Perhaps stunned by Qi Changying’s words, Zhuge Buhuo stood there with his mouth open for a long time, like a helpless statue.
No one cared about him anymore.
Fu Sang glanced at Qi Changying, raising an eyebrow slightly. He seemed to be in a good mood, because his tone was unusually gentle:
“You’re quite good at flattering yourself, aren’t you?”
“You said it first.”
“Oh, I gave you that?”
“Mm.”
The corner of Fu Sang’s mouth twitched upward almost imperceptibly, making his soft snort sound like a laugh.
Though brief, it was noticed.
“?” Zhuge Buhuo pointed at him:
“Holy crap, did he just smile?”
He urgently sought confirmation, elbowing Huo Wei hard:
“He did, didn’t he?”
Huo Wei sighed, “Just get used to it.”
“Point that finger again, and I’ll chop your hand off.”
It seemed like only the blink of an eye, and the hint of a smile on Fu Sang’s face dissipated like a dream.
“Go look at her.” Fu Sang signaled with his eyes toward Wu Renmei again.
Qi Changying nodded and walked over to stand before Wu Renmei, kneeling on one knee to look at the little girl who sat kneeling on the ground, her head lowered, motionless.
Perhaps sensing his gaze, Wu Renmei cooperatively raised her head.
The faint light in the cave illuminated Wu Renmei’s face, scarred by fire, with blood from her eye sockets tracing winding paths down the burns.
“What does this mean?” Fu Sang asked the three of them, “Did you burn her?”
“It was not us!” Zhuge Buhuo denied Fu Sang’s malicious suspicion, then tried to recall.
“She was like this when we got here. She said something just now… what was it…?”
“She said she understood, that she remembered, but what exactly she knew and remembered, she didn’t elaborate.”
In the end, it was the most reliable of the three, Zhuge Buyi, who seriously answered the question.
But Fu Sang thought this was no different from nonsense, containing roughly zero information.
He really didn’t know what these people were busying themselves with all day long.
“Is it really her?”
Not bothering with their nonsense, Fu Sang asked Qi Changying directly.
Qi Changying looked at Wu Renmei, identifying the scent he smelled, and hesitated before nodding.
With his answer, Fu Sang straightened the ghost-blood whip in his hand and reached out to grab Wu Renmei’s shoulder.
Perhaps sensing the impending danger, Wu Renshuai reacted strongly, leaping in front of Wu Renmei and, like a cat, opening his mouth and hissing threateningly at Fu Sang.
“Is anyone going to handle this?” Fu Sang didn’t have that much patience. He frowned, “If no one handles it, I’ll destroy it.”
This was meant for a certain cat demon…after all, it wasn’t his ghost so it wasn’t his responsibility; if it got in the way of others, don’t blame others for taking action. That was the rule of the world.
Which world? Naturally, Fu Sang’s own world.
But before Shou Mo could step in to vouch, another voice interrupted:
“I’m sorry. Ah-shuai, step back.”
Wu Renmei, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly looked up, staring directly at Fu Sang.
After a moment, she raised both hands, palms up, reaching toward him:
“I know what you want. Can you give me a knife, big brother?”
“?” Fu Sang shrugged.
He didn’t ask further, but did as she wished, pulling out his folding knife and tossing it to her.
Wu Renmei caught the little knife steadily.
She didn’t explain anything, only silently opened the blade, aimed the tip at herself, and without a moment’s hesitation, plunged it into her chest.
Then, the blade traveled downward.
Wu Renmei’s face was expressionless. She sliced open her body as easily and casually as if she were cutting open a burlap sack.
She probably couldn’t feel pain, and not a drop of blood flowed from her wound. Upon closer inspection, the cut left by the knife on her body felt like rubber, or something else…in any case, it was definitely not living flesh and blood.
“…So I really have been dead for a long time.”
Wu Renmei lowered her head again, and the bloody tears from her eyes dripped onto the ground with a “pat pat” sound.
