C52

"I'm not guessing!"

Qu Ling glared at him, then turned and ran.

Seeing that, Xiao Jingyue shook his head and laughed, following along leisurely.

The village in the early morning light was shrouded in a thick fog, and the grayish-black towers built in the emerald green of the ancient forest were faintly discernible. As they approached, one could see the dark gray roof tiles, the ancient green walls, and the Miao men and women leaning against the wooden corridors.

Maybe it was because it was rare for outsiders to come to the village, but those villagers who were wearing strange clothes and heavy silver ornaments one after another walked out from their houses, standing on the long corridor and curiously peeking out.

Seeing the familiar face, Qu Ling opened his mouth and spoke in Miao Yu, happily greeting her.

Not long after, almost everyone knew that Qu Ci, the granddaughter of the family who was taken away by a senior official of Qi Kingdom, had returned with a group of Chinese people.

Qu Ci was Qu Ling's grandmother's maiden name.

Qu Ci had followed his father's surname, and his father was a Han.

When she became an adult, she married back to Miao Village and had Qu Ling's mother with the man. After that, Qu Ling's mother married the Chinese man and gave birth to Qu Ling.

Three generations of people had come and gone, and the relationship between this family and the Han people was not shallow at all.

As the group walked along the old-fashioned path, the fragrance of the food wafted out from the houses of the surrounding people. Qu Ling, who had been craving food for five to six days, almost drooled from it.

When he went to Qu Ci's residence, Qu Ci had just returned from gathering herbs. Because she had received a letter from the Prime Minister Jiang a long time ago, she was not surprised by the arrival of Qu Ling's group.

Qu Ling rushed to the staircase and saw the Miao Family's wife who was silently staring at them. Her eyes lit up and she immediately pounced, "Grandma!"

Qu Ci used the basket in his hand to separate her from him, and lightly berated: "What are you recklessly doing?"

"Grandma, I missed you!"

Qu Ling pushed the basket away, took her arm, and rubbed it on her shoulder.

Qu Ci did not bother with her, and turned to look at the most outstanding man in the group of his granddaughter.

When she saw the man's face, she was stunned.

A shadow appeared in her mind, causing her expression to immediately change. A kind of "hatred" immediately burst out from her eyes as the hand grabbing onto Qu Ling's wrist tightened.

Qu Ling was in so much pain that he almost cried out.

"Grandma?" She pouted and shouted in an aggrieved manner.

Qu Ci suddenly regained his senses and released his hand. The hatred that blotted out the sky and the earth in his eyes disappeared without a trace, as if he had never appeared. His expression eased, and he asked gently: "Are you hurt?"

Qu Ling put his hands down and shook his head.

Xiao Jingyue glanced at her wrist without batting an eyelid, and frowned slightly.

Although he was surprised by the woman's sudden hatred, he still stepped forward, clasped his hands, and bowed to her. He said in a respectful tone, "Jing Yue greets Grandma."

Hearing that, Qu Ci once again looked at Xiao Jingyue's young and handsome face.

Shortly after, her expression became a bit warmer and she said, "Let's go."

Xiao Jingyue glanced at Xiao Er.

The Xiao Er understood and immediately ordered his men to move the small boxes over.

The house had a total of three floors. The ground floor was used to raise livestock, while the second floor was for living and eating. Besides the rooms on the third floor, there were also food stores and storage compartments.

Before Qu Ling was ten years old, he lived in this house.

Although the furnishings in the second floor were simple and crude, they were clean and tidy and wouldn't cause any discomfort to the guests. After putting down the things, the Dark Guard did not stay for long and looked for another place to stay.

Qu Ci poured a cup of wine for Xiao Jingyue, and said indifferently: "This wine is made from glutinous rice, if you're not used to drinking it, there's water on the table over there."

Perhaps because it had been too long since he spoke Chinese, Qu Ci's speech was not fast and smooth, and he even had a slight accent.

