Edited by Lord Immortal
When he said he wouldn"t go, the onlookers wore a look of reproach. Upon hearing the reason, though, they were in a daze and then burned with wrath. After a short moment of silence, some began to throw curses at him at full blast.
"Well, Geng Zhishan, we treat you with sincerity while you"ve been deceiving us the whole time. How dare you?!"
"False? It turns out to be false? How could you do that? Why did you give a false horoscope? You"ve been watching out for us from the very beginning."
"What? The orphan we had taken in went so far as to be the death of us."
"He was a black sheep!"
"No, we can"t leave such a man in our village. Anyway, we should either offer him to the Mountain G.o.d as a sacrifice or drive him away!"
"Yes. Be a human sacrifice! Or get lost!"
Everyone seemed to have reached an agreement; force Geng Zhishan to the corner.
Having lived here for over ten years, Geng Zhishan was a little reluctant to leave. However, those familiar people suddenly turned strange to him, and they eventually revealed their true colors at the critical moment.
He turned out to be of little use except this.
With a bitter smile, Geng Zhishan lowered his eyes without a word. After a while, an old lady tottered to hold his hand. "Good boy, I know your suffering," she said.
Her words sounded like a stone falling into the river, which caused a burst of ripples. Geng Zhishan showed an unbelieving look in his eyes because he went so far as to hear a word in favor of him.
"Granny…"
He thought this old lady meant to support him since he had been helping her cut firewood and fetch water.
To his surprise, the old lady cried. "Good boy, I still want to live. The rain is so heavy that the road has been blocked, and the river is rising with the downpour as well. I know you"re a kind-hearted guy. Why not agree for others in the village?"
Geng Zhishan withdrew his hand and quickly stepped backward. He had considered it as sugar, only to find poison wrapped inside.
Aunt Cui turned her eyes and went forward. "Look, Geng Zhishan. Even the old lady is begging you, and so are others in our village. Why not accept it?"
"Why not ask my true birth horoscope?" Geng Zhishan chuckled.
The sorceress took a deep breath. "Your horoscope has been registered and put on file, which was already sent to the ancestral temple in our village. Although you were not born in our village, you"ve received recognition from our ancestors. It doesn"t matter whether your horoscope is true or not; you"re the chosen one."
All of a sudden, she opened her arms and yelled loudly. "Mountain G.o.d, we intend to offer this man to you as your husband. If you agree, please reduce the rain as your blessing."
When she finished speaking, it only took a cup of tea for the heavy rain to turn to drizzle.
Cheers broke out among all the present. Some continued to persuade Geng Zhishan, who clenched his teeth and did not utter a single word.
Annoyed, Aunt Cui went forward. "Geng Zhishan, even if you don"t comply, we"ll try our best to beat you into submission."
"Zhao Long and Zhao Hu, watch out for them. Tomorrow, we"ll choose an auspicious occasion to offer Geng Zhishan to the Mountain G.o.d as an oblation. From then on, everything will be fine in our village."
Zhao Long and Zhao Hu went forward and stared at Xie Mengxuan maliciously. "Young lady, are you going to leave with this toy-boy or stay here?"
"I won"t behave like you." Xie Mengxuan dragged Geng Zhishan into the house.
When the courtyard gate was closed, Geng Zhishan returned to his room and locked the door. With a worried look, Xie Mengxuan called out in a low voice, "Geng Zhishan."
"I"m going to die. If you want to leave, you"d better hurry up," said Geng Zhishan from inside, low-spirited.
After taking a deep breath, Xie Mengxuan bit her lower lip and lapsed into silence. Gu Yusheng stood next to her, whose eyes sparkled with satisfaction.
"Big Brother Gu, can we help him?" With an anxious look in her eyes, Xie Mengxuan sighed.
A flash flickered in his eyes, as Gu Yusheng also breathed out. "Xuan, we are unable to protect even ourselves. How could we help him? Moreover, we"re unpopular in this village, so no one will lend us a hand. Let alone you"re injured. It"s not easy."
"Should we just stand by and watch him die?" Xie Mengxuan turned her head and spoke in a higher pitch.
Gu Yusheng turned his eyes and consoled her. "Xuan, in my view, they don"t necessarily intend to offer him to the Mountain G.o.d. There is still hope."
He was staring at Xie Mengxuan. After a long while, she showed a bitter smile. "What? There"s still a chance? Impossible! Look at those ignorant people! Geng Zhishan doesn"t have a close relationship with them, And it"s obvious that they really want to kill him."
Standing in front of Xie Mengxuan, Gu Yusheng felt uneasy at her words. "Xuan, I know you are worried about him, but we should also take into consideration our own well-being."
In a haze, Xie Mengxuan murmured to herself. "Our own safety… You"re right. We can"t discard our own safety. However, even though it is very tough, why not have a try?"
She reached out her hand to grab his clothes. "Uncle Luo! He"s well-versed in Kung Fu."
Dumbfounded, Gu Yusheng also thought of him, but soon, he shook his head with a dejected look. "It"s not enough, let alone we must depend on them to clear the road."
Mudslides had destroyed sections of the road, which needed to be cleared up. Indeed, it hinged on these villagers to clear the path since they were incapable of contacting their subordinates.
However, a life would be lost just because of this?
Xie Mengxuan said gently, "So, we ought to discard Geng Zhishan?"
Gu Yusheng took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. "No, his destiny will be determined by providence. What we can do is to resign ourselves to fate."
Xie Mengxuan blinked and then stared at Gu Yusheng. She froze at his words. Unlike the one in front of her, Brother Sheng always had high hopes for the future in her impression, which she failed to find from what he just said.
She shook her head with an incredulous look. "You"re going to resign to fate? Big Brother Gu, when did you turn so cold-blooded?"
"In your opinion, I"m cold-blooded?" The words of Gu Yusheng were full of reproach, and his eyes turned red. "Different from others, we"re burdened with a great cause on our shoulders. Have you forgotten that?"
Xie Mengxuan went backward. "No, but our master is benevolent. If he learns about the situation, he won"t allow us to do so as well."
"Xuan, don"t act in a reckless manner." A bit annoyed, Gu Yusheng said in a deep voice.
Xie Mengxuan pursed her lips as she had an idea within the blink of an eye. Then she went forward. "I must save Geng Zhishan! He can"t die!"