Chapter 193 No Return

I remembered the other corpse in the grave...

The originally chaotic consciousness seemed to be forcefully pulled by an invisible hand and violently slammed back into the physical body.

The loquat then suddenly woke up.

He opened his eyes and saw a somewhat dilapidated roof with a sliver of light leaking in through a hole.

The light fell directly onto her eyelids, and Pipa felt a little stinged, so she raised her hand to shield her eyes. Then, with some difficulty, she slowly sat up from the bed.

Pressing his throbbing, groggy forehead, he looked around blankly.

He was a little confused about what time it was and why he was here.

He clearly remembered—

No, his memories were like a tangled mess.

For a moment, it was a dark mass of people under the moonlight, clusters of bonfires, and eerie smiles...

For a moment, it was like a grave mound dug open in the torrential rain, the melting soil flowing freely through your fingers, impossible to grasp no matter how hard you tried...

And then... and then... into the unfathomable depths of darkness...

Pipa's breathing became rapid, and her chest felt as if something heavy was pressing down on it.

He instinctively grabbed his hair, pulling so hard that his scalp ached, before he could suppress the turmoil in his heart.

Regardless of which memory is true, I shouldn't be in this house... Who brought me back?

—Could it be the Lantern Festival?

Pipa wondered to herself, then felt doubtful. Although she was only an eight or nine-year-old child, she was still much larger than a cat. How could the other party do that?

Moreover...

If Pipa remembers correctly, the Lantern Festival should have ended long ago.

—Yes, Yuanxiao died long ago.

That day, Pipa, who had been sleeping soundly in the cave, miraculously woke up and was surprised to find that Yuanxiao was actually right beside her.

Pipa immediately realized that what had happened the night before was not what she had imagined in her dream.

I actually made an exception and went out on the night of the worship ceremony.

So, those people, that dog, and that monkey... they were all real.

He escaped to the cave behind the ancestral hall just as he had planned, but he fell asleep and woke up much later than he expected.

And thus missed the crucial moment to send off the gods.

However, it's not a big deal.

The thought that the terrifying night filled with unease and dread was finally over, and that I could finally return to my little courtyard in the sunlight and see my parents…

No, under the current circumstances, it would be better to let him see any other person in the village, such as Xi Yatou, Aunt Li, or even the village chief or someone he hates the most.

As long as I'm sure those people have returned to normal, and are as natural as ever, instead of having those eerie smiling faces painted with oil paint or something else that I saw at night, I feel like I've come back to life.

Faint sunlight shone from the cave entrance, and even from a distance, the loquat could feel the heat emanating from it.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if trying to sweep away all the pent-up frustration.

Sure enough, I felt much more relaxed.

Then he moved closer to the motionless Yuanxiao and looked at the little guy who was fast asleep with amusement.

Just like his mother used to say when urging him to get up, he said "Little lazy cat, wake up!" while gently tapping the kitten's head with his finger.

"Hey, this isn't a place to sleep! Wake up, or we'll miss our chance..."

As she spoke, the smile on Pipa's face suddenly stopped.

Something's not right.

The sensation under my hand seemed a little strange.

That's right, Pipa always knew that Yuanxiao's body temperature wasn't high, but even so... it was still a bit too cold.

It wasn't just cold, but also had that inexplicably stiff feel to it, it was almost like... almost like...

Pipa suddenly withdrew her hand, as if she had been electrocuted, staring dumbfounded at the small body curled up in the dim light, feeling a deep sense of confusion.

—How did it suddenly turn out like this?

Mingming, Mingming was perfectly fine last night.

"How come I'm suddenly sleeping so soundly?"

The loquat seemed to understand nothing, yet it also seemed to suddenly understand everything.

He murmured to himself, then reached out again and gently stroked Yuanxiao's little head twice. Then he picked up the curled-up little body.

The loquat moved very carefully, especially making sure not to crush the long tail of the glutinous rice ball.

