Chương 104: We Are All Wild Grass

"What did I do wrong?" Zhao Lian'er stood up, staring hard at Fang Cheng, demanding an answer.

"Did you do wrong? No, you didn't." Fang Cheng grinned eerily.

"If evil were wrong, it wouldn't be as delicious as roasted sweet potatoes. Evil is delicious, so roasted sweet potatoes are not wrong!"

"Yes. I did nothing wrong. You're all the ones who are wrong." Zhao Lian'er's eyes blazed with fury. The fire inside her finally ignited, burning bright. Her Dharma Manifestation shifted between a lotus and a laughing face. She crouched down and scooped up a handful of soil mixed with blood. She brought it to her nose and breathed in deeply. The bacteria in the soil, stirred by the blood, gave off an intoxicating, foul fragrance. She said, "When I was little, it rained one day.

Xiao He, Da Chang, and I went up to the hilltop. From afar, we saw something golden glinting in a puddle. We thought it was gold. But when we got closer, we saw it was just yellowed grass. The rain had washed the soil away, and the grass had been swept into the puddle, roots and all, slowly waiting to die. And that's what our fate was too." As she spoke, Zhao Lian'er's face was streaked with tears, as if she were reliving those painful memories. Zhu Old Six explained, "Xiao He is my daughter, Zhu Xiao He.

Da Chang is that dead City God, Zhu Youchang." Zhao Lian'er shot him a cold glare, annoyed by the interruption. Zhu Old Six gave an awkward laugh and fell silent. She continued, "I remember a wild dog came out of nowhere, licking its tongue and lapping up the grass in the puddle. I was scared, but Da Chang was excited. He said he wanted to catch the dog and keep it as a pet. But the dog was too quick and vanished around a corner.

"After that, we often came to the hilltop on rainy days. Da Chang was obsessed with that runaway dog. Xiao He and I came because rain was the only time we didn't have to work in the fields and could play. One day, we found a hunched old man behind a rock. He was like a stray dog, lying by the puddle, greedily eating the grass seeds inside.

"We knew him. He was Grandpa Yang from the village. He had a home, but he was homeless too. They say raising a son will protect you in old age. Hahaha, what a joke. All your son does is suck you dry. When you've got nothing left, he tosses you aside and says, 'Get lost, you old bastard. All you do is eat for free. What good are you? Get out of here and stop being a burden!'

"Xiao He and I felt sorry for Grandpa Yang, but Da Chang was thrilled. He said he'd keep Grandpa as a pet. Haha, he finally had a pet. A wild dog made of human flesh. Sometimes I really thought Da Chang was crazy. But his craziness kept Grandpa Yang alive.

"Da Chang stole food from home to feed his pet. But he was afraid of getting caught, so he only took a little at a time. Grandpa Yang never got enough, so Xiao He and I would steal food too. Heh.

'Steal' is exactly the right word. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"One day, my father caught me stealing. He whipped me with a willow branch and yelled, 'Have you forgotten your name? You're a Zhao. You're one of us. Why are you wasting your time on those Yangs? You think they'll be grateful? No one will thank you. Only that old Yang, and he's about to die anyway. So why bother?'

"Hahaha, do you hear that? That's my dear father. He never cared about anyone's life. Because he knew we were ants. Worthless as weeds.

"After that day, the heavens stopped crying. Maybe even the heavens were awakened by my father's cruelty and went dry. With no rain, the crops wouldn't grow. They withered and died. We stopped bringing food to Grandpa Yang, because we had nothing for ourselves.

"I was so hungry. So hungry. There wasn't a single grain of rice at home. I had to go into the mountains to dig for wild vegetables and chew on tree bark. Soon the whole mountain was stripped bare. I had nowhere else to go. So I went back to the hilltop. You know what I saw?" Zhao Lian'er paused, a grim smile spreading across her face. She laughed.

"I saw Da Chang, like a wild dog, crouched over a pit, gnawing on something. It was a human hand, charred black, still smoking... Da Chang had gone mad. He'd eaten his own pet. The stray dog we'd raised together.

"No! Da Chang, stop! I ran over to stop him. But he said, 'This was Grandpa Yang's dying wish. He wanted us to live. Come on, Lian'er, you helped raise him too. Let's eat together. Look at this hoof. Smells good, doesn't it?'

"No, Da Chang, you can't fool me. I could already smell the stench on that hoof. Grandpa Yang had been dead a long time. He was like dried-up grass, rotting in the soil. He'd died long ago, and even the heavens didn't see it. How could he have given you a dying wish?"'Fine, Lian'er. Eat if you want. I won't beg you.' That was all Da Chang said. He ignored me and went back to his meal, like a starving dog, sucking on that hoof, crunching on the bones.

"I watched him and swallowed. If I had eaten those weeds in the pit back then, maybe I'd have become a cultivator too. Not just someone's plaything. Hahaha." (Here, she couldn't help laughing. In her eyes, they were all mad. A pack of rabid dogs.)"I was so hungry. So painfully hungry. But the last shred of my conscience told me not to become a wild dog. I ran home crying and told my father that Da Chang had gone crazy. But he didn't care. He said he'd take me to the city for a good meal.

"My mother ran out of the house and hugged me.

'Daughter, my daughter, don't go. Don't leave me.' I pushed her away.

'Get lost, you old hag. Don't ruin my trip to the city. I'm starving to death.' Haha.

"My father and I went to the city happily. We entered a big courtyard and a beautiful room. The table was covered with all kinds of pastries and meats: chicken, duck, fish, shrimp. Haha, I couldn't eat it all. No way. I lunged at the food like a wild dog. I didn't even notice when my father disappeared.

"Later I found out he'd sold me. Wuwuwu, I wanted to go home. I climbed the wall at night, but the city gates were locked. I couldn't escape. The next day, those thugs would drag me back. The madam whipped me with a willow branch.

'You little bitch. Where do you think you're going? No food for you today, tomorrow, or the day after!'

"No! I knew the pain of hunger. That kind of hunger drives you mad, makes you willing to give anything. Anything for a bite to eat. So I couldn't go hungry again! Please, spare me. Just give me something to eat. I'll never run again. Wuwuwu..." Zhao Lian'er knelt before Fang Cheng, as if he were the madam, begging him to let her go. Fang Cheng laughed and said to her, "Dear girl, I've never caught you. How can I let you go?"