Free Web NovelThe dilapidated rooftop, wet with rain, reflected a dazzling silver light.
Lu Yibei, with only one arm remaining, stood in a corner of the rooftop, her eyes closed.
She silently controlled the Spiritual Energy within her body, like peeling silk from a cocoon, dispersing the Spiritual Energy that suppressed the Hundred-Armed Giant Power, returning its freedom, releasing it.
When the suppression was completely gone, and she felt the Hundred-Armed Giant Power still lingering in her chest, unusually quiet, Lu Yibei frowned slightly.
It was like a prisoner who had been locked up for too long, discovering the prison gate suddenly open, and for a moment not daring to act rashly.
Lu Yibei pondered for two seconds, a thought flashing through her mind, controlling a wisp of Spiritual Energy to rush directly into her chest.
As if to provoke it, that wisp of Spiritual Energy crashed into the Hundred-Armed Giant Power and then left.
The next moment, Lu Yibei felt rumbling sounds from within her chest, like thunder.
Violent, destructive Spiritual Energy fluctuations surged from within her chest, spreading to her limbs and bones, flesh, bone, and even cells, the explosive sound of being crushed echoing in her ears.
Dazzling silver light burst from beneath her skin, coating her entire body in a layer of brilliant silver radiance.
Anyway, she was idle, so it was quite good to self-destruct for no reason, complete a 'reboot and reload', and fix her arm.
Better a short pain than a long one; a man, you should be ruthless to yourself! Lu Yibei thought.
Thus, with a muffled sound of flesh exploding, her vision first turned into a vast expanse of white, then quickly fell into darkness, followed by her consciousness seeming to sink into a slowly flowing dark river, drifting with the current, [N O V E L I G H T] and the passage of time also became slow...
After a long while.
Feeling the cold rain hitting her face, and smelling the air fragrant with earth, Lu Yibei let out a soft groan and opened her eyes.
Getting up from the damp ground, she collected herself and looked towards Qingji, frowning.
Qingji was still asleep, sometimes speaking in his own voice, sometimes in the voice of a young girl, as if having a conversation.
Not knowing how long Qingji's state would last or when he would wake up, Lu Yibei simply sat cross-legged beside him, her arms crossed over her chest, concentrating intently on listening.
Hmph, I want to hear what kind of nonsense you're talking about!
"...When I was little, I grew up with my Grandma. Grandma's house was in Yucheng, in a village called Jinhua Village, near Mengshan..."
Yucheng Mengshan? Is that the Mengshan that produces tea? Lu Yibei nodded thoughtfully.
Although she had never been to Mengshan and didn't know much about tea, she knew that the 'Poetry Devil' Bai Juyi had a poem that said: "The only known melody in the zither is 'Flowing Water', the old friend among teas is Mengshan."
"Grandma was a very shrewd and capable old woman. My Grandpa passed away very early. She relied on her skills of picking and stir-frying tea to raise my father and me for two generations..." freeweɓnovel.cøm
Qingji spoke intermittently, and Lu Yibei listened quietly beside him.
Thus, the past events of a certain Miss, in this unhurried narration, gradually unfolded before her like a slowly opened, yellowed photo album...
----
From the time Hua Sang had memories, she lived at her Grandma's house. At that time, she was only about three years old.
It was a small courtyard facing a large mountain, with a two-story building, two single-story rooms, and a large drying yard in the front, where tea leaves were dried year-round.
Her Grandma was a very excellent old woman, possessing almost all the good qualities of traditional Z Country people: hardworking, simple, neither subservient nor arrogant... So even though Grandma spoke very little and never lectured, under her example, Hua Sang was particularly sensible and well-behaved from a young age, never causing trouble for the family.
She didn't even ask Grandma where her father and mother had gone.
At that time, in Jinhua Village, you could often see this scene.
Surrounded by green mountains, an old woman was busy in the drying yard, turning the initially stir-fried tea leaves back and forth, sweating profusely.
Beside the drying yard, a small girl, like a ball of pink, sat obediently on a bamboo chair, swinging her little feet, never crying or making a fuss, just watching the old woman quietly with a pair of watery big eyes.
Hua Sang's Grandma was a good tea picker in the village and a famous tea stir-fry master. To buy something good for her granddaughter, get her new clothes, and send her to school, she often had to go to the tea mountain or the tea stir-frying workshop to help.
But the tea mountain and the tea stir-frying workshop were not suitable places for children; one was five li from the village with rugged mountain roads, and the other was filled with smoke and open flames.
