Chapter 216
Chapter 216
Tafeng Village wasn’t large, but it had no shortage of women of childbearing age.
Besides, it was hard to define what counted as “childbearing age.” My mother was almost fifty, and even she had gotten pregnant, hadn’t she?
The thought of my grandmother’s belly swelling too… That image was too horrifying to contemplate.
Of course, a belly ballooning overnight was clearly a far more sinister sign of pregnancy.
In the past, although many children in Tafeng Village had been born prematurely, their births had at least followed the natural course of pregnancy.
Were they not even bothering to keep up appearances anymore?
Under normal circumstances, I really would have wanted to visit Tafeng Village and see what was going on.
But right now, I turned Hui Moqiong down.
All his evasions and attempts to change the subject were nothing more than an effort to send me away and buy Liu Junyan and the others more time.
“There’s nothing worth seeing,” I said. “Just hurry up and take me to Liu Junyan.”
Hui Moqiong opened his mouth, still hoping to protest, but I had already walked past him.
He scratched his head and followed, muttering, “I knew Yingyingzi couldn’t keep her mouth shut. She’s biased. It was only a matter of time before she betrayed us. See? I was right!”
“She isn’t biased toward me. She just thinks you guys are unreliable,” I said. “You know Liu Junyan’s condition better than anyone. If he really takes this Calamity for Du Chan, afterward he’ll have no choice but to remain trapped in the Pawnshop and endure being beaten.
“You joined us later, so you never experienced those days when Sister Qingying and I were utterly helpless. Nor did you witness Liu Junyan being blasted bloody by heavenly lightning while trying to break free of the Pawnshop. Sister Qingying is worried about Liu Junyan.”
“Fine, fine. You all care about him,” Hui Moqiong grumbled. “But he cares about you, so the lot of you just stick together and exclude everyone else, huh? I’ve been back for months. Am I still not one of you? Why am I always the one who gets hurt? Boo-hoo.”
Hui Moqiong pretended to cry, looking so aggrieved that guilt immediately washed over me.
I really had misspoken just now.
I hurriedly apologized. “That’s not what I meant, Fifth Master. You’ve worked tirelessly these past few months and contributed more than anyone. The Pawnshop might be able to do without the rest of us, but it could never do without you. You’re the leader of the Five Blessing Immortals, after all!”
Hui Moqiong’s brows immediately lifted. With a touch of smug pride, he said, “It’s only natural for the leader to suffer a few grievances. I have to set an example, after all. Turn left up ahead. The ground sinks at the entrance, so watch your step.”
As he spoke, Hui Moqiong led me down into the tunnel.
Before entering, I looked around and noticed that the black fog in this area had thinned considerably. In the direction where I suspected the grave mound lay, a faint red glow seemed to hang overhead.
I narrowed my eyes for a closer look and realized it was the light of the Blood Moon filtering through the black fog.
Withdrawing my gaze, I followed Hui Moqiong underground.
The entrance was tiny, only wide enough for one person to squeeze through while bent at the waist.
Earthen steps descended for about a dozen meters before opening onto a level passageway.
We followed the passage and turned right, and the space before us suddenly opened up.
It was a cavern spanning sixty or seventy square meters. In its exact center, Du Chan and Jiang Bin knelt bolt upright in identical postures.
Both of them were now wreathed in black energy.
The energy around Jiang Bin was denser, while a faint bloodred glow shimmered within the darkness surrounding Du Chan.
Beside them stood a rack laden with all kinds of instruments, bottles, jars, hair, animal hides, minerals, and various other materials.
Next to the rack, Jiang Sique was adding dark red stone powder to a round bowl. The bowl already contained a paste-like substance. He added the powder bit by bit, stirring slowly and with complete concentration.
Liu Junyan had been watching Jiang Sique’s hands with his head lowered, occasionally asking a question or two. At the sound of movement, he looked up — and the first person he saw was me.
His slit pupils contracted sharply, and his piercing gaze immediately swung toward Hui Moqiong.
Hui Moqiong shrugged helplessly, then folded his arms and leaned against the cave wall, staring up at the ceiling as though none of this had anything to do with him.
Liu Junyan strode over and gripped my shoulders. “Xiao Jiu, you…”
“Don’t try to talk me out of this, Liu Junyan. Now that I’m here, I’m not leaving.” My voice was resolute. “I know what you’re planning. Using yin rubbing to help Du Chan bear the Calamity is the right decision, but you’ve chosen the wrong person to bear it. No one is more suitable than me.”
“No!” Liu Junyan refused without hesitation. “Xiao Jiu, stop fooling around. You won’t survive it.”
“Anyone else might not, but I definitely will,” I said. “After all, the Symbiotic Curse was placed on me, and even the backlash that should never have occurred manifested unexpectedly. That proves there’s something within me that even Feng Lishu can’t affect. If I seize this chance, I might even uncover the secrets hidden inside my body.”
Liu Junyan had no way to refute me.
I pressed my advantage. “Let me do it, Liu Junyan. What seems fraught with danger to you is a rare opportunity to me. Of course, I’ll need you and Fifth Master Hui to protect me through it.”
They understood far better than I did how dire the situation outside was.
The only reason this underground cave had yet to be discovered was Hui Moqiong and the generations of disciples under him.
But the instant the enemy made their move, our position would be exposed. A brutal battle would be unavoidable.
Liu Junyan’s fingers tightened unconsciously on my shoulders. He couldn’t bring himself to make the decision.
“Ah Yan, do you truly believe using the Ice Silkworm is better than bearing the Calamity through yin rubbing?” I asked. “If I have to choose between the two, I’d rather use yin rubbing to bear the Calamity.”
Using the Ice Silkworm would be like drinking poison to quench my thirst — a road of no return.
Even with Lord Xiao’s help, suppressing the Ice Silkworm’s Gu Poison would require Dragon Bone Blood every month. The cost was far too extravagant.
Unless there was absolutely no other choice, I would never touch the Ice Silkworm.
“Seventh Master, I’m ready,” Jiang Sique suddenly interjected. “We can begin the yin rubbing.”
I turned to Jiang Sique and declared firmly, “I’ll do it.”
A flash of unmistakable delight crossed Jiang Sique’s eyes. Clearly, he also believed I was the better choice.
I pushed Liu Junyan away and walked straight toward Jiang Sique.
Once I stood before him, Jiang Sique held up a Silver Needle and said, “Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu, I need a drop of blood from the middle finger of your right hand.”
I extended my finger without hesitation, only for Liu Junyan to seize it the next instant.
Liu Junyan stared at Jiang Sique. “When you explained this to me, you never said you needed blood from my middle finger. Why do you need Xiao Jiu’s now?”
Jiang Sique replied, “Seventh Master, choosing you to bear the Calamity through yin rubbing was an act of desperation. We would have been using your Fate Pattern to suppress the Fate Patterns of the Du Sisters. But Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu’s Fate Pattern is compatible with Du Chan’s. If she bears the Calamity through yin rubbing, her Fate Pattern will replace Du Chan’s, allowing us to save Du Chan immediately. The two methods cannot be compared.”
In other words, the moment the yin rubbing succeeded, I would temporarily become Du Chan.
If we did it this way, the enemy wouldn’t even realize there had been a substitution when they first made their move.
That was naturally the outcome Jiang Sique — and all of us — wanted most.
The longer it took them to discover the truth, the better our chances of victory…