Chapter 387 368: The Heaven and Earth Alien Species: The Stealth Race

Outside Huijiang City, amidst a network of crisscrossing waterways, Song Ciwan stood upon the waves, just as she was depicted in Aunt Wen's recent painting.

The autumn wind rustled through the reeds, carrying with it the soft sound of lapping water. In the wind, Song Ciwan looked back in the direction of Aunt Wen.

Over there were the Hujiang County Magistrate and his men, who had just left.

Song Ciwan had left right under the noses of the Hujiang County Magistrate and the others, yet not a single one of them had noticed.

Her Sun and Moon Transformation Skill had, without her realizing it, reached a state of Mastery. This skill could blur vision, distort perception, and create illusions.

Having personally witnessed the Hujiang County Magistrate and the others miss the truth of the descending Talent because they looked down on Aunt Wen's image as a common woman, Song Ciwan couldn't help but scoff inwardly.

She raised her hand and stroked the Big White Goose flapping its wings beside her.

The Big White Goose understood nothing about Talent. Right now, its mind and eyes were completely filled with the sight of the water below.

Its goose-like nature made it difficult to suppress its craving for the water. With just a nod from Song Ciwan, it would instantly dive in to play, tumble about, and catch fish for Wanwan to eat!

"HONK HONK HONK!"

"SQUAWK SQUAWK SQUAWK!"

The Big White Goose flew excitedly around Song Ciwan, nuzzling her with its head from time to time. It then used the smoothest feathers on its neck and shoulders to constantly nudge against Song Ciwan's hand.

After a moment of this nudging, it made Song Ciwan laugh.

"Oh, Big White Goose," Song Ciwan said with a smile. "You only know that the water here is nice, but you don't know how many dangerous undercurrents churn in the depths. Do you think I'm forbidding you from touching the water? I'm just..."

She didn't finish her sentence, because she saw the Big White Goose flapping its wings and craning its neck again. It even puffed out its chest, striking a proud and spirited pose in front of Song Ciwan.

"HONK HONK HONK! GACK GACK GACK!"

In goose-speak, it was clearly saying: 'Wanwan, this goose isn't scared! Not scared at all!'

For the Big White Goose, seeing water was like Aunt Wen seeing a canvas and a Paintbrush.

Song Ciwan's words of refusal died on her lips. After a brief pause, she said, "You're right. I was being prejudiced. Just as the world is prejudiced against Aunt Wen, if I don't let you into the water, how am I any different from those fearful and biased people? How ridiculous..."

'What was so ridiculous?'

'Ridiculous how the Hujiang County Magistrate and his men called Aunt Wen an "ignorant woman" at every turn, not knowing they were the ignorant ones themselves.'

'And ridiculous how she, Song Ciwan, thought herself so perceptive, when in reality, she too had moments where she couldn't see the forest for the trees, just as full of prejudice.'

'In this world, who doesn't view things from their own perspective? Who can truly escape their worldly nature?'

'Sometimes, accepting that one also has a mundane side is, in itself, a form of open-mindedness.'

Song Ciwan raised her finger and stacked ten layers of Iron Feather Talismans onto the Big White Goose. She then used the Spirit Nurturing Technique to give it a danger-sensing ability before finally letting it into the water.

The Big White Goose gave a happy cry, spread its wings, and dove into the water. Its upper body thrashed about for a moment, and in an instant, it had plucked out a wriggling, lively fish.

It gacked happily, opened its mouth, and flung the fish into the air. The fish squirmed in mid-air as it was tossed toward Song Ciwan.

The Big White Goose called out, "HONK HONK HONK!"

'Wanwan, catch! This goose caught a fish for you!'

Song Ciwan spread her fingers and, using the Qi Absorption Technique, caught the fish with a cushion of True Qi. She smiled and said, "What a plump fish! Good job, Big White Goose! We'll roast it later and eat it together!"

With that, she placed the fish directly into a Storage Pouch.

The Big White Goose was overjoyed. It let out another series of "SQUAWKS," flapped its wings, and paddled its webbed feet rapidly under the water, spinning in joyful circles.

Seeing its happiness, Song Ciwan felt happy as well.

