Chapter 47
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Chapter 47:
Li Chunzhou moved her hand from Ming Xiang’s cheek, reached out to her, and helped her up.
Ming Xiang asked, "How did you know my name is Yuan Qingcai?"
Li Chunzhou looked at her for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "You can just call me Lady Chun."
She walked over to check on Zhao Junyuan, who had fainted on the ground, and felt his breath to make sure he was still alive.
Li Chunzhou calmly replied to Ming Xiang’s question, "I just guessed your real name randomly. The girl who drew on your face and wanted you to draw on Yuan Qingcai’s picture. ‘Yuan Qingcai’ was the only specific name mentioned, and most importantly – before you went to the office, I secretly checked your book, which had your name written on it."
"Ming Xiang" is the name of this body that Yuan Qingcai possessed after entering Dungeon World.
Qi Leyuan opened his mouth to speak, but when he glanced at Ming Xiang, he decided not to. He resorted to his old method of typing to Li Chunzhou, "Did you notice Ming Xiang had a grudge from the beginning?"
Li Chunzhou shook her head, not answering him verbally.
Qi Leyuan continued typing, "Should we tell her what we know now? Including that you can see the screen and talk to me."
Li Chunzhou stayed silent for a moment and didn’t respond immediately. Knowing too much might not always be a good thing, as awareness and truth can both bring pain.
Even though they hadn’t left the sub-dungeon, Ming Xiang felt less afraid when they returned to the alley, she just kept peeking at Li Chunzhou with a look of wanting to get closer but being a little scared.
She hesitated for a moment, then finally found the right topic, pointing to Zhao Junyuan on the ground, she asked quietly, "Lady Chun, this Young Master Zhao… do we still need to go into his illusion?"
Even though she initially thought about sacrificing Zhao Junyuan, since no danger had appeared yet, Li Chunzhou decided to go inside and take a look. She told Ming Xiang, "A’xuan and I will just take a quick look inside."
"Oh? But…" Ming Xiang was worried, looking at Li Chunzhou anxiously.
Li Chunzhou turned to Qi Leyuan and said, "Li Li, please explain everything we know to Ming Xiang."
Ming Xiang gazed blankly at the chicken on the ground. If she hadn’t misheard, was Lady Chun going to explain using a chicken? Explain what…?
Qi Leyuan confidently responded, "No problem."
Li Chunzhou crouched down and lifted Zhao Junyuan’s hand from the ground.
When she opened her eyes again, she and Li Zhexuan were already inside Zhao Junyuan’s illusion.
In Zhao Junyuan’s dreamland, there were no scary or dark scenes. Instead, it looked like a preserved old painting.
In front of him was a well-equipped farmhouse, with various tools available. There was a little girl with two braided hair twists collecting tree branches for firewood in the yard.
Time seemed to flow slowly, with a leisurely pace of life. The evening sun shone through the trees onto the muddy road, leaving dappled light and shadows. The occasional sounds of chickens and reading mixed with the slow crackling of the fire, creating a vague rhythm.
The girl in the yard seemed very young, only a few years old. A pregnant woman came out of the house, placing her hand gently on her belly.
A man who had just returned from the village school with a book happily touched his wife’s belly when he saw her. However, his expression changed to one of disapproval as he said, "Why are you out again? Didn’t I tell you, if you need help, just ask Daya."
It seemed like he had just remembered his own daughter at that moment, so he waved and called the little working girl over, asking with a smile, "Daya, do you think the baby in your mother’s belly is a brother or a sister?"
The little girl looked up and placed her dirty hands on her mother’s belly, wanting to imitate her father in touching it. But the woman pushed her hand away, saying, "Oh Daya, your hands are dirty, don’t touch mommy’s clothes."
The little girl withdrew her hand and slowly said, "I want a little sister…"
Before she could finish speaking, her father slapped her, causing her to fall to the ground, unable to cry, and looked up blankly.
The man’s face suddenly turned dark, he showed a fake smile and said, "Want your sister? Daya, think carefully, if you don’t understand, then don’t eat this meal!"
The woman then slowly brought the little girl over, not daring to argue with the man. She just helped brush off the dirt on her and scolded, "Daya, why are you so naughty? Stop making your father angry all the time…"
Li Chunzhou coldly looked at the couple, muttered to herself, "Zhao Junyuan hasn’t been born yet… It seems this illusion has mixed up some bad memories, well, that saves us time from looking for her."
Li Zhexuan slowly turned to look at her and nodded.
Li Chunzhou chuckled, "I know you don’t understand… It’s okay, as long as I do."
In the simple courtyard, the flames slowly consumed the wood, making crackling sounds. The cicadas’ chirping was especially clear, while on the other side of the yard, there was a well emitting an ancient and heavy aura. In the quietness, under the setting sun, there were mottled ripples, like the subtle ripples of time.
Daya couldn’t understand why her parents, who had always been so loving, suddenly changed after her mother became pregnant.
