Chapter 14
Li's mother looked Xu Gui up and down with a suspicious expression, clearly doubting her claim that she was some kind of "master".
It's not surprising that she acted this way; it's just that Xu Gui's appearance is really not worthy of the title "master."
As a celebrity, although he is still relatively unknown, Xu Gui has regular features and fair, rosy skin. Standing there, he looks like a delicate, pink and white flower, which is completely different from the stereotypical image of a master.
"Mom, Miss Xu is truly a master; her fortune-telling is incredibly accurate!" Mr. Li explained to his elderly mother with absolute certainty. "You wouldn't believe it, but as soon as she saw me, she told me that our whole family had been poisoned. She was the one who told me about you putting pesticide in the rice jar..."
To convince his elderly mother, Mr. Li recounted the entire story of how he met Xu Gui.
He didn't notice that when he talked about how accurate Xu Gui's fortune-telling was, his mother's expression seemed to become a little uncomfortable, and her gaze began to shift from side to side.
This is a guilty expression.
After Mr. Li finished speaking, his mother seemed to believe him and said, "Is that so..."
She looked at Xu Gui and said, "I'm sorry, Master, I misunderstood you. I just didn't expect you to be so well-preserved! You look like a young woman in her late twenties. I can't even tell your actual age."
Mr. Li was also curious: "Master, how old are you actually?"
The mother and son huddled together, their expressions of curiosity almost identical.
Even the other two members of the Li family couldn't help but lean over and scrutinize Xu Gui's face.
Xu Gui, suddenly stared at by four pairs of inquisitive eyes: "..."
Live Stream Room:
[Haha, judging from Mr. Li and his family's reaction, they don't actually think Xu Gui is in her seventies or eighties; she just looks so young because she takes good care of herself, right?]
These four faces, and their expressions are exactly the same; they truly are a family.
[Hilarious! Before clicking in, I didn't expect this live stream to be this funny. Why do Mr. Li and his family think that Xu Gui looks young because she takes good care of herself? Can't she just genuinely be young?]
[At first, I thought the Li family's idea was outrageous, but thinking about it, they're a family that's clearly poisoned but believes they're possessed by evil spirits, so it's not surprising that they have this suspicion, is it?]
I'd like to see how Xu Gui answers this!
*
The camera then returns to the area outside the Li family's kitchen.
Faced with the curious gazes of the Li family, Xu Gui thought for a moment and asked, "...Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"
Inspired by her serious attitude, Mr. Li and his family couldn't help but become serious as well.
"Is it the truth?" Mr. Li asked first.
Xu Gui said earnestly, "The truth is I'm already 321 years old this year!"
"..." Mr. Li paused for two seconds, then asked again, "What about the lie?"
"That's a lie," Xu Gui said casually, "The lie is that I'm twenty-three this year!"
Mr. Li suddenly laughed and said, "Master, you are so humorous... I guess you are only in your forties at most, but you are really well-preserved, you look like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl!"
Listening to the video of their conversation: "..." This conversation of yours just doesn't sound right. What do you mean by "around forty years old"? Mr. Li, are you sure that's a compliment?
Meanwhile, Xu Gui's live stream was filled with "hahaha" comments—so what kind of nonsense were these two talking about?
Everyone found Mr. Li's words really funny, and they considered Xu Gui's words to be nothing more than jokes.
Xu Gui: ...But I was telling the truth.
Tortoises are naturally long-lived creatures, and the lifespan of the Xuan Turtle clan is even longer. "Xu Gui" truly lived to be 321 years old, so her age is greater than that of any living human.
However, even though the Xuan Turtle is over three hundred years old, she's still a baby in their clan; she's still a young person.
...
The Li family still didn't know Xu Gui's exact age, because they didn't believe she was only twenty-three, but they certainly didn't believe she was three hundred and twenty-one.
"...He should be around forty years old."
"Maybe it's in the fifties?"
They exchanged glances.
Mr. Li and his wife, He Yun, went to deal with the rice in the rice jar.
Li's mother had always been the cook in their family, so they hadn't noticed that pesticides had been sprinkled in the rice jar. When they opened the rice jar, they smelled a subtle odor.
"...Mom, how did you manage to put the pesticide in there?" Mr. Li couldn't help but feel a little strange.
Li's mother's gaze shifted for a moment before she said, "It was just an accident. I usually keep this medicine on top of the refrigerator. That day, I accidentally bumped into the refrigerator, and it fell in from the top... and it just happened to land in the rice container."
Li's mother has a hobby of growing roses. Roses are like medicine bottles, requiring frequent application of pesticides, so she bought a lot of pesticides and, fearing that her family members might accidentally touch them, she put them on the refrigerator.
