"How could this be..."
Shen Tang halted before the woman.
The latter looked at the fierce black boar Shen Tang was leading with a mixture of astonishment and fear.
She was afraid the ferocious wild pig would rush up and trample her to death. Yet, she dared not speak up to drive them away, trembling all over.
The woman closed her eyes in near despair, but she didn't loosen her hold on her son, a scene that moved those who witnessed it. Of course, only Qishan and his companion were moved.
The other commoners were already hardened, showing no surprise at such sights.
Some were numbly lost in thought, while others smirked, eagerly anticipating a spectacle to relieve their stress.
"Don't be afraid, it won't harm anyone."
"May I take a look at your child?"
Upon hearing this, the woman hesitated, raising her head to look at the young lady before her. Though the lady's features were still nascent, one could foresee that years later, she would embody the epitome of elegance. This lady and her companions were completely out of place in this realm.
After a moment of hesitation, the woman slowly released her embrace.
Shen Tang squatted down, feeling the child's pulse on his wrist. As her fingertips touched the skin, before she could discern the pulse, she felt a sudden jolt in her heart—because the skin she touched was cold and stiff, with no pulse at all.
Looking again at the child quietly nestled in his mother's arms, Shen Tang's pupils trembled slightly. Under the woman's hopeful gaze, she found herself unable to utter a word. The child's head was facing the embrace of his mother, and due to her previous posture, Shen Tang hadn't realized the child had already passed away.
Shen Tang lowered her head, retracting her hand.
Unaware, the woman asked, "Madam, do you wish to buy my child?"
Zhai Le, sensitive to the breath, had long noticed that the child had passed away. Upon hearing the conversation between Shen Tang and the woman, he was about to speak up, but was stopped by Qishan's raised hand. He hesitated in place, his thoughts fermenting into a complex sigh.
Shen Tang seemed inexperienced in the ways of the world, easily moved by everything she saw.
Similar scenes, however, he had witnessed far too many times.
Sometimes he couldn't help but question himself, what good was he? Why had he learned all these martial skills if he couldn't help these people?
Powerless to act, unable to change.
Shen Tang nodded, "Yes, I'll buy him. How much?"
If an ordinary person had called her "Madam," Shen Tang would have likely teased about someone's poor judgment, but this woman's address left her with an indescribable bitterness. She blinked, attempting to suppress the inexplicable surge of sourness.
The woman's cloudy, weary eyes suddenly brightened.
"N-no, not much, forty wen."
Perhaps too overwhelmed, her voice was weak and trembling, her tongue almost stumbling against her teeth, nearly biting her tongue in haste.
"Yes, I'll buy him."
The woman choked with gratitude, "Thank... thank you!"
"Madam, do you have any other requests?"
The woman was momentarily at a loss when asked.
After a while, the rusty parts of her mind began to sluggishly work, barely comprehending Shen Tang's question. She hesitated, "Mad... madam, could you... could you make sure he eats enough? He's very obedient, doesn't eat much, but he's obedient, sensible, and filial..."
As she spoke, tears welled up in her cloudy eyes, streaming down her cheeks.
Drip, drop, drop, they fell onto the child's already bluish face.
She continued to murmur about how obedient and well-behaved her child was.
Shen Tang responded, "Yes, that's no problem."
She counted out forty wen and handed it to the woman, adding a piece of pastry, which attracted whispers from nearby "vendors."
Shen Tang listened intently but ignored the murmurs.
Yet, she clenched her teeth inwardly, the muscles of her cheeks tensing.
One of them whispered, "Is this woman crazy? The child's been dead for a day... The woman's clever, selling a dead child for the price of a live one."
Another leaned in and said, "Women are better than us men, aren't they? Shedding a few tears brings in the money, buying a dead person. Hmph, wasteful women, paying to help collect corpses..."
A third person smirked maliciously, "Looks like someone's in for a big surprise!"
There were no shortages of "sellers" who took advantage of sympathetic but unfamiliar buyers, swindling money with various schemes. They hoped Shen Tang would realize she'd been duped, enjoying her embarrassed and infuriated expression. That powerless rage was quite a relief.
Shen Tang paid no attention to these voices.
The woman cautiously accepted the money, reluctant to let go of her son's cheek, as if he were the most precious treasure in the world.
In the end, she steeled herself and prepared to hand over her child.
But to her surprise, Shen Tang raised her hand gracefully and declined, "I have other matters to attend to and can't spare the time right now. I'll take your child when I'm free. Is that all right?"
Upon hearing that she could spend a little more time with her child, the woman burst into tears of excitement, dropping to her knees and repeatedly kowtowing to Shen Tang, thanking her profusely, "Thank you... thank you so much..."
Shen Tang led the black boar back to Qishan's side.
Qishan asked, "Aren't you worried she might be deceiving you?"
Lost in her own thoughts, Shen Tang took a while to register Qishan's question. Suddenly snapping back to reality, she moistened her dry lips and replied, "She couldn't be a deceiver... If she really is, whoever deceives me out of money, I'll take half their life!"
Qishan: "..."
Zhai Le: "??"
Shouldn't the focus be on emotional manipulation?
Qishan felt Shen Tang was too softhearted, about to speak to console her, but heard Shen Tang ask, "Yuanliang, every person comes into this world wailing and leaves it bare in mourning. Since birth is destined for death, where lies the meaning of existence?"
She questioned, "Is living just about enduring hardships?"
Living in the present, how is it different from undergoing tribulations after descending to the mortal realm?
Tragedies like the woman's were visible just a few steps away.
Was she truly in the mortal realm at this moment?
Wouldn't the underworld be no different?
The matter of Shen Tang buying a corpse, suffocated by the earth of Guanyin, had long been observed by some with malicious intentions, and there were those who attempted to replicate it, aiming to move this overly charitable woman.
But Shen Tang continued on without pause, leaving people infuriated.
Qishan's heart stirred.
Normally, he would be disinclined to answer such questions.
However, given that the questioner was the always lively Shen Tang, it held a bit more significance. He replied, "I live to leave behind a trace that belongs uniquely to 'Qishan.'"
Shen Tang then asked Zhai Le, "What about you, Xiaofang?"
Zhai Le scratched his nose, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Me? My thoughts are rather grand. Don't laugh when I say this. I want to lead my subordinates and assist my brother in pacifying the southeast."
Sure enough, Shen Tang burst out laughing.
Zhai Le felt annoyed, "I said not to laugh!"
"I never promised not to laugh. Your idea is indeed commendable, but aren't you being a bit timid? Just pacifying the southeast is enough for you? You should learn from me how to broaden your horizons—"
Zhai Le asked, "How do I broaden my horizons?"
Shen Tang paused for a moment, squinting as she pondered.
Then she demonstrated—
"For example— I want to pacify the world!"
Qishan's hand trembled as he looked at the youth.
Under the sunlight, a hint of brown emanated from the youth's black pupils. For a moment, he even thought Shen Tang wasn't joking.
Zhai Le: "Are you dreaming?"
Shen Tang smirked, "Aren't you dreaming too? Since we're all dreaming, why not aim high? Don't you agree?"
|ω｀)