Seeing one of his lifesavers, Yun Chuan felt excited.
Because of his work in corpse transportation, he rarely interacted with outsiders and never thought of befriending them. But this didn’t mean he was indifferent to others’ help.
Especially since he had told that big brother his name, which meant those few people held a special place in his heart.
That big brother had said it was Miss Ah Hua who spoke up to save him—
Yun Chuan wanted to approach the cheerfully dancing girl not far away, but fearing to attract attention, he could only dance stiffly, inching closer bit by bit.
Finally arriving behind the girl, the young man gathered his courage and called out, “Miss Ah Hua.”
Ah Hua kept dancing to the drum beats, gracefully twirling around to face the unfamiliar young man, and asked curiously, “Were you calling me?”
With the deafening gongs and drums and melodious horns around, Yun Chuan thought he hadn’t heard clearly and unconsciously stepped closer.
Ah Hua didn’t stop her dance moves, but her expression became guarded as she asked in a crisp voice, “Who exactly are you?”
Yun Chuan felt confused and instinctively said, “The flatbread you gave me, I haven’t finished eating it yet—”
A girl in a colorful dress twirled over to Ah Hua’s side, her voice like an oriole from a valley, “Ah Hua, who are you talking to?”
Ah Hua smiled at the girl in the colorful dress, “I wasn’t talking to anyone. I’ve been meeting strange people these past two days…”
Yun Chuan watched the two girls gradually move away, a chill rising from the bottom of his heart.
This girl wasn’t Ah Hua!
What was going on?
The young man was extremely bewildered, feeling as if he was surrounded by thick fog.
By this time, Jiang Si had already walked to the Grand Elder’s side. The leaders of Wu Miao and other tribes were too preoccupied to pay attention, and naturally, no one noticed a young man, including Elder Hua who had seen the youth before.
At this moment, everyone’s attention was drawn to the sharp question raised by the Xue Miao Clan Leader.
The Xue Miao Clan Leader stared intently at Jiang Si and asked, “The Holy Maiden has been in seclusion for over three years. Has she fully mastered the Insect Control Technique?”
This question made Elder Hua’s face change color. Although the Grand Elder’s expression remained unchanged, her heart was in her throat.
After Ah Sang’s death, to appease the clan members, the reason given was that the Holy Maiden had secluded herself to practice the Insect Control Technique.
In Wu Miao, only the Holy Maidens of each generation could master the Insect Control Technique.
In other words, currently, in Wu Miao, only the Grand Elder and Ah Sang could master the Insect Control Technique.
In fact, Ah Sang hadn’t fully mastered it.
This point was also a cause for fluctuating emotions.
The Grand Elder thought of Ah Sang’s death, and her heart turned cold as ice.
The clan members and even those elders didn’t know that Ah Sang hadn’t died from illness, but had perished due to the insects turning on her during her practice of the Insect Control Technique.
The pretext of the Holy Maiden secluding herself from practicing the Insect Control Technique wasn’t false, but Ah Sang had lost her life due to her eagerness to fully master it.
This was a disaster for Wu Miao. No, Wu Miao’s disaster began when the Holy Maiden position was left vacant after the Grand Elder’s generation…
The Grand Elder pulled back her thoughts and coldly looked at the Xue Miao Clan Leader, “How our clan’s Holy Maiden fares are not something we need to report to the Xue Miao Clan Leader, is it?”
The Xue Miao Clan Leader smiled slightly, “The dozen or so tribes respect your clan because of the true god’s protection of Wu Miao, allowing the spirit girls to emerge uniquely from Wu Miao. But I remember that more than three years ago, the Holy Maiden’s control over the Insect Control Technique was only at two or three-tenths. This hardly lives up to the title of Holy Maiden.”
People from other tribes nodded secretly.
No tribe was willing to be ruled by another tribe generation after generation. The reason they had been lying low was that Wu Miao possessed powerful strength, and this strength was passed down through the Holy Maiden.
They had been somewhat discontented when the position of the previous Holy Maiden was left vacant. Later, when a girl who could practice the Insect Control Technique finally appeared in Wu Miao – that is, Ah Sang – they temporarily put those thoughts aside.
