"Pfft..." I sprayed the fish soup out of my mouth without any warning.
I almost forgot, Zhang Shuying was apprenticed to Tianying Village and had raised a Golden Silkworm Gu.
In a hurry, I pulled out a handkerchief and wiped frantically, "No, no!! You're mistaken, Maternal Granduncle, the child in my belly isn't Zhang Shuying's."
"Not his? But you and Shuying are engaged..." Yan Bashui pondered and then realized, "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. It's quite normal for a woman to have multiple husbands and concubines. Don't worry, Wanwan, most of our Miao Village follows a matrilineal system, we don't practice the patriarchal customs of the Central Plains people. When the time comes... you can still marry Shuying..."
"Uh... I got it." I bowed my head and silently drank the fish soup, thinking that under the current circumstances, I had given up on the idea of correcting Maternal Granduncle right away. I'd wait for another time to slowly tell him that I had absolutely no engagement with Zhang Shuying.
With so many outsiders around, it wasn't good to confront Maternal Granduncle and cause him to lose face.
By the end of the meal, my energetic and enthusiastic Maternal Granduncle had fed me until I was nearly bursting.
Master Gu laughed heartily, asking me all sorts of questions about my life before, giving off the vibe of doting on a grandchild.
"Why are there so many little people in front of me?" Xiao Shenshen had a small appetite and after finishing a plate of mushrooms, hadn't eaten much else.
At this moment, she was floating, reaching out to grab at the air everywhere.
I was taken aback and grabbed Shenshen's hand, "Are you hallucinating from mushroom poisoning?"
I had thought that eating these plants wouldn't cause poisoning, hence I let her nibble away ceaselessly, never expecting... that she'd start having hallucinations...
"Maybe the mushrooms weren't cooked well, but no worries, I have a remedy." Maternal Granduncle fumbled and pulled out a small medicine pouch, instructing me to hang it around Shenshen's neck.
Seeing that both Maternal Granduncle and Zhang Zidao had eaten the same and were unaffected, I breathed a sigh of relief.
One had eaten enough to have developed immunity, and the other, having achieved Physical Sanctification, was impervious to poison, of course, they were fine...
It was just my poor Shenshen, who herself served as an herbal remedy, now poisoned by mushrooms and seeing little creatures.
Luckily I hadn't eaten any, or I'd be in the same state as Shenshen.
I hung the medicine pouch around Shenshen's neck, and after babbling incoherently from the hallucinations for a while, she fell asleep in my arms.
As a result, I couldn't transform her into a bracelet to take with me.
Yan Bashui suggested letting Shenshen sleep for a while on a bed in the inner room.
I carried Shenshen inside, and when I came out,
those who had previously been upset and spoken up for Master Gu, all came to apologize to me in private.
Then, with glee and joy, they told me they would inform everyone in the entire village and even set off firecrackers along the way.
Set... off firecrackers...? And announce it to the entire village as if it were a joyous occasion...
This was a bit too much fanfare for my arrival!
I tried to stop them, but none would listen.
Every one of them ran off in a flash, leaving me with no choice but to let it be.
When I came out to the yard, Master Gu had already left, and Yan Bashui stood outside discussing something with a few others.
The yard was home to many chickens, ducks, and two rabbits. Googlᴇ search novel-fire.ɴet
I took two lettuce leaves to feed the rabbits as a way to aid digestion.
In my heart, I quietly contemplated the whereabouts of Dumpling's lost half-soul and Yu Longting's injuries.
I should try giving Yu Longting a call?
I pulled out my phone and dialed Yu Longting's number, which went straight to voicemail.
Then, I opened WeChat.
The chat history was full of messages I had sent him on the road these past few days.
Together with the one I had just sent, it had amassed to 99+.
[Yu Longting, where exactly are you? How is your health? Please respond as soon as you see this!!]
Still, he hadn't replied to a single message, including the one I had just sent, all sinking like stones into the sea.
That's when Zhang Zidao came over and informed me, "Good disciple, your master needs to find a room to retreat and cultivate."