Even though her mother had taught her to weave and embroider, and her father was willing to spend time teaching her to read, Daya remembered when she was sick with a fever, her mother anxiously made herbal medicine and coaxed her to drink it, and her father personally went to find a doctor to cure her… But how did everything suddenly change?
Li Chunzhou looked at the little girl crying on the ground, and even though she knew it wouldn’t help, she still reached out to touch her head, recalling the past events she had discovered.
Mr. and Mrs. Zhao had been married for many years but couldn’t have children. They tried medicine and saw doctors, but still couldn’t conceive. Finally, they sought help from fortune-tellers and were told that they were destined not to have their own children. However, if they adopted a child who was meant to have siblings according to fate, they would eventually have a biological child of their own.
That’s how Zhao Er, also known as Daya, came to be.
Zhao Er was carefully chosen and purchased by the Zhaos. Daya’s biological parents were ignorant and poor, already having seven or eight other children and struggling to feed them all. Despite this, out of all their children, only Daya was a girl.
Daya had three brothers and four sisters. Upon hearing that Daya was meant to have brothers according to fate, the Zhaos bought her and renamed her Zhao Er after consulting a fortune-teller.
In the past few months, the Zhaos treated Zhao Er with great care and kindness, making her feel at home in their family despite growing up in a large household.
Shortly after bringing Zhao Er home, Mrs. Zhao became pregnant, but it was uncertain if the child would be a boy or a girl. With Daya having had seven brothers and sisters before, the Zhaos hoped for a baby boy to carry on the family name.
Whether or not Daya would give them more sons in the future, the Zhao family would have an heir to continue their lineage.
Li Chunzhou followed Zhao Er’s memories and saw Daya transform from a cheerful girl to a quiet young woman, raising Zhao Junyuan from holding him as a baby to carrying him as he grew taller than her.
Later events unfolded without needing to rely on memories.
Zhao Er is a pretty and healthy young girl of sixteen or seventeen years old, who is good at work and has many suitors.
Mr. and Mrs. Zhao were willing to marry off Zhao Er for a dowry. However, just before the engagement, they met a shabbily dressed man who knew about the Zhao family’s past. He warned them that if Zhao Er got married, their only son Zhao Junyuan might die.
The Zhao couple cherished their only son, so they believed the man.
The man suggested two solutions: either sell Zhao Er to him and pretend she was kidnapped, or kill Zhao Er so she would forever be remembered as the Zhao family’s daughter.
The Zhao couple chose the first solution, sold Zhao Er to the man secretly, and then there was no news of Zhao Er.
In the year 648, while Zhao Junyuan was in the capital city for an exam, he unexpectedly saw his elder sister who had gone missing seven years ago. He wrote to his parents about this joyful reunion and then went for a nine-day closed exam.
During this time, all the candidates stayed in a small room where they couldn’t communicate with the outside world.
When Zhao Junyuan finished the exam, he didn’t see his elder sister but found her dead body. His parents denied her identity and claimed he had mistaken someone else.
Zhao Er’s figure faded away like mist, and Li Chunzhou walked out of the fog, finding Zhao Junyuan lying on the ground.
But now, Zhao Junyuan’s body looks strange – his belly is sticking out high, as if something is rolling inside him, like a woman pregnant for nine months.
Because of sharp pain, Zhao Junyuan’s hair has been soaked with cold sweat.
Zhao Junyuan saw the same scene that Li Chunzhou just saw, maybe that’s why he doesn’t look very panicked, not moving or struggling, as if he’s bound by some strange force.
Zhao Junyuan extended his trembling hand due to pain, touched his belly, and struggled to say, "elder sister?"
Li Chunzhou looked over at the sound, it turned out that the evil spirit of this Sub-dungeon, Zhao Er, was hiding in Zhao Junyuan’s belly.
Zhao Er’s voice, like the still water of a pond, came from inside his belly, "Little Yuan, from childhood till now, you don’t know how much I envy you…"
Zhao Junyuan’s voice had also become weak, he smiled bitterly and replied, "elder sister… elder sister, I’m sorry, I’m sorry to you, dad and mom are sorry to you, I apologize on their behalf…"
Whether it was fear, despair, or something else, his eye sockets were already red, his voice choked up.
Zhao Er fell silent for a moment, then continued from Zhao Junyuan’s belly, "You don’t know how many times I’ve thought, it would have been better if you were never born, if you weren’t there, mom and dad wouldn’t have changed like they did, if you weren’t there, I wouldn’t have been killed, if you weren’t there…"
Zhao Junyuan closed his eyes and couldn’t say a word.
"But you have already been born…" Zhao Er’s voice was soft, turning into a gentle sigh, "I have sacrificed so much for you, Little Yuan, won’t you do something for me too?"
"What… can I do for you?" Zhao Junyuan’s voice was faltering.
Zhao Er’s voice carried a hint of amusement, "Let me be born from within you, let your heartbeat become mine, let me seize nourishment from your umbilical cord, exchanging your life for my rebirth… just like I did for you back then."
Zhao Junyuan realized the unusual changes in his body, enduring the almost faint-inducing pain, he squeezed out a faint "Okay" from between his teeth.