People in this era didn't celebrate birthdays with a table full of dishes like they would later. A couple of eggs was considered quite a treat. Wen Ziqing had specially bought pork belly and a chicken and cooked four dishes to celebrate Zhou Yuanyuan's birthday.
What should have been a joyful birthday dinner became somewhat stagnant with Wang Xiaona's presence. After they quickly finished their meal, Zhou Yuanyuan signaled Zhao Qingshan to tell Wang Xiaona the truth.
Wang Xiaona looked like a candle in the wind. If Zeng Mingliang absorbed Wang Xiaona's energy again tonight, Wang Xiaona might disappear from this world before dawn tomorrow.
"Wang Xiaona, what I'm about to say might change your perspective, but I hope you'll listen carefully and think it over. Do you think your husband, Zeng Mingliang, is still the same Zeng Mingliang as before?" Zhao Qingshan pondered for a long time before finally speaking. The situation was clear; all Zhao Qingshan had to do was tell Wang Xiaona what was going on. Whether Wang Xiaona believed him or not was beyond his control.
Zhao Qingshan repeated Zhou Yuanyuan's guess to Wang Xiaona.
To Zhao Qingshan's surprise, Wang Xiaona was stunned for a moment after hearing what he said. Then she let out a long sigh and said, "I see."
Wang Xiaona didn't make a scene like Zhao Qingshan had expected, which left him completely baffled. "Is Wang Xiaona stupid? Why didn't she react at all when she heard that the person next to her might be the murderer?"
"Doctor Zhao, to be honest, I once doubted Mingliang." Wang Xiaona smiled bitterly and said, "It's just that we have been in love for the past three years. I don't know why Mingliang would do this, so I don't continue to doubt him."
Wang Xiaona had been to university and was no fool. Although she was extremely reluctant to think about Zeng Mingliang's strange behavior, reality told her that Zhao Qingshan's speculation was very likely to be true.
Two months ago, not long after Chen Yuzhu left home, Wang Xiaona began to notice that Zeng Mingliang's behavior was a bit strange. Zeng Mingliang had never eaten green onions before, but one day, he suddenly began to enjoy the green onion leaves that Wang Xiaona used as a side dish.
Wang Xiaona and Zeng Mingliang had been married for three years and knew every detail of Zeng Mingliang's life. Zeng Mingliang had always lived a very regular life, never waking up in the middle of the night and usually sleeping through the night.
One night, Wang Xiaona woke up in the middle of the night and found that the bed next to her was cold. Wang Xiaona listened for a long time, but heard no movement from the bathroom. Wang Xiaona got up and checked, but she searched the whole house but couldn't find Zeng Mingliang.
Wang Xiaona felt very strange. Zeng Mingliang usually kept nothing from her, so why didn't he tell her when he went out in the middle of the night?
Wang Xiaona waited for over an hour, but Zeng Mingliang didn't come back. Eventually, Wang Xiaona couldn't resist the sleepiness and drifted off to sleep. When she woke up the next day, she found Zeng Mingliang had already prepared breakfast.
Zeng Mingliang's face looked very bad, with dark circles under his eyes. Wang Xiaona did not ask, she waited for Zeng Mingliang to confess to her. However, after waiting for a few days, Zeng Mingliang did not tell Wang Xiaona why he went out in the middle of the night.
From that time on, Wang Xiaona noticed that Zeng Mingliang seemed to be able to transform. Every seven or eight days, he was like a completely different person. His appetite and lifestyle were very different from usual. When Wang Xiaona was suspicious, Zeng Mingliang would automatically recover.
Furthermore, Wang Xiaona discovered that her health had been deteriorating day by day since Zeng Mingliang began behaving strangely. According to Zhao Qingshan, Zeng Mingliang had "sucked" Wang Xiaona's vital energy away.
"Doctor Zhao, what do you think I should do to stay alive?" Wang Xiaona took off a jade gourd pendant from her neck and handed it to Zhao Qingshan. "Doctor Zhao, both my parents are deceased. Their only wish before they died was for me to live happily until the end of my life. I don't have any money now, but this is a thought my mother left for me five years ago. If you don't mind, I can use it to cover the cost of my treatment. Is that okay with you?"
Wang Xiaona's jade gourd pendant was emerald green and crystal clear, looking like it was worth a fortune. Even more remarkable was the subtle aura of Wang Xiaona's presence when she wore it close to her body. To Zhou Yuanyuan, the jade gourd was just an ordinary jade pendant. Only after the gourd left Wang Xiaona's body did Zhou Yuanyuan realize its extraordinary qualities.
Zhou Yuanyuan finally understood why Wang Xiaona hadn't died after being used as a cauldron for months. Wang Xiaona's jade gourd pendant wasn't just any ordinary item; it was a top-grade imperial green, imbued with immense spiritual energy. Wang Xiaona wore it close to her body daily, slowly releasing spiritual energy to nourish her.
"Master, there's something good, Xiaoyu wants it." Sure enough, Xiaoyu in Zhou Yuanyuan's sea of consciousness had already detected the fluctuations of spiritual energy in the jade gourd and quickly jumped out and called out. Compared to Wen Ziqing's white jade daffodil, Wang Xiaona's jade gourd clearly contained more spiritual energy, and Xiaoyu was definitely not going to let it go.
"Xiaoyu, no! This is Wang Xiaona's life-saving gift. We can't take it." Zhou Yuanyuan knew that Wang Xiaona's only survival depended on the pendant. With the jade gourd's nourishment, Wang Xiaona wouldn't be able to regain her youthful appearance, but she would still be able to survive. Zhou Yuanyuan's possession of Wang Xiaona's jade gourd was merely a bonus, giving herself or Xiaoyu a little more spiritual energy. Without the jade gourd, Wang Xiaona would surely die.
Zhou Yuanyuan is a novice cultivator, yet to learn the monk's way of treating mortals like ants. The hardships of her past life taught her a lesson: respect every life. Whether noble or humble, only life is equal. Everyone has only one life, and everyone strives to survive.
Zhou Yuanyuan likes people who respect life. Wang Xiaona still wants to live even though she has become like this. She will try her best to help if she can!
Zhao Qingshan is not a money-hungry person. In Zhaojiagou, some villagers whose families are really poor come to Zhao Qingshan for medical treatment. Zhao Qingshan not only waives the consultation fee, but sometimes even waives the medicine fee.
Zhao Qingshan was delighted to see that Zhou Yuanyuan didn't want Wang Xiaona's jade gourd. His child wasn't one for profit, and that was what pleased Zhao Qingshan most.
After speaking to Zhao Qingshan, Zhou Yuanyuan and Wen Ziqing followed Wang Xiaona to her home. Zhou Yuanyuan had no choice but to personally investigate whether Zeng Mingliang had truly become a puppet of the evil cultivator.
Fortunately, Zhou Yuanyuan had also learned a few skills during this period: pyromancy, soul piercing, and exorcism. This gave her some self-protection skills.
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