CHAPTER 2 - PART 2 - Ghost Soul by the Stream
Qin Sheng truly was terrifying. Though Shi Yan Si had been tortured to such an extreme that he was left with only a feeble, fading breath, he still couldn't die; his soul was bound to his body, forced to endure wave after wave of excruciating torment.
Once her rage was sated, the bloodied Shi Yan Si lying at her feet, that woman once more approached and scooped him into her arms, cooing, "Oh, my poor child… You're hurting so much, aren't you? I'm sorry… I'm so sorry! I hurt you… Don't worry… Don't worry, I'll make it better."
Thorny vines remained coiled around his body. Shi Yan Si's face had gone stark white, his eyes vacant, barely aware of his surroundings. Even though she held him, all he felt was a bone-chilling cold that penetrated deep into his core.
"It's so dark…" The brambles cutting into him caused unrelenting pain, leaving him too terrified to move. With hazy eyes, he stared into the oppressive darkness before him.
Mother? Where was that gentle, caring mother from mere moments ago? How could she turn into this? In the end, what was a mother, if not cruel, cold, and heartless?
Any last shred of hope Shi Yan Si had held—for warmth, for motherly love—vanished. He no longer believed in it. Instead, a bitter hatred toward women, along with overwhelming terror, took root in his heart.
From that noble lady, to the maids of the Sử household, to this vicious woman—none had treated him well. All those who claimed to be "mother" were just as deplorable as the rest!
Three days passed. Day and night, those thorny lashings rained down on Shi Yan Si, draining his blood and leaving him close to death, with no one in sight to save him.
Qin Sheng preserved his final breath, also making it impossible for his spirit to escape—was he to be trapped in this agony forever?
Forever confined in a snare of thorns…
Forever subjected to agonies beyond measure…
If this was "forever," how could anyone endure it?
Perhaps one day, after growing accustomed to the pain, he would no longer feel a thing… Would that day ever arrive?
He didn't know. Before long, Shi Yan Si's mind slipped into delirium. Beneath it all, he remained aware of the excruciating pain—yet utterly powerless, left with no choice but to grit his teeth and bear it.
…
Shi Yan Si had been missing for many days. Despite Yichang Hua searching tirelessly near the lower reaches of the stream and surrounding areas, he still couldn't find so much as a body.
"How strange…" On the day Shi Yan Si got lost in the poisonous herb garden, Yichang Hua had discretely administered a type of tracking drug called Truy Hương on him. So long as the child remained in the valley, Y should have been able to track him. But now…
"His belongings were clearly left on the riverbank, so if he had drowned, he should've ended up somewhere downstream. Yet I can't even detect the Truy Hương."
On the third day of searching, Yichang Hua once again combed the lower river area, venturing into the dense undergrowth. This time, as though guided by some instinct, he proceeded deeper into the woods, soon picking up faint traces of Truy Hương.
"As I suspected…" Shi Yan Si was still lurking somewhere in this valley. But for the signs to appear only now—how bizarre.
Following the scent trail, Yichang Hua arrived at a briar-strewn thicket, brambles so overgrown that not even a mosquito could slip through. Without slashing them apart, it was impossible to progress.
He pressed on, hacking away with his sword, slowly carving a path through the thorns. It took tremendous time and effort, but at last he reached the heart of the briar patch. And there, curled in on himself, was Shi Yan Si.
"It's… him…" In that moment, Yichang Hua stood rooted to the spot, speechless at the sight before him.
"How did he manage to get all the way in here?" Especially in that condition? At present, thorny vines were tightly binding Shi Yan Si, his mouth packed with muddy earth, his entire body covered in dire wounds. The stench of blood mingled with the foul odor of wet dirt was revolting.
For a moment, Yichang Hua's head spun. He gripped his sword firmly, cut away the vines, and rushed Shi Yan Si back to the manor for treatment.
Once home, Yichang Hua painstakingly scooped out the mud from the boy's mouth and tended to his injuries. Seeing how severe they were, he couldn't help but shake his head. Anyone who witnessed such devastation would shudder. By some stroke of luck, the deeper lacerations had been stuffed with mud, which had inadvertently stanched the bleeding; otherwise, he might have bled dry.
After washing and dressing the wounds, Yichang Hua applied medicinal salves all over Shi Yan Si's body, then left.
…
Delirious for many days, Shi Yan Si slowly blinked awake. Spotting a familiar figure, he felt muddled and asked, "Am… am I dreaming?"
Had he truly escaped that demon woman's clutches, or was this simply another illusion? Would he open his eyes only to find himself bound in thorny vines again, wracked by endless pain?
Yichang Hua sat beside the bed. Hearing Shi Yan Si's voice, he turned his gaze, replying coolly, "You can't tell if it's a dream or reality?"
At the sound of that voice, tears stung Shi Yan Si's eyes. He called out once more, "Master…"
Everything around him felt so real. Even if it was a dream, he prayed it would never end—he was terrified beyond words of that monstrous woman. He'd much rather stay beside Yichang Hua.
At that moment, he wanted to speak or to cry, for every part of him ached horribly. Yichang Hua, however, looked displeased, shooting him a cold stare. "You're hurt, right? If you knew it would hurt, why'd you do something so stupid? Running off alone to bathe in that stream? Idiot."