Her abdomen had already been completely cut open by her own hand. After that, she discarded the knife and directly reached her hand into the opening in her belly. Right in front of everyone, she pulled out a white ruler from inside her body.
The ruler was entirely bone-white in color. One end was carved into the shape of a serpent’s skull, and the ruler’s body was stained with patches of dark red, dried blood that had clearly been there for who knew how many years.
Fu Sang looked at the magical artifact, whose aura was clearly ancient and profound, and raised an eyebrow.
It seemed the cat hadn’t lied. The object did exist, it was indeed in the domain, and it was indeed a ruler.
After pulling out the bone ruler, the wound on Wu Renmei’s abdomen slowly began to heal, but whether it was their imagination or not, under the dim light, the little girl’s body seemed to become somewhat ethereal and transparent.
She looked down at the ruler in her hands, seeming a bit dazed. After a while, she raised her eyes again, looked at Fu Sang, and spoke hesitantly:
“…I should give this to you, but big brother, if possible, could you grant me one request?”
Hearing this, Fu Sang frowned.
“Speak.”
This was the trouble with asking for things from others…unless it was freely given, resolving the karmic ties were already a major problem. With this kind of request, once the other party spoke, there was no room for refusal.
But then again, helping the object’s owner fulfill a wish was the simplest solution in such cases. The problem was, at times like this, what wish to make was entirely up to the owner, which put him in a very passive position.
And Fu Sang detested being passive.
“I, I…”
Wu Renmei didn’t notice his subtle displeasure at all.
She hugged the bone ruler tightly. Clearly she had countless emotions and words in her heart, but when it came time to voice her request, she choked up, not knowing where to begin.
She held the bone ruler in her arms, bent over, her small body kneeling and curled up on the ground, as if enduring immense pain. After a long while, she let out a hoarse, low cry:
“I hate it so much…”
‘Hate?’
Hearing this word, the furrow between Fu Sang’s brows immediately smoothed out.
Hate meant revenge. That was what he did best.
“Speak.” His mood finally lightened a bit, and he said again.
Wu Renmei’s story was not long.
She didn’t know where to start. No matter how many words came to her lips, in the end, only the word “hate” remained.
She was born in these mountains, growing up surrounded by forests and tea plantations.
Grandma said these mountains had a spirit, and the people of Mitou Village had received its blessings for generations, enabling them to create wealth and happiness with their own hands, living in peace and contentment, with harmonious and complete families.
So from a very young age, Wu Renmei followed Grandma to worship the mountain god, and every bow was made with utmost devotion.
But the mountain god did not protect their family’s happiness.
When Wu Renmei was eight years old, her younger brother was born.
After giving birth to her brother, her mother and father left behind some money and departed from Mitou Village, saying they were going out to make their way in the world, and that once they made money out there, they would come back to take Ah Mei, Ah-shuai, and A Ma to live a good life.
Ah Mei looked forward to the “big city” and the “good life” that her mother talked about, but the villagers didn’t approve of her parents’ choice.
They said that people of Mitou Village were born in the mountains and raised in the mountains, and those who didn’t stay put in the mountains would eventually be punished by the mountain god.
Wu Renmei scoffed at this.
Because she knew that Uncle Mountain God was a good deity. He must be very generous and wouldn’t get angry just because his children left.
But soon, she found out she was wrong.
Her little brother grew up day by day, but he was different from other children.
The village doctor said this child was an idiot, born with something wrong in his head. There was no way to treat it, and he couldn’t be cured.
There were no secrets in the village. Once word got out, many people gossiped behind their backs, saying this must be the mountain god’s punishment. Just like the old man who lived next door to their Wu family. When he was young, he was greedy and lazy. In the end, the wife he married fell ill, the son they had died, and although the granddaughter they had survived, she didn’t exactly live well either, because she was mute.
