In Dengjia Village, every household had their doors and windows tightly shut, making it seem even more desolate than Yunjia Village.
Before setting off, Su Buchi had mentioned that Dengjia Village was located downstream of the confluence of three rivers. According to the descriptions in the ancient texts, it quite met Li Ying's requirements for the water used in making glue.
Li Ying was worried about the master's health. Since they had already delayed some time in Yunjia Village, she just wanted to get things done quickly. After a quick look around, she spotted the most imposing house in sight and went straight up to knock on the door.
"Excuse me, is this Dengjia Village? Is the village head here?"
Li Ying asked politely, but there was no response for a long time.
After a while, an old and hunched figure slowly emerged from a dilapidated house next door.
"Who are you? What do you want in our Dengjia Village?"
An old and dejected woman sized them up suspiciously with an unfriendly tone.
Li Ying stepped in front of Lu Xunguang and gave a polite smile, bowing gracefully. "Auntie, we are travelers from afar. We've heard that the well - water in your precious place is miraculous, as clear and sweet as the nectar of the gods, and can cure all kinds of diseases. We've come here especially to seek medicine for our old father's chronic illness."
Her words were respectful and polite. The old woman's wariness lessened a bit, but she still frowned tightly and said coldly, "There's only one salt - well in our village, and the water is undrinkable! Nowadays, this well is also very strange. All those who ate the salt from this well have gone crazy! If you don't want to die, leave quickly!"
"Auntie, what do you mean by that?"
Just as the old woman was about to answer, a strange and eerie giggle came from the low - lying room behind her.
"Grandma, Grandma, speak softly. Don't startle the little fairies on the window lattice..."
Li Ying looked in the direction of the sound and saw a thin young man with a vacant look in his eyes, giggling foolishly as if he was possessed and out of his wits.
The old woman's face changed drastically. She quickly pushed her grandson back into the room and coaxed him like a naughty child, "Okay, okay, Grandma will speak softly. Go back to your room quickly. Don't let the Taoist priest see you!"
Li Ying raised her eyebrows - what Taoist priest?
She wanted to ask more, but the old woman was already reluctant to say more. She closed the wooden door tightly with an impatient look on her face.
Li Ying quickly said, "Auntie, we mean no harm. We're new here and don't know the place well. It's getting late, and we have nowhere to stay. Look, we even have a child with us. Could you be kind enough to take us in for one night? We'll visit the village head tomorrow and then leave immediately. We won't cause you any trouble!"
Her words were sincere, and Mianmian in her arms blinked her big eyes. Her cute appearance made people can't help but feel soft - hearted.
After a long time, as if she had thought it over carefully, the old woman finally took a deep breath and nodded.
"Okay, come in."
She made an empty room for them and then led Li Ying to the kitchen.
"This is just a simple mountain village. There's nothing special, but the mushrooms are quite fresh. Wash them and cook your own meals. You can use the seasonings as you like. It's getting late. I'll go to bed first."
After giving a few instructions, she turned around and left.
Li Ying vaguely guessed that she was probably going to take care of that strange and absent - minded young man. She thanked the old woman and then went to check the miscellaneous mushrooms in the bamboo basket on her own.
"Aying, the old woman looked at those mushrooms strangely and her words were evasive. Could she have some evil intentions?"
After the old woman walked far away, Lu Xunguang lowered his voice and whispered in Li Ying's ear.
Li Ying was sorting out the various mushrooms. Hearing Lu Xunguang's words, she showed an understanding look and nodded.
She casually pointed to a few round mushrooms beside her and said casually, "These are called bluing bolete. They're poisonous. If not cooked properly, after eating them, one may have hallucinations at least, and at worst, they may foam at the mouth or even lose their lives."
Sure enough, as soon as she said this, Lu Xunguang's face immediately changed.
"Does that old woman want to harm us secretly?"
Seeing that he was furious and seemed ready to go and confront the old woman immediately, Li Ying quickly stopped him and said, "Brother Lu, don't be in a hurry."
"Just now I heard that old woman's grandson talking about 'little fairies'. It's clearly the symptom of being poisoned by the bluing bolete. If the old woman knew the mushrooms were poisonous and deliberately used them to harm our lives, how could her grandson also be poisoned? There may be other secrets in this."
As she was speaking, she washed the dirt off the bluing bolete and sliced them thinly.
When the thick mushrooms were exposed to the light, the cut surfaces quickly turned into a strange blue - green color, obviously highly poisonous.
Even though Lu Xunguang was usually calm and well - informed, seeing this scene with his own eyes, he couldn't help but frown tightly.
"Aying?"
Li Ying sliced enough garlic and chili peppers, carefully washed the chopping board and the kitchen knife, then heated up a pan of oil. After frying the garlic slices until fragrant, she calmly poured the bluing bolete into the pan.
"Although the bluing bolete is poisonous, if cooked properly, it's a rare delicacy."
The toxins in the bluing bolete were completely destroyed after being cooked in a large amount of hot oil over high heat for a long time, leaving only an extremely strong fragrance.
The aroma of garlic and the spicy smell of chili were very appetizing. As the saying goes, "The most poisonous things often taste the most delicious", and it really lived up to its reputation.
After they finished eating this stir - fried bluing bolete, they all praised it and were safe and sound.
Just as Lu Xunguang was about to clear the dishes, Li Ying heard the faint sound of the old woman's tottering steps outside the door. She quickly gave him a look.
Lu Xunguang understood. Without a word, they both dropped the dishes in their hands and pretended to be poisoned, collapsing in front of the table.
The old woman pushed the door open and carefully checked their conditions. Then she gritted her teeth and reached out to drag Li Ying's body.
"Girl, don't blame this old woman for being cruel. The Taoist priest said that there are evil spirits in the village. All the villagers have to be burned to get rid of the root cause. You kept saying you wanted to see the village head and you saw my possessed grandson. This old woman only has this one child. No matter what, I can't let you tell others and harm his life!"
She was weak, and it was very difficult for her to drag Li Ying out of the village.
Just as she was struggling, Li Ying slowly opened her eyes and looked at her with a half - smile.
"Auntie, how do you know that we will definitely betray your grandson?"
Her sudden words almost made the old woman trip and fall.
The old woman was still in shock and stared at her in disbelief. "You... How come you..."
"How come I ate your poisonous mushrooms but still managed to stay safe and sound?"
The old woman shook her head like a rattle. "What poisonous mushrooms? I don't understand what you're talking about. Isn't it the well - water in our village that's possessed?"
A few days ago, the villagers suddenly suffered from hysteria. Each of them, just like her grandson, kept saying that they saw little fairies and colorful balls.
The village doctor was helpless. Fortunately, a wandering Taoist priest came. After performing some rituals, he finally determined that the village was being harassed by evil spirits. If they wanted to get rid of the disaster, the only way was to burn all the possessed people to get rid of the evil spirits.
But how could living flesh and blood endure such torture?
The old woman couldn't bear to see her grandson die, so she locked him up at home, trying to escape this disaster.
Unexpectedly, she met Li Ying and her group.
After hearing the old woman's words, Li Ying exchanged a look with Lu Xunguang, and he immediately understood what she meant.
There were no demons or evil spirits in this world!
I'm afraid this so - called "enlightened Taoist priest" was the same person as the evil Taoist priest who was arranging the "marriage with the mountain god" in Yunjia Village!
If they were going to do business with the mountain villages along the way in the future, they must get rid of these potential threats.