Miao Qingyun leaned down to Qin Lin and said,
"Miao Shi is just a junior shaman, what can he possibly know?"
As she spoke, Miao Qingyun extended a finger, dabbed a bit of the Spring of Nature remaining at Qin Lin's lips, and then smeared it across Qin Lin's forehead.
Afterward, Miao Qingyun turned and retrieved an incense stick from the rear tent, lighting it.
Miao Qingyun touched the incense stick to Qin Lin's forehead.
"You..." Qin Xuan felt a pang of concern, and as he began to speak, he saw no mark on Qin Lin's head.
Instead, the smeared Spring of Nature began to evaporate slowly, emitting a wisp of white smoke.
And then, a worm the size of a pea jumped out of Qin Lin's mouth and landed on Miao Qingyun's hand, nuzzling it affectionately.
Qin Xuan stared at the Gu worm, whose appearance was similar to a seven-spotted ladybug, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.
"Is this the Soul Devouring Gu?"
Qin Xuan had initially imagined Gu worms to be bizarre and extremely ugly.
He hadn't expected them to be so cute?
"Hmph," Miao Qingyun snorted,
"What did you expect? The prototypes of Gu worms are originally the cute little insects from the forest. We wouldn't bother cultivating those that are generally ugly."
"Alright then." Qin Xuan had nothing more to say.
It seemed he had been ignorant.
He couldn't blame the inherited memories of Ying Long, as they contained no records of the appearance of Gu worms.
At this moment, Qin Lin slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Qin Xuan and Miao Qingyun gathered around her, she spoke in a dazed manner,
"Brother, where is this? Who is this beautiful older sister? Her clothes are so peculiar."
With three consecutive questions, Miao Qingyun's lips curved slightly, seemingly pleased by Qin Lin's words.
Qin Xuan helped Qin Lin up, using the opportunity to check her condition. He doted on her, stroking her head, and said with a smile,
"This is a good place. Brother brought you here for a trip, but you just slept the whole time."
"Really?" Qin Lin scratched her head, casting doubt on Qin Xuan's words.
She remembered finishing the dumplings made by her sister-in-law and then going to her room to sleep.
The next thing she knew, she was here. Had everything before been a dream? Or was this current moment a dream?
Seeing that Qin Lin had woken up unharmed, Qin Xuan cupped his hands towards Miao Qingyun in a martial artist's gesture of gratitude, saying,
"Qin Xuan thanks you here. I promise you, whatever is within my abilities, does not violate morality, and does not harm innocents, I, Qin Xuan, will spare no effort."
Since she treated him as a martial artist, he had to show some semblance of one.
Miao Qingyun waved her hand dismissively,
"You martial artists always speak of loyalty and righteousness, but in reality... Hmph. I hope you don't deceive me. Get lost. If you stay any longer, you might not be able to leave if you want to."
Qin Xuan did not linger to say more. This was, after all, a place of trouble. If another conflict were to arise, it wouldn't matter much to him, but he feared they might harm Qin Lin.
"We will meet again. Farewell."
With that, Qin Xuan pulled Qin Lin and walked toward the tent entrance.
Qin Lin couldn't understand their conversation at all. Before leaving the tent, she couldn't resist glancing back at Miao Qingyun,
"Older Brother, didn't you say we were here for a trip? Why are we leaving now?"
"The trip is over. It's time to go home."
"..."
Exiting the main tent, the surrounding Miao Gu tribesmen cast hostile glances at them.
Their hatred for Qin Xuan was not because he had killed those two shamans.
It was because the Miao people inherently harbored animosity towards the people of the secular world; one could call it a generational feud.
Back then, it was the shamans who had caused trouble, but these ordinary Miao Gu tribesmen had suffered along with them. Their entire tribe had been driven into the Ten Thousand Mountains by martial artists, forcing them to live in this deep wilderness for generations, enduring immense hardship. Thus, they loathed everyone outside the Ten Thousand Mountains.
Why could the people of the secular world indulge in lavish lifestyles, reside in grand houses, and enjoy comfort in both heat and cold?
While they, the Miao Gu people, had to live in tattered tents, wooden huts, and caves, enduring scorching summers and freezing winters.