Yan Qing turned around in the rain with an umbrella, and began to think about another question, why the woman in yellow was not affected by the green rain in the barrier city. Her ancestors had been in the barrier city for generations, so it was reasonable to say that her generation would not be able to escape the curse.
Yan Qing asked Jin Ming: "I saw a woman in a yellow skirt escape from here before. Did she commit a crime?"
Jin Ming said: "Have you forgotten what I said? The women in the city of Zhan have only one crime, and that is to have an abortion without permission. They are all very strange, the men don't want to marry, and the women don't want to marry."
Jin Ming felt a little uncomfortable talking about this, and he chatted with Yan Qing about a gossip that was passed down by word of mouth in Zhan City: "The woman's name was Liu Yirui. At that time, she was unwilling to get married and have children, which made the clan family crazy. At that time, all the men of the right age in Zhan City were tied up and let her choose, but in the end, there was no one she liked. The people in the city were not satisfied, so they went outside the city and kidnapped a few men with outstanding looks and strong bodies, but she was still not satisfied."
Yan Qing: “…”
Jin Ming said: "Women in the City of Barriers have a very high status, and the City Lord's Mansion and the Clan's Mansion basically follow their wishes. Later, the stalemate could no longer continue, and the Clan's Mansion simply got angry and drugged her. It was the rosemary I told you about before. She was confused and infatuated, and I don't know who she had sex with, but she got pregnant anyway."
"The clan family said that it doesn't matter if she doesn't want to get married. Love between men and women is a kind of happiness. She just needs to be willing to keep having children."
"Finally, she aborted the child when no one was paying attention. Now no one knows where she has fled to."
Yan Qing smiled, but there was no smile in his eyes. No wonder, when he was queuing before, he saw the men in front of him standing against the wall, avoiding Liu Yirui, probably because they were afraid of accidentally hurting her.
After all, the status of women in the Barrier City is particularly "noble". If they bump into something, it will cost someone's life - how can they not be noble? The "petri dishes" that Zijinzhou has cultivated for hundreds of years. Apart from giving birth, they don't need to do anything in their lives. Women in the Barrier City don't go out, because they are either pregnant or having miscarriages. Day after day, year after year, they use their bodies to cultivate "nightmares" and put them into clean bottles and send them to the City Lord's Mansion.
The most ironic thing is that in this city, women do not think their fate is tragic. They devote their lives to giving birth to live babies and obtaining holy water. Men do not think their fate is tragic either. They take elixirs that are as poisonous as poison, and they are happy to do so even if their average life expectancy is only in their thirties.
Their bodies and minds are polluted by the green mist and rain, with dirt wrapped around their souls layer by layer, and they move forward with a heavy burden.
Liu Yirui, the "madman" in the eyes of the people of Zhancheng, is the only sober one.
"Where is the Liu family? Can you show me the way?"
Jin Ming looked at him and pointed him in a direction.
Yan Qing held an umbrella and walked along the river to Liu's house. All the Liu family members were dead or scattered, and now only an empty house was left. As soon as Yan Qing entered Liu's house, he found many oil-paper umbrella racks, and thought that this family made a living by selling umbrellas after moving here from the bottom of the mountain.
But it is probably a skill passed down from ancestors. Shops selling umbrellas have closed down one after another. After all, as the rain continues to fall, the people of Zhancheng are becoming more and more "polluted" and have long been accustomed to walking in the rain.
For two hundred years, holding an umbrella when it rains may not be able to prevent the pollution of rain. Yan Qing walked in, wanting to see the difference between this family and other families in the barrier city. Unexpectedly, after going around the house and yard, he saw a well.
well?!
Yan Qing suddenly became serious. The water that people in Zhancheng drink is either taken from the river or caught in the sky. This is the only well he has seen in Zhancheng. Yan Qing quickened his pace and looked down. The well was open-air. He pressed the rope and used a wooden bucket to draw a bucket of water from it. He put the water in a bottle and planned to go back and ask Xie Shiyi. His cultivation was not good enough now, so he might not be able to see some things.
