Xiao Shan had always believed himself to be indestructible, like an iron wall or a bronze fortress. He never knew he could be afraid of anything, and this weakness had been subtly influencing him all along.
"The little one is right. Thank you for the guidance."
Xiao Shan understood. With a smile in his eyes, he patted Ling Yao's head as if coaxing a child.
"Don't pat my head!" Ling Yao huffed indignantly. "Also, ask the villagers what year Chen Dali's wife disappeared, and then check if the Left Prime Minister visited here twenty years ago."
Xiao Shan was even more astonished. The Left Prime Minister was involved?
His father was just an ordinary villager, and Chen Dali's wife was nothing special. How could they be connected to the Left Prime Minister?
But then, why did his father go to the capital?
The Left Prime Minister, more than a decade ago, was merely an unknown minor official.
"Xue Niang, do you know something..."
Ling Yao, however, blinked her clear eyes and asked, "Was Chen Dali's wife good-looking?"
Uh, good-looking?
Xiao Shan couldn't quite recall. When he was very young, that woman was rumored to have run off with someone, and she was pregnant at the time.
He hadn't intended to dwell on this matter, but now that it was linked to the capital, what had truly happened back then?
What had Xue Niang guessed?
Ling Yao indeed suspected that Song Beiting was Chen Dali's son, but she still needed to confirm it.
"A Shan, your birthday must be fake."
Otherwise, the Great Shaman wouldn't have been unable to divine it.
He carried the Fire Spirit Pearl. The Fire Spirit Pearl was condensed from his father's Yang Fire at the moment of his death, meant to protect her from the volatile weather here.
The pearl itself radiated Yang energy. If it were to appear, it would naturally choose the most favorable weather: a birth on a Yang year, Yang month, Yang day, and Yang hour.
This Baiyang Village held a secret!
Ling Yao narrowed her eyes, looking very serious. To Xiao Shan, however, it seemed like she was feigning profundity.
It almost made him chuckle.
"Alright, I'll ask the village elders tomorrow. It's late, you should rest."
He had only intended to take a brief look at Baiyang Village, but unexpectedly, so many things had surfaced.
Xiao Shan extinguished the lamp. As soon as he got into bed, a small body snuggled into his arms.
Alas, the night was long, and he could only control his own hands, preventing himself from being swayed by old habits.
In the other room, Xiao Daming's family was squeezed onto the heated brick bed. The three children were fast asleep. Xiao Daming, however, couldn't sleep due to the day's events, his mind constantly replaying the scene of the black-clad figures.
Those people were skilled, their movements precise and orderly, like highly trained soldiers.
Since childhood, Shanzi had been fascinated by soldiers. There was a retired veteran in the village back then, with a crippled leg and a disfigured face. No one dared to approach him, yet Shanzi would help him fetch water and chat with him, listening to the bloody stories from the battlefield.
Of course, he also learned a few moves.
Did he eventually join the army and become a general?
Was he the Divine Might General?
If so, then his wife would be the Divine Maiden?
Good heavens, was that little immortal child the Divine Maiden's daughter? And she was almost harmed in Baiyang Village?
Xiao Daming suddenly sat up, startling his wife.
"Hey, I say, husband, don't you think there's something not quite right between Xiao Shan and his daughter?"
"What's not right?"
Had she also noticed their unusual demeanor?
Indeed, ordinary people wouldn't possess Shanzi's aura, and that little girl was even more beautiful than the God of Wealth depicted on New Year paintings.
Right, right, the Sifang family seemed to have a portrait of the Divine Maiden passed down through generations. He must go and see it.
"I feel like they don't look like father and daughter. The way Xiao Shan looks at that girl is strange. Today, he wouldn't let me go in to wash the child, but when I saw him carrying out the dirty water, his face was flushed red. Tell me, can one be like that after washing their daughter?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"How am I spouting nonsense? Did you hear the girl call him 'Dad'?"
"Shut your mouth! Believe it or not, I'll hit you!"
Xiao Daming's eyes bulged as he raised his hand, scaring his wife into silence.
Then he put on his clothes and got out of bed.
"Where are you going in the middle of the night?"
"Go to sleep!"
The next morning, Xiao Shan went to the graveyard and cleaned the three graves, burning some paper offerings.
Then he visited a few of the village's few elderly residents. After inquiring, two of them said that it was at the end of the Jiazi year that Chen Dali's wife was rumored to have run off with someone. Most others couldn't recall.
As for his own birthday, no one knew. He wasn't anyone's child; who would keep track of that!
However, one old woman's expression clearly changed, and she glanced at her son.
This struck Xiao Shan as very strange.
Besides these, there was only Chang Sheng's mother, who had been paralyzed for many years and was somewhat senile.
Xiao Shan didn't mind missing this one, so he entered Chang Sheng's home.
Chang Sheng's family attached great importance to Xiao Shan's arrival, treating him like a distinguished guest, moving stools, pouring water, and even bringing out tea leaves they had treasured for years and were reluctant to drink.
Xiao Shan was reminded of his childhood. As Xue Niang had said, he shouldn't have overlooked these memorable people because of a few bad individuals.
"Shanzi, we haven't asked you, are you staying this time? Our village is different now. Daming is the village head, and there aren't those unsavory dealings anymore. There are many empty spaces. If you stay, we brothers will help you build a house."
Hearing these simple words, Xiao Shan patted Chang Sheng's shoulder and smiled, shaking his head. "I won't be staying. You all live well. Perhaps I'll come back to see you someday."
Chang Sheng sighed, but he knew that Xiao Shan was now a person of status, with many matters waiting for him outside. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to stay in the village.
"I'm going to see Auntie."
"Hey?"
Chang Sheng wanted to stop him, but he couldn't. There were only two rooms in the house, and they were connected. Xiao Shan had already stepped inside.
The old mother had been bedridden for years, and the smell was quite strong. He hoped it wouldn't offend him.
Chang Sheng's mother opened her clouded eyes, unable to recognize Xiao Shan at all.
"Auntie, I'm Shanzi, Shanzi from Xiao Ying Tian's family."
"Mmm, oh, Shanzi." She repeated.
"Auntie, I have a question for you. Chang Sheng and I were born in the same year. Do you remember my birthday?"
Expecting little from such an elderly person, Xiao Shan didn't hold out much hope, as she was clearly confused.
Xiao Shan's question greatly surprised Chang Sheng.
"Birthday, birthday, Chang Sheng, the third month of the Jiwei year, no, the fourth month..."
"Mother, it's Shanzi's birthday, not mine," Chang Sheng whispered loudly in her ear.
"Shanzi, no, a month later, it's always a month later." Chang Sheng's mother mumbled incoherently.
Chang Sheng sighed and was about to ask again when he heard Xiao Shan say, "Why a month later?"
"A month later, otherwise there will be great disaster, the whole village will die."
Xiao Shan pressed further, "Who told you to delay it by a month?"
"The master, the monk. All children born in the Jiwei year must change it. Drought, disaster, too much Yang energy, must change. Cannot speak, there will be great disaster... wait until the Divine Maiden comes, then you can speak."
Chang Sheng was somewhat helpless. What was his mother babbling about?