Chapter 58: Where Do These Complicated Emotions Come From

The man looked aggrieved and quickly said, “It’s true! Even though I was dead asleep at the time, everyone in the village—like so-and-so—heard it.”

“So you didn’t hear it yourself, huh? Alright, let’s just say it’s true,” another man exhaled a puff of smoke and casually brushed it off.

“Our village heard it too. Wasn’t that the gods showing a sign or something?” a thin man shivered under the blazing sun.

No matter where you were, anything involving divine or supernatural events always gave people the chills.

Another man, who hadn’t spoken since Li Datou first brought it up and hadn’t laughed along either, glanced at him.

“Actually, I also…” he swallowed hard.

“I heard it when I got up in the middle of the night. I was so scared I almost peed myself, ha ha.”

He forced a laugh to play it off lightly.

“But seriously, it sounded like a woman’s voice. Maybe it was some goddess descending from the heavens.”

Listening to their wild speculations, Song Yeqing was speechless.

So all you people care about is who showed a divine sign? What about the actual message?!

The others exchanged glances, their smiles fading.

“What’s with you three? Did you plan this together to scare us or something?”

Though his words sounded uncertain, the one questioning them already wore a face full of unease.

“Tell us clearly—what exactly happened?” said the man who had been quietly smoking his long-stemmed pipe.

The three men all began talking at once, recounting the entire event.

Especially the parts about the mountain god? Heaven? Goddess? And what the supposed message from the divine was.

The atmosphere turned heavy, and no one spoke for a long while.

“Do you think we should run?”

“Yeah. He’s…” someone pointed upward, “He’s raising an army. I’m not trying to die out there.”

“Well, I’m running. Don’t say I’m disloyal—I came to the market today just to let you all know.”

The man who had personally heard the eerie voice made this statement.

The others quickly reacted and thanked the three of them.

“Hey! You guys! What are you talking about?” A tall, burly constable came striding over with two other officers, barking the question.

“The town head said that recently some people have been spreading superstitions and nonsense in the streets. That’s a capital offense. It’s not you guys, is it?”

He wore the official constable uniform and looked upright on the surface.

But his narrow eyes gave him a sinister air—when they narrowed, his inner malice leaked through uncontrollably.

He now stood in front of the group, blocking their path with his blade, making it clear he wouldn’t be reasoned with easily.

“No, no, we’re just a few buddies shooting the breeze!” the man with the pipe quickly stood up, smiling amiably—completely different from his earlier lazy attitude.

“Come on, Brother Li. Let me buy you all a drink.”

He pulled out a silver piece from his pocket, probably worth four or five qian (cents), and handed it to the constable.

The constable didn’t even look at the silver. He tucked it away and his expression relaxed a bit.

“Good. Just don’t hang around here anymore, got it? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He cast a sideways glance at the others and walked off with his two men.

“Brother Qin, why are you always so polite to him?”

Calling it polite was being generous—it was practically groveling.

“What do you know?” another man scoffed. “Brother Qin, sorry to make you spend money again.”

“Seriously though, he might be the town head’s nephew, but your sister is the county magistrate’s concubine. Why are we afraid of him?”

The grumbling man clearly held a grudge and kept muttering.

In their eyes, being the concubine of the county magistrate wasn’t shameful—it was considered incredibly lucky, like the ancestors’ blessings raining down.

And yet, their “big brother” always bowed and scraped to people like that constable, which was hard for them to accept.

His words made the whole group fall awkwardly silent.

They’d known each other for years—most of them were from the town or nearby villages.

And who didn’t know that Brother Qin hated people bringing up his sister?

That guy had no sense at all.

“Watch your mouth! If it weren’t for Brother Qin, you’d be rotting in jail by now.”

“Alright, enough with the nonsense. Hurry home, grab your old mother, and run for your life.”

The man snapped, visibly impatient and filled with frustration.

After saying that, he was the first to walk away. But as he passed by Song Yeqing, he paused and stared at her for a moment.

He didn’t know why, but Qin Tianrong had a strange feeling that this girl could somehow hear everything they’d just been saying.

That shouldn’t be possible—they’d been over thirty feet away.

Forget it. He was probably just overthinking. She was just a dazed little lady.

The group dispersed.

As for Song Yeqing—wasn’t she dazed?

She was still staring in the direction where the constables had gone.

She didn’t know why, but the moment she saw that lead constable, a surge of complicated emotions erupted from deep within her soul.

So complicated that even she couldn’t tell exactly what they were—mostly hatred, and even… fear.

She analyzed it carefully. It was bizarre.

Song Yeqing didn’t understand why she felt such uncontrollable emotions. Could it be that this man had bullied the original Song girl?

But no matter how deeply she searched her inherited memories, she found nothing about him.

Eventually, she shook it off and started walking away. She needed to find a quiet place to retrieve some supplies.

She didn’t dwell on the emotions.

Maybe she was just tired from all the traveling lately and her body was acting up.

Surely it wasn’t fear of the constable. It wasn’t like she’d done anything wrong.

Just as she had walked some distance, her body froze.

Then she suddenly turned around and looked sharply in the direction of the man with the big blade patrolling the area.

Her face had already turned cold, as if covered in frost.

She lifted her hands slightly, but then paused, as if something crossed her mind.

In the end, she just stared hard at his back for a moment, then turned and walked toward a jewelry stand.

He Yanyan had mentioned that the original host did go searching for the people who caused Song Niangzi’s death.

By the time she found their leader, he had become a constable. And his psychological endurance was frighteningly strong.

Naturally, the original host—who had followed them for some time—knew their names.

Zhang Xiaoli, Song Yeqing repeated silently in her mind.

Just now, that guy had called him “Brother Li,” but she still needed confirmation.

“Are you talking about Constable Zhang? Zhang Xiaoli, right?” the peddler next to her happened to speak up.

He craned his neck to look in the direction she was pointing and said, “That one? Tch. Definitely not a good person.”

Then, with a conflicted expression, he whispered, “Miss, don’t be fooled by his nice-looking face. He’s not a good match.”

Since Song Yeqing looked young, and because she hadn’t styled her hair like a married woman after washing it, she had simply tied it up.

The vendor probably thought she had a crush on the constable.

“Hey, don’t squeeze that! That copper mirror costs three qian! Can you even afford to break it?”

He cried out when he saw the little mirror in Song Yeqing’s hand already misshaped.

More importantly, judging by her clothes, she didn’t look like someone who could afford it.

“Sorry. I’ll buy it,” Song Yeqing replied nonchalantly, fiddling with it. “So, where does he live?”

“Over there, down the small alley. The house with the pomegranate tree in the courtyard.”

The peddler gave her a weird look. Was this how bold young women were nowadays? Like someone and go straight to their house?

“Thanks for the info,” Song Yeqing said without explaining. She confirmed the name, placed one tael of silver on the table, and left. “Keep the change.”

Song Yeqing: I’m spending my husband’s silver. I’m happy to do it.

He Yanyan: Wait, I can do that too? (starts pulling out his savings) Take it all, spend it, darling.