Une aura glaçante

Chapitre 21

Everyone asked in unison, "What is a Mountain Woman?"

"There's an old witch in the mountains who preys on young women," the old woman explained to the crowd. "She takes a girl, bleeds her, washes her hair with the blood, and then eats her flesh. She keeps the bones to make utensils and keeps the hair to make hemp rope to tie up other girls."

The middle-aged man felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this.

The old lady waved her hand, "It's just a legend, but a few people have indeed gone missing in recent years, so Cai Bian sent people to seal off the mountain."

The moment Chongmu said that, everyone's hearts skipped a beat—the mountain was closed?

Jade that is not carved cannot become a useful object.

The saying "there's no silver buried here" applies here; it's just a rumor that there are demons in the mountains. Why not just tell everyone not to go? Why choose to close the mountain?

Seeing that the group seemed preoccupied, the old woman chuckled softly, "How did this Mountain Woman come to be? Have you heard the legend about her?"

Everyone naturally shook their heads, "No."

The old lady held her cup, seemingly lost in thought, as if recalling some past event. Everyone's necks were getting sore from waiting, and they figured the old lady might not remember, so they prepared to continue eating.

Suddenly, the old lady spoke up, "Men, most of them are unreliable!"

"Cough cough..."

The three men present choked on their food, pounding their chests as they looked at Chonghua's mother.

Xiao Dao felt that this tune sounded familiar. Could it be that the old lady, like his own mother, had also encountered a heartless man?

"I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about that old woman from the mountains." The old lady lowered her voice and began to speak slowly...

It turns out that Granny Shan was the only daughter of a prominent family in Jinling, and was cherished like a precious jewel since childhood. However, she fell in love with a poor but kind doctor. Granny Shan's father doted on his daughter so much that he arranged for the doctor to marry into the family.

After the doctor and the old woman got married, they lived a happy life. Although the doctor came from a poor background, he was smart and ambitious, and soon he took over the family business and made it bigger and bigger.

Men, with lots of money and busy with business, are always busy running around.

Three years later, Shanpo's father passed away. In the same year, Shanpo gave birth to a daughter. She intended to be a good wife and mother and manage the household well, but the doctor gradually stopped coming home. It turned out that he was away, captivated by a beautiful opera singer.

Hearing the old lady say this, the three men all raised their glasses to drink. Xiaoyue said angrily, "Ungrateful!"

Xiao Dao, resting his chin on his hand, asked the old lady, "Although the doctor took over the family business, it is still the ancestral property of the Shanpo family. It's not so easy for him to get it, is it?"

The old lady nodded. "No poison, no manliness. In order to seize the family business, the doctor conspired with that actress to poison the old woman and her daughter. They put them in a sack, filled it with a large stone, and threw it into the deep pool below the Xianyun Mountain Waterfall."

"Even your daughter..." Hao Jinfeng frowned, "Is she even human?!"

Chonghua and Xue Beifan quickly nodded in agreement, feeling that this was no longer just a matter of infatuation and promiscuity, but rather something worse than that of beasts.

"After Granny Shan died, the doctor had a female actor impersonate her, hide in the house and disappear, replace the servants, and seize the family property." The old lady said this with a cold smile, "Unfortunately, fortunes change! After the doctor had all the family wealth, he set his sights on someone else."

"Heh." Xue Beifan couldn't help but shake his head. "That doctor is quite the ladies' man. He gets bored with the new too quickly."

"The actress felt indignant. She had done so much for the doctor, but in the end, she was driven away without even getting a title. So, in a fit of anger, she threatened to expose what happened back then." The old lady said, her face darkening slightly. "As a result... she was beaten to death with a porcelain pillow by the doctor, and in the same way, she was thrown into the Xianyun Mountain Waterfall at night."

People couldn't help but sigh, "Those who harm others will ultimately harm themselves!"

Xiao Dao clicked his tongue in amazement, "Goodness, is this man a doctor or a butcher? He's so ruthless!"

"That's not all." The old lady was overjoyed when Xiaoyue brought her a cup of hot tea. She took a couple of sips and continued, "Guess what? That doctor has fallen in love with another woman, a famous courtesan from Jiangnan, the most renowned courtesan in the land back then."

"Is he satisfied now?" Hao Jinfeng frowned and shook his head.

Xiao Dao put some food into his bowl, saying, "Brother, you don't understand this. A man's act of cheating is an attitude. He won't cheat just because his wife is ugly, nor will he refrain from cheating just because his wife is pretty. Whether he cheats or not depends entirely on whether he wants to or not!"

The old lady raised an eyebrow. "Oh, how old is your daughter? She's quite insightful..."

