Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
A moment later, a hand flew over and landed directly at Zhao Qiushui's feet. Zhao Qiushui let out a startled scream and lost control, collapsing to the ground, trembling all over.
To ordinary people, including those in the palace, Death Warriors might seem extremely powerful. However, for Ming Yi and the others, they were still just a bit lacking. After all, encountering such situations was not new to them, and they had grown accustomed to the violence; otherwise, how could the new emperor have ascended so easily?
"Uncle, are they Death Warriors? Is there a Vulture here?"
Although Xia Muxin's eyes were covered by Shen Muhan, she could hear everything clearly. Zhao Qiushui's scream had been particularly piercing, making her realize that Ming Yi and the others had indeed severed the hands and feet of the Death Warriors.
While she didn't fully understand these matters, she felt a sense of dread. If they hadn't been there today, it would have been the villagers suffering instead. Moreover, she despised evil forces, especially those that bullied the common people. In her subconscious mind, she wished to completely destroy these Death Warriors. If the Wang family were to follow Zhao Qiushui's example and employ such people against the villagers in the future, the consequences would be unimaginable.
In her thoughts, only Vultures came to mind because Vultures eat corpses—any kind of corpse. She had seen it on television before but wasn't sure if Shen Muhan and the others knew about it.
Upon hearing Xia Muxin's question, Shen Muhan's eyes lit up with interest as he looked at her with a hint of intrigue. This girl seemed to know everything; he didn't even know how to respond.
Moreover, as Ming Yi and the others continued their brutal work, the thick smell of blood filled the air amidst scattered limbs on the ground. She had cooked rabbits and wild chickens before; she could recognize that scent immediately. Yet she remained unfazed and clearly asked him about Vultures.
"Why do you ask about that? Is it a type of bird?"
After pondering for a moment, he decided to follow her line of questioning. He was curious about how much she actually knew about Vultures and how she came to know it.
Xia Muxin felt somewhat puzzled. Despite being in Daimiao Mountain for so long, no one had mentioned Vultures. Logically speaking, with so many wild beasts around Daimiao Mountain, there should often be carcasses of prey. Where there were corpses, there would be Vultures. Moreover, whenever she went mushroom picking alone, her father would always remind her about it. Did they really not know what Vultures were?
After a brief pause, she replied:
"Well, I suppose so. They feed on corpses."
"Feed on corpses? What do you want those birds for?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Muhan feigned surprise.
"These Death Warriors are quite dangerous. We can't let them harm the nearby villagers. Besides, they are essentially living dead; if we sever their limbs, they become useless. Their master would just discard them anyway. It’s better to let the Vultures eat them. This way, they pose no threat to people, and it shows that woman our strength. Let’s see if she dares to flaunt these things and intimidate the common folk again."
"Hmm? Is that so? Then I'll have Ming Yi and the others think of a plan. For now, let's head back. We'll come back once this place is cleaned up."
After listening to Xia Muxin's explanation, Shen Muhan's eyes glimmered with amusement as he wrapped an arm around her and walked home. At the same time, a bone whistle slipped from his sleeve. With a deft flick of his wrist, the whistle landed in Ming Yi's hands. Ming Yi accepted the whistle and watched them enter the courtyard before slowly blowing into it.
The sound of the bone whistle was somewhat eerie, resembling a ghostly wail in the dead of night. As he blew it, Wang Shoucai and his group nearly lost consciousness and fainted, Zhao Qiushui being no exception.
Just before they lost awareness, a dark swarm of monstrous creatures flew in from nearby, excitedly squawking as they dove down to peck at the scattered limbs on the ground. Within moments, not even bones were left behind.
Ming Yi tucked away the bone whistle and began cleaning up the bloodstains on the ground.
Time passed, and eventually Zhao Qiushui and the others groggily regained consciousness. They found the ground as pristine as when they first arrived—only Firewood and dirt remained, with not a trace of blood or any remnants of the Death Warriors.
