Chapter 180: I Believe, I Wait

Everything about that man after he showed up is really strange.

To be honest, he's a bit like a bone stuck in my throat.

Liu Junyan shook her head: "I don't know him."

He paused, then asked tentatively: "Does he seem to know you?"

I hesitated a little, unsure whether to tell Liu Junyan what the man said.

The other party obviously has ulterior motives.

In matters of the heart, even a speck of sand is intolerable.

I'm afraid of causing trouble.

But on second thought, Liu Junyan and I have long recognized each other.

If he truly loves me, he surely wouldn't mind my past life, right?

After thinking, I asked: "Liu Junyan, we've been together so long—if we marry, shouldn't we first meet the parents?"

Liu Junyan startled, then eased and said: "Xiao Jiu, you've already met my mother; she likes you a lot."

I pressed: "What about your father?"

Liu Junyan's father is certainly not that one from the Wangting Mountain Snake Clan.

He's never talked to me directly about his father; I don't know if he doesn't know who his biological father is or just doesn't want to mention it.

When I saw Liu Junyan's expression shift in an instant, I suddenly felt a bit of regret.

It seems he doesn't want to bring it up, not that he doesn't know.

My question stepped directly on his most painful spot.

I was about to laugh it off and change the subject when I heard Liu Junyan say: "He doesn't matter; my life's big decisions are mine to make. Xiao Jiu, I owe you a wedding—I'll give you the best one at the right time."

"I owe you a wedding."

Within a day, two men actually said the same thing to me.

I chuckled and said: "It's my willfulness—right now things keep happening, I have no mind for all this nonsense."

Liu Junyan cupped my face and said solemnly: "Xiao Jiu, marriage isn't nonsense. I've been waiting for you to marry me for many years; after seeing you again, I constantly think of bringing you back to the Dragon Clan as my rightful wife… but… Xiao Jiu, give me a little time, trust me."

I immediately nodded: "I believe, I wait."

I was about to steer the conversation back to that man on the Yellow Spring Road when the door was knocked, interrupting our talk.

The next moment the door opened; Li Qingying came in with a bowl of food, followed by Hui Moqiong.

"Xiao Jiu, you must be hungry; I guess you're awake—have some warm porridge to settle your stomach."

Hui Moqiong then greeted Liu Junyan, motioning her to sit at the side round table to talk.

Li Qingying kept me company drinking porridge while listening to the two men discuss things.

"Strange," Hui Moqiong said. "After we withdrew from Tafengcun, the village again showed the scene of white smoke sealing it, but this time it lasted only a short while; once the smoke cleared, an unbelievable scene appeared."

Liu Junyan asked: "What situation?"

Hui Moqiong scratched the white-streaked lock at his temple, seeming unsure how to describe it: "Seventh Lord, you know—when we stormed the Qilin Temple, the villagers kneeling inside, at the instant Xiao Jiu's soul was sucked out, they all burst apart, turning to powder…"

"What?!"

The spoon in my hand clinked into the bowl, and I exclaimed in disbelief: "Everyone turned to powder?"

I heard every word clearly, yet together I couldn't believe what they meant.

"Exactly—like plaster crushed into powder, mixed with lots of incense ash, with hardly any blood." Hui Moqiong said, "Back then we thought the whole Tafengcun vanished with your soul leaving, but when the white smoke lifted and the village reappeared before our eyes, you know what I saw?"

The three of us remaining asked at once: "What?"

"The whole Tafengcun has come back to life."

Hui Moqiong's words left everyone stunned.

Li Qingying frowned: "No, what do you mean by 'come back to life'? Old Fifth Hui, can't you speak plainly instead of leaving half unsaid?"

Hui Moqiong vexedly replied: "Coming back to life is just coming back to life—not only did they revive, but many of them look several years younger."

My first reaction was to ask: "Did my grandmother come back to life too?"

Hui Moqiong nodded: "Yes, and she's much younger, her body very sturdy."

I sucked in a cold breath and asked: "Did you notice her right middle finger? Is it missing?"

"I wouldn't look at her hand for no reason," Hui Moqiong asked. "Is it important? Should I send someone to check?"

I immediately said: "Good, send someone to look—make sure they see it clearly."

This is too important to me.

That middle finger of my grandmother was personally thrown into the trash by Li Qingying.

If even that middle finger grew back, this would be terrifying beyond my imagination.

Hui Moqiong has many disciples and followers; a large batch lurking around Tafengcun soon sent word back: "Xiao Jiu'er, your grandmother's both hands' middle fingers are still there, and one of them still wears a copper ring at its base."

Even the copper ring came back too?

Now even Li Qingying's expression changed: "Xiao Jiu, what you saw back then—I wrapped it up tight; the trash was taken away by the garbage truck the next morning, so that copper ring couldn't possibly have returned to your grandmother's hand."

Yeah, impossible.

So where exactly is the problem?

Tafengcun really is a strange village—all its children were begged for from the Qilin Temple, which is already hard to accept.

Now the whole village's time seems able to flow backward.

Those who died and turned to powder can still be reborn… How do they manage to break the heavenly laws like this?

I'm not giving up—I have to go to Tafengcun myself and see the situation with my own eyes.

Coincidentally, several others share the same idea.

Early the next morning we drove to Tafengcun and looked at the village from afar for a while.

Sure enough, as Hui Moqiong said, many villagers in Tafengcun got up early in the morning.

They were doing their household chores as usual, going in and out.

When the sun rose a little higher, children gathered in small groups to play.

Not long after, I saw the figures of Xin'er and Da bao.

They……had also come back to life.

But I can never forget Xin'er's figure, like a shattered porcelain doll, and her repeatedly urging me to eat candy.

All of that seemed to have become an extremely bizarre dream.

Now that the dream has awakened, Tafengcun is still the original Tafengcun.

But I know that wasn't a dream!

A more terrifying and bizarre thought quietly rose in my heart: everything in Tafengcun seemed to exist revolving around me.

All the children in the village were sought from the Qilin Temple, and the Qilin Temple very likely hides the remains of my past life.

At the moment my soul was drawn out, all the villagers of Tafengcun burst into powder.

And I have returned, and they……have also returned……