aircannonsinc Chapter 1025 Keqing's Confusion
Chapter 1025 Keqing's Confusion
Just when Barbara was about to make another effort and use the "god" in the bottle to heal everyone in the yard.
A voice that was a bit eerie and mischievous sounded close to her ear.
"Hey! What are you doing sneaking around here?"
Barbara froze, her hands trembling with fear, and the glass bottle in her palm almost fell to the ground.
"Ah!" Barbara let out a sharp scream.
The person who scared Barbara was Walnut from the Hall of Rebirth.
She originally wanted to see if Qiaoying Manor was affected by the death aura, and also wanted to see if there were any patients who needed "service", but she saw a strange girl in the yard mumbling to the patients, and her appearance was a bit strange.
So she quietly went around behind Barbara, trying to scare this "suspicious person", but unexpectedly she was frightened by Barbara's scream.
Walnut quickly waved her hands and took two steps back, saying soothingly, "Calm down! Calm down! I'm just asking, I don't mean anything else!"
Barbara quickly put the glass bottle back into her waist bag, covered her pounding chest, gasped for breath, and explained with forced composure:
"No, nothing... I was concentrating on treating the patient, and you scared me. My heart started beating a little fast."
When Walnut heard that Barbara was here to see a patient, she immediately put away her mischievous look, clasped her hands together, bowed slightly to Barbara, and spoke in an apologetic tone.
"Oh, sorry, sorry! I was so careless! You looked unfamiliar, and you were always sneaking around the patients, so I thought you were some random person who had sneaked in."
Barbara didn't want to get involved. Now that Walnut had apologized, she wanted to avoid any unnecessary complications and expose the secret in her wallet.
So she breathed a sigh of relief, a gentle smile on her face, and said sympathetically, "It's okay. If I were in your shoes, I would also come over and ask if I saw a stranger wandering around the patient's yard."
"After all, the situation in Qiaoying Manor is special right now, so we should pay more attention to it."
When Walnut saw that Barbara was so understanding, the apology on her face immediately disappeared, replaced by her usual playful smile.
She took a half step forward, put her hands behind her back, swayed slightly, and said, "By the way, I haven't formally introduced myself yet! I am Hu Tao, the 77th head of the Liyue Rebirth Hall!
I'm specifically responsible for sending everyone on a 'dignified journey'. I'm here today to clear away the remaining dead energy!"
When she talked about "the Hall of Rebirth" and "traveling with dignity", she blinked deliberately, without any of the heaviness that ordinary people have when they mention "life and death".
Maybe it's because they know that the people who came to Qingce Village to seek refuge will not die... Since no one will die, then they can be more casual...
Barbara looked at her lively appearance, lowered her eyes, adjusted the hem of her skirt, and introduced herself softly, "My name is Barbara, Barbara Page, and I'm a prayer minister at the Mond West Wind Church."
"I originally came to Liyue for a tour, but when I heard that there were many patients at Qiaoying Manor, I thought I'd come over to help out."
She deliberately emphasized "travel" and "help" to consolidate her identity as a "foreign tourist + kind pastor" to avoid Walnut's suspicion again.
But when Hu Tao heard the words "Pastor Qi Li", her eyes lit up instantly.
She leaned closer until her face was almost touching Barbara's.
"Oh my! So you're a pastor! Then let me ask you something."
"Would you be like in the light novels published by Yaedo, where when you encounter a monster, you just stand there and chant a few prayers to destroy it instantly?"
As she spoke, she gestured exaggeratedly, clasping her hands together in front of her chest, imitating the posture of a priest in a light novel.
Barbara was stunned by this sudden and strange question, and her brain was unable to react for a while.
What's with the "chanting prayers to slay monsters" thing? How could such a setting exist in a Yaedo light novel? It's so unreal!
"what?"
Just as Barbara was still stunned by Walnut's fantastic question, a weak cough suddenly came from beside her.
"Cough cough!"
Barbara and Walnut turned their heads at the same time and looked at Xiaoliu who was lying on the straw mat.
The little girl, who had originally closed her eyes, was now slowly opening them. After Barbara's purification, she had gotten much better.
The playful look on Hu Tao's face instantly disappeared, replaced by a rare seriousness.
She walked quickly to the straw mat, leaned over slightly, and said softly, "Isn't this Xiaoliu? How do you feel?"
Xiaoliu's gaze slowly fell on Barbara. His little lips moved as he replied weakly, "Much better... I'm not dizzy anymore, and I don't feel so uncomfortable anymore."
"It's good that you're okay, it's good that you're okay!" Hu Tao immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and her tone regained some of its cheerfulness.
"I, Wangshengtang, don't want to do your business so early. Have a good rest!"
As she spoke, she suddenly turned around and took out a small brass incense burner the size of a palm from the small cloth bag she was carrying on her back.
The body of the furnace is engraved with simple patterns to ward off evil spirits, and it looks quite old.
A faint glow of fire appeared at Walnut's fingertips. He lightly touched the dry materials in the incense burner, and the mixed fragrance of mugwort and peach branches instantly spread.
"This incense burner contains mugwort leaves and peach branches, which can drive away the bad luck that lingers on you."
