By the time he turned six, everyone in the village had died.
Ren Tao did not know why, nor could he remember the reason. He had even forgotten his surname. All he knew was that everyone called him Xiao Ji.
Only one thing had left a deep impression, and it was rather horrifying.
Ren Tao remembered Xiao Ji catching a jarful of leeches, along with a few soft-bodied creatures whose names he did not know. With a tiny razor that had lost its wooden handle, leaving only the blade, he hacked at the leeches inside the jar.
The leeches' bodies were supple and slippery. It took tremendous effort for Xiao Ji to cut them apart, but even then, they did not die. Next, Xiao Ji lit a fire and roasted them over it.
Just like "Tang San" roasting meat.
Just as Ren Tao thought this poor child-Xiao Ji, whose consciousness overlapped with his own-was about to eat the leeches, and the disgust began pulling him out of the experience, something bizarre happened.
Xiao Ji did not eat the creatures. Instead, he ground them into powder.
Then he dipped the razor in the powder and carved the shape of a leaf into his own arm.
Blood flowed out. It was red at first, but soon turned bluish-gray, congealing on Xiao Ji's arm into something resembling a tattoo.
Only then did Ren Tao notice that Xiao Ji already had two similar "leaf tattoos" on his arm. This new one made three, arranged like an ear of wheat. The first was bluish-gray, the second green, and the third had turned bluish-gray again.
"The first leaf is a nightmare, the second a blessing, and the third..."
Xiao Ji looked at his hand, tears spilling from his eyes. "A curse!"
Everyone in the village had