Chapter 1214: Chapter 628: Here? (2)
Her words implied consent. Old Man Zeng was overjoyed and welcomed the two into the house, asking Granny Liu to boil water and brew bellflower tea for the guests. The bellflower tea had a good taste and could help with coughs and phlegm, chest congestion, and sore throat, especially effective for treating bronchitis. In the snowy regions, fruits and vegetables were scarce in winter. This tea was excellent for relieving greasiness and was harvested by farmers in summer, dried, and stored for winter use. Even though Ning Xiaoxian had offered five taels of silver yesterday, Granny Liu was reluctant to use it. But this time, it was different; a little bit of wild honey was added to the tea, making it doubly fragrant and sweet.
Ning Xiaoxian held up the clay bowl and sipped slowly. She heard Old Man Zeng chuckle bitterly, reminiscing: "We had a child late in our lives, having Qiu’er when we were in our forties. We truly held her in our hands, afraid she would fall, and in our mouths, fearful she would melt. Yet when she was five, due to my negligence, she played too close to the mountains and was snatched away by a wild animal. Everyone searched the mountains for a whole day; my wife fainted from crying several times before we finally, finally found a few broken bones and this longevity lock, which we brought back and buried in the vacant land behind the valley’s field."
Before he finished speaking, tears were already streaming down Granny Liu’s face, clearly still unable to easily forget the pain of losing a child.
Ning Xiaoxian had to ask, "Who holds a grudge against you to seek such vengeance?"
Old Man Zeng thought for a moment before responding, "We have always lived in harmony with our neighbors and never held a grudge. If anyone wanted to harm us, it would likely be the alchemist who came into the village a few days ago?"
In folk terms, alchemists are also known as Heavenly Masters, a type of person caught between mortals and cultivators. They lack the aptitudes of cultivators and do not possess spiritual power, but they can communicate with ghosts from the underworld through special skills and techniques. Thus, they can move through towns and cities, capturing essences and ghosts, performing tasks cultivators often disdain—relieving mortal calamities. It is said that the truly exceptional alchemists can even communicate with Heaven and Earth. Ning Xiaoxian, however, had never encountered such a person.
Three days ago, the alchemist came to the village, hungry and cold, with frostbitten bruises turning blue and purple on his body. It was Granny Liu’s moment of compassion that led her to take him into her home for care, only for the man to recover slightly before stealing seventy copper coins from her home, and on his way out, he also took two strips of frozen pork hanging from the eaves. The village, consisting of just about 150 people, operated as a tight-knit community. When they heard of the incident, four or five robust hunters tracked the alchemist down the road, beat him half to death, and left him by the roadside.
"At the time, everyone thought that if the alchemist really had abilities, he wouldn’t have ended up nearly dying by the roadside, so they beat him up heartily without worry," Old Man Zeng said through gritted teeth, "Who knew that fellow actually had some skills, casting such a vicious spell on my family using my child’s bones, truly hateful to the extreme!"
Granny Liu also muttered, "I thought he looked so pitiful that day, so led him inside. I had no idea he would repay kindness with enmity, alas!"
Stories akin to that of the farmer and the snake are common in every world. Changtian, naturally, had no interest in the affairs of mortals. Supporting his chin with a hand, he said, "This ghost baby was originally your child who died young. Children are naive; after death, they may harbor resentment against their living relatives for not saving them, making their temperament more violent than regular ghosts. Though I scared it away last night, it will certainly return today to seek its family." This was also why many Heavenly Masters and alchemists preferred raising ghost children, as their malevolent energy was far stronger than that of ordinary ghosts, making them harder to control yet immensely powerful.
Although his expression remained indifferent, Ning Xiaoxian could see that he was in a good mood, as he had reached an agreement with his beloved, which inevitably required effort on his part.
Granny Liu, instead of fearing, showed delight: "I will see Qiu’er tonight?"
Ning Xiaoxian inwardly sighed, "Yes, but it has wandered the wilds for over ten years and is likely no longer the charming child it once was, possibly now a green-faced fanged creature."
Just the thought of meeting her deceased child made Granny Liu flush with excitement: "No matter what it looks like, it is still my child!"
Ning Xiaoxian knew that further persuasion would be useless and let her be. With Changtian overseeing, no additional arrangements were necessary, and all they had to do was wait for nightfall.
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It hadn’t snowed for several days, and the weather was clear and refreshing, with sunlight pouring through the window lattice, inducing a sense of laziness. Were it not for the night’s engagements, this would indeed be a perfect day for a long sleep.
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