Chapter 320: Come Out, Come Home With Me
Chapter 320: Chapter 320: Come Out, Come Home With Me
「Inside the house.」
As Shen Ningning entered the courtyard, she smelled the thick scent of incense, which was actually a bit pungent.
She looked around. There were three small huts, with five or six Yellow Talismans pasted on their doors.
The female attendant led her and Chen Ye to the door of the middle hut and held out her hand. "Silver."
Shen Ningning lifted her big, round eyes, her soft voice laced with curiosity.
"Why do we have to pay again? When we made the arrangements, didn’t we already give the Divine Woman a 300-tael silver note?"
The female attendant rolled her eyes impatiently. "That was just the entrance fee."
"Our Divine Woman communes with the heavens above and knows the spirits below. Not just anyone can get an audience with her."
"It’s another 300 taels to enter. Otherwise, you can leave."
Shen Ningning puffed up her rosy cheeks, thought for a moment, then nodded and had Chen Ye give her the silver note.
After counting it, the attendant stuffed the note into her sleeve and finally opened the door for them.
Shen Ningning stepped inside, with Chen Ye following behind her.
Suddenly, the attendant yelled again, "Wait! Of the two of you, who is here to be ’cured’?"
Shen Ningning pointed to herself. "Me."
"Then only you can go in. When our Divine Woman performs her rituals, no outsiders are allowed to watch, or the magic won’t work."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ye immediately objected.
He looked at Shen Ningning. "Absolutely not. It’s not safe for you to go in alone."
The little one waved her hand and smiled sweetly. "It’s okay. You can just wait for me at the door."
With that, she patted the small pouch she was carrying.
The attendant glanced at it. The pouch was bulging, and she couldn’t tell what was inside.
She immediately reached out to inspect it.
Shen Ningning covered the pouch with her small hands and turned away to avoid her. "What are you doing!"
The attendant frowned. "You can’t bring things inside."
"These are silver notes, nothing else." The little one’s eyes went wide, and she looked indignant.
She complained in her childish voice, "My family said you have to offer a lot of silver to the Divine Woman to get things resolved."
"My problem is so tricky, so I brought a lot of silver. I’m not letting you touch my bag! What if it goes missing?"
The attendant was displeased. "I am the Divine Woman’s maid. That makes me a Heavenly Girl at the side of a Heavenly God. Would I steal your paltry sum of money?"
Shen Ningning hugged her pouch tightly, her big eyes watching the attendant warily.
A voice came from inside the room. "Enough. Just let her in."
Only then did the attendant give up.
After Shen Ningning went in, the attendant shut the door with a SLAM.
She then glared at Chen Ye and said, "You wait right here. Don’t come any closer no matter what you hear, unless the Divine Woman allows it."
Then, she crossed her arms, stood with her legs apart, and guarded the doorway like a door god.
Chen Ye’s martial arts were superb. Knowing the attendant before him had no real skill, he paid her no mind.
He simply walked to the side in silence, his eyes fixed on the door.
Inside the room, Shen Ningning saw that the rafters were hung with yellow and purple banners.
Incense smoke swirled, and the light was dim.
Shen Ningning looked up curiously and walked forward slowly, examining the different names written on the banners as she went.
The voice came from behind a screen.
"These were all gifts from the pious men and women I’ve helped in the past."
"Every time a prayer was answered, they would send me a banner. Before I knew it, I had collected so many."
Shen Ningning averted her gaze and walked around the screen.
She saw a woman over fifty years old sitting cross-legged on a divan, surrounded by various instruments whose names she didn’t know.
A closer look at her face revealed thick brows, narrow eyes, high cheekbones, and a large, bony frame.
Shen Ningning looked at her. "You’re the Divine Woman?"
The Divine Woman was the first to laugh. "That I am. Last night, an immortal visited my dreams and told me a distinguished guest would arrive today."
"I didn’t expect this guest to be so young. Child, what is it you wish to ask?"
Shen Ningning said bluntly, "You’re a fraud, aren’t you?"
The Divine Woman’s hand froze as she was picking up her teacup. She looked at Shen Ningning with sharp eyes and a smile that didn’t reach them.
"Child, you shouldn’t be so rude. Didn’t your family teach you any manners?"
"But if you’re not a fraud, why do you claim to commune with spirits yet do nothing about this cold disaster?" The little one blinked her big eyes, completely unafraid of her.
The Divine Woman laughed heartily and set down her teacup.
