BOOK 1 - Thirty Years of Mortal Tribulation—Experiencing the Harshest Version of Human Life
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CHAPTER 1 - Qin Sheng (Seal of Life)
- PART 2 -
For an indeterminate time, when Shi Yan Si slowly regained consciousness, he realized he was lying in someone's arms. It was so warm that he no longer felt the cold—much like the comforting warmth of being in his mother's womb.
That person held Shi Yan Si and gave him some water… water that was exceedingly sweet… so sweet indeed…
A slight relief curved the little one's lips into a smile, though deep within that smile lay countless sorrows and heart-wrenching pain.
The next day, upon waking, Shi Yan Si felt that his body was much lighter. Although his stomach remained empty, the oppressive heaviness had lifted. Meanwhile, Yichang Hua—who had been sitting by the bedside for who knew how long—noticed that Shi Yan Si had just awakened and, in a cold tone, said, "Wake up and eat."
"Eat…" Shi Yan Si wondered aloud, "So, at last I get to eat?" His eyes wandered about until he spotted a small bowl of rice placed beside him; he immediately forced himself to sit up and picked up a pair of chopsticks.
It was a simple bowl of rice mixed with stir-fried vegetables, nothing remarkable and lacking any distinct flavor, yet Shi Yan Si ate it ravenously—as if he had been starving for years.
Seeing this, Yichang Hua asked, "Is it that delicious?"
Hearing the question, Shi Yan Si nodded vigorously. Observing him, a fleeting smile almost tugged at Yichang Hua's lips before he quickly reined it in and asked, "Does the feeling of nearly dying of hunger hurt?"
Hadn't he already known the answer? Reflecting on the past days, Shi Yan Si could only sigh in silence. Was there any child who had survived being abandoned and left hungry for seven days and seven nights? Or was he the only one who could endure it?
Yichang Hua continued, "… But rest assured, you will not die—never die. Qin Sheng will preserve you until your final breath, no matter how much your body may decay…"
Even if flames were to scorch your flesh to ash, your bones would remain; that small breath of life would persist forever.
As if suddenly understanding, Shi Yan Si's body began trembling uncontrollably. A deep, indescribable fear of that thing called Qin Sheng surged within him—a force so cruel and monstrous that it threatened to shatter his very existence.
"What… have you done?" He thought. "Why would you do such a thing? What sin have I committed to deserve such unrelenting cruelty?"
When asked, Yichang Hua simply replied, "To preserve your life."
"Preserve my life?" Shi Yan Si echoed. "For what? To keep my body intact? Do you wish to keep my body alive?"
At that moment, Shi Yan Si felt utterly confused… truly, he did not understand.
Yichang Hua stared at him silently before, in a cold tone, saying, "In the future, if you do not want to suffer, you must learn to fend for yourself."
"Fend for myself…?" Shi Yan Si wondered. "How could I possibly fend for myself in a place as desolate as this?"
Seeing Shi Yan Si slump in despair, Yichang Hua, unwilling to say more, rose to leave. Just then, he suddenly grasped the hem of his robe and, in a muffled tone, pleaded, "Master… please, don't abandon… me…"
With a sidelong glance, Yichang Hua coolly replied, "Didn't I tell you not to call me 'master'?"
"But…" Shi Yan Si mumbled. "Back home, my own parents forced me to kowtow to a master. Now, if I cannot call you master, then what should I call you?"
Speaking of which, that very day Yichang Hua had refused to accept him as a disciple—agreeing only to instruct him until he reached maturity.
Suddenly, memories of Shi Nan Xuan flared up in Yichang Hua's mind, and he was overcome with anger. He brusquely shoved Shi Yan Si away and immediately departed, muttering under his breath, "Cursed child!"
"Cursed child? What is Cursed child? Did you just call me that?" Shi Yan Si thought, gradually sensing that Yichang Hua truly despised him. If this continued, how would he ever survive the coming days?
Another day passed. In the morning, Shi Yan Si was fed until he was full, yet by the afternoon hunger returned. At that point, he could no longer wait and decided to venture out in search of food.
