blenderwars Chapter 69 This man is really cunning.
Chapter 69 This man is really cunning.
"Exactly!" the Taoist priest said solemnly, his voice extremely low.
"I just passed by that mass grave at the west end of the village and saw some evil spirits from outside harassing the local dead. Those are the spirits of the Japanese devils left over from the war years ago, and they are very fierce! Your grandfather was bullied so badly by those Japanese devils down there that he couldn't even lift his head, so his descendants up here will naturally suffer misfortune, at best losing money, at worst..."
He made a throat-slitting gesture.
Niu Guihua felt her hair stand on end and her legs tremble. She was an uneducated rural woman who usually believed in these kinds of supernatural things, and since the Taoist priest even knew where she hid her money, she immediately believed him completely.
"Then...what should we do, Master? My grandfather was just an honest farmer when he was alive. How could he possibly fight the Japanese?" Niu Guihua was so anxious that she was about to cry.
"So, we need living people from above to keep things under control!"
The Taoist priest slapped his thigh and said, "We need to find someone with a strong aura of malevolence, someone who can subdue those Japanese devils, to marry into your family! This person must carry righteous energy, preferably an officer who has been on the battlefield and killed the enemy, or a hero whose hands have seen blood! This is called using malevolence to control malevolence, using this masculine energy to support your old man's back down there!"
Upon hearing this, Niu Guihua's triangular eyes widened instantly.
"An officer? Someone who's killed the enemy?"
Her mind raced, and suddenly something occurred to her. She slapped her forehead: "That... that butcher Zhang, isn't he also a killer? He's killed quite a few people... ugh, pigs, he's covered in blood, so how did he get arrested?"
The Taoist priest sneered, his face full of disdain: "How can that be the same? That Zhang fellow killed pigs, out of greed. He's burdened with 'karmic obstacles,' he's filthy! Those Japanese devils down there love to bully these spineless wimps covered in karma. So when he approached your house, not only did he fail to ward off evil spirits, he also got himself into trouble. That's retribution!"
Niu Guihua suddenly realized: "No wonder! No wonder he was struck by lightning right after we were about to give him our daughter! It turns out he wasn't tough enough to handle the situation!"
She now completely believes it.
The Taoist priest was incredibly accurate; he even explained clearly why Butcher Zhang was arrested.
"Then...Master, shall I go find a soldier?" Niu Guihua asked eagerly, her eyes regaining hope.
The Taoist priest nodded, then shook his head: "It's not just soldiers; it has to be the kind who's made meritorious contributions and carries the aura of a 'general's star.' The moment such a person enters your house, even if it's just an engagement, those Japanese soldiers below will be terrified. Then, if your patriarch is happy, he'll bless you with promotions and wealth, and loads of money will flow into your pockets like water!"
"Wealth and glory...money..." Niu Guihua muttered these two words, her eyes shining with a greedy light brighter than the midday sun.
She was always greedy for money, and now that she heard it could not only ensure her safety but also make her rich, her mind immediately started racing.
"Master, look at my daughter's fate..." Niu Guihua turned around and pointed to Li Xianglian, who had been standing there without moving.
The Taoist priest squinted at Li Xianglian and secretly admired her: What a beautiful girl, no wonder that man went to such lengths.
He cleared his throat and said in a serious tone, "This girl has a unique destiny; she's a rough gem. If she marries an ordinary person, it's like casting pearls before swine, bringing misfortune—whoever marries her will be unlucky. But if she's paired with that noble man with the aura of a general, then she has an exceptional destiny that will bring prosperity to her husband and family! This is called 'Phoenix Landing on the Wutong Tree,' and from then on, your entire family will rise to great heights!"
These words made Niu Guihua overjoyed, and the gloom of losing money just now vanished.
"Okay! Okay! I got it!"
Niu Guihua was so excited that she wanted to grab the Taoist priest's hand, but she was afraid of offending the deity. "He must have been on the battlefield, he must have killed Japanese devils! I'll go and look for one right now! Even if I have to turn this whole area upside down, I'll find my daughter a son-in-law like that!"