So, one lazy man had ruined three generations. And two from their Wu family had run off, who knew what disasters awaited them in the future.
Wu Renmei didn’t want disaster to befall her family, so she tried hard to prove her devotion to Uncle Mountain God.
She helped A Ma take care of her brother, and every day she did good deeds for the villagers, busy from morning till night. Such a thin little girl, but when she made a fist, you could see solid muscle on her arms.
She thought that as long as she was diligent and did enough good deeds, the mountain god would be pleased, would make her brother better, and would make things a little easier for A Ma.
But things never went as she wished.
When Wu Renmei was ten years old, she remembered it was a sunny summer afternoon. She sat at the village entrance, staring eagerly down the path, wondering if the postman would come today, and if she would receive a letter from her parents far away.
The answer was no.
She didn’t get the postman.
But she did meet a strange young man.
The man looked about twenty years old, chubby and round, with features that Wu Renmei found warm and familiar.
Outsiders were rarely seen in a small mountain village like theirs, so Wu Renmei was especially curious and enthusiastic.
She stood up from the big rock at the village entrance and walked over to meet him, asking:
“Are you here as a guest, Big Brother?”
That big brother was indeed from the big city outside. He gave Wu Renmei a piece of candy and asked her about the village’s population and industries.
Wu Renmei enthusiastically helped answer him, and even told him a story about the mountain god that Mitou Village had believed in for generations, the Hubizi God.
While talking, Wu Renmei kept sneaking glances at the man’s face.
The young man quickly noticed her little actions and asked what she was looking at. Wu Renmei smiled and said, “No wonder I thought you looked familiar the first time I saw you, Big Brother…you look a lot like Uncle Mountain God.”
Behind Mitou Village, there was a mountain god temple with a large statue of the mountain god inside. It was built by the villagers themselves. Over the years, they had repaired and renovated it many times. At a glance, it did indeed bear some resemblance to the young man.
Both were chubby and round, with thick eyebrows and small eyes, and when they smiled, two deep curves appeared on both sides of their cheeks.
The man seemed very interested in this. Seeing his genuine curiosity, Wu Renmei took him to the mountain god temple to see just how similar they were.
As a reward for her hard work guiding the way, Wu Renmei got another piece of candy.
That day, Wu Renmei parted ways with the man at dusk.
She was in a hurry to get home for dinner and forgot to ask her new friend’s name, and also forgot to ask where he was staying.
In fact, she soon forgot about this small encounter altogether. As for the two pieces of candy the man had given her, she gave one to her brother and one to the mute girl Ah Tian, and didn’t eat any herself.
But she knew the candy was very sweet and delicious, because Ah Tian had carefully described the taste to her through gestures. Wu Renmei imagined it, and it felt as if she had tasted it herself.
She met the man again about half a month after their first encounter.
That morning, the village was particularly lively. Wu Renmei had just woken up when she heard the adults say that a living immortal had come to Mitou Village, and everyone was rushing to the mountain god temple to see the excitement.
Wu Renmei went too.
In the crowd, she immediately recognized the big brother who had given her the candy.
Whether the big brother was really a living immortal, Wu Renmei wasn’t sure.
Anyway, the villagers all said he was a messenger sent by the Hubizi God to the village, because he could do many, many miraculous things.
For example, he knew which days would be sunny and which days would rain.
For example, he could make white paper reveal writing, which bore the decree of the Hubizi God.
And for example, if someone in the village had a stomachache, or a headache or fever, and asked him for a cup of water, the illness would soon be completely cured.
The big brother suddenly became the new god of Mitou Village. Everyone believed he was the incarnation of the mountain god, and they spontaneously rebuilt the temple for him to live in, provided him with all kinds of daily necessities, and even arranged shifts for each household, specifying which families and which people would go cook and clean for the living immortal on which days.
Gradually, the incense burner outside the temple fell out of use, because no one burned incense for the mountain god anymore.
