A Frail Life Like Duckweed

After assigning the rats their tasks, Chen Nan had nothing left to do.

He twisted his body and watched the city lights below for a while, his heart filled with boundless attachment.

But just then, a beam of light shot toward him, nearly blinding him. When he squinted and looked again, he realized it was headlights. A pickup truck seemed to be heading up the mountain.

Once the light was no longer shining into his eyes, Chen Nan saw more clearly. The vehicle was indeed coming toward the orphanage.

Like a toy model, it sped along the road. Before long, he heard brakes screech at the orphanage gate. The pickup shut off, followed by the sounds of doors opening and closing, and several people talking.

Since it was deep into the night and their voices kept carrying upward, Chen Nan heard them clearly despite the distance.

"Today's goods are first-rate. Once they're developed later, they'll definitely make a fortune."

"That's not our concern. Hurry up and get to work."

"Why can't we care about it? If the goods are good, won't we earn more too?"

"Shut that filthy mouth of yours! You yap all day long. If you let the news slip, let's see what you'll do then."

"What could happen?"

Though he said that, the man lowered his voice, and the others' words became blurred as well.

The night watchman opened the gate, and several people entered from outside. They were probably the ones who had been talking earlier.

There were four of them. Each had a burlap sack slung over his back. By the light of the headlights, Chen Nan could see the sacks constantly writhing, as if there were living creatures inside.

"There's one more in the truck. Xiao Li, go get it down," said the man in front, then headed into the courtyard.

They were extremely familiar with the orphanage's layout and went straight toward the orphan dormitories.

Seeing this, Chen Nan began to wonder. What were they doing? What living creature would be delivered to the dormitories? Could it be...

But that made no sense. Who would sneak around in the middle of the night to do something like that?

Thoughts flooded Chen Nan's mind, turning his heart as cold as if it had been plunged into ice water.

Chen Nan looked again at the city lights below the mountain and thought, This orphanage really was built in a carefully chosen location!

They finished their work quickly. After leaving the dormitory, those people noticed Chen Nan hanging there. Since someone had discovered him, Chen Nan had already told the tree to return to its original position. Now he hung there like a dead dog.

One of them asked, "What happened to this one?"

The night watchman, Xiao Li, said, "A little unlucky bastard. He might not make it."

"Oh? What happened to this big tree?"

Xiao Li said, "It was struck by lightning. That kid happened to be there too, so..."

"Pretty unlucky. But if he dies just like that, it'd be such a shame. What a waste."

"Let's go, let's go! It's none of your business. You worry about everything all day."

Those people left through the gate. The truck doors opened, then slammed shut with another pair of bangs. As the engine started, the pickup drove away from the orphanage.

The sky grew darker...

At some point, Chen Nan fell asleep. He did not wake until morning dew struck his face the next day.

The morning sun was wonderfully comfortable, bringing just enough light and warmth. Yet it was still not time for people to get up.

Chen Nan drank some dew the tree had gathered and waited there. He had no idea what would happen to him next, and his heart had no confidence at all.

Though he knew that even if he took another whipping, he probably would not die, he simply could not endure that suffering.

An entire morning passed. Chen Nan was astonished to find that he had not suffered any further abuse. He almost felt flattered by the favor. Could it be that after reaching rock bottom, his fortunes were finally about to turn?

He did not dare rejoice too soon, afraid that even this tiny extravagant hope would bring retribution upon him.

But he clearly should not have had any retribution coming to him, so good news arrived.

More precisely, it was not good news directly for Chen Nan, but good news for Director Wang.

Because they had truly "treated him with courtesy" here, the Prefecture Secretary over there had genuinely gotten things done. As expected, none of those around important figures had a narrow outlook. They were all people who possessed both emotional intelligence and intellect.

After making an effort, the Prefecture Secretary successfully diverted the Prefecture Office's attention. The inspection of the orphanage that had originally been scheduled for the near future was postponed. This gave Director Wang plenty of time to make arrangements afterward.

The secretary had also pointed out a clear path. In truth, Director Wang knew of such a path himself.

But knowing was one thing; whether you could take that path was another. A matter should not trouble two masters, and money should not pass through two hands. That was the rule, and it was also the "Way." If that was broken, then the "Way" would be blocked.

It could only bring temporary smooth passage while creating even greater obstacles down the road.

He was the Prefecture Secretary, after all. Even borrowing the tiger's might as a fox could scare people to death.

And the plan this secretary proposed was this: using the time they had gained, he would invite an Immortal to restore this tree to its original state through mystical arts. When the Prefecture Office came to inspect afterward, there would be no problem at all.

Of course, inviting an Immortal would cost an enormous sum. But the secretary knew Director Wang would not begrudge such a small expense. To him, it was merely pocket money.

