Chapter 177 A-Chan stretched out a finger, tentatively trying to touch the inner core, but as soon as she touched it...
Achan stretched out a finger, tentatively trying to touch the inner core, but as soon as she touched it, the inner core suddenly disappeared.
Before she could even be surprised, the inner core reappeared in her hand. It seemed to be hidden inside her body, appearing whenever she wanted.
After staring at the inner core for a long time, Achan finally looked at the High Priest: "Did Father leave this for me?"
The high priest nodded slightly: "It's for you."
"What about A-Mian?"
“A-Mian is different from you; she doesn’t need it.”
If A-Mian were still a half-demon, she would definitely be able to use it. Unless, like herself, she has become something else entirely.
But Father, how do you know about things that haven't happened yet?
Achan had many questions in her heart, and she wanted to seek answers from the high priest. However, the high priest only told her, "I was only entrusted by your father to hand over the inner elixir to you when you came looking for it. He did not tell me anything else."
"What about my mother? Do you know... where she is?" Achan pressed, a hint of barely perceptible hope in her eyes.
The high priest looked at Achan with a gentle and calm gaze, but it made Achan's heart suddenly feel cold.
She said, “Achan, your mother and I are from the same tribe. In our witch tribe, the high priest is a lifelong priest.”
Achan's hand clenched tightly.
“If the previous high priest is still alive, there will be no new high priest.”
That glimmer of hope was finally extinguished.
Mother is gone too.
Achan slowly squatted down, wrapped her arms around her knees, and buried her head deeply.
Before, when she didn't know their whereabouts, at least she still had her father and mother, but now, she's all alone.
The high priest listened to the faint sobs, his eyes filled with pity, but he did not step forward.
She recalled what Lord Xijing had said during their last meeting.
He said his daughter, Achan, was a little girl who needed a lot of love and companionship. And they couldn't give her those things.
Therefore, he left his inner core to Achan, which contained immense life force, allowing her to have a long lifespan and find someone who loves her enough to accompany her forever.
Ah Chan only allowed herself to be sad for a short while before wiping away her tears and standing up.
"High Priest, let's go back."
The two left the altar, and Achan followed the high priest back to the teleportation point they had just been in.
The formation here is simplified and can only be used twice before it needs to be rearranged.
Before stepping onto the formation, the high priest turned around and saw Achan secretly wiping away tears. He said to her, "If you want to know more about your parents, you can have Huixue take you to see Wuyang. She is your mother's disciple."
Achan's eyes lit up, and she nodded emphatically: "Okay."
The high priest reached out his hand to her, and Achan grabbed it. The array flickered, and they returned to the wooden building.
After returning, Achan's emotions had calmed down considerably. She washed her face and was then called downstairs by the High Priest.
The two entered the courtyard, where the high priest pointed to the various strange beasts that occupied most of the courtyard and said to her, "The village will be holding a sacrifice in a few days. These are all offerings sent by the villagers. Come and help me deal with them."
Achan nodded; she had learned many methods for handling sacrificial offerings from the books left by her mother.
The high priest's method was simpler and more direct. She instructed Achan to place the prepared materials into a stone pit in the courtyard and then light the bottom layer of firewood.
As the smoke rose, the high priest dragged the prey to the stone pit, and Achan helped to tidy up the dead offerings, combing their fur and straightening their bones, so that their deaths wouldn't look so gruesome, lest the ancestors be disgusted by the sight.
Seeing that Achan was doing a decent job, the high priest stopped paying attention to her, and the two of them worked together diligently on their own tasks.
When the high priest said it was okay, Achan collapsed to the ground, disregarding her image. She hadn't felt anything while working, but now she felt like she could barely straighten her back.
She hadn't done this much work in a long time, but it was very interesting.
She is now experiencing firsthand the things her mother recorded in the book.
The high priest inspected the offerings that Achan had prepared again and praised her with satisfaction, "You did a very good job. Have you studied this before?"
"I saw the steps in the book."
"Very talented."
Achan raised a smiling face.
The high priest then asked, "Do you know how to perform the sacrificial dance?"
Ah Chan hesitated slightly before nodding, a little embarrassed: "I only skipped it once, so I don't know if there were any mistakes."
"It's good that you can dance." The high priest said to her, "When we children of the witch clan come of age, we must offer a dance to our ancestors during our first ancestral worship ceremony. You are no exception."
Although Achan no longer possesses the bloodline of the Wu tribe, she is still recognized by the Wu tribe, and the ancestors of the Wu tribe will continue to protect her.
"Do we have to dance during the sacrificial ceremony?" Achan's eyes widened. Why did the ancestors insist on appreciating the dance in public? Couldn't they appreciate it in private?
The high priest chuckled: "Yes, you must jump."
"Alright." This was what the ancestor wanted to see, and she couldn't let him down. Achan agreed, then asked, "How many people will be dancing with me this year?"
She would feel better if someone was with her.
“You have four people with you this year, including that kid Liexing. You can practice with him later.”
Achan nodded, then looked shocked: "Liexing only came of age this year?"
"Yes."
