088. Fishing Village
"Well, we are going to Ningzhou to have fun."
"Yes, I came from Lucheng. It was raining too hard."
"I'll pay you. Just stay for one night."
Qingling stood in front of the door with gray mist all around him, speaking politely to the fisherman. Relying on Shang Changheng's presence, the man didn't notice anything.
In fact, most of the people she interacted with on weekdays were Zhu Lezhi. She was very good at testing the waters with the people of the underworld, but because of this, she had a strong underworld air. To ordinary people, Qingling, who was weak and mild, was more influential.
Soon, a fisherman named Zeng Zhu welcomed them into a small house. The tall and honest man scratched his head and smiled a little embarrassedly, "My parents live in one room. It's hard for them to move because they are old. My wife is pregnant and will give birth soon. If you don't mind, you can rest here for a while."
It made sense, so Qing Ling didn't complain and nodded to him gently: "Thank you."
Zeng Zhu waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay. I still have the fish dumplings I made for my wife. Can I cook some for you?"
"Okay." Qing Ling nodded and stuffed the money into his hand first, "Thank you for your trouble."
Zeng Zhu left happily.
Zhu Lezhi pulled out a chair and sat there, bending down to wring the water out of his trouser legs. Qingling then asked Miaoyuan to leave the room first so that the girl could have a place to change her wet clothes. They then changed into dry clothes one by one. Zeng Zhu also came back with three plates of steaming dumplings.
"Well, this plate is for Master." He specially separated a plate, "These are all wrapped in advance, and they will be cooked quickly. This plate is vegetarian, Master will eat this."
I even brought them some dipping sauce.
Miao Yuan was slightly startled, then clasped his hands together and said, "Thank you, benefactor."
The three of them sat on small wooden stools in a circle around a short wooden table. Qingling was not used to eating food grown near the water, but these dumplings surprisingly had no fishy smell.
The minced fish paste was firm and chewy, and the seasoning was fresh and fragrant. Qing Ling opened his eyes in surprise and said sincerely, "This... is delicious."
Zeng Zhu, who was still squatting at the door, heard it, turned around and smiled, saying, "That's right, you guys are good at finding it. The dumplings I make are the best in the village, and my wife loves them the most. She's about to give birth these two days, so I made a few extra dumplings and will cook them whenever she wants to eat them."
When he mentioned his wife, his smile became even more enthusiastic. Zhu Lezhi also laughed, "Brother Zeng's wife is lucky. This baby will definitely be safe and smooth."
These words touched Zeng Zhu's heart, and he smiled even more deeply, "Thank you, girl. This is my wife's first child, and my mother is also terrified. She has to serve her every day, even me."
He pointed at his nose and said, "I have to sleep with my dad."
Zhu Lezhi laughed and started chatting with Zeng Zhu.
Qing Ling raised his eyes and looked at Shang Changheng who was sitting on the narrow and cramped wooden bed in the room, and smiled at him.
Such peaceful and tranquil days have become rare since he left Zhanlong Mountain. He is busy on the road every day, or experiencing the joys and sorrows left over from the long years. But there are still more ordinary people in the world. In this small fishing village hut, a family of four is looking forward to the coming of their child.
Qingling suddenly felt that it would not be a bad thing if life were this peaceful and comfortable.
People are always contradictory. When he first left Zhanlong Mountain and faced the treacherous situation of the Qing family, he thought about a stable life, but later, after seeing Shang Changheng's past, he yearned for a thrilling and exciting future. All the way until now, Qing Ling feels that a peaceful life is better.
Meeting Qingling's soft and gentle gaze, Shang Changheng curled the corners of his lips at him, but his hands hidden in his sleeves were clenched tightly.
In the eyes of ordinary people, he is never present in the peaceful days of Qingling.
It's like a plant grown in the darkness. No matter how hard its vines grow, it can't walk into the sunlight. It either drags Qingling into the darkness, or lets him live well in the light.
Suddenly, an old man with gray hair but high spirits came hurriedly from next door, smiled at the guests in the room, and then slapped Zeng Zhu on the head, "Stop squatting! Your mother said that your wife seems to be giving birth. Go and find old lady Sun at the east end of the village!"
Zeng Zhu stood up suddenly, not caring about the guests in the room, and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, I'll -"
He got up and walked out hurriedly, but his hand was scratched by a burr on the door frame. Zeng Zhu let out a "hiss" before he could finish his words, and blood came out on his hand on the spot.
Qing Ling's expression changed slightly. When he saw Zeng Zhu's appearance, he inexplicably had a bad premonition. He himself couldn't explain the feeling, but it was just... not a good feeling, a very mysterious... premonition.
"etc."
Zeng Zhu and his father were both stunned and turned to look at the gentle and weak young man.
"I'll go with you." Qing Ling hesitated, "I..."
Zeng Zhu touched his head and said, "No need, it's still raining."
Zeng's father also frowned and urged, "Don't waste time, go quickly, can your wife wait? Come on--"
Miao Yuan and Zhu Lezhi looked at each other. They didn't know why Qing Ling said that, but considering the young master's personality of preferring to stand by and watch when there was nothing to do, it was obviously very abnormal for him to take the initiative to go in the rain to ask for a midwife. There must be something wrong when something is abnormal.
