Chapter 63 Disrespect for the Gods She forcefully pushed aside the wooden staff in the witch doctor's hand...

The forest was quiet in winter, with the occasional soft sound of snow breaking branches, and the only other sound was the footsteps of the two people walking in the snow.

Ayan glanced at Liang Shuyan beside her and felt that the two of them had been too quiet all the way.

Remembering that she had brought the other person here to treat her mother's illness, and not wanting to strain the relationship, Ayan looked at the camp that was faintly visible in the woods ahead and suddenly started a conversation: "We're almost there."

Liang Shuyan was surprised that the girl would take the initiative to talk to her: "Do you usually live here?"

“Of course.” Ayan pointed to the wooden house hidden in the dense forest. “Our whole village lives here, and we never go down the mountain.”

Liang Shuyan looked around and asked curiously, "This deep mountain doesn't look like a place where you can farm. What do you usually eat?"

Ayan cleared her throat and said seriously, "We are not like you city people. We live off the land and rely on it. We accept whatever the gods give us."

Hunting and gathering fruit are the means of survival for the mountain people.

“This is quite nice. It’s peaceful and undisturbed by worldly affairs.” Liang Shuyan nodded. “Compared to the hustle and bustle down the mountain, living here is perhaps a kind of pleasure.”

After exchanging only a few casual words, the atmosphere between the two eased considerably.

After hesitating for a moment, Ayan finally said, "If you treat my mother well, I will never hurt you. But don't try anything funny. My mother is the clan leader. If anything happens to her, we will not let you off the hook."

Liang Shuyan silently processed the information in the other person's words.

It turned out that the young man was the clan chief's daughter.

The clan chief fell ill, but no one knew what was wrong with him.

Just as she was pondering this, Liang Shuyan suddenly heard a faint sound behind her.

Ayan didn't notice, but she keenly sensed it. She turned around seemingly unintentionally and saw Wen Yu hiding behind the bushes not far away, waving gently at her.

She understood Wen Yu's lip movements: "Protect yourselves, do your best to maneuver, and we will take action when the opportunity arises."

----

When Ayan went down the mountain, she actually brought back a "city person," which caused a huge uproar in the camp.

She led Liang Shuyan straight into the village gate, and the group of people all retreated in fear.

An elder strongly disapproved and hurriedly stepped forward to pull Ayan back, whispering, "How could you be so foolish! We've been living in seclusion in the mountains for so many years precisely because we don't want the people of the city to know where we are!"

Those nearby chimed in, "What if they find out the location and come to rob us?"

Ayan touched the back of her head. She was the one who snatched the person back, wasn't she?

"Get her away right now!" someone urged, reaching out to grab her arm. "Bringing her back is just asking for trouble!"

"Yes, Ayan, be a good girl..."

"The city people are wicked; be careful she doesn't harm the clan leader!"

Amidst the cacophony of voices, Ayan finally snapped.

"You want me to send her away, but can you even cure her?!"

"If the people of the city are really that powerful, why couldn't Danzhu even escape after being captured by Alian?"

Someone muttered, "Production is something that can only be left to fate; there's nothing we can do to help."

"You're just a child, you wouldn't understand Danzhu's affairs." Someone else shook their head. "She's devoted to A-Lian! How could she possibly run away?"

Ah Yan finally saw through them: these people were ignorant, conservative, and stuck in their ways, using outdated rhetoric to numb themselves.

It was only because she was young and didn't know right from wrong that she accepted everything they said.

“Yes, you all say everything depends on fate, and the shaman also says we have to wait for the gods to bless us.” Ayan took a deep breath. “But if the gods turn a blind eye and a deaf ear, are we just left to wait to die?”

"Our ancestors hid in the deep mountains in search of a way to survive. If they had resigned themselves to fate back then, we wouldn't be where we are today!"

"If you have no solution, then don't stop those of us who do from finding a way out!"

A breeze blew through the snow on the branches, causing it to fall softly to the ground, creating a moment of profound silence among the crowd.

Some were still unwilling to give up, muttering, "But our place has been exposed. What should we do now? Should we move elsewhere, or go back down the mountain and fight those 'city people' for territory?"

"Ayan, you have to consider our future when you do things like this!"

Ayan didn't want to hear about what would happen next.

She pushed everyone aside and insisted, "I don't care about what happens in the future, I only know that my mother needs treatment right now."

"If you can't find a better way, don't blame me for finding my own way!"

After saying that, she turned around, grabbed Liang Shuyan, and walked towards the other room: "My mother is over there, you should go and see her quickly..."

"What illness does the clan chief have?" Liang Shuyan asked.

Ayan was already furious after being teased by the elders, so she no longer hid it: "My mother is about to give birth."

Liang Shuyan was slightly startled.

The architecture in the mountain village is quite rustic, with wooden and stone houses as far as the eye can see, thatched roofs that block out a thick layer of snow.

The clan chief's residence was located in the very center of the village and was quite grand, but Ayan took her to a side room instead.

"They say childbirth is an unclean thing for women and cannot be done in the main room, not even by the clan chief," Ayan muttered as she walked, as if she wanted to finally get to the bottom of what she had been holding back for so long.

Ignoring what the "city dweller" doctor thought, she continued, "I'd like to ask, which of them wasn't born of a woman?"

"Isn't it because they're bullying my mother because she's the first female clan leader, and now she can't get out of bed?"

