"But my Avril is running a high fever." My mom saw how serious my fever was, gritted her teeth, and handed the man a hundred yuan. "Can you make an exception and help us get through?"
The man pushed the hundred yuan back, refusing, "The road is so narrow, and Jack is an idiot. I can't just run over him, can I?" My mom, looking at me with a feverish daze, had a troubled expression.
His wife impatiently gave us the cold shoulder. "We have other jobs to do, we're in a hurry. It's not just your family, please make yourselves at home."
I dryly began to speak: "Mom... didn't we talk about hiring a car? Why... is he still doing other jobs?"
Hearing what I said, the man's expression darkened.
The woman in the passenger seat also looked displeased.
No wonder they only charged three hundred yuan and took on other jobs.
"Forget it, Avril, don't cause trouble," my mom tried to calm me down. "Anyway, your uncle will be here soon."
I sighed and nodded, reluctantly following my mom to get off the car.
Jack, the village guardian, was an idiot. His cloth shoes were worn upside down, and his black coat was torn and tattered. There was even drool at the corner of his mouth.
He grinned foolishly and walked towards us, eyeing me strangely. "Big girl, so pretty, got a little baby inside. Can't go in, can't go in..."
"Why can't we go in?" My mom, hearing Jack's rambling, asked with an unhappy face.
Jack smiled mysteriously. "This is a magic cave, adults and kids both get eaten."
Almost every ancient village has a guardian like Jack. They're naturally simple-minded, wandering around the village every day, living off the charity of the villagers. Most people dislike them and think the title "village guardian" is just a way to make lazy, useless men sound better.
I used to think that way too.
But now, Jack had actually mentioned I was pregnant.
But I'm still in the early stages, it's not noticeable at all!
This guy… might be a bit capable… Jack saying this ancient well village is a "magic cave" and that I can't enter, what does he mean?
At this moment, my uncle arrived on his motorcycle.
Seeing Jack blocking our way, he angrily shouted at him, "Get lost! Stay here and I'll let the dogs bite you to death, and your whole family too."
I hadn't seen my uncle in years, but I was surprised by how bad-tempered he had become. Jack, frightened, cried and retreated to the side of the road, wiping his tears.
My uncle came over to me and my mom, his tone softening, "Avril, sister-in-law! It's my fault for being late, sorry you had to deal with this fool."
"Avril has a high fever," my mom pleaded with my uncle.
My uncle put a helmet on my head, but his gaze lingered on my stomach, his eyes darkening. "This is what happens when a snake coils around you. Get in the car, I'll take you back."
My uncle got on the motorcycle first, and I struggled to climb onto the back.
But I saw Jack, his hand still covering his face, with a crack between his fingers. He was sneering. His earlier crying was all fake. "Big girl, didn't listen, trying to go into the village, one corpse, two lives, how pitiful."
By the time I got on the motorcycle, my heart skipped a beat. Before I could react, I felt dizzy.
The world spun, and I passed out from the fever.
When I woke up, I found myself lying in an old-fashioned hall.
I was on a tattered straw mat on the ground.
The thin mat didn't block the cold earth at all, and the chill seeped through, making me feel icy all over. The air was thick with the pungent smell of burning incense.
There were four Taoist nuns standing across from me, all wearing cold expressions. The oldest of them, a woman, sneered. "The woman carrying a snake fetus is awake."