Mutated Tao

Chapter 640: Old Woman

The old woman took out a stone and used it to carefully tear open the monkey skin on the children.

Soon, the children were no longer wearing monkey skin.

Yang Xiaohai's eyes went wide in shock. The skinny old lady that loved sucking on stones had turned out to be an expert!

“Husband! He’s dead! He’s really dead! His brain is oozing out of his skull!” Zhao Xiumei exclaimed, hiding behind Yang Xiaohai in fear.

She had witnessed many deaths at the hands of that red-robed Daoist during their journey at the time, but she still couldn't get used to witnessing death.

“Don’t worry. I think that old lady only kills evil people,” Yang Xiaohai said, consoling his wife.

The old woman’s action told him that they were not in danger. It wouldn't make sense for someone like the old woman to attack regular people. After all, she seemed to be out here to punish evil people.

Moreover, Yang Xiaohai even gave her a bowl of spicy wonton for free. She hadn't eaten it, but Yang Xiaohai believed that she'd acknowledge his kindness.

The others were visibly afraid of the old woman, which was in stark contrast to Yang Xiaohai's calm and composed demeanor.

They ran away in fear upon realizing that they had just witnessed the death of a human being. The old Daoist, who looked like a sage, ran the fastest along with his disciples.

However, the three monkeys—no, the three children weren't afraid of the old woman at all. “Mother! Jiji… Mother, Mother! Motheeer!”

The remaining two children still had their monkey skin, but they were jumping and dancing around the old woman in joy.

“Come now. Don’t move. Let me take a look.”

Yang Xiaohai then saw the old woman tearing off the monkey skin on the children using just the stones in her hands.

“There really is a real, living child beneath the monkey skin!”

“Senior Bai has told me about them before. People would capture children and wrap them in monkey skin to perform tricks for them. Compared to real monkeys, children are easier to train. I thought she was lying, but I didn't expect to actually encounter one today. Anyway, let's go and help her,” Yang Xiaohai remarked. He wasn't brave enough to face dangers head-on, but he was more than happy to help once the danger had passed.

They took a pot of hot water and drenched some towels in the hot water. They cooled the towels down a bit before using them to wipe away the blood and pus from the children’s skin.

The wounds of the children looked painful, but they would survive such injuries. Thankfully, it hadn't been that long since they were kidnapped and wrapped in monkey skin.

Yang Xiaohai also grabbed some of his spare clothes and made the children wear them.

The three children looked just like normal people now that they were clean and were wearing normal clothes.

However, they were still acting like monkeys. It was highly likely that the man had conditioned them to act like monkeys for a very long time, so it would take some time for the children to start living like humans again.

The old woman wrapped a white cloth around the children's heads.

Yang Xiaohai's curiosity was piqued, so he asked, “What are you doing?”

“Once this cloth is wrapped around their head, they'll become as robust and hard as a stone. No one would dare to bully them anymore.”

Yang Xiaohai nodded and thought that it was just a tradition from some random village. It was similar to how others would place a dot of cinnabar on a child’s head to ward off evil. He used to believe it, but he was no longer a child.

He knew that a dot of cinnabar couldn't ward off evil. The only one capable of doing so was someone like Senior Li.

“Hehehe. Young man, you are very kind. You will be rewarded for your kindness.”

The old woman patted Yang Xiaohai’s head before bringing away the three children.

Staring at their departing figures, Yang Xiaohai came up with a plan and proceeded to follow them with his carriage. “It looks like they're going in the same direction as us, so we should just bring them along with us."

“I don’t think that’s a wise decision. She seems weird,” Zhao Xiumei said, sounding hesitant.

“Don’t worry. She definitely has a few screws loose, but she’s still a kind person. Also, I think it's safer for us to have an expert by our side.”

He could still remember how Troupe Leader Lu had used Senior Li as his bodyguard. He was simply imitating Lu Zhuangyuan.

Yang Xiaohai was also convinced that the old woman wasn't evil. After all, she had saved three children and even peeled off their monkey skin to return them to normal.

“Madam, come sit in our carriage. It must be hard walking around with a cane. Since it looks like we're going in the same direction, we can just travel together."

At first, the old woman refused the offer, but Yang Xiaohai insisted again and again until she relented and hopped into the carriage.

The carriage now had four additional occupants, but all of them combined were still lighter than Gao Zhijian.

After all, the four additional occupants were just three children and a skinny old woman.

“Young man, how old are you?” the old woman asked, staring at Yang Xiaohai's back from inside the carriage.

“Me? I don’t know. No one told me my age when I was young, so I have no idea how old I am. I’m probably thirteen or fourteen, though.”

The old woman seemed to reminisce about the past as she muttered, “Ah... If my grandchildren were still alive, they'd be around your age.”

“What happened to them?”

“My granddaughter was sold off for two pieces of bread, while my grandson was cooked and served as food. Ah... my poor grandson!” the old woman cried upon recalling the horrifying incident.

“Mother? Mother?” The children tried to wipe away her tears, and she spread her arms to hug them all.

“Sigh. Husband, she's been through many hardships,” Zhao Xiumei whispered. She then entered the carriage and shared her hardships with the old woman.

The three children and Zhao Xiumei consoled the old woman, and she eventually stopped crying. Wiping away her tears, she said, “Don’t worry. I now have the blessing of Sir Arrogant Stone. He allowed me to see my grandchildren in a dream, and I saw that they were safe and sound. I'll be able to see them again in the afterlife, and all of us will reincarnate into a rich family."

Zhao Xiumei was surprised. “Is Sir Arrogant Stone that strong? What Bodhisattva is he? Can he give me a son? I should really start praying to him.”

The old woman was thrilled upon realizing that Zhao Xiumei was interested in Sir Arrogant Stone. She then proceeded to talk about Sir Arrogant Stone's greatness as well as the benefits of praying to him.

Yang Xiaohai merely listened to the old man. He didn't believe her at all.

The couple was still full from the wontons earlier, so they traveled nonstop for roughly four hours.

Fortunately, they managed to reach a county town before nightfall, which meant that they didn't have to camp outside tonight.

“Husband, what do you think about this?”

Yang Xiaohai turned and saw a white cloth wrapped around his wife's head.