"Silly boy, are you playing by the river again? Be careful not to fall in and drown, no one will save you."
Shi Lisheng looked at the woman who was speaking and gave her a simple, honest smile.
"Don't worry, Auntie. Ah Huang taught me how to swim, so I won't drown."
After saying that, he ran towards the river without looking back.
The woman watched her cheerful figure disappear into the distance, then shook her head and turned to ask her companion.
"Mo Xin, do you think this girl is really stupid or just pretending? If you say she's really stupid, she can still learn to swim by following a dog. If you say she's just pretending, she actually learned to swim by following a dog."
Gu Moxin burst out laughing upon hearing this.
"Fifth Aunt, what are you talking about? You're confusing me, but I don't think Sheng Sheng is stupid at all."
"Oh, what do you mean by that?"
"Look at her, she's so small, yet she takes such good care of herself and keeps her home in perfect order. No fool could do that."
"What you said is true, but look at her, she's always laughing to herself, and she can chat about anything she sees. It's kind of creepy."
"Hey, what's the big deal? When kids are this age, they all talk nonsense all the time, asking 'why this' and 'why that' all the time."
"That's right, my son didn't chat with the big yellow dog."
"That's because your family is complete. Who does Sheng's family have? Even that big yellow dog belongs to the village chief."
"Sigh, that's true..."
The two walked and talked, but Shi Lisheng didn't hear a word, only hurrying towards the river.
She promised the village's stray cats that she would catch a big fish today to treat them to a meal.
The riverbank was also in turmoil at this time, with two enormous beasts possessing large fangs.
They were nestled together at the bottom of the river, and seemed to be slowly dissipating.
With their last ounce of energy, they carried a small, blood-stained stone, shimmering with a faint green light, to the shore.
They glanced at it reluctantly, neither of the beasts daring to cry or shout.
He was afraid that his shouts would frighten the local residents.
She was also afraid that her cub, still inside the protective shield, might be discovered by demon hunters or evil cultivators from the human realm.
The two beasts strained to look towards the riverbank, hoping to find a kind person who would take their cub back.
They waited and waited, and finally Shi Lisheng, whom they called "Little Fool," arrived.
Seeing her tuck the small stone into her bosom, the two beasts were relieved and vanished into the world.
As soon as Shi Lisheng stepped onto the riverbank, he saw a shiny stone.
She picked it up and, for some reason, was drawn to it.
Just thinking about how beautiful this stone is, and how I could look at it every day after bringing it home, would make me very happy.
So he picked it up and put it inside his clothes.
But just a few days after bringing the stone home, I was startled by it.
She'd seen talking cats and dogs all the time, but a talking stone was a first for her.
Perhaps it was a natural dullness she developed in the womb that prevented her from knowing what fear was.
Shi Lisheng held the small stone in her palm and looked at it again and again.
Then he asked it, "Was it you who was speaking just now?"
The little stone was bewildered, as if it had just begun to develop intelligence.
"It's me. Who are you? Are you my Beast Mother?"
"Beast Mother? How did your stone get involved with beasts?"
"I don't know, that's what I think."
"Oh, I see. Then you must be a little slow on the uptake like me. But that's okay, I'll take care of you from now on."
Really?
"Of course, from now on you will be my little brother Shitou, and I will be your older sister. By the way, my name is Shi Lisheng, what's yours?"
"I...I don't know..."
"In that case, I'll call you Little Stone. It's easy to remember and sounds nice."
"Okay, then I'll be called Little Stone from now on."
"Well, little stone, you can stay in my clothes for now. I'll make you a little cloth bag later."
"Okay, thank you, Sheng Sheng."
"You can't call her Sheng Sheng, you have to call her Sister."
"Ah, but the name Sheng Sheng sounds very nice."
"Is that so? Then let's call her Sheng Sheng!"
"Uh-huh…"
From then on, Shi Lisheng took Little Stone with her wherever she went.
They liked to confide everything to it, and gradually the story spread throughout the village.
"Oh dear, that girl has become even more foolish lately. She picked up a stone from somewhere and put it in her cloth bag like a treasure, and she keeps talking to it. Isn't that weird?"
"Really? I used to talk to small animals, and at least they were living things. How come they've been replaced with stones?"
"Who knows? If you ask me, that girl is a bit strange!"
"Oh, what makes you say that?"
"Isn't it obvious? She brought death to her parents when she was young, and even her closest relatives were not spared."
"Hey, you know what, I guess this girl's fate is just too tough, that's why she brings bad luck to her relatives and friends. Who knows, one day she might even bring bad luck to us villagers."
"Pah, pah, pah, you can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth. If you want to bring misfortune upon someone, let her do it to you. Our family has absolutely no connection with her, so she can't bring misfortune upon us no matter what she does."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone echoed them.
But they were also filled with apprehension, fearing that they might inadvertently be cursed by Shi Lisheng.
But Shi Lisheng didn't care about any of this and continued to happily hop around every day.
But gradually she became less happy because people kept coming to cause her trouble.
People are saying she's a jinx, or that she has bad luck.
Because everyone had taken care of Shi Lisheng to some extent before.
Moreover, she was inherently dull-witted and had no idea how to turn against someone.
She pretended not to hear and continued to live her life as usual, laughing and joking.
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