For some reason, He Tiantian could actually feel the desolation emanating from that stone statue!

"Snake King, the divine beast statue is about to be taken away. What can we do to keep the river-guarding divine beast statue?" He Tiantian asked anxiously. If they delay any longer, the river-guarding divine beast statue will be taken away.

The Snake King thought He Tiantian was too naive and asked in return, "Do you have the ability to persuade these people not to take away the guardian beast statue?"

He Tiantian was taken aback and shook her head.

"Are you capable of resisting being labeled as a feudal superstitious person?" the Snake King asked again.

He Tiantian was stunned again, and shook her head once more.

She lacks the ability to stop feudal superstition, which falls within the scope of the current campaign to destroy the Four Olds. If she were to stand up and speak out, not only would she be unable to stop it, but she would also become a target for re-education.

She saw the extreme humiliation many people experienced during their re-education process and didn't want to endure that kind of suffering.

"If you can't do it, what can I, a snake king who hasn't recovered my full magical power, do?" the snake king said helplessly. "Anyway, you and I will leave this place in the future. This place has nothing to do with you. Whether this place is good or bad, what does it have to do with you!"

He Tiantian hesitated. The Snake King was right; she was destined to leave this place. But... but why was she still so sad?

He Tiantian's mind flashed back to the once idyllic Taoyuan County, now a desolate wasteland, and her heart ached. She didn't want that to happen again, and she especially didn't want to see the kind people of Qijia Village become homeless. So she firmly said, "Just because it's not possible now doesn't mean it can't be in the future, Snake King. I'm not asking you to put the guardian beast statue into the river right now. I just hope you can talk to the statue and ask it to wait for me for a few years. I'll find a way to send it back to its original place, and I hope it won't resent the local people..."

Ugh, why is this brat so stubborn!

Well, since it happened, it's fate. Let's just go along with He Tiantian's wishes.

"When the stone statue passes by you later, place your left hand on the head of the Spiral Turtle Stone Statue," the Snake King said, sealing the spell on the Spiral Turtle Stone Statue so that the statue, which had gained rudimentary consciousness, would forget everything. Its memories would be restored once He Tiantian was able to send the statue back to a distant place.

When the tortoise statue passed by He Tiantian, it actually blinked. It's like it's about to become a spirit!

When no one was looking, He Tiantian placed her left hand on the turtle's head.

The tortoise statue stopped weeping and gently closed its eyes! The four people carrying the statue suddenly felt that the statue in their hands was much lighter.

"You little girl, let go right now! You've been poisoned, your whole body is turning black, you'll be crying then!" A middle-aged man carrying the stone statue hurriedly scolded, reaching out to pat He Tiantian's arm.

He Tiantian had no choice but to withdraw her hand, give an awkward smile, and shrink behind the crowd without daring to speak.

The stone statue was loaded onto an oxcart, ready to be sent to the commune for disposal.

Seeing that the stone statue had been taken away, and that they could now continue working where the statue had been, they scattered.

Upon hearing the news, several old men rushed over, fell to the ground, wailing and crying, and angrily rebuked the villagers for not stopping them and for having the guardian beast statue of the river dragged away.

The wailing of these people did not arouse the fear of the crowd; instead, they burst into laughter, mocking these elderly people for their feudal superstitions and suggesting that they should be taken away for ideological education.

The old people looked at the stubborn, ignorant people, shook their heads, and left the banks of Taoyuan River in a daze.

He Tiantian sighed inwardly, but she couldn't tell anyone about these things, and she felt very melancholy.

He Tiantian wanted to ask the Snake King some more questions, but she was currently in a state of confusion and didn't want to ask anymore. She decided to ask later.

Humans always have to pay the price for their stubbornness!

"Sister Tian, ​​you were really brave just now. Weren't you afraid of getting poisoned? I heard from my dad that the two people who were taken to the commune hospital were as black as the bottom of a pot," Qi Xiaoyan said, looking He Tiantian up and down. Seeing that He Tiantian was alright, she was relieved.

He Tiantian raised her left hand, where she could still faintly feel the guardian beast statue's warmth transform from its coldness. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind as she murmured, "I'm fine. It's everyone else who's in trouble..."

"What? Sister Tiantian, what did you say? I didn't hear you clearly?" He Tiantian's voice was very soft, and Qi Xiaoyan didn't hear clearly, so she asked hurriedly.

He Tiantian gave a dry laugh and said, "I just said I was fine, you don't need to worry about me. Now everything's fine, we need to go back to work."

I didn't wash the pots and pans while I was watching the fun!

In the afternoon, He Tiantian washed the dishes while thinking about what happened in the morning.

All of this was beyond her comprehension, but it also filled He Tiantian with awe for the unknown world.

Qijia Village completed the river works project on schedule. Director Chen personally led a team to inspect it, praising Secretary Qi and the villagers for their hard work and presenting them with a banner. Further rewards will be delivered to Qijia Village after the entire project is completed.

The villagers of Qijia Village, having completed their mission, returned home beaming with joy, and incidentally scooped up a large number of fish and shrimp from the river.

On the way, Qi Xiaoyan asked in a low voice, "Sister Tiantian, I just heard Director Chen and my dad say that the stone turtle that was taken away last time has been placed next to the newly built public square in the commune, and many children like to ride the turtle."

He Tiantian felt sad upon hearing this. Alas, that was a guardian beast stone statue that protected the area! Now it couldn't return to the water and had to be exposed to the scorching sun, ridden by children. It was truly an insult to it.

"Oh, that's a real shame. It was perfectly fine in the river. Why did you have to dig it out?" He Tiantian grumbled, dissatisfied. "I heard from the elders that this is a guardian beast statue of the river. Aren't you afraid of breaking a taboo?"

If she could, He Tiantian wanted to go to the People's Square in the commune and steal the stone statue back to put it in the river. Leaving aside the long distance, she couldn't possibly move those two or three hundred pounds by herself without the Snake King's help!

Qi Xiaoyan looked around and, seeing that no one was around, whispered, "Keep your voice down! How could you say something like that? If someone hears you, you'll be writing a self-criticism."

Seeing Qi Xiaoyan's worry, He Tiantian smiled and said, "I won't say it anymore, except maybe a few words in front of you."

“You can’t say this in front of anyone. Be careful in the future, and don’t get carried away,” Qi Xiaoyan said. Her parents had repeatedly emphasized to her that she shouldn’t speak recklessly and that she shouldn’t let her words cause trouble.

He Tiantian nodded repeatedly. To prevent Qi Xiaoyan from talking incessantly, she quickly changed the subject, saying, "Xiaoyan, it's almost time for some leisure time, and there's no work in the village. If you want to learn music, you can come with me to see Professor Wang every day. She will teach you proper music theory." (To be continued.)