If it weren’t for his body being weak and not being able to exert strength, he would’ve gone to see Yama long ago.
Old Man Qian was tidying up the medicine box, still in shock.
He looked at Wei Shen on the couch, whose breathing was weak, then looked at the honest and simple Wei Shouzhong on the side. He just felt that something was wrong all over.
“Shouzhong, is this really your son?”
Wei Shouzhong didn’t hesitate at all: “Yeah. The one I and Hui-niang gave birth to—how could I mistake that?”
“No, you two as a couple look like this, and he looks like that.”
Old Man Qian furrowed his brows: “I remember your family’s A’Lang back then—when he left, he was skinny and short. His looks followed you two, so he wasn’t anything remarkable.” [A’Lang (阿郎): an old-fashioned, respectful way of referring to a young man or son; here, used like “your boy.”]
These words were really unpleasant to hear!
Wei Shouzhong, proud and firm: “My son being handsome isn’t his fault.”
“He joined the Wei Family Army, could eat till full every meal, had oil and water on his body—how could his frame not be tall and sturdy?”
He sighed: “But, don’t say you find his face unfamiliar—if I saw him on the road, I wouldn’t dare recognize him either.”
“It’s only that Hui-niang had sharp eyes that day and saw the peace talisman he was clutching tightly in his hand. That was what she personally went to the temple to request before he left back then. Afraid the child would lose it, she specially sewed it tightly with thread so it could be hung around his neck.”
“Everyone says, ‘Even in death, don’t die outside’—this child is probably back to return to his roots.”
With that mention, Old Man Qian remembered.
Yes, when Wei Shen first fell into a coma, he still wouldn’t let go no matter what.
It could be seen how much he valued that peace talisman—more than anything.
Inappropriate suspicions vanished like smoke with this sentence.
———
In the evening, the sky was gloomy and dark, as if brewing a torrential storm.
Wang-Shi was sulking and didn’t make dinner for Yu Tingwan. She just reheated the rice and ate together with Young Xu-Shi in the kitchen hut.
For several days straight, they’d been eating bean rice. Just the smell made Young Xu-Shi nauseous.
“Mother, you really won’t let her eat?”
Wang-Shi coldly: “What, one skipped meal and she’ll die?”
“The village head scolded me in front of everyone—my face and dignity are all gone!”
Young Xu-Shi: …
But didn’t you kind of deserve it?
Wang-Shi felt like a fishbone was stuck in her throat. The more she thought about it, the more something didn’t sit right: “That matchmaker Liu is also weird, daring to offend me! Before, she kept calling me ‘Xiucai’s mother’ with every sentence, but then turned around and pretended not to know me.”
“These years, how many girls has she ruined? What’s one more little cheap wench next door?”
That’s right!
Young Xu-Shi agreed very much.
But unfortunately, she couldn’t do anything to Yu Tingwan.
‘Dong dong’ was the sound of knocking on the door.
Young Xu-Shi panicked, turned her head to look outside, and saw Yu Tingwan standing at the door—no one knew how long she had been standing there.
Something in the sky was trembling, followed closely by thunder roaring like war drums and silver-snake-like lightning wildly dancing, as if exploding right behind Yu Tingwan.
The blinding light tore through layers of dark clouds and suddenly lit up; at a glance, the young girl’s hair was scattered, like a soul-hooking White Wuchang. [White Wuchang (白无常): a grim reaper figure in Chinese folklore who escorts souls of the dead.]
Yu Tingwan had a good temper and spoke in a warm voice: “Don’t even know how to lower your voice when speaking ill of someone.”
“This is my home!”
Wang-Shi: “I’m cursing you right to your face, and you still have to take it!”
Yu Tingwan blinked her eyes.
Wang-Shi: “Don’t get cocky! Sooner or later, I’ll make sure you can’t eat and have to hold it all in!”
Yu Tingwan curved her lips: “Alright then~”
Wang-Shi felt she was being provoked.
Yu Tingwan seemed like she couldn’t do anything about her: “Then Auntie, please continue.”
Saying that, she turned and was about to leave.
After a few steps, her footsteps stopped.
“What does it feel like when your scheming fails?”
She didn’t plan on hearing Wang-Shi’s reply at all—just let out a low laugh.