Before he could finish speaking, everyone present exclaimed in unison, "Her mother raised her well!"

Xiao Dao happily chewed on the shrimp, nodding repeatedly.

"That courtesan, having fallen into prostitution, finally found a powerful patron and thought she could escape her misery, but unexpectedly, less than three days later, an official ship from the capital arrived in Jinling. On board were Prince Shunde and his third princess." The old lady sighed, "So, the doctor returned by the same route he had taken."

Xiao Dao understood. "At first, he fell in love with Granny Shan only because her family was wealthy. Later, he stole several other women because he was lustful. But after he got both the women and the money, he set his sights on his future... The son-in-law of the Prince of Shunde, as far as I know, is named Cai Lian. He has now inherited the title of Prince and is enjoying immense prestige."

The old lady smiled and tapped the small knife. "Girl, very clever." Then, she took Chonghua's hand and instructed him, "Son, remember! Be careful with this kind of girl. Don't take on a job you're not qualified for!"

Chonghua didn't quite understand.

Xue Beifan was amused by the old lady and interjected, "Auntie means that shrewish women are hard to tame."

Everyone laughed, and Xiao Dao pouted.

The old lady quickly put some food into her bowl, saying, "Just kidding, you're such a lovable girl."

Xiao Dao smiled and continued eating while listening.

The old lady thought with approval—she was a magnanimous girl who could take a joke. Looking at Xiaoyue beside her, she saw that both girls were rare and wonderful, and she hoped that Chonghua and Beifan would cherish them.

“Cai Bian is Cai Lian’s nephew,” Hao Jinfeng interjected, raising his head. “Cai Lian now holds a high position of power, and Cai Bian got his lucrative post by relying on the many connections he has made.”

Everyone was puzzled—was there some connection between these things?

Xiao Dao asked the old lady, "And then what happened? What became of that famous courtesan from Jiangnan?"

The old lady was silent for a moment. "She didn't want to fall into prostitution again, but Cai Lian was infatuated with her beauty and wanted to keep her in the mansion as a plaything... After she escaped, she went to Xianyun Mountain for some reason and drowned herself in the pool. Strangely, her body never floated back up after it sank."

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines upon hearing this. Xue Beifan said, "Perhaps there was a hole at the bottom of the pool that was swept away by the current."

Xiaoyue frowned. "Cai Lian killed four people all by himself. He's really ruthless."

The old lady clicked her tongue twice. "Sigh, the affairs of men and women are never clear. If it weren't for Granny Shan's one wrong decision back then, things wouldn't have come to this."

"Didn't Granny Shan die with her daughter?" Little Knife asked, confused. "How did she turn into a demon?"

"It's said that after several women sank to the bottom of the water, they all turned into vengeful spirits due to their hatred. Among them, Granny Shan, having lost her daughter, harbored the deepest hatred and possessed the greatest magical power. After the resentment of the women combined, they transformed into evil ghosts and demons and climbed onto the pool." The old lady spoke eerily, and Xiao Dao and the others found it bizarre—could it really be that sinister?!

"Once the old woman came ashore, she was practically a reincarnation of a vengeful ghost!" The old lady waved her wealthy hand gently. "She went mad, wanting to take revenge on Cai Lian, but when she looked in her reflection at the riverbank, she found herself transformed into an ugly old woman. So she started catching young girls to eat. After eating them... they immediately transformed into extremely beautiful women. She specifically goes into the city to find men with families who still go out and fool around. Once she discovers a heartless man, she immediately rips out his heart and lungs!"

Xue Beifan and Chonghua frowned upon hearing this.

"Moreover, this mountain woman has a habit of hoarding money. After killing a heartless man, she will always steal his family's treasures and hide them under the waterfall of Xianyun Mountain. Who knows, she might be hoping to attract that greedy Cai Lian one day."

After listening to the long legend of the mountain woman, Xiao Dao and his friends finally caught the key point—it turns out there are treasures under the Xianyun Mountain waterfall... Could one of the pieces of the Dragon Bone Five Diagrams be inside?

But then everyone thought about it again and looked at the old lady together, "Madam, how do you know all this?"

The old lady smiled mysteriously, put her hands together and bowed to the sky, saying, "The Buddha said, it cannot be spoken."

Everyone looked at each other, even more confused. What a mysterious old lady!

That night, everyone went to bed early, but Xiao Dao couldn't sleep.

The mansion was large enough that two people didn't have to squeeze into one room, so Xiaodao and Xiaoyue each had their own room.

Xiao Dao leaned against the thick brocade quilt, reclining elegantly like a concubine, a pen dangling from his mouth, his free hand gently poking the sleeping kitten in front of him.