Meanwhile, the Hujiang County Magistrate and his men questioned everyone on all the conspicuous large boats in the area, but they simply couldn't find the "Talented Scholar" who had triggered the Spiritual Light.

After Aunt Wen accepted the fact that Song Ciwan had left, she knelt on the boat, clutching the one hundred and eighty taels of silver, and kowtowed several times toward the sky.

Xiaoni, who was beside her, kowtowed along with her.

Aunt Wen prayed piously, "Thank you, Fairy, for thinking so highly of this humble one. This humble one has accepted the Fairy's gift. From now on, I will pray for you always, hoping the Fairy enjoys eternal blessings and a smooth path on the Dao."

After finishing her prayer, she felt at ease and put the silver from her hands back into the cloth pouch at her waist.

From several li away on the water's surface, Song Ciwan received two more clumps of qi: [All things have spirits and can be believed in. The pious faith of a Righteous Qi Realm Painter: worth thirty-nine taels. Tradable.]

[All things have spirits and can be believed in. The pious faith of a mortal: worth twenty-one taels. Tradable.]

It seemed the mother and daughter had both become Song Ciwan's believers.

After Aunt Wen and Xiaoni finished kowtowing, Xiaoni suddenly threw herself into her mother's arms. Only then did she finally dare to express her joy, "Mother, we have money now! We won't have to freeze in the winter anymore, and Sister-in-law won't have to keep trying to send me to the landlord's house to be a servant girl, right?"

She was so happy that her eyes filled with tears again.

Aunt Wen raised her rough palm, gently wiped her daughter's eyes, and said firmly, "Mother won't let anyone sell you off to be a servant girl. Don't worry, Xiaoni."

After saying this, she warned Xiaoni, "Regarding the silver we received today, you mustn't tell anyone after we get home. Not your father, and not your brother or sister-in-law. Understand?"

Xiaoni let out a confused "Ah?" "Mother, your paintings can sell for money. That's a good thing, why can't we talk about it? If we do, Father will never stop you from painting again..."

"The Fairy was willing to buy my paintings at a high price because the Fairy is benevolent," Aunt Wen said with a sigh. "If it were anyone else, how could they possibly be as generous? You've seen it yourself. Others won't even give my paintings a second glance. Forget thirty taels; they wouldn't want them for three taels, or even three copper coins."

Xiaoni argued, unconvinced, "But, Mother, we have money now! We can buy good canvases. With a whole canvas, your paintings won't be made of patched-up scraps anymore. They should be able to sell for a good price then!"

But Aunt Wen's face suddenly turned stern. She said gravely, "Xiaoni, one must never be greedy. What do you mean, 'we have money now'? And what do you mean, 'sell for a good price'? What price are you thinking of? Who would you sell to? And after selling the paintings, what then?"

Xiaoni was left speechless. At her age, she couldn't answer a single one of the questions Aunt Wen had posed.

But she did understand the principle her mother had taught her: one must not be greedy.

Xiaoni was instantly ashamed. She lowered her head and said, "Mother, I understand now. We were lucky today and received a great benefit, but we can't always have this kind of luck. We... we..."

Aunt Wen finished the sentence for her, putting her inexpressible thoughts into words, "That's right. Luck isn't something you can count on, so we cannot live our lives relying on it."

She pulled Xiaoni into an embrace, used her sleeve to wipe her tears again, and said, "Xiaoni, you don't understand. Right now, Mother's heart is both happy and a little panicked. For simple folk like us, we're scared when we have no money... but when we have money, we're scared too..."

Xiaoni looked up and let out another "Ah?", her voice full of confusion.

'It's one thing to be scared when you have no money, but why be scared when you have it?'

Aunt Wen murmured, "Money is a good thing, but when there's too much of it... how can you possibly hold onto it?"

She clutched her chest. A strange power was surging within her heart.

It was something she had suddenly obtained after finishing the painting, a fact she didn't dare tell Xiaoni.

Several li away on the water, Song Ciwan extended her Spiritual Sense and witnessed Aunt Wen teaching her daughter. Listening to her every word, she felt that Aunt Wen was truly a rare talent worthy of achieving Enlightenment in the Painting Dao.

She appeared slow-witted on the surface, but in reality, she possessed the wise-fool demeanor of a true Hermit.

She had her own convictions and her own wisdom for survival.

