Chapter 6

The fear left over from his previous life seized An Zimo's mind. Before he could think, he scrambled into the haystack and used it as cover, hiding himself completely.

Crack!

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

"Zimo, we're leaving!"

An Xiang gripped an axe and smashed her way inside.

She had used quite a bit of strength earlier, leaving her slightly out of breath, while the axe's vibrations had numbed the web between her thumb and forefinger.

The woodshed was filled with the damp smell of wood. An Xiang coughed twice, choked by the unpleasant odor, then looked around and spotted one corner of a haystack bulging upward.

An Xiang casually tossed the axe to the ground, stepped forward, and crouched down. Blinking as she peered inside, she suddenly met the child's wary, dangerous gaze.

"Come out. We're going home."

An Xiang held out her hand, but before she could get close, An Zimo fiercely slapped it away.

His expression was hostile. Grinding his teeth, he spat out one vicious, trembling word through clenched teeth: "Get lost."

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

[My son must be scared of people.]

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

[I have to be good to my son.]

What an act.

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

His mother had treated him well before, but that had all been based on his ability to bring her profit. Every bit of her tenderness and kindness had been for the sake of making him earn more money.

Pity him?

Be good to him?

What a joke!

If he went back with her and she found out about the abilities he possessed now, she would definitely squeeze him dry without holding back until there was nothing left of him!

"Good boy, Zimo. Will you come out with Mommy?" Unaware of An Zimo's thoughts, An Xiang only assumed he was afraid, and her tone grew gentler still.

An Zimo curled up tightly inside, wishing he could embed his entire body into the cold wall behind him.

He remained unmoved. His little hands wrapped around his knees clenched tightly, his knuckles turning slightly red from the force.

The onlookers outside started laughing. "What a fool. Even with his mom here, he still won't go to her."

Their teasing made An Xiang think of her own childhood. She pressed her lips together, turned back, and shouted, "Stop talking nonsense! Zimo isn't stupid. He'll 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 one day, it would surely be able to restore him to a normal level.

"Zimo, let's go. We're not staying here." An Xiang could not be bothered to argue with those foolish village women anymore. Her face was stern, more serious than ever. Just as her slender fingers were about to touch An Zimo's arm, he suddenly dodged away with astonishing agility.

That small figure darted past her from the side, limbs flailing and movements frantic, as though he could not wait to flee from her.

A child's limbs were still not fully coordinated. In his panic, he lost his rhythm. Seeing the pile of clutter beside him about to fall on him, An Xiang had no time to think. She shoved with all her strength, and An Zimo, already off balance, was instantly pushed to the ground. The back of his head slammed heavily into the wall.

There were no pain nerves in his body, so naturally, he could not feel pain.

But he felt resentment. Countless strands of resentment wrapped around his heart. Bloody, brutal scenes from his previous life floated before his eyes alongside his mother's face, until they completely intertwined with reality.

An Zimo lay motionless on the ground and curled his lips mockingly at An Xiang's hand, which she had not yet managed to pull back.

See? It had not taken long at all for her selfish nature to reveal itself completely.

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

All her tenderness and smiles were nothing but an illusion.

An Zimo was exhausted. He let out a weak sigh, closed his eyes, and slowly drifted into sleep.

It would be better to die.

Maybe he should pick an auspicious day and die again. Anyway... he wouldn't feel pain.

As his consciousness slipped away, An Zimo fell into an extremely gentle embrace. He wanted to open his eyes and look, but it was futile. Then he heard a faint, unclear thought—

[I'm done for. I killed my son!]

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

Trembling, she placed a finger beneath his nose. Once she felt his steady breaths continuously brushing against it, her taut nerves finally relaxed.

Thank goodness, thank goodness. He was still breathing.

Her son was not dead.

An Xiang propped An Zimo up and felt the back of his head. There was no sticky wetness, but she did find a small swollen bump. It looked like he had hit it by accident just now.

It should not be anything serious.

An Xiang swiftly picked up her son. He was much smaller and thinner than children his age, light as a feather in her arms, so naturally she did not feel tired carrying him.

Without saying a word, she passed through the relatives watching the spectacle. When she reached the door, she stopped and glanced back faintly. "Is there a doctor in the village?"

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

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

Though he was called a doctor, he was really just an unlicensed barefoot doctor. He could handle minor ailments well enough, but if someone truly had a fever or serious illness, the villagers preferred going into town.

