There are too many female protagonists with deceased husbands in the Qin Dynasty's Past Books.

Everything seemed to make more and more sense the more he thought about it, especially a certain detail from that nightmare, which made Jiang Mo even more certain of his guess.

In Yan Lingji's memories, there was no mention of the Korean army burning, killing, and looting.

If that memory refers to the scene when the Baiyue people fell and their villages were burned down by the South Korean army, then the South Korean army, as the invading force, should not have been absent.

They were the real nightmare, more so than the raging flames.

"Divine favor...hehe..."

At this moment, Jiang Mo felt that the title that Yan Lingji had held since childhood was incredibly ironic.

He slowly clenched his fist.

The urge to take Yan Lingji away from this quagmire was stronger than ever before.

The only problem is Yan Ling Ji's own will...

Previously, at Huoyu Manor, the other party had rejected Jiang Mo once. Since then, the two of them have tacitly avoided mentioning leaving Baiyue again.

Admittedly, Jiang Mo could tell Yan Lingji the truth.

However, how much the other party will believe, and whether they will be willing to give up their homeland because of it, remains to be seen.

Based on Jiang Mo's understanding of Yan Lingji, if this were a peaceful time, Yan Lingji would definitely turn against Tianze and the Witch Doctor after learning the truth.

But given the current situation...

If Yan Lingji were to turn against them or simply leave, it would likely be a fatal blow to the safety of the village.

As for forcibly taking Yan Lingji away...

The thought flashed through Jiang Mo's mind for only a moment before he suppressed it.

If Jiang Mo treats Yan Ling Ji as an NPC in the game, he can naturally disregard her wishes and act entirely according to his own ideas.

But if he did that, how would he be any different from Tianze and the village chief?

It's just that it sounds nicer.

Under the guise of doing what's best for you, they still don't treat Yan Lingji as an independent person!

"This is really difficult."

After considering various scenarios and rejecting numerous solutions, Jiang Mo covered his eyes with his hands and couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Perhaps, all we can do is..."

Jiang Mo's gaze silently shifted to the countdown to the end of the dungeon.

Chapter 66 Who will protect her?

The midday sun always feels so comfortable. The shaman lies quietly on a bamboo recliner, his body swaying gently with the chair, his aged face serene.

He closed his eyes and lay there motionless for a long time, with only his chest rising and falling slightly with his breathing.

He looked like he was sound asleep, almost snoring.

A figure silently approached the priest's side.

Although they were walking towards them at a considerable speed, their movements were exceptionally light, without making a sound at all.

The creaking sound of the recliner stopped abruptly when the figure appeared.

His relaxed eyelids trembled slightly, and before the priest could fully open his cloudy, weathered eyes, a soft, dreamlike whisper escaped his lips:

"Mo'er? What brings you to visit this old man today?"

The shaman's voice carried the benevolence unique to the elderly. He didn't put on any airs of seniority and jokingly referred to himself as "old thing" with a smile.

"It is true that I have been negligent lately. As your disciple, I should have visited you more often."

Jiang Mo lowered his eyes slightly, avoiding the shaman's slowly opening eyes, and placed the food box in his hand on the stone table beside him, setting out the bowls and plates inside one by one:

"I made a pot of mushroom and chicken soup, thinking that you might not have eaten yet, so I served you a bowl."

"Mo'er, you really know how to take care of people!"

The shaman didn't stand on ceremony, smiling broadly as he sat down at the stone table, praising Jiang Mo's filial piety profusely, but ultimately couldn't help but sigh:

"In this respect, Yan'er is far inferior to you, even though she is a girl..."

"She's always busy, unlike me who has a lot of free time."

Jiang Mo casually defended Yan Lingji, saying that this kind of interaction was the norm for the two of them. In the past, Yan Lingji might have spoken up to refute him, but lately she had become increasingly busy, and when she occasionally visited the witch priest, she usually couldn't stay for too long.

A casual mutter, a bland response.

This was no different from the daily exchanges that had happened time and time again in the past, but just as the shaman was about to offer the chicken soup, he suddenly looked up at Jiang Mo:

"Mo'er, why is your breathing so unstable?"

"The royal family sent over a gecko with a severed tail, and I'm trying to refine it."

It would be strange if Jiang Mo could maintain his composure after experiencing such a powerful backlash from a secret technique. However, he had already devised a countermeasure for this weakness.

