Chapter 3 The Dilapidated Earth God Temple

Chapter 3: The Dilapidated Earth God Temple

North of Dayou Village, nestled halfway up a small hill, there was an Earth God temple. The villagers often came here to pray for blessings, so despite its modest size, the temple was well-maintained and the incense burned constantly. However, many of the younger generation in the village didn't know that this wasn't the original location of the village Earth God temple. In the early years of Dayou Village, there were two consecutive years of a severe insect infestation in the fields, leading to poor harvests. Someone in the village invited a Daoist priest to check the feng shui. The priest wandered around the village and its outskirts for two days and finally concluded that the Earth God temple was poorly situated. He claimed its position blocked the path of the Agricultural Deity, causing the two gods to clash. Consequently, the Earth God temple was relocated to the hillside.

The abandoned Earth God temple was situated against the foothills at the western edge of the village and was a complete ruin. The temple's deity statue had long been removed, and most of the wall bricks had been taken by villagers for reuse, leaving only a few crumbling earthen walls. Generations of swallows had nested inside, and the floor near the walls was covered in bird droppings. The roof was also full of holes; if it rained, there would likely be few dry places to take shelter inside.

Now, however, the soft crackle of burning firewood could be heard from within this room. A small pot sat over the fire, from which drifted the heavy scent of brewing medicine. Wu Qiu watched the pot, quietly waiting for the medicine to finish. A fit of coughing sounded from behind him, and he hurriedly put down what he was holding to fetch a bowl of water. Though it wasn't yet dark outside, the interior was already shrouded in darkness, making it almost impossible to see the person lying behind him. Wu Qiu sat down beside that person and spoke softly, "Mother, have a drink first."

The lying woman stirred at the sound of his voice, and Wu Qiu helped her sit up. Days of arduous travel and illness had made her appear very aged. She swallowed a few sips of water, then sighed, clutching Wu Qiu's hand as she wept, "My child, you've been through so much."

Her illness, which had originally seemed to be improving, had for some reason taken a turn for the worse, and she had developed a fever again.

The woman continued to weep in a daze, "Qiu Er, since you married into our family, you haven't had a single good day..."

Wu Qiu comforted her, "Having you here, Mother, is all the support I need. I don't feel it's hardship."

A bubbling sound came from the medicine pot, forcing him to hurry back to tend the fire. For some reason, he also felt the urge to shed tears.

In his childhood, Wu Qiu's parents had doted on him. Though they were just ordinary farming folk, the family of three lived a content and harmonious life. However, disaster can strike out of nowhere. When he was three, his father died of a severe case of typhoid fever. His mother raised him alone, making a living through weaving and embroidery, but she too passed away when he was fifteen.

His parents had originally eloped to settle in this area. After their deaths, Wu Qiu had no relatives to turn to and observed three years of mourning for his mother alone.

Though orphaned, he was diligent, capable, and steady and kind by nature. Therefore, after his mourning period ended, several matchmakers came to propose marriages. Among them was the family of Xue An from the neighboring Xue Family Village. This family consisted only of Xue An and his mother, Yang Shu. Wu Qiu had seen Xue An a few times and knew he came from an honest family; both mother and son were gentle and easy to get along with. Wu Qiu didn't care if the family he married into was wealthy; he only wished to live out his life in peace. Thinking this way and comparing his options, Xue An's family seemed the most suitable, so he agreed to the marriage proposal.

Before this, when Wu Qiu had met Xue An, he hadn't felt anything special; he wasn't infatuated with Xue An. It was just that he had spent three years alone and was desperate to have a family of his own. Life had to be lived day by day. As long as the two of them respected and cared for each other in the future, he didn't ask for anything more.

Unexpectedly, after the marriage was arranged, Xue An lost his footing while gathering firewood in the mountains, fell, and hit his head on a rock. He was carried home and lay there for two days, finally passing away the day before Wu Qiu could move in.

Xue An's mother, Yang Shu, was a kind-hearted woman. Unable to bear the thought of delaying Wu Qiu's life, she said that since her son was now dead, they should annul the marriage contract and let Wu Qiu find another good family. Seeing that Yang Shu was also left without support, alone and destitute, Wu Qiu chose to stay. He kowtowed and called her "Mother." From then on, he became the widowed son-in-law of the Xue family. He was eighteen when he became engaged to Xue An, and amidst rumors that he had cursed his parents and husband, he cared for Yang Shu. Unknowingly, nine years passed.

