Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn
Chapter 77 - 63: Daring Enough to Abandon an Infant

Chapter 77: Chapter 63: Daring Enough to Abandon an Infant

At ten o’clock at midnight, Xiao Xian listened to Zhu Shijun’s deep and steady snoring from the next room. Ever since the old man’s health improved, his bad habit of sleeplessness at night had been corrected, and he was already asleep by this time.

Xiao Xian pushed open the window and sneaked out from the house. The chirping of spring insects filled the air while a few night clouds floated across the sky, casting a hazy moonlight on the path between the mountains.

Little Hai didn’t have the courage to accompany Xiao Xian to the temple for a test of bravery. Fortunately, Xiao Xian had memorized the way there. Following the moonlight, she headed towards Black Mountain. The visibility might not have been great at night, but to Xiao Xian’s eyes, it was as clear as day. She could see a faint green mist shrouding the trees around her, a sight she would have missed during the daytime, having deliberately slowed her pace to match Little Hai and the others.

Now it was night, and apart from the trees, it was just Xiao Xian. She moved swiftly without touching the ground, taking only half an hour to reach the temple, a full one and a half hours ahead of the scheduled time.

Yezi had not yet arrived, so Xiao Xian waited in front of the temple, where the peach blossom tree bloomed radiantly. A strange noise came from behind the temple, and Xiao Xian turned her head, squinting her eyes. The temple, which seemed ordinary during the day, now emitted a dense green color, reminiscent of jade, at night.

In Dongnan Miao Village, Yezi finally waited until there was no more noise from Mama and father’s room. He tiptoed to the staircase and was about to descend when he saw the large moth that Mama raised.

"Scram," Yezi knew that the moment he touched the stairs, the moth would go and inform Mama.

The moth continued to flap its wings, closely monitoring Yezi’s suspicious behavior. A burst of fiery red swooped in, and a golden beak struck the moth with precision, swallowing it with a stretch of the bird’s neck.

"Good job, Little Pig, you’re so clever," Yezi happily exclaimed, remembering that he was still at the top of the stairs. He listened carefully for any stirrings inside the house, but it remained eerily quiet.

Yezi hurried down the stairs, with "Little Pig" following him into the night.

When Yezi arrived at the temple, the moon was high in the sky. Looking through his eyes, the peach blossom tree looked no different from during the day, with its crown full of flowers.

It was all quiet around, as if everything had come to a standstill.

"Zhu Xiaoxian wouldn’t have gotten scared and not shown up yet," Yezi muttered to himself. The quietness of the night seemed unusual, making him notice that even the chirping of insects had disappeared. "Something’s not right, even the loud grass cicadas are silent." Yezi paced back and forth, stepping on something underfoot. On closer inspection, it was a cluster of peach blossoms.

The peach branch with a few blossoms was something Yezi had secretly tucked into Zhu Xiao Xian’s braid after plucking it from the tree during the day. Away from the tree, the branch should have wilted by now, but the blossoms Yezi saw were still vivid, almost lifelike. The branch also reminded Yezi that Zhu Xiao Xian must have been here, and something must have happened for her to disappear.

"Please let nothing have happened," Yezi’s heart raced with urgency. He stopped for a moment, biting down on his teeth, but still headed towards the burial ground behind the temple.

From an old peach tree, petals sporadically fell, and a small head peeped out from the tree. Below, in the water of the pond, a tender little face reflected. "He really went to the back; I don’t see anything strange about the burial ground, but there’s something odd about this peach tree."

Earlier, as Xiao Xian arrived in front of the temple, she noticed that the peach tree beside her appeared different from the daytime. During the day, she had observed the tree’s age to be around forty years, but tonight, the exact age of the tree was unclear. Moreover, a strong green aura surrounded the peach tree, similar to the sugarcane seedling in the iron space absorbing Spiritual Energy.

Why would an ordinary peach tree absorb Spiritual Energy? How strange, thought Xiao Xian, as suspicion arose in her mind, leading her to hide in the tree.

By this time, Li Ye had already gone to the back of the temple and had not returned. Xiao Xian assumed that he had gone there to summon his courage. Even if she was slightly late to follow, it didn’t matter much.

Past midnight, the moment when "Spiritual Energy" peaked in the day arrived, and the sugarcane seedling in the Iron-grade space began voraciously consuming Spiritual Energy. The stark contrast became immediately apparent as the peach blossom tree seemed to shiver like a person, its petals falling like tears, creating an image of a weeping beauty that evoked pity.