Chapter 68. Granny Feng's words seemed to have…
Granny Feng's words seemed reasonable and well-founded. The villagers who had been speaking up for the Wen family fell silent and looked at the Wen family with some hesitation.
Even more people's gazes turned to horror as Granny Feng continued speaking.
"Who knows, one day you might offend Doctor Wen and end up like my third son." When she mentioned Doctor Wen, Granny Feng spoke in a sarcastic tone, and then she leaned over Feng Laosan's corpse and wailed.
"Don't talk nonsense, you old hag." Hearing that the criticism had been turned against Wen Conglan, Wen Mao's face darkened, and he stepped forward.
"The demon is killing people! The demon is killing people!"
Granny Feng sat on the ground, trembling as she shrank into the crowd, shouting:
“This brat from the Wen family dared to lay a hand on an old woman like me in front of so many people! Immortal Master, quickly kill this demon!”
"Alright, Wen Mao, stop now. And you from the Feng family, don't cause trouble here either." Seeing the tense atmosphere, the village chief stepped forward to stop Wen Mao from making a move.
If Wen Mao were to take action in front of everyone today, he would be unable to explain himself even if he was in the right.
The village chief glanced at the burly Wen Mao and coughed lightly: "Dr. Wen, you should also try to persuade your son."
Wen Conglan frowned: "It was Granny Feng who slandered my son and me first. Mao'er did nothing wrong."
“Village chief, my third son can’t die in vain. You can’t just side with the Wen family because they’re doctors.”
Granny Feng hid behind Xie Heng in the crowd, feeling that she had something to rely on, and her arrogance immediately soared.
Before Wenmao's side could be calmed down, Granny Feng started making a scene again, leaving the village chief with a major headache:
"Quiet. "
As soon as he finished speaking, the village chief's gaze shifted to Xie Heng, who was standing quietly to the side watching the farce. He noticed that Xie Heng's gaze was seemingly falling on Wen Mao, and he was startled. Could it be that Granny Feng was right after all?
Xie Heng noticed the village chief's gaze, which drifted straight towards him.
"Well, now a celestial being has come to our Xiaoxi Village."
The identity of the wicked demon will be determined by Immortal Xie.
The village chief's words first calmed the villagers' anxiety caused by the reappearance of the demons, and then he continued:
"Thank you, Immortal Master. The hunters found Feng Laosan this morning when they went into the mountains. His wounds are the same as those of the people who were harmed by the demons before; all his internal organs are missing. This..."
"Was my third son killed by that demon Wenmao?" Granny Feng shouted out the question that was on everyone's mind before the village chief could even finish speaking.
"Wen Mao didn't kill him," Xie Heng said calmly, glancing at the corpse.
As if all her strength had been drained by a force, Granny Feng lost her previous assertive questioning and collapsed next to Feng Laosan's corpse.
With Wen Mao's name cleared, Wen Conglan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then who killed my third son?" Granny Feng asked, barely containing her anger. "The Wen family boy was like a different person after he came back from the mountains. Who else could it be but him?"
If the murderer is someone you can see and touch, then revenge is still possible.
But if the murderer is truly that ethereal and invincible demon, how can we find him?
"Wenmao is not a demon..."
Xie Heng's calm voice continued.
The answer to whether Feng Laosan was harmed by Wen Mao could be seen by Wen Mao himself, and there was another "person" present who also saw through it at a glance.
When Xie Baoqiong was observing Feng Laosan's corpse with her divine sense, she noticed that the residual aura was different from the aura that Wen Mao had revealed when they fought that night.
“I secretly followed Wen Mao yesterday, and he didn’t have a chance to make a move.”
Furthermore, the aura emanating from Feng Laosan did not belong to the same person as Wen Mao.
Xie Heng's words completely shattered the last glimmer of hope in Granny Feng's heart.
Her limp body was supported by her children who had followed her, and only then did tears well up in her cloudy eyes.
