Chapter 21: Becoming Famous in the Village

Zhang Da Niang suddenly snapped out of her daze and hurried into the house, pulling Xiao Li, who was still numbly keeping vigil, out. “Xiao Li, come out quickly and kowtow to the Fairy!”

Lao Zhao jolted awake, turned around abruptly, and knelt toward the distant mountain peak shrouded in mist, his forehead thudding heavily against the ground.

Zhao Tiezhu immediately understood that this likely had something to do with the Fairy, so he quickly pulled Mogu down to kneel with him.

Although Xiao Li didn’t understand what was happening, she knew that Zhang Da Niang’s family had always been good to her. She could tell right from wrong and knew they meant well.

So she followed suit, kneeling down with both knees, her posture even more proper than when she had been keeping vigil inside the house. She performed the ritual of three kneelings and nine prostrations toward Daling Mountain.

The villagers around them were completely baffled, chattering among themselves.

“Why is everyone kneeling?”

“What did Zhang Da Niang just say about a Fairy?”

“Lao Zhao and his wife often go up the mountain, bringing chickens, ducks, and geese, saying they’re serving the Fairy.”

“I remember there’s a woman living at the mountain top. She’s only been in Lingshan Village for less than half a year. How did she become a Fairy?”

“Zhang Da Niang keeps shouting about a Fairy. Could she have been deceived?”

“What Fairy! If she were really a Fairy, how could she live in such a poor place like ours? If they have offerings, they should take them to the temple and offer them to the Ling Dong God!”

“The Ling Dong God is the true deity of this land! He blesses us with bountiful harvests year after year!”

“…”

By this time, Zhang Da Niang had finished kowtowing and stood up, scolding the crowd, “I’m warning you, stop gossiping about the Fairy!”

In her eyes, the Fairy was the true deity, while the Ling Dong God, though worshipped by the people for generations, had never manifested anything despite the villagers kowtowing in the temple every day.

But Zhang Da Niang couldn’t say these things out loud, because in this land, offending the God Lord was a far greater sacrilege than offending the royal family!

Lao Zhao, who wasn’t good with words, simply said, “The Fairy is not a fraud.”

The villagers continued to chatter, their words filled with mockery, suggesting that Zhang Da Niang’s family had been deceived.

Zhao Tiezhu shook his head. He knew it was useless to say anything. The villagers wouldn’t believe them. His family had truly received blessings, which was why they were so unwavering in their belief in Fairy Xiao.

Seeing the commotion, Old Village Chief Wang Chunyi stepped in to take charge. “Let’s not talk about that woman for now. Let’s focus on handling Xiao Li’s family’s funeral properly.”

Zhang Da Niang nodded hurriedly, looking at Xiao Li. “Xiao Li, after the funeral is over, I’ll help you with the land and house deeds.”

The old village chief shook his head with a smile, thinking to himself that Zhang Da Niang was usually sharp and efficient, but for some reason, she seemed to lose her senses when it came to the woman on the mountain.

The others stopped talking and dispersed to attend to their own tasks.

At this moment, Mogu looked up and asked, “What’s a land deed?”

Her words were clear and fluent, seemingly nothing out of the ordinary.

Wang Chunyi smiled kindly and began to answer, “A land deed is…”

But as soon as he spoke, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

“Ah!!” he shouted, jumping up. The septuagenarian leaped surprisingly high, then began babbling incoherently, “Ah! How is this child speaking!? Ah!!?”

Mogu was startled by his reaction and hid behind Zhao Tiezhu.

But Wang Chunyi, acting as if he’d gone mad, reached out and pulled Mogu out, his eyes wide as he continued to shout, “How can you speak!?”

The village chief’s voice was almost a roar, and his behavior was so erratic that all the villagers turned to look.

At that moment, Mogu spoke again, her voice tinged with uncertainty and fear: “I can talk…”

She was genuinely frightened by the village chief, her voice now much softer.

