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The woman continued to babble on about the miraculous powers of the Holy Maiden.
There was an elderly man covered in red spots, breathing rapidly, who, after receiving the Holy Maiden’s blessings, recovered without any medicine and regained his vitality.
There were villagers with failing organs and weak blood who, after the Holy Maiden’s blessings, quickly regained their rosy complexion and came back to life.
Some sickly infants also improved under the Holy Maiden’s blessings, but many of them had thin fortunes and could not withstand the great blessings the Holy Maiden bestowed, resulting in them falling ill again afterward.
The parents of these children accepted this fate; after all, who could blame them for having thin fortunes? However, if a child was fortunate enough to endure the Holy Maiden’s blessings, they would have great fortune. At the very least, they could be taken by the Sacred Moon Sect to become a young acolyte in the sect. The luckiest ones would be taken under the Holy Maiden’s personal care and trained to become candidates for the next Holy Maiden or Holy Son.
Whether in the former or latter case, the Sacred Moon Sect would provide a substantial sum of money to the children’s parents, with at least fifty taels of silver! For those fortunate enough, it was said to be several hundred taels!
Fifty taels of silver was enough to build a brick-and-tile courtyard in Xingzhou. Several hundred taels were unimaginable wealth.
Thinking of this, the worry on the woman’s face diminished greatly as she envisioned the silver that might soon be in her hands. She said happily, “Even if Little Yuan isn’t chosen by the Sacred Moon Sect, receiving the Holy Maiden’s blessings means she is a blessed child. When she reaches marriageable age, the matchmakers will be breaking down our door!”
“Is it really that miraculous?” the driver asked incredulously. “Then I should pray to the Holy Maiden too, hoping to find a wife next year.”
“Such a trivial matter doesn’t require troubling the Holy Maiden!” the woman rolled her eyes and said. “Haven’t you earned some silver these past couple of years? If Little Yuan is fine, when we return to the village, I can help you set something up.”
After that, Wei Yunlan and the others stopped listening.
From what the woman and the driver had said, they already knew that Xiqi Village was just a few miles ahead.
Wei Yunlan took the initiative to call out to Qi Xu.
“Guard Xiao, the Wei family doesn’t wish to stir up trouble on the road or get involved in other matters. However, since Xiqi Village is not far ahead, if your people wish to go and investigate, feel free. A few guards are enough for the group for now.”
Tianshu Pavilion had already done a lot for the Wei family; there was no need for Wei Yunlan to be overly particular in this matter.
As the saying goes, treat me with courtesy, and I will return it with courtesy.
“Thank you, Miss Wei.” Qi Xu cupped his hands in gratitude to Wei Yunlan, then signaled Feng Ping and Pei Hu to follow him into Xiqi Village.
The figures of the three men quickly disappeared.
The five horse-drawn carriages of the Wei family, escorted by the remaining guards, continued on their journey.
Moments later, a sound of music filled their ears.
The tune was similar to the chanting of Buddhist scriptures in temples, but with an added ethereal quality. Along with the music came wisps of white smoke. If not for the inscription on the large stone by the road that read “Xiqi Village,” it would have been easy to mistake the place for a temple or a Taoist monastery.
“This is quite a spectacle,” Tingxue remarked from inside the carriage.
Ningshuang, hearing this, also looked out, then rubbed her arms and leaned closer to Wei Yunlan. “Miss, let’s hurry past this way. It looks rather frightening.”
Wei Yunlan also saw the billowing white smoke and instinctively felt a sense of unease.
Her understanding of heretical sects was still limited to the “Southern Barbarian Witchcraft” of her previous life, which involved rituals and prayers, and could be considered a form of heretical practice.
The current Sacred Moon Sect was similar to the Southern Barbarian Witchcraft in her eyes. Whenever it involved human lives, it was a harmful thing.
“Tell those ahead to increase their speed.”
The carriage team sped up as fast as they could, and the last carriage at the back was about to pass the small road leading to Xiqi Village.
Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a group of villagers suddenly rushed out from the entrance of the village.
There were over a hundred of these villagers, all armed with hoes, axes, and the like as weapons.
They all glared at the Wei family’s carriage team.
“Quick, stop them!”
“They ruined our prayer ceremony; make them pay!”
The villagers’ shouts were loud.
Inside the carriage, the Wei family members looked at each other, puzzled.
What did they mean by ruining their prayer ceremony?
They were just passing by the village; what business was it of theirs?
“Defend yourselves!”
The villagers who rushed toward the carriage were just the test they needed for their recent martial arts training.
The carriage was surrounded, and Wei Yunlan, wielding her long sword, repelled the villagers who tried to charge at the carriage with a single strike.
On the other side, Suihe kicked away a villager who tried to grab the reins from her hand.
At the same time, the Tianshu Pavilion guards accompanying the carriage team also took action, fighting five or even ten enemies at once, blocking the villagers and the white-robed men who kept approaching.
“Stop!”
A clear, cold female voice suddenly rang out in their ears.
A figure cloaked in white gauze, radiating an ethereal aura, emerged from the village entrance, surrounded by a group of white-robed individuals.
It was easy to guess her identity. At this juncture, dressed as a goddess descending from heaven, who else could it be but the Holy Maiden of the Sacred Moon Sect?
If she was right, she had instigated the villagers’ anger over the interruption of the prayer ceremony.
So why was she coming out now and saying “Stop”?
Wei Yunlan tightened her grip on her long sword, leaning against the carriage, still vigilant.
The villagers, upon hearing the command to stop, halted and turned to the white-clad woman surrounded by people, respectfully addressing her as “Holy Maiden.”
As expected, this was the Holy Maiden of the Sacred Moon Sect.
As the Holy Maiden approached, the villagers surrounding the carriage parted, creating a path for her.
Ten paces away from the Wei family, the Holy Maiden stopped, bowing apologetically toward them.
“It was truly a coincidence that we delayed your journey. Suixin offers her apologies to all of you.”
“Holy Maiden?” The villagers were shocked and looked at the Holy Maiden, seemingly unable to comprehend why the exalted Holy Maiden would apologize to this group of people who had interrupted their prayers.
The Holy Maiden, having bowed, straightened up and explained to the villagers, “It is all fate. Though the prayers were interrupted, it is not the fault of others. Moreover, this noble person is someone of great merit. Though I do not know why their destiny star is currently dimmed, to have witnessed someone with such merit is a fortunate event for us today. You must not be disrespectful any further.”
The villagers’ hostile gazes toward the Wei family were replaced by a softer look.
Tingxue leaned toward Wei Yunlan and whispered, “Miss, I feel like… this Holy Maiden is trying to curry favor with our family.”
“Your feeling is right.” Wei Yunlan watched the Holy Maiden surrounded by the crowd.
She watched silently as she put on a show.