Immediately afterwards, Ning Yitao made a swift slash with her dagger. The blood of Duan Qinghuai clung tightly to the blade without dripping down.
With a flash of the blade, a yellow talisman wrapped around the bloodstain on the sharp edge of the dagger.
Ning Yitao handed the dagger to Ye Jin and said,
"A Lai's body is in the Soul - Washing Pool. You just need to fish out his limbs and you can reattach them."
After a moment's thought, Ning Yitao added,
"If one day you can't hold on anymore, lie in the Soul - Washing Pool with A Lai. Insert this dagger into his abdomen, and he can reincarnate with you. Maybe you'll still be family in the next life."
Ye Jin, who was holding A Lai, took the dagger. For the first time in a long while, she smiled genuinely:
"Thanks for your kind words."
The feud between the two melted away at this moment.
Although the villagers complained, no one dared to step forward to stop Ye Jin from leaving. They could only watch her figure fade into the distance.
The noisy crowd drowned out Chen Chunhua's wailing.
But now, no one cared what would happen to their family. They only cared about the existence of the "witch".
Ning Yitao thought that Xie Qian would surely ask about Di Yong's current situation.
To her surprise, Xie Qian remained silent all the time, as if she didn't even know Di Yong. Her eyes were only on Di Sumu.
A faint smile played on Ning Yitao's lips as she thought, "There's progress. She's not completely hopeless."
Since Ye Jin had promised to deal with the villagers, Ning Yitao had no reason to stay.
The group set off on their way back. As for what would happen next in Di Village, it was up to Ye Jin. Di Sumu joined them on this return journey.
On the way back, Zhaocai asked Ning Yitao curiously,
"Taotao, why don't we do a live - broadcast this time? This could let more people see what Di Village is like and get outsiders involved to change the ideas that Ye Zheng has imprisoned them with."
Ning Yitao replied with an inscrutable look,
"If we really did a live - broadcast and exposed Di Village to everyone, it would bring unexpected disasters to everyone in Di Village. This ending is the best one."
"Is this really the best ending?" Yun Lianmeng thought to herself, feeling a bit lost.
*********
They returned to the familiar Taoist temple. As soon as Chu Zhiyuan put down his luggage, he rushed towards the temple.
As soon as he pushed open the door, he saw the old woman sweeping the floor.
The old woman's eyes lit up when she saw Chu Zhiyuan and said, "Welcome home."
Chu Zhiyuan suddenly felt a sense of belonging. He was used to being alone, but now he suddenly thought that it felt quite nice to have someone missing him at home.
He scratched his head shyly, took the broom from the old woman's hand and said, "Let me do it, granny. You go and see Mengmeng in the lotus pond. Have a chat with him. I'll do these odd jobs."
After spending so much time with these kids, the old woman had gradually become more worldly. She poured all the love that she couldn't give to Mengmeng onto them.
She lovingly patted Chu Zhiyuan on the shoulder with her wrinkled hand and said,
"I was afraid you'd be hungry when you came back, so I've prepared some food in the kitchen. You just need to heat it up."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded repeatedly and gently pushed the old woman into the inner room to rest.
Although they had only been away for a few days this time, Chu Zhiyuan didn't know why he missed the Taoist temple so much.
This reminded Chu Zhiyuan that last time Duan Qinghuai had helped solve the problems of water, electricity and the harassment from the real - estate developers for the temple.
He turned around to look for Duan Qinghuai to ask about it.
Sure enough, when he turned around, Duan Qinghuai was standing beside Ning Yitao.
Chu Zhiyuan frowned and stroked his chin with one hand. He thought,
"Why do I feel that after they've been away for a few days, their relationship has gotten even better? They're always so clingy. It even seems a bit sickeningly sweet."
"Could it be that Duan Qinghuai is trying to get the old ancestor's attention so that the old ancestor will secretly give him special training?"
"No, no." Chu Zhiyuan shook his head to dispel those images in his mind.
A sense of urgency welled up in him. He quickened his steps and headed straight towards them.
Seeing them chatting and laughing, Chu Zhiyuan squeezed directly between them. Forcing a smile, he said, "What are you two talking about? Tell me too."
Duan Qinghuai's conversation with Ning Yitao was interrupted.
There was a moment of silence.
Suddenly, Chu Zhiyuan remembered why he had turned around. He slapped his head and looked at Duan Qinghuai in shock and said,
"You're really the heir of the Duan family! I didn't expect you to really solve the problems of the temple when you said you would last time."
Chu Zhiyuan immediately changed his attitude and said respectfully to him, "I thank you on behalf of the temple."
Then Chu Zhiyuan walked around Duan Qinghuai, still finding it hard to believe. "Then you must be extremely powerful in City A."
Duan Qinghuai thought for a while and felt that what he said was indeed true. Looking at Chu Zhiyuan with his mouth wide open, he calmly nodded and said,
"Right."
These two simple words left Chu Zhiyuan standing there stiffly. His first reaction was to build a good relationship with Duan Qinghuai.
But then he felt that it would be unfair to Ning Yitao. He should focus on serving the old ancestor. How could he be distracted by such thoughts?
The balance in his heart tilted back towards Ning Yitao.
But it was the Duan Group. Just getting a bit of connection with it could make one invincible in City A. His heart was in turmoil.
Duan Qinghuai and Ning Yitao returned to their room early and went to bed. No one paid attention to Chu Zhiyuan, who was suddenly standing at the door of the Taoist temple, deep in thought.
Caught in a dilemma, Chu Zhiyuan wanted to ask Yun Lianmeng to come out and give him some advice. But just as he was about to speak, he stopped himself. He couldn't disturb her.
Since Yun Lianmeng got that small crescent in the Soul - Washing Pool, she had been immersed in the Soul - Collecting Bag, practicing non - stop, trying to complete the crescent as soon as possible.
She was so eager to know what her long - held obsession was. Chu Zhiyuan decided not to disturb her and to figure out a solution on his own.
When Chu Zhiyuan finally figured it out, he decided to take a different approach.
He would help the old ancestor build a good relationship with Duan Qinghuai. In this way, the Duan family would be willing to help the temple, and he would still be the only disciple in the Taoist temple passed down by the old ancestor. It was a win - win situation.
Chu Zhiyuan was satisfied with his solution. He hummed a song as he walked back into the Taoist temple, picked up the broom at the door and continued to clean.
Actually, Chu Zhiyuan wasn't the only one shocked to learn that Duan Qinghuai was the young master of the Duan family.
Even Ning Yitao was quite surprised. She seriously doubted whether Duan Qinghuai, with his good temper, would be bullied in the company.
"Why did your brother hand over the company to you?" Ning Yitao suddenly asked this question.
Duan Qinghuai was taken aback for a moment and replied,
"My brother went to find medicine for me. He didn't trust anyone else. He loves me very much, but we rarely get to be together..."
Saying this, he lowered his eyes dejectedly.
"However, after you helped me get rid of those little ghosts last time, I sent him a message. He said he would come back immediately."
Just thinking about seeing his brother again, Duan Qinghuai couldn't hold back his smile.
Ning Yitao nodded as if she understood and casually asked, "Will you go to the company this afternoon?"
"I will. Before, when my brother was in charge, I could stay in the background. But since I announced that I'm the heir at our engagement banquet a few days ago, I have to start going to the company."
Ning Yitao said seriously, "Can I go with you?"