When he returned to the Su residence, Nanny Guan was standing guard at the door, staring at him with a pair of venomous eyes: "Where have you been this time? Three times, this is the third time already. Do you know what "three times is the limit" means? "
Yan Qing said half-truthfully, "I went to the clan residence to ask Madam Su for some medicine to help her stay pregnant."
Nanny Guan immediately flew into a rage: "There are so many people in my Su Mansion, do we still need an outsider like you to work so hard? I think you are just riding on my face and acting wildly!"
She had long disliked Yan Qing, and immediately ordered two guards: "Come here, arrest him! If you don't teach these foreigners a lesson, they will know how high the heaven is and how deep the earth is."
Yan Qing said earnestly, "No, Aunt Guan, this is not the pregnancy-preserving medicine in the clan mansion, it is the pregnancy-preserving medicine passed down from my family. The last time I saw Madam looking unwell, I felt that she needed this."
Nanny Guan laughed angrily: "You lie so much, and you still dare to fool me?"
Yan Qing sighed and advised: "Madam Guan, Madam Su is different from the women in the city. Your pregnancy-preserving products may have the opposite effect on her."
That's for sure.
Can the medicine for calming the "nightmare fetus" be the same as the medicine for calming normal people? Su Qu specially built a bamboo forest formation for her, wasn't it because of this consideration
All of Guan Ma's anger was silenced by his words, and her expression was unpredictable. In the city of Zhan, the life of an old woman like her who had lost her fertility was not so precious. Although Su Qu doted on Madam Su, he was notoriously cruel to outsiders. If Madam Su had any misfortune with her, she would not be able to avenge her.
Nanny Guan asked suspiciously, "Are you telling the truth?"
Yan Qing said, "It's absolutely true! Why would I lie to you? I'm imprisoned in the Su Mansion now. Whether I can leave the city depends entirely on Madam Su. I can't even beg her enough. I just want to behave more in front of her, so that when Master Su comes back, she can talk to me better."
His words were well-founded. After all, if Yan Qing harmed Madam Su, he would not get any good results. Nanny Guan lowered her guard. However, she still strictly controlled the medicine sent to Madam Su. She specially invited the doctor from the mansion to check the medicinal properties of several medicines. After confirming that they were correct, she gave them to several maids to taste first.
But after doing all this, she didn't have the courage to give Mrs. Su more medicine without authorization and keep everything unchanged.
It wasn't until one day that Madam Su fainted, which gave Nanny Guan a great fright.
Yan Qing jumped out and said something sarcastic: "I've already told you that those medicines you gave to women in the city to maintain pregnancy are useless to Madam Su."
Nanny Guan glared at him fiercely and said, "Is your medicine effective?"
Yan Qing said: "This is a secret recipe passed down from our ancestors, it is fair to all! Madam Su has fainted, if you continue to be afraid, I will die too!"
Aunt Guan: “…”
Nanny Guan took away Yan Qing's medicine bag in a sarcastic manner, boiled it, and then gave it to many people to try a few sips, and then sent it in with trepidation.
Unexpectedly, Yan Qing's medicine was really effective, and Mrs. Su's complexion was obviously much better.
Nanny Guan was delighted and her attitude towards Yan Qing became much better afterwards.
Yan Qing smiled faintly, hiding his achievements and fame.
In fact, Mrs. Su fainted, which had nothing to do with the fetus in her belly. The bamboo forest formation can block the rain in the barrier city, but the external spiritual pressure when the formation is activated is not something an ordinary pregnant woman can bear. Su Qu must have expected this when he dared to set up the formation. This kind of pressure is within the controllable range. Mrs. Su fainted. In fact, it is not a big problem. She just needs to rest for a few days. He was just scaring Nanny Guan.
The medicine given by Yan Qing was mixed with some herbs from the highest heavens, which balanced the spiritual energy inside and outside, making Madam Su look "better".
