Chapter 35: Rebirth
It’s been so long, it’s impossible for him to still be alive.
For a moment, there was silence by the well.
Then someone timidly asked, “Is he… dead?”
Just then, Qingyan saw the motionless body lying on the ground like a corpse. His brows furrowed slightly, almost thinking he had seen wrong. But in the next moment, Shen Min suddenly opened his mouth and vomited water violently.
This scene caught many off guard.
Qingyan rushed over immediately with others who reacted quickly, holding Shen Min up to sit and vomit on the ground, preventing him from choking on water.
Qingyan felt the back he supported gradually warming from the initial coldness. He closed his eyes, finally feeling a huge weight lift from his heart.
After such a long time, when hope seemed lost, miraculously, Shen Min began to recover.
Fifteen minutes later, Shen Min had been taken to the village head’s house nearby. A local doctor had been summoned, while the village head’s son and Qingyan tended to him inside.
The smell of medicinal soup filled the room. Basin after basin of hot water was brought in, wet clothes were changed, and a cloth was used to wipe away the blood stains.
The village head, around fifty years old with white hair but few wrinkles on his face, had sharp eyes.
Those who were merely curious were all dismissed by him. Now, only he, two respected elders from the village, Wang’s second son Qiu Henian, and the third family’s lady Qiu were left in the room.
Wang Sanyao had been away in the county recently and was unaware of the situation. Qiu had already sent word to the city.
The village head said, “I’ve sent for Wang’s elder and his wife. Before they arrive, what are your thoughts on this matter?”
Qiu glanced at the closed door inside and said, “I just discussed it with my wife. Regardless of future plans, my wife needs time to recover from her injuries. It might not be conducive for her recuperation in my elder brother’s house. We want to take her back home for a while.”
Upon hearing this, the village head and the other two elders looked at each other. Qiu’s suggestion naturally relieved them.
He knew Wang Heyao and his mother’s character well. If Shen Min were sent back just like this, he might not survive long. However, placing him in his own home wasn’t without its complications.
Qiu Henian wasn’t Wang’s biological son, just a cousin. If he chose not to interfere, there wouldn’t be much criticism.
Now that he volunteered, it was a good thing indeed.
However, the village head pondered and said, “After all, Shen Min is Wang Heyao’s son-in-law. We need his consent for this matter.”
As soon as he finished speaking, someone entered through the courtyard gate and into the house. In a short while, they pushed the door open and entered the room—it was Wang’s elder wife and mother.
When Madam Wang entered the room and saw the situation, she immediately sat down on the ground, slapping her thighs and crying, “What have I done wrong? I married this daughter-in-law into our family, and he hasn’t borne us a single child. Yet I still have to support him. What else does he want to complain about, Village Head, you must make a decision for us!”
Wang Heyao entered and stood silently at the door, letting his mother cry on the ground, her eyes wandering around in apparent distress.
The village head had to stand up and help Madam Wang, saying, “Please get up first, let’s talk calmly.”
However, Madam Wang continued to wail and curse, “Shen Min has truly lost all conscience this time. By doing such things, he’s ruining the reputation of our Heyao’s family. He’s a wicked person. If I had known back then, we wouldn’t have let him marry into our family. His parents took so much betrothal gifts from us, and in the end, he’s just a useless person who can’t bear children…”
Her cursing grew more and more harsh, filling the whole room with piercing words that seemed to pierce through the roof and echoed painfully in everyone’s minds.
Just then, after being closed for a long time, the door of the inner room finally opened.
The village head’s son-in-law peeked out and said, “He’s awake.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Wang swiftly stood up, grabbed her bewildered son, pushed aside the village head’s son-in-law, and rushed into the room, pointing at the person on the bed and began to scold, accusing Shen Min of lacking conscience, being ungrateful, and having evil intentions, and so on.
Beside the bed, the old doctor was so angry that he stomped his feet and said, “The patient has just woken up. Old lady, don’t provoke him!”
Qingyan also stopped Madam Wang and spoke, “Save your words until he’s fully recovered.”
However, Madam Wang continued to grow more vigorous in her scolding.
On the bed, covered with thick blankets, Shen Min’s face was pale, still devoid of color. His eyelids drooped, revealing hollow and lifeless pupils.
Wang Heyao stood in the room, looking bewildered. He stared at Shen Min with an indescribable look, as if he were facing some wild spirit.
On his way here, he had already heard about it. After Shen Min jumped into the well until he was rescued, it had been at least half an hour. Normally, no one could survive drowning for that long.
He also thought about last night, when Shen Min smiled at him, and then chewed and swallowed that big piece of bloody flesh.