With a solution in hand, Director Wang felt much more at ease, and he began to consider letting Chen Nan off the hook.

The reason was exactly what that big-mouthed fellow had said last night: "What a waste."

Chen Nan had indirectly gained a benefit. Thus, at noon, he was taken down and sent back to the "single room" where he lived with Little Black Ox.

The dormitories stood on the western side of the orphanage. It was a five-story building housing quite a few orphans. Its facilities were fairly complete, with running water, bathrooms, and so on.

Chen Nan and Little Black Ox, however, were disliked, and the dormitories were already full, so they had been placed in a shabby little single-story house beside them.

The environment here was exceptionally terrible, but at this moment, it was instead a good thing for Chen Nan.

During the noon break, Little Black Ox fetched Chen Nan a bucket of water so he could wash himself, and also brought back his lunch.

Naturally, Chen Nan first needed to wash away the blood and grime covering him. He had no desire to see himself so filthy. But the washing process truly made him suffer a second time.

The cold water made his wounds sting fiercely, but Chen Nan could only engrave that pain in his heart.

It took him a long while to finish washing himself. Then he roughly washed his pants as well. After all, everything he and Little Black Ox owned amounted to only these things.

Once he washed that one pair of pants, he had nothing else to wear. Chen Nan simply tied the bedsheet around his waist. As long as it covered him, that was enough.

Besides, he was still a child. Who could accuse him of indecent behavior?

Adults doing that were called hooligans, but children doing it were called innocent and adorable, understood?

Unfortunately, the current Chen Nan was just like Conan: the body of a child, but the heart of an adult.

After washing up and hanging his ruined pants out to dry, Chen Nan climbed onto the bed, sat cross-legged, and began eating and drinking.

Little Black Ox looked at Chen Nan and said, "Why do I feel like you're different from before after getting struck by lightning?"

Chen Nan glanced at him. "How am I different?"

"I can't say," Little Black Ox said. "It's just that feeling. You're different."

Chen Nan smiled but ignored him.

After falling silent for a while, Little Black Ox said, "Five more orphans came today. They're all three- or four-year-old children."

Chen Nan looked at Little Black Ox and asked, "Do the orphans here all suddenly increase in number like this?"

Little Black Ox nodded. "Yeah. Did you forget all that too?"

Chen Nan pointed at his own head. "I got struck so hard I even forgot you. How could I remember that?"

Little Black Ox said, "Oh, right. Then did you forget your vow too?"

"A vow?" Chen Nan swallowed a mouthful of porridge and asked, "What vow?"

Little Black Ox grinned foolishly. "You really did forget. Didn't you say there were two things you absolutely had to do? One was to get into the Preparatory Academy; the other was to find your real mother."

Chen Nan continued drinking his porridge, but he truly began taking the matter seriously in his mind.

From names like "Little Black Ox," "Tie Dan," and "Ye Gou," it seemed the orphans in this orphanage did not have real names. Then why did he have a full name like Chen Nan?

And what was this Preparatory Academy? Could orphans take examinations for it?

After thinking it over, Chen Nan felt that the Preparatory Academy was the more useful matter to him. So he asked, "What exactly is this Preparatory Academy?"

Little Black Ox looked speechless. "I don't know what the Preparatory Academy really is either. I only know that if you want to become an Immortal, it seems you have to go through the Preparatory Academy first.

"I really don't know the details. Hardly anyone talks about these things."

The word "Immortal" made Chen Nan's heart skip a beat. He cautiously asked, "What is an Immortal?"

Little Black Ox nearly rolled his eyes, but he still answered, "Isn't that what we admire most? Those people with unbelievably powerful strength—calling wind and rain, summoning flames and lightning, and all that. They're Immortals."

Chen Nan asked, "Then are there many Immortals?"

Little Black Ox shook his head. "I don't know. Probably very few."

Chen Nan suddenly lost his appetite. He abruptly realized that what he had considered a "transmigration benefit" might not be a benefit at all. It might simply be his own talent—the so-called talent of an Immortal.

By comparison, he would much rather this world had no Immortals at all. He hoped it was like Earth, where everyone was an ordinary person.

Because only then would his abilities be like scorpion dung—one of a kind. Only then could he use those abilities to obtain a good life without much pressure.

But if such abilities were not unique, then while that was still a good thing, it meant his future path would come with a certain amount of hardship. Craving ease and hating toil was human nature, and Chen Nan did not shy away from admitting it.

Without information, people were like blind men. There had to be an information blockade around the orphanage. It seemed that if he wanted to understand this world better, he would have to leave this place.

And based on what Little Black Ox had told him, it seemed his plans needed some fine adjustments as well.