The living immortal said that incense was useless and couldn’t reach the gods. Instead of spending money on it, they might as well give it directly to him, and he would convey the villagers’ sincerity and faith to the Hubizi God…that was quicker and more convenient than burning incense.
The living immortal also said that the amount of money represented the amount of sincerity, and only those who offered the most money could receive the most luck and favor.
The villagers believed him and his words completely. A Ma was no exception.
After that, A Ma almost emptied all the family’s savings, leaving only enough for the three of them to get by day to day, and gave the rest to the mountain god temple. She wasn’t idle for a single day either…when she wasn’t at the tea plantation, she was cleaning the temple and trimming the weeds.
Wu Renmei thought she was working too hard, but A Ma said it didn’t matter. Once the living immortal recognized her, once the mountain god felt her devotion, Ah Shuai should be able to get better, right?
Wu Renmei didn’t understand anything. She only knew to listen to A Ma. Wherever A Ma went, she went. Whatever A Ma did, she helped.
They sent stacks of money out, one after another, and worked day after day, but their lives did not get better. Instead, they became even harder.
One day, her younger brother suddenly developed a condition where he would roll his eyes, foam at the mouth, and lie on the ground convulsing. A Ma was terrified and hurriedly carried him to the mountain god temple for help.
Along the way, many curious villagers followed. In front of them, the living immortal and the village doctor performed a ritual on her brother. After he quieted down, they told A Ma with grave faces that her brother had been possessed by an evil spirit.
In short, it was still because A Ma’s heart wasn’t sincere enough in serving the gods that the evil spirits had taken the opportunity to enter.
But how could A Ma’s heart not be sincere enough?
She was clearly the most devout person in all of Mitou Village.
Why? Clearly, Ah Shuai had already been sacrificed, clearly, the family was already struggling to put food on the table, clearly, they had offered everything they possessed, even their health, to the mountain god. So why was the mountain god still unwilling to favor them and bring them even the slightest bit of good luck?
Wu Renmei truly didn’t understand.
Later, A Ma’s illness grew worse and worse, and her brother’s condition didn’t improve at all…in fact, it only deteriorated.
The other villagers didn’t say anything openly, but privately they all said it was karma, all because of that runaway pair of parents. They were out there having a good time, so the karma could only be borne by the old mother and the little children left at home.
Wu Renmei thought they were talking nonsense.
She thought this was wrong.
She felt it was unfair.
Why? Just why?
Was the immortal up on the mountain really a good immortal? If he really was, then why was he so petty? Her parents had only gone out to make their way, they hadn’t done anything wrong, so why punish them like this?
Even if they had done wrong, they had paid more than enough over the years. No matter how great the sin, it should have been atoned for by now. Why couldn’t the immortal see A Ma’s sincerity? Why was he still treating them this way?
They had believed in god so devoutly.
Carrying this confusion and anger, one evening, after her brother had another attack, Wu Renmei ran to the mountain god temple, crying and questioning the big brother, begging him to save her brother.
That day, perhaps to comfort her, the big brother gave her another piece of candy.
This time he fed it to her directly, so Wu Renmei couldn’t give this candy to anyone else.
She finally tasted the candy.
It was indeed, as Ah Tian had said, very sweet and very fragrant.
While eating the candy, she heard the big brother say that he also thought the gods were too unfair to their family, so he decided to personally perform a ritual for her brother, to drive away the evil spirit possessing him and completely cure his illness.
Hearing this, Wu Renmei’s tears turned to laughter. She asked, is that true?
The big brother nodded and said it was true, as long as she brought her brother to him here before dark.
Wu Renmei would do anything that could save her brother, make A Ma get better, and make their lives improve.
So she immediately went down the mountain and carried her sleeping brother up to the mountain god temple.
The big brother said the ritual would take a long time and couldn’t be disturbed, so she needed to go home and stay there first, and there would be results by early the next morning.
