Since Changliu Village had the kind of lesser Xingzi with undeveloped intelligence, who could treat sand as white rice and rocks as steamed buns,
it naturally also had Da Xingzi, who were fully intelligent, just like humans.
Clearly, this willow tree was one such Da Xingzi.
"Get the hell out of my face! I don't have time for you!"
When there were outsiders around, Su Liyan's mother's accent was relatively normal.
But with no one else here, she spoke with a perfect, standard accent from outside the pass.
Normally, she wouldn't mind the willow tree coming out to have a little fun.
But right now, Su Liyan's mother was in a hurry.
'Who knows when my son-in-law will get here? What if he comes back with the delivery in the middle of the night? I have to go and tell them quickly.'
The Xingzi in the village weren't malicious, but some of them had rather mischievous temperaments.
So, she had to hurry.
She had no time to chat with this willow tree now.
As for the ghostly face on the tree trunk, after hearing Su Liyan's mother curse at it,
it first froze, then vanished in the next second.
The entire willow tree began to RUSTLE violently.
It seemed terrified.
After she finished gathering the rocks, Su Liyan's mother slung the basket over her arm and walked from the village toward the main road.
In the distance was the road leading into the village, with ox carts and horse-drawn carriages entering from time to time.
The sound of JINGLING and CLANGING echoed across the wilderness.
As Su Liyan's mother walked, she grabbed handfuls of rocks and sand, tossing them onto the ground.
As she tossed them, she chanted:
"My good neighbors, my good friends, come on out and eat."
"I have something to tell you all."
As Su Liyan's mother finished speaking, gusts of spectral wind swirled up from around her feet,
blowing against the hem of her coarse cloth skirt.
It seemed as if many unseen, intangible beings were scrambling for the food.
"My daughter got married, you know. And she married well."
"Tomorrow, my son-in-law will be coming back with my girl for her homecoming visit, and we're hosting a banquet."
"My son-in-law is handsome, well-off, and even better to my daughter."
"It's just that he's a bit timid. So, all you old neighbors, when you see him, just take a look from a distance."
"Don't you go crowding around him. It wouldn't be good if you scare my son-in-law."
Chanting like this, Su Liyan's mother followed the ridge of the field toward the main road.
"Old sister, is all that stuff for your family?"
"Old sister, your family's doing so well now, why are you still using this stuff to fool the little ones?"
"That's right, that's right! I just saw at least six big fat pigs!"
"Tsk tsk, just looking at that fat on them is enough to make you drool."
Voices with various regional accents rose up from all around.
They were all very curious about the lively scene tonight.
In response to the group's teasing, Su Liyan's mother frowned, spat, and said:
"Pah!"
"All that stuff was bought by my son-in-law with real silver from the city for the banquet."
"And you think you can have some?!"
These surrounding Da Xingzi—unseen, intangible, but fully intelligent—weren't actually thinking of eating it.
They just saw Su Liyan's mother and came over to poke some fun.
After all, they knew full well just how stingy this "old sister" was.
But Su Liyan's mother continued:
"When my son-in-law gets here, you all better help me keep an eye on these little ones."
"The ones that are usually naughty and restless, don't let them get close. Don't let them scare my son-in-law."
"Or else I'll really have a bone to pick with you all!"
To this, the Da Xingzi had no objections.
They immediately responded that it was no problem.
Then, Su Liyan's mother ignored the Da Xingzi.
She continued tossing sand and rocks on the ground as she chanted:
"Everyone eat well, eat your fill, and don't cause any trouble afterward."
"If you see any who haven't come, help pass the word along."
"My son-in-law is a good man. If you happen to run into him out there in the future, help him out if you can."
"If you can't help, that's fine too."
"But you absolutely must not cause trouble for my son-in-law..."
"I'm warning you all now, if anyone gives my son-in-law a hard time..."
"...then I'll give them a hard time!"
As soon as Su Liyan's mother finished speaking, she slowly turned around.
A pair of scarlet, vertical pupils scanned the dark wilderness.
A large, red snake's tail emerged from beneath her coarse cloth skirt, sweeping back and forth across the ridge.
The originally noisy surroundings—filled with the voices of the Da Xingzi, their whispers, and the sound of wind kicked up by the lesser Xingzi scrambling for food—
fell completely silent.
Su Liyan's mother stared into the pitch-black night for a moment before turning back with a satisfied nod and continuing toward the main road.
She continued her chanting...
...
「Taiping City, Zhao Family Residence.」
"I keep telling you I'll be fine, why don't you believe me?"
"Look, you saw this Ink Pot before, right?"
"It's powerful, isn't it?"
"And this one! This is even more powerful than the Ink Pot, also passed down in my family."
"If I stay, I can definitely help. I won't be a burden!"
Lu Yuan shouted, pointing at his Lu Ban's Ink Pot and the Celestial Master Sword on the table.
Beside him, Zhao Qiao'Er was so anxious her heart was trembling.
She looked at Lu Yuan helplessly and said:
"Oh, sweetheart, this isn't about me being afraid you'll be a burden!!"
"Don't you know what I'm afraid of, sweetheart?!"
"This whole affair is dangerous!!"
"Even though we've invited Daoist Longchuan to perform a ritual outside the city, it's still dangerous."
"The two Celestial Masters who came from the Provincial City yesterday—one died and one was injured, didn't you know?!"
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and said:
"I do know. I found out as soon as I got here!"
Hearing Lu Yuan say that, Zhao Qiao'Er's beautiful eyes widened as she said anxiously:
"You know, and you still insist on staying here!!"
But Lu Yuan just pursed his lips and couldn't help but retort:
"No kidding! It's *because* it's dangerous that I'm staying. If you had no problems, if this whole thing was simple..."
"I would've gone back to prepare my banquet long ago! Who'd want to stay here?!"
"What, is your food so good that I have to stay the night just to freeload a meal off you?!"
Lu Yuan's words left the old butler and the other servants standing nearby completely dumbfounded.
If you asked around all of Taiping City, you'd never find anyone who dared to speak to the madam like that.
However, every word Lu Yuan said struck a chord deep in Zhao Qiao'Er's heart.
Lu Yuan's behavior truly left Zhao Qiao'Er not knowing whether to be angry or to laugh.
It wasn't really anger; it was more that she was moved.
Zhao Qiao'Er wanted to say something more, but Lu Yuan grew impatient and snapped:
"Aiyah, stop nagging! Isn't the ritual about to start over there?"
"Let's get on with it. Anyway, I'm definitely not leaving today."
"Unless they stab me to death and carry me out horizontally, because there's no way I'm walking out of here vertically today!"
In Zhao Qiao'Er's eyes, Lu Yuan's roguish, defiant attitude was just absolutely endearing.
Finally, Zhao Qiao'Er walked up to Lu Yuan. Her hand, adorned with a Jade Bracelet, gently poked him between the eyebrows as she chided affectionately:
"You... you really are a stubborn little donkey~"
Anyone could see that while the madam wore an expression of playful reproach, in her heart~
she was moved beyond words.