"The cold disaster is a punishment from the heavens upon Cangyun Country. As capable as I am, I cannot interfere in the affairs of the heavens."
"You can’t handle the cold disaster, but can you cure the cold illness? That’s why I’m here."
Hearing this, the Divine Woman narrowed her eyes, staring at Shen Ningning’s little face.
The little one met her gaze calmly and said, "My friend found out that Second Madam Xie had the cold illness, but she was cured after taking your medicine. I want that medicine."
The Divine Woman asked, "Who are you seeking this medicine for? Did one of your family members contract the illness?"
Shen Ningning shook her head. "I want to win his favor. I’ll offer this medicine to the Crown Prince."
A glint flickered in the Divine Woman’s eyes. "Oh?"
She chuckled and rose from the divan with a RUSTLE, fumbling for something in a chest.
"It seems you really do know that I have a medicine for the cold illness here."
"However, this medicine comes at a very high price."
Shen Ningning’s voice was soft. "I don’t care. I just want to offer the medicine to the Crown Prince."
"Name your price."
She blinked her big eyes, watching the Divine Woman rummage around in a dark chest.
Suddenly!
The Divine Woman spun around, a coil of hemp rope now in her hand.
She glared at Shen Ningning, her expression turning ferocious.
"Princess Funing, why are you still pretending? Did you think I wouldn’t be able to tell?"
"A mere five-year-old child, coming here without any family, daring to seek medicine for the Crown Prince. In this whole world, only you, Princess Funing, would do such a thing!"
"Unfortunately, I know you’re up to no good. So, the price for curing the cold illness is that you won’t be leaving this place alive today!"
With that, the Divine Woman lunged at her.
Shen Ningning didn’t even try to dodge, letting the woman grab her.
The little one blinked her big eyes at her. "So, you really are a fraud, huh?"
The Divine Woman sneered and began to quickly wrap the hemp rope around her.
"So what if I am? You’ll never get the chance to tell anyone."
However, just then, the Divine Woman heard a HISSING sound.
"What was that sound?" She snapped her head up and looked around suspiciously.
But she saw nothing.
Meanwhile, the adorable, innocent-looking little girl before her was exceptionally well-behaved and calm, not making a single fuss.
Wouldn’t any ordinary child have burst into tears in a situation like this?
But this Princess Funing wasn’t making a scene.
Suddenly!
The Divine Woman felt something tighten around her neck.
She looked down and saw an icy-green snake tail!
And from above her head, there was a sudden, cold sensation.
A green snake as thick as a baby’s arm was wrapped around her neck!
"AH!" the Divine Woman screamed, falling to the floor on her backside.
At the door, the attendant heard the commotion and glanced suspiciously toward the room.
But she couldn’t see anything.
She wanted to push the door open to check, but then she remembered the Divine Woman’s earlier instruction: no matter what struggles she heard, she was not to enter.
So, the attendant stood her ground again, warily watching Chen Ye.
「Inside the room.」
Shen Ningning had turned the tables, now sitting where the Divine Woman had been.
The little one swung her short legs, her big, dark eyes watching the Divine Woman writhing on the floor as she rested her chin on her hands. Her face was fair and rosy.
The long snake she had brought with her had tightened its grip on the Divine Woman’s neck.
By now, the Divine Woman was gasping for breath, her face turning a deep, purplish red.
Shen Ningning’s voice was sweet and soft. "Of course I wouldn’t come to your place unprepared."
"I was originally going to bring Langlang, but unfortunately, he’s too big and it would have been inconvenient."
"So I had to drag a hibernating Greenie along. You’ll just have to bear with it. Greenie didn’t get enough sleep and is in a terrible mood."
As if to confirm her words, the green snake’s eyes were icy cold as it flicked its tongue.
The Divine Woman tried several times to pull it off, but the snake’s body only coiled tighter.
Shen Ningning started to go through her black chest.
"Let’s see what you gave Second Madam Xie."
The little one didn’t believe that any so-called elixir in this world could be more potent than the Spirit Grass she cultivated in her Immortal Realm.
Nearby, the Divine Woman’s hand reached out toward Shen Ningning again and again, pleading for help.
But the little one was completely focused on rummaging through the chest.
The Divine Woman’s eyes rolled back in her head as she was on the verge of being strangled to death.
Suddenly.
From the courtyard outside came Xie Ming’an’s voice.
He shouted coldly, "Shen Ningning, are you in there? Come out and go home with me!"