Lin Xiaodong gritted his teeth and nodded, asking: "How to get to Xiyan Village?"
The village woman pointed in the direction of the river and said, "Just go south after crossing the river and you'll find out."
"Okay, thank you!"
Lin Xiaodong nodded and thanked him, turned around and walked angrily south, thinking, "This is really unreasonable!"
Near evening, Lin Xiaodong came to Xiyanzhuang, which is a very dilapidated village. The houses in the village are all built with stones, low and dilapidated. The jujube trees in and outside the village are all dead, and the village is quiet.
The dead branches and leaves and yellow weeds all over the ground are not even the slightest bit different from Fuyang Village.
Arriving at the first house at the entrance of the village, Lin Xiaodong shouted: "Is there anyone there?"
After a while, the shabby door opened with a creak, and an old lady with patches all over her body and a cane came in and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Lin Xiaodong said: "I am looking for Shi to get a rich family."
The old lady nodded, pointed to the middle of the village and said, "That's the house with the smoke coming from the chimney."
Lin Xiaodong looked back and saw that there was only one chimney with smoke coming out of the whole village.
The atmosphere was a little weird. Lin Xiaodong nodded and thanked him. He walked towards the house along the weedy stone road and looked around. The houses on both sides of the road were in disrepair. Many of the windows were broken. No one lived there at all. There was one on the road.
There was no one around. Occasionally, I could see an old lady sitting under the window in the yard, her eyes dull and motionless.
Such a scene is far from the way of heaven in Lin Xiaodong's heart.
When I came to the front door of this house and looked inside, I saw that the yard was clean and tidy, with no weeds. There were a few floral clothes hanging on the clothes drying pole in front of the door. Compared with other yards, it had a strong sense of life.
"Is anyone there?"
Lin Xiaodong shouted.
The door opened and Shi Pingying came out, wearing a light pink long-sleeved shirt. When she saw Lin Xiaodong, she was very surprised and walked forward: "Senior Brother Lin?"
Lin Xiaodong said: "You haven't returned to the mountain for half a month. The leader asked me to come to you to see what happened."
Shi Pingying's eyes were red, she looked around and said aggrievedly: "My house was robbed by my uncle!"
Lin Xiaodong nodded: "I understand.
It doesn’t matter, we’ll get it back again.”
At this time, another woman with simple clothes and delicate appearance came out of the door. She was Shi Pingying's mother Liu Wanzhu. She walked up and asked Shi Pingying: "This is it?"
Shi Pingying pulled Lin Xiaodong and said happily: "Mom, this is my senior brother Lin Xiaodong. His magic power is very high. Even the few people my uncle brought here can't beat him at all."
Liu Wanzhu was not happy at all after hearing this. Instead, he shook his head: "Stop trying to argue with them. We can't stand it if you try to snatch it away. Your senior brother can't always guard us."
Lin Xiaodong nodded and understood that the root cause of the matter was Shi Defu's illness. If the mainstay of the family fell, he would be bullied.
Liu Wanzhu invited Lin Xiaodong into the house and saw Shi Pingying's father, Shi Defu, sitting on the fire bed. He was less than fifty. He was thin and frail, with deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. One leg was good, but the other was skin and bones, as if he was malnourished.
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The room was low, dark and suffocating, and the furniture and decoration were old and simple, but it was still neat.
Shi Pingying pulled Lin Xiaodong and said to Shi Defu: "Dad, this is my senior brother, his magic power is very high!"
Shi Defu smiled at Lin Xiaodong and waved: "Okay, okay, sit down and talk."
Lin Xiaodong sat down at the dinner table and looked at Shi Defu quietly. He found that his sick leg had blocked blood and evil spirits had invaded. It didn't look like he was sick, but more like someone had cast a witchcraft on him, so he asked: "Uncle Shi,
Are there any goddesses in the village where you used to live?"
Shi Defu and Liu Wanzhu looked at each other blankly, not understanding why Lin Xiaodong suddenly asked these questions. Liu Wanzhu replied: "Where I used to live, there was an old lady Chen living in the west of the village. She knew some folk magic. The children in the village delivered babies, and the children called out their spirits.
Everyone is looking for her."
Shi Pingying asked in confusion: "Why do you ask this?"
Lin Xiaodong asked: "How long has Uncle Shi been ill?"
Shi Defu touched his sick leg and said, "It's been more than half a year."
"Junior Sister Shi's uncle, when did he come back?"
Shi Defu and Liu Wanzhu's expressions changed, and they said in unison: "Half a year ago."
Shi Pingying got angry and stood on tiptoes: "Did my uncle do it?"
Liu Wanzhu lowered his head and rolled his eyes: "How could Old Mrs. Chen do such a thing?"
Lin Xiaodong sneered: "I'll just take the money."
Shi Defu excitedly slapped his sick leg and said angrily: "Mrs. Chen did it?
How could we do such a thing even if we live in the same village and have little contact with each other?
Was it she who made me paralyzed in bed for more than half a year and caused my house to be robbed?"
Shi Pingying stamped her feet anxiously and asked Lin Xiaodong: "What should we do?"
Lin Xiaodong said: "I'm going to meet this old lady Chen."
"I'll go with you."
Shi Pingying raised her chest and stared.
Liu Wanzhu gasped and said, "I will go with you to argue with her tomorrow!"
That night, Lin Xiaodong stayed to eat and spend the night, while Shi Pingying moved to her neighbor Grandma Liu's house for the night.
The next morning, after dinner, Lin Xiaodong, Shi Pingying, and Liu Wanzhu rushed back to Fuyang Village and went to Mrs. Chen's house at the west end of the village.
This old lady Chen’s name is Chen Yongxi. Her husband is a Taoist who died at the hands of a hostile sect. She has been influenced by her ears and eyes, knows some magic skills, and makes a living by treating people in the village. Most of the children in the village are delivered by her, including Shi Pingying.
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"Is anyone there?"
Liu Wanzhu was furious and spoke rudely.
Chen Yongxi was dressed in gray coarse cloth, with white hair on her head. She stumbled out with her hands clasped behind her back, holding a walking stick in her hand. She looked exactly like an ordinary old village lady.
Liu Wanzhu glared and asked, "Did you put a curse on my boss?"
Chen Yongxi refused to admit it: "Who put a curse on your family?
Your man is suffering from karma, he did evil things in his last life!"
Liu Wanzhu got angry, pinched her waist and stood on tiptoes, pointed at Chen Yongxi and cursed: "You did evil in your last life!"
Chen Yongxi tilted her head and said: "Don't you come to my old woman's house to make trouble! It was Shi Decai who robbed your house. If you have the ability, go to his house to make trouble!"
Lin Xiaodong said calmly: "Since you didn't do it, do you mind if I go to your home and take a look?"
Chen Yongxi's expression changed, she looked at Lin Xiaodong warily and said, "No, what is there to see in my old lady's house?"
"Since you didn't do it, you are innocent. Since you are innocent, what are you afraid of?"
Lin Xiaodong asked rhetorically.
"If I say no, I just can't. There are some evil things in my house, and I'm afraid of bumping into you."
Chen Yongxi refused flatly.
Lin Xiaodong smiled: "I am not talented, but I have learned a little Taoism."
Chen Yongxi's face turned even darker. She squeezed the crutch in her hand tightly and said, "That's even worse. We are enemies if we work together."
"If you dare to do something, you must dare to do it. What benefits has Shi Decai given you?"
Lin Xiaodong asked.
Chen Yongxi knocked her crutch on the ground and said angrily: "Get out of here quickly! If you don't leave, I won't be polite!"