But they hadn’t forgotten that Ah Sang, the Holy Maiden of this generation in Wu Miao, hadn’t fully mastered the Insect Control Technique. If one were to delve deeply, a Holy Maiden who had only mastered two or three-tenths of the Insect Control Technique was at best only slightly more outstanding than the several Holy Maiden candidates.
Of course, not all past Holy Maidens of Wu Miao had fully mastered the Insect Control Technique early on. Many Holy Maidens could only master three to five-tenths at the beginning of their practice, gradually achieving full mastery as their cultivation deepened.
The Xue Miao Clan Leader smiled at Jiang Si, “Throughout generations, Wu Miao’s Holy Maidens have all fully mastered the Insect Control Technique by the age of eighteen. I heard that the Grand Elder was exceptionally talented and mastered it at fifteen. The Holy Maiden is almost eighteen now, surely she has achieved full mastery?”
Xue Miao, having branched off from Wu Miao, naturally knew these details well.
The Xue Miao Clan Leader had always doubted Ah Sang’s talent. If he could expose the current Wu Miao Holy Maiden’s insufficient talent in front of the dozen or so gathered tribes, proving Wu Miao’s decline, then Xue Miao’s opportunity would come.
Faced with the Xue Miao Clan Leader’s provocation, the Grand Elder was furious, “Today is the New Fire Festival, and countless clan members are celebrating. Yet the Xue Miao Clan Leader shows not an ounce of respect for our clan’s Holy Maiden. What is your purpose?”
The Xue Miao Clan Leader chuckled, “Grand Elder, respect is earned through strength. I wouldn’t dare show the slightest disrespect to the Holy Maiden, I’m merely concerned about her progress in cultivation. Why does the Grand Elder avoid discussing this?”
“Grand Elder, since the Holy Maiden has emerged from seclusion, why not let these people see her abilities? This would prevent them from looking down on our Wu Miao clan!” the long-faced elder said angrily.
Two or three Wu Miao elders nodded in agreement.
Previously, when the Holy Maiden hadn’t appeared for a long time, people speculated. Now that she had finally shown herself, people were still speculating. If this continued, Wu Miao would truly be trampled underfoot.
Even her people had unknowingly sided with the opposition. The Grand Elder felt a severe headache coming on and a sense of being unable to hold on.
If Ah Sang were still alive and appeared before people from time to time, it would have been fine. But today was the Holy Maiden’s first public appearance since her seclusion, and both clan members and outsiders were most attentive and sensitive at this moment.
Continually making excuses and avoiding the issue would indeed lead to many speculations.
At this moment, the Grand Elder’s sleeve was gently tugged.
The young woman’s hand was fair and slender, perfect and flawless.
What caught the Grand Elder’s attention wasn’t the hand itself, but the line of vermilion characters in its palm: “Keep promise, intimidate.”
The Grand Elder’s eyes flashed, quickly understanding Jiang Si’s meaning.
She would keep her promise to let the siblings leave after the task was completed, and now Jiang Si was willing to step forward to intimidate these people.
At this moment, the Grand Elder’s feelings were complex.
Astonishment, confusion, and a hint of indescribable expectation.
As for what she was expecting, even she didn’t know.
In the end, the Grand Elder gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Following her reasoning, she could only stand firm against the Xue Miao Clan Leader’s pressure. Even if the real Ah Sang were resurrected, without fully mastering the Insect Control Technique, she would still have to stand firm.
She wanted to see how this woman from Da Zhou would handle it.
Seeing the Grand Elder’s nod, Jiang Si’s lips curved slightly.
The Grand Elder’s promise was much more reassuring than Elder Hua’s oath.
Jiang Si smiled slightly at the Xue Miao Clan Leader, “Is the Xue Miao Clan Leader so concerned about my cultivation because you miss those little insects?”
As she spoke, she gently placed her delicate hand on the table, lightly tapping her fingertips.
“Look at the ground!” someone exclaimed in shock.
Countless strange insects were writhing and crawling towards the Xue Miao Clan Leader.