Farming to Cultivate Immortality – CH20

Chapter 20 – Drama Queen

In the dead of night, all was silent, but Xia Yi furrowed his brows in his sleep.

In his dream, he was once again in a hospital filled with the smell of disinfectant, sitting on a bench outside the operating room with his head in his hands. His parents had been in a car accident while on a self-driving trip and were both inside. Nearby, the sound of a child crying echoed from the end of the hallway, and the soft tapping of nurses’ shoes filled the space as they passed by him.

His jacket was still stained with blood—his mother’s blood. By the time he’d received the call and rushed to the hospital, his father had already been taken into surgery, and his mother was about to be wheeled in as well.

She had still been conscious at that time, though her face was pale. Her lips trembled as she whispered to Xia Yi, who was tightly gripping her hand, “I’m just worried about you being alone in the future…”

Watching as the hospital bed was slowly pushed into the operating room, Xia Yi stood frozen, with one thought repeating over and over in his mind, “Mom, don’t leave me. Mom…”

“Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi, wake up. Xiao Yi.” The urgent voice pulled Xia Yi from his dream—it was Gu Wenzhu.

“Brother Zhu…” Xia Yi opened his tear-filled eyes, choking back sobs.

“I’m here, I’m here.” Gu Wenzhu held him tightly and gently stroked his back, asking softly, “What happened? Were you having a nightmare? I could hear you crying from the next room.”

As he spoke, he raised his hand to wipe the tears from Xia Yi’s face. “What kind of nightmare was it to make you cry like this?”

Still sobbing, Xia Yi muttered brokenly, “I dreamt of my parents. They said they were worried… worried about me being alone…”

Gu Wenzhu got up, went to the next room, and brought back a towel. As he wiped Xia Yi’s face, he spoke softly, “Next time you have a dream like that, tell your parents you’re not alone anymore. Someone will take care of you for the rest of your life, so they don’t need to worry. They took care of you for the first few decades, and now I’ll take over for the next eighty years.”

“Feeling better now? Want some water?” Gu Wenzhu asked as he hugged Xia Yi, gently patting him until his sobs subsided.

“No, still not better. I don’t want water.” Xia Yi nestled into Gu Wenzhu’s embrace, hooking two fingers onto the hem of his shirt. “I only feel better with you here.”

“Alright, lie back down. I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.” Gu Wenzhu coaxed gently.

“Lie beside me.” Xia Yi scooted over to make room. Gu Wenzhu hesitated but eventually just sat at the edge of the bed, leaning against the headboard. Xia Yi turned to his side, facing him, and pulled Gu Wenzhu’s hand onto his waist before closing his eyes.

Gu Wenzhu stayed still, barely daring to breathe, his hand resting on Xia Yi’s waist.

“Rub my ear,” Xia Yi murmured suddenly.

???

What? Rub his ear?

“When I was little, my mom would rub my ear every night before I could fall asleep. Didn’t you say you’d take over where they left off?” Xia Yi said, his voice still raspy. His eyes, still wet from crying, glistened in the dim light, framed by damp lashes clumped together.

Gu Wenzhu awkwardly stretched out his other hand and gently rubbed Xia Yi’s ear.

“Sing me a song.” After a while, Xia Yi piped up again. “When I was a kid, my mom used to sing to me as I fell asleep.”

When Gu Wenzhu didn’t reply right away, and even the hand rubbing his ear had stopped, Xia Yi opened his eyes and looked up accusingly, “Didn’t you just say you’d take care of me like they did? Already going back on your word?”

“But I can’t sing at all,” Gu Wenzhu admitted, looking a bit helpless.

“Just hum a little. I won’t judge. Anything will do,” Xia Yi mumbled, closing his eyes again. “Come on, I’m waiting for my lullaby.”

He yawned long and wide after speaking.

A long pause followed, and just when Xia Yi thought Gu Wenzhu wasn’t going to sing, a tremulous, off-key voice broke the silence:

“Little orchid, white and bright, pure as snow, glowing like the moon…~~“

Xia Yi: ???!!!!!!!

Alright, let’s not be too picky. It’s impressive enough that Brother Zhu is singing.

Curled up under the covers, Xia Yi listened quietly to Gu Wenzhu’s off-tune humming. The melody seemed familiar, like he had heard it somewhere before. But where? A TV show? No, that wasn’t it. A children’s nursery rhyme? Still no…

Why did it feel so familiar, though? He felt as though he could hum along with the song.

