Chapter 27 Healing Old Wounds
When Gu Mingda heard this, his heart was in his throat.
Old Mrs. Gu's cloudy eyes were still full of regret, and scenes from the past kept flashing before her eyes.
She had fantasized countless times about how great it would have been if she had agreed to that man back then.
She turned around and saw her son's nervous eyes. She smiled sadly and said, "That day, your father came down from the mountain and saw Nannan playing with others at the entrance of the village. He was about to walk over when he suddenly saw a Taoist priest staring at Nannan."
"Your father said that the Taoist looked very young, probably in his early twenties, but there was something wrong with his eyes..."
Gu Mingda hurriedly asked: "What's wrong?"
Old Lady Gu frowned and said, "According to your father, that is not the look of a young person, but more like the look of an old person, with a heavy turbidity, and none of the vigor that a young person should have."
Gu Mingda took a breath of cold air after hearing this.
Old Lady Gu continued, "When your father saw him, he was displeased and went forward to drive the man away. Unexpectedly, the man was able to accurately describe our family's situation as soon as he opened his mouth. Your father initially thought that the Taoist had inquired about it in advance, so he continued to drive him away. Unexpectedly, the Taoist said that our big yellow dog would give birth to seven puppies in the middle of the night, five white and two black."
"When your father came back and told the story, the whole family thought he was joking. This wasn't the first time the big yellow dog in our family had puppies. Even though we didn't know the color of the dog's father, the big yellow dog would always give birth to several little yellow puppies. It's impossible for all of them to be of a different color."
Domestic female dogs give birth almost every year, several puppies at a time, until the female dog dies.
Gu Mingda asked, "Did the yellow dog really give birth to puppies that night? The color of the puppies is exactly the same as what the Taoist said?"
Old Lady Gu nodded and said, "The Taoist priest predicted all these things that had not yet happened. Naturally, your father was convinced by the Taoist priest's miracles. The next day, he saw the Taoist priest again at the entrance of the village, and this time he did not dare to neglect him."
"The Taoist priest predicted that our family would produce a literary talent in your generation. Your father was so happy to hear this. The Taoist priest carefully asked about your birth dates and your father told him."
"The Taoist calculated on the spot and said that you are our Wenquxing, but you have bad luck in your life, so you will encounter many twists and turns when you take the imperial examination. If you want to resolve this, you need to do something else."
Gu Mingda recalled the various problems he had encountered in the imperial examinations over the years, and he even became a little convinced by this Taoist.
"Your father asked the Taoist priest to perform a ritual, but the Taoist priest didn't want any gold or silver. He only wanted your sister. He asked us to offer your sister in exchange for your future. We naturally refused. The Taoist priest left angrily. Ten days later, your sister suddenly fell ill in the middle of the night. The doctor took one look at her and said there was no hope. He even refused to prescribe medicine..."
"The day your sister died, the statue of the virgin in the temple was shattered to the ground."
"Now that I think about it, if I had known this earlier, I would have let that Taoist take your sister away. Maybe she would still be alive now, and that Taoist could have performed a ritual to resolve your fate. You would have had a bright future..."
Seeing his mother's sad and regretful expression, Gu Mingda said directly: "Mom, even if my sister is taken away by that Taoist, she will most likely not survive."
Old Mrs. Gu paused as she wiped her tears.
Gu Mingda explained, "Mother, that Taoist came with bad intentions. He came for my sister from the beginning. He showed his supernatural powers just to make you, as parents, willingly hand your daughter over to him. When he found out that he couldn't get her, he got angry and killed my sister."
Old Mrs. Gu was slightly stunned. She grabbed Gu Mingda's hand and asked anxiously, "Is that so?"
Gu Mingda felt upset. Thinking about it carefully, what was wrong with his parents? They just rashly brought their child to the temple to fulfill their vows because they didn't know the rules. No one would have thought that such a small action would result in such a painful result like a landslide or tsunami.
If possible, they would like Nannan to be alive more than anyone else.
The two old people are already suffering enough. The father has become confused because of this incident, and the mother has often avoided people and been grieving secretly over the years. It is obvious that they are both immersed in the grief of the past and have not come out of it.
Gu Mingda didn't understand these things about gods and ghosts, but that didn't stop him from coming up with reasons to comfort his mother: "The Taoist's appearance was strange. You said that my sister was very lucky. Who knows, he must have used some treacherous means. He took my sister away just to take away her luck. Although my sister was killed by him, she also has the opportunity to reincarnate."
"She came back to our house because she was thinking about you. If she fell into the hands of that Taoist, she might not even have the chance to be reincarnated!"
When Mrs. Gu heard this explanation, she thought of the birthmark on Niu Niu's body and kept nodding to brainwash herself. She said, "Yes, yes, yes... If it wasn't Nannan's reincarnation, how could Niu Niu have the same birthmark on her body... She is Nannan..."
Gu Mingda continued, "If Nannan really blamed you and Daddy, she would not come back to our house. She has always been thinking about you and Daddy, so she came back after going through so much trouble."
Even though Mrs. Gu's eyes were dry from crying, she couldn't help but feel a sore nose when she heard this: "My daughter... there is no better child than her..."
Gu Mingda comforted her softly, "A family reunion, there is nothing better than this. Don't be sad, or you'll hurt yourself crying."
Old Lady Gu nodded vigorously. She thought of something and couldn't help asking, "Your father and I failed to resolve the evil spirit in your life. Do you blame us?"
Gu Mingda chuckled and said, "Mom, I have to fight for my own future. If I really trade my sister for my future, wouldn't I be a villain who sells my sister for fame? How can I be worthy of all the sage books I have read for so many years?"
Old Mrs. Gu looked at him with eyes full of pride, thinking that this was her most outstanding son, a gentleman who grew up reading the books of sages.
After comforting his mother, Gu Mingda returned to his house with a tired face. Niu Niu was covered with a quilt and sitting in Yunniang's arms. The mother and daughter seemed to be whispering something.
Seeing this scene, Gu Mingda felt that all the fatigue in his body was swept away.
He didn't care that much about blood ties. He just felt that since the child called him dad, he should treat her and love her as his own child. He had some vague guesses in his mind at this time, but he still needed to confirm with Niu Niu.
Gu Mingda said softly: "Niuniu, Daddy has a few questions for you. If you want to answer, just say it. If you don't want to answer, don't say it, okay?"
Niuniu tilted her head and looked at him, and said, "Daddy, Niuniu can tell you anything you want to know. Niuniu doesn't want to hide anything from you."
Gu Mingda looked at the little girl's well-behaved and trusting face, and felt as if his heart was hit hard by something.
At this moment, he finally understood what his mother meant by the perfect daughter! Losing such a child, anyone would miss her for so many years!
(End of this chapter)
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