Chapter 6

Fear left over from his previous life consumed An Zimo's mind. Before he could think, he scrambled into a pile of straw, using it as cover to hide himself completely.

Crack!

The wooden door could no longer withstand the violent blows and finally broke open from outside.

"Zimo, we're leaving!"

An Xiang burst through the door, axe in hand.

She had exerted quite a bit of strength earlier and was panting slightly, the web of her hand numb from the axe's vibrations.

The woodshed was filled with the damp smell of wood. An Xiang coughed twice at the unpleasant odor, looked around, and noticed one corner of a straw pile bulging.

An Xiang casually dropped the axe on the ground, took a few steps forward, and crouched down. She blinked as she peered inside, abruptly meeting the child's wary, dangerous gaze.

"Come out. We're going home."

An Xiang reached out, but before her hand could get close, An Zimo slapped it away hard.

His expression was hostile, his teeth clenched. Fierce and trembling, he forced a single word through his teeth: "Scram."

An Xiang froze, then silently tucked her arm behind her back.

[My son must be afraid of people.]

[Poor thing. It must be those people outside's fault.]

[I have to treat my son well.]

What an act.

An Zimo sneered inwardly, his gaze growing even more contemptuous.

His mother had been good to him at times, but only when he could generate profit. All her gentleness and kindness had been meant to make him earn more money.

Poor thing?

Treat him well?

What a joke!

If he went back with her, once she learned of the ability he now possessed, she would spare no effort in squeezing him dry until not a drop remained!

"Be good, Zimo. Come out with Mommy, okay?" An Xiang had no idea what An Zimo was thinking. Assuming he was merely frightened, she made her voice even gentler.

An Zimo huddled stubbornly inside, wishing he could embed his entire body in the cold wall behind him.

He remained unmoved, his little hands clenched tightly around his knees, his knuckles reddening slightly from the force.

The spectators outside began laughing. "What an idiot. His mom's here, and he won't even go to her."

Their mockery reminded An Xiang of her childhood. She pressed her lips together, turned, and shouted, "Stop talking nonsense! Zimo isn't stupid. He's going to be a genius someday. What the hell do you know!"

The system was gone, and she had not encountered the mysterious person either.

But An Xiang was not worried. She believed An Zimo would not remain like this forever. Modern medical technology was so advanced that someday it would surely bring him to the level of a normal person.

"Zimo, let's go. We're not staying here." An Xiang could not be bothered to argue with those foolish village women behind her anymore. Her face was sterner than ever, but just as her five slender fingers were about to touch An Zimo's arm, he nimbly dodged them.

His figure darted past her from the side, his hands and feet moving hastily, his movements frantic, as though he wished he could escape her side immediately.

The little child's limbs were not yet very coordinated, and in his haste, he lost his rhythm. Seeing the clutter piled nearby about to fall onto him, An Xiang had no time to consider anything else. She shoved hard with her palm, instantly pushing the already off-balance An Zimo to the ground. The back of his head struck the wall hard.

His body had no nerves that sensed pain, so naturally, he felt none.

But he felt resentment. Endless resentment wound around his heart as bloody, cruel scenes from his previous life drifted before his eyes along with his mother's face, finally becoming completely entwined with reality.

An Zimo lay motionless on the ground, curling his lips mockingly at An Xiang's hand before she could withdraw it.

See? It hadn't taken long at all for her selfish nature to be completely exposed.

She was supposed to be this sort of selfish, vicious, cruel person.

All her gentleness and smiles were nothing but an illusion.

An Zimo's strength gave out. He sighed weakly, closed his eyes, and slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

-He would be better off dead.

-He might as well pick an auspicious day to die again. After all... it wouldn't hurt.

As his consciousness slipped away, An Zimo fell into an exceptionally gentle embrace. He wanted to open his eyes and look, but ultimately, his efforts were futile. Then he heard a not entirely clear inner voice-

[Oh no, I killed my son!]

Holding her unconscious son, An Xiang felt ready to cry herself to death at any moment.

She shakily placed a finger beneath his nose. Only after feeling his steady, continuous breaths did her taut nerves finally relax.

Thank goodness, thank goodness. He was still breathing.

Her son wasn't dead.

An Xiang propped An Zimo up and felt the back of his head. There was nothing sticky, but she did feel a small raised bump. It looked like it had formed when he accidentally hit his head just now.

It probably wasn't anything serious.

An Xiang swiftly picked her son up. He was much thinner and smaller than other children his age, so light in her arms that he hardly weighed anything. Naturally, carrying him was not tiring either.

Without saying a word, she walked through the relatives watching the spectacle. At the door, she stopped and glanced back calmly. "Is there a doctor in the village?"

To be safe, An Xiang still decided to find a doctor to examine him.

"Old Li of West End is a doctor, but he went down the mountain to buy supplies. He left this morning and hasn't come back yet."

He was called a doctor, but in reality, he was only an unlicensed barefoot doctor. He was adequate for minor ailments, but if they actually had a fever or something of the sort, the villagers preferred going to town.

"Go have him checked in town before it gets dark. You can still make it if you leave now."

An Xiang thanked them, hired an ox cart in the village, and headed for the mountain town, holding her son securely.