Seeing that the time was almost right, the Taoist priest didn't linger any longer. He gently withdrew his hand, flicked his whisk, and adopted the air of a reclusive sage.
"Now that you have shown me the way, I should go on my travels. Remember, the selection of this person must not be taken lightly, otherwise, disaster will befall us and even the gods cannot save us."
After saying that, he didn't wait for Niu Guihua to ask any more questions. He turned around and strode out of the courtyard gate. His back view really looked like that of an immortal.
Niu Guihua stood at the door, hands clasped together, bowing repeatedly to the Taoist priest's retreating figure: "Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master, for saving my life!"
Niu Guihua straightened up only after the Taoist priest's figure disappeared around the corner of the dirt road.
She turned around and looked at Li Xianglian as if she were looking at a mountain of gold.
"Did you hear that? You brat! You're destined for wealth! I misjudged you before, finding you that spineless coward Zhao Gang and that useless butcher Zhang. This time, I'll find you a good one! A high-ranking official!"
Niu Guihua excitedly paced around the yard, muttering to herself, "Was on the battlefield... killed the enemy... and had to be an officer... In all these surrounding villages, who has a relative like that?"
Li Xianglian stood at the base of the wall, watching Niu Guihua's frenzied appearance, neither responding nor refuting.
She simply watched quietly in the direction the Taoist priest had left, her nostrils twitching slightly.
She recognized the scent emanating from the Taoist priest.
It was the distinctive scent of pine needles from the mountains, mixed with a faint smell of tobacco. It smelled exactly the same as Qin Rushan's scent last night.
Li Xianglian lowered her eyes, looking at the swaying water reflection in the gourd ladle.
This is hardly some divine guidance.
Clearly, someone had gone to great lengths to dig a pit, and was forcing her greedy mother to throw herself into his arms with fanfare.
This man is really cunning.
"Mother, take your time thinking. I'll sweep up this trash first." Li Xianglian picked up a broom and began sweeping the yard.
"Sweep, sweep, sweep! All you ever do is sweep!" Niu Guihua was in a good mood and didn't scold her too much. She just waved her hand and said, "Sweep it clean! Don't ruin our family's feng shui! Da Bao, come inside with Mom, Mom will cook you some eggs! We're going to have good days ahead!"
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Once outside Xiahe Village, the old Taoist priest's air of otherworldly wisdom vanished completely.
He plunged headlong into the birch forest to the west, tucked the tattered whisk behind his waist, and tore off the black cloth strip from his left eye as he ran.
"It's so hot, it's killing my mother!"
The old Taoist priest—who should be called a charlatan now—slipped under the shade of a tree and shouted at an old locust tree, "Qin boy! Come out! Stop hiding!"
A military water bottle was thrown out from behind the tree.
The old charlatan caught it, tilted his head back, and gulped it down in several large mouthfuls, the liquor dripping down his beard.
"Ha! Good wine! This special-supply Erguotou is really potent!" The old charlatan wiped his mouth and slumped unceremoniously against the tree root.
Qin Rushan emerged from behind the tree. He toyed with the deformed matchbox in his hand, not even lifting his eyelids: "Did you get it done?"
"Need you even ask?" The old charlatan chuckled, picking at his toes. "That old hag is greedy to the core. I barely got started, and she's already turned the whole thing into a grand spectacle. You didn't see her like that; she practically wanted to set up a longevity tablet for you right now, begging you to take her daughter away."
Qin Rushan's lips were tightly pursed, but they relaxed slightly when he heard this sentence.
Once you get hold of someone like Niu Guihua, who is most vulnerable to financial pressure, you can make her do whatever she wants.
"Didn't she suspect anything?"
"Doubt my ass!"
The old charlatan pulled out a ten-yuan note from his pocket and flicked it loudly. "I even told her where she hides her secret stash of money. And after that Zhang the butcher incident, she'll believe whatever I want her to believe now. If I told her right now that eating shit can make you rich, she'd go to the outhouse and try a couple of mouthfuls."
"But seriously, you're really cunning. Going to such lengths, even resorting to superstitious tricks, for a wife. If your old buddies from the army knew, they'd laugh their heads off!"