Chapter 2: The Surprising Zhua Zhou of the Neighbors

At that time, my father carried me into the circle surrounded by the villagers and set me down on the ground. At the other end of the circle were more than ten items, including traps, yellow weasel fur, silver dollars, and even a precious scripture borrowed from the old scholar in the village. Most notably, my grandfather displayed a foreign military medal he had captured while serving in the army against foreign invaders. He usually treated it as a family heirloom, never allowing others to even take a glance at it.

Everyone understood that their father was in a bad mood, yet he kept saying it was nothing as he walked back home

After picking up the scripture, I tried to bite it, but not only did I fail to taste any sweetness, I was instead overwhelmed by the smell of ink and paper, so I threw the scripture away. Turning around, I grabbed the silver dollar and began to laugh. "If one cannot become a high-ranking official or a scholar, it is also good to live a peaceful life as a wealthy gentleman," my grandfather said with a smile while stroking his beard. Perhaps it was the coolness of the silver dollar in my hand that made me toss it aside and crawl forward again.

It is quite a coincidence that my mother suddenly contracted a cold just a few days before the arrival of the shaman. In the countryside, this is usually a minor ailment; a bit of ginger water and a good sleep under the covers would suffice. However, my mother did not show any signs of improvement for three whole days, and her condition gradually worsened to the point where she could no longer get out of bed. My father was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, hastily taking my mother to the town to see a doctor. With his departure, the responsibility of receiving the shaman fell onto my grandfather. My grandfather stayed up all night traversing the mountain paths and managed to bring the shaman back early on the fifth day.

My mother was waving at me from the other side, signaling me to crawl over. I clumsily crawled on the ground, my silly grin amusing the onlooking villagers. "Look, this kid is destined to study and become an official," said Uncle Lu from next door when he saw me grab the old scholar's classic text. The surrounding villagers and relatives all laughed; in our small village, having a scholar was quite an extraordinary matter

Due to my inherent physical weakness, I did not learn to walk until I was three years old. Before the age of three, I spent my time crawling on the ground. At that time, children in the countryside were all like little earthlings, and there was no concern about being dirty. However, my mother would take my clothes every night to the small mountain spring creek that wound around the village and beat them clean with a stick. In the village, children's clothes were often made from the worn-out garments of adults, patched together with various sizes of patches. I remember that although I always wore clothes covered in patches during my childhood, I was still the cleanest child. My mother was always particular about cleanliness and could not bear to see me looking like a little wild monkey.

The father hurriedly remarked in the yard that the child was being thoughtless, stating that obtaining the peach wood sword this time was purely coincidental and should not be taken seriously. The mother, silent, stared blankly at the ground, her expression filled with complexity.

My father joyfully held me, who had just been born, and hurried into the house to see my mother. My mother, having experienced some difficulty during my birth, was exhausted. She lay on the bed with a pale face, resting with her eyes closed, her hair damp with sweat sticking to her face. Her skin was as white as snow, and her black hair flowed like clouds.

The father hurriedly reached out to catch it, and everyone gathered around, ready to see the appearance of the newly born little one. The grandfather casually glanced outside the courtyard and saw that the white foxes were slowly retreating. The leading fox turned back three times, and the grandfather clearly saw a sense of reluctance in its small eyes. ... It seemed almost human ...

Time flies, and the clouds change. In the blink of an eye, three years have passed. Perhaps children who face more difficulties at birth are favored by heaven; I was exceptionally gifted in my early years, and I began to remember things while still in my mother's embrace. Perhaps due to my timid nature, I secretly concealed this matter, never mentioning it even to my closest mother. To this day, I can still recall those childhood events. At the age of three, I was much smaller than my peers, not inheriting my father's robust physique, but rather being frail and sickly. My grandfather often remarked that I was a child without a good conscience, as all the wild game he hunted ended up in my little black belly. (Little Black is the name of the local dog we raised.) Since I began to remember, I have never had a peaceful night's sleep, often suffering from fevers and persistent vomiting. My father would carry me over thirty miles of mountain roads to find a doctor, and after a night of exhausting travel, I would fall asleep in my mother's arms upon returning home. My grandfather, eager to cure my illness, even offered the jade pendant he received during his military service. We sought the help of numerous renowned doctors in the town and county, but to no avail. The doctor said that I had been affected by cold air while in my mother's womb, resulting in a cold constitution and weak yang energy. My physical condition was akin to that of a premature baby, inherently weak, and could only be gradually improved through herbal remedies. It was truly incomprehensible that I, having been born after a full thirteen months, could still be so deficient at birth. Later, our home was always stocked with several prescriptions of herbal medicine; my mother would sit by the stove every night to brew the medicine, giving it to me when I felt nauseous, and then holding me to sleep. This situation persisted for a full seven years.

In our region, due to the prevalence of mountain spirits and ghosts, it is unavoidable to interact with shamans and Taoist priests. These individuals often hold a high status and tend to charge substantial fees to help us resolve supernatural occurrences. However, no ordinary person would wish for their descendants to pursue this profession. After all, constantly dealing with such entities can lead to dire consequences, as one may inadvertently attract misfortune. Engaging with mountain spirits, ghosts, and malevolent beings can affect one's lifespan. A careless encounter with a formidable adversary can easily bring calamity upon oneself. Therefore, those who capture ghosts, exorcise evil, and eliminate supernatural threats often meet untimely ends, with sudden deaths occurring frequently.

