Chapter 26: Origins, Quack Doctor Harms People Part 1

Bo Xuenong had just barely steadied her mind when Feng Jin already walked up to them.

Feng Jin clearly adapted to her new identity much better than Bo Xuenong did. She proactively reached out and tugged at Bo Xuenong’s sleeve, saying to the people from Mistlongevity Village who had come with her, “Village Chief Gui, these are my dad and mom.”

Five women had come out from Mistlongevity Village in total. Leading them was an elderly woman, and it was to her that Feng Jin spoke.

The old woman had kind and benevolent features. Her graying hair could not hide her past elegance; she must have been a beauty in her youth.

A friendly smile hung on her face, and her voice was very gentle as she spoke. “No wonder Little Jin is so fresh and lively. It turns out her parents are quite good-looking.”

Bo Xuenong subconsciously looked toward Feng Yingbo. Feng Yingbo was unusually silent, her pair of eyes quietly fixed on Feng Jin.

Feng Jin kept her head lowered, not looking at Feng Yingbo. She merely tugged at Bo Xuenong’s sleeve again, signaling her to respond to the old woman.

Bo Xuenong opened her mouth, but she had not yet adapted to her new identity and could not say a word.

Shen Yanting slanted a glance at her and took over the conversation. “Village Chief Gui flatters us.”

Shen Yanting was not the warm and outgoing type, and Bo Xuenong still appeared dazed, yet the village chief did not diminish her enthusiasm. She smiled at Shen Yanting. “I have never seen anyone as beautiful as Madam Feng.”

It went without saying that Feng Jin must have told the old woman their names, which was why the old woman assumed their whole family shared the surname Feng.

While the old woman praised Shen Yanting with her words, her gaze did not linger much. The others who had come with her were different.

They stared dazedly at Shen Yanting, their eyes filled with fascination, amazement, and jealousy.

Before Bo Xuenong could get angry, the old woman first scolded the four of them. “Put your eyes back in your heads.”

The old woman looked kindly, but her words carried weight.

As soon as she spoke, the four dared not look any longer.

After the four restrained their gazes, the old woman smiled and said to them, “My daughter’s wedding is tomorrow. Since you all wish to drink the wedding wine, please stay in the village for the night.”

Fu Aoqing withdrew her gaze from Feng Yingbo and looked toward the old woman. “Didn’t we just agree on that?”

The old woman smiled, her eyes turning toward Shen Yanting.

Bo Xuenong felt something was off. This old woman seemed to know that Shen Yanting was the one in charge among them, not Fu Aoqing, who was playing the role of Shen Yanting’s mother-in-law. Moreover, before she and Shen Yanting got off the carriage, they had enhanced their hearing with spiritual power and heard faint, fragmented crying. Yet these five people standing before them showed no signs of having cried.

Very strange.

The odd feeling in her heart gradually overshadowed her earlier panic, and Bo Xuenong calmed down again. She carefully sized up these people.

The other four were not young either; the youngest appeared to be over forty. And… they looked somewhat strange. They did not lack noses or eyes, but each had obvious scars on their faces—ferocious, crooked scars crossing their faces. The four of them could not piece together even one intact face.

The eldest old woman was actually the best-looking among them.

It was not that Bo Xuenong judged by appearances or fixated on others’ looks. She just felt their facial scars were too uniform. All four were injured in roughly the same places, as if done deliberately.

Bo Xuenong did not get to scrutinize them for long before the old woman ushered them into the village.

Feng Jin and Feng Yingbo were in charge of driving the carriage in, while Bo Xuenong and the others followed behind the old woman. Once they entered the village, that strange feeling grew even stronger.

At a glance, Mistlongevity Village had at least several hundred households, yet the village was not lively at all. Every house had its doors and windows tightly shut, with no sign of people. Only red lanterns and red silk at the doorways swayed in the wind. After Bo Xuenong amplified her hearing with spiritual power, she heard low sobbing from behind almost every door.

It could not be that the entire village was crying, could it? Crying about what?

The strange feeling in Bo Xuenong’s heart grew heavier and heavier. She adjusted her emotions and plastered a fake smile on her face again. She began inquiring about the village situation from the old woman, who was very forthcoming—answering every question. From the old woman, Bo Xuenong learned that she was named Gui Nianqin, and the one getting married tomorrow was her granddaughter Gui Fuxin.

Her family had generation after generation served as village chiefs of Mistlongevity Village. Gui Nianqin had good relations with the villagers. Upon hearing her granddaughter was to wed, every household had voluntarily hung up red lanterns and red silk, preparing to see off the bride tomorrow. According to their local custom, those seeing off the bride had to stay indoors for at least three days, which was why every door and window was shut tight.

