The Heroine Fell Deeply For Her [Quick Transmigration] 220p2

Chapter 220: What’s This About Marrying First and Loving Later? 5(2)

To commemorate the person who sacrificed themselves for the villagers, the small figures representing the villagers built an ancestral hall, enshrining the stone statue and worshipping it sincerely.

According to the villagers’ old customs, they believed that red threads carried the wishes of the weaver, and spontaneously wrapped red threads around the statue, praying for its quick recovery.

Over time, it became the giant egg wrapped in red thread that it was today.

Tao Ning straightened up, more doubts filling her heart: “Lingxiu Village is really dishonest, changing ‘young woman’ to ‘young person’.”

Compared to the inhuman villagers down the mountain, Tao Ning unconditionally chose to believe Xuan Miao’s words. If she said she was the true Mountain God, then she was.

If that was the case, then the problem arose.

Xuan Miao wore a deep red cloak, her skirt like billowing red clouds, her features delicate, a cinnabar mole between her eyebrows, ethereal and otherworldly.

She didn’t look anything like this dark little figure.

520 didn’t need eyes to see, only scanning. Its gaze fixed on a certain spot, analyzing a scene: [These murals have been altered.]

Tao Ning: “Altered?”

520 brought up the original mural: [This is the original version.]

The original mural wasn’t much different from the current one, except that the original version of the glowing, dark little figure was a goddess-like woman in red, with beautiful features and a compassionate expression, her gaze at the small figures filled with understanding.

Compared to the glowing dark little figure, this image clearly fit the image of a worshipped Mountain God better.

And because the craftsman’s skills were limited, they couldn’t finely change the original into another person’s likeness, so they simply painted it as a dark little figure, simplifying the features, changing the compassionate, downcast gaze to closed eyes.

Tao Ning: “According to the murals, this Mountain God acted quite like a Mountain God, so why did she start marrying brides later? Could it be that the isolated villagers had advanced ideas, choosing brides for a female Mountain God?”

520: [Maybe the villagers learned about the Mountain God’s preferences through some spiritual means, so brides?]

This wasn’t impossible, everything was done according to the deity’s preferences.

“But Xuan Miao doesn’t seem like someone who has seen many brides, she doesn’t even know about their existence.” Tao Ning’s fingertip landed on the second mural, pointing at the river that had been moved, “With the power to move mountains and create seas, the original Mountain God’s cultivation must have been extraordinary.”

“Perhaps her original identity wasn’t the Mountain God of Lingxiu Mountain at all, but because she saved people, she was worshipped as the Mountain God by the villagers’ faith.”

Saying this, her fingertip slid down, landing on the image of the stone egg surrounded by grieving small figures. A crack could faintly be seen on the stone egg.

She guessed that if she had transformed like this without injury, there wouldn’t be a crack on the stone egg.

Tao Ning: “But because she defied the heavens, performing good deeds beyond her capabilities, she was injured and needed to recuperate.”

This explanation, however, raised a new question for 520: [But that’s not right, the current female lead is indeed ghostly, filled with resentment, a fierce ghost at the Ghost King level.]

Tao Ning: “Who said a ghost can’t be a Mountain God? A Mountain God is created by the faith of believers. Even a stone, with faith, can become a low-level local deity, just with a smaller jurisdiction.”

520: [Ah?]

As they were talking, Tao Ning heard the heavy doors of the ancestral hall being pushed open by several people.

Along with cautious footsteps, came a few faint voices, approaching the main hall.

Tao Ning immediately stood up and walked towards the back door: “Someone’s coming, let’s go through the back.”

No matter who it was, encountering them head-on would inevitably lead to some entanglement. Tao Ning didn’t want to pretend in front of a group of irrelevant people, so it was better to leave early.

When the people outside entered, they only saw the statue of the Mountain God wrapped in red thread. This strange appearance shocked them.

For a long time, no one spoke. Someone muttered softly, breaking the silence: “A giant red yarn ball.”

The female student looked around, puzzled: “Why is there no one inside?”

Liang Chun asked the female student: “Who was supposed to be here?”

The female student: “Tao Zi from the village came in just now, but I didn’t see her leave, and no one went out either.”

