Granny Qin took back the water bowl she had offered to Qin Junyao, squinted her triangular eyes, tilted her head back, and drank the water. She then touched the three copper coins hidden in her waistband, looked at Qin Junyao, and walked away without a word.
Qin Xiaoyu, who was digging holes in the ground with a wooden stick, muttered to herself about how she would flatter Grandma.
Qin Sen, the frail third uncle, squatted next to Qin Xiaoyu, digging holes and casting strange glances at Qin Junyao. This niece had changed a lot.
Qin Junyao also sensed the difference in the atmosphere, but her reactions were merely the habits of someone who had lived in modern times and focused on health. She couldn't change them just because she had some of another person's memories.
Besides, these memories were just memories; they didn't give her any sense of belonging or emotional connection to this family.
While everyone else was busy, Qin Junyao sat and watched the busy family.
Granny Qin was a widow. Of her three children, only the eldest, Qin Mu, was her biological son; the second, Qin Lin, and the third, Qin Sen, were both adopted.
Qin Mu married Qin Liushi and had one son, Qin Da Niu, and two daughters, Qin Junyao and Qin Xiaoyu.
The second uncle, Qin Lin, married Xiao Qi Shi and had two sons, Qin Er Niu and Qin San Niu.
The generation of fathers were named Mu, Lin, and Sen. The male children of the same generation were named Da Niu, Er Niu, and San Niu. The girls, originally the owner Qin Junyao and Qin Xiaoyu, were quite easy to remember.
Qin Junyao was tracing the family relationships. Those who had gone out to find food returned with nothing.
Fortunately, the Hou family had more resources than the Qin family and provided some water and cornmeal. The Qin family offered some dried radishes, and they cooked a thin porridge, with each person getting only about a spoonful.
After a reluctant mouthful, Qin Junyao felt even hungrier. Qin mother tore a strip of cloth from her clothes to bind the wound on the back of her head. There was no other treatment. Hungry and in pain, Qin Junyao had never experienced such poverty in her life.
As dusk gradually fell, people on the road lay or sat on the ground. Granny Qin pondered for a long time, took out three copper coins from her waistband, tossed them three times, and then got up and walked to Qin Junyao.
She shooed everyone away, then squatted in front of Qin Junyao and asked her:
"Who are you? You are not my granddaughter!"
Granny Qin's words made Qin Junyao's pupils contract, and her heart seemed to stop for half a beat. Discovered so quickly?
The matter of a soul transmigrating into another body, let alone in ancient times, would be considered a sign of mental illness even if spoken of in modern times.
Fortunately, Qin Junyao was a young Guzheng and Guqin musician who had held solo concerts. Her psychological resilience was far beyond ordinary. She quickly calmed down and asked Granny Qin, "Grandma, why do you say that?"
Granny Qin sat facing Qin Junyao. "Hmph! My granddaughter would cry out in pain over a splinter on her hand. Every time water was distributed, she would insist on drinking first, not to mention giving way to Xiaoyu when riding in a cart."
"Speak, what kind of demon are you that has taken over my granddaughter's body?"
"Let me tell you, my granddaughter has a naturally noble destiny. Be careful, evil spirit, lest you suffer a backlash if you occupy her for too long. Leave quickly now."
Seeing that Qin Junyao did not react, Granny Qin directly took something from her embrace.
"Look sword," Granny Qin shouted loudly as she spoke.
Qin Junyao saw a wrinkled hand holding a small wooden sword, only a few inches long, stabbing towards her heart.
Granny Qin: ???
Why no reaction yet?
Granny Qin looked down at the small peach wood sword stabbing towards Qin Junyao, then looked up at her granddaughter's face. She withdrew her hand and stabbed again. Seeing no reaction, she repeatedly stabbed.
Although the peach wood sword was so small that Qin Junyao considered it barely suitable as a keychain, its tip was still sharp and quite painful. Qin Junyao could only block with her hands.
Their strange actions still caused Qin mother and others, who had been driven away, to overcome their fear of Granny Qin and gather around.
Old Master Hou, the patriarch of the Hou family, also leaned over to peek.
"Heh, Xiao Fang is playing with her granddaughter."
Granny Qin, whose given name was Qi Xiaofang, had sore arms from stabbing without seeing any reaction from Qin Junyao, not even a cry of pain. There must be something wrong.
"Mother, what are you doing?" Her youngest son, Qin Sen, was the most handsome and somewhat favored by Granny Qin, so he dared to speak.
The answer for others might not be words but curses or a slap.
"You stand aside, you are weak. Second son, Second son, come here. You look scary, come here."
Granny Qin stood up without explaining the reason, specifically calling for Qin Lin, the second son, who had half his face covered with a large red birthmark, and thrust the small peach wood sword in her hand into his second son's hand, telling him to stab Qin Junyao.
Although the second uncle's appearance had caused him to be ridiculed, taunted, and feared since childhood, leading to a short temper, he was still very good to his family.
