QT: LAC Chapter 150: Ninth World (15)

Chapter 150: Ninth World (15)
Translated by Shiya of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Edited by Sulo

Due to the rescuing feat Cao YuYing pulled, although the Miao people who lived in seclusion were usually very wary of the Han people, they warmly welcomed them into the Miao village. After all, most of the Miao people were honest and innocent, and they were very grateful to the young hero who rescued the son of the patriarch from the tiger’s clutches.

Shui JiuDao was held in his mother’s arms. She checked up and down several times and was only relieved after making sure that he was fine, except for having his ankle sprained and several small bruises. The patriarch also sent out several strong guards to patrol outside the village, he was frowning slightly, it was obvious that this incident made him feel uneasy.

According to what the Miao people said and Cao YuYing’s translation, Bai Duan learned the reason why the Miao people could establish their villages in the dense forests for generations. They relied on a very effective means of expelling beasts handed down by their ancestors. Now, this method suddenly failed, which made people in the Miao Village panic for fear that some wild animals like tigers would break into the village and bite the old people and children who have no self-protection ability.

Cao YuYing chatted with the Miao people and translated for Bai Duan. His face did not show any guilt, he was acting as if he was just a gentleman passing by that just saved people’s lives, rather than the culprit of all the troubles.

Bai Duan was also impressed by such a cheeky and tough psychological quality, at least he was feeling a little uneasy and embarrassed, for fear of being caught by the victims.

The son of the patriarch shocked the whole clan when he was hurt by a beast. Before long, the doctor of the clan rushed over with her own medicine basket to deal with the injuries on Shui JiuDao.

Cao YuYing was watching from one side. His eyes were a little dim, but a slight smile formed on his mouth. Only Bai Duan noticed that something was up, he turned his head and looked at the doctor who was half-kneeling on the ground to deal with the sprained ankle. Bai Duan squinted his eyes slightly.

At the same time, the Miao people already cleared up a house for Cao YuYing and Bai Duan and prepared rich food for them. They didn’t want them to stay in the village for too long, but Shui JiuDao’s foot injury wasn’t suitable for him to walk into the forest anytime soon, so the Miao people discussed whether they could arrange someone else to take them out of the forest.

Cao YuYing agreed to the Miao people’s proposal, which obviously reduced the Miao people’s vigilance towards them and made them more friendly.

He used the excuse of being tired from wandering lost in the forest to get the villagers to leave, then he used his mental powers to scan the surrounding situation. After confirming that no one was listening in on them, the fake smile on his face dissipated. The look of a bright and innocent gentleman was also gone.

Seeing his appearance, Bai Duan immediately understood that they were free to talk and asked, “Are we really leaving tomorrow? What can you do in such a short time?”

“One night is enough,” Cao YuYing raised his eyebrows. “The person I want to find has already been found.”

“Who is it?” Bai Duan looked at him curiously.

“It’s the doctor who just treated Shui JiuDao’s ankle,” Cao YuYing continued after a short pause, “She had been living in seclusion, and even with my information network, I still wasn’t able to find her. Just now when she came out, I also determined where she lived. So we just need to go to her place at night, then have a little ‘talk’.”

Bai Duan didn’t ask more, he only said, “Is there anything I can do?”

“Yes,” Cao YuYing chuckled, “You just need to stay in the house and cover for me. Don’t let others know that I’m missing.”

“No problem!” Bai Duan agreed to do it without hesitation.

When they arrived in the Miao village, it was late in the afternoon. After a short rest and a meal, the sky quickly darkened.

Except when there is a festival, most Miao people go to bed early and get up early. Before long, the whole Miao village was quiet, and Cao YuYing was ready to go.

He stroked the head of Bai Duan, who was lying on the couch, so that he could have a good rest without worrying. Cao YuYing opened the door lightly, and quickly walked towards the destination that was locked onto by the system under the cover of night and mental power.

Cao YuYing didn’t expect that the doctor he was looking for didn’t live in the village, but lived in a cave not far away from the Miao village. No wonder when the system scanned inside and outside the village for several days, it still didn’t find her. The cave was very small and high in secrecy, which also avoided the system’s wide range detection of the whole dense forest.

——Fortunately, his efforts did not go to waste. Although the son of the patriarch suffered only a minor injury, his identity and status was enough to stir the doctor to come out, which gave Cao YuYing the perfect opportunity.

The jungle in the dark night was extremely dangerous, but for Cao YuYing, it was like nothing. He soon reached the cave where the doctor lived. He pulled up the vines hanging from the cave, then quickly went inside. He walked for a moment, then finally, he saw the doctor sitting by a bonfire making medicine.

He removed the mental power surrounding his whole body. The arrival of Cao YuYing immediately attracted the attention of the doctor, and she was shocked. The medicine can in her hand almost fell to the ground. She quickly turned to look at the unexpected visitor who came to visit in the night.