Shi Yan Si merely stared at him in silence…
There was something he had never dared say: Yichang Hua was exceptionally handsome, far surpassing any man he had known. He had no clue how old his master was, but much of his hair had already turned gray.
"M-Master…" Shi Yan Si had always believed him to be harsh and callous, but was that really true? He'd saved Shi Yan Si's life more than once…
Rescued from a catastrophe yet again, brought back home to be tended—Shi Yan Si felt a nameless emotion stir inside him.
Was it admiration, or was it gratitude for being saved so many times, no matter what trouble he caused?
Recalling the past days, Shi Yan Si could no longer hold back. His lips trembled, tears on the verge of falling, as he spoke in a choked voice, "I-I saw fish… I wanted to catch some for you, Master."
"Fish?" Yichang Hua repeated in surprise. "That river never had fish. How could you have seen any?"
The man's words struck Shi Yan Si with a sudden dread—what of everything he had witnessed and suffered, these injuries he bore?A river swarming with fish.An icy hand seizing his ankle, causing him to slip.A beautiful woman appearing one day, turning into a horrifying demon the next, mercilessly lashing him with thorny vines… What was it all?
Shuddering at the memories, he stammered, "T-There were fish… swimming all around my legs… Then… then a beautiful woman showed up…""No need to say more!" Yichang Hua abruptly cut him off. He slipped a bracelet onto Shi Yan Si's wrist and instructed, "From now until you're grown, never take that off. You won't see things like that again, and it won't be as easy to carry you off."
At this, Yichang Hua was almost certain of his deductions. He himself had glimpsed that woman by the river before but had ignored her. This time, she aimed to use the boy as her proxy, ignorant that his spirit was anchored by Qin Sheng, making it impossible to abduct him. Otherwise…
He simply shook his head. Whether the child lived or died, found bliss or misery, was none of his concern—only that the boy survived to reach adulthood and leave this place.
Shi Yan Si, of course, knew nothing of this. He only believed that, time after time, Yichang Hua had saved him, concluding that his master must actually be kind. Hence, when his health returned, he clung to Yichang Hua constantly.
Once that ordeal ended, life resumed its former pace. Day after day, they went into the mountains to gather herbs. Yichang Hua taught Shi Yan Si how to identify, classify, and use them, while he listened intently…
When Shi Yan Si turned four, Yichang Hua began teaching him to read and write, as well as instructing him in medicine. In addition, he tried to pass on some martial arts—yet a problematic hurdle soon arose.
Although Shi Yan Si's aptitude was anything but poor—he absorbed written language and medicinal knowledge astonishingly fast, showing signs he could one day become Yichang Hua's true successor—his progress in martial arts was painfully slow. In fact, it was nearly nonexistent.
"How strange. The son of a general, yet no skill whatsoever at martial arts?" Three years had passed. Even after all that time, Shi Yan Si had mastered only a few basic moves and remained overwhelmingly weak…
After watching him practice for a while, Yichang Hua's anger boiled over. All that training had gone to waste—he couldn't stomach it anymore. In a flash, he delivered several kicks to Shi Yan Si.
At that instant, Shi Yan Si failed to block a single blow, sent flying by a single kick and crashing face-first onto the ground. Seeing the boy sprawled before him, Yichang Hua scolded him harshly and chased him off.
Shi Yan Si dared not reply, only rising in silence and leaving… Master was drunk again, and whenever he drank, this was what happened. The boy had no idea how to cope.
Leaving the manor, Shi Yan Si ventured into the forest, picked a tall tree, and climbed up. Over the past two years, he'd been thrown out so many times he'd become used to it.
He felt deeply discouraged, sensing that his efforts were meaningless. Regardless of how hard he tried, nothing changed. Over these years, he had done everything possible to earn even a scrap of warmth from Yichang Hua—yet the man only grew more disgusted with him.
Three years spent in this remote valley, alone day and night—never once had his parents inquired about him. His teacher treated him like an enemy. Recalling these facts made his heart clench painfully. Long ago, his longing for affection had given way to a fierce desire to simply end his life. That urge now intensified further. Many times, he asked Yichang Hua, "Could you remove my Qin Sheng?"
Each time, his master would curtly shake his head. "Impossible.""Why?""Why force me to live?" Why compel him to go on suffering in this bleak existence?
Yichang Hua said, "You're hardly the only one in this world who's been thrown away—and it's never only you who suffers."Life isn't for enjoyment but for enduring—this is how the world works. Countless people dwell in misery; he is far from alone.
"Is that so?" So, there were those even more wretched than he was, forced to carry on because there was no alternative, pushed to survive endless torment… The thought made Shi Yan Si's lips quirk into a faint, bitter smile.
He masked his pain behind that smile, stifling the loneliness flooding his heart. He realized he needed to smile in every circumstance—otherwise, he wouldn't know how to go on.Whenever he felt despair, he laughed like a madman, desperate to forget the world's cruelties.
Days on end, Shi Yan Si drifted through the forest. He ate whatever he found—wild greens, fruit—anything safe enough not to kill him.He nearly lost his life multiple times, whether from venomous snakes or savage beasts, yet he felt no fear. In fact, his sense of danger only sharpened with each brush with death.He scraped by like this until Yichang Hua's anger subsided, and he would return to the manor as if nothing had transpired…
…