The Village Chief’s gaze fell back on Shen Changshan. “Shen the eldest, what do you mean by this? Are you still harboring ill intentions, still scheming after that child?”
Seeing the Chief’s hand move toward the long whip at his waist, Shen Changshan waved his hands nervously. “No, Chief, that’s not it. I only just remembered it today myself.”
“Grandpa Chief, we did eat mushrooms yesterday. Maybe we were just unlucky, but even the King of Hell took pity on us and didn’t take us. Turns out those mushrooms weren’t edible after all. I was even thinking of going to pick some more today to eat—thank goodness you came early, or we might have kicked the bucket today.”
Shen Qiyue’s face showed a mix of shock and fear as she looked at the Village Chief with deep gratitude.
The Village Chief’s eyes toward Shen Changshan were already brewing a storm. Shen Changshan felt a chill run down his spine, but it was too late to defend himself—Shen Gui had already drawn his whip.
“Eldest, yesterday Second Girl was kind-hearted and let you off. You still dare to scheme? You clearly saw them mistakenly eat poisonous mushrooms, yet you heartlessly let it go and only spoke up today. Your intentions are truly vicious. As Village Chief, I cannot let this go unpunished. Come, restrain Shen Changshan.”
Two burly men stepped forward and grabbed Shen Changshan by both arms. Amid Shen Changshan’s screams, the Village Chief’s whip came down.
After ten lashes, Shen Changshan’s clothes were already torn to shreds, his calves and back burning with pain.
Enduring the agony, he limped back to the Shen household and threw himself into his room.
Hearing the commotion, Mrs. Zhang stepped out of her room, only catching a glimpse of Shen Changshan’s back as he shut the door. Fury welled up inside her, and she stood in the courtyard, cursing at the top of her lungs.
“Damn you all to hell! Are the ghosts of Yama chasing you? One after another, you eat and leave without cleaning up a thing. You’re trying to work this old woman to death!”
“Enough,” Old Man Shen said, stepping out with his tobacco pipe. “You eat your fill and then start cursing up a storm, making so much noise I can’t even get a proper nap.”
Mrs. Zhang immediately turned her fire on her old man, unleashing a torrent of abuse.
“Father, Mother, stop arguing. I can’t even read a book in peace.” Shen Changbai, the third son of the Shen family, stepped out of the south room with a gloomy face.
Mrs. Zhang immediately backed down. “Sanbao, Mother was wrong. Go back to your reading, my precious. Mother will steam you an egg custard.”
Dashuan and Xiaoshuan, who had been playing with pebbles under the north eaves, jumped up the moment they heard “egg custard.”
“Grandma, Grandma, we want egg custard too!”
Mrs. Zhang shot them a glare. “Eat your mother’s ass! You’re this old and still don’t know any better. Your third uncle is a man of the classics—he needs his brain fed. Once he passes the imperial exams, won’t you all bask in his glory?”
Dashuan and Xiaoshuan immediately burst into tears. “Grandma’s playing favorites! Grandma’s playing favorites!”
“Stop your damn wailing!” Old Man Shen barked. “All of you, get the hell out!”
Inside the room, Mrs. Li cursed the old couple under her breath for their blatant favoritism, then glanced at her own husband—disheveled, battered, looking utterly lost.
“Shen Changshan, you useless piece of trash. I was blind to marry you. Your father and mother favor the third son, won’t even spare an egg for their own grandsons, and you can’t even squeak a word of protest. And look at you—where’d you go picking a fight this time, getting yourself beaten to a pulp? You’re a goddamn coward!”
“Woman,” Shen Changshan suddenly spoke up, “do you think someone who ate poisonous mushrooms could still be alive?”
Mrs. Li’s anger flared even hotter. “I’m trying to talk to you about serious matters, and you’re playing games with me? Eat poisonous mushrooms and still live? Wouldn’t that make them a demon?”
Shen Changshan was startled. A demon?
Yes! That’s right! Shen Qiyue had been acting like a completely different person ever since she woke up a few days ago. She must be possessed by a demon!
Shen Changshan’s eyes narrowed. Just you wait—whatever kind of demon you are, I’ll find someone to exorcise you.
In the Shen family’s small courtyard, Shen Qiyue handed the tobacco she’d bought at the market that day to the Village Chief and politely saw him and the villagers off.
