The setting sun casts a gentle glow on the flowing water in the quiet village. It's dusk, almost dinnertime. Normally, at this time, every household should be cooking, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys, and the air filled with enticing aromas mingled with the scent of happiness and joy.
Today, however, not a wisp of smoke rises from Taohuadian or the entire village. It is unusually quiet. The streets and alleys paved with bluestone are empty and so quiet that you can hear a pin drop. It gives people the illusion that this place is a ghost town.
It turned out that after experiencing a catastrophe, a life-or-death battle that concerned the lives of everyone in the village, and seeing the goddess-like woman who had risked her life to save the entire village finally collapse from exhaustion, everyone rushed home, grabbed their most precious possessions, and once again gathered at the door of the old woman's house, vying to present their generous gifts.
"Madam, these two fish are fresh ones that I just caught from the river. I'm giving them to the Goddess to make soup. They're very fresh and perfect for nourishing the body of a weak patient."
"No, no, no, stew it with my old hen. It's very nutritious and will definitely be better for the goddess's recovery than fish soup."
"Let's use my basket of eggs. The goddess must have been too stressed to faint. These eggs are good for her brain, no doubt."
"Use my Muscovy ducks, they're more nutritious. And these salted duck eggs, the yolks are already orange-red, glistening and very appealing. They're definitely more nutritious than chicken eggs or fresh duck eggs."
"My jujubes are better; they replenish qi and blood, and calm the mind..."
"My peanuts are still the best; peanuts are good for the spleen and stomach..."
"Use these fresh vegetables that I just picked from the field..."
...
The maid Huan'er supported the old woman and stood firmly at the door to block everyone, afraid that they might accidentally rush in and disturb Ruoxi's rest on the bed inside.
Huan'er's smile had long since frozen on her face as she kept nodding and bowing to everyone in gratitude.
Finally, the old woman waved her hand, silencing all the noise, and said, "Alright, stop arguing. I appreciate everyone's good intentions on behalf of Ruoxi. But everyone should take everything back quickly! Ruoxi is fine; she's just too tired. She'll wake up soon after a rest. Don't worry, everyone, go back and let her rest! I'm so sorry that everyone was frightened today because of my matter."
As the old woman spoke, she bowed her head and apologized to the entire village.
At this moment, the woodcutter standing in the center of the crowd spoke up: "Madam, please don't say that. Over the years, if it weren't for your kindness and generosity, and your free medical treatment and medicine for all of us, the dozen or so people left in this isolated village would probably all be ghosts in the underworld. We are too grateful to even have time to thank you, so why are you saying such things? Now that Miss Ruoxi has finally returned safely, we are all relieved... Alright, everyone, please listen to Madam and don't disturb the young lady's recovery here. Let's all go, let's go!"
Only then did the crowd that had been blocking the entrance reluctantly disperse one by one.
The old woman smiled and nodded to the woodcutter in gratitude. The woodcutter then turned and headed back to his house. Only then did the old woman and Huan'er cross the threshold and hurry back inside.
Inside the room, the older guard and the younger bodyguard stood with their arms crossed, firmly guarding the bedroom door, looking puzzled, as if they still hadn't quite recovered from what had just happened.
Upon seeing the old woman and Huan'er enter, the young guard quickly lowered his hands and rushed forward to greet them, asking, "Madam, you've come at the right time. Why did Miss Ruoxi turn out like that just now? Could she really be... a witch?"
Before the old woman could speak, the older guard also lowered his hand and stepped forward to scold him angrily: "Don't talk nonsense. Have you ever seen such a kind demoness? Miss Ruoxi must be a goddess descended to earth. Madam, don't you agree with what I said?"
Upon hearing the sound, the old woman stopped and looked at the two people in front of her, who were also filled with curiosity. She simply smiled faintly at them and then walked inside on her own.
At this moment, Huan'er stepped forward, bowed, and said to the two men with a sweet smile, "Thank you both so much for taking care of Ruoxi these past few days. Huan'er has prepared some simple food and wine from our farmhouse. If you don't mind, please come over and have a little something to eat!"
Upon hearing the word "wine," although they didn't want to leave Ruoxi's side any longer, their bodies betrayed them, and the two of them eventually moved aside and followed Huan'er out.
Inside the house, on the old woman's bed, Ruoxi was wearing a crimson dress, her eyes closed, lying quietly.
Beside her were two cubs left behind by the black and white striped worm that had led its troop of beasts back to the mountains. They were fiddling with and licking the colorful jade bracelet with gold threads on her wrist.
