Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

It was already dusk, the sky was dark, and night was just beginning to fall.

Yun Nongyu stepped out of the room, looked up at the sky, her face as beautiful as jade. She was lost in thought about the little girl and suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

Which one does she truly want: reality or dreams?

"It was so clear in my dream, but when I woke up, it was all gone."

......

In a corner outside the town, in the makeshift dojo set up by Ivan.

The three Taoist priests were bound to the skull totem. Senior Brother Huai was the first to wake up and shouted:

"Help! Is anyone there? Please help!"

As it shook, the totem shattered, and Brother Huai fell to the ground.

"Huh! We're saved?"

Chapter Thirty-Five: Yuehe Cat is starting to get jealous.

Having learned from his previous experience, Chu Mingkong did not repeat Yue Hexi's mistake of creating misunderstandings at every turn in an attempt to give the young girl a good opportunity to appear.

So, Chu Mingkong called all the girls together for a short family meeting to avoid having to explain to each of them what they had been doing the past two days.

Moreover, it's not appropriate for Chu Mingkong to repeatedly tell the girls about Jiao'er's matter like a story. Every time he recounts it, he feels regret and depression. It's better to explain it clearly once and for all.

In the front hall of Qingxin Mansion, a moon-river cat sat on Chu Mingkong's left thigh, and a peony sat on his right thigh.

The two little girls weren't familiar with each other yet, and they just looked at each other.

It's really hard to say who is the older sister and who is the younger sister, but Yuehe Maomao should be considered the older sister, while Jiao'er's soul age is still in the infancy stage.

Li Lu learned the full story of the ghostly affairs in the border area between Xiling and Jin, as well as the truth behind the resurrected town, and sighed deeply.

She walked over and took Jiao'er from Chu Mingkong's arms. Jiao'er was a little uneasy about being hugged by a stranger. However, Wei's mother was used to taking care of children, and her affectionate touch quickly dispelled the baby's unease.

Li Lu then carefully examined Jiao'er's eyes and said softly:

“This one eye is indeed a ghost eye. It’s amazing how strange things can happen in this world. I initially thought that the ghost baby was the great enemy that created that eeriness, but I didn’t expect that you just couldn’t bear to leave your mother.”

Chu Mingkong found it difficult to start a conversation. He thought about the female ghost Qiao'er that Gu Wenkai had encountered. Could it be that she had just become a ghost and the little girl couldn't recognize her mother's aura? Or could it be that Gu Wenkai had lured Qiao'er away, and that's how the subsequent events happened?

There should still be some connection, but Ivan definitely interfered.

Judging from Gu Wenkai's later confession, the female ghost Qiao'er was somewhat affiliated with that ghost brothel at the time, and that ghost brothel was created by Yi Fan to attract the living to enter and be filled with the energy of the ghost to replenish their physical bodies.

Resentment restores the skeleton, while the essence of the living rebuilds the physical body.

The female ghost Qiao'er never mentioned what happened to her daughter, most likely because she didn't know that Jiao'er had also become a ghost.

When Evan learned of this, he deliberately separated them. The female ghost Qiao'er was only concerned with seeking revenge, while Jiao'er longed for her mother's embrace. By chance, they created that town.

All the women sighed, saying that as long as they had a conscience and humanity, no one wanted to see the baby lose its mother's care.

Gu Jungui asked, "So, will Jiao'er live here in Xiling from now on?"

Chu Mingkong nodded: "Yes, I don't know if her body, that of a mirage maiden, will attract those dragon people from the East Sea in the future, but we'll talk about the future later. I'm also worried about Jiao'er being taken care of by others, so I'll just consider it as finding a playmate for Maomao."

This outcome reassured the women, as they knew they would be taken care of in Tianya City and would no longer suffer any injustice.

"This little girl is probably too young to even speak... Is she still breastfeeding?" Shangguan Rong took Yuehe Cat away from Chu Mingkong and looked at the new little girl with concern in her eyes.

Because it seems that there is no one in Qingxin Mansion who can breastfeed the baby.

The only woman with a child, the Moon River Goddess, is also missing. Moon River Cat, wanting to get close to her mother, can only cling to the heavy sword and then stick close to Wind Shadow and the others.

