Chapter 107 The Demoness was banished.

Pingyu slapped his face a couple of times, and it took him a while to get rid of the goosebumps on his body. Looking out at the sky, the rooster had just crowed. The sky was still dimly lit, a blur of black and white, like someone shining a lamp into a cloud of dust. Remembering his own setup, Pingyu got out of bed, opened the door, and went to wash up.

The other person looked haggard, with eyes swollen like walnuts...

It is Wang Tao!

"Sis, what's wrong...?"

She quickly welcomed her in, and remembering that Wang Tao was pregnant, she took out some easy-to-eat pastries from her bracelet to give to her.

Wang Tao reached past the pastries and grabbed the girl's wrist: "Little fairy, listen to me... I had a dream last night, and I had that dream again!"

Ping Yu's mind raced: "What dream?"

"What did she say?" Pingyu asked.

Recalling her dream from the previous night, Wang Tao replied, "She said thank you for the water, and that it was going to rain, so I shouldn't worry."

Ping Yu immediately exclaimed, "It's the same dream as the widow Zhang's daughter!"

Wang Tao froze, her voice filled with unease. "I told my family about this dream, and they all said it meant pregnant women have heavy blood and energy, making them susceptible to being possessed by unclean spirits. I'd heard that before, so I didn't take the dream seriously. But when I dreamt it again yesterday, I noticed the woman's hand was different!" She pointed to her own hand and gestured to Ping Yu, "The hand next to you is the same as the one in my dream!"

Wang Tao looked around for evidence, but the hand had vanished without a trace. Ping Yu carefully covered her lap with the blanket and said, "I've put her away, but Widow Zhang's daughter had the same dream as you. I found the body of the demon yesterday and confirmed that she is a goddess from heaven, not the monster you speak of. The fact that people can sense the gods and dream about them proves that you two have a close relationship."

“But we’re not from the same era!” Wang Tao said. “The drought demon is a legend from our village a long time ago. How could I or my sister who died ten years ago be related to the drought demon?”

“Then let’s ask the oldest man in your village; he’ll know something,” Pingyu said. “But I have other things to do today. I want to go and find the legs that are in your well first. Do you know when is the safest time?”

"The oldest person in the village lives at the village chief's house. But when no one is home... it's in the afternoon, or around midnight."

Wang Tao thought for a moment and replied, "My father-in-law and husband are usually in the fields, and my mother also goes up the mountain in the afternoon to gather things to store for grain. But now that you're home, she probably won't go up the mountain anymore. After all, the human sacrifice is in three days, and my mother-in-law is a suspicious person, so she'll worry that you'll run away. But she will take a half-hour nap, and I can keep an eye on her for you then. Is half an hour enough for you?"

“You don’t need to worry.” Ping Yu had an idea: “I have a plan.”

Wang Tao was pregnant and slept restlessly, so she woke up early. With her worries resolved, she lay back down to rest. Wang Xu was a diligent woman; in this family, the women woke up earlier than the men. She made breakfast and also took the soiled clothes from the previous day to the river to wash. She had just come out of the house, yawning, when she saw the girl squatting outside waiting. Pingyu saw her and asked, "Grandma, can you give me some chores to do?"

Wang Xu was stunned for a moment, then listened as the girl continued, "Yesterday I ate meat and had a room to sleep in. If you don't do some chores for me, I feel uneasy and upset. Without Grandma's permission, I dare not touch the grain to cook, nor do I dare touch the chopped firewood. In the morning, I only filled the water vat."

"You filled that water tank all by yourself!?"

The Wang family was relatively well-off, so they filled the water vat. For a frail child like Pingyu to fill the entire vat, she must have endured considerable hardship. Thinking about the purpose of buying her, Wang Xu felt a sudden pang of guilt. She thought, "This world is so bitter; it's better to be dead than alive. Buying her will at least give her a few good days; she'll suffer in someone else's hands." Thinking this, Wang Xu felt a little better. Moved by compassion, she stroked the girl's head and said, "You don't need to do it. Just stay put, child."

Pingyu looked up stubbornly, staring intently, as if she wouldn't let her leave unless she agreed.

Wang Xu had no choice but to agree: "Then come with me to the mountain this afternoon, let's see if we can find any wild vegetables, mushrooms, bird eggs or anything like that. Grandma will make you some stewed rice when we get back."

"good!"

Ping nodded vigorously.

Human life was cheap in this era. Who would buy a human sacrifice to take their own life and feed her rice and noodles? This was far better food than that of slaves in wealthy families. The Wang family wasn't too bad-hearted. Pingyu only hoped that the memories she had when she went to the well to retrieve her legs today could come in handy.

I hope everyone can be happy.

Time flew by and it was already afternoon. Wang Xu put on her basket and prepared to go up the mountain.

It's good to take Pingyu away; it'll save that widow Zhang from trying to snatch the child again. Having him under my watchful eye will give me some peace of mind.