“…You?!” The doctor said in the Miao language in surprise. Although she only glanced at Cao YuYing in a hurry before, his Han people’s clothing made the doctor immediately aware of who Cao YuYing was. Her expression became more alert and defensive. “What’s the matter? Why have you come here so late?”

“I’m here to find an acquaintance that I had not yet met,” Cao YuYing’s face was hidden away from the light of the fire. It was a bit secretive — especially in the eyes of the doctor who already treated him like an enemy.

“An acquaintance that you had not yet met?” The doctor obviously didn’t understand the adjective of the Han people, “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Then I’ll be more direct,” Cao YuYing shrugged. “You know Ju MahE.”

The witch doctor’s pupil suddenly constricted, obviously not very good at covering up her emotions, but her mouth was still very stubborn, “I don’t understand what you are saying.”

“You see this?” Cao YuYing’s turned his palm, and a silver ornament fell down. “Still, don’t understand?”

Looking at the silver ornament Cao YuYing brought out, the doctor couldn’t help but take a step forward and stretch out her hand, wanting to take the ornament back.

Cao YuYing didn’t care much about the silver ornament. Before the doctor got near him, he threw the silver ornament towards her.

The doctor hurriedly caught the silver ornament. She carefully observed and rubbed it in her hands. Because she was too excited, she even trembled slightly, causing the silver ornament to jingle. After a while, the doctor finally confirmed the authenticity of the silver ornament, she looked up sharply at Cao YuYing, and her voice was hoarse, “Where is she?! Where is Xiao E?”

The doctor and Ju MahE, they were mother and daughter. They had always been depending on each other for their lives. Ju MahE’s knowledge of insects and witchcraft naturally came from the doctor. As early as when Ju MahE rescued a handsome Han man from the village, the doctor had a bad premonition. Later, her daughter fell in love with the Han man and wanted to leave the Miao village with the Han person. The doctor strongly opposed it. She could see that the Han male was not a good man for her daughter. For the happiness of her daughter in the second half of her life, she had to stop them. She even used violence to hold her, even though she had always loved her, and ignored her daughter’s resentful eyes.

Unfortunately, even with the doctor’s efforts, she still couldn’t stop her daughter from being desperate for love.

With the help of her sweetheart, Ju MahE escaped from the house. She just took a few accessories she liked and left the village without hesitation. When the doctor found out and wanted to pursue them, she could no longer find the two.

Her daughter eloped with the Han male, and the doctor was angry and worried. She always had a healthy body, but it broke down and she became seriously ill. As soon as she was a bit better, she left the village and went to the town of the Han people to inquire about news on her daughter.

It’s a pity that it was so hard to find a couple of eloped men and women, let alone when the male involved was the king of a country. How could a doctor without any status and background find their whereabouts?

In this way, the doctor wandered outside for more than a year, and finally got nothing. She returned to the village in pain and depression. And this experience also hurt her health to a certain extent, making the doctor who was only in her fifties look like a seventy-year old woman, she looked old and weak.

Due to the loss of her beloved daughter and her experience of the world outside the Miao village, her character had also become eccentric. She turned from being very popular in the village to being avoided but respected by everyone.

It had been more than ten years since her daughter disappeared. The doctor thought she would never know her whereabouts, but suddenly she heard her name from a suspicious Han male and saw the silver ornament her daughter took away with her. How could the doctor not be excited and out of control? Warm tears clouded her vision, and then slid down the wrinkles of her skin. The doctor blinked and stared at Cao YuYing’s face with both expectation and uneasiness, “Xiao E, where is she?”

“She’s in the capital, inside the deep palace,” Cao YuYing said in a low voice.

The doctor was stupefied for a moment, “The deep palace? She became the Han Emperor’s wife?”

“She’s not a wife, she’s a concubine,” Cao YuYing broke the doctor’s expectation.

The doctor didn’t know much about the Imperial Palace, but she had been wandering for a year amongst Han people and knew more or less the difference between a wife and a concubine. The wife was the mistress, respected and cherished by her husband, while the concubine was a servant and a plaything. Even if she was bullied or even killed by the wife, she couldn’t defend herself.

At the thought of her daughter’s cry for help every day in the deep palace, the doctor felt heartache, but Cao YuYing didn’t have any sympathy. Instead, he gave her a bigger blow, “If it was just like this, I wouldn’t have come to you. After all, how a Miao girl is living in the palace has nothing to do with me. But in fact, the situation is even more serious — she has committed a heinous catastrophe that is inexcusable, enough to have your entire village killed.”

During the conversation, Cao Yu Ying’s vigorous mental power pressed on the doctor, which made her even more confused and scared. Subconsciously, she followed Cao Yu’s words and asked, “What did she do?”

“She used a Gu insect on the Emperor,” Cao YuYing said with a deep voice.