A magnificent manor stood erected in the midst of the mountain valley, with absolutely no other households around its vicinity, making it look much like a dwelling for ghosts and demons.
Living here all by himself in the past, could Yichang Hua have never felt lonely? Now that Yan Si had arrived, the two of them truly ought to have relied on one another; instead, aside from the moments when he needed to teach him survival skills, the man barely allowed the boy near him.
Toward this stern, laconic master, Yan Si gradually grew accustomed over time; even if he frequently had to be alone, it did not matter. Just like the man, he worked exceedingly hard, keeping busy almost constantly, never once daring to complain.
Yan Si had been at the manor for nearly a year, only staying close to the house each day, never daring to venture far. One day, while accompanying Yichang Hua up the mountain to gather medicinal herbs, he happened to discover a stream with crystal-clear water and an abundance of fish, which left him utterly delighted.
From then on, his mind pondered over it incessantly for days... Yan Si truly liked that stream; it was so clear and filled with fish. Usually, going fishing with a rod was far too difficult, and worse yet, he would often catch nothing at all... He imagined that he only needed to wade down and scoop them up to catch one immediately...
"If I catch a fish, perhaps Master might praise me..." Thinking this way, he truly could not restrain his heart, only wishing for morning to arrive quickly.
Early the next morning, after he finished cooking and chopping firewood, Yan Si immediately left the manor and followed the trail up the mountain, seeking out that stream.
"Ah, there it is!" The moment he caught sight of it, his eyes lit up. "Wonderful!"
The stream water was crystal clear, to the point that even the jagged pebbles lying beneath were visible; furthermore, there were many large fish swimming playfully along the current down toward the lower reaches.
Seeing that the water level did not even reach half of his height, and thinking that he practiced swimming and diving every day, and that this stream was just as calm as a regular lake surface, Yan Si immediately stripped off his clothes until he was in nothing but his undergarments, then tentatively stepped down.
The flow of water was freezing and rather swift, while the jagged rocks were unstable and treacherous to walk upon, causing Yan Si to feel a tinge of fear and want to turn back. However, the moment he saw the school of fish before his eyes, he threw all caution to the wind, slowly stepping further out into the middle of the stream.
Here, the current was even swifter, and the rocks beneath his feet were slick and slippery, causing Yan Si to almost lose his footing and fall. He also felt an eerie sensation, as if something had just touched and grasped his ankle; yet, when he looked down...
"Ah, it's a fish!" Fish were swimming and circling around his legs, bringing Yan Si immense delight...
Forgetting all fear, Yan Si immediately bent his waist, his two hands flailing and scooping beneath the water in an attempt to clutch a fish. After a long while, he still had not caught a single one. "Strange, there are so many fish, so why can't I touch them?"
The moment the words left his mouth, something resembling a freezing hand suddenly grabbed Yan Si's ankle and yanked violently, causing him to lose his balance and plunge into the water. Before he could even struggle, he was already dragged away by the current.
The torrent surged and rushed swiftly; Yan Si truly had no idea how many gulps of water he choked down... Amidst the panic, he felt excruciating pain all over his body from colliding against the rocks, and he could only helplessly resign his body, allowing it to be swept away.
Only when he reached the lower reaches did the water gradually turn gentle again, and Yan Si slowly drifted ashore. By this time, his soul seemed about to ascend to heaven, having long since swooned.
The moment he jolted awake due to the raging pain, he softly groaned, "It hurts so much..."
Yan Si's entire body was drenched in blood; he could barely move at all... In his heart, a wave of profound regret welled up. He had been perfectly fine at home, yet for no reason he had run out to the stream to catch fish, without even bothering to ask for his master's permission.
"Mas... Master... could Master be out looking for me?" Feeling a shred of fragile hope, Yan Si softly called out in a weak voice, "Master... Master... save... save me..."
Yan Si had been calling out for a long time, yet still no one came to save him, while the sky was darkening by the minute. Once again, he fell into a state of ultimate despair...
"I seem to have drifted very far from home..." The water had carried him to who knew what secluded, desolate place; it would be difficult for Yichang Hua to find him.
"He loathes me so much, would he even be willing to come look for me?" At the thought of this, Yan Si began to feel self-pity, and tears silently rolled down his begrimed cheeks.
Just then, someone suddenly appeared. It was a very beautiful woman; she came to his side, scooped Yan Si into her arms, and consoled, "Oh, little one, do not cry. How did my child end up so severely injured?"
Hearing the soothing voice, Yan Si cried even louder, "It hurts... it hurts so much... my whole body hurts..."
Upon hearing this, she gently caressed his face, comforting him, "There... Mother knows you are in pain! It's alright... it's alright... let me rub it for you, and the pain will go away instantly!"
Yan Si nodded, allowing her to rub his body. In truth, wherever she touched, the pain would immediately subside, leaving behind only a sensation of total numbness across his body.
Having finished, the strange woman picked Yan Si up and said softly, "Mother will take you home, alright?"
Hearing the two words "go home" filled Yan Si with joy. He immediately nodded, allowing her to carry him away.
Wandering for a long time amidst the deep forest and profound mountains, that woman carried Yan Si to a simple, small hut, whispering softly into his ear, "My child, we are home. Open your eyes and take a look."