“Rong’er’s considerations are always one step ahead of others, so I don’t think we need to worry about that. Whether or not a child drinks milk is not determined by the age of the soul, but by whether the body can eat other things. Jiao’er’s current body can eat staple foods, and the Mirage Maiden’s routine is not like that of ordinary humans who need to eat three meals a day.”

Just kidding, Chu Mingkong is such a grown man, he's actually quite happy to drink milk...

When the Princess of Chu looked at the new little member in her family, she felt sympathy and affection for her daughter, but she also worried that Chu Mingkong would only bring home little maids instead of daughters.

Bringing a little girl back is fine, but he needs to bring out his own biological child!

Although Yuehe Maomao, that little girl with an extraordinary background, is considered Chu Mingkong's biological daughter, this method of childbirth is still beyond the understanding of the Chu Princess. She still wants to see a granddaughter who slowly grows pregnant and then comes out of her belly.

She kept these thoughts to herself for the time being, as it wouldn't be appropriate to discuss them in this context, otherwise it would seem like she was being xenophobic and disliked this little girl who had lost her mother's care.

“Mingkong,” Princess Chu said softly.

"what happened?"

"If this baby wants to be breastfed, I can find a wet nurse. I wonder if the Han couple, whom you helped before, have weaned their child yet?" said the Princess Consort of Chu.

They discovered the massacre in Jin by chance, but since they couldn't trust the people in Jin, they gave the viewing stone, which they considered evidence, to Tianya Tower.

The Queen Consort of Chu later arranged jobs for them, not far from their maternal home, since the two women were originally from Xiling.

Chu Mingkong recalled that he had known the two young women since the Fifth Prince was still alive. One of them seemed to be breastfeeding her baby.

However, that was a long time ago. Most babies are weaned and start eating porridge around one year old, right?

"Let's see first. If Jiao'er doesn't eat anything else, then we can find her a wet nurse later."

Jiao'er was held for a while, then started to sniffle shyly. Chu Mingkong quickly took her back. He guessed that he had received Qiao'er's kindness on both of his visits to the town, and that he had benefited from her kindness, so this dragon girl was quite close to him.

Meanwhile, Yuehe Maomao, seeing her father getting close to another little girl, pouted and looked at him with a jealous expression.

Chu Mingkong smiled and hugged the two sweet and soft little ones in his arms, praying that they wouldn't fight in the future.

The discussion about Jiao'er's arrangements came to a temporary halt, and Chu Mingkong suddenly realized that he had forgotten something!

"Master Yun, it seems we've forgotten about rescuing people. We've forgotten where those three Taoist masters and disciples are... we've forgotten about them."

"It's alright. After Your Highness dealt with that ancient sorcerer, they were no longer in danger and are now on their way back to the Kunlun Dao Sect to report the situation," Yun Nongyu comforted her.

That's good. Chu Mingkong was just afraid that if he forgot about them, it would be troublesome if something happened to the three of them.

"We would still appreciate it if the elders of the Taoist sect could remind those people to be more cautious in the future. That brothel is controlled by a male sorcerer, and their life essence has been drained by a male 'girlfriend'..."

Gu Jungui snorted and said, "I'll also write a letter back later to let the second wife know about this. It's outrageous that the Ghost Brothel is such a dangerous place!"

Chu Mingkong entrusted the two little girls to the women for temporary care, and then said:

"Would it be alright if Daoist Yun and Auntie had a small get-together later? I'd like to ask about the Day of Supreme Yin again."

Yun Nongyu naturally had no objections.

Li Lu nodded in agreement: "Okay, but I need to call the clan elders. Some things require the wisdom of the older generation."

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Kingdom of Witches

The matter of the day of full moon is an important matter that deserves serious discussion, but it is not appropriate to talk about it in a corner. Chu Mingkong chose a pavilion in Tianya City as the place for the conversation.

Even though snowflakes were falling from the sky, one could occasionally hear people talking as they passed by, and children laughing as they played in the snow.

The hustle and bustle of the crowd sounded particularly pleasant to Chu Mingkong at this moment, especially since he had just returned from that small town and wanted to stay in this lively environment a little longer.

Chu Mingkong sipped the tea brewed by Yun Nongyu, feeling content.

It's worth mentioning that Master Yun came out wearing shoes this time. After all, it was freezing cold, and although she could keep her feet clean and untouched by the snow, it would still be strange for passersby to see her like that.

