Water Spring Village, the Village Head’s large hall.
There were more than a dozen wooden chairs arranged inside.
The atmosphere was extremely tense.
The Old Village Chief and Hu Jingzhong both sat deep inside the hall.
A dozen or so village representatives all wore worried expressions, and no one dared to break the silence.
Aunt Zhang, who was usually outspoken, could no longer hold back and spoke out sharply.
“Village Head, have you thought of a good plan? Are we really going to send a girl to that monster?”
In fact, many villagers regarded the River God as a demon.
The Old Village Chief was no exception, but only those with power had the right to define such things, so what could he do?
Seeing the Old Village Chief remain silent, Aunt Zhang immediately spoke again.
“I don’t care. My family already lost cattle last time; it can’t happen to us again. My child is still young, and I doubt that River God would even like her.”
“And my family too! The offering last time was from us, plus we don’t even have a girl.”
On the other side, timid Uncle Wang anxiously spoke up, though he was the last one who needed to.
The Old Village Chief looked worried. The offerings to the River God rotated from house to house, and this time, it was his family’s turn.
Coincidentally, he had a granddaughter. As for his son and daughter-in-law, they had long gone to work in another town, barely sending any news back for a year or two.
It was precisely because he cared deeply for his granddaughter that the normally timid man had agreed to Hu Jingzhong’s exorcism proposal.
Yes, this exorcism plan was proposed by Hu Jingzhong.
“If you ask me, the Village Head’s family has already lost a pig and a cow for this. If anyone should take responsibility, it’s Hu Jingzhong for proposing the exorcism…”
“Nonsense!”
Hearing someone try to blame Hu Jingzhong, the elderly Old Village Chief suddenly became firm for a moment.
After all, Hu Jingzhong had done much for him and the village. How could they resort to this?
His deeply wrinkled eyes widened as he glared at the man who had spoken.
“Enough. Village Head, I admit I was wrong this time.”
Hu Jingzhong spoke weakly, though inside he was still displeased. The meaning behind that man’s words was clear — they wanted him to hand over his granddaughter.
He secretly began to consider moving out of the village.
“Old Hu, don’t mind them. They’re ignorant, but everyone sees your contributions to the village.”
The Old Village Chief spoke apologetically. Hu Jingzhong only sighed.
At that moment, the man known for always having bad ideas, the squinting uncle, spoke up with his distinctive tone.
“Village Head, I have a plan.”
Hu Jingzhong glanced at the man. He disliked him greatly.
“You still have a plan?”
Hu Jingzhong frowned unhappily, but the Old Village Chief’s eyes lit up.
“Tell us quickly.”
“It’s just sending a child, right? Isn’t there a suitable one in the village?”
“Who?”
The Old Village Chief heard they still had to send a child and couldn’t help but feel disdain.
The man leaned closer and said, “You forgot? The blind cripple. He’s a boy, but with some grooming, that pale face of his will definitely be pretty!”
The surrounding villagers immediately erupted in voices.
“Yeah! That blind brat eats from our village, uses our resources, but has never contributed. It’s time he paid his dues.”
Aunt Zhang slapped her thigh, spitting as she spoke.
“I agree.”
“Me too.”
Others quickly chimed in.
Hu Jingzhong slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his beard trembling with anger. “Nonsense! How old is that child? You don’t care just because he’s not yours, and he’s so pitiful!”
“Ah! Hu Apothecary, you’re wrong! Look at that child — blind, crippled, and with an unknown background. What if he doesn’t want to live anymore? Since he’s already like that, why not let him help us? It’s for the best!”
“Exactly, exactly! Hu Apothecary, I don’t know much, but I’ve heard from storytellers that Sanmei Truefire is a powerful fire. You saw today how the River God was extinguished by it. Maybe he’s really a god. If we hand over that blind cripple, it might ensure good weather for us in the future.”
“Yes, yes!” The crowd clamored.
The Old Village Chief coughed heavily and scanned the crowd with his cloudy eyes. “Quiet!”
He turned to Hu Jingzhong, his tone softening. “Old Hu, you must be tired today. Go home and rest first.”
Having served as Village Chief for decades, though mild-tempered and timid, he still knew how to act as leader.
Hu Jingzhong’s wrinkles deepened as he clenched his fists tightly, eyes sweeping over the indifferent faces.
Suddenly, the village he had lived in for over ten years felt terrifyingly alien. Without looking back, he left the hall.
The village fell silent again.
Jiang Che and Hu Qiao’er returned to the Ruined Temple, only to find their Master, Lin Yin, was nowhere to be seen.
Feng Yaqin noticed Jiang Che and Hu Qiao’er holding hands as they came back, her displeasure immediately apparent.
Her voice carried a hint of grievance when she responded, but Jiang Che still learned from her that Lin Yin had just awakened and asked where she was.
After being told it was Water Spring Village, she said nothing further and left.
Lin Yin seemed to have no memory of the attack on Jiang Che and the others.
She was even fuzzy about how she had come here.
With that, Jiang Che breathed a sigh of relief.
He thanked Wang Hao, who had worked hard brewing medicine, and urged him to go home quickly.
Though Wang Hao was reluctant, seeing Hu Qiao’er’s gloomy mood and Jiang Che’s seriousness, he could only accept his fate as a hapless tool.
But then he thought about how Jiang Che willingly treated him like a tool, meaning Jiang Che cared for him. That meant his day of apprenticeship was coming soon!
This thought made him as happy as a child as he ran home.
Jiang Che and Hu Qiao’er sat by the fire, the gloomy atmosphere between them making Feng Yaqin very uncomfortable.
So she hugged the rabbit in her arms and sat squarely between them, deliberately separating the two.
“Hey, little Apothecary, what happened today? Why are you two so silent? And you! Little girl, aren’t you going to wrap me up again?”
“You usually don’t like to meddle, do you? And that rabbit, give it here. I want to make dinner.”
Jiang Che spoke carelessly to Feng Yaqin.
“Little Apothecary, you’ve changed. You never treated me like this before. And look at this rabbit—it’s so cute, and you want to eat it?”
Feng Yaqin cupped the rabbit with one hand. The rabbit seemed to understand, its big watery eyes suddenly full of pity.
Jiang Che sighed. He should have cooked the rabbit first before bringing it back. Now he’d have to ask Hu Jingzhong for some food later.
“All right, judging by how you two are acting, this must be about that River God in the village, right? I guessed it.”
“It’s just a little monster that only recently took shape. A few adults could have killed it. And you actually treat it like a River God.”
Feng Yaqin spoke boredly. This matter was nothing to her.
Hu Qiao’er looked puzzled but still spoke.
“It’s not a little monster. It was clearly a dragon formed from condensed water. We all saw it today.”
“This exorcism was originally proposed by my grandfather…”
Hu Qiao’er didn’t continue.
If the monster was eliminated, all would be well. But if not, things would get complicated, and someone might die—or she and her grandfather might have to leave the village they had lived in for over ten years.
Feng Yaqin found it unbelievable— a dragon? How was that possible?
But just as she was about to say more, Meng Lao’s voice appeared in her ear.
“Holy Maiden, there is an important matter to discuss…”