The old woman slowly sat down beside her, carefully examining her complexion. Looking to the side, she murmured with great relief, "I knew I hadn't misjudged you. You must be the descendant of the guardian that our Western Qin royal family lost many years ago. Otherwise, you wouldn't have unleashed such immense divine power today. Heavens above, our Western Qin is finally saved!"
For a moment, she couldn't help but wipe away her tears.
At this moment, the woman on the bed unconsciously began to move her eyes slightly, and finally opened her extremely beautiful phoenix eyes again.
"Madam, why are you crying?" Ruoxi asked softly as she sat up, looking rather frail.
Hearing this, the old woman quickly turned her head to the other side to wipe away her tears before turning back and taking her hand, saying, "You're finally awake. I'm alright, I'm just happy that you've finally returned safely. You must have suffered a lot these past few days outside, right?"
At this moment, Ruoxi suddenly remembered the nasty things the burly man who had ordered the massacre of the village had said about her involvement with the Xiaolong Society. She immediately grabbed the old woman's hand and excitedly explained:
"Madam, please believe me. Brother Long and I are innocent; nothing happened between us. She rescued me in the mountains, and because I didn't remember the name of this village, she had no choice but to take me back. If he hadn't been out on urgent business, he would have brought me here to find you by now, I..."
Before she could finish speaking, the old woman quickly pulled her hand away from Ruoxi's and then held it up halfway in front of Ruoxi's eyes. Seeing this, Ruoxi frowned, thought for a moment, and then asked in a muffled voice, "What? Don't you believe me, Madam?"
"It's just gossip from a bunch of bandits. Not only would I not heed it, but even these villagers wouldn't pay any attention to it. Just now, they were all gathered at the door, vying to give you their most precious possessions! I had to go through a lot of trouble to get rid of them. Now, Ruoxi, you are seen as a goddess descended from heaven by everyone in this village, and they respect you even more than they respect me, this living bodhisattva." The old woman said leisurely.
"Really? Is this all true? You...you all believe Ruoxi?" Upon hearing this, Ruoxi's eyes lit up, and she asked excitedly.
The old woman nodded to him, a satisfied smile curving her lips.
Seeing that Ruoxi was finally at peace, the old woman suddenly lost her smile and asked softly, "Ruoxi, do you still remember what happened at the ancestral hall just now?"
Ruoxi recalled, "Just now... I only remember that those people surrounded me one by one, and then I suddenly felt like I couldn't think anymore, and my head felt like it was going to explode. The illusions in my dream kept reappearing in front of my eyes... When I opened my eyes again, I saw that the big tiger that I had rescued today from the Xiaolong Society in the mountains next to the Ten Mile Peach Blossom Forest, which was wounded by a sword, had brought many mountain beasts to help me out of the predicament."
Just then, she caught sight of the two adorable little insects beside her, picked them up, and happily introduced them: "Just now, out of curiosity, I wandered into the mountains and saw that its wound had already started to fester, so I cleaned it and applied medicine. Look, these are the two little insects that were guarding the big insect that I found licking its wound in the mountains... I think that's why it came here in time to save us."
Perhaps even these beasts can be grateful and loyal. But at this moment, the old woman clearly did not think so entirely.
She lowered her head silently and thought for a moment, then suddenly looked at Ruoxi, who was playing with the baby tiger, and said with a serious expression, "Ruoxi, listen to what I have to say. It seems that there are some things I have to tell you."
Upon hearing this, Ruoxi's smile gradually faded, and she slowly raised her head to look at the old woman's face. The old woman then began to tell her about her mysterious identity in detail...
Upon hearing the old woman's words, Ruoxi seemed stunned and asked, "Is all of this... really true?"
The old woman nodded solemnly to him and said, "The reason I haven't told you this before is because I haven't found the phoenix mark on you that belongs to the guardians of Western Qin as a descendant of the vampire clan. So I haven't dared to be sure. But today, seeing the powerful force that has erupted from your body, I believe that you are undoubtedly the person I have been waiting for for the past eight years."
The two were silent for a while, then Ruoxi suddenly asked in surprise, "Then why can't I find the phoenix mark on my body?"
The old woman shook her head, sighed softly, and said, "I think the only one who can explain this is Master Xuan Kong himself in the City God Temple. However, he always likes to travel around, and seeing him is harder than climbing to heaven!"
"Oh? How could I have almost forgotten about it?"
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