Chapter 139
Chapter 139
Shen Zhuoyang thought it over carefully and realized that did seem to be the case.
It was just that the Little Celestial Master’s face looked far too young, so he always ended up feeling that anyone who liked her probably had some kind of special fetish.
When Shen Zhuoyang stopped talking, Master Quede turned to Xia Sheng and said, “I will report the Eight-Eyed Mangui incident in full to the Mystic Studies Association and the Special Management Bureau.
“Would that be acceptable to you?”
Master Quede still remembered that Xia Sheng had previously been unwilling to reveal her true strength in front of people from the Special Management Bureau, so he made a point of asking for her opinion first.
Xia Sheng said, “Just report it truthfully.”
Too many people had seen what happened today. Even if she wanted to keep it hidden, she couldn’t.
In any case, she would have dealings with both the Special Management Bureau and the Mystic Studies Association sooner or later. Letting the truth out now wasn’t a big deal. At most, it would bring a little more trouble.
Master Quede nodded, ordered someone to seize Wang Mazi and the other man over there, and then led the group back.
On the way back, they ran into Zhao Fangfang, who was still waiting where they had left her.
Zhao Fangfang had been terrified that something might happen to Xia Sheng. She was also the one who had urged Master Quede and Shen Zhuoyang to go over there.
When she saw Xia Sheng return safe and sound, Zhao Fangfang let out a breath of relief. Then she hurried over and immediately tried to kneel before Xia Sheng to thank her for what had happened today.
“Little Celestial Master, thank you so much for what happened today…”
“No need.” Xia Sheng made a motion to stop her by lightly supporting her arm. “This is what I’m supposed to do. The state will pay me for it. If you want to thank someone, thank the country for having a special department like this.”
Zhao Fangfang froze. Shen Zhuoyang also looked at Xia Sheng in surprise, clearly not expecting her to have such breadth of mind.
Xia Sheng continued, “You agreed to offer yourself as a sacrifice to that Female Ghost this time because you wanted to treat your father, didn’t you?”
Zhao Fangfang nodded and said, “My dad found me and took me in. All these years, he’s worked the fields by himself and relied on growing crops to earn money to send me to school.
“If it weren’t for dragging around dead weight like me, maybe he could have found someone to marry. He wouldn’t have spent most of his life alone, still unmarried even now, without any children of his own.
“I thought that if his leg and his voice could be healed, then maybe he might still be able to have a real family of his own.”
After hearing Zhao Fangfang’s words, Xia Sheng’s tone turned several degrees harsher. “Foolish.”
Zhao Fangfang didn’t understand. “Little Celestial Master, what do you mean by that?”
Xia Sheng went on, “Do you know that twenty years ago, when your grandparents died, your father had originally planned to follow them in death?
“It was because he found you on the road back and couldn’t stop worrying about you. He wanted to find a family to raise you, and that was why he didn’t throw himself into the rushing river. Instead, he carried you home while you were still wrapped in swaddling clothes.
“If it hadn’t been for raising you, his life would have ended twenty years ago.
“You are his only reason for going on. If you died, do you really think he would still have the will to live? If he were dead, how could he possibly build a new family?”
The moment Zhao Fangfang heard Xia Sheng’s words, her eyes filled with tears. “I-I didn’t know. I had no idea my dad cared about me that much…”
Her father was mute. In daily life, he only worked in silence and rarely communicated with her.
Because her father had never spoken his love out loud, she had assumed he didn’t love her.
She thought he had only raised her all these years because he had a strong sense of responsibility.
Only after hearing Xia Sheng’s words did she realize just how important she was to her father.
Zhao Fangfang wiped away her tears and said, “Little Celestial Master, thank you. I’ll study hard from now on and be a good daughter to my dad.”
Xia Sheng nodded and continued, “Take me to see your father. I might be able to cure what’s wrong with his body.”
“Really?” Zhao Fangfang lit up. “Please come this way.”
After saying that, Zhao Fangfang led Xia Sheng to her home.
Neither Shen Zhuoyang nor Master Quede had expected that Xia Sheng could not only draw Talismans and catch ghosts, but was also skilled in medicine. Both of them were utterly stunned and followed along to see for themselves.
After witnessing Xia Sheng effortlessly heal the mute man’s leg and throat, the shock in their hearts turned into towering waves.
A person’s lifetime is limited. Being able to master even one skill to the highest level is already an incredible feat.
And yet Xia Sheng was only eighteen this year. Not only was she proficient in the Mystic Arts, her medical skills were just as superb.
She was the definition of an all-around powerhouse.
Was there anything in this world she couldn’t do?
Master Quede grabbed Xia Sheng’s hand with trembling fingers. “Little Fellow Daoist, tell me honestly. Are you the reincarnation of God?”
Xia Sheng: “?”
“You’re a Daoist. Since when did you start believing in God?”
After Xia Sheng put away her tools, the mute man walked a few circles around the ground, then tried calling his daughter’s name: “Fang… Fang…”
He had never spoken a single word in his entire life.
Now that he finally opened his mouth, his voice was hoarse and unpleasant.
But to Zhao Fangfang’s ears, it sounded like music from heaven.
Her eyes reddened instantly. She stepped forward, hugged her father, and called out to him in a choked voice, “Dad…”
The mute man was deeply moved as well. He had suffered all his life, yet this was the first time he had ever shed tears.
Not from hardship, but from joy.
“Fangfang, Fangfang…”
Like a child who had just learned to speak, the middle-aged man kept repeating his daughter’s name.
Fangfang could no longer hold back her sobs and clung tightly to her father.
Shen Zhuoyang couldn’t quite bear to watch a scene like that and turned his head away.
Master Quede felt a little heartsick too. “Ah, I’m getting old. I can’t handle scenes like this anymore. They make me want to cry.”
The father and daughter cried in each other’s arms for quite a while before the mute man turned to Xia Sheng and immediately tried to kneel before her.
“Little Celestial Master, thank you, Little Celestial Master…”
Father and daughter really were alike.
Even the way they expressed gratitude was the same.
Xia Sheng supported him and said, “No need to thank me. Your daughter has the face of great wealth and honor. When she rises to prominence in the future, just remember to do more good deeds and accumulate some hidden virtue. That will be enough for me.”
Everyone Xia Sheng saved would form karmic ties with her.
The more good deeds these people did, and the more Merit they accumulated, the more Merit she would receive in return.
The mute man nodded repeatedly. “All right. I will remember the Little Celestial Master’s words by heart. I won’t forget them for the rest of my life.”
After thanking her over and over again, the mute man and Zhao Fangfang escorted Xia Sheng and the others all the way to the village entrance.
The mute man packed up some vegetables grown at home for them to take back and eat.
Looking at the cart piled full of napa cabbage, Xia Sheng felt it was enough for her and Fang Rong to eat for weeks.
If they couldn’t finish it and it went bad, that would just be a waste.
After thinking it over, she decided that when she went to Shen Yanchen’s house tonight, she would bring him some along the way.