But following him like this would make it seem like he had other intentions. Qing Ling hesitated for a moment, not sure why, and sat back down.
Zeng Zhu grabbed an umbrella and ran into the darkness, while Zeng's father sat under the eaves of the bedroom which was temporarily used as a delivery room.
"Young Master." Zhu Lezhi asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"
"I don't know." Qing Ling shook his head. The scene of Zeng Zhu's accidental injury was imprinted in his mind. He frowned slightly, "Just now... I suddenly felt uneasy. I feel very bad."
It's a pity that this sentence is too general and Qingling himself can't explain it clearly.
But no one dared to underestimate the premonitions of people in the Xuanmen, let alone someone like Qingling who was born with the ability to communicate with spirits.
“Then I’m afraid…” Miao Yuan hesitated for a moment and didn’t continue. The people of Xuanmen would be evasive when they spoke. After a moment, Miao Yuan said, “If it is destined by heaven, human power cannot change it, but…if it is a man-made disaster, or something else is at work, since we are here today, we will definitely not let it succeed!”
"Yes, yes." Zhu Lezhi also nodded repeatedly, "Coincidence is also fate. Now that we are here, we will not let this family get into trouble because of any man-made disaster or evil spirit."
Qingling nodded silently.
His fingers were suddenly hooked by a touch of coldness, and he looked up to see Shang Changheng standing beside him.
"Don't worry." Shang Changheng said softly, "I'm here."
.
This small fishing village is close to water, but it is only a small river, so to fish you still have to go along the river to the muddy water.
The village was too small and the road was muddy and difficult to walk on, so Zeng Zhu ran very fast and directly found Grandma Sun, the midwife in the village.
Granny Sun was a wealthy old lady. She knew Zeng Zhu was coming before he could say anything. She immediately stood up and said, "Is Hui Niang about to give birth?"
"Yes, yes." Zeng Zhu was out of breath, watching Granny Sun pick up the small basket covered with cloth and walk out, "Then don't delay, let's go quickly, giving birth is like walking through the gates of hell for a woman, we have to hurry."
The two walked into the night in the rain. After all, Grandma Sun was old and could not walk as fast as Zeng Zhu. No matter how anxious Zeng Zhu was, there was nothing he could do. He could only support Grandma Sun and walk with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
Suddenly, Granny Sun stopped.
Zeng Zhu was stunned, "You are..."
Before he could finish his urging words, Zeng Zhu also widened his eyes. In the distance, under the rain curtain that looked like a pearl curtain, there stood a figure dressed in red with a bamboo basket slung over his arm and a cloth tied on his head. From a distance, he looked like a woman.
Her posture was exactly the same as Granny Sun's carrying a bamboo basket.
"Zhu Zi." Granny Sun's lips trembled, "This is terrible. Your wife has a bad fate."
Zeng Zhu's scalp started to tingle when he heard this. He was a tough guy, and when he heard that it was about his wife, he immediately got anxious, "What do you mean?!"
Granny Sun's face was pale, her lips were pale, and she trembled for a long time before she uttered three words: "Ghost Granny!"
.
On the other side, Qing Ling, who was staying overnight, had a growing bad premonition in his heart. It was only a fleeting feeling at first, but as time passed, he could hear the woman's whispered words of comfort and uncontrollable cries of pain from the next room.
Qingling looked at the rain outside which was getting heavier and heavier, and his uneasiness grew stronger.
He was almost fidgeting.
Seeing him like this, even Zhu Lezhi and Miao Yuan felt a little uneasy.
"Or..." Zhu Lezhi was just about to say that she would go out to look for him, when she saw Zeng's father, who was sitting outside the door, suddenly jump up.
"Oh, you're here!" Zeng's father hurried to greet Grandma Sun, then paused for a moment, "Where's our Zhuzi?"
Several people in the room immediately looked outside and found that only an old lady came, and Zeng Zhu, who had gone to look for her, was nowhere to be seen.
Granny Sun looked pale, staggered, and held the umbrella tightly in her hand, saying repeatedly: "Look at Hui Niang first, look at Hui Niang first, as long as Hui Niang gives birth safely, everything will be fine!"
After she finished speaking, she suddenly looked towards the room where Qingling and the others were, slowly opened her mouth, a look of fear on her face, and couldn't even utter a word.
Zeng's father looked back in confusion, but Zhu Lezhi whispered, "She has a ghost aura on her. The young master's premonition is correct. Zeng Zhu must have had an accident on the road."
Fortunately, there was a righteous person among the three. Granny Sun saw that he was a Buddhist and for a moment she was even more confused about what was going on.
There were Buddhist disciples, Taoist disciples, some carrying a powerful medicine, and a fierce ghost that frightened her when she saw it.
Which deity did the Zeng family offend?
"Grandma." Zhu Lezhi performed a junior's greeting. "We are just passing by and want to stay for one night. We have no ill intentions. Did you and Brother Zeng encounter any problems on the way? Where is he?"
When this was mentioned, Granny Sun became shaky and stamped her feet, saying, "He! He went to lure that ghost woman away!"
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