Chapter 156
His memories of his mother were already blurred; all Lü Xiangcai could remember was that cramped, dark, dilapidated brick house.
The oil lamp was dim, the walls were bald, the mud floor was uneven, and the clutter piled up in the corners was covered in dust.
A gaunt figure lay curled up on the bed, her pale knuckles sinking into the blankets as she coughed incessantly. Suddenly, she grabbed the edge of the bed, covered her mouth, arched her back, and coughed violently, leaving glaring bloodstains on the gray floor.
Lu Xiangcai had heard rumors about his mother from his uncle in the Cen family. Neither her stunning beauty nor her astonishing deeds matched the image of her as sickly and debilitated in his memory.
Only now, upon seeing his mother again, did Lü Xiangcai feel as if he had been struck by lightning. Overwhelmed with indescribable shock and amazement, he realized that his uncle from the Cen family had ultimately restrained himself back then.
The beauty before him, with her exquisite figure revealed in every smile and gesture, and the fleeting splendor that bloomed with every movement, was far more beautiful than any description he had ever heard. She was simply breathtaking.
If she hadn't been abducted, if she hadn't encountered any accidents...
Lu Xiangcai suddenly felt a suffocating sensation, his chest ached terribly, and his pupils trembled uncontrollably.
The woman suddenly clapped her hands three times, the crisp sound bringing Lü Xiangcai back to his senses. He heard her call out, "Standing and chatting must be too tiring, right? Brother Xie, can't you offer me a chair or something?"
Xie Xubai then made a sofa.
The woman sat down on the sofa, acting as if she were at home. She smiled and waved to Lü Xiangcai, saying, "Come here."
Lu Xiangcai froze, his feet suddenly trembling as he walked over, following the woman's gesture to sit beside her, his hands neatly placed on his knees, his body stiff as a frozen block of wood.
Suddenly, the woman turned his head around and squinted to examine him closely.
"—Mother?" Lu Xiangcai met the woman's eyes, not knowing what she wanted to do. Just like when he was being examined by his uncle from the Cen family, he was so nervous that his palms were sweating, and he frantically tried to organize his thoughts.
After a long while, the woman seemed satisfied and released him: "Not bad, looks like me."
Lu Xiangcai blinked, his clenched heart suddenly easing considerably. Just as he was about to raise the corners of his mouth in a smile, he heard the woman's tone change, followed by a series of cold laughs: "If you looked like that beast, I would kill you the moment I saw you."
"..." Lu Xiangcai's smile froze, he slowly pursed his lips, his ten fingers curled up as he gripped his pants, and said with difficulty, "I'm sorry."
"It was that beast who killed me, not you. You have nothing to apologize to me for."
The woman leaned back, crossed her left leg over her right, and said casually, "Speaking of which, I should thank you. Red Poppy Village has always liked to use illegal drugs to control the villagers. That beast wanted to use it on me too, but he wanted offspring and didn't want me to give birth to a mentally challenged child. So until you were born and weaned, I never touched that stuff."
"And then," the woman grinned, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her bright eyes, "I fed him all the medicine he wanted to give me."
"If I die a horrible death, he won't live a good life either."
Lu Xiangcai remained silent, his five fingers clenched into fists, trembling, his head lower and lower.
The woman tilted her head, sat up straight, and craned her neck to see Lu Xiangcai's red and tearful eyes. She twitched her lips and said, "You were a criminal investigator, and this scared you so much that you cried? If I had been a little stronger back then, I would have waited until it was dark and he was fast asleep, and then slashed him a few times to see if the blood flowing from that heartless beast was filthy and smelly."
Overwhelmed with grief, Lü Xiangcai's tears fell in a stream, blurring his vision.
The woman watched helplessly as he rubbed his head: "I've never... Never mind, just cry, it'll make you feel better."
After a moment of silence, the woman asked, "Are you now called Lü Xiangcai?"
Lu Xiangcai hurriedly wiped away his tears and answered in a hoarse voice, "Yes."
Woman: "That's a good name; money is the foundation of travel. As for the surname..."
She looked at Lü Xiangcai seriously, and this time her rubbing of his head was much gentler: "You didn't collude with that beast, and you even took down Luofu and destroyed Hongying Village, which is very good. From now on, don't take that beast's surname anymore, change it to Cen, and take my surname."
Lu Xiangcai was flattered and repeatedly declined as if he were holding a hot potato: "I can't, I, I'm too ashamed to have the surname Cen."
“What’s shameful about it? You have my surname, not the Cen family’s.” The woman rested her chin on her hand and sighed. “I’m sure my brother must have cursed you. I can guess what he would say, nothing more than calling you a bastard or something. Can you believe how despicable your uncle is? He talks as if you weren’t my own child.”
Upon hearing the second half of the sentence, Lü Xiangcai's heart was suddenly filled with turmoil, and he couldn't help but say, "But..."