Madam Bai had also pieced together the whole sequence of events and couldn’t help but curse under her breath.
But Shen Qiyue didn’t take it to heart. She ate when she should eat and slept when she should sleep. She couldn’t care less how these people jumped around—she had far more important things to do.
The next day, before dawn had even broken, Shen Dayun was calling at the gate outside the courtyard.
Startled awake, Shen Qiyue quickly got up, tucked the blankets around Huzi and Taotao, then slung her bamboo basket over her back and headed up the mountain with Shen Dayun.
With Shen Dayun there to watch her back, Shen Qiyue felt much more at ease. She made her way along the familiar path to the spot where she’d picked fruit last time.
Shen Dayun was busy setting animal traps nearby and didn’t pay Shen Qiyue any mind.
There weren’t many fruits left, and the ground was littered with half-eaten scraps left by animals. She carefully picked out the intact ones, placed them in her basket, and casually snapped off a few branches to toss in as well.
After finishing that, Shen Qiyue returned to the big tree where she’d found the bloodstains last time. The herbs she’d left behind were gone, and there were no signs of wild beasts having passed through.
It must have been… a person, right? Then she’d done a good deed.
She was just thinking of venturing deeper into the mountains while Shen Dayun was around to see what she could find, when her eyes were drawn to a scrap of indigo-blue cloth on the ground.
She bent down to pick up the cloth strip, but something fell out from within it.
She crouched down and discovered a translucent round jade pendant among the dead branches. On the front was a bird spreading its wings to soar, and on the back was the character “Lu.”
“Peace dove?”
Grateful for kindness, this person was someone who knew how to repay favors. She even left her such a jade pendant that was clearly not an ordinary piece as a thank-you gift.
Shen Qiyue, following the principle of “why not take what’s free,” tucked the jade pendant away. Such a fine thing could be sold for some money if she ever found herself at a dead end.
She put the pendant away, hummed a tune as she followed Shen Dayun and continued forward.
Just as they turned past a low earthen mound, Shen Qiyue’s gaze was firmly seized by a bare tree trunk.
She gasped, her whole body trembling slightly.
This was a pepper tree! This bare, low trunk was her mother’s pepper tree!
In her past life, Shen Qiyue’s village had been a nationally renowned pepper-growing base, and the entire village had escaped poverty through pepper cultivation!
What did this mean? It was like a pillow arriving just as she was dozing off—was she the transmigration god’s own daughter?
“Qiyue, what do you want with these dried branches of the numbing fruit tree?”
Numbing fruit? Shen Qiyue pondered while her hands kept moving, snapping off a few branches.
“Oh, just thought I’d take them home to see if they burn well for the fire? Hehe.”
Shen Dayun looked at the sallow, thin little girl and felt a pang of heartache. “Qiyue, I’ve already set the traps. I’ll come back tomorrow to see if we can catch a pheasant or a wild hare, so we can have a decent New Year.”
“Brother Dayun, I can take care of my mother and the others. You…”
Shen Qiyue knew that he was looking after them because of her eldest sister, but her eldest sister was already a wife and mother. They really shouldn’t keep accepting his kindness extended out of love for her.
Shen Dayun gave a bitter smile. “Qiyue, don’t be so polite. You’re living in hardship, and she… she feels bad about it too. Looking after you all is my way of… fulfilling filial duty for her.”
When it came to matters of the heart, outsiders had no right to interfere. Shen Qiyue could do nothing but sigh at Shen Dayun’s devotion.
She tugged at the bamboo basket on her back. “Brother Dayun, let’s head back.”
By the time Shen Qiyue returned to the Shen family courtyard, dawn was just breaking.
Huzi rubbed his eyes and opened the door, seeing Shen Qiyue unloading the bamboo basket from her back in the yard.
“Second Sister, I’ll wash the fruits.”
Shen Qiyue pulled out a few branches, handed the basket to him, and walked inside herself.
Taotao was still sleeping soundly on the kang. Shen Qiyue quietly sat down at the side, closed her eyes, and focused her mind.
Before long, the Spirit Spring Space gradually emerged.
Shen Qiyue quickly picked up the small iron shovel she had prepared, turned over the soil, and carefully planted the pepper branches and spice branches on opposite sides.
She fetched a bucket and watered them with Spirit Spring Water, then stood quietly to the side, hands on her hips, gazing at her little space with pride.
But then, an unbelievable scene unfolded…