogant. Passersby all hurried by with their bodies hunched, not wanting to catch their bad luck.
You walked past with Zhao'er, checked the address carefully, and realized that the place your mom had sent you to was right here.
The grocery store looked messy, with items placed haphazardly everywhere. Behind a peeling, old counter sat an elderly lady, seemingly dozing off, completely ignoring the thugs.
"Old hag, don't think we won't touch you just because you're old!"
To be honest, these thugs seemed to have been standing there for quite some time, but they didn't dare to go in. They could only curse and shout from outside, saying things that couldn't really hurt anyone.
As you and Zhao'er watched for a moment, just as you were about to enter the grocery store, one of the thugs threw a punch at you from behind. You stumbled from the attack, and another thug quickly stepped forward and snatched the hat from Zhao'er's head.
When they saw Zhao'er's true face, all six of them gasped in shock!
The young man with yellow hair suddenly shouted, and the six of them quickly encircled you.
"What do you want?" you asked, shielding Zhao'er behind you, your gaze sharply fixed on the leader with yellow hair.
"What do we want? I'm in a bad mood, and I'll take it out on you!"
One of the young men with yellow hair sneered and swung the club in his hand down at your head!
The blow seemed fierce, but to you, it was as if it was in slow motion. You raised your hand and easily caught it.
"Yeehaw! You even dare to fight back..."
The young man with yellow hair hadn't finished speaking when you kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him tumbling to the ground.