As Walnut spoke, she carefully placed the incense burner at Xiaoliu's feet, deliberately avoiding the direction of the child's mouth and nose.
"But if you feel dizzy or choking, just push it away and don't force it."
Although incense is good, children's respiratory tract is delicate and they may feel uncomfortable if they smell it directly.
Xiaoliu felt warm in her heart, and she nodded gently, her voice a little stronger than before.
"Got it. Thank you, Sister Walnut."
Walnut turned to look at Barbara, waved her hand, and said, "Then I won't bother you anymore, Miss Barbara."
"You continue to work hard on your treatment. I'll go to other courtyards to see if there's anyone who needs help. If anyone's 'really in trouble,' I'll come over and 'take over the business'!"
After saying that, she walked briskly towards the gate of the courtyard, and before leaving, she turned back and winked at Xiaoliu.
"Have a good rest. When you're well again, I'll take you to catch butterflies!"
……
Afterwards, Walnut skipped away. I don't know what she was busy with, but it must be something like clearing away the dead air...
After Barbara watched Walnut leave, she took out the bottle containing the soul of the God of Wind and stared at it in a trance.
Lying on the straw mat, Xiaoliu looked at Barbara in a trance and asked puzzledly, "Sister, what are you thinking about?"
Barbara smiled intoxicatedly and said, "I wonder who saved you."
Barbara was brought back to her senses by the question and quickly hid the glass bottle behind her, but she still had an intoxicated smile on her face.
"I was wondering who saved you."
"Sister, why don't I understand what you are saying?" Xiaoliu looked confused.
"Just now, it was you, sister, squatting next to me. I felt a warm power enveloping me, and my dizziness suddenly disappeared. If it wasn't you who saved me, who else could it be?"
As she spoke, she raised her hand and touched her chest.
Barbara shook her head slightly, revealing a meaningful smile. She didn't answer directly, but looked into Xiaoliu's clear eyes and said slowly:
"No, you're getting better because God is blessing you."
Xiaoliu was even more confused and asked, "God?"
Barbara didn't answer, but just told Xiaoliu to have a good rest and then continued to rescue people.
……
Barbara used the soul of the wind god in the bottle and began to absorb the patients affected by the death energy.
But in order to avoid Bai Zhu's suspicion, Barbara selectively let the wind god's soul in the bottle absorb the death energy from the patient.
In this way, when Baizhu arrives, Barbara can also say that some of the recovered patients recovered on their own with the help of elemental power.
Anyway, the most important thing is that the person recovers. As for the process, who cares?
Before they knew it, it had completely darkened. Lanterns were hung in the courtyard of Qiaoying Manor, and the orange light shone through the paper covers onto the straw mats. The aroma of herbs and mugwort intertwined in the night breeze.
Only after the last patient with mild symptoms' breathing stabilized did Barbara stand up and rub her aching waist.
Most of the patients in the yard looked much better, and some were even able to sit up and drink water.
"Ms. Barbara, thank you for your hard work."
Keqing's voice suddenly came from the gate of the courtyard.
Then she walked over quickly and expressed her sincere gratitude, "Thanks to you today, many patients' conditions have stabilized. This went much more smoothly than we expected."
"Thank you so much for sharing so much with us."
Barbara forced a tired smile.
"You're welcome... This is what I should do." After a busy whole day, she was already hungry. Her stomach growled at this moment, making her lower her head a little embarrassed.
Seeing this, Keqing immediately invited him, "I guess you're hungry too, so I asked the kitchen to cook a little meal. They're all Liyue home-style dishes. It's not a feast, but it'll fill you up."
"Please follow me, Miss Barbara. We'll eat in the yard next door. It's a good opportunity for you to rest."
Barbara touched her empty belly, nodded, and replied softly, "Well...Okay, thank you Miss Keqing."
……
The night in Qiaoying Manor was so quiet that only the chirping of insects and the fragrance of tea could be heard, and a full moon hung high in the sky.
The table in the courtyard was already set with food, and the bowls and plates were filled with Liyue home-cooked meals.
As soon as Barbara entered the yard, her eyes were caught by the table full of food.
After a busy whole day, my stomach was already rumbling with hunger. When I saw the steaming hot dishes, I couldn't help swallowing.
When people are extremely hungry, they can even eat stewed belts!
Barbara didn't hesitate to sit on the bamboo stool and started eating with a spoon.
After all, Barbara is from Mond, and she can't use chopsticks, so she can only use a spoon...
Keqing sat opposite her and watched her "wolfing down" her food. She knew that Barbara was exhausted, so she didn't bother her.
When Barbara was almost half full and put down her spoon to wipe her mouth, Keqing asked casually:
"Miss Barbara, you work as a pastor in Mond. What do you do on a daily basis?"
When Barbara heard Keqing asking about her job as a pastor, her heart skipped a beat. Could it be that her chance had come?
She immediately sat up straight, placed her hands on the edge of the table with her fingers crossed, her eyes instantly filled with piety, and her tone became serious.
“They believe in gods, provide medical care and psychological comfort to residents, and bring hope to people through songs and prayers.”
She spoke seriously, half of it was a show of "piety" for Keqing to see, and half of it was a real enthusiasm for the "god" in the bottle.