Chapter 4 Chapter 4 How to raise such a young child?

The village chief said, "Those two children have been different from other children since they were young. They always cried for no apparent reason. After they could speak, they kept saying creepy things, like seeing monsters..." He glanced at Gong Zhili quickly, then quickly lowered his head. "The adults in their family passed away last year. We were discussing whether to raise them together, but everyone was scared. But after you showed up yesterday, the two children said, 'The monsters have disappeared'... So I wanted you to go and see them..."

Those two kids gave him a creepy feeling, and he had been worrying about how to deal with them. But a miracle happened yesterday. Although they didn't go to the dock to attend the ceremony, the two kids changed their words last night. This made him panic about the "monsters" he had said before.

Gong Zhili became interested.

She had never seen a cursed spirit, and if a child could describe it—

"Take me to see it," she said.

The village chief hurriedly led the way, bringing her to a small house on the edge of the village. Gong Zhili looked at the dilapidated little house and asked, "How long have their parents been gone?"

The village chief saw the closed door and the empty basket outside. He said awkwardly, "They left in January. The villagers have been taking turns bringing them food, but a lot happened yesterday, so they might have forgotten to send any this morning..."

He opened the wooden door which was not locked at all and walked in. After a while he led out two thin, small, quiet and timid girls.

Ignoring their dirty clothes and messy hair, the first thing Gong Zhili noticed was, "How old are they?"

The village chief looked at them. "They must be about five or six years old—how old are you?"

The girls held each other's hands, with fear in their eyes. However, the children usually didn't eat well and had gone hungry. They were afraid that if they didn't answer the question, they would go hungry again. The braver Nanako timidly said, "Four years old..."

Gong Zhili sighed inwardly, but didn't show it on his face. He said to the village chief, "Let's get them some food first."

Seeing her indifferent reaction, the village chief felt relieved and quickly agreed.

When the twins were led away by the village chief, they turned around and stared blankly at Gong Zhili.

Gong Zhili raised his eyebrows and smiled at them.

The two children had breakfast at the village chief's house. The village chief's wife helped them wash their faces and comb their hair. The two girls looked much more energetic when they appeared in front of Gong Zhili again.

Gong Zhili put down his teacup and asked the village chief, "These two children are quite special. I need to take them with me and teach them."

The village chief seemed eager to agree immediately, but for various reasons, he said, "According to past custom, these two children will be raised by the village together... There are also their own wishes, and the cost of their future education..."

Gong Zhili said frankly: "The village will pay for their upbringing and education, but they will live with me on a regular basis. As for their own wishes——"

Gong Zhili bent her knees slightly, resting her hands lightly on them, and slowly squatted down. The wide cuffs of her miko uniform fell gently with her movements, revealing her slender wrists. Her fingers were long, with pink at the tips and knuckles.

The hem of the miko's uniform brushed the ground gently, and Miya Chiri asked, "Will you live with me?"

Her fingers hovered in the air, waiting for the twins' response.

Nanako Kaba's eyes were fixed on the light blue halo around Miya Chiri. Although her right hand was still tightly holding Mimiko's hand, she put her left hand into Miya Chiri's hand without hesitation. At the same time, Mimiko also put her right hand into Miya Chiri's hand.

Gong Zhili had a faint smile on her face. She couldn't hold both children's hands with one hand, so she simply put her hands together, holding the two thin and small hands, shaking them up and down: "Then it's settled."

After withdrawing her hand, she stood up and spoke a few words to the village chief and his wife. The wife came over and held out her hand to the twins: "Come with me."

Mimiko Kaba looked terrified, not understanding why she and Nanako were being taken away. Miya Chiri, who was talking over there, turned her head and said to them, "Wait for me in the next room. The master has something to say."

The village head's wife then successfully took them to the bedroom next door. She had a calm expression on her face as she found the nail clippers from the dressing table. She asked the two children to sit on a chair while she squatted down to cut their nails.

Because they have lost the care of adults, the edges of their nails are jagged, as if they were bitten off by teeth. There are no trimming tools, and no one teaches them how to take care of them. The fingertips are rough, as if they often touch the rough ground or pick up things.

The village chief's wife, who had originally been very reluctant to contact the twins, now changed her mind. No matter what strange problems these two children had, now that they were favored by the witch, in the future...

After trimming their nails and applying cream to the children's hands, the village head's wife took some common household medicine from the family medicine box and dug out her son and daughter's childhood clothes from the cabinet. She wrapped them up with nail clippers, a comb, rubber bands, and other small items in a clean cloth to make a portable bundle. She wanted to give it to one of the twins, but she couldn't tell their names. After a moment's hesitation, she half-knelt down and said to them, "Cherish this opportunity... The miko will protect everyone in the village. You must be obedient."

