Oh no! My online romance partner is actually a Miao holy maiden!

"Alright, sit down and eat. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the family is finally reunited." Grandma pulled Bai Ling'er to sit down at the table.

The table was laden with dishes unique to the Miao region, and the aroma of sour fish soup filled the air.

"By the way, where's the third brother?"

Mother looked at Bai Que.

Bai Que said, "He's gone to the ancestral hall to receive his punishment. He'll be back soon."

Grandma nodded.

"Alright, let's not wait for him, let's eat first."

Bai Ling'er's attention was clearly not on this, and she didn't even hear what the others were saying.

After she sat down, she quietly reached under the table and pulled out her phone, quickly switching back to the WeChat interface.

Bai Ling'er: Sister Xu Qin, I'm sorry. My brother was wrong. I will make him give Brother Yi an explanation.

The message had barely been sent when Father's sharp gaze swept over from the main seat.

"Ling'er, don't use your phone while eating."

Bai Ling'er turned off her phone in front of everyone with a blank expression and casually put it into her bag.

She picked up her chopsticks, slowly and deliberately took a piece of fish, and began to eat.

After finishing their meal, everyone returned to their rooms.

late at night.

The second brother, Bai Lan, carrying a jar of homemade rice wine, sauntered into his elder brother Bai Que's room.

"Big brother, are you still awake?" Bai Lan put the wine jar on the table and pulled up a chair to sit down.

Bai Que was sitting cross-legged on the bed, regulating his breathing, with faint black qi circulating around his body.

He opened his eyes, glanced at the second brother, and exhaled a breath of stale air: "Get to the point."

Bai Lan sighed, broke the clay seal on the wine jar, and poured two bowls of wine: "Did you lay a hand on that kid outside the mountains today?"

Bai Que snorted coldly, picked up the wine bowl, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Do you think I'm that bored? If I really made a move, wouldn't my little sister explode?"

"It's just a lesson learned."

"You're being foolish, brother." Bai Lan picked up the wine bowl, took a sip, shook his head, and sighed deeply.

"You really think my little sister is being so obedient tonight because she's resigned to her fate? She's hiding her true colors."

Bai Que's face darkened. "I'm doing this for her own good, and also for the good of the Bai family."

"That makes sense, but you're using the wrong method," Bai Lan said quietly.

"You know my sister's personality; this isn't over."

Bai Que didn't speak, but his aura indicated that he was extremely agitated.

"Just watch, something big is likely to happen at the Jiuli Grand Ceremony in a few days."

Bai Lan stood up, dusted off the hem of her clothes, shook her head, and walked out.

"That's all I have to say. Brother, please be careful. If my little sister really goes crazy, we probably won't be able to stop her. Don't forget she's the Holy Maiden, the one most suited to the inheritance. Those Gu monsters are all afraid of her."

The room fell silent again. Bai Que sat in the darkness, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

On the other side, inside the stilt house where the saintess lived alone.

Inside the house, insect-repelling herbs were burning, and wisps of smoke rose from them.

Bai Ling'er lay on the rattan bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

He was holding a phone that was already switched off.

She wanted countless times to turn on her phone and send Xu Yi a message, even if it was just to hear his voice.

But the thought of Xu Qin saying that he was "injured and wouldn't tell her when asked" made her heart ache as if it were being gnawed by a thousand poisonous insects.

"Brother Yi..."

No, things are strict now, I can't let Brother Yi get into trouble!

The threats from my older brother didn't seem fake either...

Just then, the door was pushed open.

Grandma carried a bowl of calming soup and walked in quietly.

She looked at her daughter, who had sat up in bed, sighed, and sat down beside Bai Ling'er's bed.

"I know you're not asleep."

The mother placed the herbal medicine on the bedside table, her eyes filled with tenderness and heartache.

Bai Ling'er looked at her mother's face, which was full of loving kindness.

