Chapter 400: Chapter 393: I’m Just a Face-Lover 35
Mr. Xiao bought all the goods, yet his heart was bleeding.
He did not know if he could sell these goods in the Capital.
Moreover, he had no idea how to sell them.
Nevertheless, Mr. Xiao earnestly inventoried all the merchandise in the rented house.
Then, he noticed something very peculiar.
The Western merchant’s goods included many strange stones.
These stones were all quite ugly, and didn’t look impressive at all; he wondered why the merchant had gone to the trouble of transporting stones to the Dajing Dynasty, given that the Dajing Dynasty was not short of stones at all.
After pondering for a long time, Mr. Xiao suddenly slapped his forehead.
He remembered, from his travels south, some local friends he had met there. They had told him about a type of raw stone that didn’t look remarkable on the outside, but if chosen correctly, fine Jade could be cut from it.
When Mr. Xiao looked at these stones again, he suspected that these were the very raw stones they had mentioned.
He didn’t dare to do stone cutting there and promptly had the estate guards load all the items onto a cart, and then hurried back.
All along the way to Qingyuan City, Mr. Xiao was very anxious, but finally, after arriving, he promptly stored the goods in a warehouse and had it guarded before returning home.
At this time, Anning was assisting the Wu family father and daughter with a ritual.
She had prepared for several days, and then Wu Ni sent a message saying Wu Ping had divorced Ms. Cui, and inquiring when Anning could come to the Manor.
Anning chose a time and went over with Wang Chunhua.
On the journey, Wang Chunhua seemed particularly spirited.
She kept asking Anning, "What do we need to prepare? Should we prepare black dog blood, black chicken blood, black donkey hooves, and child’s urine? Do we need talisman paper and cinnabar? Should we bring a Peach Wood Sword? I’ve heard that using Thunderstruck Wood is the best, especially one that’s a thousand years old."
A wave of exasperation swept over Anning.
Finally arriving at the Manor, she got out of the carriage and saw the Wu family father and daughter waiting there.
Without saying much, she led the Wu family into the Manor.
Wang Chunhua followed, dragging her somewhat plump body along.
Others performing rituals usually needed to choose an auspicious time or various auxiliary tools and also set an imposing scene.
However, Anning’s rituals required none of that.
If there was anyone in the world who had the deepest understanding of the world’s Laws and the divine providence, it surely would be Anning; no other master could surpass her.
Anning led a few people to a spot in the Manor’s backyard and asked Wu Ping, "Did you bring the blood?"
Wu Ping quickly nodded and took out three bottles, handing them to Anning.
The bottles were labeled with the names of the three family members.
Anning smiled; Wu Ping was indeed very meticulous.
She took the bottles, and Wu Ni whispered, "This is blood my father just drew."
Anning glanced down and saw a bandage wrapped around Wu Ni’s right middle finger, indicating she had just bled herself.
She pointed to a spot and instructed Wu Ni, "Stand there in a moment, no matter what happens, don’t move, and especially don’t scream."
Wu Ni responded, "I understand, I’ll pretend I’m dead."
Anning then pointed to another spot for Wu Ping, "You stand over there, same as Ni’er, don’t move or make any noise."
Wu Ping nodded earnestly.
Anning smiled at Wang Chunhua, "You stay a bit further away, so you won’t be affected when the time comes."
Wang Chunhua quickly hid in a corner; she seemed particularly well-behaved at the moment.
Anning first took out a talisman and threw it into the air, where it ignited without fire and soon transformed into a beam of light that shot away.
Anning gazed into the distance, chanting under her breath.
No one knew what she was reciting, but the words sounded extremely ancient, carrying a mysterious and melodious feeling.
As she chanted, she sprinkled the blood of Wu Ping, Wu Ni, and Gousheng onto the ground in three different directions. For some reason, the blood didn’t seep into the soil at all, remaining as crimson as when it was first drawn.
