Chapter 160

"You haven't read many books, and you're clueless about social etiquette. Which girl in the village is like you?! Not letting you wash clothes, not letting you cook, what else do you want?"

Yuan Jing had been furious at Su Mian since that incident, spraying saliva all over the floor.

"You really have no sense, you wasteful thing!"

Su Mian let out an "mm," appearing to be truly reflecting on herself, but then she slowly spoke.

"Mom, these words sound like you really have experience."

"You've basically replayed your whole life for me, haven't you?"

"You–?!"

Su Mian leaned in. The flames in the stove crackled, casting a glow on the girl's fair and cold face.

There was no sign of anger; instead, she had left Yuan Jing's face turning from green to white, yet Su Mian was relentless.

"It's quite hard, Mom, but I don't believe in these things. If you want to suffer, there's an endless amount of suffering to be had."

"Besides," she tilted her head, "if my face were really that magical, I'd have to cover it up. It's too scary. If I were unfortunately taken a fancy to one day, I'd have to be a pet in the mountains for the rest of my life."

Su Mian shook her head with feigned worry. "That's not right either, pets don't even have to wash clothes or cook."

When she said this, Su Mian stared straight at Yuan Jing's face, as if hinting at something, yet it also seemed like just a metaphor.

Yuan Jing didn't know what emotion she was feeling; she was so angry that her face turned red, but she couldn't squeeze out a word for a long time. Finally, she could only throw the rag at Su Mian. "Sharp-tongued! Go help your dad catch a chicken."

After saying that, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and walked toward the back without another word. Su Mian picked up the rag, her brows furrowed.

Catch a chicken...

Her?

The girl in a cotton apron had her hair tied into a bun and was wearing plastic gloves several times larger than her hands, standing in a corner of the backyard fence.

One chicken, two chickens, three chickens...

The rooster held its head high, its feathers oily and bright, not afraid of the girl who had suddenly appeared at all.

Su Mian tossed the rag onto the stone table, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared for battle.

Just catch a chicken.

Theoretically, it shouldn't be hard.

Theoretically.

As soon as Su Mian's foot stepped into the chicken coop, the chicken let out a "cluck," its feathers stood on end, and it took flight, flapping its wings and charging straight toward the woodpile, feathers flying everywhere.

Dust rose, the iron basin was knocked over, and it rolled far away with a "clang."

Su Mian hunched her back and lunged, but missed, her two "claws" covered in damp mud.

It dodged left and right, specifically choosing difficult places to burrow, darting from under the bench to behind the water vat, then diving into the vegetable patch, trampling the leaves until they were crooked and messy.

Before long, she finally grabbed a handful of chicken feathers. The chicken let out a miserable shriek and flapped frantically.

Su Mian was dragged forward, staggering half a step. Just as her hand was about to hook onto the chicken's wing, the mud in her palm was too slippery, and the chicken struggled and flew away again.

All her efforts wasted, Su Mian gritted her teeth and grabbed the broom from the side.

Damn it, she didn't believe she couldn't handle a single chicken!

From the rooster's perspective, Su Mian looked like a monster with red eyes. Seeing a broom swat down, it directly unleashed huge potential and flew out of the fence.

Su Mian was also locked in a struggle with it. An inexplicable desire to win was ignited. She didn't care about anything else, just leaped over from the side and chased it into the bamboo forest.

This time Su Mian learned her lesson: she wiped the mud off her hands with paper first, then rushed out to chase the chicken.

Amidst the swaying bamboo shadows, a red silk ribbon flew onto Su Mian's face, and she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Not right.

The chicken also stopped, clucked twice, and ran toward Su Mian.

Finally, it leaped into Su Mian's arms. The girl had black lines on her forehead.

What is the meaning of this rooster?

However, this place was too eerie. Su Mian took off the red silk ribbon that had just fallen onto her face; on it, "May you have a son soon" was written in black pen.

It looked like it had fallen off some wishing tree. Su Mian walked forward a few steps and confirmed her guess.

Beside the dilapidated stone steps, the branches on both sides were covered with densely packed red prayer ribbons. Mist permeated the air, resembling a secret realm far from the hustle and bustle, situated in a small spot in the wilderness.

Seeing Su Mian continue to move forward, the rooster shook its feathers and clucked in fear. The abrupt chicken call almost made her throw the living creature in her hand away.

"Shut up, or I'll catch you and eat you."

Su Mian grabbed its head to prevent it from making noise, but in a trance, she heard two soft laughs.

Su Mian's ears twitched. She looked up, but there was nothing. She shook her head, thinking she had misheard, and reached out to look at the wishes on those prayer ribbons.

May the family be healthy, safe, and smooth.

Wish Grandfather to be free of illness and disaster, and live a long life.

Want a toy car.

Mountain God, help me test out of the mountains!

In many places on the tree, the red ribbons had become clumps; there were simply too many people making wishes.

Su Mian guessed that it probably had nothing to do with the clues and prepared to hold the chicken and walk back. The moment she turned around, she heard the sound of a bell.

She pursed her lips, her eyes hesitant.

In the end, she decided to go into the depths of the bamboo forest alone.

No choice, her curiosity was too strong. If she didn't go in and take a look, Su Mian felt she wouldn't be able to sleep all night.

Pushing aside the thick leaves, in front of her was an abandoned building with large patches of red lacquer peeling off, its body covered in moss and ferns, desolate and lonely.

Su Mian walked in and found a statue inside similar to the Buddha, but it had no face, only blurred facial contours.

Its hands were pressed together, and there were no prayer beads on them. The base was a lotus flower, which also had some paint peeling off, but it wasn't sitting cross-legged; instead, it had a tail like a snake, coiled within the lotus throne.

Looking at the house from the outside, she didn't feel anything, but upon entering, she discovered the interior was much larger.

Buddha... no, this strange statue didn't give her the feeling of a Buddha; it was more like a Mountain God, but the lotus throne made her uncertain.

The Mountain God statue was suspended completely above Su Mian's head. The ceiling was very high, leaving enough space for the Mountain God statue.

Su Mian observed the fruit and candy on the altar. It was obvious that someone had been here just a few days ago, so this place wasn't abandoned, and people still came to pray.

Su Mian frowned and observed for a long time but couldn't tell what it was. Nüwa? Or a mermaid? What exactly was being worshipped?

She gave up looking for the answer and intended to ask the villagers, when suddenly, a rustling sound came from behind her.

Su Mian turned around abruptly and found a black snake on the ground, flicking its tongue and moving in her direction.

The rooster was scared out of its wits, flapped its wings, flew out of Su Mian's hands, and flew away directly through the window.

Su Mian didn't bother with it anymore and stood there blankly until the snake coiled to her feet.

According to the script's memory, this snake was the one her grandfather kept free-range, so it should recognize her.

So Su Mian tentatively squatted down. The black snake indeed crawled up along her wrist. This sensation still gave Su Mian goosebumps, but she wasn't that resistant to it.