Xue Ranran did not expect the man with the strange face to actually use her insincere compliments to corner her. Just when she was at a loss for how to turn his offer down, she suddenly heard the sound of knocking at the door.
She heard Qiao Lian urgently shouting outside, "Ranran, open the door quickly!"
Ranran felt relieved now that her parents were home. She hurried to open the door, only to see Qiao Lian crying and supporting the blood-covered Xue Lian gui.
Earlier, she had gone with the village chief to seek justice. Initially, the village chief spoke reasonably, but Ding's wife hinted that their second son had influence in the county school, which could be helpful for the village chief's son who was about to enter the school.
Hearing this, the village chief suddenly back-pedaled, saying that the furniture was indeed defective and shouldn't be paid for. He then made an excuse about his dog giving birth and hurried off.
At this point, Qiao Lian became livid and started arguing with Ding's wife.
The Ding family, having many relatives, eventually had several burly cousins come over and try to beat Qiao Lian. Xue Lian gui, in order to protect his wife, took a beating again.
Fortunately, Qiao Lian suddenly remembered her daughter's advice before leaving the house and had an epiphany. She shouted loudly, "Come and see! The parents of Scholar Ding are trying to beat someone to death! What kind of son can such a family raise, and how can he pass the moral examination for the provincial exam?"
Her words finally stopped the Ding family.
After all, Ding's second son was about to take the exam, and these past few days officials had been coming to the village to inspect the conduct of the candidates. If a life was really lost, wouldn't it ruin his son's future?
Master Ding, alarmed by Qiao Lian's shouting, worried that his wife's lapse in judgment might jeopardize their son's prospects, reluctantly threw three strings of coins at Qiao Lian.
Although they got back his owed wages, Xue Lian gui had already been beaten badly.
Qiao Lian was filled with hatred and regret. She hated the entire Ding family for being beasts and regretted not listening to her daughter's advice earlier. If she had used the Ding family's weak point to negotiate, how could her husband have been injured?
She cried all the way home while supporting her husband, only to find several menacing figures in her yard upon opening the door, one of whom… didn't even seem to have eyes or a nose!
Overwhelmed, Qiao Lian's eyes rolled back and she fainted. Ranran, with only two hands, could hardly support her mother, let alone her father as well, who was so frightened that his legs turned into jelly.
Fortunately, the woman named Yu Tong, came over to help Ranran support her mother and helped them back into the house.
Although Xue Lian gui was terrified, seeing that the three people seemed to have no ill intentions, he calmed down enough to ask his daughter, "Ranran, who are these people?"
Ranran glanced at the man with the strange face who had already put his veil hat on again and let out a sigh of relief. Fearing her father might say the wrong thing, she quickly informed him, "Father, these are immortals who have come to recruit disciples and offer longevity…"
Hearing his daughter say this, Xue Lian gui's face turned even paler—had those life-shortening lot returned? Could it be that they found out Ranran was also born in the Qing geng year?
Just then, Qiao Lian was revived with some water and was regaining consciousness with some groans. Ranran, fearing her mother might faint again, quickly explained that these immortals were just here to drink water and eat.
Yu Tong felt they had imposed long enough and took out a purse, rummaging through it.
She thought to herself: the meal they just had, the only meat went into that girl's mouth, and with just simple fare, there was no need to give too much.
After considering for a moment, she finally pinched out a tiny piece of silver, placed it on the table as payment for the meal, and prepared to leave.
The Rebirth Fruit is about to fall soon and it seems that Wei Jiu and his disciples were also lurking around. If the reborn Mu Qingge falls into Wei Jiu's hands, the Master's chance to break the curse might be ruined.
So, in the next few days, she needed to find time to guard Jue Mountain and ensure the safety of the spiritual fruit!
Of course, once the Master breaks the curse, Mu Qingge's life and death would no longer matter. Yu Tong hoped she would drop dead at once and stop harming her Master.
But Su Yishui did not seem to want to leave. Seeing that Xue Lian gui's leg seemed to be broken, he reached out to set the broken bone and then covered the wound with his hand.
Xue Lian gui, originally in excruciating pain, unexpectedly felt a warm and soothing sensation when the strange man covered the wound with his hand, and in a short while, he felt no pain at all.
Such divine power was indeed something only immortals possessed!
Overjoyed, Xue Lian gui cautiously thanked the strange man. However, Su Yishui merely said mildly, "I have only temporarily numbed your pain. In three days, you will start to feel pain again, but the broken bone has been set. As long as you keep it immobilized and rest sufficiently, it should heal without any major issues."
Hearing the plight of the Carpenter couple, Yu Chen, who was beside them, became angry and said, "Do you want me to teach those Ding tyrants a lesson?"
Xue Lian gui was already full of regret and quickly waved his hand, saying, "No need. We are planning to move away from here anyway, so it's better not to make things complicated."
At this moment, Qiao Lian also gradually woke up. After hearing her daughter's quiet explanation, she finally calmed down.
To Yu Tong's complete surprise, Su Yishui, who was usually detached from worldly affairs, seemed very approachable today. With just a few words, he started handing out predictions like a fortune-teller.
After hearing that they were planning to return to their old home in He Ning, Su Yishui bluntly said that their daughter had a ill-fated look and might only have a few days left to live. Only by cultivating some immortal techniques for longevity could she prolong her life.