Gui Nianqin was advanced in age and naturally would not be seeing off the bride, so she had come out to greet them. The four women beside her were the ones who would stay behind tomorrow to guard the village with her.

Bo Xuenong truly did not understand these customs. She could only cast a puzzled gaze toward Shen Yanting.

Shen Yanting did not catch her glance. At this moment, she was quietly gazing at Fu Aoqing’s back.

As the one among them most likely to know Mistlongevity Village customs, Fu Aoqing showed no major reaction to the old woman’s words. Could such an odd custom actually be real?

But… if it was a voluntary sending off, then why the crying?

Bo Xuenong had not figured it out when Gui Nianqin already led their group to the end of the village and into a courtyard. “Everyone, please stay here tonight. Tomorrow, I will invite you all to drink the wedding wine.”

Fu Aoqing hurriedly nodded and stuffed the gold ingot Feng Yingbo had given her into Gui Nianqin’s hands. “Village Chief Gui, this is our gift.”

Gui Nianqin caught the gold ingot, a flash of sarcasm passing through her eyes. “Thank you.”

If Bo Xuenong had not habitually paid close attention to subtle changes in expressions to act obedient, she really would not have caught that instant shift in Gui Nianqin. Her thanks were not sincere. Just as she suspected, there was something strange about this village. Those crying voices and the people before her eyes were absolutely not normal.

Annoying.

Bo Xuenong did not have much patience to begin with. The piling doubts only increased her irritability. She had an impulse to put a knife to Gui Nianqin’s neck and demand answers. But her arm was still tightly linked with Shen Yanting’s, so not only did she not dare do that, she also carefully maintained the smile on her face, afraid that if she slipped, Shen Yanting would see her violent nature.

She smiled until her face felt slightly stiff, her fingertip gently pressing at the corner of her eye.

Shen Yanting suddenly pulled her even tighter, half-leaning against her as she said, “We should be the ones thanking Village Chief Gui for taking us in.”

The panic she had just suppressed climbed back up her heart. Of course, Bo Xuenong did not dislike Shen Yanting’s touch—it was just too close.

Aside from her childhood years, she had never been this intimate with Shen Yanting. So close that she felt an urge to flee.

It was not just the distance; there was also the identity that Fu Aoqing and the others had forced on her.

Just thinking about having to call Shen Yanting “wife” over and over made Bo Xuenong’s lips tremble uncontrollably. Heat climbed her cheeks again, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest.

Bo Xuenong pinched her palm and lowered her eyes, doing her utmost to hide her panic and tension.

She did not know how to act as the husband either. She only knew to nod when Shen Yanting spoke and to play mute when Shen Yanting did not.

Perhaps because Feng Jin’s ten-year-old appearance was particularly endearing to the elderly, Gui Nianqin spoke the most with her. Of course, Gui Nianqin did not stay long either. After praising Shen Yanting a couple more times, she left, specifically mentioning that she would send food over later.

As soon as Gui Nianqin left, Shen Yanting released Bo Xuenong.

The moment the weight lifted from her arm, the heavy stone pressing on Bo Xuenong’s heart was lifted as well. Bo Xuenong let out a soft breath, her whole body relaxing considerably. “Master, I feel like this village is not quite right.”

“Where is it not right?” Fu Aoqing raised her brow oddly. After seriously considering Bo Xuenong’s words, she asked, “You mean that custom?”

It was not entirely that, but Bo Xuenong still nodded. “Sect Master…”

Shen Yanting’s gaze swept over her, and Bo Xuenong hurriedly changed her address. “Wife, does Mistlongevity Village really have this custom?”

“Yes.” Fu Aoqing nodded. “Yes, our village has always had the custom of staying indoors for three days when seeing off the bride. It’s just that those seeing off the bride are usually blood relatives. There has never been a case of the whole village seeing off one girl. Perhaps this Village Chief Gui really has great prestige.”

“The village chief back then was also surnamed Gui?”

“Yes.” Fu Aoqing affirmed Bo Xuenong’s question. “The village chiefs of Mistlongevity Village have always been from the Gui family. Perhaps because their ancestor did very well as village chief, the village always selects from their family.”

“Come to think of it, it was the old village chief who sent me to the Imperial Serenity Sect.” A brief nostalgia appeared on Fu Aoqing’s face. “We all called the village chief Granny Gui back then. Granny Gui said one should start cultivating immortality early, so she sent all the children under ten in our village to the Imperial Serenity Sect. In the end, only I remained. Granny Gui was still very happy about it. She even gave me a spirit stone that the village had treasured. Later… I never saw her again. I don’t know what generation descendant this Gui Nianqin is.”