“That day, it was just bad luck…” Li’s mother said, her expression somewhat stiff.
"I see..." Mr. Li remained calm and believed her explanation, saying only, "But if something like this happens again, don't be reluctant to part with the rice. How much is this rice worth? If we get food poisoning, we'll have spent all the extra money."
Li's mother lowered her eyes, seemed to smile slightly, and said, "I understand, I won't do it again next time."
Just then, Xu Gui, who had been standing to the side, suddenly spoke up: "But you clearly cooked this rice for everyone on purpose..."
Li's mother suddenly raised her head and looked at Xu Gui in disbelief, while Xu Gui looked at her calmly, as if she had expected it.
Li's mother suddenly realized that ever since she entered the house, this person seemed to have been staring at her with that kind of gaze, a gaze that seemed to see through everything.
*
[What does Xu Gui mean by that? What does it mean to deliberately cook rice for everyone? Does it mean this wasn't an accident? Wow, I've stumbled upon some juicy gossip?!]
Wow, is this channel transitioning from comedy to a society governed by law? I knew it, there's always a surprise when you watch this live stream.
[I said before that this woman was suspicious!! And you guys accused me of conspiracy theories! Where are all the people who criticized me before? Come out here!!]
[That can't be right. Mr. Li's family seemed to have a very good atmosphere. Why would the auntie drug everyone?]
[Urgent! Very urgent! Why hasn't Xu Gui said anything?]
*
In the kitchen, because of Xu Gui's words, the atmosphere inside and outside the kitchen became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Mr. Li looked at Xu Gui blankly, seemingly not quite understanding what she had just said.
“Master, what did you just say?” Mr. Li asked, glancing first at his expressionless mother and then at Xu Gui. “…Are you joking with us? But this joke isn’t funny at all.”
Xu Gui tilted his head and asked with some confusion, "Do I look like I'm joking?"
The others were thinking: ...It's precisely because you don't look like you're joking that this is so terrible!!
"...Aijuan." Mr. Li looked at Mrs. Li in disbelief and asked urgently, "Is what the master said true? Did you really deliberately cook rice that had been sprayed with pesticides for us? Did you want to poison us?"
Mr. Li said, "That's not right. My mother ate that food too. If she really wanted to poison us, why would she eat that food? Wouldn't that have harmed herself?"
He looked at Xu Gui and asked for confirmation, "Master, are you sure you didn't make a mistake? Why don't you calculate it again carefully? My mother couldn't possibly do such a thing; there's no reason for it at all."
“There’s a reason,” Xu Gui said, but she didn’t say what the reason was. Instead, she looked quietly at Li’s mother, who hadn’t said a word since the beginning.
Seeing her actions, the others couldn't help but look at Li's mother.
If you look closely, you'll find that Li's mother must be a very gentle and cheerful person. Her face gives people a peaceful feeling, and there are obvious smile lines at the corners of her eyes, which are only seen in people who laugh often.
But now, she doesn't smile anymore.
Mr. Li looked at her anxiously and said, "Mom, please speak up! The master must have been wrong. You didn't mean it, right?"
Li's mother breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Xu Gui and smiled, "Master, you truly live up to your reputation. You've predicted everything perfectly... Before, when Xiao An said he had found the master, I thought he had been deceived. Now it seems I was judging him by his appearance!"
She didn't directly answer Mr. Li's question, but her attitude and words clearly conveyed her meaning.
The cameraman looked at the others and noticed that the Li family father and son were pale, and Mr. Li's wife, He Yun, had a blank expression. Clearly, the fact that Li's mother had intentionally poisoned them had been a huge blow to everyone in the family.
"Why?" asked Li's father, voicing the question on everyone's mind, his voice filled with anguish. "Why did you do this?"
Yes, why?
This is a question that everyone in the live stream also wants to know.
From the moment Xu Gui and his family stepped into the Li family home, everyone could see the relationships and atmosphere within the family. It was clear to everyone that the family had a good relationship, with loving parents and filial children. No matter how you looked at it, it was a harmonious and happy family.
So what exactly was the reason that made Li's mother want to poison the whole family?
Everyone looked at Li's mother, wanting to know the answer, and then they saw Li's mother suddenly laugh, but the laugh was even uglier than crying.
Mr. Li couldn't help but call out, "Mom..."
Unexpectedly, upon hearing him call her "Mom," Li's mother reacted extremely strongly, angrily retorting, "Don't call me Mom! I'm not your mom at all!"
She glared at Mr. Li with resentment and said emotionally, "I'm not your mother, and you're not my son at all!"
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