The chef's scream attracted the attention of everyone else in the restaurant, and they all looked at Qin Yunyun's hand.
As expected, Qin Yunyun's hand was empty; there was nothing there.
Qin Yunyun suddenly realized something. She looked at the back of her hand and turned pale. She hurriedly covered her hand with her sleeve, but it was too late. The other people in the shop were already looking at her with a dangerous look in their eyes.
"Didn't you say that this koi mark was bestowed upon you by the Fish God? How come it's gone now?" A diner stood up and stared at Qin Yunyun with great hostility.
Qin Yunyun panicked. Thinking of her bath just now, she subconsciously said, "I...I don't know. Maybe the mark was washed off when I was bathing..."
"What?! Lord Fish God's mark can actually be washed away?!"
People around gasped in surprise, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Qin Yunyun realized she had let something slip and quickly explained, "No, I meant I just washed away the outer layer of the mark. The mark Lord Fish God gave me was divided into inner and outer. Once the outer part is gone, it's gone. Essentially, I'm still the Holy Maiden..."
She told a string of lies, but unfortunately, these words could no longer fool everyone.
Everyone realized what was happening and glared at Qin Yunyun as if they wanted to devour her.
"What saintess? You're a complete fraud! That koi fish mark of yours was faked, wasn't it? Otherwise, how could it have been washed away? We trusted you so much, but it turned out to be all a lie!"
“You and your father have been bullying people in Narcissus Town these past few days. Everyone respects you because you are the Holy Maiden, but you will have to pay the price for your actions!”
"Get them out!"
...
The people in the shop swarmed around Qin Yunyun and dragged her out onto the street. Qin Sang, who was engrossed in gambling, was also dragged out. The two huddled together in a sorry state, trembling, feeling both ashamed and angry.
The residents of Narcissus Town recounted all the evil deeds Qin Yunyun and Qin Sang had committed during this period. The more they thought about it, the angrier they became, and they actually rushed forward and attacked the two of them.
Qin Yunyun and Qin Sang were brutally beaten by the enraged residents and then thrown into the mountains not far from Shuixian Town. The two lay prostrate on the filthy ground, barely alive.
"You...you're so stupid!" Qin Sang struggled to get up, and seeing Qin Yunyun's clean, bare hand, he was so angry that he slapped her across the face.
Qin Yunyun's face stung with pain, and her body felt like it was about to fall apart from the beating, but she dared not refute it. She could only cover her face and limp behind Qin Sang.
With no one to rely on and no way to find their way in the deep mountains, the two could only wander around like headless flies.
As darkness approached, a path finally appeared before them. Qin Yunyun and Qin Sang hurriedly followed the path, and nearly fainted upon seeing a village shrouded in an unusual aura.
"Oh, this is actually delivered right to our door?"
As soon as the burly guard saw prey approaching, he picked up his broadsword and charged at the two men.
Qin Yunyun and Qin Sang had never seen anything like this before. Terrified, they tried to run away, but were surrounded by a group of villagers. They sat slumped on the ground like lambs to the slaughter.
"These are just two penniless bastards, they have nothing on them, let's just kill them... Wait!" The burly man carefully examined Qin Yunyun's face and suddenly became excited, "This woman seems pretty good-looking! Our boss is just missing a wife, and here she is!"
Although Qin Yunyun was beaten black and blue by the residents of Shuixian Town, it was still easy to see that she had good facial features and her graceful appearance when she was in normal condition was immediately apparent.
Upon hearing the burly man say he wanted to take her back to be his wife, Qin Yunyun burst into tears, "I don't want to be his wife, please, let me go..."
The burly men ignored Qin Yunyun's cries and knocked her and Qin Sang unconscious with a single blow, then carried them into the village.
...
Meanwhile, in Carp Village.
Su Xiaoning and Su Qingcai continued to live a peaceful life. Although Su Xiaoning knew that Su Qingcai was an extraordinary person with many bodyguards around him, she did not treat him as an outsider and made him do all the work he was supposed to do.
One day, Xu Huang came to discuss something with Su Qingcai in front of his guards. When he saw Su Qingcai being ordered by Su Xiaoning to chop wood, he was both surprised and distressed, and immediately began to reprimand Su Xiaoning.
“Our young master is of such noble status; his hands are meant for commanding sieges and writing brilliant strategies and battle reports. How could he do such rough work?”
"Your little fishing village is already in poor condition, so we can bear to see us suffer. But you, a woman, are quite bold to make your young master do such servant work!"
"No, you have to apologize to the young master!"
...
The guards were indignant, but Su Xiaoning only found it amusing.
She put her hands on her hips and said slowly, "What does your young master's status have to do with me? This is Carp Village. If you live in the village, you have to follow the village rules. Those who don't work don't get to eat. Besides, your young master hasn't even said anything, so why are you meddling in other people's business? Do you even know what it means to mind your own business?"
Su Xiaoning rolled her eyes at the guards and then slipped away.
The guards were furious and wanted to confront Su Xiaoning, but Su Qingcai stopped them.
"Go run twenty laps around this village now, and don't come back for dinner until you've finished."
Su Qingcai's face was gloomy, and his words were merciless.
The guards were stunned, staring at Su Qingcai in astonishment. "Your Highness, it's clearly her actions that are wrong, why are you still protecting her?!"
“What she said is correct. You have to abide by the rules of where you are.” Su Qingcai’s eyes were dark and piercing, his voice cold and full of authority. “Besides—I’ve told you before, she is an important person to me. Have you heard me? The shipbuilding research has reached a critical moment. Why do you still want to upset her?”
Recently, Su Xiaoning happily told him that she had figured out how to create the best model, so she probably wouldn't lie to him.
The guards fell silent, lowering their heads with expressions of guilt. They hadn't really taken the "important person" Su Qingcai had mentioned to heart.
Xu Huang's heart stirred, and he noted down the shipbuilding progress that Su Qingcai had just revealed. He went out for a run with the other guards, but after the run, he didn't go back with everyone. Instead, he turned a corner and sneaked into Su Xiaoning's room.
At the same time, Bing Er came to Su Qingcai, saying with great concern:
“Young master, based on the information I received when I was working for the Seventh Prince, there may be a traitor among your group of secret guards.”
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