Chapter 92 Do you know who poisoned you?
Achan didn't keep you in suspense and continued, "The venom of the mirage will lose its toxicity after it dissolves in concentrated salt water. Soak her in concentrated salt water for an hour and a half every day, and after three days, there should be a significant improvement."
Shen Huixue was almost impatient: "Okay, I'll try it in a bit."
"If it really is clam venom, the concentrated salt water she soaked in will turn red. You can check it on the first day."
"Achan, thank you." Shen Huixue said earnestly to Achan.
Achan smiled and said, "It's nothing serious, no need to take it so seriously. We won't bother you today, we'll come back tomorrow."
Shen Huixue nodded repeatedly: "Okay."
Achan did not refuse and said goodbye to Chen Hui. Before leaving, they said goodbye to Aunt Wu, who specially packed two strings of candied hawthorns for them to take with them.
Ah Chan ate the candied hawthorns specially made by Aunt Wu, which were steamed and then flattened, and her mouth was filled with a sweet and sour taste.
After leaving the Shen family's residence, they walked to the other side of the street. Chen Hui's rented new house was at the end of the alley across the street.
It was a small courtyard with one entrance, and although it wasn't big, it was kept very clean.
The house has three rooms and a well in the yard. Chen Hui had already bought all the necessary daily necessities yesterday.
The two entered the room, and Achan first tried on the new bedding that Chen Hui had prepared for her. It was soft and warm, like stepping into a cloud, and her body still felt the warmth of the sun.
Seeing that she had thrown herself onto the bed and refused to get up, Chen Hui also sat on the bed sideways.
"What about the things that were taken from you?"
She didn't want to ask too many questions while they were outside, but now that there's no one else around, she doesn't need to worry about so much.
"They've probably been skinned alive by now," Achan sat up and complained to her. "I was thinking that dragons were rare, and since we finally encountered one, I wanted to ask you for some dragon blood. But it turned out to be a half-demon, so we had to exchange it for the blood of other demons. When we get back, we can go to the Mingjing Division in Yongzhou to ask Shen Zhuo for my share of the spoils."
Chen Hui was somewhat surprised: "It wasn't Lord Bai who killed him?"
Achan made a "shh" gesture.
Chen Hui understood and didn't delve any further into the topic.
"Do you know why that dragon is targeting you? Is it related to the Shen siblings?"
The prime suspect in Achan's incident was Shen Yingzhu, with whom she had a grudge. Chen Huike still remembered the smug look on Shen Yingzhu's face when Achan was mentioned after their ship arrived in Xiling.
“It’s naturally related to them. That dragon was raised by the Shen family. Who knows what dangerous things that family might have? Let’s keep our distance for now.” Then she said quietly, “There will be a reward in the future.”
Hearing Achan say this, Chen Hui couldn't help but be a little surprised: "You have a lot of hostility towards the Shen family."
In the past, even when facing the Xue family, with whom she had a deep-seated grudge, Achan would only go with the flow and wait for an opportunity to strike, and would not easily say that she would take revenge on anyone in the future.
The Shen family, who could elicit such clear likes and dislikes from her, must have done something to displease her.
Achan did not deny it, but said, "The Shen family is such a large and prosperous clan, who knows how many corpses are buried underground and how many innocent people have been harmed. They actually want me to become one of them. How rude of them."
Is that all? Chen Hui didn't ask any further questions.
The next day, Achan resumed her healthy routine, never getting out of bed before 9:00 AM.
Chen Hui had already returned from her stroll through the market when A Chan lazily pushed open the door, ready to begin her beautiful new day.
Following the scent, Achan arrived at the kitchen, where Chen Hui was brewing almond tea, and the rich aroma of almonds wafted towards her.
Seeing her come in, Chen Hui served her a bowl of almond tea and placed it on the table next to her, along with a packet of pastries.
Ah Chan finished her almond tea with some snacks, and exclaimed, "Almond tea is so delicious! Hui Niang is really amazing!"
Then he picked up the empty bowl.
Chen Hui glanced at her and said, "Even if it tastes good, there's no more bowl. Drink less so you can't eat lunch."
Ah Chan coaxed her, "There's still so much left, drinking another bowl won't delay my meal."
"There's plenty more to give to Huixue and Aunt Wu, so don't even think about it."
Achan immediately deflated.
In the afternoon, after lunch, Achan and Chen Hui visited the Shen residence again.
The maid who opened the door was from the manor. Chen Hui had met the maid yesterday; her name seemed to be Lü Wu. She was sent by the Shen family to serve Shen Qingwu not long ago.
Green Willow recognized the two women and, seeing that it was them, led them into the main courtyard and escorted them to the outside of the main house.
Something was happening inside the house, and there were occasional shouts and struggles coming from inside.
Achan looked at Lvwu, who twitched her lips and explained, "Miss Qingwu was being playful and spilled food on herself while eating. She's currently taking a bath in the room. It seems Miss Huixue was a bit rough and angered her."
