As Nanmanyuan stepped into the small fishing village, a particularly shrill and piercing cry suddenly rang in his ears: "My child... my child... ah—!"
"Ugh!" Nan Yuanman frowned and subconsciously raised his hand to cover his ears.
Even with her ears covered, the piercing cries still penetrated her ears, and people whispered, "Help me... someone please help me..."
"Kill me...please...kill me..."
"Die...let me die..."
"It hurts... Mom... It hurts so much..."
"What did I do wrong... Why are you doing this to me..."
Most of these words came from people from Xia, and a few from people from R. She couldn't understand the language of the R people, but she could still sense the despair in their voices.
Feng Congqian noticed Nan Yuanman's unusual behavior immediately. He stopped and hugged her tightly, suppressing his anxiety as he softly called out to her, "Yuanman, Yuanman."
When Yuuki Ueda saw them stop, she leaned closer and asked with concern, "What's wrong with her?"
Feng Congqian, holding Nan Yuanman, took two steps back warily. Before he could speak, Nan Yuanman, who was chanting the Heart-Cleansing Mantra, had already returned to normal. She held Feng Congqian's wrist and said in a childish voice, "Daddy, I'm fine, don't worry."
Her expression was complicated as she gave Yuki Ueda a deep look.
The words she had just heard were the lingering obsessions of vengeful spirits after their souls had been scattered. From these obsessions, it could be discerned that the shrine maiden Ueda Yuki spoke of was not a good person.
Which shrine maiden could tolerate the presence of vengeful spirits on her territory? And which shrine maiden would use walking corpses as her guards?
"It's good that you're alright." Yuuki Ueda breathed a sigh of relief, her expression quickly brightening again: "You'll be able to see the shrine maiden tomorrow, and she'll surely bless you then."
Nan Yuanman hugged Feng Congqian's neck and gently hummed in agreement.
She was also looking forward to meeting that kind shrine maiden.
Perhaps because outsiders often visit the small fishing village, the villagers they encountered on their way to Yuuki Ueda's house all seemed unfazed by the situation.
These villagers were different from the villagers in Xia Kingdom Village. They were not warm or talkative, and when they saw strangers, they would just look at them from a distance with vigilance.
As soon as Feng Congqian looked over, they slammed the door shut like wary cats.
Yuki Ueda shrugged: "That's just how they are, you don't need to worry about it."
Feng Congqian nodded slightly.
Yuki Ueda's home is at the end of a small fishing village. It is a very simple little tile-roofed house with a few salted fish hanging under the eaves. There is no electricity yet, and the only means of lighting is candles.
The small tile-roofed house had only two rooms. Yuki Ueda tidied up her own room for them and said apologetically, "It's a bit simple, I hope you don't mind."
Feng Congqian shook his head: "I don't mind."
"Then you guys rest first, I'll go cook." Yuki Ueda smiled brightly, left a sentence, and hummed a song as she walked towards the simple kitchen.
As soon as she left, Feng Congqian immediately took out his phone and sent Feng Yuli a message showing his location.
After he has treated the injured, he should bring people over to provide support, in case of any accidents.
Nan Yuanman took out the small incense burner that had been placed inside the small coffin. The smoke from the incense burner was still drifting eastward. She recalled the environment of the small fishing village she had just entered. There were no special buildings to the east, only a few not-so-high hills.
She had a vague feeling that her second brother was in the hands of that witch.
However, she did not see any trace of the shrine on the way, presumably because it was hidden by a magic formation.
Nan Yuanman held the incense burner and pondered for a while. Then, she took out several protective and offensive talismans from her small satchel and handed them to Feng Congqian, saying in a low voice, "Dad, take these talismans. They can protect you."
Feng Congqian didn't stand on ceremony and took it carefully.
The father and daughter were wary and didn't talk much, fearing that someone might be overheard.
Soon, Yuki Ueda brought out the meal. Her dinner was simple: a fish of unknown species, a bowl of clear soup, and a small box of natto.
She enthusiastically picked up the natto, opened it, and handed it to Nan Yuanman: "This is delicious, you should try it."
Nan Yuanman had never seen such sticky, stringy beans before. Under Yuki Ueda's expectant gaze, she carefully picked up a little with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth.
The next second, her round face instantly wrinkled up.
How can I describe this texture?
It's like eating a small mouthful of sticky snot—it's sticky, bitter, sour, sweet, salty, and smelly.
It took a lot of willpower for her not to spit it out in front of Yuki Ueda.
Yuki Ueda asked expectantly, "How is it? Is it delicious?"
"Hmm." Nan Yuanman didn't speak, but gave a thumbs up in a miserable manner.
Dinner was a painful affair, and Nan Yuanman lay limply in Feng Congqian's arms like a small pile of poop, trying to recover.
Yuki Ueda sat on the ground, curiously asking Feng Congqian what the outside world was like.
Feng Congqian patiently answered all her seemingly mundane questions.
Yuki Ueda looked longingly at him, her eyes filled with a hint of regret: "I wish I could go out and see the world, but unfortunately, I can't leave the village."
Feng Congqian's brow twitched slightly: "Why can't we leave?"
"We were rescued by the priestess. We bear her mark and must serve her for all eternity. We cannot leave her at will, or we will fall ill and die."
Yuuki Ueda seemed to remember something, and her thin body trembled involuntarily: "Uncle Harada left the village against advice, and he died of illness in just three days."
“When his family brought his body back, I took a look at it. His body was completely rotten; it was horrific.”
Nan Yuanman perked up his little ears: "Your whole body is rotten?"
Feng Congqian translated her words to Yuki Ueda, who nodded vigorously: "Yes, it's like a person who has been buried in the ground for several years and has rotted away."
"Oh dear, why am I telling you all this? I'll scare you so much you won't be able to sleep." Ueda Yuuki patted her head, smiled kindly at Minami Manjuro, and stood up: "It's getting late, you should rest first. Tomorrow I'll take you to the shrine to see the priestess."
Nan Yuanman waved obediently: "Goodnight, sister."
Yuki Ueda: "Goodnight."
I slept without any dreams.
Nan Yuanman and Feng Congqian didn't dare to sleep soundly, and woke up as soon as it was light.
Yuki Ueda woke up faster than them and had even prepared breakfast. After they had eaten, she changed into the only new dress in the house and took Nan Yuanman and Feng Congqian to the shrine.
The road from the small fishing village to the shrine is not far; it's the direction the smoke drifted in, just as Nanmanyuan saw it last night.
Yuki Ueda led them over a small hill to a small temple. As they approached, Nanmanyuan saw intricate patterns drawn on the ground, similar to those seen on the spider silk.
Nan Yuanman blinked. Sure enough, it was an array.
Yuuki Ueda knelt down in front of the temple with a devout expression and said softly, "Yuuki Ueda requests an audience with the priestess."
As soon as she finished speaking, ripples spread across the space in front of the small temple, and a moss-covered stone staircase leading up the hillside appeared before the three of them.
A soft female voice slowly rang out: "Come in."
Yuki Ueda's face lit up with joy as she led Nan Yuanman and Feng Congqian up the mossy stone steps.
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