Chapter 1209: Chapter 626: The Truth (Part 4)
The village before her eyes was situated in a small mountain cove, resembling a scene from a painting under the western glow of the setting sun.
This place had just over twenty households, so there was naturally no inn. Thus, Ning Xiaoxian knocked on the door of a farmhouse.
Changtian asked curiously, "Why didn’t you knock on that house’s door?" He nodded in a direction, and Ning Xiaoxian followed his gaze to see that indeed, there was a house with a door larger than the others, painted in bright red, which looked quite grand.
With the temperament of a cultivator, if seeking lodging, naturally one would stay in the best place.
She, however, shook her head slightly, "That household is not as good as the one I chose. When we landed earlier, I saw that even the idle threshing ground of this house is neatly cleaned, and all kinds of odds and ends in the yard are arranged orderly; it seems this household values cleanliness."
In fact, with Changtian’s temperament, he would rather sleep outdoors than deal with mortals, but at this time footsteps were heard inside the courtyard, so he said no more.
Sure enough, with a creak, the wooden door opened. The owner was an old woman over fifty years old, with gray hair at the temples. Opening the door, she was immediately taken aback. The pair of young men and women outside the door were both brightly dressed and handsome, clearly noble urbanites out for a stroll. This place wasn’t too far from Shuangliu City, and they probably lost track of time having fun, realizing it was late and came to seek a night’s lodging.
Ah, she had been to Shuangliu City numerous times but had never seen such a beautiful couple.
Ning Xiaoxian said with a soft smile, "Elderly woman, we were out playing and missed finding lodging, could we stay here for the night?" She flipped open her slender palm, handing over ten taels of silver.
For a cultivator, money is like dirt. It’s not that she didn’t want to give more, but sometimes giving too much can cause unnecessary trouble.
The old woman glanced at the two a few times, then smiled and let them in. Travelers seeking shelter in the wilderness was nothing unusual, and besides, Ning Xiaoxian’s sweet appearance was very pleasing. This old woman’s household couldn’t scrape together ten taels of silver inside and out, and these two had such a distinguished air, they didn’t seem like robbers in disguise at all.
They had just approached the house when two sleek, large yellow dogs darted out from under the veranda, intending to bark wildly at the strangers. The old woman frowned, about to scold them, when she saw the dogs suddenly droop their ears and tails, seemingly terrified by something, whimper a few times, and cowered against the wall shivering, not daring to move.
Strange, her dogs, Big Yellow and Second Yellow, were usually so brave, even willing to take on wild boars and mountain wolves; why were they so timid today? The old woman couldn’t help but look back, seeing Ning Xiaoxian still smiling innocently, and the man following her had his hands behind his back, appearing unaffected.
Forget it, no need to think about it. Animals often act weirdly, it’s not strange.
Upon entering, even Changtian had to admit that this girl’s eye was sharp. This farmhouse seemed ordinary; the roof was thatched, and the furniture inside appeared somewhat old, yet it was indeed spotless. Even the copper kettle handle on the table was polished to a bright shine.
Inside there was also an old man, in his sixties, but he looked robust and strong, evidently someone used to farm work. With heavy snow sealing the mountains now, farm work in the fields had naturally been completed in autumn. For families like theirs, winters and springs were idle, often huddled at home. However, this household seemed to favor cleanliness; despite being closed in, there wasn’t the usual odor found in typical farmhouses.
After the old man heard his wife’s introduction, he grinned and said, "My surname is Zeng, and this is my wife, surname Liu. It’s been over half a year since we’ve had guests at home, so make yourselves at home."
The old woman chimed in, "That’s right, that’s right. Before dinner, I’ll sort out a room for you."
Ning Xiaoxian bit her lip and said, "Please, we need two rooms."
The old woman was slightly taken aback. In her eyes, these two were either husband and wife or lovers; why would they need two rooms? Seeing Changtian’s face darkening, she noticed that this young man, though handsome, had an intimidating aura when he frowned, making anyone around him tremble.
She, having lived many years, hurriedly said, "Alright, you two wait a moment."
As she went to prepare the rooms, Ning Xiaoxian chatted idly with Old Man Zeng, leaving Changtian aside.
The old man was perceptive and saw that although Changtian sat quietly, his expression unchanged, his demeanor was oppressive and cold, clearly in a bad mood. Despite wanting to speak with him, the pressure around Changtian was so heavy that the old man tried several times but couldn’t muster the courage to speak.
Though the fireplace was burning brightly, soon the entire room’s temperature dropped rapidly.
Old Man Zeng, aging and just a mortal body, shivered, puzzled, "What’s going on?"
Ning Xiaoxian turned, glaring at Changtian, and nonchalantly added two more pieces of charcoal to the fire, saying with a smile, "No worries, maybe the charcoal wasn’t enough; it’ll be warm soon."
A continuous warmth radiated from her, slowly spreading to every corner of the room. Indeed, this less-than-twenty-square-meter room quickly became warm again.
After several days of training, this girl’s cultivation had indeed improved. Changtian closed his eyes slightly to rest, ignoring her and the old man’s chatter, only her bell-like laughter continued to reach his ears, troubling him further.
Although Granny Liu was quick, her age caught up with her, and by the time she finished preparing the two rooms, the sun was already setting. For a farmer’s household, this was past mealtime. Ning Xiaoxian gathered her hair into a ponytail swiftly and said, "Let me help you."
Granny Liu waved her hands, "No, missy, you shouldn’t be in our rural kitchen."
Ning Xiaoxian chuckled, "What are you saying?" She had lived in Shallow Water Village for a year and was very familiar with cooking in a farm kitchen. Granny Liu’s house, though cleaner than Mrs. Song’s, had a similar setup with stove eyes and pots. Seeing Ning Xiaoxian roll up her sleeves and work deftly, Liu stopped trying to dissuade her, only marveling internally, "Such a beautiful girl, shouldn’t she be a rich family’s daughter? How is she more skilled at this than I am?"
The kitchen in Granny Liu’s house was orderly, and Ning Xiaoxian looked around, smiling, "You have a lot of things here."
Granny Liu said happily, "Three days ago, we had Zhang Tuzi from the village help us butcher a big pig, shared some meat with our neighbors, and still have this much left! It’s nearly the new year!"
Upon hearing this, Ning Xiaoxian paused, her smile fading slightly, "Ah, I almost forgot, the new year is just a few days away." In this world, she had never properly celebrated the new year. As a mortal, she had hidden away in her room, biting her blanket, not knowing how many times she cried. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)
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