Zhao Qiushui's eyes glinted with murderous intent as she coldly stared in the direction of Xia Muxin and Thatched Cottage, a sinister smile curling at her lips. Don't think that eliminating a few Death Warriors means victory; her brother has plenty more. Let's see how many they can take down. Xia Muxin, pray you don't fall into my hands; otherwise, I will ensure you meet a gruesome end...
The next day, Xia Muxin woke up early. After returning home yesterday, Shen Muhan had insisted that they not go to the Kiln anymore, saying that Ming Yi and the others would handle everything. Concerned that the Wang family might cause trouble, her parents also advised her against going.
Today marked the third day of kiln firing. Xia Muxin dressed neatly and walked toward the front door. She looked up at the sky, a gentle smile forming on her lips; it promised to be another beautiful day.
“Shun Bo, have you all had breakfast yet?”
In the distance, she saw Shun Bo and a few others approaching. Xia Muxin knew they were there to take over the shift; the task of kiln firing was still in their hands. They were diligent, coming out at dawn every day.
“Yes, Miss Muxin! You’re up early too!”
The group was made up of men in their forties or fifties, whom Xia Muxin affectionately called "Uncle." They all had children at home and were well-behaved, but none were as capable as Xia Muxin. The child was clever and articulate, which made everyone fond of her.
Seeing her greet them, they quickly smiled back.
“Perfect timing! I’ll go with you to the Kiln.”
Xia Muxin’s eyes sparkled as she flashed them a sweet smile before stepping out of the courtyard to join them on their way to the Kiln.
“Great! We have many things we don’t understand. With you there, you can guide us a bit.”
This was their first time handling the kiln firing, and they felt both nervous and excited. Even now, they were just following Xia Muxin’s instructions, so they were more than happy to have her accompany them.
As they arrived at the Kiln with eight people in tow, they found Shen Muhan already there. Xia Muxin hadn’t noticed he was awake when she left; she hadn’t wanted to disturb him but ended up catching him in the act.
He wouldn't let her come to Kiln alone.
It had only been one night, yet the color of the bricks seemed to have changed slightly. They looked much better than the earthen bricks at home, and they were sturdier too.
Everyone still felt a bit intimidated by Shen Muhan. Setting aside his identity and background, whenever he stood somewhere, he exuded an aura that pressured those around him. Moreover, he was always surrounded by a large group of protectors. They had seen the tree stumps clearly; each one of them could fly. So now that they saw him here, any questions they had were swallowed back down as they each found their own kiln to switch shifts.
"Aren't you tired these days? Why are you up so early?"
Shen Muhan pulled Xia Muxin aside and glanced at her shoulder with a gentle voice.
Last night before going to bed, he had applied medicine on her and prepared a very soft pillow for her. He left only after she had fallen asleep. He was usually a light sleeper, and he had sent someone to investigate the incident from yesterday. He intended to ask her about it this morning while she was still asleep, but the person he sent hadn’t returned yet. Just as he was about to give further instructions, she arrived.
After applying the medicine once, he noticed that the bruises on her shoulder and elsewhere had improved significantly. He believed that after applying it two more times, she would be completely healed.
"Hehe, the early bird catches the worm," Xia Muxin said with a bright smile, excitedly.
She couldn't say that she woke up feeling unusually excited and got up because of it. This was her first time firing a kiln; how could she not be thrilled? Besides, looking at the beautiful weather today, it was already the third day, with four days left until the kiln could be opened.
Gazing at her quirky demeanor, Shen Muhan smirked and walked over to the Poplar Tree. He looked up for a moment before jumping on his tiptoes and reaching out with his large hand.
Xia Muxin watched him in surprise as he approached her, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. Did he really just do that childish action?
At that moment, Shen Muhan stood in front of her, pinching a blue worm between his fingers. He stared at her for a while before finally asking seriously,
"Is this the kind of worm you were talking about?"
Xia Muxin felt as if a thousand alpacas had just rushed past her. Shen Muhan, could you be any more childish or devious?