Sometimes, when misfortune occurs, it can also affect the fortunes of future generations. As the saying goes, human hearts are difficult to fathom, yet one may not realize that ghosts and spirits are even more elusive. After all, dealing with people is much easier than with those entities. My family has had three generations of only one male heir, and my grandfather, who values the continuation of our ancestral lineage above all else, naturally does not wish for me to pursue this profession when I grow up. He snatched the peach wood sword from my hands and carried me into the house.

As I was about to climb beside my mother, a loud "clang" caught my attention. The elderly man next door was holding his three-year-old grandson, who had dropped his peach wood sword for some unknown reason. When we were children, we would often seek out protective charms to carry with us, especially since we lived near the mountains, to prevent evil spirits from causing harm to the little ones. That peach wood sword was obtained from the market at the foot of the mountain; peach wood is known for its protective qualities, and it was adorned with talismans drawn in red cinnabar, making it a top-notch item for warding off evil. When we were children, we would often seek out protective charms to carry with us, especially since we lived near the mountains, to prevent evil spirits from causing harm to the little ones. That peach wood sword was obtained from the market at the foot of the mountain; peach wood is known for its protective qualities, and it was adorned with talismans drawn in red cinnabar, making it a top-notch item for warding off evil.

Upon seeing my appearance, my mother fell into a deep sleep. My father carried me outside, where everyone gathered around to look at me and smiled. My grandfather took me from my father's arms, and his already small eyes squinted to the point where only a slit remained. His face was filled with joy. After all, my grandfather was over fifty at that time, and in the rural areas of that era, a man of fifty without a grandson would be pointed at and whispered about, with people secretly speculating that the family must have committed some wrongdoing. Although no one in the village dared to speak out due to my grandfather's authority, the weight of their gazes was almost enough to bend the old man's straight back.

In a mere distance of over ten steps, I picked up various items including a trap, a wolf pelt, and the military medal captured by my grandfather, only to put them all down again. The crowd, initially whispering, turned curious, not understanding what I truly wanted. As they watched me reach the end without having caught anything, it was a situation never before seen during the traditional childhood ceremony of picking items, leaving my grandfather and others in a state of anxiety.

When a child turns three years old, there is a significant custom known as "Zhua Zhou". This tradition, passed down from our ancestors, reflects the saying that one can predict a child's future by observing them at the age of three. Zhua Zhou symbolizes the hopes for the child's future achievements. On the child's first birthday, family and friends are invited to gather in a circle, placing the child at one end and various items at the other end, each representing potential accomplishments in the child's future. This custom is particularly important in rural areas. According to my grandfather, the events surrounding my own Zhua Zhou were quite astonishing and made a significant impression in the village.

After the incident of the "Zhua Zhou," my grandfather wore a frown all day, instructing my mother to keep a close watch on me, fearing that I might get into some trouble. In the evenings, the sounds of arguments often echoed from my parents' room, as if they both harbored some unusual feelings towards me. However, being their own flesh and blood, as time passed, they realized that I exhibited no abnormal behavior; instead, I was naturally quiet and honest. Gradually, the family began to relax their lingering worries about my childhood troubles.

Grandfather, whether to silence the gossip of the villagers or to seek psychological comfort for himself, actually had Father run out of the mountains to invite a nearby renowned fortune-teller to assess my fate and destiny. Villagers from nearby settlements had heard of this fortune-teller's miraculous abilities, claiming she had dispelled the harm caused by a transformed yellow weasel and had sent malevolent spirits back to the underworld. In any case, her reputation was extraordinary. Grandfather spent three whole months' worth of hunting savings to invite this fortune-teller. She told Father that she was too busy these days and could not spare the time, but would be available five days later. After paying a deposit, Father returned home.

I was lifted by my father to her face, and my frail mother, weak to the extreme, opened her eyes to look at me, still in swaddling clothes. A newborn baby is not particularly attractive, with wrinkled skin that appears quite disheveled. Perhaps having just emerged from the womb, I was not yet accustomed to the murky air of the world, and I furrowed my brow and cried loudly. I was born with a furrowed brow, and when I cried, I resembled an old man. Yet, in my mother's eyes, I was the most adorable child. According to my father, at that moment, her gaze towards me was filled with profound maternal love, a look that warmed my father's heart. She was as delicate as water, yet stunningly beautiful. Even many years later, he would occasionally reminisce about the look in my mother's eyes at that time.

Since that time, I have not caught Zhou again, and my family has also kept silent about this matter. However, rumors began to circulate in the village, and the other children of similar age started to distance themselves from me, making my childhood even more solitary and silent. The boy from the neighbor's family, whose surname is Lu, has always been close to me. He was born in the same year as I was, but is more than half a year older, and I have always regarded him as my older brother. He often stood up for me when I was bullied by other kids, and he took quite a few beatings for it. It can be said that he was my best companion during childhood.

I heard my father say that at that time, my grandfather was holding me in his arms, squinting his eyes, and softly uttered a phrase. "Now, even if I were to die, I would have lived up to the ancestors of the Lao Zhang family."

The crowd of onlookers suddenly became noisy, and my grandfather's face changed from red to pale, at a loss for words. My mother squatted down and picked me up, looking at me tightly gripping the peach wood sword, her expression filled with complexity.

I glanced at the peach wood sword that had fallen three feet away from me. Its blood-red color and the densely packed talismans deeply captivated my gaze. Clumsily yet swiftly, I crawled towards it. I grasped it tightly, laughing incessantly. Like a treasure found, my delighted expression was etched in the eyes of everyone present.