In ancient times, they secretly became gods in the deep mountains.

Chapter 45 The Locust Wood Beads That Were Deliberately Enchanted
No sooner had He Jinzong finished speaking than Zhao Mama burst in and went straight to He Wanwan's bedside.

He Wanwan's face was pale, with dark circles under her eyes, weak breathing, and pale lips. She looked just as haggard as before, with no apparent change.

Suddenly, Zhao Mama saw that the young lady's eyelids twitched, showing signs of waking up.

She shook her head in disbelief and screamed, "No! This isn't real! I clearly arranged for Miss's spirit to marry my grandson in the afterlife over a year ago. They should have been reincarnated by now. Why is Miss awake again?"

Madam He's eyes widened, her lips trembling slightly: "Nanny! What...what are you saying?"

Madam He was struck dumb. The words of the wet nurse from yesterday were still vivid in her mind. The wet nurse said that the master had wronged her. But what was the wet nurse doing now?
Her most trusted wet nurse, whom she regarded as her own aunt, actually stole her daughter's soul to marry a dead person, just as the master had said.

Mrs. Ho could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"Alas!" He Jinzong sighed bitterly. He fully understood his wife's feelings at this moment: "Now you believe it, right? It was this treacherous old woman who ruined our Wanwan!"

Madam He's legs gave way, and she swayed as if about to collapse. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, and she cried out, "Aunt Zhao, why? You are my wet nurse! Wanwan regards you as her own grandmother! How could you arrange a ghost marriage for her with a dead person? You are deliberately trying to kill her!"

Mrs. He asked with great distress, "Why did you do this?"

Miss Zhao's heartstrings snapped when she awoke. She tearfully explained, "My poor grandson died young and couldn't be reincarnated. A wise man said that only by having him marry his beloved in a ghost marriage can he fulfill his regret and be reincarnated. Otherwise, he will become a wandering ghost!"

Facing the child she had raised since childhood, Zhao's mother showed a rare hint of guilt: "This old servant had no choice, I'm sorry, Madam!"

“You…you…” Madam He was filled with resentment. She never expected that Zhao Mama, who had always treated her like her own daughter, would do such a shocking thing.

She was deeply worried and wept silently.

"How do you know that Miss He is about to awaken?" A mysterious and ethereal voice echoed around, and Gu Yuexi emerged from the shadows.

Although everyone present had witnessed her extraordinary and ethereal appearance, they were still speechless with astonishment at the miraculous scene of her turning into a living person.

"What are you?" Zhao's mother raised her voice, her eyes widening in shock. Was she not old and blind? How could she see a figure of light appear out of thin air? This figure of light was also a human shape, and the human shape could even talk.

Faced with this miraculous scene, Zhao's mother trembled. Was she the one who had just asked the question?

"This is the Golden Saint Goddess, the mountain spirit of the Golden Saint Mountain Range. If it weren't for the Goddess, I would never have known that there was such a wicked old woman like you in my family. You even caused my daughter to be unconscious for a whole year!"

He Jinzong bowed respectfully to Gu Yuexi: "Once my daughter awakens, I will definitely take her to Qihuang Mountain to fulfill my vow."

How did you know Miss He was about to wake up?

Gu Yuexi glanced at He Jinzong, who was helped up by spiritual power. Ignoring the surprised expressions of everyone, she walked up to Zhao Mama.

When Zhao's mother faced her, she suddenly became so nervous that she couldn't speak.

Gu Yuexi said softly, "As long as you answer my question, I will let you see your grandson and I can also help him reincarnate."

To gain her trust more easily, Gu Yuexi said, "If I have the ability to awaken Miss He, I also have the ability to let you see your grandson Mingke!"

"My grandson? Mingke!" Zhao's mother regained her composure. She asked excitedly, "You...you really will let me see my grandson?"

"I am the mountain spirit of the Golden Saint Mountain Range. Mortals call me a deity. I naturally have the ability to let you see the soul of your grandson."

Gu Yuexi's words rekindled Zhao's mother's hope.

She really wanted to know how her grandson was doing now. Having lingered on earth for so long, would he, as the wise man had said, be unable to be reincarnated and become a wandering ghost?

She took out a string of wooden beads and told the self-proclaimed deity in front of her the whole story of how she stole He Wanwan's soul and had a ghost marriage with Ming Ke.

With tears in her eyes, she recalled: "My grandson Mingke was weak since childhood. During the drought, he endured two years but finally succumbed and died young. After his burial, my daughter and I went to Qingchan Temple to pray to Buddha for rain, hoping that the heavens would send rain to save the suffering people."

"That's when I met the abbot of Qingchan Temple. The abbot told me that my grandson was dying and refused to be reincarnated. If he stayed any longer, he would lose his mind and become a wandering ghost. Then he would have no way to be reincarnated."

“I asked the abbot how to resolve this, and he told me that as long as I burned Mingke’s favorite things for him, he would be able to let go of his regrets in this mortal world and be reincarnated.”

"Later he told me that if I wanted my grandson to be reincarnated willingly, he had to be married to his beloved in a ghost marriage. In that case, he would not only be able to be reincarnated into a good family, but also live to be a hundred years old in his next life. I didn't believe what the abbot said."

"Who knew that after returning from Qingchan Temple, I dreamed of Mingke every night. In my dreams, he cried and begged me to help him. He wanted to be with Miss Mingke."

"After that, I went to Qingchan Temple and found the abbot. He gave me a string of wooden beads and told me to drip the young lady's blood on them. He said that he would help my grandson get his wish. He told me that if the wooden beads were intact, my grandson would be reincarnated. If the wooden beads were broken, it would prove that the ghost marriage had failed and the young lady would still have a chance to wake up."

"The wooden bead remained intact for the past year. I thought my grandson and the young lady had been reincarnated, but it suddenly shattered just now. That's when I guessed that the young lady might have woken up."

Gu Yuexi took the wooden beads and recognized them at a glance: "These are locust wood beads!"

"Ordinary people believe in ghosts and gods. Legend has it that locust wood attracts ghosts, so few people carve locust wood into bracelets to wear."

"Actually, ordinary locust wood is just a common plant and has no ability to attract ghosts. But this string of beads... although it does not have the ability to attract ghosts, it has been deliberately enchanted. If someone accidentally drips blood onto the beads, their soul will be absorbed by the string of beads."

"When a mortal loses his soul, he will fall into a deep sleep like Miss He. When his soul is reincarnated or dies unexpectedly, his physical body will die."

"In short," Gu Yuexi said to everyone, "this is an evil object!"

"This...no way, Your Majesty. The abbot of Qingchan Temple is highly respected. During the drought, he even donated the temple's grain to help the disaster victims. He has a very high reputation in our sixteen northwestern prefectures."

Luo Yousong was utterly shocked.

He often helped disaster victims and was quite familiar with the abbot of Qingchan Temple. In his opinion, the abbot of Qingchan Temple would never do something as sinister as stealing other people's souls.

“Brother Luo, you can know a person’s face but not their heart. The Empress is a goddess, how could her words be false?” He Jinzong reminded him.

"It was just an unexpected turn of events. Perhaps... perhaps the host was also an innocent victim." Luo Yousong sighed.

Gu Yuexi said, "Whether he's innocent or not, we'll find out by finding out his true intentions."

(End of this chapter)