“What are you doing, kid? Go sweep the yard, we’ll eat when Father and Mother get back… You dare to look up at your sister like that? Go do it quickly! Do you want a beating, you rascal?”
“Quiet, Third Brother is sleeping… I know… After we’ve snuck into his house, we’ll go to the fields outside the village to get some more sweet potatoes, then catch some shrimp, and in the evening we’ll go to the clearing to roast them.” Sunset! It seemed there was also a late summer breeze, a really big fire, haha, a few sweet potatoes, I got two shrimp. Oh! Not cooked yet, and a kite too, me and my friends are running around!
Why is that? Is it called sunset or sunrise? I think I remember Mother saying it was sunset. What is this feeling, it’s so peaceful.
Ye Yu stood alone under the twilight, lost in thoughts of his childhood, illusions flickering in the past. The indifferent clouds drifted by, as weary as the setting sun. He was also weary. Was it true? Or were those clouds the ones as weary as him? He was afraid, an invisible fear of the future, like a lone figure with a flickering torch in the night, which could be extinguished by darkness at any moment… but he still had to go on.
He liked watching the sunset; it had been that way for so many years. Why? He didn’t know why, but today he knew, he had realized. After sunset came darkness, after this weariness, this false peace, came darkness, just like this pitiful life.
“Yu, where are you? Come clear the dining table for the master.”
The familiar voice of Fifth Madam brought him back to reality. Though called Fifth Madam, she was only a little over twenty-five years old, the wealthy landlord’s concubine, taken in a few years ago. She was the one who had adopted him after that fateful night that changed his life. His mother and father had only wanted a simple, happy life. But life wasn’t like that; they wanted to be wildflowers, yet unexpectedly were trampled by horses.
Four years ago in this region, a place so unremarkable that people sometimes passed through and didn’t even remember having been there, it was said that a few immortals had visited. Though called immortals, they were actually just a few servants from a small sect near Wu Kingdom, who had come to collect herbs. Although they were servants, they were still considered to possess some magic, and in the eyes of mortals, they were like mountains worthy of worship.
This place was called Changyun, the border of Wu Kingdom. It rained year-round here, and the fog wouldn’t clear until noon for the sun to appear, which is why it was called Changyun (Long Cloud). Wu Kingdom was a country near the sea, but it was surrounded by tall and endlessly long mountain ranges, which also formed its national borders. What was special here was that the political system was run by mortals, and the head of the nation was called the King. Strangely, there were no demonic beasts here despite the dense spiritual energy, which was why there were many strange and rare herbs. Occasionally, immortals needing specific herbs would come to seek them, but they absolutely did not interfere in worldly affairs.
His father was formerly a merchant in Cao Kingdom, right next to Wu Kingdom. Cao Kingdom, located to the southeast of Wu Kingdom, received very little rain and was a vast grassland where food was particularly scarce. His father risked crossing deserts and mountains to earn money via the path opened by immortals, but it wasn’t worth it as he only worked as a laborer. Then he coincidentally met his mother; they fell in love and decided to pool their money to rent land from the wealthy landlord, working to pay taxes and live out their happy lives. Ye Yu was the second child, along with Yuan Cao, his elder sister, the two greatest gifts of this loving couple.
…………………………..
“Don’t you dare harm my wife!”
Ye Yu’s father roared in anger, his eyes bloodshot like a cornered beast, but in them was helplessness!
“I have money, however much you want. I even have food; you can take it all.”
“What? ‘Money, food’ hahahaaa!”
The mocking laughter of the so-called ‘immortals’ rang out incessantly.
“What we need, a piece of trash like you can’t give, but your wife can, eheheh.”
“Lam Tai, save me! No, let go of me, you bastards….”
“Thao Nhi! You bastards, is this what you call immortals? I’ll fight you to the death!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lam Tai grabbed a knife from the kitchen and charged, but—
“Get lost! Trash dares to hinder my important business!” Lam Tai died on the spot.
“You dare kill my husband! I’ll fight you to the death!”
In a moment of carelessness from the three of them, Thao Nhi broke free and ran to her husband’s side, ending her own life with a single stab. “This life, I belong only to you. I have no regrets, except for my two darlings, you must take care of yourselves now.”
The three ‘immortals’ were startled and only now regained their composure. They truly hadn’t expected Vu Da’s mother to commit suicide right before their eyes. Though they were immortals, they were disciplined by their elders and absolutely forbidden from harming mortals. In truth, they didn’t think much of mortals, but because the King of Vu Quoc maintained a shrewd diplomatic relationship, many powerful factions had stepped forward to protect Vu Quoc. It was almost considered a neutral zone for various sects, and thanks to this, the King could rely on these powers to protect his people.
“What’s there to be afraid of? Only that fat Phu knows about this. Give him some longevity-enhancing herbs and promise to take his son with us. Let him be an outer-sect disciple, or even just a servant, and it’ll be fine.”
“Alright, damn it. If it weren’t for our prospects of entering the inner sect, we could kill as many as we please. Women who see us immortals don’t even get to kneel and beg at our crotches. They truly deserve to die, ruining all the fun.”
The wealthy man sighed, looking at him, imagining the scene. He truly couldn’t do anything. If he reported it, at most the immortals would be reprimanded, and if they held a grudge, his whole family would be wiped out. Whereas this way, his son and he would also benefit. That’s also why, ever since he took him in to work, the old man only gave him light tasks around the house and paid him handsomely.