The witch clan members reach adulthood at eighteen. Lie Xing looked tall and strong, but he was actually a year younger than her now.
Ah Chan thought to herself, "He looks a little older than his age."
She ate dinner with the High Priest, who cooked the meal himself. The food was simple but delicious, and it was just as good as Hui Niang's.
I'm starting to think about bringing the High Priest back to the capital.
After finishing their meal, it was still light outside, and there was still more than an hour before it got dark. Achan asked the high priest about Shen Huixue's residence and went there.
Shen Huixue is alone at home now. Yesterday, Achan heard her say that Shen Qingwu and the village team went to the snow mountain and would probably not be back for another two days.
When Achan arrived, Shen Huixue had just finished eating and was in her original form, lying on a chair with her eyes closed, resting, her six tails swaying from time to time.
"Hui Xue," A Chan called out to her.
"Eek." Shen Huixue responded, then switched back to a human voice, her tone cheerful, and her tail wagged faster, "You're back."
Achan walked to the chair and reached out to touch Huixue's fluffy tail.
Of course, not just anyone can touch a fox demon's tail, but Achan is different. Shen Huixue gave Achan three tails, raised her paws, and hugged the remaining three tails, licking their fur.
"Hui Xue, what's the name of the priest you said you'd take me to?" A Chan brushed the fur on Hui Xue's tail with her fingers as she spoke to her.
Shen Huixue's ears twitched: "It seems to be called Wu Yang."
"Then take me to see her tomorrow."
“Sure,” Shen Huixue readily agreed, as she had originally intended to take Achan to see the priest.
After combing her hair for a while, Achan suddenly asked, "Huixue, after you absorbed the demonic power from the inner core, did anything unusual happen?"
“Abnormal?” Shen Huixue tilted her head and thought for a moment. “I don’t know if it counts as abnormal. Since I came here, I’ve been having dreams occasionally.”
She is now a fox demon of the third realm, so she shouldn't dream easily. Most dreams have some predictive significance.
But her dream was different; she only dreamed of her father.
"dream?"
“Yes, I sometimes dream about my father.” Shen Huixue’s gaze softened. “He talks to me in my dreams. Once, I was injured while hunting, and that night he taught me some hunting skills. After I learned them, I have never been injured again.”
"It will appear in my dreams..." Ah Chan murmured softly, her gaze somewhat distant.
Shen Huixue noticed Achan's unusual behavior and asked her, "Why did you suddenly think of asking this?"
She gently shook her head: "It's nothing, I just think it's great to become a demon."
“It’s really good.” Shen Huixue agreed. By becoming a demon, she possessed great power and a longer lifespan. She could even see her deceased father in her dreams.
She can go wherever she wants; no one can restrain her.
Before leaving Daxia, she never imagined that her life could be so unrestrained.
Both were lost in their own thoughts, and neither noticed that a tall, slender figure had appeared outside the door at some point.
Just as the regular knocking sounded, the human and the fox turned their heads simultaneously and saw Bai Xiuming standing outside the half-open door, gazing at Achan.
"Why did you come here?" When Achan saw Bai Xiuming, she put down Huixue's fluffy tail and ran towards him. Her skirt fluttered in the wind, like a beautiful little butterfly fluttering towards him.
Bai Xiuming helped her up: "It's getting dark. I heard from the High Priest that you were here, so I've come to take you back."
Achan reluctantly turned back to look at the fluffy Huixue, and tentatively asked, "What do you think about me sleeping here with Huixue tonight?"
Bai Xiuming remained calm: "Don't you find it noisy at night?"
"People need to sleep too."
“She can…” Achan wanted to say that she could set up a soundproof barrier or something, but before she could finish speaking, Bai Xiuming had already dragged her away.
As he left, he thoughtfully closed the door to Shen Huixue's house and said, "Sorry to have bothered you."
On the way back, Achan asked him, "When did you arrive?"
Bai Xiuming glanced at her: "Just arrived, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Achan traced the clearly defined profile of the man beside her with her eyes, wondering if he had overheard her conversation with Huixue.
Sure enough, the next moment Bai Xiuming asked, "Is Shen Huixue's transformation into a demon related to you?"
Achan's eyes flickered slightly: "I didn't help her; she obtained her father's inner core."
She simply told Huixue about the method.
"Envious of her?"
He did indeed hear what she said.
“She can go wherever she wants without worrying about danger. She can live a long time and do everything she wants.” Achan didn’t hide the envy in her words.
Bai Xiuming stopped in his tracks, turned around, and touched A Chan's face with his hand, his tone serious: "You will get all of these."
Achan's eyelashes trembled slightly. She knew that since Bai Xiuming had said so, he wouldn't lie to her.
But what she wanted even more was to see her father, even if it wasn't really him, but just a memory of him.
Hui Xue absorbed Sixth Uncle's inner core and obtained his demonic power. Within that demonic power were Sixth Uncle's memories, which is why she would dream of Sixth Uncle from time to time.
If she relinquishes the demonic power within her inner core and only takes its life force, she will have a long life, but then she will never be able to see her father again.
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