Chapter 3 The Treasure Bag Lin Qing'an...
Lin Qingan thought back carefully and confirmed that there was no hot spring in the bag before. He squatted down and splashed water with his hands. A warm feeling instantly spread from his fingers to his whole body, and he felt refreshed. Even the injury on his forehead didn't hurt so much.
After looking around, Lin Qing'an noticed a stone tablet standing opposite the spring, with two hastily written characters engraved on it: "Spirit Spring".
Upon seeing these two large characters, Lin Qing'an suddenly recalled some novels he had read before coming up the mountain to pass the time. These novels didn't have the time-travel trope, but they did feature the awakening of supernatural abilities—all sorts of things. Could this spiritual spring...?
A bold idea quickly took shape in his mind. Lin Qing'an quickly ran back to the storage area, squatted down, and began searching through it.
He quickly found a mirror in the pile of clutter; it was the one he usually prepared for shaving.
Lin Qing'an held up the mirror and stared blankly at the person in it, illuminated by the purple light. Long, black hair fell down the white coarse mourning clothes, and there were still traces of blood seeping through the gauze wrapped around her forehead.
He ripped off the white bandage covering his wound, touched it with his hand, and sure enough...
The previously shocking wound no longer hurt as much, and it even started to scab over within just two minutes. It doesn't look like it was just injured this morning. If I didn't tell you, it would take at least three to five days to heal.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't shocked; Lin Qing'an's mouth was wide enough to fit an egg.
It took a long time before he gradually came to his senses.
"Oh my God!"
Lin Qing'an was so happy he was at a loss for words. He was both excited and a little scared. Luckily, he had just left the wound in the water for a while. If he had left it in the water longer, the wound would have healed. If it had healed, how would he explain it to others?
Lin Qing'an returned to the spirit spring, and upon seeing the pool of water, she immediately thought of her future husband, wondering if the water could also cure his lameness.
Seeing that there was no introduction or description of the spiritual spring, Lin Qing'an quickly accepted it.
If this were in modern times, it would be the kind of substandard, counterfeit product that elderly people love to buy.
But since it was here, Lin Qing'an naturally dared not look down on it.
A series of miraculous events completely eroded his wary and skeptical mindset, and now he wouldn't be surprised if a deity suddenly appeared.
"elder brother?"
The echoing shout suddenly brought Lin Qing'an back to his senses.
That was Lin Yanfeng's voice. Did he come over too?
But after that one sound, there was no further sound.
Knowing he couldn't stay any longer, Lin Qing'an grabbed some dried mushrooms from the dried vegetable section and prepared to head back.
He thought there was a door to go back, but before he could even think about going back, he was swept away by a gust of air.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a bamboo fence all around him.
He returned, still lying in bed as before, except now he had something else in his hand: a small handful of wood ear mushrooms.
Lin Qing'an was so happy he wanted to shout it out.
The fact that they actually brought it back means that he and Lin Yanfeng will never go hungry again, and with the blessing of the spiritual spring, their lives will definitely get better and better.
Heaven truly has eyes!
"Brother, I'll never see Mom and Dad again..."
The intermittent crying interrupted Lin Qing'an's excitement. Lin Qing'an sat up abruptly, hid the things under the quilt, got out of bed, and walked towards Lin Yanfeng.
He thought Lin Yanfeng would be upset again after waking up, but when he lifted the bamboo curtain, he saw that Lin Yanfeng was still asleep, mumbling to himself, tears streaming down his face and into the pillow, his thin body twitching from crying.
It was all a dream...
Lin Qing'an paused for a while before quietly stepping out again, finally sitting down on the edge of Lin Yanfeng's bed.
He raised his hand to wipe away the endless tears, smoothed the wrinkles between Lin Yanfeng's brows, and patted the back of Lin Yanfeng's hand gently, mimicking his grandmother's actions to comfort him.
Every pat Lin Qing'an made was a reflection of his grandmother. He patted Lin Yanfeng's arm very awkwardly, just as his grandmother was patting him.
How long has it been since he last saw his grandmother?
A full twelve years.
The room's window was always left slightly ajar for ventilation, and a cool breeze would drift through the bamboo fence, soothing Lin Qing'an's slowly descending thoughts. The wind in February of spring carried the scent of grass, bringing new life to all things on earth, allowing the barren land to be reborn, but also making it difficult for the withered and rotten wood to ever see spring again.
The wind swept through Linjia Village, lingering in the sky for a long time until it completely dispelled the sadness before finally reaching the foot of the mountain behind the village, where a single thatched house stood amidst a lush green wheat field.
The thatched-roof house, built against the mountain, stands like a valiant warrior, silently guarding the peace of the village.
The hut was similar in layout to Lin Qing'an's, but it occupied a larger area. Because of hunting, Chen Gengnian often brought back all kinds of animals and wild pheasants from the mountains. The livestock pen alone was almost the size of the house.
Since returning, Chen Gengnian has been busy feeding the pigs, as well as some wild pheasants and rabbits, and two goats that he had just bought.
February is still cold. The poultry have gotten used to eating cooked food all winter, so even these days they still need to be cooked before feeding them.
Chen Gengnian was busy for almost two hours before he finally had a moment to rest.
He patted the dust off his clothes and also patted the dirt off Baifu's blond hair.
Bai Fu circled around his feet, extremely happy.