Xiao Jingyue understood what she meant, and after thanking her, he picked up the cup of glutinous rice wine and took a sip.

Qu Ling went over and asked with a smile: "How was it, did it taste good?"

He didn't answer, just held the glass to her lips.

Qu Ling glared at him, turned around, and was about to run away when his collar suddenly tightened.

She was pulled back.

The person held her right hand and asked softly, "Does it still hurt?"

Qu Ling's face reddened, and she forcefully retracted her hand, "It doesn't hurt!"

With that, he immediately ran towards the fire pit without even looking at the man behind him.

Qu Ci who was working at the fire pit saw his granddaughter come over, and asked her in a low voice: "How is he to you?"

Qu Ling didn't try to pacify her like he did with the empress's aunt. Instead, he said angrily, "Not good, he always bullies me!"

"Is that so?" Qu Ci's tone was calm, it was obvious that she did not believe her granddaughter's words, "Is there anyone in this world that can bully you?"

Qu Ling pointed at the man who was drinking the glutinous rice wine with a wronged expression, "Isn't he?!"

This pervert really liked to bully her!

"Then tell me, how did he bully you?"

"…"

She blushed and lowered her head bashfully, not saying a word.

As an experienced person, Qu Ci naturally understood why.

She found it funny and knocked on her granddaughter's head, warning her, "Since we're married to him, then we should live with him properly. Don't let your thoughts run wild all day."

Qu Ling held his forehead, and mumbled something, and when he looked at Xiao Jingyue again, the hatred in his eyes increased.

The man sensed Qu Ling's gaze and looked at her.

Qu Ling snorted, he turned his head and looked away, leaving the back of his head behind.

Xiao Jingyue, "..."

Qu Ci tapped his granddaughter's head, and scolded her in a low voice: "How old are you, still trying to be stubborn?"

Qu Ling covered his head and shouted, "I am only fifteen years old!"

Pausing, she quickly looked at Xiao Jingyue, and muttered: "He's already over twenty years old."

The hand of the man who was sipping the glutinous rice wine trembled, and the wine in his cup almost spilled out.

The lady then asked: "Grandma, have you seen Xiao Jingyue before?"

Qu Ci said calmly: "I've never seen it before."

"Where's his father's mother?"

"I don't know him."

"Have you ever seen anyone who looks like him?"

"…"

Qu Ci's lowered eyes darkened, and after a moment of silence, he expressionlessly raised his head and looked at her, "What exactly do you want to ask?"

Qu Ling choked and did not say a word.

She couldn't just ask, "Why do you look so much like the other person stole a thousand taels of gold from you when you see him?" She would definitely be beaten to death!

It was only until dinner time, when the three of them sat down around the fire pit, did Qu Ling remember that there was still one missing person in the house, "Why didn't I see Ah Xin?"

Qu Ci had lost her husband and her daughter in the middle of the year. She knew in her heart that her granddaughter would have to leave in the future, so she adopted Ah Xin, who had lost both his parents, when he was three years old.

"She went next door to play yesterday afternoon. She won't be back until tomorrow morning."

Qu Ci casually replied, and turned to look at Xiao Jingyue, "I forgot to ask you two, what was your purpose in coming to Miao Village?"

Xiao Jingyue told her about Huo Xinyi and asked her if she had heard of the Soul Sealing Parasite.

Originally, they had only asked with no hope of winning. But who knew that after Qu Ci finished listening, his entire face changed.

Qu Ling was shocked, "Grandma?"

Xiao Jingyue held onto the girl beside him, his eyes narrowed slightly as he sized up the Miao Family woman in front of him.

Only after a long time did Qu Ci manage to recover from his shock, and pretended to not see the gaze of Xiao Jingyue who was sizing him up. He let out a mouthful of impure air, and said slowly: "I know a little about that parasite."

Qu Ling subconsciously turned to look at Xiao Jingyue.

Xiao Jingyue did not look at her, cupped his hands and said: "I am willing to listen to the details."