These nine years hadn't been particularly bitter for him. Both mother and son could do some work, and Yang Shu's embroidery skills were said to be the best in their region. Though not wealthy, they had enough for food and clothing. He simply thought that he finally had a family again. Wu Qiu had long come to regard Yang Shu as his own birth mother and gradually set aside thoughts of marriage, focusing on living his life. Therefore, when Yang Shu urged him several times to remarry, he refused. If not for this great flood, he probably would have lived out his life in Xue Family Village in just such a plain, uneventful manner.

Wu Qiu shook his head, pushing the memories away. Looking at the medicine in the pot, he secretly made a decision. Tomorrow, even if he had to kneel and beg, even if he spent his last remaining coins, he was determined to plead with Lei Ding to make a house call to examine Yang Shu's condition.

As for money, he would find a way.

During his time staying in Dayou Village, Wu Qiu hadn't been idle at all. He first visited villagers throughout the village, offering to help with odd jobs in exchange for shelter for him and his mother or some charitable donations. But the village already had refugees, and the villagers were afraid of inviting trouble. Only in the first few days did two kind families give them some porridge; after that, no one paid him any attention. He then went to Yongning City, hoping to find temporary work. But people were unwilling to hire a refugee like him. After several days of going around in circles, he still hadn't found any work. Not only had he spent most of the money he brought, but local thugs had also robbed him of a significant portion. Yet, he refused to give up easily, determined to try again in the city another day.

He had hidden a few pieces of the pastries Lei Tan gave him, wrapped in a handkerchief, and only now remembered to take them out. He opened the cloth and smelled the sweet, grainy smell of the pastries. Having not eaten proper food for several days, the scent made his stomach clench with hunger. He carefully broke off a small piece and chewed it slowly. His mother was still ill, so most of it had to be saved for her, with some kept for future needs.

That night, he was too hungry to sleep properly. He was also worried about any sudden changes in Yang Shu's condition and feared those villains might find this place. He didn't dare light a fire inside. Although it was summer, the chill of the deep night turned into wind, whistling in through the cracks in the walls. Wu Qiu got up and added his own thin quilt over Yang Shu. He then found a corner sheltered from the wind, sat down, curled up, and drifted in and out of sleep all night.

In his half-asleep state, he unexpectedly thought of Lei Ding.

He knew it was Lei Ding who had instructed the gifts to be given to him. Combined with the waived medical fees last time and the gifted pastries, since arriving in Dayou Village, no one had shown him such kindness.

Thinking this warmed his heart, and his body didn't seem to feel as cold anymore.

The next day, Wu Qiu woke as soon as the sky began to lighten. Yang Shu's condition had stabilized again, which eased Wu Qiu's worry. He was still preoccupied with going to the clinic, but he needed to wait for Yang Shu to wake up, then go up the mountain to gather dry branches for firewood. He also wanted to see if there were any edible wild vegetables or fruits on the mountain, all while avoiding strangers to prevent anyone from discovering their hideout. With all these delays, by the time he was finally ready to set off for the clinic, it was already past noon.

However, just as Wu Qiu was about to turn back, he encountered a few villagers. They seemed to be gathering firewood on the mountain and hadn't noticed him. Wu Qiu quietly stood behind a tree, intending to wait for them to leave before continuing his journey. But he overheard the villagers discussing, "The government doctors from Yongning City are holding a free clinic today. Why don't you take your old mother to see them?"

Before the other person could reply, they suddenly saw a figure dart out from behind a nearby tree, startling them all into exclaiming "Aiyo!" But the figure didn't approach them; instead, he dashed down the mountain in a flash.

The village head naturally hadn't informed Wu Qiu when notifying the villagers. The abandoned Earth God temple was located at the far western end of the village, with the nearest houses some distance away. Wu Qiu hadn't gone into the village that morning, so he had been completely unaware of the event. Fortunately, he ran into these villagers, or he would have truly missed it. His heart was filled with both urgency and warmth, and he didn't feel tired at all as he ran down the mountain in one breath.

When Lei Ding came to Dayou Village for the free clinic, although he treated all patients equally, he secretly harbored a personal hope: to find that Mr. Wu and examine his mother. However, he hadn't been to this area recently and had only heard that Dayou Village had gathered many refugees fleeing the disaster. He hadn't imagined the situation was already this severe. As soon as they arrived, they were surrounded and rushed off their feet, extremely busy.

He couldn't break away to search for Wu Qiu and could only hope that Wu Qiu would get the news and come to find him actively. But he worked straight until dusk, when they had to return before the city gates were locked for the night. Even then, he hadn't seen any sign of Wu Qiu.