The mountain estate was vast—the east and west wings were filled with rows of rooms packed tightly together. He didn't know what they were used for; when he pushed a door open, he found neither people nor any belongings. In the end, after over an hour of walking, he still hadn't found a kitchen while his hunger grew unbearable and his strength nearly exhausted.
As dusk fell, Shi Yan Si desperately tried to find his way back to the rear wing, but the further he went the more lost he became. His limbs weakened until he could no longer walk, and he collapsed onto the ground.
His vision blurred completely. For a brief moment, he spotted a heap of wild greens ahead that looked, in his desperate state, enticing. He hurriedly sprang up, grabbed a handful, and stuffed them into his mouth…
"Not delicious…" he thought. They were utterly unappetizing! Yet, this was the only food available at that moment—there was nothing better.
In his frantic hunger, Shi Yan Si continued to devour the greens until his stomach felt full, but the fatigue still weighed heavily upon him. Immediately, he collapsed onto the ground and curled up, his heavy, drowsy eyes soon succumbing to a daze.
Facing this relentless hunger and the bitter cold of every night, Shi Yan Si knew he had to learn to adapt. Although here there was nothing but hunger and cold, his heart ached with an indescribable pain, mixed with a deep-seated fear that haunted his mind…
He feared having to continue existing in this world, to endlessly struggle in starvation and abject poverty, and that everyone around him would only inflict further suffering.
When one is already so terrified, where can one run? That thing called Qin Sheng only made the anguish within him even worse.
The next morning, when Shi Yan Si awoke, he found himself still lying amid the wild greens. His stomach now both ached and growled with hunger, leaving him extremely uncomfortable. Believing that his meager meal from the night before was insufficient, he frantically gathered more greens to eat, but this only intensified his agonizing pain.
After a while, the pain refused to subside no matter how much he tried to eat. The excruciating suffering was far beyond what any child could bear; Shi Yan Si collapsed, clutching his stomach, writhing in pain, and tears streamed down his cheeks.
He cried out—not only in pain, but in utter despair.
He knew he could not die, yet this agony made his soul feel as though it had descended into the deepest layers of hell. Waiting for rescue or even a comforting touch was like waiting for rain in a barren desert—so desperate was he that all he could do was cry. And the more he cried, the more the pain overwhelmed him.
His chest felt so constricted he could barely breathe; his heart seemed as if it might stop for a moment, and dark blood began to seep from his weak pulse…
At that moment, Yichang Hua appeared from afar. He noticed that his herb garden had been utterly ruined, and over there, Shi Yan Si lay collapsed, clutching his stomach and writhing in pain. His face instantly turned pale as Yichang Hua stepped forward, grabbed him, and scolded, "Are you stupid? How dare you eat poisonous herbs?"
Stupid? Was it Shi Yan Si who was stupid or was it him? How could a child barely three years old—starved for days—dare to consume poison? Did he expect the child to know any better? All he knew was hunger… pure, overwhelming hunger, and now he was in excruciating pain, nearly on the verge of death.
Immediately, Yichang Hua carried Shi Yan Si away to treat him. He gave him copious amounts of bitter water—so bitter indeed…
The moment the water touched his throat, it stung horribly, and Shi Yan Si began to vomit uncontrollably. After one round, Yichang Hua forced him to drink again, repeating the process until every trace within his stomach had been expelled.
Then, Yichang Hua laid Shi Yan Si neatly on the bed and turned away.
"This child…" he muttered. "So young already—and yet will Qin Sheng be able to keep you alive in the future?"
"Hmph… It's only happened twice so far… Die a few more times… suffer a few more times and let's see what you become…"
For those under Qin Sheng who cannot learn to adapt, the more they flirt with death, the more suffering they inflict upon themselves.
…
After many hazy days, Shi Yan Si eventually awoke as dusk fell. Noticing that his stomach now felt completely normal, he thought it must be luck—never suspecting that he had just endured a near-death ordeal.
At that moment, Yichang Hua entered carrying a bowl of medicine, which he placed on the bed, and ordered, "Drink the medicine."