"Master Xie, what kind of monster is that harmful demon?" the village chief asked with a worried expression.
"I have some leads, village chief, don't worry, I still need to verify them," Xie Heng said, staring at the corpse.
"Very well, then I'll trouble you, Immortal Master Xie."
The crowd gradually dispersed.
Xie Baoqiong's consciousness swayed and peeked out from beside Wen Mao's neck.
He took one last look at the corpse that the Feng family had taken away. The aura emanating from it was unfamiliar, likely the work of a monster he had never seen before.
The horn of divine sense probed in Xie Heng's direction. Xie Heng's eyebrows and eyes were indifferent, and he did not seem to be lying.
Xie Heng suddenly glanced at him, took a step towards Wen Mao, and raised his hand to sweep across Wen Mao's shoulder.
Wen Mao slightly turned aside, his eyes cold, and reached out seemingly casually to press Xie Baoqiong's protruding corner back.
"What's your purpose, Mr. Xie?"
"You have something on your shoulder." Xie Heng's gaze no longer avoided, falling on Xie Baoqiong's consciousness.
Wen Mao patted Xie Baoqiong's shoulder as if to make a gesture, and Xie Baoqiong took the opportunity to jump into Wen Mao's sleeve.
“It’s gone now,” Wen Mao replied, getting up and walking into the courtyard.
After Feng Laosan's body was taken away, Xie Zhuo stopped detaining Xie Baoqiong, and Xie Baoqiong pushed open the door and ran towards Wen Mao:
"Brother Cat, Dad and I aren't leaving today."
He naturally tugged at Wen Mao's sleeve and withdrew his divine sense.
When she turned to look at Xie Heng, she happened to meet his gaze.
In an instant, Wen Mao blocked his head, turned it back, and walked with him to the kitchen.
Xie Zhuo followed Xie Heng out of the room, glanced at Xie Heng standing in the yard, and followed Xie Baoqiong and the other into the kitchen.
When Xie Zhuo entered the kitchen, Wen Mao stuffed two pieces of pastries that Xie Baoqiong had brought back from the city into her clean hands.
Seeing a figure appear at the kitchen door, he glanced up briefly, then continued stuffing his hands with snacks.
When Xie Zhuo walked up to her, Xie Baoqiong glanced at the half-eaten pastry in her hand, didn't put it in her mouth, but instead raised her hand:
"Father, here you go."
Xie Zhuo looked at the drool-covered pastries handed to him, and then noticed the strange look Wen Mao was giving Xie Baoqiong from behind:
"Xiao Bao, you can eat by yourself."
Xie Baoqiong didn't understand the etiquette of refusing, so when Xie Zhuo declined, she unceremoniously stuffed the remaining half of the pastry into her mouth, swallowed it, and then said:
"Dad, I want to go to the mountains to collect herbs with Brother Cat."
"The demons have not yet been eliminated; it may be dangerous to go into the mountains." Xie Zhuo said this not only to Xie Baoqiong but also to Wen Mao behind him.
Wen Mao picked up the basket and long knife from the corner of the wall, his gaze sweeping towards the door, clearly still holding a grudge:
"Won't that person follow us? If Young Master Lin is worried, why don't you come with us?"
Three people went out. Wen Conglan instructed Wen Mao on the missing herbs that had been damaged yesterday.
Xie Baoqiong tilted his head back as Xie Zhuo helped him fasten his rather large straw hat.
Just as the three were leaving the hospital, a voice from behind made Xie Zhuo stop in his tracks:
"Lin Jin, wait a moment."
After realizing that his current name was Lin Jin, Xie Zhuo turned around and looked at Xie Heng, who had spoken:
"What brings you here, Immortal Master Xie?"
"May I speak to you in private?" Xie Heng asked.
Xie Baoqiong grabbed his hand and pulled him outside: "Dad, Brother Cat has already left."