Even if this niece was not likable, she was still his niece. How could he bring himself to stab her? He held the small peach wood sword, looking at his mother, and remained motionless.
Granny Qin pounded her second son's shoulder. "Stab her! She's not Junyao; she's possessed. You have strong Yang energy, stab her quickly."
Qin Xiaoyu, who was watching the spectacle, disliked her sister but didn't want her to be possessed. She turned to call her father and brothers, shouting that Qin Junyao had been captured by a demon.
Old Master Hou was also startled by Granny Qin's words and went to find his sons and grandsons. He had four sons and eight grandsons, all with strong Yang energy. He was calling for his sons to help Old Madam Qin capture the demon.
Qin mother and Qin's second aunt, the two women, were so scared they couldn't speak. They hugged each other and shivered.
Qin Junyao listened to the chaotic relay of information and the muddled people. She raised her hand to her forehead, feeling even dizzier.
She didn't want to die on her first day here. After thinking about this grandmother's personality, she gritted her teeth, stood up, and said to Granny Qin, "Grandma, I am indeed not the original Qin Junyao."
Her words silenced the entire place. After a moment, Qin mother's sobbing could be heard.
Qin Junyao interrupted Granny Qin's intended words and continued, "Grandma, do you know where I went after I was knocked unconscious?"
"Where, where did you go?" Granny Qin's words were suddenly interrupted by Qin Junyao's question, so she could only follow along, thinking this demon was truly cunning, possessing a body and speaking so fluently.
"I went to Mount Luojia and met Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, the Greatly Compassionate and Savior of Sufferings. She enlightened me and taught me a sutra, so I am now a brand-new Qin Junyao."
"I will recite the sutra for you."
"Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, while practicing in the profound wisdom of the Prajnaparamita..."
From the original owner's memories, Qin family's matriarch, Granny Qin, believed most in gods and Buddha.
Only the third uncle, who often went to the city to beg, knew a few characters. The rest of the family could not read, let alone recite any sutras.
Qin Junyao's grandfather in modern times enjoyed studying Buddhism in his later years. She, who often played the Guqin for her grandfather, knew the Heart Sutra by heart, if nothing else.
It must be said that reciting the "Heart Sutra" stunned the Qin family and the gathered Hou family.
Granny Qin, who often went to temples to worship Buddha, knew one or two lines even if she didn't know the entire text. Upon hearing it, she immediately knelt facing east and began kowtowing. She kowtowed so fervently that her body, which had not eaten much, felt unsteady after finishing.
None of this mattered.
Granny Qin knew she hadn't miscalculated. Her granddaughter Qin Junyao's destiny was indeed good. Otherwise, why would she have spent twenty copper coins to have someone name her? She would have simply named her Xiaoyu, like Qin Xiaoyu, who was born on a rainy day.
"Good, good, good. I knew my three divinations were all auspicious, so how could it be a possession? Yao Yao, what else did the Bodhisattva say? What else did she teach you? Tell Grandma quickly."
"Mother, you just said Junyao was possessed."
"And you believe her if she says that? What if she's lying?" Third Uncle Qin Sen expressed deep doubt, as he had heard and seen many things in the city.
Qin Junyao did not expect Granny Qin to believe her so quickly. She quickly added more detail. "Third Uncle, you are most afraid of maggots. Grandma, you like to lift your feet to your nose and sniff after washing them, and also..."
"Shut up," Granny Qin secretly glanced at Old Master Hou before saying to Qin Junyao, "Sit down and rest. We'll discuss this later."
"Third brother, don't spout nonsense if you don't know. My peach wood sword, though small, can slay demons. I stabbed Yao Yao so many times and she didn't cry out in pain, so it must be the Bodhisattva's blessing."
"Second brother, give me back my sword. Everyone go rest; we still have to travel tomorrow. Go, go, go."
"Brother Hou, tell your family not to spread this around."
"How could I smell my feet? The child's head was hit, and she's talking nonsense..."
The Hou family members surrounding Qin Junyao left. Qin's second uncle also took his family away. Only her own family, along with Qin's third uncle and the little boy named Zhao Youcai, remained beside Qin Junyao.
Qin mother looked at Qin Junyao with complex emotions. She didn't know if the person before her was her daughter anymore. This daughter had been raised by her mother-in-law since childhood, sharing food and lodging with her. She wasn't close to their family at all.
During the day, when her daughter asked for support to walk, she had already noticed something abnormal. The person was still the same, but her feelings, attitude, and gaze had all changed.
It was Qin Xiaoyu who was the most sharp. She asked several questions that only the Qin family knew, and fortunately, Qin Junyao had the original owner's memories and answered them all correctly.
The polite and gentle Qin Junyao made Qin Mu's family a little uncomfortable, but they were also happy about this change. No one likes a proud, unreasonable, arrogant, and willful family member.