In fact, not only did the food get spilled on herself, but it also affected the maids who served her. She had just changed into clean clothes and hadn't even had time to take a bath yet.
Thinking that Shen Huixue was actually wary of them and wouldn't let them get close to Shen Qingwu, Lvwu sneered inwardly. Did she really think they wanted to come here to serve a madwoman? If it weren't for the clan leader's order, who would come here?
No one knew what Green Willow was thinking, but the disdain in her tone was hard to hide.
Upon hearing this, Achan didn't say anything, but she understood Shen Huixue's intention.
It seems that his so-called playfulness was just a pretext to avoid the people sent by the Shen family.
Seeing that Achan and the others didn't react, Lvwu pouted, went up and knocked on the door a few times. The sound inside quieted down a bit, and after a while, Shen Huixue, whose skirt was wet, opened the door.
Upon seeing that the people outside were Achan and Chen Hui, her tense expression eased considerably: "You've finally arrived. Come in and sit down."
After saying that, he said to Green Willow, "We don't need you here anymore, you can leave now."
"yes."
After seeing Lüwu off, Shen Huixue invited the two into the room, closed the door, and whispered to Achan, "The water my mother used yesterday was indeed red."
Her voice trembled slightly, still filled with disbelief. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she probably would never have believed that her mother had truly been poisoned.
"Isn't that good? She'll get better soon," Achan comforted her.
Shen Huixue nodded emphatically.
Inside the room, Shen Qingwu's bath time was not yet over, so the two of them naturally couldn't go in. Fortunately, Huixue said that they had already been soaking for more than an hour and would be able to come out in a little while.
The three sat in the outer room, and Shen Huixue drank the almond tea that Achan had brought and chatted with them.
Somehow, the topic came up with the incident from when she was a child, when she ran away alone and was almost kidnapped and sold.
"At that time, the maids who served my mother were all sent by the clan. They surrounded my mother every day and wouldn't let me see her. They often chased me out to play. Now that I think about it, it was probably on purpose."
"How did you escape?" Achan asked curiously.
Shen Huixue recalled for a moment before saying, "I bit the other person's wrist. My teeth were especially sharp at the time. I only bit once, but a lot of blood gushed out of the person's hand. I took advantage of the chaos to run away."
She then added with some regret, "It's a pity that the older I get, the fewer of the characteristics of the demon race I have. If only I could be half as powerful as my father."
Unfortunately, Shen Huixue's wish is hard to fulfill. Just like her and A-Mian, they are both children of the same parents. She was born with eight tails and inherited the strength and bloodline from her father, but A-Mian has nothing.
Most half-demons don't have her good fortune.
That's why she always thought being a demon was good; if it were Ah Mian, her thoughts would probably be the opposite.
After thinking for a moment, Achan said, "If your father's inner core has survived, it might be useful to you."
Between father and daughter, the demonic power within the inner core can be inherited, and even a half-demon is unlikely to suffer a backlash.
Shen Huixue shook her head, not holding out much hope: "So much time has passed, even if it's still there, it'll probably only be in the Shen family."
"Perhaps there's a chance it will come back to you."
Shen Huixue laughed: "I also hope to have that opportunity."
Because of her identity and her mother's mental illness, her past has always been shrouded in darkness. Over the years, the gazes of others have made her feel that she is not worthy of standing in the sunlight.
She had never mentioned those past events to anyone before, but now she could talk about them with Ah Chan without any reservations.
As the three were talking, Shen Qingwu's voice disappeared from the inner room at some point.
Shen Huixue only then noticed that Wu Mama came out from inside. She smiled at the three of them and said softly, "Qingwu is asleep. You can sit and wait for a while. I will call you after she finishes soaking in the water."
Mother Wu knew that it was Achan's idea, and she didn't know how to thank her enough. She never expected that Qingwu would have a day when things would improve.
"Mrs. Wu, would you like a cup of almond tea?"
"Sigh." Mrs. Wu agreed, drank a cup of sweet almond tea, and felt much more relaxed. She soon returned to her room.
A moment later, they suddenly heard Wu's mother excitedly calling from the inner room: "Huixue, come quickly, your mother is awake."
Shen Huixue found Wu Mama's unusual behavior strange until she went around the screen and saw her mother still sitting in the bathtub, meeting her eyes.
The emotions in her eyes were not the simple, straightforward joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness of the past, but rather complex, sorrowful, and unlike anything Shen Huixue had ever seen before.
"Mother?" she called out tentatively.
Tears suddenly streamed down Shen Qingwu's cheeks: "You... are you Huixue?"
Shen Huixue froze, then her eyes widened: "Mother? You...you recognize me?"
It means truly remembering her, not the kind of person who immediately asks who she is.
“Hui Xue, you’ve grown so much.”
In her memory, her daughter was still a tiny little thing, so fragile.
“Yes, I’ve grown up now,” Shen Huixue replied softly.
Shen Qingwu wiped away her tears, her voice somewhat ethereal: "I slept for a long time."
