The middle - aged man remained silent all the time, stammering and unable to offer any useful information.
Ning Yitao stood right in front of him without leaving. She looked down at him, gradually wearing down his psychological defenses.
Ning Yitao drawled, deliberately piquing everyone's curiosity on the scene. She said indifferently,
"Don't need help? Then I'll be off."
After Ning Yitao said this, whispers arose from the crowd. The villagers were chattering and discussing something.
However, this middle - aged man still hung his head and kept silent, only trembling slightly. He was extremely guilty.
Seeing that they couldn't make up their minds for a long time, Ning Yitao turned around and was about to leave.
This really worried the woman standing in the crowd beside.
The woman took a big step forward and rushed directly in front of Ning Yitao, blocking her way. She said in a hurry,
"Yes! Of course we do! We need your help! Even if they don't, I do."
She was even afraid that Ning Yitao would refuse. So she knelt down with a thud and tightly grabbed Ning Yitao's pants, afraid that she would run away.
Ning Yitao really didn't understand why the villagers always knelt down at every turn.
But Ning Yitao didn't stop her. After all, it was not easy to meet someone sensible. She pulled the woman up and put forward a condition, saying,
"Tell me what the matter is first, and then I'll see if I can help you."
Ning Yitao neither promised nor refused. The villagers couldn't figure out what she was thinking.
Facing Ning Yitao's nonchalant attitude, the woman wasn't angry. Her eyes lit up immediately.
She automatically ignored Ning Yitao's first words and assumed that Ning Yitao would help her. Then she eagerly began to mutter,
"You must be able to do it. No one else can save us but you."
Ning Yitao just looked at her, curious to see what she would say.
Before opening her mouth, the woman glanced at the expressions on the faces of those around her. Naturally, some people were glaring at her threateningly. She shrank her neck, but finally decided to speak up.
The first words she uttered shocked the onlookers. She said,
"We killed the witch."
Ning Yitao's response further stunned the audience.
She said, "I know."
The internet instantly exploded. What a strange conversation! It was like riding a roller - coaster, up and down.
Seeing that Ning Yitao didn't seem angry, the woman gathered her courage and continued,
"We had our reasons for doing this. She hid a book. That book records how to achieve immortality and how to get rid of the troubles of illness. Everything you want to achieve can be found in that book."
As the woman spoke, a look of longing appeared on her face, and she even couldn't help smiling.
"She was the savior of these villages. No matter how difficult the illness was, she could save the patients. But we just asked her for a book, and she was actually unwilling to give it to us. That was her fault. So we couldn't be blamed for snatching it."
A look of uneasiness flashed across her face. Looking at Ning Yitao, she changed the subject and said,
"Maybe you don't know yet. Actually, you're not the witch's biological granddaughter, but she was extremely kind to you. Your father was actually adopted by her."
When mentioning Ning Yi's father, the woman clicked her tongue. Obviously, she looked down on him. She rolled her eyes disdainfully and began to scold,
"Your father was really not a good person. After leaving the village, he never came back. Instead, he left you, a burden, for your mother to bring back."
"They say that raising a son is for old - age support, but your father was really a bad seed. He incited the rest of us to kill the witch and devour her flesh and blood, which has turned our village into this ghostly state."
As she continued, her voice became hoarse, more like a demon's low moan.
She didn't think what she had done was wrong at all. She just blindly shifted the blame onto others, completely absolving herself of all faults and even considering herself extremely innocent.
Ning Yitao raised her eyebrows, glanced at her, and uttered a few words,
"You've brought this on yourself."
These words made the faces of the villagers present look ugly. This was the first time someone had openly criticized their actions like this.
But no one dared to provoke trouble.
In their minds, the witch was a symbol of power, and Ning Yitao had inherited the witch's spiritual power because they had seen Ning Yitao's name more than once in that book.
They were certain that Ning Yitao must know the way to break the curse.
They were right. Ning Yitao did know.
However, Ning Yitao didn't want to help them.
The villagers still thought that Ning Yitao would be as kind - hearted as the witch, helping others unconditionally.
But Ning Yitao intended to teach them a lesson about vengeance.
Since she had inherited this body, she had to be responsible for the original owner.
Ning Yitao didn't directly refuse them. Instead, she asked thoughtfully,
"What did you mean by 'this ghostly state'?"
Seeing that Ning Yitao didn't seem angry, the villagers began to chatter away, instantly forgetting the unpleasantness just now.
The woman took the lead. She was afraid that others would steal the spotlight. She wanted Ning Yitao to help her first.
Ning Yitao felt a headache from their noisy voices, but she still pieced together the truth from their words.
It turned out that Ning Yitao's father was a child picked up by the witch when she was out.
The witch named him Dahu according to the local custom.
As the saying goes, the simpler the name, the easier it is for the child to survive.
At that time, Dahu's life was hanging by a thread. The witch wasn't really sure if she could save him.
But out of compassion, she still picked up the abandoned child in the snow and raised him by her side. She thought that even if he died by her side, it was better than being devoured by wild animals in the snow.
Perhaps due to his name, Dahu was lucky enough to survive.
Unfortunately, Dahu was led astray by the children who came back from the city in the village.
At a young age, he yearned for the life outside the village.
The witch didn't stop Dahu's choice. She thought it was right for him to pursue the life he wanted.
But Dahu thought differently. Once he had the idea of leaving, the first thing he did was to ask the witch for money without any shame.
Dahu stubbornly believed that the witch had ruined his life.
He accused the witch and said angrily,
"Since you chose to raise me back then, you should be responsible for any choice I make."
Dahu naturally reached out his hand to the witch, asking for money.
In fact, the witch had already given him some, but Dahu thought it was too little.
Dahu didn't believe that the witch, with such abilities, would be short of money.
He thought that over the years, the witch had pretended not to accept money from the villagers who came for help in front of him. But after he left, they must have conducted money transactions.
Dahu said these words to the witch complacently.
The witch was heart - broken.
But he thought the witch's expression was because he had seen through her, believing that she was feeling guilty for being guessed correctly.
The disheartened witch didn't want to do anything to the child she had raised with her own hands. She just said harshly for him to get out.
But Dahu refused to give up. He didn't care what the witch said and rummaged through the room on his own, looking for traces of money.
The peaceful life in the village over the years had almost made the witch forget how terrible human nature could be, but Dahu helped her recall it.
The witch had harmed herself because of her kindness. Was kindness wrong? No.
The wrongdoers were always those greedy people.
After this incident, the witch disowned Dahu.
Dahu took away the money the witch had saved for many years. Before leaving, he even cursed the witch as an old hag.
What he didn't know was that all his actions would come back to haunt him after his death.
Dahu, who was used to lying, would suffer the punishment of having his tongue pulled out after his death.