“Uncle Qin, once you reach halfway up the mountain, go farther south. I dug up some codonopsis over there before.
“Don’t worry. I’ll stay behind and help you look after Auntie.
“Besides, my grandma is here too!”
Xiaohua’s words dispelled the last of Qin Shiqian’s misgivings.
“Xiaohua, thank you so much.” After saying this, Qin Shiqian leaned on his crutch and left.
Xiaorenshen was so furious that she stamped her feet, wishing she could give Xiaohua another blow, just like the one she had dealt the Ginseng Boss earlier.
But even after using all her strength, she could not gather the slightest bit of spiritual power. Instead, she exhausted herself until she was panting for breath.
The more anxious Xiaorenshen became, the more uncomfortable Madam Zhang felt.
She sat weakly against the kang, taking small, shallow breaths.
Xiaohua quickly poured out a bowl of water and fed Madam Zhang a few mouthfuls.
“Auntie, I’ll leave the water here for you. I’ll take Grandma home first, then I’ll come right back to keep you company.”
After saying this, Xiaohua set down the bowl, hurried back to Old Madam Yu’s side, and tugged her by the arm toward the door.
Old Madam Yu looked at the mother and daughter-in-law on the kang, sympathy surfacing in her eyes.
Afraid that she might say something she should not, Xiaohua immediately pinched her arm hard, signaling for her to leave quickly.
The moment they stepped out of the dilapidated Qin Residence, Old Madam Yu flung Xiaohua’s hand away.
In a hoarse, low voice, she said, “All right, stop pretending. What kind of mischief are you planning now?”
Xiaohua also shed her earlier innocent, adorable appearance. Her face darkened as she said,
“Mind your own business. Hurry and take a message to the Hu family.
“Tell them Qin Shiqian has gone up the mountain and headed south.”
“What?” Old Madam Yu was shocked, her face changing drastically. “The Qin family has always treated us well. You—you’ve always liked that husband and wife, haven’t you?
“Do you really have to harm them to death before you’ll be satisfied?
“You’re only eight years old! How can your heart be so vicious?”
Xiaohua sneered at her words. “What right does someone who killed her own son and daughter-in-law have to call me vicious?
“Are you regretting that you didn’t just bury me alive together with my parents back then?”
Seeing Old Madam Yu’s face turn deathly pale in an instant, Xiaohua gave a contemptuous smile.
“Don’t worry. You’re still useful to me, so I won’t do anything to you for now.”
Old Madam Yu’s lips trembled uncontrollably from anger. In a quavering voice, she said, “Whatever people do, Heaven sees it all. You—you’re not afraid of suffering Heaven’s punishment?”
“Ha! You old hag. People have treated you as the Immortal and flattered you for so long that you really think you can invite an immortal into your body?
“Without me, would you have the status you enjoy today?
“Remember this: I was the one who raised you up, so I can also make you fall and smash to death!”
“Retribution… It’s all retribution!”
Old Madam Yu let out a long sigh. In the end, she still clenched the note Xiaohua had given her and, trembling, made her way toward the Ginseng Boss’s house.
*
Qin Shiqian hurried anxiously up the mountain. But it was the season when the vegetation in the mountains grew thick and luxuriant, making movement difficult even for a healthy person.
Not to mention that he was relying on a crutch and dragging an injured leg. He staggered uphill, one step deep and the next shallow, and before long he was panting for breath.
But his mind was filled with worry for his wife and child, and he did not dare rest for even a moment.
Qin Shiqian struggled over a dirt slope and walked only a short distance south in the direction Xiaohua had indicated.
Suddenly, the Ginseng Boss’s four sons emerged from the woods and blocked his path.
“Stop! Qin Shiqian, you’ve certainly grown bold. You actually dared to injure our father!”
“We merely broke one of your legs, but you crushed both of our father’s legs in retaliation. I say you must be tired of living!”
Songjiang Village lay at the foot of Changbai Mountain. Aside from a few locals, most of the people in the village were criminals exiled there from various places, or their descendants.
In summer, these people had to go into the mountains to dig for ginseng and gather medicinal herbs. In winter, they had to hunt in the mountains. All their harvests had to be offered to the imperial court.