Mimiko Kaba saw a small and ugly creature crawling out from the village chief's wife's shoulder, but in the next second, the monster disappeared in the faint blue light.

Miyajiri, who was discussing something with the village chief in the living room, uttered a "hmm," dropping the topic and asking, "Do they say they see 'monsters' a lot?"

The village chief didn't understand what was going on. He was just talking about preparing the medicines the children needed and the level of the village doctors when the witch suddenly attacked.

The village chief's hesitation was obvious. Gong Zhili tapped the table with his fingers, and the slow, gentle tapping seemed to strike at the village chief's heart. He shuddered and replied, "Since they could speak, they have said it three times in total."

In this land where seven gods live on every grain of rice, the villagers who depend on the land for their survival will believe in Gong Zhili because she brings money and contracts between gods and humans, but they will also be frightened by the terrible mutterings of children. Gong Zhili is willing to take the two children with her today, whether it is to suppress the evil spirits or the two children are chosen by the gods, it can bring peace of mind to the villagers.

Gong Zhili didn't ask any more questions. The village head's wife saw the opportunity and brought the two children out. She seemed to be carrying the luggage all the way back to the mansion. Gong Zhili held out his hand: "You go prepare what I need first, I'll get this."

She held the bundle and lowered her head to ask the two little girls, "Do you want to hold your hand?"

Nanako Jiaba decisively took her hand, and holding her sister's other hand, she walked out of the village chief's house with Miya Chiri and headed towards a new life.

Gong Zhili could inexplicably understand the feelings of children who had lost their parents. She always felt that she had seen many such cases... These two children were the type who would be cautious after losing something. They didn't dare to say anything along the way, and didn't even ask why they had to live with her.

The village chief's house was some distance away from hers, and the two children could not walk fast, so she led them through houses, lakes, fields, and through the different expressions of the villagers.

Gong Zhili walked slowly. The September morning sun wasn't particularly hot. She asked, "What are your names?"

She shook the hand she was holding: "You speak first."

Nanako was very excited. She opened her mouth, but found that she hadn't spoken for a while and almost choked on her saliva. Mimiko looked at her worriedly. Nanako coughed a few times and quickly said, "My name is Nanako Kaba."

"I'm Mimiko from the canal." Mimiko immediately followed.

Gong Zhili: "My name is Gong Zhili, you can call me...what do you want to call me?"

Miya Chiri is the pronunciation of her name. They can call her Miya Sister or Chiri Sister, both sound good.

Nanako Kaba thought of how the village chief's wife addressed Miya Chiri, and cleverly learned the name: "Miya-sama!"

ah.

Gong Zhili laughed: "Do you want to call me that?"

The two children's eyes lit up and they nodded in unison.

Gong Zhili looked up at the lake in front of him and said, "That's what I'll call it."

Speaking of which, the plank road leading from the village to the house is a bit narrow and winding. It would be very dangerous if a child fell into the water while walking on it, right?

"Do you want to learn how to swim?" Gong Zhili asked.

Nanako was puzzled: "Today?"

Gong Zhili thought: "When you have time, dare to cross the bridge? Be careful when you walk."

She stood behind the two children and encouraged them: "Keep going. I'm behind you and won't let you fall."

After she said this, the two children let go of her hands, completely believing her words, and walked onto the plank road one after the other.

Nanako stepped onto the plank road without guardrails. The wooden planks creaked slightly as she stepped cautiously. The early morning sunlight sprinkled on the lotus leaves, shaking them into a pool of broken gold, flowing on her tense calves.

"Walk with your toes facing the grain of the wood." Miya Chiri's voice came. Mimiko Kaba stared at her reflection in the water. The ripples caused by the fish's tails rolled into a ball. She held her breath, followed her sisters, and slowly walked towards her new home.

The reeds at the end of the plank road swayed in the breeze. Gong Zhili walked at the intersection of light and shadow three steps behind them. Seeing their figures gilded by the sun walk to the pier, and the smiles they showed when they turned around, made people feel better.

"Miya-sama!" Meimiko mustered up the courage to wave at her. The smile on the child's face contrasted beautifully with the tall, pink-purple Polygonum flowers. "Come here quickly!"

Gong Zhili then took two steps at a time and walked to the dock. This time, Mimiko took her hand first.

Just standing in front of the now very empty house, Gong Zhili began to ponder: She can barely even eat her own meals, so how is she supposed to raise two four-year-old children?