She then turned to look at Wu's mother, whose hair had turned white.
Mrs. Wu was also smiling, her eyes reddening: "It's good that the girl is awake."
Shen Qingwu changed her clothes in the inner room and listened to her daughter and Wu's mother's conversation before she learned what had happened.
"Was it a friend of Huixue who discovered I was poisoned and then told you how to cure it?"
Shen Huixue nodded: "Achan and Huiniang are outside. They are friends I met in the capital. They came here for sightseeing."
Seeing the undisguised joy on her daughter's face when she mentioned Achan, Shen Huixue smiled as well.
Ah Chan...
What a familiar name.
Liu Feng rarely mentions his family. The only people he talks about, besides his eldest brother, are his eldest brother's daughter, A Chan.
If they had been able to leave Xiling back then, she would have been able to meet Achan, but unfortunately, they were not destined to be together.
The Achan mentioned by Huixue is a human, but the Achan she knows is a half-demon, just like Huixue.
Is it just a case of sharing the same name, or... has something unexpected happened over the years?
“Tell your mother about Achan. How long have you known each other?” Shen Qingwu asked.
"Actually, it's been less than two months." Shen Huixue was a little embarrassed, and lowered her voice to avoid being overheard by outsiders. "We met at the temple and hit it off immediately. Unlike others, she didn't avoid me. We have many of the same interests, and I like her very much."
Shen Qingwu listened with a smile, noticing that her daughter deliberately avoided talking about her life in the capital and only talked about what she had seen and heard at Achan's place. They seemed to have known each other for a short time and didn't have many shared memories, but Huixue seemed very happy.
Seeing that her mother was listening attentively, Shen Huixue added, "Also, after hearing my name, Achan guessed that one of my elders was named Liufeng. Mother, isn't that a coincidence?"
Is it really a coincidence?
Shen Qingwu still remembered Liu Feng telling her, "Our Achan has no taboos. She said Huixue sounds nice, so why don't we name our daughter Huixue?"
She was unhappy at the time, punched him twice, and complained, "How can you be so perfunctory? You even have to name your niece after your daughter."
Later... she still let their daughter call her Xue again.
Shen Qingwu snapped out of her thoughts and heard her daughter ask, "Mother, do you know who poisoned you? Was it someone from the Shen family?"
She had just mentioned the poisoning, and her mother's reaction was surprisingly calm.
After hearing this, Shen Qingwu raised her hand and touched her daughter's soft hair, saying to her, "Please invite your friends in. I'll tell you more later."
"good."
Shen Huixue invited Achan and Chen Hui into the inner room, but Wu Mama avoided them and went out.
Shen Qingwu didn't want her to know too much about the inside story, as it wouldn't be good for her.
Upon hearing from Huixue that her mother had woken up and wanted to see them, Achan got up and followed her into the inner room.
Shen Qingwu was still wearing a brightly colored dress, but her expression was much more restrained. Her face was serene, and her eyes seemed to hold many secrets.
"Miss Light Mist".
Hearing how Achan and Chen Hui addressed her, Shen Qingwu smiled and said to them, "Sit down quickly."
Then he explained to Achan and the others, "Huixue's father used to call me that, and I got used to it, so I let everyone call me that."
"Has Miss Qingwu regained consciousness?" Achan asked again.
"My memories of these past years are still hazy, but I'm barely normal now." After saying this, Shen Qingwu said to Achan, "Thank you for saving me."
"Miss Qingwu, you're too kind. Huixue and I are good friends, so it's only right."
Ah Chan's eyes flickered slightly. The truth about Uncle Liu's death was so close. Would she tell her?
At this moment, Shen Huixue couldn't wait to speak: "Mother, you still haven't told me, who poisoned your body?"
Upon hearing this, Achan looked at Shen Qingwu, who was also somewhat curious.
"I downloaded it myself."
"What?" Shen Huixue was stunned. "Why?"
Shen Qingwu looked at a pot of green mist chrysanthemums on the table next to her. The delicate petals ranged from light to dark, and several flower heads had opened.
She said quietly, "If I don't become stupid, your grandfather will think I still have value to him, and he won't let us go."
"Did something happen back then?"
Although her mother's words were vague, she wouldn't have poisoned herself like that unless a specific event had occurred.
Shen Qingwu's gaze shifted from her daughter's face to Achan, who seemed very interested in the Shen family's affairs.
Achan noticed Shen Qingwu's gaze, looked up and smiled at her.
Shen Qingwu smiled in response and slowly revealed the secret of the Shen family: "At that time, the clan was conducting a very important experiment. It needed a woman with Shen family blood to make a sacrifice. There were two choices: me and my cousin Shen Qingying."
"What attempt?" Shen Huixue asked.
"...turning humans into demons."
This answer truly surprised everyone. Shen Huixue was utterly shocked: "Are they crazy? Why would they do this?"
The Shen family, who make a living by hunting demons, are secretly turning their clansmen into demons.
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