Chapter 291: Drinking The Divine Water

Xiao Qiudong wasn’t pleased with what he had just heard, and it showed on his face. Seeing his reaction, Xiao Ping smiled awkwardly and immediately tried to salvage the situation. “But of course, Dong Dong over here is also a very outstanding man. He’s an engineer and married a lady from Taiwan. He’s well known in all the nearby villages,” he said.

“Who are you calling Dong Dong? What are you implying? Are you saying my neck is short? From now on, address me by my name: Xiao Qiudong. Call me Dong Dong again, and I’ll not give you face!” Xiao Qiudong rebuked Xiao Ping soundly.

Xiao Ping was startled, but all he could do was offer a conciliatory smile, and repeatedly nod his head and bow to Xiao Qiudong. “Oh, okay, okay.”

Xiao Qiudong’s impertinence was not lost on Xiao Luo, who quickly deduced the situation. Xiao Ping was older in age and was always like an elder brother to Xiao Qiudong. So, it was unusual that he acted so humbly like he did today and had to even keep a respectful smile on his face after being humiliated by Xiao Qiudong. How could Xiao Luo not know what was going on between them?

“Miss Ji, is it? h.e.l.lo, my name is Xiao Qiudong. I’m really close to Xiao Luo–back then, when he was little, he even wore my underpants when his hadn’t dried. Speaking about that, I think we really grew up wearing the same pants, haha.” Xiao Qiudong extended his hands to Ji Siying and changed his expression immediately. Just a moment ago, he was infuriated with Xiao Ping, but in the next instant, he was flas.h.i.+ng a charming smile on his face.

“What a phony!”

Xiao Luo thought to himself with a sigh of disgust as he just stood there, speechlessly. He just could not understand how his childhood friend had become so pretentious and overbearing. From what he had seen, there wasn’t even an ounce of sincerity in him.

As a courtesy, Ji Siying responded to the gesture and shook hands with Xiao Qiudong. She gave him a smile and said, “Nice to meet you!”

“Miss Ji, I would a.s.sume that you’re from Jiangcheng? For you to own such a luxurious car like an Alphard, I am sure your family has a net worth of over ten million or even a hundred million dollars. So, I’m very curious, what is it that made you choose Xiao Luo? This brat doesn’t belong in the same cla.s.s as you,” Xiao Qiudong teased, his tone was derisive and totally out of line.

Ji Siying’s expression immediately changed as she dropped her smile. She instantly retracted her hand, and her eyes glowered with a look of hostility. How could she be oblivious to the intentions of this man who was deliberately whipping things up?

“Huh… please don’t misunderstand me, Miss Ji. I’m just curious, that’s all, haha. After all, you and Xiao Luo appear to be just like those happy-ever-after fairy tales, you know, where a princess lands up with a poor boy,” Xiao Qiudong said, chuckling heartily.

Xiao Ping scowled and keeping the tone of his voice polite, he said, “Qiudong, that isn’t a nice thing to say. It feels like you are casting a bone between Luo and Miss Ji.”

“Casting a bone? Who is doing that! I’ve already said that I’m just curious. Do you have a problem with understanding simple language, or is your brain dead?!” Xiao Qiudong turned and chastised him loudly.

The sound of gongs from within the Seekong shrine muted Xiao Qiudong’s nasty words. Otherwise, his loud voice would undoubtedly have caused everybody to look in their direction.

Xiao Ping was indignant but dared not to speak out. He clenched his fist in frustration, but he loosened up and calmed himself, not wanting to risk Xiao Qiudong going back on his words and not lending him the money. Earlier, Xiao Ping had to plead for his help and was close to getting on his knees before Xiao Qiudong finally agreed to lend him the money. At this point, he didn’t dare to provoke and upset Xiao Qiudong.

“Qiudong, do you need to be so arrogant?!” Xiao Luo said, clearly annoyed with his insolence.

“Arrogant?”

Xiao Qiudong raised his eyebrows, feigning surprise, and laughed aloud like he had just heard an excellent joke. “Xiao Luo, my good brother, exactly what did you see that gave you the impression I’m arrogant? I’ve just exerting my voice a little, but that has absolutely nothing to do with being arrogant. Isn’t that so, Ping?”

As Xiao Ping was in dire need of his help, he promptly nodded with a forced smile on his face and said, “Qiudong is right. He wasn’t arrogant. Luo, I think you are mistaken.”

“You heard him? Even your Brother Ping says you’re wrong,” Xiao Qiudong snorted, taking dubious pride in manipulating the situation.

