Chapter 170

Jin Wuya's mouth twitched; he couldn't help but admit that Hui Moqiong really had a knack for hitting people where it hurts.

Jin Wuya wasn't about to be outdone: "Thanks, bro—I also wish you many sons and grandsons."

The Hui immortal clan… really are prolific.

Although Hui Moqiong has remained single all along, his disciples and grand-disciples are truly countless.

Whoever follows him from now on will probably end up with a… belly.

I never expected Jin Wuya to also carve out his own path, precisely striking Hui Moqiong's sore spot.

But I still underestimated how childish men can be when it comes to romantic rivalry—utterly shameless.

The next moment, Hui Moqiong sat up straight and declared solemnly: "Young master, I was born without heirs—I won't have children!"

Pfft!

This sounds like pretty sad news, yet I can't help wanting to laugh.

Even ghosts wouldn't believe Hui Moqiong is naturally heirless!

This time Jin Wuya not only twitched the corner of his mouth, even the corners of his eyes were spasming.

He couldn't out-argue Hui Moqiong, so he could only lead Jiang Yingxue away first.

·

In the afternoon a light rain began; I held up my umbrella and walked alone to the teahouse.

Standing in the open space before the teahouse, I lifted my head, and through the rain curtain I examined the signboard above the teahouse's entrance for the first time in earnest.

I can't recall how long this teahouse has been open in Wufu Town; I only remember that since I came to the town at six, it was already there.

Wufu Town has only this one teahouse, so even though it has a sign, people rarely mention its name.

After all, when someone says "teahouse," everyone knows which one they mean.

Even the customers who come daily for tea and snacks might not be able to blurt out the teahouse's name if asked suddenly.

Yet it does have a pleasant name—it is called Yan Guilai.

Yan Guilai… Valley Yan…

Ah, so that's the connection.

I put away my umbrella and stepped into the teahouse's main door.

I don't know whether it's because of the rain or some other reason, but today the teahouse has not a single customer.

It's so quiet it's somewhat uncomfortable.

The proprietress was sitting behind the counter, chin resting on one hand, smiling as she watched me enter, greeting me warmly as usual: "Xiao Jiu, here for tea?"

I smiled and replied: "Yes, same as always—two cups of plain tea and a few small sweets."

The proprietress raised an eyebrow: "Expecting a friend?"

"No," I said, looking at her. "Today I'm treating you to tea—shall we chat?"

I thought she'd be taken aback.

Perhaps she had already received some news and would be nervous.

But she wasn't.

She still looked at me with a calm, composed smile, as if she'd been waiting for me to come find her all along.

Yes.

I suspect that ever since Gu Die came to her for help, she directed Gu Die to the pawnshop and pawned her own pair of Buddha Eyes there, she has been waiting for this day to arrive.

At first I also wondered how someone dressed like Gu Die would know there was a pawnshop on West Street in Wufu Town.

Moreover, she was intimately familiar with the pawnshop's rules, appearing twice—once in life, once in death—and had mastered the pawning regulations completely.

It turns out there was a strategist behind her, devising plans.

"The usual private room, then." The proprietress rose to close the shop door, saying, "Xiao Jiu, go on ahead; I'll be there shortly."

I went first to the upstairs private room, sat by the window, and quietly watched the light rain outside.

Pitter-patter.

In this deep winter it was especially cold.

Just like my current state of mind.

I suddenly felt a bit of lingering fear.

Wufu Town isn't big, but I know quite a few people there.

Yet I really can't tell which of them are enemies and which are friends.

I once thought Bai Jingmo was a highly skilled, handsome, kind-hearted neighborly elder brother, and that the Bai Family Clinic was a place of virtuous healing—what came of that?

I also once regarded the teahouse proprietress as an easy‑going friend—what came of that?

Just how many secrets are still hidden in Wufu Town?

And how many of them are aimed at me, or at the pawnshop?

Hoot… hoot…

The sound of the proprietress's footsteps came from upstairs; soon she entered carrying a tray.

She arranged the tea and sweets, then sat opposite me, lifted her teacup and took a gentle sip, saying: "This is top‑grade Leyuan Silver Pearl tea; I've been saving it, not wanting to drink it—Xiao Jiu, try it."

I didn't touch the cup, saying: "Leyuan? If I'm not mistaken, there's a Leyuan in the Miao area of southeastern Guizhou, right?"

"Yes," the proprietress said openly. "That's my hometown; I left there many years ago."

Today the proprietress—every word she spoke was beyond my expectation.

"You must have found out already—I was originally named Gu Yan, coming from the Miao frontier." The proprietress spoke slowly: "I was born in a tiny village in the Hundred‑Thousand‑Great Mountains; the village is small but extremely insular, with a strict hierarchy."

"In the village, whenever a baby girl is born, the moment she cries out she is taken away and brought to the poison chamber to be tested; the chosen girl becomes the village's poison saint, from then on she no longer belongs to her birth family but to the whole village."

"She is raised in the poison chamber—food brought to her mouth, clothing placed in her hands—she is not allowed to set even a foot outside the chamber; even for a major event like a sacrifice, she is carried there, her feet never touching the ground."

She grew up in the most closed-off space until she was sixteen, hearing nothing of the outside world, her eyes clear and pure, unstained by dust; this pair of eyes was utterly pure and clean, regarded by the clansmen as the Buddha Eye.

On the day she turned sixteen, the clan chief would personally gouge out those Buddha Eyes and feed them to the gu worms they raised; they firmly believed that only such pure and clean Buddha Eyes could nurture immortal gu, and whoever obtained them could gain eternal life, raise the dead, and achieve ascension through sitting dissolution.

"Are you crazy?" my worldview was shaken again, "So Gu Die is the chosen Gu Saintess?"

The boss lady nodded: "Yes."

I pressed on: "And you? Are you one too?"

"I'm not," the boss lady said, "but my family bears the duty of guarding the Gu Saintess; a woman who can accompany the Gu Saintess as she grows up is called a Dharma Protector, and I... am one of those Dharma Protectors."

I clenched my grip on the teacup, staring unblinkingly at the boss lady, waiting for her to continue.

"By seniority, I should be Gu Die's grandaunt; I am a full thirty years older than her," the boss lady recalled, "She was selected as the Gu Saintess from birth, and I have practically watched her grow up; she is innocent and kind, her eyes seem to speak."

She didn't know why she had a home she couldn't return to, why she could never leave the Gu Chamber for her whole life, and no one would tell her why; I didn't know either at first, because that has always been the rule in the clan since ancient times.

Until……」

Saying this, the boss lady paused, took several successive sips of tea, her eyes flickering with fear, as if recalling something utterly terrifying.

I waited patiently.

After a long while, the boss lady finally said: "Until I discovered the bloody secret behind the Gu Saintess..."