Niannian took out one small gourd after another from her backpack. There was no other way; there were simply too many ghosts, and a single gourd couldn't hold them all. After she had captured all their souls, Niannian and Shen Weixun left the boulder cave at top speed. Seeing no one outside, they turned and walked deeper into the canyon.
They had to act as if they had never discovered the boulder cave. Otherwise, if the Hu family found that the souls in the cave were gone, they would surely suspect them. Who knew how much trouble that might bring.
The two of them strolled around aimlessly in the depths of the canyon. After what seemed like ages, the faint calls finally grew closer.
"Master Shen! Miss Yu..."
"Master Shen! Miss Yu..."
The calls echoed through the canyon. When Shen Weixun thought the time was right, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "We're here!"
The people not far away heard the response and rushed over immediately. It wasn't long before they saw the two children. The rescuers were strangers. They must have been sent by that woman from the Hu family to look for them.
Shen Weixun understood immediately. It was probably the butler who had made this happen. Otherwise, that woman wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to send people to search for them.
The two middle - aged men who had come were overjoyed when they saw the children. They rushed forward in a hurry, wearing friendly smiles on their faces, trying their best to show their kindness.
"Master Shen, we're so glad you're safe. Our family head just woke up. Her mind was a bit muddled, and she made a wrong decision in a moment of confusion. It was truly inappropriate. Our family head has now regained her senses and deeply regrets her actions. She specially sent us to find you. Please come back with us. She said that she will definitely fulfill the promises she made to you two. Please don't blame her and forgive her for this moment of foolishness."
The middle - aged man spoke in a very humble tone. There was still sweat on his forehead, which showed how much effort he had put into the search. Shen Weixun just smiled and stared at the man without saying a word.
This was truly an era where interests came first. When they thought the two of them were just easily bullied little Taoists, they brought them here and made them go get what they wanted on their own. Now that they knew he was from the Shen family, they were willing to offer everything willingly and even admitted their mistakes.
A family head represented the face of the family. Sometimes, even if they were in the wrong, they would still argue. Otherwise, it would be a disgrace to the whole family. Now, for this man to apologize on behalf of the family head in such a humble way was almost like slapping their own family in the face. If word got out, people would gossip about it for years. If there were any families that had conflicts with them before, they would probably laugh at this for half a lifetime.
The woman's gesture showed a great deal of sincerity, but Shen Weixun wasn't going to let her off so easily. There was no such thing as "Forgive when you can" in his dictionary. Even if there was, it would depend on the situation.
The woman was only being humble because of his status as the head of the Shen family. If they were really just two ordinary little Taoists from a shabby Taoist temple today, even if they had saved her life, they wouldn't have gotten what they wanted. They might even have lost their lives because of the woman's indulgence and guidance. How could such an act of repaying kindness with enmity be forgiven?
However, it wasn't his place to take revenge. Niannian still had a string of gourds full of old ghosts waiting to settle scores with them.
"Fine. I've been wandering around here for a long time and haven't found what I'm looking for. Since you're willing to offer it, I don't have to go through all the trouble."
Shen Weixun nodded calmly, showing no emotion on his face. He didn't say whether he would forgive them or not, but his willingness to leave immediately was good news for the two men. Fortunately, Master Shen wasn't making things difficult for them. They didn't want to stay in this forbidden area any longer.
The two middle - aged men led the way, being extremely careful. They even kicked away small stones on the path, afraid that the precious young master and miss might hurt their feet. After they came out of the mountain full of mirages, the two men finally let out a sigh of relief. When they brought them back to the Hu family's reception hall, they finally felt at ease. They couldn't help but complain about their family head who had slept for years and started causing trouble as soon as she woke up.
When they entered the door, Niannian even heard their complaints about the woman.
"Really, if it weren't for her good father, how could she have held the position of family head? She has no talent and no brains. She's either in a coma or causing trouble with the Shen family as soon as she wakes up."
"Tell me about it. She sent us to search for people in that forbidden area. She was the one who tricked them in. Why didn't she go herself? With just a few words, she made us take the risk."
"Forget it, forget it. Don't say anymore. Who asked her to have a good father? We don't have a say in this. Fortunately, nothing bad happened this time."
"Exactly. Fortunately, our ancestors were wise and set up such a hidden place. If those two kids had really gotten in, our family would have been in big trouble..."
The two men walked away, and their conversation gradually faded. But what she heard was enough. The attitude of these two middle - aged men was proof that the Hu family was far from united. Most of the people seemed to be dissatisfied with the woman as their family head. She had managed to hold the position for so many years, mainly because of her father. But if her father was really that powerful and prestigious, why didn't he take over the family himself?
Niannian scratched her head, a bit confused. But this question wasn't important at all, and she soon forgot about it. As she stepped through the threshold, the first person she saw was the butler.
When they were in the luxurious manor before, the butler had been very kind to her. He would greet her warmly and take care of her meticulously. He would arrange all kinds of snacks and desserts for her every day. Sometimes, he would even produce candy out of thin air like a magician. So Niannian really liked this butler.
As soon as she saw him, she immediately beamed with a big smile. Like a human cannonball, she rushed out like a small whirlwind and threw herself into the butler's arms.