Xiao Luo shook his head without smiling, feeling annoyed with Xiao Qiudong’s overbearing and childishness behavior.

Confidently, Xiao Qiudong now switched his gaze back to Ji Siying, and with a snicker, he said, “Miss Ji, can you satisfy my curiosity? Which part of Xiao Luo attracted you?”

Ji Siying glanced at Xiao Luo, then turning back to Xiao Qiudong, she stared him in the eyes and said, “He is exceptional!”

“Oh?” Xiao Qiudong wasn’t expecting such a response and pretended to be surprised.

Then Ji Siying added, “He’s more excellent than you, he’s better looking than you, and by the looks of it, he’s a tier above you in everything!”

Although her relations.h.i.+p with Xiao Luo was merely a cover, she simply couldn’t stand seeing hypocrites like Xiao Qiudong bullying others and making fun of Xiao Luo.

Her scathing response almost made Xiao Ping burst out laughing from sheer satisfaction.

The smile on Xiao Qiudong’s face froze, and his lips unconsciously drooped downwards, giving him a rather vague expression. But with his pride at stake, he laughed out loud and said, “Hahaha… what an interesting person you are, Miss Ji. There’s a phrase that goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It seems that it is true.”

Behind his rambunctious laughter, his eyes were burning with rage, as Ji Siying’s words had literally trampled on his dignity. It was immensely humiliating to Xiao Qiudong that Xiao Luo could be rated as “better than him in everything.” Deep inside, he felt the urge to call out Xiao Luo as a gigolo and nothing more than the garbage that wasn’t qualified to be compared with him. But he kept his composure and decided that he would maintain his pretense of cordiality with Xiao Luo for now.

Xiao Luo didn’t say a word but merely glanced at Ji Siying with smiling eyes. He admired her feistiness and thought to himself, “Hmm, this liaison officer is not bad, not bad at all!”

The truth was he found Ji Siying interesting. She was certainly attractive and well-limbed and had a great personality. But more importantly, his grandparents really liked her. If by chance, something were to spark between them, he would likely consider it.

The gong and drums were now struck with more urgency, expressed in a rubato, taking on a quicker tempo then slowing down repeatedly. The chanting of old man Xiao Quanren was getting faster, and so was his hand movements, scribbling with the fulu. The ceremony was coming to a climax.

All of a sudden, old man Xiao Quanren opened his eyes. His piercing, old eyes were forbidding and deterred the people from looking into them.

The sound of the drums and gong halted the moment his eyes opened. Then his old gravelly voice echoed with a dynamism that belied his age. “Spirits of blood, shower thy divinity upon us! Give the Xiao clan thy blessing, grant us health and our bodies the ability to resist all illnesses!”

All the Xiaos present stood up immediately and positioned themselves in three rows before him, gazing with deferent eyes at the Seekong altar. Old man Xiao Quanren then held up a rooster, severed its head, and drained its blood. He held his index and middle finger together, dipped them in the blood, and drew a red mark between the eyebrows of every Xiao present. He brought forth a bowl of divine water, filled from the barrel located in the innermost section of the shrine.

“Mr. Xiao Luo, are we about to drink the divine water?” Ji Siying whispered.

Xiao Luo nodded, “From between our eyebrows, we will receive the blessing from the divine water.”

“Do we need to finish it?”

“You may if you can finish it, but if you can’t, take three small sips and splash the rest on the wall. Don’t pour it on the ground,” Xiao Luo explained. These were rituals that had been instilled in him since he was a child. The divine water should never be poured onto the ground; otherwise, one would be reproached by the crowd.

“Alright.”

Ji Siying nodded her head eagerly.

“And who could this lady be?”

Old man Xiao Quanren stood in front of Ji Siying, a questioning look showing on his aged, wrinkled face.

“Wise One, she is Xiao Luo’s girlfriend,” Xiao Dizhang said.

“Who?”

Xiao Quanren was advanced in age and was hard of hearing.

Xiao Dizhang came up close to him and roared in his ears, “She is Xiao Luo’s girlfriend. She especially came to pay homage to Seekong. She will be married into the Xiao family soon.”

“Ah, Xiao Luo’s girlfriend, you are. Very good. How capable of Xiao Luo to find himself such a beautiful girlfriend.”

Old man Xiao Quanren looked at Ji Siying with a smile, extended his hands and tapped his finger between her eyebrows. The crimson blood splashed down between Ji Siying’s eyebrows like vermillion, making her look almost like a deity. “Child, as I smear this blood on your forehead, Seekong shall bless you with life-long peace. Now, drink the divine water, and Seekong will grant you a blessing to deter all illnesses!”

…