“Senior, may I ask what you want to see the Valley Master for?”
Danxing asked cautiously, his attitude already somewhat changed.
“Don’t worry. I mean no harm. I simply want to make a deal with him to speed up my cultivation,” Ning Zhishui said.
Only then did Danxing relax and tell Ning Zhishui the answers to those questions.
In the courtyard outside the door, her aunt and second brother were practically scratching their heads in frustration.
They could not hear the proper conversation, yet they occasionally caught fragments of Ning Zhishui’s thoughts.
Those thoughts came in bits and pieces, making it feel as though they had heard nothing at all.
It was even more unbearable than hearing nothing.
“Aunt, what is the Tower of the Dead?” Ning Chengfeng asked.
“You’re asking me? Then who should I ask?” Aunt rolled her eyes elegantly.
However, she had already made up her mind. Later she would personally ask the senior!
“But I feel like little sister… might actually be telling the truth?” Ning Chengfeng said uncertainly. “Could she really be some mighty expert who has been reborn?”
“Our tiny Lake Reflection City, and our tiny Ning family. Do you really think we could contain a mighty expert?” Aunt scoffed, not believing it at all. “Most likely this girl secretly read some idle novels, which is why she can make up such nonsense. And she makes it sound so real too.”
“That’s true. Little sister looks sweet and lovable, but her heart is the darkest,” Ning Chengfeng complained. “When we were little, I got tricked by her far too many times.”
The two of them huddled together gossiping when the door suddenly creaked open.
“Zhishui.” Aunt stood up. “About my bracelet…”
“I’ve finished examining it. Thank you, Aunt. You should keep it safely.” Ning Zhishui handed the bracelet back to her.
Aunt was about to speak when someone began pounding on the front door. The person used tremendous force, slamming it repeatedly as if trying to break it down.
“That must be Aunt Fang again.” Ning Chengfeng frowned. “Only she bangs on the door like she’s trying to tear it apart.”
“Go open it. She just saw me enter the house earlier. It wouldn’t be appropriate not to answer,” Aunt said.
Ning Chengfeng responded and went to open the door.
“Aunt Fang.”
“Oh my, Chengfeng! Our spirit tea is all gone. Could I borrow a little from your family?” Aunt Fang’s loud voice rang out. “I wouldn’t ask if I had a choice, but we have guests at home. I can’t possibly treat them poorly, right? Don’t you agree?”
“I’ll only borrow it for a few days. Once we buy new tea, I’ll bring it right back.”
Ning Chengfeng forced a smile. “But our family doesn’t have much left either…”
Their family borrowed things every few days, always borrowing but never returning.
Each time she would say she would return it another day, but she would forget about it afterward. If you asked her about it, she would make all kinds of excuses to brush you off.
But if you refused to lend anything, she would go around telling others that your family was unfriendly, making it seem as though you had bullied her terribly.
The Ning family usually chose to endure the loss quietly to avoid trouble, though none of them were truly happy about it.
“It’s fine, just lend us a little for now. You don’t even have guests at your house anyway,” Aunt Fang said shamelessly.
“Who says we don’t have guests?” Ning Zhishui walked toward the doorway. “Helping others is fine, but you should first take care of yourself. Otherwise you starve yourself while stuffing others full. What kind of logic is that?”
Aunt Fang rolled her eyes at Ning Zhishui. “Oh, Zhishui. You’re still just a child. Don’t meddle in this kind of matter.”
“Then perhaps I should ask Uncle Chen Qing what he thinks,” Ning Zhishui said. “Maybe he knows your family is having difficulties and will be willing to lend a helping hand.”
【Aunt Fang’s son is about to become engaged to the Chen family’s daughter. Their family is clearly marrying above their station. They certainly wouldn’t want the Chen family to look down on them.】
Sure enough, the moment those words were spoken, Aunt Fang’s expression changed.
“Oh my, what does that have to do with anyone else… Well, let’s forget it today. I’ll come visit another day.”
She forced a laugh, glared at Ning Zhishui, and then left on her own.
Second Brother and Aunt were both stunned.
The Niu family was going to form a marriage alliance with the Chen family?
How had they never heard about this?
Ning Zhishui sniffed the air.
“What’s that smell? It stinks.”
“Aunt Fang brought it. She’s probably making some kind of sauce again,” Ning Chengfeng said while waving his hand to fan the air.
Sauce!
Ning Zhishui suddenly remembered something.
【There was indeed such an incident. Not long after Aunt Fang borrowed our spirit tea, her kitchen exploded.】
【It should be today. I remember there was a foul smell that day too.】
【Her grandson somehow stole an Exploding Talisman and stuck it onto the cooking pot in the kitchen as a prank…】
Minor matters were hard for Ning Zhishui to remember, but absurd little incidents tended to stick in her mind.
The story of the neighbor’s kitchen blowing up had kept the Ning family laughing for an entire year.
The Second Brother and Aunt exchanged a glance, suspicion written across their faces.
Could that really be true?
That was far too ridiculous.
Niu Xiaoqiang stealing an Exploding Talisman and sticking it onto the pot in his own kitchen… How was that even possible?
Although that boy was usually mischievous, how could he cause trouble in his own home like that? It made no sense.
“Zhishui, you—”
Boom!
A loud explosion suddenly came from next door. Because the houses were so close, the ground of the Ning residence even trembled slightly.
Many nearby households were alarmed and opened their doors to look around.
“What happened? What exploded?”
“Was that an earthquake? Do we need to move?”
“What earthquake? That clearly came from the Niu family. Look at that black smoke.”
“What are they doing over there? Honestly.”
“They deserve it. That whole family is no good anyway.”
The discussions outside grew louder, mixed with screams and wailing from the neighboring house. The entire area turned chaotic.
Yet inside the Ning residence, it was completely silent.
Ning Zhishui raised her eyebrow, wearing an expression that said she had expected this.
Meanwhile, her aunt and second brother stared at each other.
Then both of them swallowed nervously.
It was true.
It was actually true.
“Fengzi, go next door and see what happened,” Aunt said, her eyes turning slightly as she urged him. “Such a huge commotion. Is everyone alright?”
Go quickly and find out what caused the explosion. See if it really has something to do with Niu Xiaoqiang.
“Oh, alright. I’ll go right away.”
Ning Chengfeng understood her meaning. After agreeing, he immediately ran out.
【No one was hurt. Niu Xiaoqiang will just receive a thorough beating from the entire family.】
【Speaking of which, now that their kitchen is blown up, they’ll probably start mooching off others again. Aunt Fang probably won’t dare come to our house for a while, so I wonder which family will become the next victim.】
【Right, Lake Reflection City will run into trouble before long. I need to persuade the whole family to move away.】
But how should I convince them?
Ning Zhishui felt her head aching from thinking.
The more familiar someone was with you, the harder it was for them to accept a change in your identity.
She only needed to say a few words for Danxing to believe her immediately.
But if she said the same things to her family, they would not believe her at all. They might even think she had lost her mind.
By that point, not only would she fail to persuade them, they might even lock her in a small dark room.
As for the matter of her being reborn, she needed to find a way to tell them that they could accept.
But what method could she possibly use?
Two updates a day. The chapters are usually released around 10 PM.