Normally, the couple would have easily believed such convincing words about the occult.
But with the recent criminals searching for children born in the year of Qing geng, and now this strange-looking person seemed persistent, trying all means to recruit their daughter for a disciple, it didn't seem like a good thing no matter how they looked at it.
And saying that she only had a few days left? That sounded too bizarre and more like a curse!
So Qiao Lian firmly refused and politely prepared to send them away.
Su Yishui did not say any more, leaving only one sentence: "If you regret it, you can find me at the western mountains in Yongcheng. My name is Su Yishui."
After saying this, he ethereally led his two followers away and left. If one didn't look at his face, just his figure from the back was indeed that of a tall and handsome man with broad shoulders and a narrow waist…
Qiao Lian found herself staring at the man's back, lost in thought, and quickly gathered her wits.
What was wrong with her? Why was she unconsciously staring at that strange-faced man…
As Su Yishui left the Xue family's home, Yu Tong asked,
"Master, should I stay and guard the Rebirth Tree to prevent any mishaps with the spiritual fruit?"
But Su Yishui replied indifferently, "No need. We have been wandering for too long. It's time to return…"
However, just as they were about to leave the village, they happened to encounter the carriage of the Dings, also leaving.
Master Ding who just had a dispute with the Xue couple, was forced to pay the carpenter his wages due to concerns about the upcoming provincial examination, and he was now very displeased.
Tonight there was a social gathering in the county town. He was rushing to take his son to the banquet, to curry favor with the officials who had arrived in the county to inspect the candidates' conduct.
Sitting in the carriage, he scolded his son in a low voice, "A man's future is most important. At this time, why are you getting involved with that sickly girl from the Xue family? Once you have an official rank, she's not even worthy of being your maid! A family of shrews. Once this matter is over, I'll set fire to the Xue family's house in the middle of the night!"
His son laughed it off, "I was just teasing her casually. Why are you taking it so seriously like Mother? That kind of girl is always trying to get my attention. She's just a frivolous girl to play with. Don't get angry, Father. You still have to drink with the examiners later!"
Although Su Yishui was far from the carriage, as an immortal cultivator, his hearing was extraordinary. Despite being a village road apart, he could hear everything clearly.
Yu Tong saw it clearly; her Master lightly lifted his finger and quickly drew a talisman in the air, casting a spell towards the carriage.
It was an entry-level spell for immortal cultivators, called the "Heart and Mouth as One" curse.
The person affected by this curse would not be able to speak falsely for the next six hours; they would only speak the truth from their heart. Hence the name "Heart and Mouth as One."
The Ding father and son pair were going to meet the examiners, and they would inevitably say some disingenuous flattery. With this curse, who knows what kind of deadly jokes they would make…
Clearly, the Ding father and son had displeased the Master.
Yu Tong felt bewildered again. Her Master, who usually didn't like to meddle in other people's affairs, seemed to be possessed today!
Back at the Xue home, Qiao Lian had initially planned to leave after winter, but now that they had offended the Ding family, it was not advisable to delay their departure.
Although they only gotten back three strings of coins, if they were frugal, sell some wooden barrels and stools along the way and take on some carpentry odd jobs would be enough.
So Qiao Lian prepared the food and dried goods for the journey, packed a few simple bags. Xue Lian gui loaded his carpentry tools onto the donkey cart and locked the yard door with a strong lock, they hurriedly set off.
However, when they reached the vicinity of the county, they met villagers returning from there. They were relishing the fresh gossip they had heard in the west market of the county town that morning.
It was said that last night, the Ding father and son had bought their way into attending a banquet with the important people in the county town.
But the father and son, not knowing how much liquor they had already drunk at home, started talking nonsense as soon as they were seated at the banquet.
Master Ding, when he heard his future in-law praising his son's substantial knowledge, he actually laughed and said that his second son was an ignorant scoundrel. In the past few exams, he had hired someone to take it for him, and had paved his way up with silver.
Speaking with such pride about his son's cheating scandal, made everyone present look at each other in disbelief.
And Ding's second son was even more "drunk". He asked the county magistrate where he bought his concubine with such a voluptuous figure, saying it would be great if he could sleep with her a few times.
In short, the Ding father and son didn't speak one reasonable word, and their future in-law was so embarrassed that he wanted to hide under the table.
In the end, the Ding father and son granted a stick beating by the furious County Magistrate and thrown out. Offending everyone at such an occasion, the future and marriage prospects of Young Master Ding are in jeopardy.
Hearing about the Ding family's scandal, Xue Lian gui and Qiao Lian felt assuaged. However, they knew the Ding family, despite their downfall, still had some influence, so it was still best to lay low for a while.
Their old donkey was getting on in years and couldn't pull a heavy cart, so for most of the journey, Xue Lian gui, with his injured leg and Ranran rode in the cart, while Qiao Lian led the donkey from the front.
Thanks to the miraculous powers of the immortal Su, the carpenter did not feel any pain for the first three days. It was only on the third day that his leg began to ache as if pricked by needles.
But Xue Lian gui had no time to worry about his leg pain, because his daughter Ranran suddenly became ill a day after they left Juefeng Village.
Ranran didn't have a fever, but she seemed to wither like a flower drained of water, her small face quickly turning waxen and thin.