"This is my daughter-in-law, Nan Nan, and the other one is Nan Nan's newly arrived cousin." Aunt Yu pushed me forward and her other hand naturally rested on Master Qingning's shoulder.

The village chief carefully examined me for a few moments, then led us to the village.

Twenty minutes later, Master Qingning and I were settled in a side house at the village chief's home, while Aunt Yu and her boyfriend stayed elsewhere.

After closing the door, I couldn't wait and asked, "Did you figure anything out?"

She had been silent throughout the journey, which made me somewhat anxious.

Master Qingning tilted her head slightly, as if sniffing something gently.

After a while, she looked at me and said, "You are carrying eggs in your body. Have you noticed any changes in your body?"

"What can I..." I suddenly realized that I hadn't had a sip of water since noon.

The dry and cracked skin on my body no longer itched, and there seemed to be a faint fishy smell in the air.

Seeing me stunned, Master Qingning smiled and pointed to the road west of the village, saying, "Surrounded by mountains, forming an encirclement. This is their nest. The road over there was also blasted open by them. Without someone from the village leading the way, you can't get in at all."

I was about to ask her what we should do next when the door was pushed open.

Aunt Yu stood at the door with a smile on her face, holding two bowls in her hands.

She warmly greeted, "Are you hungry? This is the fish porridge I just cooked. Eat it while it's hot."

One of the bowls of rice was adorned with familiar brown balls, emitting steaming hot air.

An indescribable foul odor rushed towards me, and I couldn't help but retch, clutching the wooden table.

Aunt Yu quickly placed the porridge on the table and freed her hand to pat my back.

She didn't seem surprised at all, just pushed the bowl of plain porridge without the preserved balls in front of me, muttering, "You're pregnant, it's good that you're pregnant."

I pushed her hand away and desperately moved backward.

"You silly child," Aunt Yu scolded, then turned to Master Qingning and said, "These preserved balls are a specialty of our village. You can't find them anywhere else. Enjoy them while they're hot."

After Aunt Yu left, Master Qingning scooped up a spoonful of preserved balls and examined them carefully.

After looking at them, she sighed, "Do you know what these are?"

"Preserved... fish eyeballs, what else could they be?" I stuttered in response.

"These are the fish women's eggs," she said, looking into my eyes with emphasis.

That overwhelming sense of nausea surged up again, and my vision gradually darkened as I collapsed.

In the dream, everything was hazy, and it seemed that many people were gathered outside the window, leaving sticky handprints on the glass.

Whispered conversations, eyes gleaming with greed, a withered-faced woman repeating over and over again, "Kill me..."