CHAPTER 269: CHAPTER 269: NOT HUMAN?

Gu Beihuai carried Tang Chuxia to rest, and not a soul said a word, all exhausted.

Tang Chuxia kept clinging to Gu Beihuai, insisting she wouldn’t have children, which left Gu Beihuai not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"I don’t really care, after all, my family doesn’t have a throne to succeed. As long as you don’t regret it, that’s fine!"

Tang Chuxia: ...I might as well turn over and go to sleep!

It was just a momentary sentiment. Tang Chuxia was more aware than anyone that Gu Beihuai’s family indeed needed descendants.

She might have been too tired, as no one came to wake her up for the New Year greetings. When Tang Chuxia woke up, it was already noon. The greetings were not her turn, but she could still enjoy a good meal.

"How is the elder sister-in-law?" With Madam Tang not in sight, Tang Chuxia simply asked the third sister-in-law, who, like her, was yawning.

The third sister-in-law pointed to the elder sister-in-law’s room: "She’s fine now, Auntie went to take care of the baby!"

Tang Chuxia felt that was quite good. Today was the first day of the New Year. According to the customs of Quan City, the first day was very important, with the morning greetings and the reunion dinner.

Moreover, the front door of the house couldn’t be closed all day since people could come in at any time to offer greetings, and the table must be kept full of food.

Tang Chuxia and the third sister-in-law barely ate a few bites. Both unable to eat more, they went to the elder sister-in-law’s room to see the baby.

When Madam Tang saw the two of them, she said, "You’ve come at the right time. Help out for a while; I need to get some sleep!" Madam Tang had barely rested the previous night and had spent the early morning preparing for the New Year.

She had been busy until now without a bite to eat, and even that was with the help of Ah Duo and licorice.

Tang Chuxia felt sorry for Madam Tang and let her go to rest. After all, the little one was currently in a cycle of eat-sleep, eat-sleep and hadn’t even done a poop yet!

The elder sister-in-law felt apologetic and also persuaded her.

Madam Tang wouldn’t let her talk too much and went straight back to her room to rest.

Age had caught up with her; she simply couldn’t withstand what younger people could.

The elder sister-in-law said to Tang Chuxia, "Our mom has worked too hard!"

Tang Chuxia waved her hand, "But she is happy. Don’t forget, you and your great-nephew are the heroes of our family!"

One was the Tang Family’s eldest grandson, and the other was the daughter-in-law who gave birth to the eldest grandson, both of them quite impressive.

The elder sister-in-law glanced at the third sister-in-law, feeling somewhat embarrassed, "I really need to thank you, little sister. If it hadn’t been for your help, I might not have survived!"

Tang Jianguo, who had been watching the child beside the bed, also added, "Indeed, the credit goes to the little sister!"

Tang Chuxia didn’t stop them from saying so. She wouldn’t modestly decline the credit attributed to her but accepted it because it was the original host’s wish—she had simply helped fulfill it.

Having given birth, the elder sister-in-law was extremely tired and soon felt sleepy.

Tang Chuxia and the third sister-in-law came out and let the elder brother stay with the elder sister-in-law and the child.

When they got outside, they saw licorice busy in the kitchen, and by the entrance stood an old monk peeking around.

Since she got to know the old monk and the old Taoist, Tang Chuxia had completely lost her illusions about the people of the Xuan Sect—they were human, too, with moments of folly and attachment, claiming to be unaffected by material possessions. Yet when faced with delicious food, they too found it hard to let go and claim to be detached from the Four Fundamentals, without desires or needs.

Tang Chuxia approached the old monk and saw that he had put his Buddha Beads back on his wrist, with one bead missing, making it look a bit tight.

"Master, is that strand of Buddha Beads some kind of treasure?"

Tang Chuxia pointed to the old monk’s Buddha Beads with a face full of curiosity.

The old monk tried not to look at the delicacies being prepared in the kitchen and chuckled dryly, "How could that be? They’re just the Buddha Beads I wear day and night. At most, they carry the blessing of the Buddha!"

Tang Chuxia didn’t believe it at all. If it were that simple, it would not have been possible for the elder sister-in-law, who had still been in trouble after taking the medicine pills, to be saved by the old monk with just a bead.

There must be something off about these Buddha Beads.

Tang Chuxia squinted her eyes and walked a circle around the old monk. "Master, just tell me what’s the deal with this bead, and I’ll get Licorice to stew some more dried tofu for you!"

The old monk immediately perked up.

Who wouldn’t want to eat well during the New Year’s?

He was just embarrassed to openly eat meat during this festival, but if it was dried tofu, then there would be no problem. At most, it would carry a bit of meat flavor, and no one could find any fault with that.

The old monk looked around to make sure no one else was present and then said to her, "Indeed, these are the Buddha Beads I wear day and night. However, this bead has been soaked in many kinds of medicinal liquids and has the effect of strengthening the body and improving health by itself."

Tang Chuxia understood and estimated that the value of that Buddha Bead was definitely not small.

Able to save a woman with a difficult childbirth alive, these Buddha Beads definitely had something special. Tang Chuxia declared that she would absolutely not tell anyone else and had Licorice add a meal for the old monk, making more delicious food.

Tang Chuxia went to find Third Grandpa and saw him squatting in the corner of the backyard, mumbling to himself.

"What’s wrong?"

Tang Chuxia squatted next to Third Grandpa and looked at the insects on the ground, but sadly found nothing.

Third Grandpa sighed, "They’re all dead!"

Tang Chuxia exclaimed in surprise, not understanding what he meant.

"Could it be that the elder sister-in-law’s difficult childbirth was not accidental, but someone deliberately arranged it?" Even Tang Chuxia herself didn’t believe this statement, but Third Grandpa nodded his head.

This made Tang Chuxia feel a bit dizzy as she simply didn’t believe it.

"I know you must find this inconceivable, but there are many factors that can cause difficult childbirth. With someone’s deliberate arrangement, it is easy to cause this kind of situation," Third Grandpa said, pointing at the insect carcasses in the corner: "Look at these insects; it’s the dead of winter, and yet they show up in the house!"

Tang Chuxia examined closely and did indeed see the type of small insects that Third Grandpa was emphasizing.

The little insects were somewhat eerie, and Tang Chuxia didn’t recognize them at all.

Third Grandpa then asked, "Do you know what I saw when I came over?"

Tang Chuxia had no idea. At that time, all her attention had been on her elder sister-in-law.

Third Grandpa stood up, hands clasped behind his back, "Countless insects were burrowing into the room. If I hadn’t acted swiftly, I estimate that your elder sister-in-law would not have died from childbirth complications but would have been killed alive by the insects!"

His words were so matter-of-fact that they sent a chill down Tang Chuxia’s spine. She shivered, and just the thought of that scene made her feel uncomfortable.

Afraid that he hadn’t stirred enough shock in her, Third Grandpa added, "The bloody water that your elder sister-in-law spilled was right here, but now look, where’s any sign of blood?"

Logically speaking, there should still be plenty of traces left since last night, but in reality, aside from the carcasses of the insects, there was nothing.

Tang Chuxia exclaimed, "Could it be that my elder sister-in-law is not human?"

Third Grandpa’s face darkened, and Tang Chuxia sheepishly added an apologetic explanation, "Could it be some sort of demon or spirit, the sort that can attain enlightenment and ascend to immortality with just a sip of blood?"