“Whether there’s something or not, all you do is make people uncomfortable. You think you’re the only one with a brain?”
Wang-Shi laughed from anger: “Is that the attitude you use to talk to your elders?”
“Before, I thought I should endure, endure again and again. When I had no capability, I had to keep low and act small. But why should I? I’ve figured it out now—if you keep backing down, people like you will only keep pushing further.”
Yu Tingwan’s face suddenly turned cold. She glanced at the sky, her voice particularly cold and clear: “How thick must Auntie’s face be to still act all high and mighty in front of me?”
“If you insist on tearing off all pretense with me, the one who ends up unable to show her face won’t be me. If I were Auntie, and had even a shred of shame, I would rein in this disgusting, revolting face.”
Young Xu-Shi didn’t dare even breathe loudly.
Have you eaten gunpowder these past few days or what!!! [Eating gunpowder (吃了炸药): slang for being especially explosive or combative in attitude.]
She didn’t dare offend either side, so she shifted her body and didn’t want to get involved in this fight.
Wang-Shi: “Get out!”
She was so angry she jumped: “Get out of here now!”
“Best if you freeze to death outside!”
“If not for the Hu family, would there be you now? Everyone says you’re sensible, but it’s all an act! I want to see whether the village head still stands on your side!”
She spoke with contempt: “Yes, I’m bad to you—so what? Even if I raised a beast, it’d still wag its tail at me, but you?”
Compared to her hysteria, Yu Tingwan was so quiet she didn’t seem like a living person.
The soles of her shoes had long been soaked by snow, the chill climbing upward.
Her voice was very light, nearly drowned out by the thunder: “These years, I’ve always been puzzled.”
“Back then, when Father and Mother perished in the sea of fire, the Yu family was also burned down to nothing but ashes. Official Zhubu from the yamen pitied me, but his family had many children and really couldn’t afford to raise another, so after much effort, he sought out Uncle.”
“When Uncle came, he cried upon seeing me and said he wanted to take me home.”
“Though I was young, I had never heard Ah Niang mention having an older brother from her maiden family. All those years, there was never any contact. I only knew she had once been desperate with nowhere to go when Ah Fu saved her, and the two got married.”
“It was clear that she had a falling out with the Hu family.”
She had entered the Hu family in a state of panic. Over the years, she tried to inquire, but the people of Xilin Village avoided mentioning anything.
“I was just a child then—what could I do? Ah Fu and Ah Niang sacrificed their lives to save me. Wasn’t it so I could live well? So I couldn’t let myself be thrown out of the house.”
As she spoke, her words paused.
“But a few days ago, I went into the mountains and accidentally heard Granny Fan say something.”
Wang-Shi turned pale with shock.
“You…”
Yu Tingwan turned her head: “Shall I say it out loud, word for word, for Auntie to hear?”
She pulled at the corner of her lips: “Does Auntie dare to listen?”
“Tell me—if I were to casually mention it in front of Second Cousin’s teacher…”
Before she even finished speaking, she was interrupted by Wang-Shi.
“No!”
“Erlang wasn’t involved—you can’t harm him!”
Yu Tingwan looked as if she had heard the world’s biggest joke.
“But wasn’t my mother also innocent back then? Wasn’t she sacrificed all the same?”
Wang-Shi looked at her differently now—there was fear in her eyes.
Back then, Hu Dazhu nearly divorced her because of this matter.
If not for their just-born eldest son being gravely ill and needing someone to care for him, she might have long been thrown out of the house.
So over the years, she didn’t dare utter even a single word about her sister-in-law in front of Hu Dazhu.
When Hu Dazhu went to fetch Yu Tingwan, the village head learned of this and sighed long and short.
【Since you’ve decided to bring her back, then raise her properly. Dazhu doesn’t have it easy—he’s been asking people all these years to search for his sister, only to receive news of her death. Surely he didn’t feel good about that. As for that matter… I’ll remind everyone to be mindful. Don’t bring it up in front of the girl, or you’ll be making enemies.】
Yu Tingwan’s lips curled into a sneer: “So Auntie still thinks she’s been kind to me?”
“As for me, these past few days, my mind’s been in chaos—I really don’t have the energy to bother.”
“I advise Auntie, you’d best learn to behave with your tail between your legs.”