Shi Yan Si, obediently, sat up and picked up the steaming bowl. Blowing on it, he took a sip. Immediately, his face turned pale—the concoction was incredibly bitter. Who could bear such a taste? Furtively, he glanced toward Yichang Hua and stammered, "Master… could I possibly not drink it?"
Yichang Hua's cold, unyielding gaze silenced any further words. Shi Yan Si quickly blew on the medicine to cool it down and then gulped it down, grimacing as he did so.
Once the bitter liquid passed down his throat, he began to sense a faint hint of sweetness lingering in his pharynx—so it turned out that the medicine was not entirely unpleasant. After finishing, he handed the empty bowl to Yichang Hua and, in a broken voice, said, "Master… I've finished."
Yichang Hua accepted it and immediately left. Earlier, he had instructed Shi Yan Si to wake at the Fifth Watch the next morning
Shi Yan Si hastily nodded in agreement, though he didn't truly understand what 'the Fifth Watch' meant. Thinking little of it, he simply slumped back into sleep—only to awaken well past noon the next day, completely forgetting Yichang Hua's instructions.
When he finally awoke, Shi Yan Si bolted upright, his heart pounding with a premonition of impending doom. Sure enough, not long after, Yichang Hua reappeared, his expression looking rather unwell. Approaching the bed, he asked coldly, "Don't you know what time you should be awake?"
Hearing this, Shi Yan Si merely bowed his head, too frightened to answer.
Then, Yichang Hua suddenly pressed lightly on the top of Shi Yan Si's head. At that moment, a small worm slithered out from within his finger and pierced straight through Shi Yan Si's skin. "Every day it will remind you until you learn self-discipline—and only then will I remove it," he said.
"It?" Shi Yan Si recalled feeling a sharp, needle-like pain in his head moments earlier, and then nothing at all; he had no idea what had just entered him.
Without further explanation, Yichang Hua coldly turned and left.
From that time until late into the night, Shi Yan Si had nothing to sustain him. After the incident with the poisonous herb, Yichang Hua had ordered him not to eat recklessly—so his stomach continued to ache with hunger.
After many days of forced fasting, Shi Yan Si gradually learned to endure. Despite the overwhelming hunger, he would toss and turn on the bed for a while before finally sinking into a deep sleep.
The next morning, at exactly "The Fifth Watch" while Shi Yan Si was still dozing, a sudden, excruciating headache struck him. He immediately sprang up, clutching his head and writhing as he cried out, "Ah… ah… it hurts… it hurts so much…"
Inside his head, it felt as if something were tearing him apart with unbearable agony—more horrific than the previous poisoning.
Could it be that "thing" Yichang Hua mentioned yesterday? Merely to force him to wake up early—was such a cruel measure really necessary?
Why is that person so heartlessly cruel? Why must he be so ruthless?
Is it because he knows that Shi Yan Si is bound by Qin Sheng, and thus feels free to treat him so harshly? His cruelty even surpassed that of the maid from before…
Thinking of Yichang Hua, Shi Yan Si's heart filled with two conflicting emotions—fear and hatred. He suffered so terribly that life seemed unbearable, yet he could do nothing but tremble in fear. Day by day, his terror only deepened.
After a while, as the pain slowly subsided, Shi Yan Si gazed at a swirling, chaotic vision as if the sky itself had turned mad—a sight that took him a long time to regain his composure. He then sat up, leaning against the wall with his arms wrapped around his knees, waiting.
It wasn't long before Yichang Hua reappeared. With a cold smile, he asked, "How do you feel? Does it hurt?"
Shi Yan Si remained silent. Continuing, Yichang Hua said, "If you don't want to suffer so, then tomorrow you must wake up even earlier. It won't hurt you."
Seeing that Shi Yan Si still sat there unmoving, Yichang Hua furrowed his brows and ordered, "What are you sitting there for? Get up and follow me!"
Though he harbored deep resentment toward him, Shi Yan Si knew that resisting would only cause him further suffering. With that thought, he immediately got up and followed Yichang Hua.