The legend of the mountain woman kept replaying in Xiao Dao's mind. It wasn't that she was timid or afraid, but her mother had taught her that to find treasure, one must learn to listen to local legends, especially the horrifying ones.

Local legends usually circulate as beautiful and touching stories. Places frequented by romantic figures and talented men and women rarely hold treasures, because everyone else goes there too. Too many people don't necessarily gather treasures, and too few people do gather treasures!

Where do those terrifying legends come from? Mostly to intimidate those who come, preventing them from approaching. Therefore, there must be a message within the legends.

Xiao Dao was getting a little annoyed, so she simply flipped the tiger-striped kitten over and scratched its belly, lost in thought about the legendary flaw she had just seen. Her mother had taught her—find the flaw first when looking for clues; only with a flaw can there be a foundation, only with a hole can one enter…

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the kitten being woken up. Annoyed, the kitten swatted at her with its paw.

"oops!"

Hao Jinfeng, who was practicing her martial arts in the courtyard, looked up when she heard Xiao Dao shout. She saw Xiao Dao running out, her hand bearing two thin scratches. She looked unhappy and was arguing with the kitten that had taken over her bed, "I kept telling you how plump and beautiful you were, and you heartless thing! You can't even trust a cat!"

Hao Jinfeng found it amusing that this girl could even argue with a cat.

Xiao Dao swung his hand, holding a bottle of wound medicine, pushed open the door to the next room, went inside, and closed the door.

"Sigh..." Hao Jinfeng wanted to stop him but it was too late. He wondered, how did Xiao Dao get into Xue Beifan's room?

The room was arranged by the old lady. Xiao Dao thought that there were a total of four rooms in this big courtyard. Xiao Yue must be next to her, and Hao Jinfeng and Xue Beifan must be in the two adjacent rooms opposite.

Upon entering the house, I found the lights were off, and Xiaoyue seemed to be asleep.

Xiao Dao pouted, climbed onto the bed, and pushed the person on the bed while whining, "Xiao Yue, that cat is so ungrateful, it scratched me!"

"Hmm?" The person on the bed groaned.

Xiao Dao lay down next to the man and said, "Could you help me apply the medicine? It's inconvenient for me to use only one hand."

"Hmm," the person responded again, a muffled sound that seemed to come from under the covers.

Xiao Dao propped her chin on one hand and turned to the side to see a head of black hair. She poked him and said, "Hey, Xiao Yue, I can't sleep. Can we chat? There are some things I can't figure out. Can you give me some advice?"

Upon hearing Xiaodao's words, "Xiaoyue" turned around, but since she was completely under the covers, only her dark head was visible. One corner of the blanket was lifted, as if she was calling Xiaodao to come in and lie down so he wouldn't catch a cold.

Xiao Dao happily crawled into bed, lay down, and said, "Xiao Yue, I have something to tell you..."

Xiao Dao had barely started speaking when he saw the person in front of him laughing so hard their shoulders were shaking, and he was taken aback...

At the same time, the person in front of him suddenly looked up. It was Xue Beifan's face, who asked with a roguish smile, "You crazy girl, what are you doing in my bed?"

...

"Ouch!"

Hao Jinfeng was in the courtyard when he heard Xiao Dao's second scream from Xue Beifan's room. This scream was truly "horrific," startling Xiao Yue in the house across the street. Chonghua, who was in the next courtyard, along with all the maids and servants of the Chong family, rushed in.

Then everyone heard a commotion coming from Xue Beifan's room, with tables and chairs overturned.

Then, with a "bang," Xue Beifan ran out, disheveled, stepping on his heel. Xiao Dao chased after him, holding a pillow in his hand, shouting, "I'll beat you to death, you damned lecher!"

"You're the lecherous one!" Xue Beifan shouted as he ran. "That's my room, my bed! You little devil, sneaking into my room and getting into my bed in the middle of the night, what were you up to? Hey, give me back my innocence, I want you to take responsibility!"

"Pah! Go to hell!" Xiao Dao was both ashamed and angry, her face flushed red. She stomped her foot and threw a tantrum. "I'm so angry!"

So that night, all the servants in the Chongfu mansion were talking about who the lecherous thief was.

In Xiaoyue's room, Xiaodao tied the tabby cat up tightly, scratched it with a cricket grass until it meowed, and scolded it, "It's all your fault, it's all your fault, it's all your fault..."

At the entrance, Xue Beifan, looking energetic, drank and enjoyed the night breeze.

[Stumbled into danger]

The next morning, as soon as the first rays of dawn appeared, Xiaodao opened the window and peeked out to look at the sky. Today, the sky was filled with rows of round, dotted clouds.