She called out to the house, "It's time to go!"

"They're here!"

Pingyu responded and took out the paper figure she had cut out the night before from her bracelet. This was Pingyu's plan: the paper figure would go to the mountains with Wang Xushi, thus eliminating the Wang family. She breathed on the paper, and a girl identical to herself appeared vividly. The paper figure nodded to Pingyu, then smiled and ran towards the door: "Grandma, wait for me!"

Ping Yu quickly hid himself among the clutter, only daring to emerge after the sound of the door closing had faded into the distance.

Wang Tao, who was pregnant, was feeling sleepy and was dozing off in the courtyard. She was startled when Ping Yu shook her awake and almost cried out. Ping Yu quickly covered her mouth and whispered, "Don't be afraid, sister, it's me."

Wang Tao nodded.

The girl exhaled, let go, and said again, "The one who went out with your mother-in-law is my paper clone. Sister, could you please keep an eye on the back door for me? If anyone comes, run in and shake me, okay?"

She helped Wang Tao move the chair to the backyard entrance.

The well was nearby, so Pingyu drew some water and put his hand into the bucket.

The warm sunshine of the day dispelled the chill, making it easier for her to concentrate. Time was limited, so the girl held her breath and focused her mind.

As she drifted into the water, the dampness, as it had been the previous two times, filled her nostrils. This time, she didn't search in the pale space; as soon as she opened her eyes, two legs impatiently appeared before her.

"quick!"

They said, "Green grapes, we've been waiting for you for so long."

So it really is related to me. Did Nüba know I would descend to the mortal realm? Pingyu thought to himself, and reached out to grab the ankle of one of the legs.

Light covered her eyes, but this time it was the rain that awakened her.

She stood high on the city wall, looking down at the desolate landscape below.

The torrential rain poured down, churning rivers and seas, causing them to surge and overflow. The raging waves destroyed houses, turning people into insignificant specks of debris in the sewage in the blink of an eye. Wind and rain mingled with dark clouds, their howls becoming an incessant lamentation of heaven and earth. "Heavenly Maiden Ba," someone cried, "Chi You has summoned the Wind God and Rain Master to play with the wind and rain. Rivers and seas overflow, the waters surging to the heavens. Farmland is destroyed, houses collapse, and innocent people are displaced and lose their lives. Though there is no mercy on the battlefield, dragging civilians into it is not the act of a wise ruler. I implore the Heavenly Maiden to descend with divine power and repel the Wind God and Rain Master, so that this torrential rain and raging waves may recede!"

A strong and handsome man had appeared behind her without her noticing; his features were regal and imposing.

"The Wind God and the Rain Master are not easy to deal with."

Nuwa turned around and calmly said, "But since I have agreed to descend to the mortal realm with you, I will definitely do my best to help you. I will handle the Yellow Emperor and the other two, so don't worry."

After saying that, she leaned back and fell straight into the raging floodwaters below the city.

She was enveloped in crimson light; Nüba was a deity born of fire.

The gods in heaven were killed by the gods on earth, and the dark clouds that had been gathering for so long finally dispersed.

The sun reappeared in the sky, and people embraced each other in celebration of surviving the ordeal.

Mortals sang praises of Nüba's bravery and erected monuments in her honor; warriors tossed her high into the air, praising her divine power as a miracle...

But the water on the ground had become the white clouds in the sky, and the fire inside Nüba's body could no longer be extinguished.

Her divine power was exhausted, and she could no longer return to the heavens. After the revelry, Nüba collapsed weakly onto the hardening ground. Her body was now empty, leaving only the inextinguishable flames that burned repeatedly, making her body a second sun in the world.

People can only allow one sun to exist in the world, otherwise Hou Yi would not have drawn his bow to shoot down the sun.

She was scorched by the flames day and night, unable to sleep, and could only rely on any water she could get to alleviate her physical pain. But mortals are only made of flesh and blood, and will die without the nourishment of water.

On the first day, they sang praises of Nüba's achievements;

In the first week, they learned that Nüba could no longer return to heaven;

In the first month, they could no longer endure the drought, nor the increasingly parched riverbeds. People seemed to have forgotten the horrors of water, forgotten the terrible price Nüba had paid to quell the floods. They sought out the Yellow Emperor, hoping he could take the celestial maiden, who had fallen into the netherworld, away from this place…

The scenery was beautiful that day.

The people who once embraced her with flowers now surrounded her with weapons, regarding her as a ferocious beast. The Yellow Emperor, now the Emperor of Man, no longer possessed the humility he had shown when inviting her to descend to the mortal realm. He pleaded with the disfigured celestial maiden to leave: "Celestial Maiden Ba, the drought has caused the crops to fail. Mortals need to eat grains to survive, so please go to the northern wilderness."

Unable to control its own flames any longer, the demon was unsurprisingly banished.