Chapter 6: Prison Turmoil

Chapter Six

Long Dashan frowned upon hearing Long Shuixian's scolding and sighed, "Xiaoshan, what are you doing? Don't you know that your Aunt Shuixian can talk the dead back to life? By offending her like this, if she starts spreading bad rumors about you, it'll be hard for you to find a wife in the future."

"Dad, why talk about this? It's too early for me to think about marriage," Long Xiaoshan said, unconcerned.

Long Dashan's lips twitched slightly.

If it were before when Long Xiaoshan was still a top student at Shuimu University, it would indeed be early for a twenty-one-year-old, but now that he had become a reformed criminal, at his age in the village, it was high time to start thinking about marriage.

But considering the current situation at home, Long Dashan sighed, his stooped figure seeming to bend even further...

"Brother!" A timid voice rose.

Long Xiaoshan quickly turned his head and saw a young girl in a white-washed blue dress standing at the door, her black and thick hair simply tied into a ponytail, her young face pure and beautiful like a lotus flower emerging from water.

"Little sister!" Long Xiaoshan exclaimed happily, spreading his arms.

Looking at her brother, who was lean and tall, standing there with the familiar warm smile.

Long Xiaoling felt the strangeness from not seeing her brother for so many years vanish in an instant as she threw herself into Long Xiaoshan's embrace like a swallow returning to the forest, her big eyes instantly brimming with tears, her small red lips quivering as if they held countless grievances she wanted to tell her brother, but ultimately she didn't say a word.

Long Xiaoshan's heart ached; going from a proud Shuimu University student to a convict, he knew his family must have endured immense pressure from gossips and whispers.

And with today's visit from Long Shuixian and others for a marriage proposal, how could Long Xiaoling not know about it?

"Don't worry, now that your brother is back, no one will dare to bully our little Ling," Long Xiaoshan comforted her, wrapping his arms around Long Xiaoling and patting her thin back while a cold light flashed in his eyes.

"Brother..." Long Xiaoling lifted her face, her eyes bright with tears of joy.

"By the way, where's mom?" Long Xiaoshan asked, surprised. Since his little sister had come out, why hadn't his mother appeared yet?

He suddenly saw a look of sadness flash across Long Xiaoling's face and felt a sinking feeling; he hurriedly asked, "What happened to mom? Did something happen?"

"Brother, mom, she..."

"Xiaoshan, your mom went to the mountain to pick wild tea a few days ago, but she accidentally fell down the hill and broke her leg. It's all my fault, my body is failing..." Long Dashan, knowing he could not hide the truth any longer, simply spoke up.

Long Xiaoshan quickly walked to the back room.

As he entered and saw He Xiangyue lying on the bed, Long Xiaoshan's eyes welled up with emotion as he knelt by the bed and called out, "Mom."

He Xiangyue, worn out and haggard, her hair half-white at just over forty years old, struggled to sit up upon seeing Long Xiaoshan, a look of immense joy in her eyes as she said, "Xiaoshan, have you come home?"

"Yes, mom, I'm back, please don't move," Long Xiaoshan urged He Xiangyue back down onto the bed. He examined her foot, which was merely splinted with wooden boards and not even cast in plaster.

He worriedly asked, "Mom, why didn't you go to the hospital with a leg like that?"

"What's the big deal with this injury? Lying down will heal it. Why waste unnecessary money at the hospital?" He Xiangyue said indifferently.

Long Xiaoshan felt a profound sadness; he was no fool.

If it wasn't for extreme difficulties at home, they certainly wouldn't have neglected hospital treatment even for a broken leg.

"I've let my family down so much these past three years, I must make it up to them," Long Xiaoshan vowed silently to himself.

Pulling out the Nine-inch Gold Needle from his finger, he said, "Mom, I learned a bit of traditional medicine from an old doctor in jail, let me treat you first."

Long Xiaoling stood by, surprised, "Brother, you know medical techniques?"

Long Dashan, however, was concerned and remarked, "Xiaoshan, being a doctor isn't easy; don't mess around and make your mom's leg worse."

"Stop your nonsense, old man; when has my son ever been untrustworthy," He Xiangyue scolded Long Dashan before turning to Long Xiaoshan, "It's fine, Xiaoshan, go ahead and treat me, don't worry about me."

Long Xiaoshan's heart ached even more, for only He Xiangyue would trust him so unconditionally.

Without saying much, Long Xiaoshan inserted the gold needles into He Xiangyue's legs. After a while, she started feeling warmth and tingling in her legs, and the discomfort was greatly reduced. She exclaimed with surprise, "Xiaoshan, it doesn't hurt anymore."

After applying needles continuously for over ten minutes and breaking into a sweat, Long Xiaoshan finally stopped and said, "Mom, I've cleared the clots for you, and I've also repaired the veins. However, the bone hasn't joined back yet. I'll go up the mountain tomorrow to gather some herbs to apply to it. In a few days, you should be all right."

He Xiangyue nodded repeatedly, while Long Dashan and Long Xiaoling both smiled happily.

"Brother, you're amazing," Long Xiaoling said, hopping and hugging Long Xiaoshan's arm with great affection.

After speaking with his family for a while,

Long Dashan began to make arrangements for Long Xiaoshan to walk over a brazier and take a bath.

Having just been released from prison symbolized a new beginning; these rituals were meant to ward off bad luck and were customary.