Although she had only just set foot on the path of the Dao, she might not yet understand what the Dao was, nor comprehend the patterns of how Talent circulated in her body, and she certainly had no systematic method for cultivating it...

But none of that was actually a problem.

In time, a person like Aunt Wen who had achieved Enlightenment on her own would naturally come to understand the wonders of the Painting Dao.

As the one who had guided her, Song Ciwan couldn't stay by her side forever, endlessly monitoring her growth. But today, there was no harm in protecting her for one more leg of her journey.

So, Song Ciwan's fingers twitched, and she activated the Heaven-Stealing Day-Changing Skill.

She took out two Protective Talismans and, using the Heaven-Stealing Day-Changing Skill, swapped them for a strand of hair from Xiaoni and Aunt Wen, respectively.

The Protective Talismans landed silently upon them, disappearing into their backs.

Song Ciwan collected the two strands of hair, then withdrew her gaze and paid them no more attention.

The Big White Goose was still splashing in the water, but for the most part, it didn't go deep, staying active within about three feet of the surface.

The goose knew its limits—

Of course, geese are birds. While they are drawn to water, they have no particular obsession with deep diving. Its reluctance to go into the depths was, in fact, a kind of instinct.

This was perfectly fine. So, while contentedly watching the Big White Goose splash around, Song Ciwan began to operate the Heaven and Earth Scale to start a new round of trades.

From crossing Celestial Dragon Mountain, to attending the Third Princess's celebratory feast, and now to guiding Aunt Wen onto the Dao, Song Ciwan had accumulated so many good things in her Heaven and Earth Scale that she couldn't possibly trade them all at once.

Her original plan was to set aside five opportunities each day to trade Demon Spirit Malice, thereby steadily increasing her Lifespan.

But today, there were simply too many good things. She was very curious about some of them and wanted to trade them to see what she could get, so her original plan would have to change.

She had seven trades left for the day. Song Ciwan first used two to trade away Demon Spirit Malice. Her Lifespan increased by another four thousand years, reaching a total of thirty-five thousand.

Next, Song Ciwan traded a Golden Hawthorn—something she had long wanted to sell but never found the right opportunity for!

Although this Golden Hawthorn was said to be produced by the Third Princess—at the time, the Eldest Princess had said the Third Princess was "giving birth"—it wasn't actually a complete life form. Strictly speaking, it couldn't be considered the Third Princess's child.

Song Ciwan later figured out the nature of this item. It was probably similar to the Big White Goose's eggs.

It was just that the Big White Goose could lay two or three eggs at most—and usually only one—plus, it couldn't lay eggs every day...

The Third Princess, on the other hand, would "give birth" at the drop of a hat, producing several thousand at a time.

Of course, one couldn't assume the Golden Hawthorns were worthless just because they were produced in high volume. In a direct comparison, a Golden Hawthorn was far more valuable than one of the Big White Goose's eggs.

A Golden Hawthorn entered the Balance Plate, and the Heaven and Earth Scale provided an explanation: [Golden Hawthorn, a Heaven and Earth Alien Species, the empty egg of the Space-Time Alien Stealth Race. This egg cannot be hatched. It has some ability to enhance comprehension. Tradable.]

This time, the Heaven and Earth Scale added critical prefixes to its explanation of the Stealth Race: Heaven and Earth Alien Species, Space-Time Alien!

'What exactly is the Stealth Race?'

'So the Stealth Race is a Heaven and Earth Alien Species!'

Song Ciwan had read some information about Heaven and Earth Alien Species before. According to folklore, they were not born from bloodline reproduction, but were instead born from anomalous qi.

In other words, the Stealth Race was not part of the Demon Race!

Most Heaven and Earth Alien Species were born with Divine Techniques and long lifespans. Compared to the Demon Race, they were even more mysterious and unfathomable.

[You have traded one Golden Hawthorn, a damaged egg of the Heaven and Earth Alien Species, the Space-Time Alien Stealth Race. You have obtained one Marvel: a Fake Treasure-Collecting Gold Coin.]

Fake Treasure-Collecting Gold Coin: An imitation of the legendary Treasure-Collecting Gold Coin. Can unconditionally knock down one Magical Treasure of Lower Grade or below. Single use only.