Grandma was also worried about Hua Sang, so she could only carry her in a small basket, taking her along to the tea mountain and into the stir-frying room.
Hua Sang would lie on Grandma's shoulder, or use a handkerchief to wipe Grandma's sweat, or hold a water bottle with her little hands to Grandma's mouth, or learn from Grandma and pick a tender green leaf from a tea tree.
The grandmother and granddaughter depended on each other in this way, living a somewhat impoverished life, but one that was happy and joyful.
Time in the mountains passed very slowly, from sunrise to sunset, quiet and long, but also very quickly, a year and a half passed in the blink of an eye.
One morning, as Grandma was preparing to take young Hua Sang out, she suddenly said in a childish voice, "Grandma, you don't need to take me with you today. I'll be good and stay home obediently."
She knew she had grown much bigger, and Grandma had grown much older, almost unable to carry her anymore, and that small bamboo basket was almost too small for her.
It was as if some force was urging her forward, making her mature earlier than children of the same age, or even older, in the village.
However, the old woman certainly wouldn't feel at ease leaving such a young child at home alone. She just smiled and patted Hua Sang's head, saying, "Sang Sang is good, Grandma is not tired," and continued to carry her out every day.
But Hua Sang didn't give up. She repeated the same sentence to Grandma every day.
A week later, Grandma finally compromised and took her to the small elementary school at the village entrance.
The elementary school in Jinhua Village was not large, with only a row of single-story rooms, a small playground, one principal, two Teachers, and fewer than fifty students.
At that time, Hua Sang was just over four years old, far from the age to attend elementary school. Initially, the principal was very reluctant to accept her. It was only after her Grandma visited repeatedly and talked herself hoarse that the principal reluctantly accepted her.
From then on, there was a girl in the first-grade classroom of the village elementary school who was noticeably much younger than the others.
She wore a floral cloth dress, had a small, rosy face, slightly yellowish hair tied into two small braids, and a faint scent of tea lingered about her.
The chairs in the classroom were high, and when she sat on one, her small feet, wearing cloth shoes, couldn't reach the ground and could only swing back and forth in the air.
However, although she was the youngest child in the class, she was also the most obedient. She was very attentive in class, had excellent grades, never played or made a fuss, and unlike other children, she didn't scramble for food during lunchtime, even if there was only a plate of greens and a few steamed buns left when it was her turn.
After school, everyone left, and she would sit under the old tree at the school entrance, quietly listening to the sounds of Jinhua Village.
The chickens in the coop huddled together, clucking.
There were a few listless dog barks at the village entrance.
The water in the well gurgled and made a bubble.
Some insect was flapping its wings on the window.
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A distant person shouted something...
Only when the sky was completely dark, would Grandma, who had been busy all day, come to the school to pick her up and take her home.
Some say that the child who cries gets candy, but this saying did not apply to Hua Sang.
On the contrary, it was precisely because she didn't cry and was particularly well-behaved and sensible that Grandma, the principal, the Teacher, and even the vast majority of the villagers showed her the utmost kindness.
It goes without saying that Grandma doted on her, the Teacher would also specially save a portion of food for her during lunchtime, and when villagers slaughtered pigs or sheep, they would send a small piece of meat to her house... In return, she would also help everyone with things within her ability.
The villagers of Jinhua Village liked Hua Sang very much, and Hua Sang also liked everyone very much.
Thus, she grew up healthy and happy in this environment, until she was six years old...
That summer was particularly hot, the sky was always azure, without a single cloud, and even the tea trees on the tea mountain couldn't withstand the scorching sun, curling their leaves into thin strips. The air was humid and stuffy, and it didn't rain for a long time, as if holding back a force, intending to steam people cooked.
That day, Hua Sang had just helped Grandpa, the village head, with cutting pig feed. Carrying the eggs that Grandpa, the village head, had given her, she returned home with cheerful steps, and then she saw a strange man.
The man was in his early thirties, with a sturdy build and a simple appearance. From his clothes and demeanor, he seemed to be from the city.
Although Hua Sang had never seen him before, just one look at him, and she knew he was her father, whom she had never met.
That night, three generations of grandmother, father, and daughter sat at a dinner table. The dishes on the table were even more abundant than during the New Year. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Grandma kept stealing glances at the man, not like looking at her own son, but rather with a hint of apprehension in her eyes. The man kept smiling and putting food on Hua Sang's plate, saying that he was going to be successful soon and would take her to the city then. Hua Sang just ate with her head down, not saying a word.