Baifu was a yellow-haired mongrel that Chen Gengnian picked up when he went to town to sell wild game. At the time, it was thin and small, lying on the roadside with many wounds on its body and many flies around it. Chen Gengnian felt sorry for it and took the dog back.
After returning home, they spent some money to find Dr. Chen in the village to help with the diagnosis. Chen's mother named it Baifu, hoping that it would have endless blessings and grow up healthily.
Three years have passed in the blink of an eye. Under their careful care, Baifu has grown tall and strong, with smooth and shiny yellow fur, and is also very intelligent.
Chen Gengnian ruffled Baifu's fur haphazardly before getting up and walking towards the vegetable garden outside the yard, where his mother, Chen Yuetao, was harvesting the cabbages they couldn't finish.
"Mom, I have something to tell you." Chen Gengnian picked up the cabbages piled on the ground and pulled out the rotten leaves.
"What's wrong?" Chen Yuetao asked without looking up as she continued cutting vegetables.
"I'm getting married."
"Huh?" Chen Yuetao was so startled that she stood up abruptly. Whether it was because she had been squatting for too long or because she was still in shock, she almost fell over before she could even ask who the other person was.
Chen Gengnian quickly stepped forward to help her up, but Chen Yuetao grabbed Chen Gengnian's arm and asked excitedly, "Married? To whom?"
Chen Gengnian said, word by word, "Lin Qing'an, the eldest son of Uncle Yongcheng's family."
"Qing-ge'er, he's quite good. That boy is handsome and very sensible."
Chen Yuetao subconsciously thought of Lin Qing'an, but after speaking, she realized something was wrong.
“Your Uncle Yongcheng and Auntie just passed away, how could he have the mind to think about these things?”
"Besides, you two hardly ever talk to each other, so why are you getting married?"
Chen Yuetao didn't know what had happened. She only remembered that her son had gone to help out early this morning and didn't return until noon. He was going to go to town to get her some stomach medicine, but he came back shortly after, not only without the medicine, but also stammering.
She didn't think much of it at the time, but now it seems something must have happened during that period.
It's true what they say, this old man has eaten more salt than many young people have walked roads; he could easily spot the trickery just by analyzing it.
Chen Gengnian released Chen Yuetao and took several steps back without saying a word before saying, word by word, "I've already made an agreement with Qing-ge'er; I'm going to marry into his family."
"What?" Chen Yuetao, who had just regained her balance, swayed again. It was as if a thunderbolt had exploded in her head, making her head buzz.
But Chen Gengnian added in a serious tone, "Tomorrow we'll go to the village head to get the certificate, and then we'll come back and choose an auspicious date for the wedding."
Chen Yuetao finally realized what was happening and threw the cabbage in her hand at Chen Gengnian. Chen Gengnian didn't dodge, and the cabbage head, which was full of mud and sand, hit him squarely on the nose. Instantly, his nostrils and mouth were full of mud and sand.
Baifu jumped anxiously onto Chen Gengnian, who raised his hand to brush the mud off his face, his expression unchanged.
Chen Yuetao didn't know that her unfilial son would not dodge. Although she felt sorry for him, she felt even more heartbroken.
How could she accept that the son she had raised with such hardship was going to become someone else's son-in-law? And...
Chen Yuetao was petite and delicate. Although she was getting older, she still looked beautiful. Her beautiful phoenix eyes were full of tears, which made Chen Gengnian's heart soften.
But it was only for a moment.
“Mother, although it's considered marrying into the family, we live so close by. I'll take Qing-ge and live in both places, and you can come and live with us too.” Chen Gengnian avoided his mother's tears, which finally fell, and said in a low, hoarse voice, “Mother, if I don't save him, he won't even have a home…”
Chen Yuetao raised her hand to wipe away her tears and didn't say anything more, only continuing to squat down and pick up the cabbages on the ground.
Chen Gengnian went over to help.
Neither mother nor son spoke again. Chen Gengnian knew that it would take some time to accept this.
He knew he was being unfilial, but he couldn't just stand by and watch Lin Qing'an do nothing.
On the way back, he had thought about it seriously, about how to tell his mother, and about whether the village head would stamp the document, but he never thought about whether he would regret it.
Over the years, Chen Gengnian had never been moved by any man or woman, not even by Lin Qing'an. But today, for some reason, he couldn't help but be unable to move when he saw such a resolute person.
And that fleeting kiss made his heart race whenever he heard the name Lin Qing'an.
All the vegetables were put into the basket on his back. Chen Gengnian squatted down to carry it, and Chen Yuetao lifted it from behind to help him avoid hurting his back.
Chen Gengnian carried the cabbage forward, while Chen Yuetao followed behind with a sickle.
Over the years, the mother and son had never been so angry. Chen Gengnian was very sensible, and Chen Yuetao never hit or scolded the child. Although life was a bit hard, it was especially warm.
Chen Yuetao didn't say a word all afternoon. Chen Gengnian called her several times but she didn't respond. Chen Gengnian knew she was very angry, but he really had no other choice.
After dinner, Chen's mother went to bed early. After Chen Gengnian finished cleaning up the dishes, he sat at the table for a long time before knocking on his mother's door.
He knocked twice but received no response. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, and opened his mouth several times before finally uttering the words he had been thinking about for so long.
"Mother, this is the first time I've ever wanted someone so much."
A note from the author:
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