Xie Zhuo's expression froze for a moment, then he looked at Xie Heng with an apologetic expression:
"If it's not urgent, let's talk about it when we get back."
Wen Mao walked ahead on the mountain path, while Xie Baoqiong and Xie Zhuo walked side by side behind him.
Xie Baoqiong held Xie Zhuo's hand, pulled down her straw hat to cover half her face, and glanced around cautiously through the gaps in the hat, wary of encountering acquaintances.
Seeing this, Xie Zhuo couldn't help but smile, adjusting the straw hat that Xie Baoqiong had almost pulled up to her face.
"Is Xiao Bao worried about encountering demons?"
Xie Baoqiong looked up at Xie Zhuo, who was completely unaware, but did not answer. She silently pulled down her straw hat.
Seeing that Xie Baoqiong was determined to do so, Xie Zhuo went along with him and stopped adjusting his straw hat, only reminding him to watch his step.
The mountain air still carried the freshness of the rain, so the three of them didn't venture too deep into the mountains. Wen Mao led the other two to pick some medicinal herbs only on the outskirts of the mountain.
It seems like things would be alright if life continued like this.
He silently picked out the wildflowers mixed among the herbs next to his basket, placed them aside, and deftly wove a wreath with his fingers.
When the three of them returned, Xie Baoqiong had a colorful flower wreath on her straw hat.
—
In the Wen family courtyard, Wen Conglan took advantage of the clear weather to take out the herbs from the house and air them out again.
Xie Heng stopped her at this moment: "Dr. Wen, may I ask when the father and son who are staying here arrived?"
"It was the day before you arrived, Immortal Master Xie," Wen Conglan replied briskly as she tidied up.
"Is there anything strange about the two of them?" Xie Heng pressed.
Wen Conglan paused in her tidying up. Xie Zhuo and his companion were indeed not ordinary people, especially since they had met at the foot of a cliff and both had knife wounds.
Thinking of this, what she said was:
"What's so strange about it? Immortal Master Xie wouldn't suspect that Young Master Lin and Xiao Bao are evil demons, would he?"
Xie Heng shook his head: "The aura emanating from those two is different from that of demons, but judging from the demeanor of that young master Lin, he doesn't seem like an ordinary person..."
Wen Conglan recalled Xie Baoqiong's actions over the past two days, and finding nothing amiss, smiled and said:
"Xiao Bao is a very well-behaved child, just like Mao'er."
Master Xie felt that Xiao Bao was different, mostly because Lin Langjun came from a good family, and the child he raised was unlike that of ordinary people.
Upon hearing Wen Conglan's first sentence, Xie Heng felt a twitch in his eyelids. Seeing that the former hadn't noticed anything amiss, he changed the subject and brought up another matter:
"Doctor Wen, is it just you and your son in your household?"
Last night I saw blacksmithing tools in the main room, but I didn't see a forge in the house, nor did I see Doctor Wen or your son forging anything. Did that thing belong to Doctor Wen?
Wen Conglan nodded, "My parents and Mao'er's father passed away early, so it was just Mao'er and me left at home."
As she spoke, a look of regret appeared on her face:
“The things in the main room are mine. I learned blacksmithing from my father for a while when I was young. Later, because my parents felt sorry for me, they let me go to school and become an apprentice to learn medicine. The tools were piled up in the corner and gathered dust, never taken out.”
"I see. My condolences, Dr. Wen."
Xie Heng embarked on the path of immortality at a young age and had few family ties. Upon hearing this, he could only offer a brief word of condolence and then inquired about another matter that concerned him:
“These past two days, I’ve heard from villagers that Wen Mao had gone missing in the mountains and that he seemed like a different person after he came back.”
"Dr. Wen, is this true?"
Wen Conglan's expression froze, and her fingers unconsciously tightened around the herbs:
Five years ago, Mao'er went into the mountains to play with some other children from the village, but Mao'er was nowhere to be seen even by nightfall...
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Author's Note: I've revised Chapter 66.
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