The gecko did indeed swallow its severed tail.

"A gecko with a severed tail? Could it be the Chunxi gecko? The royal family is really generous this time!"

As expected of an old and wise man, the shaman quickly discerned the specifics of the royal commendation, even though Jiang Mo had only revealed a small amount of information.

The ancient name for gecko is "grizzly gecko".

As perhaps the most wronged of the Five Poisons, his appearance rate in the Baiyue witchcraft is also hard to compare with the other four.

Among the few witchcraft practices related to geckos, the Chunxi gecko is the most renowned.

In ancient times, there was a great tree called Chun, which took eight thousand years for spring and eight thousand years for autumn.

The name was chosen to highlight the amazing vitality of the Tsubaki gecko.

Legend has it that if one uses the Chunxi Guardian Gu as their natal Gu, even if they cannot achieve immortality, their vitality will be incredibly strong.

Limb regeneration is just a common occurrence.

Of course, this is just a legend; no one can actually catch the Chunxi Gecko and refine it into their natal Gu.

Because this thing takes the art of severing one's tail for survival to its extreme.

You can get its tail.

You can only get the tail.

Even so, the severed tail of the Tsubaki gecko is an extremely precious item, as it can be used to perform the secret technique of severing the tail and save one's life at critical moments.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have caused even the shamans to sigh in admiration.

"Yes, that's incredibly generous."

Jiang Mo's lips twitched twice, but he showed no joy at obtaining such a treasure. Instead, he revealed a hint of pessimism:

"The fact that they've given away such a treasure shows that what the royal family is after is something far more extraordinary!"

The royal family, or rather, the heavens.

The fact that she specifically chose this item to give to Jiang Mo clearly indicates ill intentions.

Jiang Mo is now very clear about what they are plotting.

The purpose was simply to gain his trust through this item and to distract Jiang Mo, making him overlook the gift given to Yan Lingji, so that Tianze could plant the Gu worm.

Putting aside his personal stance, Jiang Mo had to admit that it was indeed a brilliant plan.

Survival methods are always exceptionally tempting.

Especially given the current state of war, if Jiang Mo were unaware of the inside story, he might actually devote himself to researching the secret technique of severing the tail.

It wasn't for himself, but for Yan Ling Ji.

With most of their attention drawn to the severed tail, it's easy to overlook other things.

If it proceeds as planned.

It seems that Yan Lingji has been completely controlled, but Jiang Mo is still unaware, still pondering how to use the life-saving tail-severing secret technique on her.

Fortunately, Jiang Mo had already seen through the other party's scheme.

So he simply and crudely swallowed the severed tail and fed it to the Broken Cocoon Feather Gu, refining the spiritual power contained within it.

To others, this is a waste of resources.

However, for Jiang Mo, if things go smoothly, he could take advantage of the situation to control a portion of the power of the Chunxi Guardian, just like when he refined the Azure Phoenix Egg before.

However, in front of the shaman, Jiang Mo still pretended to be worried.

He looked as if he was worried that the Baiyue royal family might do something reckless.

This was done to test the shaman's reaction.

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Now is indeed the time to unite all forces as much as possible. Mo’er, don’t worry too much.”

It was unusual that the shaman actually spoke to the Baiyue royal family.

After a moment's hesitation, the old man, whose hair and beard were completely white, raised his head. His face, usually relaxed, now held a rare serious and earnest expression.

"To be honest, Mo'er, do you really not want to..."

“Teacher, you’ve confirmed this with me many times already, why ask again? I’m not like Yan, I don’t have any divine favor or destiny on my side.”

Before the other party could finish speaking, Jiang Mo interrupted the shaman.

"Moreover, I've long been used to this leisurely life, but I can't stand being like Yan, busy and running around for all sorts of things."

As he said this, Jiang Mo gave a soft, cold laugh.

His tone revealed a hint of sarcasm.

The so-called deities are certainly not the fire god Zhurong. In fact, the beliefs in the Baiyue region are often still stuck in the totem era.

There was no specific image or clear divine role.

The faith that Yan Lingji and her faction hold is in the primordial flame that brings warmth and protection.

Jiang Mo habitually refers to it as the Primordial Fire.

This wasn't the first time he'd shown such dissatisfaction in front of the shaman, who didn't find it strange and just sighed helplessly.