Wang Heyao shuddered all over, his mind filled with chaotic thoughts. Was this person still the same as before, or was that creature from last night the real Shen Min?
Just thinking about it made his whole body break out in goosebumps, and cold sweat dripped from his back.
Just then, the person lying on the bed suddenly moved his eyelids and turned his head to look at him.
Wang Heyao was startled, seeing Shen Min staring straight at him with a pale face, almost like half a dead person. But then, Shen Min curved his lips, revealing sharp white teeth, and gave him a eerie smile.
Wang Heyao’s heart pounded wildly. Terrified, he nearly jumped up on the spot, forgetting about his mother, and with a loud exclamation, he ran out of the room.
Madam Wang hadn’t finished her outburst yet when she saw her son dash away. She was visibly stunned for a moment.
As she looked back at Shen Min, she was also frightened by that smile. Having seen clearly through the crack of the door last night, she stuttered and stopped cursing, then turned and quickly left.
Following the mother and son into the room, Qiuniang looked back and forth in confusion, saying, “Just like that, they’re leaving?”
Since the mother and son had already left, that meant they didn’t care anymore.
Outside the room, the village chief, who couldn’t enter, loudly asked, “Young Master Shen Min, your second brother and his wife want to take you back home for a while. Are you willing?”
Shen Min glanced towards Qingyan inside the room. Qingyan walked to the bedside, adjusted the blanket for him, and smiled at him.
After looking at him for a while, Shen Min nodded, and Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief.
At noon that day, Qingyan stayed at the village chief’s house to take care of the patient. Qiu Henian went home first to tidy up the room where Wang Tiejiang lived, then went to Aunt Li’s house to borrow a cart, and went there to pick someone up.
Before leaving, worried that Shen Min would get cold, Qingyan dressed him in several layers of robes, covered him with two thick quilts, and put on his hat and scarf before starting the journey back.
On the way, from time to time, both Qingyan and Qiuniang tucked the blanket for him, checking his condition. It took half an hour to reach home. They pushed the cart all the way to the doorstep of the house and together half-supported, half-carried Shen Min into the room where Wang Tiejiang lived.
Qiu Henian sent the cart back, returned, added coal to the stove, and heated up some hot water. A patient who had been cold was most afraid of getting cold again; the room had to be warmed up.
Inside the room, as Qiuniang helped Shen Min take off his outer robe, she accidentally saw his hands.
She suddenly exclaimed, “What happened to your fingers?”
At these words, Qingyan also looked over and was startled. He saw that almost all ten fingers of both hands had almost no nails left, with places where the skin was broken and flesh exposed on each finger. Some fingers even had small pieces of flesh missing.
Due to the previous panic, they only paid attention to prevent him from having a high fever and cooled him down. No one noticed that his hands had become like this.
Shen Min looked down at his own appalling hands with his eyes, as if stunned and became silent for a while.
Then he moved his lips and said, “As soon as I jumped into the well, I regretted it. There was a stone on the well wall that protruded a bit more than the others, but it was slippery after being soaked in water. I had to exert a lot of effort to barely grasp it, but I would always slip off. The last time I slipped down, I thought I was doomed. I didn’t expect that, when I woke up again, I was already at the village chief’s house.”
Qiuniang listened in astonishment, and Qingyan looked at Shen Min, who spoke calmly. He felt that the person in front of him had changed in a way that was hard to describe compared to before jumping into the well.
After Qiuniang left, Qingyan squatted in front of Shen Min’s bed and whispered, “Don’t do foolish things like this again.”
Shen Min smiled and said, “Rest assured, I won’t.”
Seeing that he really no longer had the intention of seeking death, Qingyan nodded, finally feeling relieved as he left the room.
When Qiu Henian saw him coming out, he handed him a red paper and a money bag, saying, “This was found on the ground outside the courtyard this morning, and I didn’t have time to give it to you.”
Qingyan’s heart trembled. He quickly picked up the paper and looked at it carefully. After reading and looking at the drawn lines for a while, he fully understood what was written.
“Little Brother Qingyan, the copper coins in the bag are my congratulatory gift. Please kindly pass them on to Liu’s wife in the future. I have tried my best to survive for nine days, hoping not to bring bad luck to the joyous occasion.”
Qingyan weighed the bag. Inside were probably fifty or sixty copper coins, which should be all the savings of the person in the house.
Qingyan looked at Qiu Henian, and the two silently looked at each other for a while. He slowly leaned his forehead against Qiu Henian’s shoulder and sighed softly.
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
Qingyan turned back in surprise to look at him, only to have his waist encircled by strong arms. Warm lips touched his forehead, eyelids, nose tip, and finally his lips.