Adults might know that this person is someone important and shouldn't speak carelessly, but children, being ignorant, might say something like, "Why isn't that lady wearing shoes?" as they pass by, which is quite embarrassing.

In particular, Chu Mingkong wanted to listen to people's thoughts more and did not intend to use any magical means to drive away the idlers.

Even those who are barefoot have to put on shoes.

Yun Nongyu hadn't prepared any shoes, which gave Chu Mingkong an opportunity. He presented her with a pair of white, semi-transparent jade high heels.

At that moment, looking at that fair and rosy foot wearing high heels, it was incredibly beautiful, and as night fell, its radiant white skin was even more striking.

Several footsteps approached, and Wei's mother, Li Lu, arrived, followed by her daughter, Wei Qingning, and two elders.

Wei Qingning quickened her pace, sat down next to Chu Mingkong, and took over her mother's lines, introducing the elder:

“Brother, this man with the mustache is Elder Wei Satu, and the one with the braided beard is Elder Wei Youshi.” Although it might be unnecessary, Qingning still politely introduced Chu Mingkong as well.

From his sister's playful way of addressing the elder, Chu Mingkong sensed that although the witchcraft associated with the Wei family gave people a mysterious and serious feeling, the atmosphere within the Wei family was quite relaxed, and the whole family didn't feel like it was full of ghosts and spirits.

Chu Mingkong used to feel this way. Later, after realizing how powerful Wu was, he wondered if his childhood memories were filtered through a lens. But now it seems there was no childhood filter involved, and the Wei family is indeed harmonious and peaceful.

Chu Mingkong nodded apologetically:

"It's so late at night, and I'm really sorry to have disturbed you two elders. But now that the matter in that town has been settled, I'm eager to find out as much as I can about it as possible, otherwise I'll keep thinking about it."

Elder Wei Satu, with his mustache, laughed heartily and spoke in a cheerful and talkative manner:

"It's nothing. Don't let our old age fool you, You Shi and I are still in good spirits! When His Highness was a child, he rarely came to our Wei family. He mostly came to play with Qing Ning, so you probably don't remember us. But we remember His Highness very well. Now that we've met again, we realize how fast time flies!"

The pleasantries were brief. The two elders had come with intelligence, otherwise Li Lu would have simply replied, "Sorry, I don't know."

The old man, whose beard was tied into several small braids, said:

"The term 'Sun of Flourishing Yin' doesn't exist in the witchcraft tradition of my Wei family lineage, but it's just a name. No matter how it changes, it's still related to celestial phenomena."

Ancient texts mention a "yin hour," which is similar to the "day of abundant yin" mentioned by Your Highness. As Master Yun said, Taoist records state that when this once-in-a-millennium celestial phenomenon begins, all tombs open, which is correct.

However, the records in the traditions of witchcraft go even deeper: when the 'yin hour' arrives, life and death become indistinguishable; the dead may be alive and talking to you, and even cultivators cannot recognize their origins.

Chu Mingkong was stunned. Wasn't this similar to the situation in that small town?

Just as he was about to ask a question, the elder with the pigtail said:

"I wonder if Your Highness has ever heard of the stories of immortals. They are basically about people who wander into the mountains, get lost for a while, and when they return to the foot of the mountain, hundreds of years have passed."

This is the story of the Rotten Axe Handle. It tells of a woodcutter who went up the mountain to chop wood and then played chess. When he returned to the foot of the mountain, many years had passed and his family had all died. The villagers suddenly remembered that one of their ancestors had disappeared in the mountains and they had not been able to find him for many years.

There are many similar stories, such as finding a cave in the mountains, resting inside, and then coming out after a long time.

However, these were all stories Chu Mingkong had heard in his previous life. It was unclear whether they existed in this world, but the core of the stories was roughly the same.

He nodded.

Although it was somewhat inappropriate, Chu Mingkong had to thank his Chinese teacher from his previous life for the thoughtful guidance and heart-to-heart talks he had with him in the bedroom.

He remembered the story of the Rotten Axe Handle very clearly!

This story is actually a very classic fairy tale. A mortal accidentally enters a fairyland, disrupting his life and time. Unknowingly, he loses all worldly attachments, which leads him to seek immortality and ask questions. Even the "Rotten Axe Mountain" was later listed as one of the seventy-two blessed lands of Taoism.