Jiang Lin suddenly turned quiet from his earlier excitement. After contemplating for a while, he said, "No, that can’t be right. How could the Witch Clan’s Saintess be buried here? The Saintess of the Witch Clan is the most powerful woman in Gu Technique. How could she be buried in such a remote and desolate place? Impossible! Impossible!"
Jiang Lin once again glanced at the stone door of the cave, murmuring to himself, "Does a Longevity Gu, which grants immortality, really exist in this world?"
Yu Xiaolian was about to take another look at the white porcelain bottle in Jiang Lin’s hand when Jiang Lin, in his anxiety, tightly clutched it and hid it behind his back. "It’s no use even if you take this. When we head back later and pass through my traps, regardless of how much game there is, it’s all yours. This bottle... can it be mine?"
Yu Xiaolian fell silent for a moment. "I’m not trying to snatch the porcelain bottle from you. I just wanted to take a look at it."
There were plenty of bottles like that in the tomb; if she had wanted one, she would have taken an extra earlier. She only took one out because she intended to give it to Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin tucked the porcelain bottle into his bosom, forcing an unnatural smile. "It’s just a worthless bottle; what’s there to see? Let’s head back. And don’t bother digging for wild vegetables this time; just go straight home. If your mom asks why you didn’t gather any wild vegetables, tell her I traded wild game with you for them."
As Jiang Lin spoke, he began walking back, with an eagerness in his stride.
Yu Xiaolian followed behind him, probing, "About... the Witch Clan, how much do you know?"
Jiang Lin’s steps faltered briefly, before he playfully replied, "I know a little, not much."
Feigning curiosity, Yu Xiaolian asked, "The people of the Witch Clan seem quite terrifying. My grandma never allows us to discuss them. What’s so special about them?"
Jiang Lin casually swung the basket over his shoulder and slowed his steps, replying with a naive smile, "Actually, I heard about it from my dad. It’s said that the Witch Clan is a secluded and mysterious tribe, with a society that honors women.
When the women of the Witch Clan come of age, they hold a competition, and the one most skilled in Gu Technique is revered as the Saintess.
There’s a rumor that the previous Saintess died only a few years after her appointment. I’m not sure exactly how, though.
But some say she didn’t die; instead, she withdrew from the world because she created the rare Longevity Gu and was not accepted by her tribe.
I suppose she can’t die easily. After all, having been able to cultivate such a formidable Gu Worm, someone so capable wouldn’t perish so simply.
Those things I mentioned before were just my wild guesses — don’t take them seriously.
I didn’t expect you to be brave enough to actually dare venture in.
Take the game back today, have your dad skin it and prepare it, and you’ll have meat for dinner, isn’t that something to be happy about?
By the way, my dad doesn’t know we went out today, so don’t rat me out, okay? I’ve even shared my drumsticks with you."
Yu Xiaolian knew all that Jiang Lin had mentioned. She merely wanted to find out just how much he knew about the Witch Clan.
For instance, did he know she was a descendant of the Witch Clan?
"Have you ever seen the people from the Witch Clan? How are they different from us? Do they perhaps have three heads and six arms?"
Yu Xiaolian teased with a relaxed smile, "Why do they choose to live in seclusion? Always staying in one place must be really stifling!"
In truth, Yu Xiaolian was somewhat unsettled inside; she felt that Jiang Lin knew more than he let on.
As Yu Xiaolian continued asking questions, Jiang Lin just assumed it was the curiosity of a ten-year-old girl and laughed boisterously. "I didn’t expect you to be so interested in the Witch Clan! Though I’ve never met anyone from the Witch Clan myself, my dad said their eyes are different from ours — they have grey eyes.
Speaking of which, your eyes seem to have a tint of grey."
Yu Xiaolian was taken aback, quickly laughed it off, and said, "You must have seen it wrong; how could my eyes possibly be grey?"
Jiang Lin stopped walking and seriously examined Yu Xiaolian’s eyes. "They really are black! I often heard your grandma call you a monster, saying your eyes are different from others. Looks like she just resented your dad for picking you up and deliberately scolded you like that."
Yu Xiaolian heaved a sigh of relief. "Yeah, my grandma never really liked me."
Curiosity piqued, Jiang Lin said, "I heard that when your dad found you, it was at night and it was snowing heavily. There was thick snow all around you, but you hadn’t frozen to death, and there wasn’t even a bit of snow on you."
Yu Xiaolian sighed, saying, "How could a baby possibly survive out in the snowy wilderness overnight without freezing to death? It’s all just something my grandma made up. She just wanted my dad to throw me away, so she made me out to be a monster. Sigh... It’s nothing but her reckless nonsense, but it has left me with no friends in the village."
Jiang Lin chuckled, "You have one now! From now on, I’ll be your friend."
Yu Xiaolian smiled, "Then it’s a promise. If I have something come up, I’ll come to bother you.
By the way, how did your dad know the Witch Clan people have grey eyes? Could it be he has seen them before?"
Jiang Lin grinned, "That’s a secret, I won’t tell you, haha!"
Yu Xiaolian deliberately turned away and pouted, "You call this being a friend? That’s not fair."
Seeing this, Jiang Lin smiled apologetically, "Don’t be mad. I’ll tell you someday.
Let’s hurry up. Collecting the game will take some time, and if you get home late, your dad will worry."
Yu Xiaolian knew she wouldn’t be able to extract any more information from Jiang Lin today. She was in no particular rush, though; there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
She’d already been out for several hours and indeed needed to hurry back home.
As they checked several traps along the way, all were empty until the last two, which yielded some find.
A wild rabbit and two wild chickens — Jiang Lin generously gave them all to Yu Xiaolian.
Yu Xiaolian’s basket was filled to the brim. She casually plucked a few wild vegetables to cover the top, then bid farewell to Jiang Lin at the foot of the mountain and quickened her pace toward home.
All the way home, Yu Xiaolian’s mind was swirling, her heart always on edge.
Just before they parted, she’d especially reminded Jiang Lin not to open the white porcelain bottle lightly — something dangerous might happen.
Though Jiang Lin agreed readily, Yu Xiaolian could tell he didn’t truly heed her warning. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novęlfire.net
The novel she was reading revolved around the main character, Yu Yanran, and Yu Xiaolian’s childhood was just briefly mentioned, with no detailed depiction of Jiang Lin.
For some reason, the more Yu Xiaolian tried to recall the plot of that book, the blurrier those memories became.
Lost in her thoughts, Yu Xiaolian returned to the Yu Family, only to see the old lady Yu directing her eldest son, Yu Changfu, to catch a chicken — seemingly intent on slaughtering it for a meal.
What day is it that old lady Yu would actually be willing to kill a chicken for a meal?
Peeking into their house, she spotted the two sons of the Cao family. It turns out Yu Zishu and Yu Ziyi had returned, which explains why old lady Yu was willing to sacrifice a chicken.