Anning whispered, "With the blood of close kin, I humbly inform the heavens, there are those who commit evil on earth, their sins grievous, exchanging the fate of the innocent, hoping the heavens will investigate..."
As Anning finished this sentence, suddenly, a thunderclap resounded in the sky.
Following that, Anning was enveloped in a beam of light.
The light beam was first transparent, then gradually turned into a pale golden color.
Not only Wang Chunhua, but Wu Ni and Wu Ping were also quite frightened.
The three of them stared intently at Anning, not daring to move, let alone speak.
And within the light beam, Anning was undergoing constant transformation; as the light receded, the three of them then witnessed a hellscape reminiscent of hell.
There were mountains made of blades and seas of fire, tugging of tongues, and all sorts of cruel tortures.
And a tiny figure was repeatedly enduring these tortures...
Seeing that small figure, Wu Ping felt his soul shatter, nearly crying out in alarm.
Fortunately, he kept his wits about him and managed to restrain from shouting or moving.
Tears wanted to fall from Wu Ni’s eyes.
Although she did not know who that figure was, nor did she recognize it, her heart was in excruciating pain.
Anning leaped into the air and slapped both Wu Ni and Wu Ping: "What follows will be extremely painful; you must hold on."
As soon as her words fell, Wu Ni and Wu Ping felt as though they were being dismembered, the pain was unbearable.
They wanted to scream but couldn’t, they wanted to move but were completely immobilized.
The pain that seeped into their marrow was like scooping out their hearts and carving their livers, causing both of them to sweat profusely, soaking their clothes and forming a small pool of water on the ground that dampened the earth.
It felt like a long time had passed, yet also as if it was only a moment; when Wu Ping and Wu Ni no longer felt pain, another loud noise echoed from the sky.
Anning looked up: "Heaven has acknowledged your grievances."
Wu Ping was overjoyed; he felt that no matter the pain, it was all worth it.
He was just heartbroken for Wu Ni.
For such a young girl to endure such pain, pain that even strong men can hardly bear, for a brother she had never met, made Wu Ping feel incredibly guilty and sorrowful.
Anning’s hands moved rapidly, forming various gestures; pointing to the sky, a flash of light later, everything returned to calm.
Anning then patted both Wu Ping and Wu Ni again.
"It is done."
Wu Ping nearly couldn’t stand up in that moment and just collapsed to the ground.
Wu Ni fell down like a pile of mush.
Wang Chunhua ran over to help Wu Ni, but Anning stopped her: "Wait a moment, they need to get up by themselves later."
After a long wait, when Wu Ping and Wu Ni finally stood up, two beams of light descended from the sky, each striking one of them.
"What’s this?"
Wu Ping couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.
Anning’s gaze was distant, she stared for a while before saying: "It’s from your son; keep it."
"What?"
Wu Ni too was startled.
Anning spoke softly: "That child is truly commendable. Heaven has settled his grievance, also finding that his Ming Ge was tampered with, and although he has suffered much over the years, when Heaven was rectifying his life’s path, he was destined to be compensated. Yet, he did not accept this compensation, knowing that he still had family in the world and that his family had avenged him, he prayed to Heaven to bestow these compensations upon his kin."
Anning patted Wu Ni’s head: "This is the best gift your brother could give you; from now on, you will not fall ill and will live a safe and peaceful life, and your younger brother will grow increasingly intelligent, succeeding in whatever he does."
Tears dripped from Wu Ni’s eyes.
After choking back sobs for a while, she asked: "And my brother? Will he still suffer?"
Anning smiled and shook her head: "No more. He has been reincarnated and will go to a very good place, where he will have parents who love him and live a peaceful, happy, and content life."
"That’s wonderful."
Through her tears, Wu Ni smiled: "That’s really wonderful."
Wu Ping also smiled: "That’s good, that’s very good. As long as he does not suffer anymore, that’s all that matters."