Liang Shuyan comforted her, saying, "Things will gradually change in the future."

As more and more women gain power, people's thinking will eventually change.

Liang Shuyan was led by Ayan to the door of that side room and left to wait outside.

Ayan said, "Mother! I've gone down the mountain to find a doctor! I'll have her take a look at you right away!"

"Nonsense!" came the voice of an older woman, weak yet authoritative, "How can men interfere in childbirth when we women are giving birth?"

Ayan was taken aback: "Then the doctor is a woman."

The voice paused: "...A woman?"

Afraid that she wouldn't believe her, Ayan hurriedly came out and pulled Liang Shuyan into the house: "Mother, look, she's not a man!"

Liang Shuyan only saw the clan chief's appearance clearly when she entered the house.

The candlelight flickered inside, casting a dim, yellowish glow.

A middle-aged woman leaned against the headboard, her face somewhat pale and her hair slightly disheveled, but her clothes were neat and the patterns on them were more luxurious and intricate than those on Ayan's clothes.

Ayan was about to introduce Liang Shuyan to the woman when she realized she didn't know her name. She gently nudged her and asked, "Doctor of the city, what's your name?"

"Liang Shuyan." Liang Shuyan bowed slightly. "I have come here specifically to treat the clan chief. I apologize for any offense."

Li Shan looked at Liang Shuyan and nodded slightly: "My name is Li Shan. My daughter was anxious to save her mother and acted rashly. Please forgive her."

She had long anticipated that her daughter would do something outrageous. She hadn't left the mountain for so many years, but suddenly brought back a "city person," which must not have been done by ordinary means.

Liang Shuyan initially felt it was too sudden, but for a doctor, treating patients is the primary duty, so she stopped pursuing Ayan's recklessness.

“It’s only natural to react in a moment of panic.” Liang Shuyan approached the bedside and, following the principles of medicine, inquired gently, “How long has this condition lasted?”

Li Shan let out a long sigh and replied, "Last night..."

Seeing that they had begun treating patients, Ayan quietly left the room, intending to patrol the village in case anything went wrong.

Ah Chao had disappeared somewhere. She looked around but couldn't find him, so she stopped looking.

That child has always disliked crowds, and it's common for him to disappear into the shadows.

Unexpectedly, someone came to deliver a message: "Ayan, the witch doctor wants to see you."

----

Before the altar, the shaman was burning incense as an offering, the sparks flickering and the smoke curling upwards.

He heard Ayan's footsteps behind him, but he didn't turn around. He just slowly said, "Ayan, do you know your mistake?"

Ayan, with her neck stiff, said, "I don't think I did anything wrong."

The witch doctor turned around and rebuked him sternly, "You are disrespectful to the gods!"

"You dare to discard the blessing I previously sought from the gods. If the gods find out, they will surely punish you!"

They've arrived.

As expected, they were questioning the guilt of that bowl of talisman water.

The witch doctor, his face contorted with rage, raised his wooden staff high, pointed it at her face, and pressed it down in a commanding tone: "Ayan, kneel down and confess your sins to the gods!"

The attendants standing nearby chimed in, "Ayan, whatever the witch doctor tells you to do, you must do!"

Pointing at her with that wooden cane, Ayan suddenly felt a surge of irony.

What angered the witch doctor so much was not so much her disrespect for the gods, but rather her challenge to his authority as the "representative of the gods."

After all, those so-called gods are ethereal and elusive; no one has ever actually seen them with their own eyes.

What people revere is, in the end, him as a person.

His words are divine pronouncements; how can others be allowed to question them?

Thinking of this, Ayan lowered her head and chuckled softly: "Gods? What gods?"

The witch doctor was slightly taken aback.

Undeterred, she took a step forward, looked into the witch doctor's eyes, and questioned, "When my mother cried out in pain, He did not appear."

“He remained silent when Danzhu was abducted.”

"Now they accuse us of disrespect."

She forcefully pushed aside the wooden staff in the witch doctor's hand, as if she were pushing down a mountain that had stood in her way for millions of years.

Each word was spoken slowly and deliberately, with a firm and resounding tone.

"I'd like to ask, what is it about this god that is worthy of reverence?"

Deviant and disrespectful to deities.

The children nearby gasped and took a half-step back in fear.

The witch doctor was used to being respected by everyone, even the chieftain had to give him some face, and no one had ever dared to challenge his authority like this.

Caught off guard by her retort, the witch doctor trembled with rage, pointing at her speechless: "You, you..."

The children rushed forward to help him up, patting him on the back and saying, "Please calm down, Doctor!"

"Li Shan has raised you to be like this!" The witch doctor finally came to his senses and cursed viciously, "The gods will punish you!"

"Whatever He wants." Ayan pouted, suddenly realizing that she was no longer afraid of anything the other person said.

“Good, good…” the witch doctor murmured, “Those who betray the gods will never find peace. Just wait for your fate; you will be displaced, and the tribe will no longer be your home…”

Ayan, however, found him nagging and ignored his curses. She turned and ran away quickly, leaving the witch doctor's furious voice far behind.

She ran freely, as if she had finally shaken off all the heavy shackles.

The mountain breeze brushed past her ears, slightly chilly, but it made her feel a bit more awake than she had in a long time.

It turns out that not listening to him won't cause any problems.

It turns out he was just a paper idol, easily torn and easily set on fire!

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Author's note: Old-fashioned, times have changed!