"Go into town before it gets dark. If you hurry over now, you'll still make it."

After thanking them, An Xiang hired an ox cart from the village and held her son close as she headed toward the mountain town.

The town was a thirty-minute ride from Water Lotus Village. The open-air ox cart swayed and jolted, bumping her hard from below. The sun was about to set completely, and the last streak of vivid red on the horizon was about to be swallowed by the rising indigo dusk.

An Zimo showed no sign of waking and lay quietly nestled in her arms the entire way.

Only then did An Xiang have the chance to properly study his appearance.

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

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

His father...

Thinking of the man who had reached the great harmony of life with her that night, An Xiang let out a deeply dejected sigh.

If only she had not let the system censor him.

After all that work, not only had the mission failed, she did not even know who the child's father was.

But her son really smelled so good.

Wah, I'm hungry. I want to eat.

Grrr.

Her stomach cooperatively growled twice.

"Miss, we're at the clinic."

Night had fallen. The ox cart stopped in front of the town clinic. After paying and thanking the driver, An Xiang carried An Zimo inside.

The village town was sparsely populated, and there were only a few patients in the examination room. Before long, it was An Zimo's turn to be examined.

Watching the doctor in a white coat standing by the bed, An Xiang could not help but grow 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, and he'll be fine once the swelling goes down."

An Xiang was still worried. She secretly glanced at An Zimo, lying on the bed unconscious. "Then why isn't he awake yet?"

The doctor put away his stethoscope and said, "The child is malnourished and has caught a cold. A child this young naturally can't handle it. I gave him an injection. After he sleeps, he'll be better tomorrow."

An Xiang's eyes widened in shock. "Huh? He caught a cold?"

"Yes, and he has a slight fever." The doctor looked An Xiang over. "You're not from around here?"

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

"Our clinic closes at nine. Do you want to find somewhere to stay first, or wait here until the child wakes up?" Afraid An Xiang was still worried, the doctor added, "The child isn't seriously ill. You just need to give him more nutrition and vitamins. Once his nutrition improves, his immunity will improve as well, and he won't get sick so easily."

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

"Then you..."

"Since he's fine, I'll take him with me first." An Xiang picked up An Zimo again. After the injection, his complexion really did look much better than before. His breathing was steady, and he had already fallen into a sweet sleep.

Looking at that little face, the worry that had been hanging over An Xiang's heart finally eased.

She had heard that human traffickers sometimes appeared in remote mountain regions. Even though this was a clinic, An Xiang did not want to leave her son alone.

"Doctor, do you know where we can find somewhere to stay around here?" To get from town to the city, they needed to take 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 condition was not suitable for a long journey.

"There's a hotel on the street behind us, though the conditions might not be very good." Seeing how fair, delicate, and pampered she looked, the doctor was worried she would not be able to accept such an environment.

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

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

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

There was only one double bed in the room, and the space was tiny. A television stood opposite the bed, with a one-person bathroom beside it.

An Xiang had spent the entire day being jostled on the road. On top of that, she had carried An Zimo everywhere, and her waist and back ached terribly. She was exhausted. But she could not rest yet. Looking at the filthy An Zimo on the bed, An Xiang went into the bathroom, wrung out a clean towel, sat by the bed, and began cleaning her son.

The clothes he was wearing could no longer be worn. They were covered in patches of gray and black, and the hems of his pants had been rubbed into tatters.

Without hesitation, An Xiang stripped off his clothes and tossed them into the trash before carefully wiping down his body.

Without clothing to cover them, his limbs were even thinner and weaker than An Xiang had imagined. His arms, legs, and back were covered in wounds from who knew where. They had not yet healed, and the red marks looked horrifying.

She carefully avoided the wounds and blamed herself once more for being so careless. If only she had gotten some medicine for abrasions from the doctor earlier.

Grrr.

An Xiang's fingers paused as she touched her own stomach.

Grrrrr.

That sound did not seem to be coming from her body?

An Xiang blinked and looked at her son's flat, empty little belly.

She smacked her forehead in sudden realization: Her son was hungry!!!

Son: A bad feeling.

Ahhh, I'll definitely start writing earlier tomorrow.

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

I suddenly realized it's hilarious when the summaries for this chapter and Chapter Five are read together. Hahahahaha.