After dinner, she went back to her room early, locked the door from the inside, and lay on the bed absentmindedly flipping through the novel that Teacher Huang had lent her, falling into a deep sleep at some point.
In a hazy state, she felt someone open her door and enter her room.
She desperately wanted to wake up, but her body was as if under a spell, lying on the bed motionless.
That person tiptoed to her side, turned her body over, and his large palm suddenly slapped her back, as if to shatter her spine.
Like falling into a stream where the snow had just melted in early spring, a bone-chilling cold spread throughout her limbs, and soon she fell into a deep sleep again.
Dimly, she heard a low voice say to her, "Don't blame me..."
Midnight.
The air, which had been hot for a long time, suddenly cooled down. Dark clouds accumulated over Jinhua Village, and a mountain wind blew, followed by a torrential downpour. The jars and pots in the courtyard clanged as they were hit by the rain columns.
"Boom!"
With a thunderclap that seemed to shatter one's courage, Hua Sang woke up from her nightmare, opened her eyes, and heard a quarrel coming from the living room.
Listening to the voices, the quarreling parties were her Grandma and her father.
She climbed out of bed, padded to the door, and pressed her ear against it, listening carefully. She then heard their conversation.
"I raised this child alone. You never bothered with her, and now you suddenly come back and do such a thing to her!" Grandma said sharply.
"Mom, listen to me, I only made this decision because I had no other choice. Sang Sang is my daughter, don't I feel sorry for her?" the father said.
"If you knew how to feel sorry for your daughter, you should have quit that lousy job at the Night Watch earlier. I told you long ago, you don't have that talent at all!"
"Mom!" The father seemed to be stung by pain, his voice suddenly becoming gloomy and fierce, "I know you've always looked down on me, but I want to say, after I succeed this time, I won't be the same person I used to be!"
The father became more and more agitated, finally almost roaring, "Mom, didn't you always think that man was very talented? When the time comes, I'll be able to be like that man, or even surpass him, and become the number one person under the Calamity!"
"What if you fail? For this kind of lousy thing, you even put that kind of thing on Sang Sang. If you fail, everyone in the whole village will be killed by you!" Grandma said coldly.
"Mom, I won't fail. Even if I fail, isn't there Sang Sang? She's my backup! Believe me, this is a secret method I obtained with great difficulty, it will never..."
"Shut up, don't call me Mom, I don't have a rebellious son like you, get out, get out!" Grandma was so angry that she was trembling all over, cursing.
"Bang!" The sound of the door slamming heavily echoed, and the father seemed to have left, on this night of torrential rain.
Hua Sang stood motionless against the door, not daring to breathe loudly. She had never seen Grandma so angry.
She didn't dare to go out, just silently returned to bed, covered herself with the quilt, until she fell into a groggy sleep.
Then, she started to dream, a terrible nightmare.
She dreamt that the reservoir halfway up the mountain was turbulent, with huge black shadows swimming in the water.
With a sudden loud noise, the black shadow leaped out of the water, revealing its terrifying body in the heavy rain.
It was a giant beast resembling a turtle, with a body as vast as a mountain, almost filling the entire reservoir.
Trees tens of meters high were like weeds beneath it.
Mountain floods surged past its feet, like streams.
It faced the lightning that streaked across the sky, roared up at the sky, emitting a thunderous hiss.
Thus, the earth and sky trembled.
...
After that day, Hua Sang never saw her father again.
That man, who had appeared in her life for less than a day in a hurry, seemed to have left something on her, and then disappeared again.
After her father left, Hua Sang fell seriously ill, having a high fever all day long, lying in bed delirious.
When she was in a coma, she would often dream of that terrifying giant beast. Occasionally, she would be more conscious and open her eyes, and she would see her Grandma by the bed with a haggard face.
This state lasted for about a whole summer. Her condition only began to improve several days after the village elementary school had already started.
Hearing that Hua Sang's condition had improved, Teacher Huang from the village elementary school specially brought her the new semester's textbooks, gently stroked her forehead, and instructed her to recuperate well and strive to return to class as soon as possible.
Then, not long after, people in the village began to die.
The first person to die was Teacher Huang!
Teacher Huang didn't go to school all day that day. After school, the principal went to his house to find him. When he pushed open the door, he was so frightened that he fainted on the spot.
The day before, he was a lively person, but overnight, he became a corpse that looked as if it had been soaked in water for many days, with a swollen and festering body...