They were government doctors. Without official orders, it wasn't appropriate to hold large-scale free clinics for several days. It was likely they wouldn't be able to come again soon. Many refugees blocked their carriage, refusing to let them leave. The village head then called upon the village men to help disperse the crowd, repeatedly expressing gratitude and flattery, "Sir, your visit today has undoubtedly saved many lives, and you charged nothing. Truly, you have the heart of a Bodhisattva."

Accompanying Lei Ding was his father, Lei Xun. Lei Xun politely said to the village head, "It is our duty as healers; there's no need for thanks. We are merely doing our best."

He glanced slightly at Lei Ding, signaling for him to say a few words as well. But Lei Ding's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Wu Qiu and he nearly missed the cue. He considered asking the village head, but then thought that since Wu Qiu was a refugee, the village head might not know him. Explaining further would inevitably lead to complications. Since Wu Qiu hadn't appeared today, digging deep into the whereabouts of a young man like him also seemed inappropriate. He had no choice but to let it go. After exchanging a few polite remarks, he followed Lei Xun back to Yongning City.

He could only hope that Wu Qiu and his family had already left this place to seek refuge with relatives.

Tonight, there was no moon. Thick, rolling dark clouds completely obscured the sky. Wu Qiu crawled out from the pitch-black sorghum field where he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face. Holding his breath, he could only hear the rustling of the wind through the crops, occasionally mixed with a few croaks of frogs. He covered his mouth with his hand, desperately trying to prevent any sobs from escaping through his fingers. Only scalding tears continuously fell.

After coming down from the mountain, Wu Qiu immediately hurried towards the village entrance. When he arrived, he didn't see the doctors, only some refugees with nowhere to go. He grabbed one person and asked where the physicians holding the free clinic had gone. That person told him the doctors had gone to a certain household and pointed him in the direction. Wu Qiu saw that the house was separated from him by a vast sorghum field. Taking the main road would be even farther. Anxious, he decided to cut straight across the field. As long as he was careful not to trample the crops, it should be fine.

Dayou Village hadn't suffered from the flood; this year, there had just been slightly more rain, and the crops grew extremely lush. The sorghum was already taller than Wu Qiu. It was noon, and with the free clinic today, there was almost no one in the fields. Wu Qiu pushed aside the leaves blocking his path with both hands and ran forward vigorously until he was utterly exhausted and had to stop to rest.

Even many years later, Wu Qiu would occasionally think of this day and regret his choice to take the shortcut.

For a moment, it seemed as if even the wind had stilled. The surroundings were eerily quiet. Wu Qiu's gaze swept to the left and saw a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life—a man's face peered out from a gap between two sorghum stalks: a pair of thin, downward-slanting mustaches and a pair of murky, yellowish eyes. He grinned at Wu Qiu. Wu Qiu recognized this man as one of the group who often intercepted him at the village entrance, seemingly a leader among them.

Wu Qiu was momentarily speechless. The words "What do you want?" stuck in his throat, suppressed by the trembling of his entire body. The man didn't say much either. Glancing around and seeing no one else, he reached out to grab Wu Qiu's clothes. Wu Qiu's screams and cries for help were swallowed by the vast expanse of the sorghum field. Though frail, he fought with his life at stake. After several struggles, he managed to break free from the man's grasp. Wu Qiu ran for his life. The leaves of the crops scratched his face and hands, but he paid them no mind. Threats and curses from the man behind him made his heart pound like a drum, lending new strength to his legs. This dense, forest-like sorghum field had nearly caused him to fall into the villain's hands, but now its very density proved advantageous. The man wasn't particularly strong or agile either and couldn't keep up with Wu Qiu as he zigzagged left and right through the stalks, gradually losing him.

Wu Qiu had lost all sense of direction. Turning left and right, he found a hidden ditch. Without caring about the filth, he immediately jumped in and hid behind a rock, straining his ears to listen to the surroundings. The intense running had pushed his body beyond its limits. His throat was filled with a coppery, sweet taste, and his legs could no longer lift. His heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest, his ears rang with a buzzing, and even his teeth ached. Wu Qiu hadn't been eating or sleeping well these past few days; his body couldn't withstand such strain. He had thought to rest a bit before sneaking out, but his body went limp, his vision went black, and he knew nothing more.

Author's Note:

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Lei Ding upon learning of this later: If only I had been braver and asked directly back then [bursts into tears][bursts into tears]