For a cat, its tail is a very important thing.

Speaking of which, last night, I felt like I was catching the tail end of the Lantern Festival in the dark.

It was all because of Yuanxiao's staying out all night that I worried for so long, suffered so much extra hardship, and encountered so many terrible things, so I... deliberately pinched him a couple of times out of mischief.

Pipa suddenly thought of something—

Could this be why Yuanxiao is holding a grudge? He might just be pretending to be asleep, only looking like he's dead, which is a bit scary.

"I'm sorry." Pipa buried her face in the other person's neck and whispered an apology: "I must have hurt you by pulling so hard, right?"

"..."

"Why did you suddenly stop coming back? You used to come back every day. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be so worried... and I wouldn't feel so scared when I'm alone."

"..."

"Okay, you scared me once, and I suffered a lot because of you. Now I apologize to you, and if you accept it, we'll be even and it'll be the same as before. So... so please don't scare me anymore, okay? You know... I'm very timid."

Pipa spoke haltingly, but received no response.

He smelled the scent on the other person; besides the scent of the glutinous rice balls themselves, there was also a slightly bitter herbal scent mixed with a faint smell of rust—it was the smell of blood.

Pipa suddenly stopped in his tracks. He remembered that herb; even now, the same bitter taste lingered in his mouth. His mother had shown it to him before; it was a medicine for clearing heat and relieving pain.

The loquat knows that animals living in the wild often have an innate ability to recognize certain detoxifying herbs.

He recalled his miserable state last night. Perhaps it was Yuanxiao who saw him like that and took pity on him, so she gathered the herbs for him to eat...

It sounds absurd at first glance.

But if it happened to Yuanxiao, it wouldn't seem so unbelievable, because Yuanxiao really is a very clever little cat.

Thinking of this, Pipa couldn't help but smile.

Sometimes he really feels that he is actually an extremely lucky person.

Despite having such despicable blood flowing through his veins, fate seemed to always be kind to him, allowing him to meet such a gentle mother.

He also escaped death time and time again.

This time was the same, and so was the last time—I thought I was about to be beaten to death, but I only ended up with a limp.

Although he could no longer run and was somewhat bored staying in the yard, not long after that, God brought the Lantern Festival to him again.

It could be considered a kind of compensation from the unseen world...

"So...that's great."

Pipa had reached the entrance of the cave, and sunlight was streaming down. For someone who had been groping forward in the dark for most of the night, such a bright and beautiful scene was almost unreal.

"It's a beautiful day," Pipa whispered to the Yuanxiao in her arms.

The sun felt warm on my skin, but quickly became scorching. Yes, the summer sun is always this intense.

"So, I've never actually dried glutinous rice balls together with the Lantern Festival dumplings—"

Pipa wanted to say something, but his words stopped abruptly because his hands were covered in something sticky. It dripped from where Yuanxiao's head was, flowing into Pipa's fingers and then overflowing from his fingers, dripping down to his feet.

Pipa was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.

"Really, she really did fall asleep. I wonder what delicious food she dreamed about, because she was drooling."

He said with a hint of reproach, lifting his shirt to wipe Yuanxiao's drool.

But it seemed like the drool couldn't be wiped away properly; it kept flowing and getting everywhere...

Before long, large patches of dark red marks appeared on Pipa's hands, clothes, and even Yuanxiao's fur.

Yes, dark red...

"Actually, there's nothing strange about it, is there?" Pipa muttered to herself.

The sound was as soft as before, and I subconsciously didn't want to wake up the kitten that was sleeping soundly.

Pipa thought, "It must be that Yuanxiao who secretly ate some red berries, like mulberries, before going to bed..."

However, considering that the other party went through all that trouble to run out to find medicine and saved his life, he'll let this guy sleep a little longer.

Pipa carried Yuanxiao slowly down the mountain. As time went by, the sun overhead grew more and more intense. There was not a breath of wind, and the air was so stuffy that it was hard to breathe.