The pregnancy-preserving medicine that Jin Mingzhen gave him was still in his sleeve.
One afternoon, Nanny Guan came over with a smile on her face and said, "Madam is calling you over. Remember, don't say anything you shouldn't!"
Yan Qing agreed. He stepped into the bamboo forest again, and when he entered the bamboo pavilion again, Madam Su was leaning on the couch embroidering. Madam Su's belly was getting bigger and bigger, and the tenderness between her eyebrows was getting stronger and stronger. It was raining in the barrier city, but this bamboo forest was completely isolated from the secular world.
Madam Su asked, "Where did you get this prescription?"
Yan Qing smiled and said, "It's inherited from my ancestors. Is Madam feeling better now?"
Mrs. Su said softly, "Much better, thank you."
Yan Qing blinked, said nothing, and just stared at the embroidery in her hands.
Mrs. Su embroidered plum blossoms.
"Madam, do you like plum blossoms very much?"
Mrs. Su shook her head and said, "I don't like it, but my husband does."
Yan Qing: "Lord Su likes it? How can I see that? There are no plum trees planted in the barrier city."
Madam Su smiled and said, "Yes, they are planted in the City Lord's Mansion so you can't see them. Now, the plum blossoms in the City Lord's Mansion are probably in bloom."
Yan Qing was very curious: "Madam, may I ask, what kind of place is the City Lord's Mansion?"
Madam Su was stunned for a moment, then frowned in distress. She looked down at the red plum blossoms on her handkerchief and said softly, "I've been there, but I've forgotten the details. The City Lord's Mansion is a place for entertaining immortals, and mortals don't remember much after coming out of it... I vaguely remember that it was very beautiful inside."
Yan Qing just smiled and said nothing. If you remembered what happened in the City Lord's Mansion, you wouldn't be so happy now.
Madam Su was the person Su Qu came to the City Lord for, and now she has lost all her memories of the City Lord's Mansion. No matter how you think about it, what happened here is not simple.
Yan Qing asked, "Madam, are you thirsty? Do you want me to pour you some tea?"
Mrs. Su was as gentle and harmless as a canary, and she was completely defenseless against the people around her. She curved her eyes and said, "Okay? Yeah, thank you very much."
Yan Qing put the powder Jin Ming gave her into the bottle, handed it to her very naturally, and then said, "Madam, do you still remember your parents and relatives from the past?"
Mrs. Su took the hot tea, her eyes were filled with sadness, "I don't remember, it seems like they are all gone."
Yan Qing watched her drink the hot tea and said softly, "I'm sorry, ma'am."
Madam Su tilted her head to look at the bamboo forest and said softly, "My husband said that the world outside is very dangerous. All my relatives died at the hands of demons. The Barrier City is now the only pure land in the world."
Yan Qing pursed his lips and said nothing. He and Xie Shiyi had only stayed in Liuxian City for a while since they came down from the upper heaven. They didn't know the current situation in the human world, nor did they understand the operation of the demon species, the prison/confinement room and the immortal platform.
But if we think about what happened to Zhang Mushi back then, we can vaguely guess how desperate and cruel it was.
Madam Su said: "My husband said that the Barrier City is a city blessed by the gods, and a demon will never appear there."
Yan Qing curled his lower lip silently.
On March 27, Su Qu returned from the City Lord's Mansion. The Su family had decorated the house with lanterns and lights, and at night the lights flickered brightly, illuminating the sky. Yan Qing and Xie Shiyi were not even considered guests, and Su Qu always disliked outsiders, so they did not appear in the front yard.
"Did you find out what was in that water?"
Xie Shiyi has been recuperating since he came to the Barrier City. He is estimated to have almost recovered by now. His spiritual power has been gathered, and the frosty aura around him has faded a lot.
Xie Shiyi said softly: "We found something that shouldn't exist in the human world."
Yan Qing: “Hmm?”
Xie Shiyi said: "The Breath-Resisting Pearl. It is a treasure lost for many years by the Weisheng family in Zijinzhou."