"Ah!"
Even though he knew Xiluo was just teasing, Li Boyang couldn't help but give the basket a light slap.
Seeing this, Big Girl was about to step in to translate for Li Boyang, but saw Xiluo spring forward and leap onto the basket.
"Take it!"
"Talking to you is always so exhausting!"
Xiluo spat out the Spiritual Rhinoceros Horn, then backed away to a safe distance before Big Girl could react.
[I know my craftsmanship is bad, but it can't be so ugly that I'd scare people off, right!]
When Li Boyang spoke, Big Girl's eyes instantly lit up, staring eagerly at him.
Or to be more precise, Big Girl was eyeing the Spiritual Rhinoceros Horn in Li Boyang's hand, itching to try it herself.
Fortunately, while Big Girl was bold to the extreme, she still knew her boundaries.
Her eyes darted slyly between Li Boyang and Xiluo, yet she just obediently stood aside without butting in.
[Actually, I noticed the Evil Qi on that statue is slowly dissipating.]
[It's happening really slowly, but it's truly fading away bit by bit...]
[Then to my surprise, I realized I could sense the Evil Qi within the earth vein—and I could even track its flow.]
[So I thought, while I don't know if the statue can absorb Evil Qi on its own...]
[Burying it along the main path of the Evil Qi's movement should be more effective than leaving it on a fence or a trap, right?]
As he spoke, a hint of inquiry came through in Li Boyang's tone.
After all, of the people Li Boyang had encountered, Xiluo was easily the most knowledgeable.
And since this Evil Qi originally came from Nai Fu's curse, Li Boyang was a little worried it might bring him new trouble.
"You kid... you really are a freak!"
Xiluo widened her eyes in surprise and mercilessly shot back.
"For beings like us, sensing Primordial Qi is normal..."
"But that's only Qi that matches our own attributes."
"Sensing Evil Qi? That's straight up the domain of the Evil God, isn't it?"
"At this rate, I'm tempted to resurrect Nai Fu, kill him myself again, and see if I can get powers like yours!"
Li Boyang's eyes flickered slightly at Xiluo's words.
[Actually, I can do more than just sense Evil Qi.]
Under Xiluo's shock and Big Girl's curious gaze, Li Boyang's shadow twisted oddly.
Soon, those invisible streams of Evil Qi surged into Li Boyang's shadow, turning it from a flat shade into a three-dimensional entity.
[Using my shadow as a medium, I think I can indirectly affect and manipulate that Evil Qi.]
As Li Boyang spoke, the shadow-creature kept squirming—sometimes stretching itself out, sometimes changing form.
At a glance, it looked ready to come alive, giving off a wickedly weird and unnerving vibe.
"Kid, I'm starting to doubt your identity now."
After silently staring at the shadow entity for a long moment, Xiluo finally spoke again.
"Aside from your looks, what about you isn't like an Evil God?"
"You know, manipulating Evil Qi is an innate Divine Power of the Evil God—just like I was born able to control flames."
With that sigh, Xiluo finally revealed why she'd come.
"What's happening with you is beyond my knowledge."
"My sister left some scrolls in the temple; maybe there's something about cases like yours in there."
"And in fact, I came today to take you to the temple."
......................................................
Turns out, Xiluo's plan to take Li Boyang to the Mountain God Temple was way tougher than she'd expected.
"No way!"
"Even if you really are the Mountain God—absolutely not!"
Standing at her own field's edge, Chen Yun planted her hands on her hips, shouting like a spitfire.
"Last time you sneaked over, I let it go—but now you want to openly steal my child away!"
Across from Chen Yun, Xiluo turned her head aside as spittle rained onto her from Chen Yun's tirade.
She completely ignored the astonished glances from Li Boyang and Big Girl nearby.
Li Boyang had assumed Xiluo's chest-thumping promise to get him to the Mountain God Temple meant she had some clever trick up her sleeve.
Never expected she would just confront Chen Yun head-on?
And get roasted by his fierce mom till she didn't even dare talk back?
"Chen Family girl, we're old acquaintances, you know you can trust me, right?"
"I promise I'll bring your kid home before dark—not a scratch on him!"
Faced with Xiluo's earnest vow, Chen Yun just got angrier.
"Acquaintances?"
"Haven't we only met once as kids?"
"And last year when you came to my place, you didn't even use the front door!"
Just as Chen Yun said, she and Xiluo had only met once as children.
That time, Chen Yun had gotten lost by the riverside, sobbing to go home, when the passing Xiluo noticed her.
But that experience was so magical it stuck in her memory.
And since Xiluo even tricked her out of a string of candied hawthorns before leaving, Chen Yun had a pretty deep childhood scar.
"So you noticed me back then?"
This time it was Xiluo's turn to look surprised; she'd thought Chen Yun hadn't seen her at all.
"What, you think I'm stupid?"
"Every so often weird meat shows up at home—anyone would get suspicious, right?"
"And after eating it, I really did feel better, that's how I managed to safely give birth to 'Non-crying' Baby."
In fact, at first Chen Yun just suspected.
After a few times pretending to sleep, she finally caught a glimpse of a civet cat bringing meat to her house.
With its crimson fur so different from an ordinary civet cat.
It made Chen Yun instantly remember the civet she'd met when lost as a child.
After Li Boyang was born, she'd heard all sorts of village gossip, which just deepened her suspicions.
"If that's the case, what are you still worried about?"
"I just need your kid to help me out; after that, I'll bring him right back!"
Xiluo glared at Chen Yun with almost crazed exasperation, stressing her point again.
She never imagined the weepy little girl from a decade ago would be this stubborn after growing up and getting married.
"No way. 'Non-crying' is so little, what help could he be to you?"
"If you've got something going on, why not ask me?"
"Or even my husband—he wouldn't mind at all!"
Chen Yun shook her head like a fan, adamant she wouldn't give in.
As a mother, she didn't care what Xiluo wanted—there was no way her son was leaving the village.
☞☞Moon Ticket☜☜/☞☞Recommendation Ticket☜☜