“Qin Shiqian, hand over your wife, Madam Zhang!”
“If you want to stay in Songjiang Village, get rid of that bastard child!”
“The great immortal said that the earth dragon has turned in the mountains. Someone must be sacrificed before the Mountain God’s anger can be appeased!”
Xiaorenshen was sleeping soundly when she was suddenly awakened by the commotion.
She yawned and wanted to see what was happening.
But as soon as she opened her eyes, she discovered that she was not in the soil at all. She was floating in a pool of liquid, and she even had arms and legs.
Could it be that after living for so many years, a ginseng really could turn into a ginseng baby?
But Xiaorenshen soon remembered.
Some time ago, a group of ginseng diggers had somehow found the place where she lived and tied her body up with a red cord.
In her panic, Xiaorenshen had no choice but to abandon her body and flee with her spiritual sense wrapped in spiritual power.
However, she had only recently become a spirit and did not have enough spiritual power. Before she had gone very far, it was nearly depleted.
After great difficulty, Xiaorenshen escaped to the foot of the mountain, where she happened to encounter Madam Zhang, whose child had already died in the womb.
Before she could figure out what was happening, her spiritual sense was suddenly sucked inside, and she finally found herself a place to stay.
Immediately afterward, Xiaorenshen grew exhausted and fell into a deep sleep. She had only just been awakened today.
After sensing the spiritual power that had recovered inside her body, Xiaorenshen secretly released her spiritual sense and sensed her surroundings.
It was a low, dilapidated earthen house. A worn quilt was piled on the kang, and an old woman with graying hair lay on top of it.
Xiaorenshen could sense that the old woman’s breathing was faint and that she might stop breathing at any moment.
Qin Shiqian stood at the doorway, leaning on a crutch. His left leg was still wrapped in white cloth, and his back teeth were clenched so hard they creaked.
Madam Zhang hid behind him, her face pale with fright and her body trembling slightly, yet both hands were firmly protecting her heavily bulging belly.
“Husband, Father hasn’t returned from the mountain yet, and Mother is still waiting for ginseng to keep her alive.
“Ginseng Boss has brought people to block our door again. What are we going to do?”
Qin Shiqian tightened his grip on the crutch in his hand and gritted his teeth. “Don’t be afraid. Whoever dares lay a finger on you will have to step over my dead body first!”
Though he said this, he was injured, and he had no confidence at all in facing the group of people Ginseng Boss had brought.
Sure enough, Ginseng Boss let out a cold laugh when he heard this. “Qin Shiqian, your father angered the Mountain God and has already died in the mountains.
“Now everyone in your family is either sick or injured. Do you really think I can’t do anything to you?”
“What? You mean Father-in-law…” Madam Zhang’s tears spilled from her eyes the instant she heard this.
Inside her body, Xiaorenshen immediately felt the overwhelming sorrow.
The unfamiliar sensation made Xiaorenshen somewhat uncomfortable. She swept her spiritual sense toward the doorway, wanting to see exactly what this “Ginseng Boss” was—a person who could make her feel so miserable.
But she would have been better off not looking. The moment she did, she nearly became furious enough to smoke.
Wasn’t this the rotten old man who had trapped her with the red cord before?
She had been forced to flee and reincarnate, yet he had still come knocking on her door?
Claiming that the Mountain God was enraged was nothing but nonsense.
The Mountain God was clearly so gentle!
Xiaorenshen did not know that Ginseng Boss was not a name, but an honorific for the leader of the ginseng diggers.
She only vaguely sensed that Ginseng Boss’s gaze was fixed maliciously on Madam Zhang’s belly.
Could this bad old man have come to capture her?
The more Xiaorenshen thought about it, the angrier and more aggrieved she became.
She had grown deep in Changbai Mountain for several thousand years and had gained spiritual power long ago. A few years earlier, she had finally cultivated a spiritual sense.
Usually, she loved wandering around the mountains. When she was thirsty, she drank a few mouthfuls of mountain spring water; when she was hungry, she ate a few fruits.
Every now and then, she would even run into the gentle Uncle Mountain God and mooch a few drops of immortal dew or an immortal fruit. Her life had been as carefree as could be.
But after only a few years of such a wonderful life, Ginseng Boss had ruined it.
She had not even gone to settle accounts with him, yet he had come to wipe her out completely.
New and old grudges surged through her heart. Xiaorenshen desperately gathered the last of her spiritual power and hurled it all at Ginseng Boss.
Ginseng Boss suddenly felt as though someone had slammed into him from behind. He immediately fell flat on his face right in front of Qin Shiqian.
Qin Shiqian reacted with lightning speed. He snatched up his crutch and pressed it against Ginseng Boss’s temple.
Seeing that Ginseng Boss’s vital point had been restrained, the group behind him instantly stopped daring to act recklessly, though they could not help shouting.