Although it was a particularly deep cave, once you came out, it felt like you had entered another world.

Pipa couldn't help but start to wonder, were summers always this hot?

Why do I have absolutely no recollection of this?

Pipa was worried that the hot weather would make it difficult for her to sleep during the Lantern Festival, or that she might even wake up from the heat.

But it didn't happen.

Yuanxiao seemed to sleep much more soundly than Pipa had imagined, which was good.

The other person's saliva kept flowing more and more. At first, Pipa tried to use her clothes to cushion it, but seeing that she couldn't hold it in no matter what she did, she simply gave up struggling.

That means I'll be incredibly thirsty when I wake up.

Actually, the loquat is also very thirsty and a little hungry right now.

But he felt everything was still within tolerable limits... because they would be going home soon.

—It's good to be home.

There is a well in his yard, and the water tank in the kitchen is always filled with well water.

His dad has probably fallen asleep on the bed again.

And his mother...

This is my mother's first time participating in a worship ceremony. She must be very tired, and maybe she's sleeping soundly right now.

If that's the case, you'd better be careful when you get home, and make sure you don't wake your mother.

Pipa planned to secretly cook the rice herself to surprise the other person.

Although I had never cooked before, I gradually learned by watching and observing.

Pipa imagined that when her mother woke up and saw the food prepared on the table, she would be somewhat surprised and happy.

As he thought about it, his slightly labored steps became much lighter, and he almost forgot that he was still limping.

When I passed by that open space from last night.

Pipa glanced in that direction, completely subconsciously.

Because at this time, everyone else in the village should have already gone home.

Unexpectedly, Pipa saw a huge crowd of people. The scene before him instantly overlapped with the scene at night, and a chill ran down his spine in the sweltering heat.

It felt like having a very long nightmare, and finally escaping to safety, thinking you'd woken up and returned to the normal world.

Looking up, I saw another part of the nightmare.

For a moment, he couldn't tell whether the dream hadn't ended yet, or whether he was a character in the nightmare.

Pipa knew she should turn back, so she immediately turned and left without looking back, returning to her home, which wasn't warm or safe enough, but was still the place she missed the most.

But he didn't.

A strange premonition tugged at Pipa, making it impossible for him not to investigate.

"Wait for me here for a bit, wait for me to come back, and then we'll go home together."

Pipa carefully placed the still unawakened Yuanxiao in a place where it wouldn't be exposed to the sun, and squatted down beside it, making a quiet promise.

Yuanxiao remained motionless, seemingly oblivious to what was happening, but she appeared to be sleeping soundly and unlikely to wake up anytime soon.

Pipa then thought, "Let's just take that as a yes."

"Sweetie, I'll cook you some glutinous rice balls when we get home," he said finally.

I tried to gently comb through the tangled hairs, stained red by the saliva of the Lantern Festival dumplings, with my fingertips.

It looks completely different from its previous smooth and supple appearance, but the loquat doesn't care at all.

—However, I need to take a good shower.

Of course, glancing at her dirty hands and clothes out of the corner of her eye... Pipa suddenly realized that Yuanxiao wasn't the only one who needed a bath.

Suddenly, a feeling of longing arose in my heart for no apparent reason.

"Honestly, it's not like he's not coming back, what is he doing?" He muttered to himself as he stood up, but couldn't help looking back before leaving.

The small blob in the shadows gradually receded into the distance and then disappeared from sight.

Pipa suppressed her urge to turn back and quickened her pace toward the open space, arriving at her destination almost breathless.

It was so hot that the air felt like it could burst into flames at any moment.

And those people we saw earlier were indeed still there.

Pipa paused briefly, looking from a distance, and realized that there seemed to be far fewer loquats than last night…

Those people stood together, craning their necks in the same direction, seemingly oblivious to the heat.

Pipa followed the gaze of those people and looked up. In a dazzling white light, he finally saw the woman whose hands and feet were tied to the high platform.

That was—his mother.