This house was completely unfamiliar, yet it carried an indescribable, bone-chilling coldness. Yan Si asked softly, "Our home...?"
Hearing this, the woman nodded gently, offering a tender smile as she replied, "Correct, this is our home. From now on, you will have your mother's love. You must be good and obedient, and do not go anywhere else, alright?"
"Mother..." Was she truly his mother? Doubt and belief warred within Yan Si's heart, but looking at the way she treated him, he felt reassured.
She was so gentle; if she were not his mother, why would she be so good to him? To make certain, Yan Si asked once more, "Are you truly my mother? Do you really love me?"
The woman smiled and replied, "Of course! Who in this world does not love their own child?"
Indeed, what mother in this world did not love her child? Concluding that this must be his mother, Yan Si restfully buried his head into her embrace, seeking that shred of warmth he had always secretly yearned for.
The woman laid Yan Si upon the bed, carefully applying medicine onto his wounds. Afterward, she departed, only to return a moment later holding a plate of fragrant cakes.
She lifted Yan Si up, cradling him comfortably in her arms, and began to gently feed him the cakes.
"The cakes are so delicious!" Not only that, but they were also incredibly fragrant! Never in his life had Yan Si tasted anything so wonderful; the feeling was utterly exhilarating...
Seeing him devour them ravenously, the woman smiled faintly and stroked his back. "Slow down or you will choke, there is still plenty left. When it is finished, Mother will make more for my little one, do not rush!"
Since birth, this was the first time Yan Si had been cradled and caressed by a woman, and given delicious food to eat. A hazy sense of happiness invaded his mind, and he instantly accepted this mother who had seemingly fallen from the sky.
Having eaten his fill, Yan Si leaned his head against his mother's chest. The warmth radiating from her left his entire body floating in joy; he thought that for the rest of his life, he only wanted to lie in her embrace and sleep... Just like that, he gradually drifted deep into a dreamland.
Waking up the next day, Yan Si was fed by his mother once more. However, the pieces of cake she brought were no longer delicious; on the contrary, they emitted a foul, putrid stench of mud.
The mere scent of it made him want to vomit. Yan Si immediately shook his head in refusal. "No... this doesn't taste good, I don't want to eat it!"
Seeing that the child was not being obedient, the woman's face instantly turned ash-gray. She assumed a ferocious expression, her eyes rolling white as she asked, "What did you just say? Not eating? You dare not eat?"
When she flew into a rage, there was no longer a single trace of the gentle beauty from when they had first met. Yan Si backed away in fleeting terror, only to be instantly seized... She brutally shoved the cakes into his mouth, shouting and scolding, "Eat, quickly! Who allowed you not to eat? Eat! Eat it all!"
She terrified him so much! So much! Yan Si wanted to shriek and cry, but his mouth was stuffed full of muddy cakes; in an instant, he could only emit muffled whines and gasps... Immediately after, a coil of thorny rope appeared in her hands...
Yan Si's fragile shred of hope regarding a mother's warmth and love vanished completely. He no longer believed in it; in its place was a bitter, deep-seated hatred for the woman, and deeper still, a terror of a horrific thrashing that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Three days passed, and the waking nightmare prolonged as if it had no end. Yan Si's life force was drained to the absolute limit, and he lost all hope of waiting for someone to rescue him.
Qin Sheng preserved one last breath for Yan Si, and it was precisely because of it that his soul could not escape his body... to the point that it felt as if:
He would be imprisoned forever in this place of sharp thorns... He would be tortured forever in ultimate agony...
If forever was truly like this... how was he supposed to endure it? Or perhaps one day, after growing accustomed to the sensation of pain, he would no longer feel anything at all... Would such a day ever come?
Whether it would or not remained unknown, but Yan Si's mind had long since fallen into a state of stupor...
During the many days Yan Si was missing, Yichang Hua had strenuously searched everywhere, from the lower reaches of the stream to the neighboring areas; yet until now, he had still been unable to find his corpse.
"How strange..." On the day Yan Si had gotten lost in the toxic herb garden, Yichang Hua had placed a type of medicine on his body called Scent Tracker. As long as the child remained within the mountain valley, he should have easily found him; instead...
"Clearly his clothes were discarded on the stream bank, so where is the person?" Even if he had been swept away by the water, he should have drifted down to the lower reaches. He could not even detect the scent of the Scent Tracker.
On the third day of the search, Yichang Hua once more combed through the lower reaches, venturing into the thick thickets.
This time, as if guided by some intuition, Yichang Hua went deep into the dense forest, and then he began to detect the scent of the Scent Tracker.
"As expected..." Yan Si was still lingering somewhere within the mountain valley; however, that he had only found a trace by today was truly bizarre beyond measure.
Following the Scent Tracker, Yichang Hua arrived at a place filled with thorns. The deeper he went, the denser the sharp thorns became, to the point that even a mosquito would find it difficult to squeeze through. Without using a sword to hack it away, there was truly no way to advance.
As Yichang Hua walked, he used his sword to slash the thorns to pieces, clearing a path inward. It took a great deal of time and effort before he reached the deepest part of the thicket; sure enough, Yan Si lay curled up inside.
"He..." For a fleeting moment, Yichang Hua stood completely stunned by the sight before his eyes.