As the Ginseng Boss, Hu Dazhu wielded the greatest authority in the village. With a single word, he could decide whether someone lived or died.
His four sons were all tall and powerfully built, and they were even more notorious bullies in the village.
They had committed no shortage of acts involving seizure by force, robbery, and bullying men and violating women.
Even Qin Shiqian, who had practiced martial arts from a young age, had previously had his leg broken after being set upon by them.
Now that they had surrounded him here, he was likely facing disaster.
At this moment, Qin Shiqian no longer cared about his own safety. He was only afraid that if he failed to dig up the codonopsis and take it home, it would delay stabilizing his wife’s pregnancy.
Swallowing his anger, he said, “Gentlemen, my wife accidentally suffered a pregnancy complication, and her condition is critical.
“Would you be willing to let me dig up the medicinal herb and take it home to protect her pregnancy first? After that, I, Qin Shiqian, will submit to whatever you…”
Eldest Brother Hu did not wait for him to finish before spitting at him.
“Bah! The Immortal already said that the thing in your wife’s belly is an evil spawn. Once it’s born, it will bring about the deaths of everyone in our village.
“Protect the pregnancy? To hell with that. It’d be best if it died!”
Qin Shiqian knew that these people had no compassion at all.
He no longer humbled himself. His expression turned cold, and he drew the dagger from his waist in one swift motion.
“In that case, stop wasting words.
“It’s just me against the four of you.
“If I kill one, I break even. If I kill two, I come out ahead!”
“Get him! What’s there to be afraid of?” Eldest Brother Hu shouted, raising his arm. “The four of us brothers can’t possibly lose to one cripple!”
Qin Shiqian swung his dagger with all his strength, but two fists could not defeat four hands, and his leg injury severely hindered him.
In the end, not only was the dagger in his hand taken away—
Qin Shiqian was also pinned firmly to the ground by the four Hu brothers.
“Hiss—” Eldest Brother Hu sucked in a sharp breath of pain as he looked at the long cut across his arm. Then he planted one foot on the back of Qin Shiqian’s head.
Qin Shiqian’s face was viciously ground into the mud.
He struggled with all his might, but every breath he drew brought mud and grass roots into his mouth and nose. Before long, he lost the strength to resist.
At home, far away, Xiaorenshen seemed able to feel all of his suffering as though she were experiencing it herself.
But trapped inside Madam Zhang’s belly, there was nothing she could do. She was so frantic that tears nearly welled up in her eyes.
Xiaorenshen was so consumed by panic that she did not notice Madam Zhang had already become unable to sit upright from the pain.
She lay on her side on the kang, clutching her abdomen as wave after wave of pain struck, while still trying her best to soothe Xiaorenshen inside her.
“Sweetie, Mama knows you’re uncomfortable.
“Bear with it a little longer. Once your papa brings the medicine back, everything will be all right…”
Xiaohua stood beside the kang, watching Madam Zhang suffer terribly.
Her face showed a panicked, helpless expression, but inwardly she was already rejoicing.
Little brat, go peacefully!
This is your fate!
The heaven-sent fortune of your parents and the Qin family from now on is destined to belong to me!
Xiaorenshen was nearly driven mad by being stifled, yet no matter what she did, she could not find a way to escape.
In her desperation, her spiritual sense rammed frantically left and right inside her body.
Madam Zhang no longer knew what to do. She could only keep praying.
“May all the gods and Buddhas of Heaven protect me. I, your humble believer Madam Zhang, am willing to worship Buddha for the rest of my life. I only beg the Buddha to keep my child safe…”
Perhaps Madam Zhang’s sincerity had taken effect. The spiritual sense that had just been nourished by the husband and wife finally broke through its restraints.
A gentle stream of spiritual power surged skyward from Madam Zhang’s body and sped toward Changbai Mountain.
Wherever this spiritual power passed, the plants and trees seemed to bathe in the spring breeze, while the birds and beasts rejoiced.
Deep in the mountain forest, a powerful leopard that had been lying on a tree asleep suddenly pricked up its ears.
As though it had sensed a summons, it leaped down from the tree and soon disappeared into the luxuriant vegetation.