Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 325 Complaint
After the prayer ceremony ended, the villagers returned the way they came, except for Yan Ciwan and the envoy who were left behind.

They followed the village chief onto the bamboo raft, where two men in black rowed the raft upstream.

Yan Ciwan stood on the bamboo raft and looked back. She saw Aying still standing on the shore. Aying was also looking at them with a very complicated expression.

About half an hour later, the bamboo raft docked at the shore, and two more people boarded the raft, a man and a woman, each carrying a paper lantern with bells hanging from it.

The man was also dressed in black, with a knife at his waist, while the woman wore a coarse cloth dress with many patches. She looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, with rather beautiful features, but she was a little thin and had dark skin.

The village chief asked the man in black, "Is this the person chosen by Da'an Village?"

"Yes, her name is Que Niang."

The village chief looked at the petite young woman and smiled meaningfully: "Sparrow Girl, that's a good name."

The woman named Que Niang shrank back somewhat.

The village chief gently reassured you, "Don't be nervous. You will soon see the Moon Goddess. With her protection, you will no longer need to do heavy work every day as before. You can wear beautiful clothes and live in a spacious house."

The sparrow girl asked cautiously, "Will we be able to eat our fill?"

"Of course, you will never have to go hungry or cold again, and you will be able to eat fragrant, hot mutton pies every day."

When Que Niang was a child, she once ate a mutton pie. Although it was only a small piece, it was still unforgettable for her. In her limited understanding, mutton pie was the most delicious food in the world.

She was deeply moved by the bright future described by the village chief, and involuntarily swallowed, her eyes filled with anticipation.

The bamboo raft continued upstream along the river. About an hour later, the raft docked again, and everyone disembarked.

The night was dark, and I could only rely on the lantern in my hand to light the way.

Since the envoy was unable to move, he was placed on a stretcher and carried forward by two men in black.

The group walked along the rugged mountain path, with deep forests on both sides and the faint howling of wolves in the distance.

The sparrow girl was startled by the wolf's howl and slipped, nearly falling to the side. Fortunately, a hand reached out from behind and caught her, preventing her from falling.

After she regained her footing, she turned around to thank the person behind her, only to be surprised to find that the person was also a young woman.

Yan Ciwan smiled slightly and introduced herself, "My surname is Xiao."

The sparrow maiden snapped out of her daze and hurriedly said, "My name is Sparrow Maiden. Thank you so much for earlier."

"The mountain road is difficult to walk on, so be careful."

Que Niang sensed the goodwill conveyed by the other party and wanted to chat with them a little longer, but the village chief interrupted their conversation.

"Let's not waste any more time, let's go."

"Oh, okay." Sparrow Girl lowered her head sheepishly.

After walking along the mountain path for a long time, light finally appeared ahead.

Upon approaching, Yan Ciwan could see clearly that in front of her was an ancient and simple Taoist temple with a long history. Above the main gate of the temple hung a plaque with the three characters "Hengqing Temple" written on it.

A man in black stepped forward and knocked on the door. A moment later, the door was opened, and a young Taoist priest in a blue robe came out. He glanced at the person standing outside, asked nothing, and then opened the door completely.

Yan Ciwan followed the village chief into Hengqing Temple.

After they passed the screen wall, they came to a large circular plaza with a huge statue of a god in the center.

Yan Ciwan looked up and saw that the statue was wearing a wide Taoist robe, holding a delicate pagoda in one hand and a long sword in the other. There seemed to be words engraved on the sword, but because of the distance and the darkness of the night, she could not see what the words were.

"You all stay here and don't move. I'll be right back." After saying this, the village chief and the young Taoist priest walked up the steps and entered the main hall above.

Yan Ciwan was still gazing up at the statue, and for some reason, she felt the statue's face was somewhat familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before. Suddenly, she heard a cautious voice beside her—

Are you from Xiao'an Village?

Yan Ciwan withdrew her gaze and turned to look at Que Niang, who was staring at her expectantly.

"I'm not."

This answer surprised Sparrow Girl. She paused for a moment before asking, "Then where are you from?"

“I come from Xizhou. My mother is seriously ill, so I came to Xiaoan Village to ask the village chief for help.”

Sparrow Girl couldn't help but ask, "Since you're not from Xiao'an Village, why did the village chief choose you to be a divine servant?"

“The village chief said that my filial piety is commendable and that the Moon Goddess admires people like me. I wanted to ask the Moon Goddess to help cure my mother’s illness, so I followed the village chief here.”

Que Niang originally had a lot to say to Yan Ciwan, but after learning that she was not from Xiao An Village, Que Niang became more cautious and dared not have too much contact with her.

Yan Ciwan, however, seemed oblivious to the other person's wariness and continued talking to them.

"Does your Da'an Village hold a blessing ceremony every month, just like Xiao'an Village?"

Sparrow Girl didn't say anything, she just nodded slightly.

Yan Ciwan then asked, "Why didn't your village chief come along?"

After hesitating for a while, Que Niang whispered, "He's sick."

Yan Ciwan suddenly realized: "Oh, I see. You've also drunk the divine water?"

When Sparrow Girl heard her say "also," she assumed that Sparrow Girl had already drunk the divine water and replied softly, "I didn't want to drink it; I gave it all to my father and brothers at home."

Yan Ciwan smiled at her: "I'm the same as you, I couldn't bear to drink it either, I gave it all to my mother."

These words made the sparrow maiden feel closer to her, so the sparrow maiden took the initiative to say, "I heard that as long as you can become the servant of the moon goddess, you can drink divine water every day."

"Yes, the village chief has already told me about this. I plan to give all of my share of the holy water to my mother so that she can recover from her illness sooner."

Sparrow Girl exclaimed sincerely, "You are so good to your mother."

The envoy stared at the sky with dead fish eyes, his whole body numb.

Yan Ciwan pointed to the statue in front of her and asked, "Is this the Moon Goddess?"

Sparrow Girl shook her head, indicating that she did not know. Although she often heard people mention the Moon Goddess, she had never seen the Moon Goddess in person and naturally did not know what the Moon Goddess looked like.

Yan Ciwan turned to look at the man in black standing on the other side and repeated the question she had just asked.

The man in black seemed surprised that she dared to speak to him. He paused for a moment, then coldly said, "Shut up. Don't pry into things that aren't your business!"

Yan Ciwan narrowed her eyes; this person was quite fierce.

She then asked, "What's your name?"

The man in black remained silent, completely ignoring her.

The village chief returned shortly afterward.

Two young Taoist priests followed behind him. Before the village chief could speak, Yan Ciwan began to complain.

"This person deliberately swore at me just now. I am the one chosen by the Moon Goddess. As the saying goes, even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner. The way he treated me is just slapping the Moon Goddess in the face!"