But no matter how soft, the villagers heard her clearly.

Immediately, a crowd rushed out of their houses, surrounding Mogu tightly, completely ignoring the recently deceased Lao Qian.

“Am I dreaming? This child can talk!”

“How old is she? Am I blind or hallucinating? This girl is clearly under ten!”

“Whose child is this?”

“Lao Zhao’s daughter, she’s only five!”

“Has she undergone Mind Opening?”

“Heaven has eyes, our Ling Mountain Village has a five-year-old girl who’s undergone Mind Opening! Ling Mountain Village is going places!”

“…”

Zhang Da Niang raised her chin, proudly declaring: “It was the Fairy who opened Mogu’s mind, and the Fairy even gave her a name!”

The villagers were stunned, all crowding around Mogu to ask questions.

Mogu looked at the adults and answered one by one:

“My full name is Zhao Yujun, ‘Yu’ as in feathers, ‘Jun’ as in general.”

“My nickname is Mogu, like the mushroom.”

“Yes, it was Fairy Auntie who named me. Fairy Auntie is beautiful, the most beautiful person in the world!”

Her clear and articulate responses left everyone astonished, especially the villagers with children of their own, who couldn’t sit still.

Everyone wanted their child to undergo Mind Opening early!

Could the woman on the mountain really have such abilities?

She truly is a Fairy!

With the funeral now ignored, the crowd was eager to rush up the mountain.

Zhang Da Niang scolded them: “The Fairy has a Mystic Hound by her side! You didn’t believe before, but now you’re putting on airs. Be careful not to get thrown off the cliff by the Mystic Hound before you even reach the mountain!”

At these words, the villagers calmed down, realizing it would be improper to disturb her abruptly.

Zhao Tiezhu added: “Do you all remember that group of Warriors last time? Their leader, Lord Qiu, was extremely respectful to the Fairy, saying she’s a Martial Arts Grandmaster!”

The crowd was shocked.

“Heavens! Those were Warriors!”

“I peeked through the door crack, those Warriors were incredible…”

“Such powerful people, and they call that woman a Fairy?”

“Exactly!”

Wang Chunyi, anxious, quickly asked: “What level is the Fairy at? Is Martial Arts Grandmaster a level?”

Even the village chief changed his tone, no longer referring to Xiao Ranshu as the woman on the mountain, but directly calling her the Fairy.

This stumped Zhang Da Niang, who couldn’t answer.

Lao Zhao waved his hands: “Disrespectful! Disrespectful!”

Wang Chunyi suddenly stepped back in realization: “Right, we can’t ask. How could we know the Fairy’s level?”

Zhao Tiezhu said: “We shouldn’t ask too much about the Fairy. Her presence in Ling Mountain Village is already a great blessing for us!”

Wang Chunyi nodded repeatedly: “After the funeral, once we’ve dispelled the bad luck, we’ll send a representative up the mountain to offer some tribute to the Fairy. We must ask her to bless Ling Mountain Village with good weather and prosperity!”

The others excitedly began discussing.

“Can we ask the Fairy to cure my mother’s illness sooner?”

“I want to ask for my son to undergo Mind Opening, he’s already ten!”

“I say we should build a Living Shrine for the Fairy! How about halfway up the mountain?”

“That’s a great idea! It would give everyone a place to worship, so we wouldn’t disturb the Fairy’s meditation, and it would bring peace to the villagers of Ling Mountain Village!”

Upon hearing this, Village Chief Wang Chunyi decisively waved his hand and declared, “That’s settled then! Every household will contribute some money, and the village will build it!”

All the villagers clapped and cheered in agreement.

Zhang Da Niang and Lao Zhao exchanged a glance, both utterly bewildered. Neither of them had anticipated such a turn of events.

The two had originally planned to save up money to build a Living Shrine for Xiao Ranshu, which would have required a significant amount of funds.

Little did they expect that the village would take on the project, and the construction of the Living Shrine could begin very soon!