Chapter 613: Silent Aunt

The frightening buzzing sounds and the bloodthirsty aura emanating from the blood-winged monstrous bees terrified the creatures in the mountains; even wolves, jackals, tigers, and leopards were scared witless. The mountains suddenly plunged into chaos.

Strangely, they seemed uninterested in the dead body on the ground, and not a single blood-winged monstrous bee flew over to bother him.

At this moment, the dead body on the ground actually moved.

He flipped over and fell back into the water, seemingly having exhausted all his strength. Finally, with his only remaining arm, he desperately clung to a thick log and then stopped moving, carried away by the river water, thus avoiding the torment of being devoured by countless bees.

It was evening.

The mountain rain began to fall persistently again, and a cool breeze stirred the fine threads of rain.

The mountains were shrouded in mist, appearing dark as indigo in the distance.

On a steep mountain surrounded by rivers, stilt houses were built, nestled closely together and layered upwards; a rough count revealed over a thousand households.

This settlement was called Qianhu Village.

The size of Qianhu Village was neither large nor small in the vicinity. A hundred-mile radius was controlled by Qianhu Village and several other settlements, though most of it consisted of dangerous terrain that mortals were unable to explore.

Before nightfall, lights were already lit throughout the village, like starlight in the dark night.

But on the back mountain, a small, dilapidated thatched hut stood alone in the wilderness, surrounded by only a sparse fence.

At this moment, outside the fence, several girls dressed in beautiful, flamboyant dresses were gathered at the door, chattering and urging the girl inside to open it.

"Mute Girl, we heard you rescued a man from the river, let us see him!"

"Exactly! Exactly! Why are you hiding him? Are you afraid we'll snatch him from you?"

"I can't believe Mute Girl was the first to experience a man's taste! We thought no man would ever want her! Hehe..."

"Mute Girl, you're not even sixteen yet. If you secretly decide to marry, be careful; the Great Elder might break your legs if he finds out..."

"Oh, I didn't expect the jinx to be able to save people! Why don't you send him away quickly? Otherwise, in a couple more days, he'll be jinxed to death again, and then you would have saved him for nothing, wouldn't you?"

While taunting and ridiculing, they pushed hard on the fence, wanting to force their way in to see the man.

The girl inside the fence looked anxious and helpless, making "ah-ah" sounds with her mouth, seemingly trying to persuade them to stop, but unable to utter a single word.

She was mute, and everyone in the village called her Mute Girl.

Mute Girl's clothes were in stark contrast to those of the other girls; they were full of patches but very clean. She kept her face turned away, her eyes filled with inferiority and timidity.

Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that she had a large birthmark on her left cheek, which completely marred her face.

Just as Mute Girl was anxious and helpless, a light appeared on the mountain path; it was an old man carrying a bamboo lantern, walking towards them.

Seeing this scene, the old man loudly reprimanded them, "It's almost nightfall and you're still running wild outside! Go home at once!"

The girls seemed very afraid of the old man, not daring to make trouble anymore. They made a face at Mute Girl behind the old man's back and ran off, skipping.

"If I see you bullying Mute Girl again, I'll break your legs!"

The old man lifted his lantern and shouted a warning at the girls' retreating figures.

"Grandpa Shaman Healer, you're just biased towards Mute Girl..."

One of the girls muttered in reply.

The old man shook his head, slightly annoyed, walked to the fence, and asked through it, "Mute Girl, has that man woken up again? Can he walk now?"

Mute Girl nodded and made a few gestures.

After seeing her gestures, the old man grunted, "That's good. Once his injuries are better, have Bachai and the others send him away during the Shaman God Festival!"

Mute Girl's face showed great urgency, and she quickly made more gestures.

The old man interrupted Mute Girl and coldly snorted.

"Mute Girl, you are too simple-minded; there are some things you don't understand.

"That man had an arm chopped off, and he told you not to let outsiders see him; he's acting suspiciously. He must have done something unsavory! Don't be fooled by his gentle appearance, or be tricked by a few good words from him into thinking he's a good person.

"He's just taking advantage of your kindness!

"If it weren't for your stubbornness, girl, I wouldn't even think of treating him; I would have thrown him into the river long ago. It's fine if he doesn't go during the Shaman God Festival, or he can wait for the merchant caravan and leave with them, but in any case, he cannot stay in the village.

"We've been kind enough to let him stay this long. The Great Elder has already asked about it once; he definitely cannot stay, as it will bring disaster to our village!

"Mute Girl, don't worry. When you turn sixteen, Grandpa Shaman Healer will definitely find you a good husband."

Mute Girl's eyes dimmed; she lowered her head and dared not argue anymore.

The old man handed over a pouch from his other hand, saying, "Take these; there are some herbs inside, enough for three decoctions, so that boy can heal quickly and get out."

Mute Girl took the pouch. Seeing the old man turn to leave, she made a few "ah-ah" sounds, quickly ran back into the hut, retrieved a thick straw raincoat, and then ran back to catch up with the old man.

"Grandpa is strong, he doesn't need it," the old man said. "You are weak; go back quickly and don't catch a cold..."

The old man waved his hand, urging her, but Mute Girl shook her head, refusing, and insisted on putting the raincoat on him.

"Sigh!"

The old man touched the birthmark on Mute Girl's face and said with pity, "Such a good girl, why is her fate so bitter? The Shaman God is unfair! Grandpa Shaman Healer will definitely find a way to remove the birthmark from your face! By the way, if Youning and the others dare to come and bother you again, go to the ancestral hall and complain. Grandpa Shaman Healer will stand up for you and ask for family rules to teach them a lesson once; then they won't dare again."

Mute Girl, however, shook her head repeatedly and advised him using sign language.

"Silly girl, they weren't playing with you at all..."

The old man shook his head, sighed, and left.

After seeing the old man off, Mute Girl walked back to her small yard, looked at the fence gate that had almost been pushed open, and her expression grew somewhat downcast. She walked back into the hut, lit the fire pit, set up the medicine pot, then took out a packet of herbs from the pouch, and began to brew the medicine.

She was already very skilled at doing these things, clearly not for the first time.

Just then, a "snap" suddenly came from the inner room.

Mute Girl's face was full of anxiety, and she quickly got up, only to see a man with a severed arm walk out from inside. His steps looked very weak, as if he would fall with a gust of wind, but he was able to walk.

"I'm fine," he said, "my body is getting better day by day."

The man with the severed arm sat by the fire pit, warming himself, took the hot water Mute Girl handed him, and said to Mute Girl, "I'm the one who's brought trouble upon you."

This person was none other than Qin Sang!

Where was even a trace of the demeanor of a cultivator in the False Core stage now? He was as weak as a mortal recovering from a serious illness.

During this period, he would sleep for an entire day each time he fell asleep.

Just now, he heard the shouting outside and was startled awake from his daze.

While warming himself by the fire, he inwardly examined his body.

His Qi Sea and meridians were firmly bound by a strange forbidden talisman, rendering his spiritual power useless.

His spiritual consciousness was also completely depleted; though over the past few days, there had been signs of improvement, the progress was very slow. It would still take two more days to recover even a trace of it to open his Qianjun Ring.

A dignified cultivator, he had actually fallen to the point of burdening a mortal and being driven away.

Qin Sang couldn't help but sigh with emotion: This truly is "a dragon swimming in shallow waters being teased by shrimp, a tiger fallen onto a plain being bullied by dogs!"