Chapter 104 The Lingering Sorrow of Water (Part Two) - Reunion.
Jiang Qushui returned here because his parents had passed away unexpectedly.
It was quite a surprise to him, because the couple were just lying in bed as usual, looking no different from being asleep, except that they had no breathing or pulse.
He was about to call the police when two people knocked on his door before he could dial.
The newcomer looked him up and down with a disdainful gaze, then calmly ignored Jiang Qushui's probing eyes and squeezed into the room before speaking in a low voice.
"Have your parents passed away?"
So, in the hour it took Jiang Qushui for the three cups of hot water to cool, he accepted the fact that neither his parents nor he himself were ordinary people. He held the glass and sighed almost imperceptibly.
Now everything makes sense, including his ability to control water, his parents' unusual behavior over the years, and the old home he only went back to once.
But he still couldn't accept it. The two people had peaceful expressions, their hands tightly clasped together, so tightly that even he couldn't separate them, and there wasn't a single external injury on their bodies. How could they have died like that?
Of course, the people who suddenly barged in told him that his mother was a descendant of Gonggong, and his father was a remnant of the Miao Manyun family. They were both unidentified officials who died in an accident while carrying out a mission in a dream.
Jiang Qushui sat quietly by the bed, looking at the two of them leaning on each other. He felt a little dejected, his shoulders slumped. He thought, "So they're not ordinary people after all. They even went on some mission in my dream to save the world. Why didn't I tell him sooner? Now look what happened, we didn't even have a chance to say goodbye."
"They just don't want you to get involved."
"I hope you can live a happy life like a normal person."
A broad, kind hand landed on Jiang Qushui's shoulder.
This man, whom I had only met once at my grandmother's funeral, who claimed to be my grandfather, traveled a long way from the distant Gongshui to help with the funeral arrangements and to take away the bodies of the two men, saying that people like them must return to their roots.
"Come back to live with me, until you are able to support yourself."
Grandpa gently patted his shoulder, and Jiang Qushui raised his head, forcing a smile, and then nodded.
It only took two days to pack up the house I had lived in for seventeen years.
He covered the large furniture with dust covers, locked the doors and windows, and then pushed two suitcases into the yard.
There's an osmanthus tree here. It's not yet flowering season, but the leaves are thriving. His father used to play with silver under the tree, and when the blossoms fell, he would collect them to make fragrant cakes.
Several bamboo chairs leaned against the tree. One of them was made by Jiang Qushui's father when he was just born. At that time, Jiang Qushui had already shown the ability to climb on the roof and talk fluently. He was restless when drinking milk and eating. Only when he sat in this little chair could he calm down for a moment. However, it was no longer used and was worn out. The family still couldn't bear to throw it away.
“They’re all very nostalgic people.” Jiang Qushui locked the courtyard gate with a large padlock, put the key in his pocket, and silently thought that maybe one day he would come back here.
A dilapidated truck carrying Jiang Qushui and all his possessions swayed and rattled as it drove back into that mysterious mountain.
The people here are very kind, and there is a school specifically for disabled students.
However, Jiang Qushui was a latecomer to the field, and no matter how enthusiastic and friendly he was, he could never truly integrate. But Jiang Qushui was naturally incredibly optimistic, and if he couldn't fit in, he wouldn't force it. He was simple-minded but sweet-talking, which made the elderly people in the family very fond of him. So he took on the responsibility of being a caregiver at the nursing home, spending his days not only teaching classes but also trying different ways to make them happy.
One weekend, when he finally had some free time, he went to the courtyard full of old men and women again, wanting to show off the magic trick he had learned the night before, but his grandfather chased him out.
He said that young people have the best years of their lives, so why waste them hanging out with a bunch of old folks who are practically on their deathbeds, making themselves lifeless? They should go out and see the world; as long as they're willing to step out, they'll always find the bright sunshine of spring. Unlike them, who now want to go but can't even take the first step.
Unable to refuse, Jiang Qushui had no choice but to leave the courtyard dejectedly.
With his hands in his pockets, he idly kicked at stones as he walked along a path overgrown with purple wildflowers until he emerged from the woods and found himself facing a wide river.
Jiang Qushui felt that the place looked familiar; perhaps he had been here when he was a child.
He dragged himself to the riverbank, squatted down, picked up a stone, and threw it into the river with a splash. He adjusted his posture several times, trying different methods, but he couldn't get a proper skipping stone.
As the sun gradually sank in the west and the sky darkened, soft golden specks shimmered on the river's surface with the flow of water. He squinted, trying to savor the moment as much as possible.
"Didn't your teacher say that children shouldn't go near the water?"
A clear, ethereal voice suddenly appeared behind him. Jiang Qushui's legs went weak and he fell backward, his hands bracing himself on the sand beside him.
He slowly raised his head, and a beautiful yet cold face appeared above him.
A pointed face, big eyes, and a very indifferent expression.
His long black hair fell to his forehead, blocking out most of the surrounding sunlight, leaving only his snow-white eyes shining brightly.
In an instant, a similar face flashed through his mind. His eyes widened, his mouth opened, and he screamed, "A ghost!!!"
*
Can ghosts grow up?
Jiang Qushui covered his forehead and looked curiously at Ji Wuchou beside him.