Bai Ling'er's eyes reddened, and she suddenly threw herself into her mother's arms, hugging her mother's waist tightly with both hands.

"Mom...Ling'er really likes him."

The mother gently stroked Bai Ling'er's long hair, just like when she was a child, coaxing her to sleep, speaking softly and soothingly.

"Silly girl, your mother has been through this, how could I not understand your thoughts? You have the same temperament as me, once you've made up your mind, it's for life, even if you hit a wall and tear it down, you won't turn back."

Bai Ling'er snuggled against her mother and mumbled, "But Big Brother hit him. Brother Yi is just an ordinary person, and Big Brother even threatened me, saying he'd make Brother Yi suffer if I didn't let go. They have no idea how good Brother Yi is..."

"So, do you believe your brother Yi?"

Suddenly, her mother pulled Bai Ling'er away and asked with utmost seriousness.

Bai Ling'er nodded without hesitation: "I believe him! I believe him!"

"Alright, then do you dare to make a bet with your mother?"

Bai Ling'er was taken aback. "What are we betting on?"

A mysterious smile appeared on the mother's lips.

"If he is also sincere towards you, and is willing to cross thousands of mountains and rivers to come to Shenyue Village for you, just like your father, and is willing to break these rules for you, then my father and I will never stop you."

"But... the rules of Shenyue Village are so strict, the elders won't agree. Besides, Han people have to cross the Wan Gu Bridge to enter the village."

"Do you know what price your father paid to stay with me?"

Looking at the full moon outside the window, her eyes revealed the splendor of her youth.

Your father was a scholar from outside the mountains back then, quite frail, too weak to even kill a chicken. But for me, he bravely ventured alone into the depths of Shenyue Mountain, crossed the Ten Thousand Gu Bridge alone, drank the Gu poison, and withstood thirty lashes from the ancestral hall. He endured the Gu worms' consuming power for three days and three nights, yet he had no regrets.”

"You are the Holy Maiden of Shenyue Village, not someone you can marry casually."

Bai Ling'er gasped, her face turning even paler.

"I know... but I can't bear to see my brother suffer and in pain. I'd rather take all of that upon myself."

Seeing her daughter's possessive and sickly behavior, the mother poked her forehead with her finger in annoyance.

"Silly child! What do you think your elder brother did outside the mountain today? How can he convince the public if he doesn't do it for the outsiders to see?"

The elders of the dozen or so mountain strongholds outside were all watching the Bai family. If the Holy Maiden were to be easily abducted by some young boy from outside the mountains, what would become of the Bai family's prestige? How could the Nine Li lineage be passed down?

Bai Ling'er blinked, as if she understood something.

The old woman's eyes sharpened, and she regained the dignity of the village matriarch.

"Besides... how can we, as parents and brothers, feel at ease handing you over? There are so many temptations outside the mountains. What if he only cares about your status? What if he is a gilded exterior but a rotten core?"

"How can we prove he's not a coward who shrinks back at the first sign of danger if we don't threaten him with a knife?"

"Brother Yi is not a coward!" Bai Ling'er retorted eagerly.

"He said he would take responsibility for me, that he would take me home to meet his parents, and that he would remember my preferences and care about me."

"This morning, even though my older brother threatened him like that, he still dared to stand up for me."

The mother gently tucked her messy hair behind her ear.

"So, he's passed the first hurdle. Otherwise, do you think your older brother, with his temper, would have let him off so easily?"

"His future depends on how he chooses to proceed. If he's scared off by this injury and retreats back to Jiangcheng for a peaceful life, then that kind of man is better off without. But if he's got guts and dares to storm Shenyue Village for you..."

The mother smiled and patted Bai Ling'er's hand.

"Even if it means breaking these incredibly strict rules, I'll make sure he becomes the Bai family's most eligible bachelor. Don't worry, leave it to me. You just need to cooperate obediently these next few days and prepare for the ceremony."

"The rest depends on whether he dares to come."

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