Chapter 1: Rebirth in the 70s
July 1974, at the foot of Xishan Mountain, Xishui Village, Wangdakeng Commune, by the side of Xishui River.
Two disheveled little girls confronted a scrawny little girl dressed in a faded red shirt, who nonetheless remains adorable.
"Shen Danluo, give me the wild duck eggs you just found!"
Seven-year-old Danluo clasped the two wild duck eggs firmly and said in a soft voice, "These are for my mother and brother's health, I can't give them to you. Dahuajie and Erhuajie, why don't you find your own?"
"No!" Shen Dahua, 10 years old, looked scornful. "Witches and fools don’t deserve good food! Give me the wild duck eggs!"
With that, she reached out with her grimy, skinny hand to snatch the wild duck eggs from Danluo.
Danluo was already angry because Shen Dahua insulted her mother and brother. Now with her wanting to snatch the eggs, she refused and turned to run.
"You damned little wretch, you dare to run?!" Seeing Danluo run away, Shen Dahua pursued her with rage, and shoved her mercilessly into the nearby river.
"Ah!"
Caught off guard, Danluo tumbles into the rushing river with a splash. In no time, the river swept her away.
Eight-year-old Shen Erhua was shocked and scared, her lips quivered, "Sis, you pushed Danluo into the water. Is she going to die?"
Shen Dahua did panic for a moment after pushing Danluo, but then she remembered the covert conversations her parents had at night, and she felt no fear.
"The three witches have caused our uncle to die and we have nothing good to eat anymore. She deserved to be drowned!"
She glared at her younger sister after her speech, "You dare not speak of today's incident, or I'll whip you!"
Shen Erhua shrank back, nodding repeatedly without daring to look at the river. She grasped Shen Dahua's hand, "Sister, let's hurry up and go. It would be bad if we are discovered!”
On hearing this, Shen Dahua indeed dragged her along and ran.
As they hurried past the foot of the mountain, they narrowly missed colliding with a young boy carrying firewood downhill.
Upon seeing the good-looking boy, Shen Dahua blushed initially, but remembering his status, she spat disdainfully and pulled Shen Erhua to keep running.
The young boy, Qin Huaijing, didn't even give her a glance.
He walked towards the river path, emotionlessly carrying on his back a bundle of firewood that could almost crush him.
His grandfather was ill, and he intended to check the reed marsh to see if he could find some wild duck eggs to nourish him.
However, not long after he left, he saw a red object bobbing up and down on the river surface and vaguely heard a cry for help.
"Help... save me..."
Thinking of the departure of those two girls earlier, Qin Huaijing's heart sank. Throwing down his firewood, he undressed while yelling loudly, "Someone! Someone has fallen into the water!”
His youthful voice resonated clearly far away, and immediately people from the distant rice fields began running towards him.
"Hurry, someone fell into the water, quickly go and save them!”
"My goodness, who in heaven's name let their child fall into the water again?”
Knowing that help was on the way,
Qin Huaijing then plunged into the river, swiftly swimming towards the small figure bobbing up and down.
The distance was quite far. When he swam over, the small crimson figure had already sunk silently.
Immediately, Qin Huaijing swam behind her in attempt to lift her up, but to no avail.
Diving into the water, he discovered that the girl's pant leg was hooked by a dark purple object.
He dove down and tugged on it forcefully; the object did tear apart, but it also slashed his fingertip while recoiling and cutting the little girl's ankle.
Blood instantly stained the river water red.
Qin Huaijing did not have the time to think too much about the incident, he just grabbed the girl and surfaced, paddling strenuously towards the riverbank.
At this time, a few adults had already dived in. Seeing Qin Huaijing and the little girl, Dan Luo who had surfaced, they immediately swam over to assist.
Once ashore, the surrounding women exclaimed in surprise:
"Good heavens, isn't this Shen family’s little Dan? This little girl is usually so well-behaved, how could she have fallen into the water?"
The villagers of Xishui Village live by the water, and half of the village is built along the river. When the weather is hot, children fall into the water from time to time, so the adults are able to implement emergency measures.
It wasn’t long before Little Dan Luo spat out the water she had choked on, gradually regaining consciousness.
Blinking her eyes groggily, she looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar faces and the surroundings.
A sense of surprise flashed in Shen Dan Luo's damp eyes.
Isn't this... the day she fell into the water when she was seven years old?
What’s happening? She clearly remembered perishing along with her uncle’s family, so how did she end up back on this day?
Could she have been reborn?
Turning her head, she saw a young boy, his upper body bare and drenched, squatting by her side. Shen Danluo was even more astonished.
Wasn't this Qinhuai Nian from her youth? So it was he who had saved her back then?
At this point, the kind-hearted Aunt Yu picked up Little Danluo, "Quick, rush her back to the Shen family. Poor thing."
"Thank goodness she was saved. Master Shen just had an accident, if something had happened to this little girl as well, I don't know if Su Zhiqing could've withstood it."
Shen Danluo's pupils contracted.
Yes, her father was dead.
Her father had generously sacrificed himself for the country, becoming a martyr, but also marking the beginning of her family's tragedy.
To seize her father's pension and to rid them of her weak and sickly family...
Her second uncle first killed her mother, then sold her siblings. They suffered greatly and met their ends in a foreign land.
They were supposed to be family, yet their actions were far more terrifying than demons!
Thinking of the cruel deaths of her mother and siblings, even though vengeance had been served once, Shen Danluo still harbored deep hatred for Shen Lao Er and his household!
The weak Shen Danluo was carried away.
The crowd dispersed, the remaining people, seemingly oblivious to the boy on the ground, went about their business.
Qinhuai Jing quietly stood up, put on his clothes, and stooped down to check where he had been cut during the rescue. To his surprise, there was no wound.
He squinted his slender and attractive phoenix-like eyes, glancing toward Shen Danluo, who was being carried away.
His eyesight was excellent; even from a considerable distance, he could see clearly.
Moreover, there were clearly no wounds on the petite, slender feet dangling on the outside of the little girl.
"Could I have seen it wrong just now?"
Qin Huaijing remained silent for a moment, eventually saying nothing. He lifted the bundle of firewood on his back and continued to walk toward the reed marsh.
Halfway there, Aunt Yu ran into the hastily approaching Old Lady Shen, "Oh my, Sister Shen, please, quickly take your little Danluo back home."
Old Lady Shen had previously heard from others that her child fell into the water. She had run here in haste and panic.
But unintentionally, the one who fell into the water turned out to be the child of the main house, a source of bad luck. Her face fell instantly, and she turned around to leave.
But just as she turned around, her hand was grabbed by a tender and soft paw. She looked down and was met with a pair of bright and excited eyes.
Shen Danluo happily looked at Old Lady Shen, her little face pale, but her tone was affectionate, "Granny, I missed you so much!"
Not seeing each other for more than twenty years, she really missed her granny terribly!
Old Lady Shen: "..." Could this unlucky child have gotten brain damaged from drowning?
Just as she was thinking about it, a soft little fellow leaped into her arms, and even smacked a kiss on her old face.
Old Lady Shen: "!!!" How presumptuous!
