Chapter 76 - 75: A Half-Eaten Melon

Chapter 76: Chapter 75: A Half-Eaten Melon

The mural ended there. Gu Qingyin could guess at what happened next—someone had turned to the dark side for revenge and slaughtered the entire village.

As for who had raised the Barrier, or how Mao Mao had ended up in its current state, that was harder to guess.

Gu Qingyin clicked her tongue, displeased. ’It feels like getting only half the gossip—so frustrating it makes my skin crawl.’

’Maybe Mao Mao knows something? But it was so small back then, and it’s been so long. It probably doesn’t remember, does it?’

Gu Qingyin sighed. ’The chances are slim.’

After another look around, Gu Qingyin walked to the doorway and nervously stepped through. The strange sensation of time passing washed over her again. Thankfully, after just a few seconds, her vision brightened, and the stuffy air once again turned foul and stinky.

Gu Qingyin let out a small sigh of relief. She knew she was back.

"Mom!" Huo Xinghai ran over, both shocked and delighted. He glanced behind Gu Qingyin and asked, "Was there nothing inside? How did you get out so quickly?"

Gu Qingyin was a little surprised. "I was quick?" ’I was clearly in there for a long time, at least half an hour.’

"I was watching the time." Huo Xinghai waved his phone. "It wasn’t even a minute."

Gu Qingyin glanced back. ’This Space-Time Gate is pretty particular,’ she thought. ’It sends you right back to where it picked you up.’

"The history of this village was recorded inside." Gu Qingyin led Huo Xinghai to find Mao Mao, explaining what she saw on the mural as they walked.

Huo Xinghai listened as if it were some myth, the story feeling completely unreal. After she finished, he remarked, "No wonder there’s a Candle Dragon here. Was it the one the villagers worshiped?"

Gu Qingyin paused, then shook her head. "Not the same one. The one we saw today was clearly not an adult. It was a baby Candle Dragon."

Huo Xinghai’s eyes went wide. "Whose baby is that huge!" If he weren’t afraid of embarrassing himself, he would have shouted that he’d fainted from fright the moment he laid eyes on that "baby" Candle Dragon.

Gu Qingyin smiled. "Ancient things are all like that. They’re generally larger, probably due to the environment back then."

The mother and son chatted as they walked, finally finding a trace of Mao Mao in the latter half of the village.

The creature really wasn’t very bright. It didn’t even think to make itself bigger to pack its things. Instead, its palm-sized body darted up and down inside the house, unwilling to part with anything it saw. It wanted to take the pillow, the table, and the short knife hanging on the wall.

In the end, the scene that greeted Gu Qingyin was a small, palm-sized monkey dragging an overturned long table. The table was piled high with all sorts of miscellaneous items, looking very much like a pile of junk cleared out when moving house.

The corner of Gu Qingyin’s eye couldn’t help but twitch. "This... is the stuff you wanted to pack?"

Mao Mao was panting with exhaustion, but its big eyes were still sparkling. Hearing her, it proudly puffed out its chest. ’I packed it all by myself!’

"We can’t carry this much stuff out of here," Gu Qingyin said bluntly. "Besides, when people leave their homes, they don’t usually take the entire house with them."

Mao Mao stared at her blankly. A few seconds later, the corners of its eyes drooped, and its body slumped. Its disappointment was palpable.

Gu Qingyin cleared her throat. "However, you can pick one thing from the pile to take with you as a memento."

Mao Mao instantly perked up, hopping onto the pile of things and starting to rummage through it.

Gu Qingyin quickly added, "Not too big, and it has to be easy to carry! We really don’t have that much space!"

Mao Mao picked through its things, reluctant to part with anything it held, but it obediently chose the smallest item.

It was a wooden pillow, but it was much smaller than a normal one. It was probably for a child, or perhaps it was a toy. It was about twenty centimeters long, five centimeters high, and less than ten centimeters wide.

Faint carvings were visible on it, but it was too dirty to see them clearly.

Gu Qingyin looked at it with a hint of disdain. She found a bag in her satchel, put the wooden pillow inside, and then forcefully stuffed it into her bag.

Mao Mao watched eagerly from the side.

After stuffing it in, Gu Qingyin let out a breath. "I’ll give it to you after we get back and I’ve washed it clean."

Mao Mao stared at her satchel and let out a dejected little cry.

They could finally go back. They hadn’t been gone for long, but they had experienced things most people wouldn’t see in a lifetime.

Huo Xinghai sighed internally. ’This trip has really opened my eyes.’

Mao Mao knew the way and quickly led them back to where they had first met.

Gu Qingyin got her bearings and found the unconscious Huo Zhao Hua, Tian Gang, and Shan Zhu.

She stared at the three of them lying in a heap, their faces a purplish-blue. For once, she was dumbfounded.

’They were fine, how did they get poisoned again? Isn’t Shan Zhu a doctor? Does he have zero sense of precaution?’

Sighing, Gu Qingyin dutifully detoxified the three of them. While she was at it, she used a Spell to alter their memories. Then, without waiting for them to wake up, she slapped a Puppet Talisman on each of them and herded them out like a master driving corpses.

She wasn’t in a hurry, but she was afraid the director was.

After taking a couple of steps, Gu Qingyin still felt it was too slow. She simply picked up Huo Xinghai with one hand and announced, "Get ready, we’re speeding up."

Huo Xinghai had no time to react. The distinct trees before him blurred into a single streak. A moment later, the powerful wind forced his eyes shut.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before he stopped and was gently placed on the ground.

"Can you stand?"

Huo Xinghai opened his eyes and dazedly looked around. Through a gap in the trees, he saw the sea and the beach...

"I think..." His voice was too hoarse. Huo Xinghai cleared his throat. "I can."

Gu Qingyin let go, not entirely convinced.

Huo Xinghai pushed with his legs and promptly fell flat on his back.

"Hey?!" Gu Qingyin jumped, startled, and quickly leaned in to check on him. "What’s wrong with you? Where does it hurt?"

Huo Xinghai closed his eyes again. "I’m fine, just a little dizzy." ’My legs had power, but my head couldn’t keep its balance, so I fell.’

"Are you really okay?" Gu Qingyin wasn’t convinced.

"Perfectly fine," Huo Xinghai said stubbornly. "I’ll recover in a moment."

"Alright then." Gu Qingyin stood up and instructed, "Tell Mom if you feel sick."

While Huo Xinghai rested, Gu Qingyin peeled the Puppet Talismans off everyone’s heads. She then altered the memories of Lin Xiaoyun and the cameraman. To make it look realistic, she even had Mao Mao bite each of them on the calf to create wounds that looked like they came from a venomous creature.

’It wasn’t technically a lie if you thought about it,’ Gu Qingyin mused. ’Mao Mao is, in fact, very venomous.’

After perfecting the details, Gu Qingyin went out first. A few minutes later, she returned with a group of men from the production crew, who carried away everyone lying on the ground.

Huo Xinghai was no exception.

He insisted several times that he could walk, but no one listened.

Huo Xinghai: OK, fine.

When the director saw them all return safe and sound, his eyes welled up with tears. His life! It was saved!