With an uneasy heart, Wu Renmei repeatedly urged and begged the big brother to do his best. Only after receiving affirmative answers again and again did she feel a little reassured, and went down the mountain, looking back every few steps.
But for some reason, Wu Renmei’s heart was still panicked beyond measure, pounding wildly in her chest, unable to calm down.
She thought, she had never been apart from her brother for a whole night like this. The two of them ate and slept together every day. Without her, her brother would be scared. She had to go see him.
She thought, she wouldn’t disturb the big brother’s ritual. She would just take one peek at her brother, just one look.
She was too scared to walk alone on the mountain road at night, so before setting out, she quietly went to the neighbor’s house and woke up Ah Tian, asking her to accompany her to the mountain god temple to see her brother.
Wu Renmei had never gone up the mountain after dark.
The mountain path was hard to walk at night. She even fell once on the way, and barely managed to find her way to the temple in the dark.
Because she had promised herself to only take one look and not disturb anyone, Wu Renmei didn’t make a sound. She just took Ah Tian’s hand and quietly circled around to the back window of the temple, peeking in over the windowsill.
She thought she would see a brother getting better.
But she didn’t.
So what did she see?
Through the grimy window glass, she saw her brother lying naked on an iron-framed bed covered with plastic sheeting. Half of his little head was smashed into a red and white mess, and a large hole had been cut into his belly.
Blood was everywhere.
The big brother and the village doctor, wearing gloves, were working together to pull the intestines out of her brother’s body.
“This little brat was pretty fierce, damn it, he bit me hard. It’s much quieter now that he’s dead.”
Wu Renmei heard the big brother’s disgusted voice.
“Are you sure this will make money?” The doctor opened a box to receive what the big brother was pulling out.
“Of course. Let me tell you, human organs are very valuable. Take them to the city to sell, and the rich people will fight over them!”
“How do you know? Have you sold them before?”
“Me? I’ve never sold them, I heard it from someone else…”
“Then how do you know this will work? Put the organs in ice, carry them out, and you can sell them? Like selling fish? Will anyone really buy them? Buy them for what? To stir-fry and eat?”
“Damn it, would I lie to you? You put them in ice to keep them fresh! If you don’t, they’ll rot, okay? Carry them out fresh like this, while the organs are still alive, and the doctors at the big hospitals can transplant them into rich people’s bellies to save their lives! Do you think anyone will not buy them?”
“And what if it doesn’t work? Then the kid died for nothing?”
“Dead is dead anyway. He was just an idiot anyway, who cares? Living was suffering, dying is a relief. We’re doing a good deed here!”
“Oh… But this is still a human life after all. Killing him like this, how are you going to explain it to the kid’s family?”
“Explain? What’s there to explain?”
Wu Renmei saw the big brother wipe the blood spatter on his face with his wrist. The expression on his face at that moment was terrifying and nauseating:
“All he’s got at home is a sick, half-dead old woman and a half-grown girl. The villagers trust us so much. Tomorrow we’ll just say the boy was eaten by a ghost. Who’s going to question it? This family is just unlucky. Don’t worry, once we sell this boy for a good price, we’ll find some other excuse to sell the girl off too.”
“Heh… Being a living immortal feels great. You don’t have to do anything, get free meals, and people clean the house and bring money. They believe anything I say. Especially that girl…actually, I should thank her for pointing out such a good path to me. How much money can you make selling tea? Can it compare to lying around being a god?”
The doctor laughed along: “These superstitious people are just like that. They can’t bear to spend on themselves, but they’re happy to give money to the gods. By the way, what did you say to that girl to trick her into bringing her brother to you?”
“Nothing much, just the usual ritual exorcism routine. I’m good at it, and they believe it completely.”
As he spoke, the big brother stuffed the last section of intestine into the box and closed the lid. As if remembering something, he laughed mockingly:
“Oh right, I also gave her a piece of candy.”