The town was a thirty-minute ride from Water Lotus Village. The open ox cart swayed and rattled, jolting her backside considerably. The sun was about to sink completely, and the last streak of vivid red on the horizon was about to be swallowed by the rising blue-black darkness.

An Zimo showed no sign of waking, nestling quietly in her arms the entire way.

Only now did An Xiang have time to study his appearance properly.

Human young were so fragile and tiny, their slender bones wrapped in soft flesh. His thick, jet-black hair took after An Xiang's, its slightly curled ends lying fluffy over his forehead.

An Xiang lowered her lashes and gently brushed aside the hair on his forehead with her fingertips. Her son's eyebrows were beautiful too, his double eyelids distinct, his lashes thick and long, and the corners of his eyes tilted slightly upward. They were not like An Xiang's peach-blossom eyes. They probably resembled his father's.

His father...

Thinking of the man who had reached life's great harmony with her that night, An Xiang felt deeply deflated.

If only she hadn't let the system apply that mosaic.

After all that work, not only had the mission failed, she didn't even know whose child he was.

But her son really smelled so delicious.

Oh, hungry. Want to eat.

Gurgle.

Her stomach cooperated with two rumbles.

"Miss, we're at the clinic."

It was already dark. The ox cart stopped outside the town clinic, and An Xiang paid, thanked the driver, and carried An Zimo inside.

The villages and town were sparsely populated, and there were only a handful of patients in the consultation room. Before long, it was An Zimo's turn to be examined.

Watching the doctors in white coats gathered around the bed, An Xiang involuntarily grew nervous. Her breathing slowed, and her voice tightened. "Doctor, my son accidentally hit his head. Is he all right?"

The doctor said, "He's fine. Apply some medicine when you get back. He'll be fine once the swelling goes down."

Still uneasy, An Xiang stole a glance at the unconscious An Zimo on the bed. "Then why hasn't he woken up yet?"

The doctor put away his stethoscope and said, "The child's malnourished, and he has a cold too. A child this young certainly can't handle that physically. I gave him an injection. After some sleep, he'll be fine tomorrow."

An Xiang's eyes widened in surprise. "Huh? He has a cold?"

"Yes, a slight fever." The doctor looked An Xiang over. "Are you from out of town?"

An Xiang nodded, staring worriedly at the little face on the bed.

"Our clinic closes at nine. Would you rather find somewhere to stay first or wait here for the child to wake up?" Worried that An Xiang was still uneasy, the doctor added, "There's nothing seriously wrong with him. You just need to give him more nutrition and vitamins. Once he's getting enough nutrition, his immunity will improve too, and he won't get sick so easily."

An Xiang withdrew her gaze. "I understand. Thank you, doctor."

"Then would you..."

"Since he's fine, I'll take him with me now." An Xiang picked up An Zimo, who had just received an injection, again. His complexion was indeed much better than before, his breathing steady. He had already entered a sweet dream.

Looking at his little face, An Xiang's anxious heart finally relaxed.

She had heard that human traffickers lurked in remote mountain areas. Even though this was a clinic, An Xiang was unwilling to leave her son alone.

"Doctor, do you know where I can find somewhere to stay around here?" Getting from the town to the city required taking a bus, and that bus only ran in the morning and at noon. For now, she could only find somewhere to rest. Besides, An Zimo's current physical condition was not suited to a long journey.

"There's a hotel on the street behind us, but the conditions might not be very good." Seeing her fair, delicate skin and pampered appearance, the doctor was very worried she would not be able to accept such conditions.

An Xiang did not particularly care. At this point, having somewhere to stay was good enough.

She left the clinic and found the hotel by following the directions the doctor had given her.

The hotel was small, but fairly clean. Check-in was completed quickly. An Xiang took the key card, carried An Zimo up to the second floor, and entered her room.

There was only one double bed in the tiny room, with a television standing opposite it and a bathroom to the side that could accommodate one person.

An Xiang had spent the entire day being jostled on the road, and had carried An Zimo along the way too. Now her back and waist ached, and she was utterly exhausted. But she could not rest yet. Looking at the filthy An Zimo on the bed, An Xiang went to the bathroom and wrung out a clean towel, then sat beside the bed and began cleaning her son.

The clothes he wore could no longer be worn. They were gray in some places and black in others, and the hems of his trousers were worn to tatters.

Without hesitation, An Xiang stripped off those clothes and threw them in the trash, then carefully wiped his body.

Without fabric covering them, his limbs were even thinner and frailer than An Xiang had imagined. His arms, legs, and back were covered in scrapes from unknown sources. They had yet to heal, and the red marks were alarming to see.

She carefully avoided the wounds, once again blaming herself for her carelessness. If only she had gotten some medicine for scrapes from the doctor earlier.

Gurgle.

An Xiang's fingertips paused, and she felt her stomach.

Gurrrgle.

That sound didn't seem to be coming from her?

An Xiang blinked and looked at her son's little sunken belly.

She tapped her head in sudden realization: Her son was hungry!!!

Son: A bad feeling.

Aaaah, I'll definitely start writing earlier tomorrow.

Red packets for the first three hundred comments. I'll send yesterday's red packets a little later.

I suddenly realized that reading this chapter's synopsis together with chapter five's is really funny, hahahahaha.