“Qin Shiqian, don’t get too arrogant!”
“If your family still wants to survive here, let Ginseng Boss go right now!”
Qin Shiqian applied more force with his hand and said coldly, “Tell them all to back away and get out of my house!”
Feeling the pressure against his temple, Ginseng Boss panicked and shouted, “Stop yelling! All of you, get out!”
【Well done!】
Xiaorenshen loudly cheered on her bargain-bin dad in her heart.
She hurried to help as well, using her spiritual power to push the stone roller nearby. It rolled straight toward Ginseng Boss’s legs and crushed them.
“Ahhh—!”
Ginseng Boss’s legs were pinned beneath the stone roller, and he let out a shrill scream.
Everyone was stunned by the sight before them.
The heavy stone roller had been sitting there perfectly well, and no one had touched it. How had it suddenly rolled over?
And how had it managed to crush only Ginseng Boss’s legs, without touching Qin Shiqian at all?
Qin Shiqian and Madam Zhang were also staring wide-eyed in shock.
Could it be that Heaven could not stand Ginseng Boss’s vile conduct and had intervened to punish him?
While everyone stood frozen in astonishment, Xiaorenshen finally vented her anger.
Although she had acted impulsively and used up the meager spiritual power she had struggled to restore, as the saying went, enemies had to be avenged on the spot. Otherwise, she would only die of anger herself!
【Bad old man, this is what you get for bullying me! Let me tell you, I’m not someone you can mess with!】
Using her spiritual sense, Xiaorenshen planted her feet on Ginseng Boss’s head and jumped up and down on it several times.
Although she could not hurt him in the slightest, she still felt refreshed from head to toe.
The scene before them was simply too bizarre. Every one of the troublemakers was frightened pale.
Qin Shiqian’s mind raced. Without bothering to wonder how the stone roller had rolled over, he gave them a strange smile and said ominously, “Did you see that? The Mountain God just punished the person who angered him.
“As for all of you…”
Qin Shiqian’s gaze slowly swept across everyone’s faces.
Xiaorenshen immediately followed his gaze and blew a breeze into the back collars of the men one by one.
Everyone who met Qin Shiqian’s eyes felt a chill at the nape of their neck.
The timid ones were already trembling so badly that their legs could barely support them, while even the bold ones could not help shrinking their necks.
Qin Shiqian seized the opportunity and shouted sharply, “Did you see that? Anyone else who dares come to my house and cause trouble will end up just like him!”
Ginseng Boss, overcome by both pain and fury, passed out on the spot, and foul-smelling liquid instantly soaked through the crotch of his trousers.
“What are you waiting for? Take that filthy thing and get out of here!”
At his words, everyone immediately sprang into action, dragging the unconscious Ginseng Boss away at top speed.
Even so, Xiaorenshen was nearly knocked over by the stench.
She raised her hand and pinched her tiny nose.
【Ugh, that bad old man stinks so much!】
Madam Zhang felt movement in her belly and immediately cradled it in delight. “Husband, our child just moved!”
Some time ago, she had accidentally fallen, and the child in her belly had not moved for a long time.
Now that the child had suddenly begun moving again, Madam Zhang’s eyes reddened with joy.
“That’s wonderful! The child is all right!”
“Really? Let me feel!” At this, Qin Shiqian immediately hobbled over with his crutch and gently stroked Madam Zhang’s belly.
As he caressed her, Xiaorenshen felt a warm current sweep through her entire body.
Sensing the couple’s deep love for her, Xiaorenshen felt extremely comfortable. Her spiritual sense, which had shown no movement for so long, even seemed to grow a little.
“Why did the child stop moving again?”
His question made Madam Zhang press her lips together in a smile. “Are you silly? How could the child keep moving nonstop?”
Qin Shiqian refused to give up. He gently stroked Madam Zhang’s belly again and coaxed, “Good baby, move for your father one more time, all right?”
Xiaorenshen thought, Since you behaved fairly well just now, I’ll give you that much.
She simply turned over inside Madam Zhang’s belly and changed to a more comfortable position.
“Oof!” The large movement startled Madam Zhang, and she hurriedly supported her belly with both hands.
Qin Shiqian had gotten what he wanted and grinned so broadly that the corners of his mouth nearly reached his ears.
“You heard your father talking, didn’t you?
“Good baby, just grow well. Don’t give your mother too much trouble.
“Even if I have to risk my life, I will protect the two of you and keep you safe!”
Xiaorenshen had originally wanted to respond once more, but exhausting her spiritual power had left her terribly sleepy. Soon, she fell into another dream.
Amid the layers of pressure weighing upon them, the family of three rarely enjoyed a brief moment of tenderness.
No one noticed that the girl from the neighboring household, Xiaohua, was staring darkly at them through the gaps in the wooden fence, muttering under her breath, “That’s not right. How is the fetus in Madam Zhang’s belly still alive?”