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After hiding the Gu altar, Qiqi didn't wait for Wei Ning and turned to leave. Naturally, Wei Ning followed closely behind her. The two wandered in the mountains for quite a while, and Wei Ning became increasingly confused, unsure of what Qiqi was planning to do. It wasn't until noon that he finally realized something.
Qiqi was just like him—lost.
Seeing the half-smiling expression on Wei Ning's face, Qiqi knew her thoughts had been seen through. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she scolded, "What are you looking at? Let's go."
Wei Ning loved to see Qiqi's girl-like demeanor and teased her on purpose, "Sister, are you sure we can find our way out before we grow old walking like this?"
Qiqi stomped her foot in frustration. "No one asked you to follow me! If you want to leave, go ahead! I just want to play in these mountains, so what?"
"Exactly," Wei Ning said, seeing Qiqi flustered, which only encouraged him further. He joked, "This place has beautiful mountains and waters, and the people are nice too. Why don't we just live here for the rest of our lives? We could become a pair of wild monkeys and have ten or eight little monkeys of our own. Life wouldn't be too bad!"
What started as a joke for Wei Ning was taken seriously by Qiqi. Suddenly, her expression turned complex, and her face grew cold as she said in a frosty tone, "Don't make such meaningless jokes; they're not funny."
Wei Ning felt stung and fell silent for a moment. The atmosphere between them, which had just begun to warm up, became awkward again. Qiqi suddenly said, "You're a grown man; why are you always trailing behind a woman? Hurry up and find the way down the mountain."
"Hey," Wei Ning noticed that Qiqi had indirectly admitted she was lost and quickly stepped forward with confidence. "Do you see that tree over there? In the mountains, if the leaves are lush, it's south; if not, it's north. We entered from the south, so we need to head that way to get down. Follow me."
Qiqi shot him a sideways glance with an ambiguous expression but still followed him. Wei Ning finally felt like a man again and excitedly summarized how to navigate through the mountains as they walked. However, all he received from Qiqi was a flat response: "Let's talk about it when we get out."
By evening, under the guidance of the great explorer Wei Ning, they finally found their way out of the Xiangxi Mountains. Wei Ning secretly breathed a sigh of relief; after all, he was only half competent—mostly guessing his way around. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been stumbling around like a headless fly last night.
They returned to Peng San Po's home. Upon seeing Wei Ning, Peng San Po showed a momentary look of surprise that quickly faded as he warmly welcomed them inside.
Qiqi packed her things without delay and prepared to set off with Wei Ning when Peng San Po stopped them with a smile. "It's New Year's Eve tonight; why not eat some dumplings before you go?"
Only then did Wei Ning remember it was New Year's Eve. He had lost track of time after spending so long in Burning Corpse Forest. Plus, the Miao Tribe didn't have any New Year traditions, so he hadn't felt any festive atmosphere during their journey.
"I'm sorry, but we have things to do and must be on our way," Qiqi declined.
Peng San Po smiled and said, "No matter how urgent it is, you should at least have the New Year's Eve Dinner before leaving. It's New Year's Eve after all; who travels on such a day? I know you're worried about what happened yesterday, but honestly, I don't mind. The village has known I'm the Grass Witch for a long time, and I've gotten used to it."
"Really, we don't need to..."
Peng San Po sighed and said, "Actually, inviting you for dumplings is just an excuse. I have something I need your help with. If you truly have matters to attend to, then I can't force you. It's just that my poor child..."
Wei Ning felt a surge of sympathy upon hearing that Peng San Po needed help. Ignoring Qiqi's expression, she said, "Grandma, what is it? Let me see if I can help."
Peng San Po sighed again and said, "To be honest, I don't believe in Peng; I believe in Bai. Peng is my husband's family name. I'm not Miao; I'm from Yuanling."
Wei Ning was confused by Peng San Po's words and didn't understand her point. Looking into the distance, Peng San Po's eyes softened as she smiled and asked, "Young man, would you like to hear a story?"
Before Wei Ning could nod, Peng San Po began: "Once upon a time, there was a Miao named Peng San who apprenticed at the home of a Foot Master in Yuanling. He didn't learn much about footwork but fell in love with his master's daughter. After three years of training, he finally graduated. When he left, his senior sister gave him an umbrella and told him to open it only when he got home. As he walked, he felt the umbrella getting heavier and heavier. But he followed his senior sister's advice and didn't open it until he was almost home. Curious about why it was so heavy, he decided to take a look. When he opened the umbrella, his senior sister appeared before him. He was overjoyed at first, but she looked troubled and said, 'I told you to wait until you got home! Now that my father knows I've come with you, he won't let us off easily.'"
As Peng San Po continued her tale, her face grew more animated; she even mimicked her senior sister's expressions perfectly. Wei Ning realized that the senior sister in the story was likely herself. She could see how much Peng San Po missed her husband even after all these years; every detail of their past was still vivid in her memory.
Peng San Po moistened her lips and continued: "The senior sister immediately pulled her junior brother and ran home. As they ran, she glanced back and saw the Yin Blade coming for them. She threw it back without thinking but soon saw another Yin Blade flying toward them again. Just as they were nearing home, she caught one of the flying Yin Blades and bit her tongue to let some blood drip onto the blade before throwing it back again. Finally reaching home, they closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief."
Wei Ning interjected, "Yin Blade? Is that the Yin Blade from the Bai Family in Yuanling?"
Peng San Po nodded approvingly and said, "You know quite a bit! Yes, the Yin Blade is a family heirloom technique of ours—killing without a trace. Those who haven't learned it can't even see the blade itself. Moreover, this type of Yin Blade carries a talisman that can lock onto a person; unless you see their heart's blood, it won't return."
Wei Ning remarked, "You must have tricked your father using your own blood on the blade; you're truly clever."
"Yes," Peng San Po nodded, "Fortunately, I know some martial arts. If I hadn't tricked my father with blood from my tongue, we would have died under Yin Blade long ago."
"Has your father not caused trouble since then?"
Peng San Po smiled bitterly. "You can fool someone for a moment, but not for a lifetime. Besides, my father is so clever, and Peng San is just... well, he has a straightforward personality."
"What happened next?" Qiqi asked, intrigued and unable to hold back.
Peng San Po glanced at Qiqi and said, "Listen to me. After that, Peng San and I lived a few good years until our child turned three. At that time, we had just started land contracting. Peng San and I managed to secure a piece of land where we planted some pumpkins, just enough to get by. But unexpectedly, someone kept stealing my pumpkins. I asked many people, but no one ever admitted to it. After discussing it with Peng San, I decided to put a Yin Blade in the pumpkin patch."
Wei Ning gasped, "They only stole a few of your pumpkins; did you really have to go that far? That's too much..."
Peng San Po let out a bitter laugh. "So they say good deeds bring good rewards and evil deeds bring evil retribution. You know who was stealing those pumpkins? It was Yuer. She loved eating pumpkins so much that she often sneaked into the field to take some. But she was afraid of being scolded by me and her father, so she never dared to admit it. Who would have thought..."
At this point, tears welled up in the corners of Peng San Po's eyes as her voice trembled with sorrow. "The Yin Blade I set up ended up killing my own child... Retribution... retribution!"
Hearing this, Wei Ning and Qiqi couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness wash over them. Perhaps nothing in this world could be more tragic than this. For a moment, they didn't know how to comfort Peng San Po as she sank into her painful memories; they could only offer gentle words: "Once someone has passed away, they cannot come back to life. It's been so long since it happened; you should try to let it go."
Peng San Po shook her head. "But the story isn't over yet..."
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