Suddenly, like a flash of lightning, a memory surfaced in Xia Yi’s mind: A young man in white robes, holding a bouquet of orchids, running through the forest. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the trees, casting light on his agile, deer-like figure.

He was singing a cheerful little tune.

“Little orchid, slender stalks, delicate like jade-carved…~~“

“Brother Zhu, where did you learn that tune?” Xia Yi asked, flipping over to face Gu Wenzhu.

Gu Wenzhu thought for a moment, looking confused, “I don’t remember. Maybe my mom sang it to me when I was little?”

“Forget it if you can’t remember. Let’s sleep.” Xia Yi yawned again and buried his head into the pillow.

*

When Xia Yi woke up the next morning, the sun was already streaming in through the window, and the courtyard outside was quiet—Gu Wenzhu had clearly gone out to work.

He dozed a bit longer in bed before lazily getting up to wash and dress. When he made his way to the kitchen and lifted the lid, he found a pot of steaming hot buns. Every time Gu Wenzhu left him breakfast, he would cover the fire with ash, keeping the food warm.

With a bowl of porridge in one hand and a bun in the other, Xia Yi was enjoying his breakfast when he heard hurried footsteps outside the courtyard wall, accompanied by Li Zhu’s loud voice, “Xiao Yi! Xiao Yi, are you home? Xiao Yi!”

“Here.” Xia Yi quickly replied loudly, placing the bowl of porridge on the table, wondering what was going on.

The courtyard door was suddenly pushed open, and Li Zhu stepped in backward, still shouting, “Be careful, be careful!”

As he backed further in, Xia Yi saw he was holding a wooden board with someone lying on it, their feet clearly visible.

Xia Yi didn’t even take a good look before his head buzzed, and his legs went weak; the bun in his hand fell to the ground. Stumbling forward, he whispered, trembling, “Brother Zhu? Is it Brother Zhu?”

“Come in, come in, be gentle.” Li Zhu was still loudly directing the people carrying the stretcher, and when he noticed something was off with Xia Yi, he quickly said, “It’s not Wenzhu, Xiao Yi, it’s not Wenzhu; it’s your relative.”

Hearing that it wasn’t Gu Wenzhu, Xia Yi let out a long sigh, feeling a sense of relief. His legs steadied, but then he was puzzled. “What relative? I don’t have any relatives!”

“I don’t know, you’ll see for yourself.” As he spoke, Li Zhu and a few villagers brought the board into the courtyard and set it down.

As Xia Yi approached, he didn’t even have time to clearly see the person on the board; just the dark embroidered patterns of the loose, wide-sleeved blue robe made him understand.

Could it be Liu Siqian came through again?

When he finally saw the person’s face, Xia Yi paused; this wasn’t Liu Siqian. He was a bit chubbier, younger, probably in his forties.

Though the man’s eyes were tightly shut, he clutched a bowl to his chest with one hand and tightly gripped a wooden staff with the other, refusing to let go even in unconsciousness.

“It was Er Niu who found him. He was wandering around in a hollow on the other side of the mountain and asked Er Niu if he knew you. When Er Niu said he did, he just fainted,” Li Zhu explained, fanning himself with his sleeve. “Looks like he fainted from hunger.”

“Probably fled here too, huh? Which family’s costume did he put on? It’s really pitiful not having enough to eat. Even unconscious, he clings to his begging bowl and staff tightly; we can’t pry them away.” Er Niu shook his head and sighed, wiping sweat from his brow.

Xia Yi’s mind raced. If he knew my name, it had to be because Liu Siqian went back and told him. Did they figure out how to travel through time and tell him to come find me once he got here?

“Do you recognize him?” Li Zhu asked Xia Yi.

Xia Yi nodded quickly, “I recognize him; he’s my fourth uncle. He probably couldn’t survive and fled here to find me.”

As they were discussing calling the doctor to check on him, a long groan escaped from the man on the board, and he began to stir, slowly waking up.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he started to look around, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something.

Fearing he might say something inappropriate in front of everyone, Xia Yi called out emotionally, “Uncle! You came to find me! I’m Xia Yi!”

The man lying on the board focused on Xia Yi, his eyes initially blank. After a moment, it seemed like he slowly began to remember something. His eyes expressed a mix of confusion, surprise, certainty, joy, sadness, and deep emotion.

Then, trembling lips formed words, choked with emotion, “Xiao Yi, you’ve grown taller, and you look more like your mother.”

Wow, this guy is quite the drama queen.