CHAPTER 365: CHAPTER 340: RAISING ANOTHER ONE

Yu Xiaolian clicked her tongue twice, "Do the people here only use water for cooking and never wash their clothes or bathe?"

Su Jingchen replied, "I heard from the house owner that there’s a well halfway up the mountain, but the water output is very little, and there’s a line to fetch water around the clock for twelve hours every day. Each household queues for two days just to get a barrel of water.

The villagers here never bathe or wash clothes in winter. The first round of water at home is used to wash vegetables, and the water used for washing vegetables is not discarded but reserved to wash dishes. After washing the dishes, the water is still not discarded and is used to irrigate the vegetable field."

Yu Xiaolian widened her eyes in amazement. Since water is so scarce in this Miao Village, why do these people insist on staying here and not move away?

Su Jingchen reminded Yu Xiaolian to be careful with items she retrieves from the space. Around here, there are many highly skilled and observant martial artists. It’s best not to take out items that cannot be easily explained.

Like today, when they ate steak, the house owner also curiously asked Su Jingchen where the meat came from.

Su Jingchen lied, saying it was brought from their car to cover it up.

"So, tomorrow we need to go to a small town twenty miles away to buy some daily necessities?" Since every move is under observation, they indeed need to put on an act.

Su Jingchen nodded, "We must put on an act."

He had just run into a burly man with a full beard while collecting firewood. The man asked him why he came to the Miao Village. Su Jingchen answered as he had agreed with Yu Xiaolian beforehand, that he came seeking the Witch Clan’s divine medicine, Immortal Powder, because his father was severely poisoned.

As a result, the bearded man mocked Su Jingchen, saying that he didn’t bring capable fighters but instead brought a burden.

Before parting, the man kindly reminded Su Jingchen that every two months, a group of Witch Clan people would come out from the depths of the mountains to the town or county to purchase daily necessities. That would be the only opportunity in two months to interact with purebred Witch Clan people for those who came seeking medicine.

Moreover, from the houses at the foot of the mountain to those halfway up, they are all occupied by outsiders seeking medicine, and the Witch Clan people are fed up and very unfriendly toward these outsiders.

Many people have even met a cruel fate at the hands of the Witch Clan because they failed to obtain medicine for their families.

"Has anyone succeeded in obtaining medicine?" Yu Xiaolian asked.

"We’ve only just arrived, so let’s take things step by step without rushing." He would decide on the next step after he goes out to investigate a bit tomorrow.

Yu Xiaolian finished the last bite of her beef. "I wonder how large this Witch Clan tribe is? Why do these people stand guard halfway up the mountain, yet dare not climb to the top?

And why doesn’t the Crown Prince just surround Leishan and seize the whole lot to catch the Witch Clan girl with the Beneficial Gu, instead of going to so much trouble?"

Su Jingchen couldn’t help but laugh, not knowing whether his young fiancée was genuinely confused or just pretending.

Seeing Yu Xiaolian’s face full of genuine confusion, Su Jingchen had to explain, "The Witch Clan has been unharmed in the Miao Village for so many years because they naturally have some ability to contend with the court.

The Miao villagers at the foot of the mountain are all protectors of the Witch Clan. To attack the Witch Clan, you must first get their permission."

"What if they don’t agree?" They’re just ordinary villagers; whoever stands in the way can be killed. It’s not like these villagers can risk their lives to protect the Witch Clan, right?

"These indigenous people have been under the Witch Clan’s protection for generations and have long united with the Witch Clan.

Moreover, this place is difficult to attack due to its rugged terrain and thick vegetation. The Witch Clan is skilled in controlling the snakes, insects, rats, and ants in the mountains. If the army scatters on the irregular mountain paths, they would be defeated one by one by the Witch Clan.

Additionally, this area suffers from severe water scarcity. The insufficient water supply makes it impossible for the army to station there long-term, and they cannot deal with the Witch Clan swiftly and decisively.

Nobody wants to lead troops to attack the Witch Clan for this reason. I once read in a travelogue that about fifty years ago a general tried to lead troops to attack Miao Village. After killing many Miao people and finally reaching the mountain top, the soldiers suffered unbearable itching, scratching themselves bloody on the ground, a gruesome sight to behold.

The soldiers scratched themselves to death in agony, and the horrific way they died was unbearable to witness.

The general saw that anyone stained with the Witch Clan’s poisonous blood would die in various horrific manners, and, terrified, he withdrew his troops.

How could killing not be bloody? Although the general withdrew his troops, not long after, his nine clans inexplicably succumbed to Gu poison and died in succession, as they were exterminated by the vengeful Witch Clan."

Su Jingchen saw Yu Xiaolian’s face pale and laughed, "These are just tales I read in miscellaneous books, don’t take them seriously, and don’t be scared!"

Yu Xiaolian never imagined that a Witch Clan, known only for playing with bugs, could be so terrifying.

She boldly speculated, "Then what if that general set fire to the mountain?"

She was just curious; could the Witch Clan really be so formidable that the army couldn’t deal with them?

Su Jingchen smiled warmly, "Rumor has it that someone did try, but the fire was put out by rain before it could spread. From then on, the legends claiming that the Witch Clan is protected by deities became even more significant."

At this point, Yu Xiaolian turned into a skeptic, "Then why, when the Crown Prince captured the Bai sisters, didn’t the vengeful Witch Clan seek revenge on the Crown Prince?"

Su Jingchen smiled meaningfully, "How do you know they didn’t?"

Revenge isn’t just about killing people. Who knows, maybe the Crown Prince has long been implanted with an unknown Gu worm by the Witch Clan, just waiting for the right time to be activated.

Yu Xiaolian was shocked and covered her mouth, feeling as though she had inadvertently uncovered some truth.

Su Jingchen stacked the two plates together, "I’ll go wash the dishes!"

"Don’t..." Yu Xiaolian stopped him, "The water in that bamboo tube may have issues, so let’s not use it.

Give me the plates; I’ll clean them in the space later!"

Yu Xiaolian now didn’t feel as adverse to the idea of having a Longevity Gu. Not to mention anything else, just those Witch Clan’s bizarre poisons didn’t scare her at all.

Once she gets rid of the Longevity Gu, she’ll become an ordinary person who might faint just after one puff of mesmerizing smoke. Thinking about it, Yu Xiaolian felt her idea of killing the Longevity Gu was not quite right.

It was early to get dark in winter, and the mud thatched houses at the foot of the mountain, hidden by trees, grew even darker. Yu Xiaolian took bedding out of the space and made the bed for Su Jingchen.

After making the bed, she even placed two just-charged warming pads in Su Jingchen’s nest. After doing all this, Yu Xiaolian didn’t immediately return to the space to sleep; instead, she and Su Jingchen sat chatting in the dark, one at the head of the bed and the other at the end.

Yu Xiaolian suddenly thought of a method, according to Miao Yingyao, she could change her eye color by undergoing a Gu worm awakening ceremony by the elders, and when she went out, she could have the Gu worm change her eye color to black.

Can she raise another worm in her body then?