Although Liang Chun was surprised that Tao Ning would enter the ancestral hall on her own, she didn’t think much of it: “She’s a villager of Lingxiu Village, where can’t she go? Don’t be misled by her.”

Chu Que only glanced at the Mountain God and knew it was empty. Looking elsewhere, he indeed saw the murals on the wall.

He hurried forward, taking in the murals. Lei Ge, who arrived shortly after, also saw the murals, not noticing anything different from before.

There were no clues about the mission in these murals, so it was useless to look. He quickly walked away.

“How could this be?” Chu Que frowned, reaching out to touch the murals, trying to scrape something off.

But although the murals were crudely painted, the craftsman’s skill with applying paint was quite good, and they remained firm.

He took out a small knife from his clothes, about to use it, when an aged voice came from behind: “What are you doing?”

Chu Que paused, turning to see that a villager had arrived, and put the knife back into his sleeve.

Returning home to retrieve the essential lantern for going up the mountain, Tao Ning also slung a small cloth bag over her shoulder, ready to set off.

This wasn’t an ordinary lantern, it was a guiding light to her wife’s doorstep.

Passing by the basin she had used to wash her face this morning, she looked inside.

A beautiful face was reflected on the water’s surface, her features well-defined, quite attractive compared to the other villagers.

“She’s not bad looking, why won’t she agree to marry me?” Tao Ning shook her head, standing up and leaving the basin, “I have to find a way to bring her down the mountain, even if I have to tie her up.”

520: […] Truly defeated by this love-struck brain.

The journey up the mountain was long, but Tao Ning was used to it, arriving at the familiar bamboo forest without a change in her expression.

She expertly walked towards the cave, the lantern easily guiding her to the entrance.

It was still the same long and winding path, the only light source being the lantern in her hand. A damp and cold wind constantly blew from the depths of the cave.

If it were anyone else, they would have been covered in goosebumps from fear and run away.

Only this stubborn person ventured into this ghostly place again and again, impossible to drive away.

Suddenly, the flame in the lantern flickered, and an even stronger gust of wind blew from the depths of the cave. Something soft brushed against her face, and Tao Ning was pressed heavily against the cave wall by a cold, heavy presence, her back against the dirt wall.

Their bodies were pressed close together, soft yet cold, like embracing the moon.

Although the scene was oppressive, the posture made it incredibly intimate.

A pair of crimson eyes met hers. The next moment, cold fingers touched her forehead, the temperature so cold it made her soul tremble. A chilling voice followed: “Didn’t I tell you not to come here?”

After a while, receiving no answer, Xuan Miao moved her hand away strangely.

As her wide sleeve moved, it revealed tearful eyes. The person pressed against the wall was looking at her with tears welling up.

Xuan Miao paused, feeling a rare twitch in the organ that had long stopped beating.

At this moment, she didn’t understand what this meant, only staring blankly at the other party, unconsciously loosening her grip on her shoulders.

Tao Ning said in a seemingly aggrieved voice, “I accidentally got cut while climbing the mountain, and there was no one else around, so I came to find you.”

The hand that wasn’t holding the lantern slowly lifted, revealing a cut on her palm.

Xuan Miao’s eyes reflected the cut hand, fresh red blood continuously flowing from the wound, the faint, almost undetectable scent of blood lingering in her nose.

For the empty Ghost King, it was an irresistible temptation.

She didn’t notice that Tao Ning’s eyes had darkened, gazing deeply at the red-clad figure with downcast eyes, slowly saying, “Could you lend me some water to wash my hands?”

There was no answer in the silent path, only Tao Ning’s breathing. Xuan Miao, pressed close against her, seemed to be able to feel the steady beating of the heart beneath her chest.

If her heart could still beat, perhaps it would beat in sync with hers.

“This is a human, a living human, completely different from a cold, lifeless existence like her.”

At this moment, Xuan Miao completely forgot this sentence, her mind filled only with longing, the more suppressed, the stronger the desire.

Tao Ning asked, “Are you still unwilling to lend me some water to wash my hands?”

A coolness on her forehead answered her.

“Why bother, I’ll help you.”

Enticing words echoed in her mind. Xuan Miao, who had been leaning against her, bent down, lowering her slightly cool lips to press against the wound.