Chapter 170
Chapter 170
The corner of Jin Wuya’s mouth twitched. He had to admit, Hui Moqiong truly possessed an extraordinary talent for hitting people where it hurt.
Not to be outdone, Jin Wuya shot back, “Thanks, brother. I wish you many children and grandchildren too.”
The Gray Immortal Clan… really was prolific.
Although Hui Moqiong had always been single, his disciples and granddisciples were too numerous to count.
Whoever ended up with him in the future, her belly would probably…
I hadn’t expected Jin Wuya to take such an unconventional approach and strike right at Hui Moqiong’s sore spot.
But I had still underestimated just how childish men could be when they were competing out of jealousy. They truly had no limits.
The next moment, Hui Moqiong actually sat up straight and declared with absolute conviction, “This young master was born sterile! I can’t have children!”
Pfft!
That was clearly supposed to be rather sad news, so why couldn’t I stop myself from laughing?
Even a ghost wouldn’t believe Hui Moqiong had been born sterile!
Now it wasn’t just the corner of Jin Wuya’s mouth twitching. Even the corners of his eyes were twitching.
Unable to win an argument against Hui Moqiong, he could only take Jiang Yingxue and leave first.
A light rain began to fall that afternoon. Holding an umbrella, I walked alone to the Teahouse.
Standing in the open space before the Teahouse, I raised my head and, for the first time, carefully studied the signboard above its entrance through the curtain of rain.
I couldn’t remember how long this Teahouse had been open in Wufu Town. All I knew was that it had already been here when I arrived in town at the age of six.
It was the only Teahouse in all of Wufu Town. Although it had a signboard, people rarely ever mentioned its name.
After all, whenever anyone said “the Teahouse,” everyone knew exactly which place they meant.
Even the customers who came to the Teahouse every day for tea and pastries might not be able to name it on the spot if someone suddenly asked them.
Yet it had a beautiful name – Yan Guilai.
Yan Guilai… Gu Yan…
So that was the connection.
I closed my umbrella and stepped through the Teahouse’s doors.
Whether it was because of the rain or something else, there wasn’t a single customer inside the Teahouse today.
The silence was almost oppressive.
The proprietress was sitting behind the counter with her chin propped on one hand, watching me enter with a smile. She greeted me as warmly as ever. “Xiao Jiu, here for tea?”
I smiled. “Yes. The usual – two cups of plain tea and a few sweet pastries.”
The proprietress arched an eyebrow. “Is a friend coming?”
“No.” I looked at her. “Today, I’m inviting you to have tea with me. Shall we talk?”
I had thought she would be startled.
Perhaps she had already heard something and would become nervous.
But she didn’t.
She continued smiling at me, calm and composed, as though she had been waiting for me to seek her out all along.
Of course.
Perhaps she had been waiting for this day ever since Gu Die came to her for help – ever since she directed Gu Die to the Pawnshop and had her make a Dead Pawn of her own pair of Buddha Eyes there.
I had wondered about it before. How could someone who dressed like Gu Die have known there was a Pawnshop on West Street in Wufu Town?
How could she have known the Pawnshop’s rules inside and out, appearing twice – once alive and once dead – and following the pawning rules to perfection both times?
It turned out she had a strategist behind her, guiding her every move.
“Your usual private room is still available.” The proprietress rose to close the shop doors. “Go on up, Xiao Jiu. I’ll join you shortly.”
I went to the private room on the second floor first and took a seat by the window, silently watching the light rain outside.
It fell in a soft, ceaseless drizzle.
In the depths of winter, it felt especially cold.
Just like my heart at that moment.
Only then did a wave of fear wash over me.
Wufu Town wasn’t large, but I knew plenty of people here.
Yet I had no way of telling which of them were enemies and which were friends.
I had once thought Bai Jingmo was the handsome, kindhearted guy next door who happened to be a brilliant doctor. I had thought the Bai Family Medical Hall was a place of Merit devoted to healing the sick and helping those in need. And how had that turned out?
I had also considered the Teahouse Proprietress an easygoing friend. And how had that turned out?
Just how many more secrets were hidden in Wufu Town?
And how many of them were aimed at me — and the Pawnshop?
Tap… tap…
Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Before long, the Teahouse Proprietress entered carrying a tray.
She set out the tea and pastries, then sat across from me. Lifting her cup, she took a small sip and said, “This is top-grade Leishan Silver Ball Tea. I’ve treasured it for years and could never bring myself to drink it. Have a taste, Xiao Jiu.”
I didn’t touch my cup. “Leishan? If I remember correctly, there’s a place called Leishan in the Miao region of Southeastern Guizhou, right?”
“That’s right,” the Teahouse Proprietress replied candidly. “It’s my hometown. I left many years ago.”
Every word out of her mouth today caught me off guard.
“You must have already found out that my original name was Gu Yan and that I came from the Miao Frontier,” the Teahouse Proprietress began slowly. “I was born in a tiny village deep in the Shiwandashan Mountains. The village was small, but it was extremely hostile to outsiders and had a rigid hierarchy.
“Whenever a baby girl was born in the village, she would be taken away the moment she entered the world and brought to the Gu chamber to be tested. Any infant who was chosen would become the village’s Gu Saintess. From then on, she no longer belonged to her birth family. She belonged to the entire village.
“She was raised inside the Gu chamber, with every meal brought to her and attendants waiting on her hand and foot. She wasn’t allowed to set even half a foot outside. Even for major events such as sacrificial ceremonies, she would be carried to the site, and her feet were forbidden from touching the ground.
“She would grow to sixteen in complete isolation, knowing nothing of the outside world. Her eyes would remain crystal clear, untouched by even the slightest speck of worldly dust. The clan regarded those utterly pure eyes as Buddha Eyes.
“On the day she turned sixteen, the clan chief would personally gouge out those Buddha Eyes and feed them to the Gu insects they raised. They firmly believed that only Buddha Eyes of absolute purity could nurture an Immortal Gu. Whoever obtained it could live forever, bring the dead back to life, and transcend mortality to ascend as an immortal…”
“Are they insane?” Once again, my understanding of the world was turned on its head. “So Gu Die was the girl chosen to become the Gu Saintess?”
The Teahouse Proprietress nodded. “Yes.”
I pressed her. “What about you? Were you one too?”
“No,” the Teahouse Proprietress said. “But my family bore the heavy responsibility of protecting the Gu Saintess. A woman chosen to grow up alongside the Gu Saintess was known as a Guardian. I… was one such Guardian.”
My grip tightened around my teacup. I stared at the Teahouse Proprietress without blinking, waiting for her to continue.
“By generation, I would be considered Gu Die’s great-aunt. I was a full thirty years older than her,” the Teahouse Proprietress recalled. “She was chosen as the Gu Saintess at birth, and I practically watched her grow up. She was innocent and kindhearted, with a pair of eyes that seemed able to speak.
“She didn’t understand why she had a home yet could never return to it, or why she would be confined to the Gu chamber for the rest of her life. No one would tell her why. At first, neither would I, because those were the rules our clan had followed since ancient times.
“Until…”
At that point, the Teahouse Proprietress paused and took several sips of tea in quick succession. Her gaze flickered with terror, as though she had recalled something unimaginably horrifying.
I waited patiently.
Only after a long while did the Teahouse Proprietress finally continue. “Until I discovered the blood-soaked secret behind the Gu Saintess…”