Red Locust Great Wizard brought Xiao Xian back to the village, where villagers were evacuating down the mountain. Had it not been for Secretary Qian’s incessant yelling, everyone would have thought it was all just a dream.
Granny Zhao, with her toothless gums bared red, muttered nonstop, "May the Bodhisattva bless us, surely we’ve offended the Dragon King."
The dam over on the mountain had collapsed, flooding water had surged down, backfilling into the village, submerging the rice fields completely. Several households at the entrance of the village were inundated up to waist-deep. Fortunately, San Gouzi and others exerted all their strength to transport the rice into the broadcast station, narrowly avoiding the disaster.
Secretary Qian lay on the cart, silent. He couldn’t possibly confess before the townsfolk that the concrete used for the dam had been skimped on. And yet, Wang Chunhua’s hen in her hand just wouldn’t stop clucking, as if the racket wasn’t loud enough already.
"Xiao Xian," Zhu Shijun saw Xiao Xian’s state and mistook her for having encountered some mishap, his hands and feet turning ice cold in fright.
"Rest assured, the little girl’s pulse is strong. She just ate some mountain air in her rush to return to the village, got a bit frightened," Red Locust Great Wizard said with a heart that didn’t match his words, truly uncertain who had scared whom.
"Silly child, what drove her to run back here?" The old master felt a twinge of sourness in his heart, thinking Xiao Xian must have been worried about the village amidst the commotion at Leigong Mountain, hence her rush to come back.
It turned out to be fortunate that she ran back. Otherwise, who knows what might have happened by now. Red Locust Great Wizard surveyed the little girl in his arms. Her delicate round face had thick lashes trembling slightly, and her cheeks still had patches of mud on them. It was a pity, such a talented seedling and yet he couldn’t take her as his own disciple.
However, since she naturally had a talent with plants, imparting her some knowledge of medicinal herbs and medical theory would definitely lead to great potential in the future.
"Great Wizard, it’s good that you’ve come," upon seeing Xiao Xian was alright, the village chief let the old master carry his granddaughter back home first. The village secretary’s waist had been seriously injured by a collapsing beam, and without prompt treatment, it could lead to debilitating consequences.
Red Locust Great Wizard was well aware of Secretary Qian’s antics in Ge Village, such as the felled Dragon Juniper and the secretly constructed dam, which were almost certainly Secretary Qian’s brainchild.
"I only treat people, livestock and the like should be taken down the mountain to find a veterinarian," said the Great Wizard who was not inclined to stay and clean up the village’s mess. This flood, after all, wasn’t completely a bad thing; the ignorant Han Family people deserved to learn a lesson.
"Hey, what kind of talk is that? An old demon is still an old demon," complained Wang Chunhua dissatisfied.
Red Locust Great Wizard smiled coldly. Secretary Qian on the cart felt an itch on his back, and when he randomly scratched, ended up with a centipede in his palm.
"Goodness me," Secretary Qian hastily moved his buttocks off the cart. Wang Chunhua’s hen, upon seeing the centipede, which it liked to eat, firmly gouged her hand with its claws, flapped its wings, and pecked at Secretary Qian’s face viciously.
Secretary Qian was in unbearable pain, unable to break free; he was dragged several meters away with the cart. By the time the villagers managed to pull him up, he was already breathing more out than in.
At that moment, Wang Chunhua didn’t even have the energy to cry.
Xiao Xian lay on the wooden bed, sneakily opening her eyes. She had been "unconscious" for quite a while, and to avoid the Great Wizard’s interrogation and to deal with the Water Jiao quickly, the most convenient way was to "feign fainting". After all, she was just a seven-year-old toddler; she could pass out whenever she wanted.
However, after enduring the Water Jiao’s half-hour-long "fatigue bombing" complaint, Xiao Xian felt it would be better to just leave that space.
"A long, long time ago, when I wasn’t a Jiao yet."
"What a clichéd beginning," Xiao Xian mused silently, "Could it be that White Dragon Pond really leads directly to the ocean, and the White Jiao swam over from it?"
"Dear master, please don’t interrupt, when I was still human,"
"What! I’ve seen Jiao become human but never heard of humans devolving into Jiao. Aren’t humans supposed to be the most advanced animals?" Evidently, Xiao Xian had become a child with contemporary views.
"My dear master, please stop interrupting. How could I be so degraded? I didn’t become a Jiao; I transformed into one. Back in the day, I was the number one Cultivation genius of Yunmiao Continent, reaching the Golden Core Stage at merely sixteen."
Little White Jiao sensed its dear little master’s impatience.