“A-Mei!”
The village chief finally found his voice. “Officer, she’s from our village. She’s mute!”
The rescue worker broke out in a cold sweat.
Good grief! I’ve been trying to force a mute girl to answer me this whole time!
The village chief walked over to A-Mei and grabbed her arm.
“A-Mei, stop causing trouble for the officials. Come on, let’s go.”
A-Mei had always spent her time with Xie Jinwen, and because of that, the village chief never liked her much either. Besides, if A-Mei had suddenly appeared here alone, it certainly couldn’t mean anything good.
The strange fish in the river. The thick fog in the mountains.
Everything was too bizarre.
Hundreds of people were already frustrated because of these mysteries. He could not allow A-Mei to stir up more trouble and leave these important people with the impression that poor mountains and bad waters bred troublesome villagers. If that happened, asking for funding later would become much more difficult.
A-Mei refused to leave.
She had been brought out of the mountains without understanding what had happened, and she needed to return. But she lacked the strength to get back in on her own.
However, Old Zhou’s attention had already been diverted.
Another rescue team member arrived with a group of people. Old Zhou recognized the young woman leading them.
Her name was Yin Ciying, the Ling family’s adopted daughter.
“Uncle Zhou, have you found Ling Xiao yet?”
The intense pain caused Xie Jinwen to briefly lose consciousness before waking again.
In her ears were Ling Xiao’s furious growls and the sound of a machete clattering to the ground.
Forcing herself to stay awake, Xie Jinwen opened her heavy eyelids.
Blood continued to gush from the wound on her shoulder, soaking a large portion of her clothes red. It dripped onto the rattan chair beneath her and then onto the ground, blooming like clusters of plum blossoms. A black wild cat lowered its head and licked at the blood.
“Get lost.”
Xie Jinwen scolded weakly.
The cat’s fur stood on end as it fled.
Turning her head with difficulty, she saw Ling Xiao straddling a young man pinned to the ground.
The young man was Wang Ping, Aunt Wang’s son.
He was famous throughout the village as a hopeless romantic, completely infatuated with Zhang Cui’er.
Ling Xiao’s clenched fists rained down on Wang Ping’s head one punch after another. Blood had already begun to flow, and in his rage, he was beginning to harbor murderous intent.
“Ling Xiao, don’t beat him to death. You’ll only create more karma.”
Only after hearing Xie Jinwen’s voice did Ling Xiao regain some of his reason.
He grabbed the unconscious Wang Ping and tossed him over the low wall like a dead dog.
Xie Jinwen quickly formed hand seals and attempted to stop her bleeding with a spell.
It failed.
She could not mobilize the spiritual energy within her body. Without spiritual energy, her techniques had no source of power.
Xiao Kui…
Her gaze searched the courtyard.
As expected, she saw Xiao Kui lying on the ground, lifeless. It was nothing more than a wooden puppet pieced together from scraps.
How could this have happened?
Xie Jinwen calculated with her fingers, and her heart trembled.
With a bitter smile, she muttered,
“Karma turns in cycles. Retribution never misses its mark.”
Wang Ping had attacked her in a frenzy to avenge Zhang Cui’er.
This calamity had originally been destined for A-Mei.
But Xie Jinwen had sent A-Mei away.
As a result, the disaster had fallen upon her instead.
To make matters worse, it happened right after the mountain-climbing expedition through the strange fog. The tribulation had changed, sealing away her spiritual power and most of her abilities.
The blood continued to flow.
Ling Xiao rushed over and pressed down on her wound, trying desperately to stop the bleeding.
“Jinwen! Why won’t the bleeding stop? Aren’t you supposed to be amazing?”
Amazing?
Xie Jinwen’s face was pale.
“I’m not a god. I’m only flesh and blood.”
Earlier, Ling Xiao had been furious that Wang Ping had attacked Xie Jinwen while he was in the kitchen making a late-night snack.
Only now did fear begin to set in.
Xie Jinwen was human, just like him.
If she was injured, she would bleed.
And she could die.
“A doctor! I’ll take you to a doctor—”
Xie Jinwen shook her head.
“How could there be a doctor deep in these mountains? If there’s anyone who can be called a doctor here, it’s me. Go inside and bring out several medicines.”