After Long Xiaoshan finished bathing in the courtyard,

he returned to the room wearing shorts, and Long Xiaoling knocked on the door, saying, "Brother, dad asked me to bring you some clothes. He bought them last year, and they've never been worn."

"Yeah, come in... wait a minute," Long Xiaoshan subconsciously responded, and then quickly thought of something, hurrying to call out.

But Long Xiaoling had moved swiftly and had already walked in.

"Brother, you!"

Long Xiaoling's complexion changed. She nearly shouted out loud when she saw Long Xiaoshan's bare upper body covered with crisscrossing scars that were a ghastly sight.

Long Xiaoshan quickly went up to cover Long Xiaoling's mouth, whispering, "Keep it down, don't let mom and dad hear."

Long Xiaoling nodded several times, and only then did Long Xiaoshan release her. Long Xiaoling's tears came down instantly as she placed her hand on Long Xiaoshan's chest, touching one monstrous knife scar that was a mere centimeter from the heart, and said with heartache, "Brother, what happened?"

"It's nothing, just got into some fights in prison," Long Xiaoshan said with a light tone.

Long Xiaoling, however, could not speak for a long while.

She clearly knew that her brother used to be a bookworm. Before going to the city to attend university, he had never even had a red-faced argument with anyone, let alone a fight. How had her brother survived the past three years in prison?

Long Xiaoshan quickly grabbed the T-shirt in Long Xiaoling's hand, put it on, and covered those scars. He smiled casually and said, "Little sis, let's go outside, and also, don't talk too much to mom and dad."

At dinner, the family sat under the dim light, in a harmonious atmosphere.

Even though there were only a few vegetables, and the only meat dish was a lone coop egg, Long Xiaoshan ate heartily.

The family talked late into the night, discussing so much.

They talked about Long Xiaoshan's years in prison and Long Xiaoling's studies, hearing that Long Xiaoling got into the county's top middle school. Long Xiaoling said she didn't want to study anymore and wanted to work instead. Long Xiaoshan glared at her, almost making Long Xiaoling cry, and told her to obediently study and aim for university; he would figure out the money issue.

The night grew deep.

Long Xiaoshan returned to his room but felt no sleepiness; his eyes were wide open and bright.

Right now, the main issue at home was poverty.

As long as they had money, many problems could be solved; therefore, he had to get money. Only right now, he was completely clueless about how to go about it. Should he call Xu Feng and the others?

This thought crossed Long Xiaoshan's mind.

Remembering his life in Lingxi Prison, no one knew how he had endured those three years, especially the first year he was thrown into jail.

Long Xiaoshan's days were like hell, constantly targeted and tormented by others.

Back then, Long Xiaoshan was just a college student from a farming background, simple and honest. Being imprisoned had already felt like the end of the world, and it only got worse. Each day brought inventive tortures and beatings. Any resistance would lead to even fiercer beatings, leaving him on the brink of death, breathing only by a thin thread.

Under inhumane torment, Long Xiaoshan often thought of ending his life, but a stubbornness innate in him pulled him back from the brink of death again and again. He didn't want to die; he was framed, and dying there would only please the person who had framed him.

Until he met Elder Chang.

Elder Chang was a gloomy old man in the prison, rumored to have been locked up in Lingxi Prison for decades, with no visitors and no one daring to provoke him, shrouded in mystery.

Once, as Elder Chang squatted in front of Long Xiaoshan, who had been beaten until he couldn't move, he claimed he could teach him a skill, "The Art of Immortality". Whether or not he could master it depended on his fate.

It was said to be a skill, but it was actually just making him sit and practice breathing during specific times of the day, at the Midnight Hour and midday.

There weren't any impressive techniques.

Long Xiaoshan practiced for a long time without developing the legendary Inner Strength. The only benefit was that he became slightly quicker in reaction time, his eyes grew brighter than the average person's, his mind sharp and his memory improving.

Eventually, he managed to cultivate a warm energy inside his body, and Master Chang began to teach him medical skills.

Long Xiaoshan still took beatings, but whereas a beating once meant lying down for ten days or half a month, after practicing "The Art of Immortality" and improving his medical skills, the time he spent down diminished, from ten days to a week, to three days...

Long Xiaoshan became more resilient to beatings, and his fights grew fiercer. Once, he even gouged out the eye of a bully who used to torment him the most...

Another year passed, and Long Xiaoshan transformed from a little fellow who got beaten every day into one of Lingxi Prison's most fearsome bullies.

Nobody dared provoke him anymore, and under his wing, he gathered a group of people who had often been bullied in prison.

The Xu Feng Long Xiaoshan had considered earlier was one such person, once a big boss from the city. He nearly died when he came to prison, saved by Long Xiaoshan, and he had followed him ever since. Xu Feng was released early and had told Long Xiaoshan to look for him when he got out.

There were many others like Xu Feng.

But when Long Xiaoshan was released from prison, he hadn't sought anyone out.

The thought passed, and Long Xiaoshan dismissed it—he wanted to rely on himself. If push came to shove, he would go to the county talent market to find a job. He refused to believe that, as an adult man, he couldn't overcome the obstacle of money.

Unbeknownst to him, the time reached midnight.

As the moonlight poured in like mercury from outside the window, Long Xiaoshan sat cross-legged on the bed, beginning his daily practice, a routine that hadn't changed for years. Although the warm energy he gained from "The Art of Immortality" hadn't grown much in two years, he was accustomed to it. He hardly slept and got by on his practice overnight, feeling as energetic as a dragon the next day.