That night, Chai Xiaomi didn't know how Young Wuli managed to survive.
The scene suddenly shifted, like smoke abruptly scattered by the wind.
By the time she came back to her senses, the figure in front of her had grown much taller. He was no longer a tiny tot, but had taken on the appearance of a little adult.
He looked to be about eight or nine years old.
The ashes of the haystack under the tree were long gone; in their place were several wooden planks erected on the tree trunk.
The boy's thin figure was busy among them, and a treehouse had already begun to take shape.
Chai Xiaomi stood under the tree, looking up at him.
She saw him step on a rope ladder hanging from the trunk, a wooden plank tucked under his arm. He climbed up nimbly, then leaned over to secure the plank firmly between the branches with hemp rope and nails in sequential order.
Even though she knew he couldn't hear her, she couldn't help but softly warn him, "Slow down, be careful not to fall."
As soon as she finished speaking.
Wuli's foot suddenly slipped, and he tumbled all the way down, landing squarely in the pile of grass by Chai Xiaomi's feet.
Chai Xiaomi: "......"
Wuli climbed up from the straw, patted the grass clippings off his body, a trace of confusion floating in his eyes.
He had climbed trees so many times and had never slipped. Yet in that moment, it was as if he had been pulled by some invisible force, falling in this direction without any defense.
Chai Xiaomi didn't dare utter another word.
She watched with admiration as the treehouse slowly took shape. The wooden planks were pieced together one by one, the roof was covered with thick hay, and finally, a small door woven from vines was hung up.
Wuli's hands-on ability was incredibly strong.
It almost made one forget that he was still just a child.
Later, Wuli made himself a bow. During the day, he went into the mountains to hunt, used the wild game he caught to exchange for some money in other villages, and bought some simple household items. Occasionally, he would also trade for some books to study on his own.
Although the treehouse was small, it had everything one could need.
Chai Xiaomi suddenly remembered the night she had spent inside.
At the time, she only felt that the furnishings were simple and crude, but now she knew that this was the home he had built with his own hands, bit by bit, over countless days and nights.
When he was alone, he would often reveal his playful, boyish nature.
Sometimes he would squat under the tree and pile stones into a small mountain, knock it down, rebuild it, knock it down again, and rebuild it again... never tiring of it.
He also specifically sawed a round wooden plaque half the size of a palm and used a sharpened piece of ochre to draw on it.
Chai Xiaomi had some impression of this wooden plaque. She had caught a glimpse of it when she left the treehouse; it was hanging on the small vine door. At the time, she thought it was a picture of a monkey.
Now, studying it closely, she realized that Wuli had drawn himself.
She originally thought he was amazing at everything, even able to imitate good handwriting from Chinese books, but she didn't expect his drawing skills to be so terrible that it was simply unbearable to look at.
As the sun set in the west, the two of them sat together on a tree branch.
However, only one slender shadow was cast on the ground.
Chai Xiaomi leaned closer, narrowed her eyes to look at the drawing, and burst out laughing:
"What are these two holes? Your big eyes?"
"Oh, no, no, the position of the ears is wrong too, and why is the nose so low?"
"A perfectly good pair of thin lips was forcibly drawn into sausage lips... You really are something."
Wuli naturally couldn't hear Chai Xiaomi's guidance and remained immersed in his drawing.
It seemed he was extremely satisfied with his work, solemnly hanging it on the door.
The twilight, soft and orange-yellow, covered the boy's slightly angular profile like a layer of light gauze.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, the smile hazy and gentle.
Chai Xiaomi was used to his usual teasing and mischievous smiles; those fake expressions always floated on the surface and never reached his eyes.
This was the first time she saw him smile so purely and cleanly; it was actually more moving than the sunset glow on the horizon.
She unknowingly stared at him in a daze.
After a long while, she suddenly snapped out of it, raising a hand to pat her own cheeks. Honestly, acting like a lovestruck fool over a boy!
Decorating his treehouse was probably the only joy in Wuli's gloomy childhood.
He even dug up a few wild daisies from the mountains and carefully planted them in the groove by the wooden window.
He also used the water he had painstakingly collected bit by bit in a lotus leaf to water the daisies.
Chai Xiaomi shook her head as she watched, turning sour with jealousy, saying, "Pour it sparingly, that's quite a luxury. Are daisies really that precious? Why don't you water them with stinky water?"
Back when she was thirsty, he had urged her to drink stinky water, but now he was watering the daisies with the clean water he had worked so hard to collect.
In short, she wasn't even as good as those few little wild flowers.
But then again, the night she stayed in his treehouse, he didn't neglect her in terms of food and drink. Although he just silently placed them on the table, she guessed they were left for her.
The ordinary, peaceful, trivial fragments were incredibly short-lived.
The scene before her eyes shifted once again.
Chai Xiaomi was suddenly plunged into darkness. When her eyes gradually adjusted, she realized she was standing inside a cave.
A flock of bats suddenly swept overhead, as if frightened, scrambling to flee from the depths of the cave.
Chai Xiaomi reflexively raised her arms to protect her head, a shiver rising on her skin. She suddenly remembered that this was the very Gu cave where she had first met Wuli.
She didn't know what was happening inside the cave to make even these darkness-loving creatures flee in panic.
She walked further in step by step, her heart pounding. A sense of unease squeezed inside it, gradually expanding until her heart felt like it was about to burst.
"Poor child, the sins committed by your mother can only be paid back by you. I don't want it to be like this either. But the Gu sect has lost its Holy Maiden, so we have no choice but to use your body to raise more Gu poison. Consider it making the best use of everything."
A voice came from the depths of the cave. At first listen, it sounded like pity, but in this claustrophobic darkness, it only seemed utterly sinister.
The voice sounded as if it were muffled in a jar, heavy and dull. It was the High Priest.
Just as she recognized who was speaking, Chai Xiaomi reached the end of the cave.
It was still that pool glowing with a faint blue halo, but Wuli was not immersed in the pool. Instead, he was pinned to the rock wall by three thick, long iron nails.
One through each shoulder blade, and one dead center, three inches above his navel.
His entire body was covered with venomous creatures that were greedily sucking on his flesh and blood. Because they were feeding so urgently, they tore off chunks of flesh along with the blood.
Bone was already visible on his right arm, but the Crimson Blood Silkworm hidden within his body drilled out, gnawing away the rotting flesh and tainted blood, helping his muscles and bones regenerate.
The flesh would heal, only to be gnawed off again.
Over and over in an endless cycle.
Even the cruellest torture could be no worse than this.
Chai Xiaomi stared at the scene before her, her pupils trembling. Her feet felt as though they too had been ruthlessly nailed to the spot, unable to move forward a single step.
At this point, Wuli looked to be twelve or thirteen years old.
His hair was no longer a messy tangle; his long braided hair was styled exquisitely, his silver ornaments were spotless, and there was not a trace of dirt on his face.
The young boy had grown up without realizing it, and had worked hard to take good care of himself.
But this clean version of him was currently being soaked inch by inch in fresh blood. His originally indigo Miao garments were completely dyed crimson. Set against his excessively pale skin, he looked as eerie as a demon crawling out of hell.