Under her guidance, Ling Xiao fetched the medications.
Pills for internal use.
Medicinal powder for external application.
Bandaging for the wound.
After the full treatment regimen, the bleeding finally came under control.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Many things happened during that time.
A crazed outsider appeared in the village, running around shouting:
“There’s going to be an earthquake! Run for your lives!”
Aside from eye-rolls and mockery, nobody believed him.
The village chief had also left the mountains to report Ling Xiao’s whereabouts to the authorities, but he never returned.
Likewise, Zhang Dadan and his group had escorted Li Lao’er out of the mountains to file a police report, yet they never came back either.
The Zhang family subsequently sent more people to search for them.
That group never returned as well.
Of course they didn’t.
The dense fog had sealed off the mountain.
No one could enter.
No one could leave.
Anyone who tried to force their way through would meet only death.
It was a truth the villagers had discovered through countless lives lost.
The coming-of-age ceremony for the village girls proceeded as scheduled.
The villagers remained immersed in the joy of the festival.
Everyone except the Zhang family and the reclusive Ling Xiao.
The karmic retribution had come fiercely, but it also faded quickly.
The wound on Xie Jinwen’s shoulder had healed, leaving only a faint scar.
Today, she wore a light green outfit and applied rouge she had made herself.
She looked stunning.
Ling Xiao sat on a nearby stool, his handsome face dark with displeasure as he stared at her without blinking.
His eyes practically overflowed with jealousy, carrying the gloomy aura of a possessive ghost.
“Do you really have to go?”
The thought of Xie Jinwen dressing up specially for the ceremony, combined with the way men would look at her, made him deeply uncomfortable.
Xie Jinwen cast him a calm glance.
“I do.”
Raising a hand, she summoned a fully restored Xiao Kui.
“I’m attending the coming-of-age ceremony. You and Xiao Kui are to go to Rooster Crest Mountain and wait for me in front of Grandmother’s grave.”
Ling Xiao remained silent.
Clearly, he was unhappy with the arrangement.
Xie Jinwen continued:
“At noon, the Earth Dragon will begin to turn over. The lotus flowers will shrink back into buds. Rooster Crest Mountain will rise from the ground and become the main peak—the safest place in the entire mountain range. If I arrange for your safety, is that somehow wrong?”
Ling Xiao knew his anger was unreasonable.
Yet seeing Xie Jinwen all dressed up for others to admire still irritated him.
Having said what needed to be said, Xie Jinwen ignored the stubborn ox.
Today was the village’s most important day.
Ninety percent of the villagers had gathered before the sacrificial altar.
Several highly respected elders stood upon the platform chanting ritual prayers.
Eight young women stood in the center.
There should have been ten.
One missing girl was Xie Jinwen.
The other was A-Mei.
At dawn, someone had come to notify Xie Jinwen that she was required to attend.
As for A-Mei, after several days of unsuccessful searching, the villagers had simply given up.
In the eyes of some, as long as either Xie Jinwen or A-Mei was present, the ceremony could proceed smoothly.
“Xie Jinwen is here!”
Someone in the crowd shouted.
Everyone beneath the altar turned to look at the slowly approaching young woman.
“She’s only showing up now? Xie Jinwen is far too arrogant.”
“That girl becomes even prettier when she dresses up. I wonder whose family will dare offer her a sachet.”
“Hah! You old lechers. Whoever marries that disaster star is asking for terrible luck!”
Every eligible bachelor held a scented sachet in his hand.
It was a token of courtship.
Once the ritual prayers concluded, a man could present it to the young woman he admired.
If both families reached an agreement afterward, the marriage would be settled.
Upon seeing Xie Jinwen arrive, many elders once again warned the younger men in their families:
Under no circumstances were they to give their sachets to Xie Jinwen.
Xie Jinwen climbed the steps onto the altar.
The chanting of the ritual prayers ended at precisely the same moment.
Her timing was perfect.
Several elders on the platform glared at her in displeasure.
“Hurry up and take your place. We’re only waiting on you now.”
Only waiting for one final scapegoat.
The coming-of-age ceremony had another name—
The Mountain God Takes a Bride.
The chosen girls would be thrown into the Fallen Immortal Pool to ensure favorable weather, abundant harvests, and peace for every household in the coming year.