The worm wriggled its plump body between his fingers, and Xia Muxin seemed to see two tiny black dots, like decimal points, on one end of its chubby form, which was hard to distinguish as either head or tail. Could those possibly be the worm's eyes...
Moreover, she felt as if those eyes were glaring coldly at her, seemingly blaming her for saying the wrong thing that led to its capture, depriving it of enjoying a delicious breakfast.
Xia Muxin felt as if she had been struck by lightning, rubbing her eyes repeatedly; she must have been too tired lately and was seeing things.
Seeing her in such a daze, Shen Muhan was also taken aback. She had remained unfazed during yesterday's meal, yet today she was scared silly by such a small worm. With a swift motion, he tossed the worm into the air where it flew towards the leaves of a tree.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Noticing that Xia Muxin was still in a daze, he reached out to check her forehead, asking with slight concern.
Xia Muxin rolled her eyes and suddenly focused on the Poplar Tree.
"Uncle, do you think raising worms on this tree would be a beautiful endeavor?"
Shen Muhan frowned, completely missing her point. However, Xia Muxin jumped up excitedly and clapped her hands before bouncing off toward home.
Shen Muhan shook his head and gave Ming Yi a glance before following her footsteps.
"Ermiao, is what you said true?"
As they stepped into their yard, they saw the family standing at the door. Ermiao had arrived at some point, and his brother's voice rang out in disbelief and excitement.
"Keep your voice down; everyone can hear you."
Ermiao seemed a bit shy as she lowered her head and mumbled softly, causing their parents to burst into laughter.
"What's got everyone so happy this early in the morning? Is there good news?"
Xia Muxin listened to their conversation and felt a surge of joy. She guessed that the village chief must have agreed to Ermiao and her brother's relationship. Excited, Ermiao had rushed over to tell her brother. Xia Muxin loved seeing Ermiao's shy demeanor, so she walked toward them with her hands behind her back, speaking in a teasing tone.
When Ermiao caught sight of Xia Muxin's mischievous eyes, she felt too embarrassed to look up and simply tugged at her sleeve awkwardly.
"It's indeed good news! The village chief has agreed to your brother and Ermiao's relationship. It seems our family will be celebrating soon."
Aunt Xia couldn't contain her joy as she spoke with a wide smile.
"Brother, congratulations! Your dream has finally come true!"
Ermiao blushed at the attention. Xia Muxin knew better than to tease her too much; otherwise, her brother might retaliate. However, teasing her own brother was still fair game.
"You sweet-talking girl."
Xia Tieshu's eyes were moist at that moment. He and Ermiao had grown up together, and the whole village had high hopes for them. Yet their journey had been filled with bumps and hardships. Today, they could finally be together openly.
"When is the wedding set, Father? You should go to the village chief's house later. There's no rush for the wedding; I will start preparing for building our house right away. Once our new house is built and we move in, the first thing I will do is bring Ermiao through the door."
This was indeed great news, but Ermiao couldn't just squeeze into the back room with him and Songzi. So, the priority now was to build a new house.
After thinking it over, he spoke to his father. After all, as the head of the family, his father would give face to the village chief. With an elder speaking on their behalf, it would be reliable. He believed that the village chief would not only have no objections but would be quite willing to help.
Summer Forest listened to Xia Muxin's words and suddenly slapped his forehead in realization, agreeing wholeheartedly with her. He then followed Ermiao as they prepared to leave.
"Brother, you should go too!"
Xia Muxin called out to them at the last moment and walked into the house. When she came out, she handed a basket to Xia Tieshu and winked at him playfully.
Feeling a bit shy, Xia Tieshu saw his sister's determined gaze and then looked at Ermiao's hopeful expression. He accepted the basket and went along with them.
In the blink of an eye, four days had passed, and it was time to assess their progress. Early in the morning, Xia Muxin got up and brought her family to the kiln.
- End of Chapter -
Comment 0 Comment Count