"I have wronged the Cen family, my parents, and my brother." The woman's eyes were deep, filled with unbearable guilt and regret as she slowly said, "If I hadn't been so willful and reckless back then, they wouldn't have had to bury their child. So, if anyone should apologize to the Cen family, it should be me."
After saying that, she stood up: "I need to go back to the Cen family's old home. You can stay here. Your friend is a good person, someone worth befriending. By the way, you should be twenty years old now, right?"
His bizarre appearance and age would be forever frozen at the moment of death. Lü Xiangcai nodded hurriedly: "Twenty-three."
"It's time to suggest a name," the woman said with a smile. "Let's keep it simple. The name is 'Haiyue,' meaning 'the sea is wide enough for fish to leap.' How about that? You couldn't remember the name I gave you before, so don't forget it again this time."
In an instant, a strong, burning emotion surged across the river of time spanning over a hundred years, like a raging torrent, crashing into Lü Xiangcai's heart. He almost burst into tears again, grabbing the woman's sleeve and pleading in a choked voice, "Don't go, Mother, please stay, please, don't go."
The woman tiptoed, patted his head, and teased, "You're past the age of breastfeeding, why are you still so attached to your mother? But this time it won't work, your mother really has to go."
She looked at Lü Xiangcai, her eyes shimmering with a myriad of complex emotions, but in the end she just smiled nonchalantly and said only one sentence.
"Remember to eat well."
After the woman finished speaking, her body suddenly turned into a wisp of green smoke and soared into the sky. Lu Xiangcai's eyes widened in horror as he hurriedly chased after her, reaching out to grab her, and shouting at the top of his lungs, "Mother! Mother—!"
Xie Xubai appeared and stopped him: "The area restriction hasn't been lifted yet. If you rush out now, you'll be torn to pieces."
Lu Xiangcai ignored him, his eyes turning red and fierce, and struggled wildly in Xie Xubai's hands.
Watching the wisp of smoke completely dissipate into the gray sky, he stood there stunned for a long time, finally unable to hold back his tears, burying his head in Xie Xubai's shoulder and wailing heart-wrenchingly, "Ah—"
Xie Xubai patted his back, looking in the direction where the green smoke disappeared, the woman's wistful and helpless sigh echoed in his ears.
“I hated this child and even thought about killing him. If he follows that beast and grows up to be a little beast himself, then I would be guilty even if I died a thousand times over.”
"So not long after the child was weaned, I grabbed his neck. He was small, soft, and fragile, as if he would break at the slightest touch. His cries were as faint as a rabbit's. He looked at me, as if he didn't understand why I was doing this to him. He cried his heart out, calling me 'Mommy' over and over again, and struggled frantically in my hands."
“I said let’s go with Mommy, but he cried and shouted no. When I tried to stop him, he kicked me, turned over and bit me, using all his strength to stop me. Such a tiny little kid, with such tiny strength, actually scratched me and left several bloody marks. It was only then that I realized that a child could be so strong.”
"His will to survive is really strong." The woman seemed lost in memories, or perhaps pondering deeply. After a while, she suddenly laughed and said with a sense of relief, "Just like me."
The woman told Xie Xubai that in their time, public opinion was incredibly stressful; people could be drowned by gossip. A woman losing her chastity was a very serious matter, so serious that it could be considered a disgrace to the family and subject to public condemnation.
Moreover, the Cen family is a well-known family with a history of over 100 years in Xingzhou. If a member of the family had a slightly more fiery temper, he would probably commit suicide on the spot if he encountered such a situation.
But for some reason, the woman thought about the beautiful scenery and magnificent landscapes, which she hadn't seen all of yet, and suddenly felt a strong urge to try and see if she could survive.
It wasn't until after her child was weaned that the beast brought her a bowl of poison to cloud her mind. Only then did she resolutely give up her thoughts, secretly switch the medicine, and move her plan forward, determined to drag that beast down to hell with her even at the cost of her life.
So Lü Xiangcai, oh no, Cen Xiangcai, truly lives up to his reputation as her child.
But the woman didn't really go all out because of what happened next.
When she faced the child's overwhelming will to live, she was shocked and trembled as she let go. The child slumped back down, trembling with fear, yet staggered forward and clung tightly to her. As if forgetting who had been hurting him just a moment ago, he cried through his tears, calling out "Mother" incoherently.
She doesn't hold grudges, and she's gentle and pitiful, unlike that beast.
The woman stood there stunned for a long time amidst the child's cries, her mind in turmoil. Finally, she trembled as she pinched the child's little face, deciding to use her remaining lifespan to take good care of this little guy.
Since you don't want to die, then strive to live. I laugh defiantly, sword in hand, my heart and soul bound to the Kunlun Mountains. No matter how difficult the road, I'll take it one step at a time, slowly and steadily, and get through it.
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