From then on, Yichang Hua began teaching Shi Yan Si how to cook—insisting that every day he wake early to go to the kitchen. In addition, he taught him various survival skills: how to forage for vegetables, set traps for animals, fish, and even prepare food—little by little, until Shi Yan Si mastered each task.
Every night, however, the device Yichang Hua affixed to Shi Yan Si's head continued to torment him, making him dread sleep more than ever; for if he even so much as dozed off, the worms would scorch him, inflicting unbearable pain.
This led to many sleepless nights—he would only sleep when his body was so utterly exhausted it could no longer fight back, at which point he had no choice but to endure the worm's searing pain until his mind slowly cleared.
No sleep at night, days spent following Yichang Hua's lessons without a moment's lapse—Shi Yan Si knew he had to concentrate on doing well in what was taught, even though, since arriving here, his body had suffered so much that his condition only worsened.
After nearly half a month, Shi Yan Si's health deteriorated further. His face turned a pale, ashen blue, his cheekbones became sunken, and his emaciated body showed hardly any flesh—with his ribs nearly protruding. In this long stretch of suffering, he never once complained... for who could he complain to? Who could he call for help?
Who now could save him? Isn't every child at this age meant to be cherished by loving parents? To be cared for in every little way? And what was his own situation? If this continued, how could he ever muster the strength to grow? His body would only become more frail—no longer resembling that of a human...
… If he could no longer even become human, then how could he ever return home?
"Must I live like this forever?" he wondered despairingly. "What am I to do?"
Until one day, Shi Yan Si finally could endure no more and collapsed, fainting from exhaustion—even as he was still being scorched by the worms at the designated time. As usual, he forced himself up, clutching his head and writhing, waiting for the pain to pass, then tried to crawl off the bed.
The air was still bitterly cold, and Shi Yan Si shivered uncontrollably. After only a few steps, he fell to the ground and soon fainted again.
All day, Shi Yan Si lay in a stupor, and at half past three in the night he suddenly jolted awake. He forced himself to sit up; his weary eyes struggled to open as he peered ahead, his body trembling as he labored to draw in heavy breaths.
He repeatedly urged himself to stay awake until the designated time, but the crushing fatigue nearly made him collapse. His eyes, just about to close, suddenly snapped open wide again.
At that moment, he knew he must find a way to clear his mind…
"Yes… that's it…" he thought, conjuring images of a life contrasting this bleak reality—imagining a time when he still had a loving mother, when every night he was enveloped in warmth, when he didn't have to rise early or toil all day but could instead frolic by her side…
In that vision, his mother would smile beautifully, cradle him tenderly… What immense happiness that dream would be.
At the thought, a slight smile crept onto Shi Yan Si's lips—even as his face, twisted in anguish, betrayed his inner torment with silent tears streaming down his cheeks. For there was no happiness here, and the weight of exhaustion continued to press him down until he nearly collapsed.
After the designated time finally passed, Shi Yan Si allowed himself to collapse onto his bed, and he immediately fell into a daze.
Day after day passed in this fashion; his condition worsened as his already fragile body continued to struggle just to rise at the appointed time.
Shi Yan Si had not been at this mountain retreat for long, yet he had already endured multiple near-death episodes, suffering so grievously that he was nearly unrecognizable as human.
Meanwhile, Yichang Hua stood hidden in a corner, silently watching Shi Yan Si. After days of observation—and whether he felt even a shred of pity or not—he finally decided to retract the worm poison.
From that moment on, Shi Yan Si finally found a measure of peace, able to sleep and rest until his health gradually recovered. Once he regained his strength, every morning he would conscientiously wake up early to go to the kitchen and cook rice, then head out to sweep the yard, split firewood, gather vegetables, and even extract worms. In the afternoon he would venture to the lakeside to fish with a rod or practice swimming.
Throughout his time here, at first Yichang Hua accompanied him to guide his every step, but eventually Shi Yan Si began doing everything on his own. In time, he developed a newfound independence and courage to survive alone in such a desolate place.