"Maybe." Ji Wuchou didn't explain. She had been curious about education in human society before, but now it seemed that it wasn't very good. In just seven years, people had become much dumber.
"Your...eye, is it injured?" Jiang Qushui pointed to his right eye to indicate this to her. He had just noticed that Ji Wuchou's pupil color seemed to have changed, and it wasn't quite the same as when she was a child. But it was still very beautiful.
"Injured?" Ji Wuchou thought about it seriously. Implanting the talisman was, in a sense, an injury, so she nodded.
"Why were you injured? Was it because of practicing martial arts?"
He still remembered what Ji Wuchou had said when he was a child.
"And you? Why did you come back? I thought you..."
She thought he had left this place forever and would never come back.
That year, a few days after Jiang Qushui left, Ji Wuchou still came to the Gongshui River. However, she comforted herself that this was a daily routine. After all, before she met that person, she also sat here, watching the eastward flowing river, day after day.
"Oh dear, it's a long story. I originally thought I would never come back..." He briefly explained the recent situation and told Ji Wuchou that this time he might, or most likely he would not, leave again. He would stay in Gongshui for at least a few years.
As he said this, his eyes shone brightly, and he looked at Ji Wuchou with anticipation.
She just mumbled an "oh" and didn't even look at him with her face turned towards the river.
Regardless, Jiang Qushui felt that his plan to make friends could start again.
As dusk settled, the only sounds between heaven and earth were the murmuring of the stream in front of me and the distant calls of birds returning home; otherwise, all was utterly desolate.
Jiang Qushui asked her with a grin, "Will you come here again tomorrow?"
"I have something good that I want to show you."
His tone was cautious, and even his expression was gentle, as if Ji Wuchou were a pile of snow dust, and if he raised his voice or breathed heavily, she would be blown away and disappear.
So, in response to his cautious manner, Ji Wuchou nodded heavily.
The next morning, Jiang Qushui excitedly waited by the river with his game console. He waited from morning till evening before Ji Wuchou finally appeared.
She stared at his face and remained silent for a moment.
"Have you been waiting long?"
Jiang Qushui chuckled and scratched his nose, "Not long ago, I just arrived too."
It sounds like a scam.
He was even afraid that Ji Wuchou might come at any time, and that the two of them would miss each other, so he gave up the idea of going home for dinner.
Ji Wuchou looked at him for a while before slowly speaking, "I usually have homework in the morning, so I can only come here after dinner."
"Oh, I see." Jiang Qushui nodded vigorously, then suddenly seemed to remember something and immediately became obsequious, "You mean, you can come every day after dinner?"
Ji Wuchou did not answer, but only glanced at him lightly before walking straight to the pile of stones on the riverbank and sitting down.
Jiang Qushui hurriedly ran over, pulled out a game console from his pocket, and presented it to Ji Wuchou like a treasure.
"Remember? I told you when we were little that video game consoles were really fun!"
In fact, she had asked her teacher after returning home that day, and her teacher seemed to realize that a child like Ji Wuchou, no matter how talented, was still just a child. Although it is said that playing with things can lead to a loss of ambition, one should not suppress one's nature. Besides, knowing more would be beneficial for entering dreams in the future.
That very night, the teacher made a phone call and ordered a television set from the town to occasionally show cartoons to the children.
But seeing Jiang Qushui's expression, she felt she couldn't spoil the fun, so she took it with both hands and said with feigned surprise, "Game console? Is this the legendary game console?"
This reaction pleased Jiang Qushui greatly, and he began to explain with a smile: this button moves, this button jumps, and this button attacks.
The two of them, heads close together, were having a great time playing a simple match they had already completed long ago.
Only when the surroundings were completely dark and the white light from the screen stung his eyes did Ji Wuchou, who was experiencing the fun of the game for the first time, reluctantly return the handheld console to him.
"No, no, no, I have another one at home, you can take this one back!"
Ji Wuchou shook her head, not telling Jiang Qushui that she had to be searched every day when she returned to her room from outside, and that she was not allowed to bring anything strange into the residence of the unknown official.
Someone like her, who is both an unofficial official and a cicada catcher, is the one who should most abide by the law and set an example.
"Let's play again tomorrow."
She shoved the game console into Jiang Qushui's hands and turned to leave.
"Tomorrow! Tomorrow!" Jiang Qushui jumped three feet high with joy, like a rocket. He stared blankly at Ji Wuchou's figure disappearing into the woods and whispered, "Tomorrow is good, tomorrow is really good."
So every evening, after finishing their homework, the two would hide and sneak over to the riverbank to play games.
Ji Wuchou hid his tracks because he would be punished if he were discovered to have left the border of Puyang, while Jiang Qushui hid simply because he didn't want to deal with his grandfather or do his homework.
And so, spring turned to autumn, and Jiang Qushui racked up a string of gold stars in the game, emptying his pockets and starting to buy new ones. But before the delivery arrived, and before he could even confirm with Ji Wuchou whether they were friends, the gears of fate began to turn in an irreversible direction.
The figure hidden in the woods subtly curled the corners of his mouth when he saw Jiang Qushui occasionally peeking out of his palm.
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Author's Note: Sorry, I couldn't finish in one chapter, there should be another one.
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