Terrible realization

Place: The Yulong village

The majority of those village houses were built using raw bricks and hay roofs. The size and the number of rooms in a house varied according to the family earnings.

There were only a few houses that had tiles on the roof instead of hay-like on the others. One of them was the village physician's residence. His residency, where he lived with his beloved wife, was a bit larger than an average village house.

He even has a small library inside his place, which consists of several books about myths, legends, and cultivators. This added some color to his daily life that wavered between treating patients and resting.

The other largest one was the village leader's residence. Apart from these two, many houses had the same size and building structure.

But, on this evening, a small crowd gathered in front of a particular house with worried faces.

To be honest, this dwelling resembled a hut more than a house.

Inside the house, there were three people. A white-haired youth was sleeping on a mattress that laid on the floor. A man who looked like he was in his mid-70's checking on the youth's pulse.

Another man focused on the pale face of youth, with a worried look on his face.

"Didi, How's he now?"

Yan Lou sensed the worried tone of the other's words. He dropped the youth's hand carefully on the mattress and moved his hand to check the youth's fever.

"Fever subsided. But this kid certainly starved for weeks. Therefore, Mo gege shouldn't rush him to eat. Start with some ginger soup. I'll bring some medicine tomorrow."

Mo Xing didn't waste any more time and hobbled across the room. He started to collect the additives needed for Ginger soup into a basket.

Yan Luo's heart swelled with a fondness for Mo Xing. This old man dragged his old bones here and there for many hours to find the medical ingredients needed for the sleeping kid.

"Mo gege, take some rest. He's not in bad condition". His voice was gentle.

A smile bloomed on Mo Xing's face. "But, It'll be easy to make soup fast if everything is in one place. I'm not tired." The words followed by a yawn.

They both broke into a laugh which was followed by silence.

Yan Lou noticed the angry red sunbeams creeping into the house. He cleared his throat. "Gege, I think it's time for me to go home."

Mo Xing bowed, "Thank you for everything, Didi. I'm grateful."

On that note, Yan Lou stood up and bid his farewell.

Mo Xing looked through the front window. He saw the crowd that remained in front of his house, asked something from the village physician who just walked towards them. Then they slowly scattered away.

Mo Xing changed his attention to sleeping youth. Seemed like he was having a nightmare. His slumbering face showed a painful expression. A single tear escaped from the kid's eye, slid through his cheek, and fell sideways.

Mo Xing gently patted the young boy's head. The young one seemed to calm down. His face relaxed.

"Get better soon, little one."

Mo Xing muttered softly and put out the oil lamp. The room filled with pitch-black darkness.

**************

Xie Ra woke up as he felt sunlight kissing his face. As his vision adjusted to the light, and when he opened his eyes fully, a hay roof greeted him back.

He suddenly realized he was in some unknown place. His survival instincts kicked in. He tried to stand up and escape. However, he fell back to the mattress as soon as he tried to stand up.

Before he was disappointed or scared, he heard an old voice addressing him.

"Slow down, little one. This old man is no danger for younglings like you," with a light chuckle, the owner of that voice entered the house through the front door.

He was a tiny old man with a moderate hunchback which made him look shorter than he already was.

His hair color was a different shade of white than Xie Ra's. The beardless face made his toothless smile more prominent. His baggy clothes made him look thinner than he really was. Xie Ra noticed that this elderly man didn't use a cane when walking.

He gave a warm smile to Xie Ra.

"Before explaining what happened, let's introduce each other. My name is Mo Xing. Just call me uncle Mo.

And this is my house. But what should I call this little one?" His wrinkled old face looked at Xie Ra with expectation.

"Oh, Uncle Mo. My name is Xie Ra. I'm from... ''

Xie Ra closed his eyes and tried to remember. Yet, nothing came to his mind. Maybe it was because he was feeling a bit sick. So he tried to remember something else about himself.

Something felt wrong. Very wrong.

Xie Ra suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes grew wider as his pale complexion became paler. Dreadful realization spread through his veins.

He couldn't remember anything except his name.