Marrying into the Family

"Ayi Duo, is that you back?" An old woman who was piling firewood under the stilted house stood up and looked in the direction Ayi Duo was calling. "I heard you making a fuss as soon as I got back. Stop shouting. Elder Li went to Twelve Caves early this morning and hasn't come back yet. Are there guests?"

"A Mie! Yes, yes, I brought the guest back, isn't that great!"

Since Apo Lilao wasn't there, Ayi Duo simply ran straight to A Mie's side, happily circling around her. She even took the old woman's hand and introduced Su Yu and the others to her. Many villagers also stuck their heads out, curiously looking at them.

"What exactly do Ayi Duo's words 'Apo Lilao' and 'A Mie' mean?"

Hermione asked Su Yu, who was standing beside her, with a puzzled look.

"Good question, I don't know either..."

In the end, Zhang Qinwan answered the questions for everyone.

"A Mie means old lady or grandma, a respectful term used by younger generations to address older elders. Similarly, A Po is the opposite, meaning grandpa. And Elder Li is the person in charge of the village, usually called the village chief."

"A Mie, this chubby little guy named Goyle gave me lots of delicious food on the way! And, I found that Ganba Mushroom he was carrying! It's huge, isn't it?"

Su Yu felt that Ayi Duo was like a different person. After returning to the village, she chattered like a lark, while Goyle could only smile foolishly.

Wait, it seems he's overlooked something...

"Twelve Caves? There are Twelve Caves here? Is it the one with the Twelve Caves witchcraft cults and the elusive Twelve Caves Ridge?"

"Wow, I didn't expect you to be able to spout such rhymes so easily, and they even rhyme."

Zhang Qinwan glanced at Su Yu in surprise, not expecting him to know about the Twelve Caves.

"It's not that hard to find. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, it's no longer something secret; it's all under official jurisdiction."

"Um... really? That's quite up-to-date..."

"What exactly are these Twelve Caves you're talking about?"

Cho Chang watched as her boyfriend and aunt were talking in a way she couldn't understand, and curiously leaned over to ask them a question.

"The Twelve Caves that Su Yu mentioned are actually the Miao People's greatest secret. Their sect's unique skills are all contained within these Twelve Caves. The first cave [Spirit Guardian Cave] specializes in the Golden Silkworm Gu; the second cave [Illusory Moon Cave] excels in the Mind-Ensnaring Illusion Gu; the third cave [Bone Corpse Cave] specializes in Gu techniques and controlling withered bones; the fourth cave [Poison Miasma Cave] is skilled in mountain miasma and strange plant poisons; the fifth cave [Singing Insect Cave] uses the Sound Gu; and the sixth cave [Blood Guiding Cave] controls the Blood-Draw Gu." The Seventh Cave [Medicine King Cave] is rich in Miao medicine, antidote techniques, and life-extending secrets; the Eighth Cave [Mountain Spirit Cave] specializes in beast taming and controlling mountain spirits and insect swarms; the Ninth Cave [Mystic Star Cave] is skilled in astrology, omens of ominous times, and aura observation; the Tenth Cave [Soul Locking Cave] excels in suppressing and sealing souls; the Eleventh Cave [Molten Silk Cave] is proficient in using insect silk and puppet manipulation; and the Last Cave [Soldier God Cave] was formerly the most mysterious, using the Soldier God Monster Altar, a forbidden technique.

Zhang Qinwan patiently explained the unique features of the Twelve Caves of the Miao People to the women around her, but her explanations were so complicated that the girls felt overwhelmed and couldn't remember anything. Only Hermione was quickly jotting down notes in her notebook, as this was something she had never seen in any books.

"Which of the Twelve Caves does this village belong to?"

Su Yu then asked Zhang Qinwan, but Zhang Qinwan just smiled and shook her head.

"It's not from any particular village. Nowadays, Miao Village no longer have the division of villages, and there's no such thing as '100,000 witchcrafts.' Most Miao People people have integrated into ordinary people, generation after generation, and have forgotten the Miao People's martial arts and skills. The people who remain in the Miao Village can freely learn the martial arts of the Twelve Caves, without distinction of rank or village. There is just an annual selection competition, and eligible children can participate. Those who are selected can choose the village they want to learn from."

Indeed, the environment changes life. Even in this Miao Village deep in the Ailao Mountain, people have to keep up with the times and can no longer act as they please or control human nature as before.

"Little buddy, what are they talking about?"

The bouncy Ayi Duo came to Goyle's side again, curiously craning her neck to listen to Su Yu and the others' conversation.

"By the way Ayi Duo, how old are you this year? Have you ever participated in the Miao Village selection competition?"

When Ginny saw Ayi Duo arrive, she asked her a question.

"Me? I'm only 15! This year I just reached the age to participate in the selection competition. Apo Lilao said that the current Cultivation Bureau has a rule that we can't learn Gu Arts so early, saying that it might have a bad influence on our minds. We have to wait until we're older before we can participate in the selection. Apparently, it's to make sure we have our own judgment. I don't really understand, but I'll just listen to the older brothers and sisters in the Cultivation Bureau. They often bring us lots of delicious food and teach us to read and write, hehe!"

This girl, as cheerful as a pistachio, always has a smile that can influence everyone around her.

The old woman in the village invited Su Yu and the others into the house and had Ayi Duo brew a pot of Wan Hua tea. The fragrant aroma made even the young master Malfoy, who usually doesn't like tea, drink a few more cups.

Although Elder Li was not there, the enthusiasm of the villagers did not diminish in the slightest. Plates of exquisite food and tea were laid out in front of them, and a group of people gathered around the fire pit, saying it was to ward off the chill of the journey.

Several men were playing the lusheng (a traditional reed pipe instrument) nearby, and there were even girls holding buffalo horns filled with homemade corn wine, which made Crabbe and Malfoy and the others dizzy with drink.

"Whatever you do, don't reach out to catch the bull's horns! That means you're going to stay and marry into the family!"

Zhang Qinwan kindly reminded the boys who were already quite drunk.

Su Yu didn't drink it; he knew what was going on when he saw the Kurama next to him swaying and sticking out his tongue.

"This is alcohol, you can't drink it, you'll get drunk."

"Please, just try it, okay... please..."

After taking a second sip, Kurama found it increasingly delicious, sweet and sour! Then, taking advantage of Su Yu's momentary lapse in attention, she gulped it down in one go, as if afraid Su Yu would snatch it from her.

"Su Yu... look so good... hiccup! Let me kiss you, okay... hiccup!"

Seeing the girls looking at Su Yu like he was an animal, Su Yu quickly summoned Kurama back into his body. "My goodness, you really don't know how to stir up trouble..."

Goyle and Neville were the only three who didn't get drunk. Goyle did so because Ayi Duo kept feeding him all sorts of delicious food, so he didn't have time to drink. Besides, Ayi Duo also stopped the group of girls.

Neville, on the other hand, never drinks. He already felt he wasn't as smart as Malfoy and the others, and he was too busy trying to improve himself to drink anything that would affect his brain. Besides, he carried a bunch of poisons with him and needed to stay sober at all times. If one of them got drunk and threw one or two out, the whole thing would explode.

Pansy and the other girls desperately tried to stop the group of girls. They hadn't thought there was anything wrong at first, but after hearing Zhang Qinwan's words and understanding the meaning of marrying into the family, they all started to panic. If they accidentally left their boyfriends behind to marry into the family, it would really become a joke.

This joyful atmosphere is worlds apart from that of the Tang Sect.

"Apo Lilao may have encountered some problems. A Mie just came to tell us to continue playing. Apo Lilao will come to see you as soon as he returns."