Chapter 49: Tiger-Head Shoes Step on the Infant Spirit Hall (Fifteen) Like a skilled craftsman carving...

Ye Qingzhan sorted out the others' conversation.

Xinxin, having seen someone who looked like Shanniang, followed her to the lake and encountered Dr. Fox. In Chu Mozhi's illusion, Dr. Fox was disguised as Chu Letian, so disguising himself as Shanniang was easy for him. Xinxin fell asleep after eating the crispy candy; it must have been mixed with a drug or something. The exiled immortal, who witnessed the entire incident, also said that the river had been calm, but the water rose after Xinxin and Wang Jingshan fell into the water.

It looked like the shadow of the Taoist fox was standing behind the bamboo forest.

If this had nothing to do with him, no one would believe it.

Shanniang held Xuenu's hand, then Xinxin took her hand. Xinxin pulled Wang Jingshan up, and the group walked to Ye Qingzhan and Wen Gu.

The exiled immortal also jumped down from the tree.

Shanniang said to the others, "At the Red Dust Inn, I learned that Mozhi had lost her 'wisdom' to that Dr. Fox." She paused, then continued, "That Taoist told me the same thing."

The Beggar Gang children also gathered around.

Shanniang said, "After Xinxin left, I spent all day holding Xinxin's rattle. I was like a madman. No one dared to pay attention to me except the Beggar Gang children."

Xiaoliu said, "We were thrown into the mountains. The Snow Girl saved us when we were little. When she grew up, Shanniang often brought Xinxin to visit us. She said that her parents died young, and she had also grown up living off other people's families, so she understood the pain of an orphan. Also, when the gang leader was bitten by a wild beast, it was Shanniang who paid for his medical treatment. Shanniang is as her name suggests, a truly kind and compassionate person. But... her life was so hard."

Xiaoliu's words awakened the three ghost ferrymen. Ye Qingzhan remembered what the Peach Blossom Fairy had said: there are many kinds of wisdom, and "kindness" seems to be one of them.

"After Xinxin died, if we didn't protect Shanniang, who would?"

Shanniang smiled and touched Xiaoliu's head, then continued his words: "I was like a walking corpse at that time, not knowing where to go. I also heard about the beast's tragic death, but I never thought that he died because of Xue Nu, and I never thought that he would kill Xinxin, his own flesh and blood." Her eyes were filled with hatred, and Shanniang's voice trembled, "Is he still human? Is he still human?"

After listening, Li Zhixing suddenly said: "I remember that river, it was quite desolate. How did that beast, drunk like that, run into Xinxin?"

Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, Shanniang continued: "That river is remote, and there are many fish in the water. That beast used to like to catch fish in the river to eat."

"Why didn't he drown..." Xiaoliu said angrily.

"That's right." Sansan responded.

Ye Qingzhan, taking in every word, glanced back and forth between the men. He wondered if Dr. Fox knew the man loved bathing in the river, and had predicted he'd be drinking that day, so he'd tricked Xinxin into the river. But how could he have been so sure he'd kill his own daughter? Was he being manipulated, or could those fox eyes truly see into the heart? If the latter...

the thought was chilling.

Wen Gu, beside her, thought of the night spirit in Chu Mozhi's dream, the bewitching night spirit—that voluptuous voice, the one who best understood the pain and suffering of the human heart.

Unaware of the ghost ferrymen's thoughts, Shanniang glanced at Xiaoliu and continued, "Boss Li was afraid I'd do something foolish, so he kept me in the temple. Three days after Xinxin left, I vaguely saw her at the temple gate. I chased her and ran into Dr. Fox."

"He said he could resurrect the dead."

It was the same rhetoric the fox Taoist had used to deceive Chu Mozhi. Ye Qingzhan asked, "Do you believe it?"

"I didn't believe it until—" Shanniang seemed to be recalling something, her eyes falling on her daughter, "I saw Xinxin." "

It was an illusion. The fox Taoist said it was a wisp of Xinxin's soul. If he could gather the three souls and six spirits, he could resurrect Xinxin."

Listening to this, Ye Qingzhan felt that the fox Taoist's deception skills had become much more advanced, and his manipulation of people's hearts was a unique skill.

Li Zhixing asked, "Did he make any conditions to you?"

Shanniang nodded and said, "He asked me to capture the Snow Girl with my own hands and to sacrifice something on my body."

What the sacrifice was was self-evident to the people who had experienced the previous illusion, but why did he let a woman who was powerless to kill the Snow Girl who could stop the previous ones?

Did the fox Taoist want Shanniang to die? They couldn't guess what the Taoist was thinking.

Seeing everyone frowning, Shanniang said, "I hadn't seen the Snow Girl in person back then; I only heard terrifying descriptions of her. But all I could think about was getting Xinxin back, so I took a knife and entered Jade Butterfly Peak. When I saw the Snow Girl, some memories from the past came back to me, and I almost made an irreparable mistake."

Ye Qingzhan hurriedly asked, "What do you mean?"

Shanniang reached out and stroked the Snow Girl's face before saying, "She's my biological sister."

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone was startled, their hair standing on end—Dr. Fox wanted these two sisters to kill each other?

What a vicious idea.

"What happened next?" Ye Qingzhan asked.

Turning her gaze to the innocent-eyed children among the flowers, Shanniang said, "You three have been to the White Fox Temple. You should know that comparison is rampant in Zhuxi Town. Everyone wants their sons and daughters to be successful, so they pray to the gods for guidance."

