Chapter 52: The Past of Qinghe Town (Part 2)

From then on, Shen Susu had a “little tail.”

Wherever she went, Little Yu followed.

The people in town would warn her, “He’s clinging to you, you’re in danger. Be careful, or you’ll be cursed to death!”

Shen Susu would just smile and say, “No, our Little Yu is just fine.”

Apart from playing her jade flute by the river, her favorite thing to do each day was braiding Little Yu’s hair and dressing him in various pretty skirts.

Shen Susu tied a bow on the skirt, patted his back, and turned him around to see.

“Sister Su… I’m a boy…” Little Yu tugged at the hem of the skirt, on the verge of tears.

He had delicate features, and even though the skirt was pink and frilly, it didn’t look out of place on him.

Shen Susu couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter, pinching his cheek.

“Whose little girl is this? Why are you crying?”

Little Yu continued to whine, “What if… some rogue tries to harass me?”

Shen Susu thought for a moment, then replied seriously, “Then you should take off your pants and scare them with what you’ve got.”

“Waaah! Sister Su is a bad person!” Little Yu flung himself into her arms, crying even harder.

“Alright, alright, don’t cry. I was just teasing you. Today is the Flower Festival, I’ll take you out to enjoy the flowers!” Shen Susu wiped his tears away and playfully tapped his nose.

“Good little brother, just wear this for today, and when we get back, I’ll make you meat pies.”

“Okay.”

Little Yu sniffled and agreed.

He couldn’t bear to be without Shen Susu, and he couldn’t refuse any of her requests either.

As long as it made her happy, he was willing to do anything for her.

On the 12th day of the second month each year, Qinghe Town held its annual festival.

People would go to the countryside to enjoy the flowers, and girls would prepare in advance by cutting paper flowers and sticking them onto branches, a custom known as “flower appreciation.”

There were also rituals to worship the Flower God, as well as eating flower cakes and celebrating at temple fairs.

Shen Susu took Little Yu out to the bustling streets, filled with women dressed in their finest clothes, and even the usually rough men had made an effort to look sharp.

While Shen Susu went to buy him candied hawthorn, Little Yu climbed an apricot tree, trying to hide.

Silly child, how could an apricot tree hide someone?

When Shen Susu returned, she spotted the little figure in the tree out of the corner of her eye but pretended not to see him as she walked by.

Little Yu had mischief in mind.

Since Sister Su had teased him by making him wear a skirt, he wanted to prank her in return.

He shook the tree branch hard, causing flowers to fall on Shen Susu.

Shen Susu played along, looking up at him as the blossoms fell into her hair.

With a soft smile, she said, “I love this apricot flower rain that Little Yu sent.”

His prank was accepted as a gift.

Little Yu froze for a moment, then slowly climbed down from the tree and slipped into her arms.

That was the last spring day in Qinghe Town, a time when flowers bloomed in full.

The scene shifted to a dark, windy night.

The once peaceful Qinghe Town was filled with the sounds of fighting and cries of pain.

“Help! It hurts! Please don’t kill me!”

“My skin! My skin! Save me!”

Shen Susu ran out of her house holding Little Yu, her face full of fear.

She swallowed nervously, loosening the bundle on her back, and cautiously glanced around.

Seeing a group of people in the distance chasing after her, she quickly turned and ran towards the river. Little Yu clung to her neck, not daring to make a sound.

“She’s heading for the river, hurry!”

Half an hour earlier, a group of cultivators had stormed into Qinghe Town.

They killed anyone in their path, skinning people alive in a horrific, brutal manner.

The Wei clan scattered in all directions, but none could escape their fate.

Shen Susu carried Little Yu to the edge of the Qinghe River, staring at his face.

Suddenly, she hugged him tightly, sobbing quietly.

“Little Yu, stay in the water and don’t make a sound. No matter what you hear, don’t come out, understand?”

She held him tightly, silently saying goodbye.

“Sister Su…” Little Yu’s eyes were already blurred with tears.

He shook his head in anguish.

“Don’t leave me, Sister Su…”

Footsteps approached from behind.

Shen Susu let go of Little Yu and said, “Be a good boy and listen.”

With that, she placed her jade flute, the one she played every day, into his hand and pushed him into the river.

“Where do you think you’re running to?” A middle-aged man’s voice rang out.

“Skinning people alive—only animals would do something like that! How can you be so heartless!”

Shen Susu’s anguished cries echoed from the shore.

“Ahhhh!”

“People? You Wei think you deserve to be called human? We are far superior.”

The man’s laughter was accompanied by Shen Susu’s cries of pain.

That night, tens of thousands of people perished in blood, and a thick shroud of vengeful black energy hung over Qinghe Town.

In the darkness, two figures slowly approached.

Though Shen Susu had been skinned, she was still alive, barely clinging to life on the ground.

She saw their faces clearly.

“Yin Ruoxu, what if the sect master and the others find out about this?”

“Then don’t let the news get out.”

“You mean…”

“These Wei skins will help us advance directly to the Great Ascension stage. But if we share with so many people, we’ll get much less. Why not kill them all and burn Qinghe Town to the ground? Then no one will ever know.”

The other man hesitated.

“But…”

“Don’t worry. Once I complete my cultivation and take the sect master’s position, you’ll be well-rewarded. And with the few Golden Core stage cultivators here, do you think I, at the Nascent Soul stage, can’t handle them?”

“Alright, we’ll do it your way.”

The water shimmered under the fractured moonlight as the fire burned until dawn.

The fire consumed all of Qinghe Town, and it devoured Shen Susu entirely.

Only when there were no more sounds did Little Yu crawl out of the water, trembling as he made his way toward Shen Susu.

She was still holding on to her last breath, waiting for him.

Scorched, shriveled bodies lay scattered across the ground.

A year ago, he had been the only survivor of his family.

A year later, he was the only survivor of this massacre.

He held Shen Susu’s body in his arms.

Though her flesh was mangled, he pressed his face to her cheek without fear.

“Sister Su, I can’t live without you.”

His eyes were swollen like walnuts, choking on sobs as tears streamed down his face, falling onto Shen Susu’s face.

With a raspy voice, Shen Susu whispered, “Little Yu… Is it… raining?”

Little Yu closed his eyes, his voice barely a whimper, “Yes.”

“So annoying… My face is wet… My makeup… It’s ruined… I’m not pretty anymore…”

She tried to lift her hand to pat his head like she used to, comforting him with “Don’t cry.”

But that hand, charred and scarred, fell limp.

The apricot blossom rain that once soaked her clothes, the willow breeze that once brushed her face, were gone.

What soaked them now was not apricot rain, and what chilled them was not the willow wind.