The three ghost ferries nodded. Ye Qingzhan pulled a white bottle from his sleeve and said, "Many young couples seek this 'blessed water.'"

Shanniang took it, opened the lid, and sniffed it. "This isn't a blessing at all, it's a curse."

Li Zhixing asked, "Why do you say that?"

Shanniang looked at the Snow Girl and said, "My mother drank this, and that's why she turned out like this."

Fireflies flew around, cicadas chirped, and everyone listened to another story.

"When my mother was pregnant with me, she had unbearable abdominal pain one day. My father sought medical treatment everywhere without success, so he went to the temple to pray. While climbing the mountain, he met the White Fox Taoist."

Everyone here knew who the White Fox Taoist was.

"When he returned home with his father, he just took a look at his mother's belly, and then he took out a white bottle like this from his sleeve." Shanniang returned the porcelain bottle to Ye Qingzhan, "At that time, my parents just wanted to save me, and they heard that the fox Taoist priest could revive the dead and turn flesh into bones, so they took his 'medicine' like grabbing a life-saving straw."

"My mother's stomach pain is gone, and she gave birth to me smoothly. My appearance..."

Shanniang said this with a little embarrassment on her face. Xiaoliu on the side continued, "Shanniang's appearance is one of the best in Zhuxi. Some wealthy families run a long way to see her. I heard from the gang leader that Shanniang was very beautiful when she was young. People in the surrounding villages were curious about how Shanniang's parents raised her. They all said that Shanniang didn't look like them..." Xiaoliu paused before saying, "She doesn't look like theirs."

In Ye Qingzhan's opinion, Shanniang's appearance is indeed worthy of thousands of praises. Her skin is as white as snow, her eyebrows are willow-shaped and her eyes are autumnal. The look she gives people is like a glass of fine wine, light and charming.

It was like a porcelain doll carved by a skilled craftsman, so beautiful that it seemed unreal.

Ye Qingzhan also remembered the passersby she and Wen Gu had met when they first entered the Fantasy Realm. Now that she thought about it, the children they were leading were also very good-looking.

"Both of my parents are plain-looking... When they put on makeup in front of the mirror, they often feel that their faces are fake, but people love to look at them." Shanniang said, touching her face, "My parents couldn't stand the questions from others, so they told me about meeting the white fox Taoist priest. It's strange to say, my mother said that when she was pregnant with me, she often heard other pregnant women having abdominal distension and pain, but the doctors couldn't find any illness. After hearing about my father's encounter with the white fox Taoist priest, she also went to the mountains to try her luck. Later, I was born safely. The women who got the 'blessed water' of the white fox Taoist priest gave birth to healthy, handsome and intelligent children."

After hearing this, Ye Qingzhan's mind wavered: Has this fox Taoist priest turned over a new leaf and saved the people? A voice interrupted her thoughts -

"No!" San San suddenly retorted, looking at the disabled little girl with a broken forearm, "My mother drank it too, but I was born without my left arm, and my mother died in childbirth. My father was sick and went to the Fox Temple to ask for an explanation, but was driven out by those stinky Taoist priests. They scolded my father for being poor and unable to buy the blessed water. When my wife died, she blamed them. When my father came back, he was furious and died. Before he died, he entrusted me to the gang leader. The gang leader told me all this."

"Many mothers of children in the gang drank the blessed water before they died, but it was useless. We were either disabled or paralyzed, and our parents were dead too!"

San San's words made Li Zhixing feel guilty. He, a fake gang leader, had no memory of the real gang leader.

Ye Qingzhan was thinking about it when he heard Wen Gu beside him say, "There is no evidence in death."

As soon as the words fell, Ye Qingzhan's eyes lit up, and he looked at the exiled immortal, then at Shan Niang. Thinking of what she had just said, his mind became clear.

Shanniang said, "Well, when my mother was pregnant with Xuenu, she wanted a pretty and intelligent child, so she went to the White Fox Temple to ask for blessed water. After drinking it, she died during childbirth. Seeing the state of his daughter, my father… threw her away."

Her voice suddenly trailed off, and Shanniang looked at Xuenu.

Xuenu whimpered, her voice filled with sadness.

Shanniang patted Xue Nu's shoulder and said like comforting a child, "I'm sorry." Xue Nu shook her head at her. Shanniang continued, "I was only five years old when my mother gave birth to my sister. At that time, they said that my mother had a difficult delivery and my sister died young and went with my mother. It was not until eight years later, when my father fell ill and died, that they told me that my sister was abandoned by them."

After Shanniang explained the past, Ye Qingzhan rolled his eyes and asked, "What happened next? Didn't you look for Xue Nu?"

"I did," Shanniang held Xue Nu's hand, "but I never met her. Eight years have passed since then, and I thought..."

Everyone knew what she wanted to say - eight years, how could a baby thrown into the mountains survive?

"Before my father passed away, he was sick. I went everywhere to raise money and seek medical treatment, but I was deceived by that beast and had my body insulted. I had no choice but to marry him. He beat and scolded me all day long, and I fell seriously ill again. When I woke up, I forgot a lot of things and went to Yudie Peak even less often... After Xinxin left, I became crazy again and wanted to die. The gang leader, Brother Li, asked me to stay in the temple, but I wanted to die all day long. Brother Li couldn't stand it anymore and told me the truth."