Chapter 66: Going up the mountain to seek the deity!

Such a young child, yet having to endure the death and separation of two close relatives, all the villagers who passed by could not help but sigh, feeling heartbroken.

But they could do nothing; birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural course of life, and no one can change that.

"Eat a little, Xiaocao; if your mother saw you like this, she'd surely feel terrible in her heart."

Xiaocao was like a robot, numb as she took it, then mechanically shoved a big mouthful in, barely chewing before swallowing it whole.

Seeing this, Li Dashen felt a sour ache in her heart.

Even now, Xiaocao hasn't given up, because she doesn't want to become a child without a mother: "Auntie, is there any way left to save my mother?"

Li Shenzi sighed and muttered, "The doctors all say there's nothing they can do; only if a Great Luo Divine Immortal came would there be hope."

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart.

Li Dashen went on to say much more, but Xiaocao didn't take any of it in.

"Immortal!"

She only remembered those two words.

Xiaocao sprang up from the chair, startling Li Dashen.

"Xiaocao, what's wrong with you?"

Xiaocao shook her head violently: "No, nothing, I just thought of a way to save my mother."

She shoved rice into her mouth, as if she had made some kind of resolution.

Li Dashen heard it and dismissed it as Xiaocao's delirium: "Even the big doctors in the city can't do anything; what could a little kid like you possibly do?"

"I have no way, but the Mountain God Grandfather does; he's so powerful he can even make the White Bone Great Immortal drive away evil-doers, so he surely can save my mother."

Li Dashen smiled, unwilling to shatter a child's last fantasy.

If this could lessen her sorrow, it might not be a bad thing after all.

At noon, everyone went home to rest, merely waiting for the woman to die so they could help with the funeral arrangements, since everything was already mostly prepared.

To put it bluntly, now we're just waiting for the woman to die.

Soon, in the afternoon, the woman's room remained dead silent, not a single cough could be heard, and the villagers suddenly felt a bad premonition.

Could it be that she's already passed away?

"How are you feeling now, Miss Hu?"

The villagers tried calling out a few times, but there was no response from the room.

The villagers' expressions gradually turned to grief: "I'd say she's most likely gone."

Just as the villagers entered the room, intending to tidy the woman's appearance, they took in the scene and were stunned.

It turned out the room was completely empty!

The woman wasn't in there at all, and Xiaocao's whereabouts were also unknown.

"How strange—she's bedridden with a serious illness and can't move; how could a grown person just run off?"

Li Dashen slapped her forehead, as if recalling something: "Could it be that mother and daughter went up the mountain?"

Hearing that, everyone found it even stranger.

Li Dashen hurriedly repeated what Xiaocao had said before: "Xiaocao said she wanted to go find the Mountain God Grandfather to cure the illness."

"That's just nonsense!"

"Where's any Mountain God? That incident was over a year ago; we've never even seen a shadow of the Mountain God—it's probably just a rumor."

"Now's not the time to talk about that; we should hurry up the mountain to look for them."

Judging by the state of the room, mother and daughter have likely been gone for about half a day.

Leaving aside how Xiaocao managed to bring her sick mother up the mountain, if anything happened to them, the villagers' consciences would not rest easy.

The village head quickly organized people to go up the mountain to search.

Meanwhile, Xiaocao was quite clever, pulling a cart loaded with a small board on which the woman lay, so she could haul her up the mountain.

These years of illness have left the woman emaciated and light as a feather; Xiaocao found pulling her a bit taxing, but she could barely grit her teeth and keep going.

After all, her strength had been built up from cutting pig grass and hauling firewood.

And now, for her mother's sake, she fears no hardship or fatigue.

The woman lay on the board, weakly gazing at the sky, her eyes already hazy; clearly at death's door, she whispered with her last breath: "Xiaocao, where are you taking me?"

Xiaocao's eyes seemed to ignite a tiny flame as she answered firmly: "Mom, I'm taking you to find the Mountain God Grandfather to cure your illness!"

The woman smiled, but that smile looked utterly illusory no matter how you viewed it.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she couldn't bear to dash Xiaocao's hope, reducing all her words to a single "Okay."

The woman looked at the surrounding scenery; a breeze brushed her face, insects chirped, birds sang—everything was vibrant with life.

"These views are really beautiful."

She had been bedridden, unable to get up, and hadn't seen such lovely scenery in a long time; to her, dying in the house or on the mountain made no difference.

She had already resigned herself to fate.

Xiaocao pulled the small cart ahead, wiping sweat from her brow, like a little calf plowing a field.

"Once Mom's illness is cured, I'll bring you here every day."

The woman stared at Xiaocao without blinking, as if she could never get enough; in the sunlight her complexion was deathly white, like glass that would shatter at a touch, full of fragility.

"Okay, I'll wait for that day."

The woman's voice grew fainter and fainter, as if it would vanish into the air any second.

Xiaocao's body stiffened, as if she sensed something; she quickened her pace, her voice trembling with tears.

"Mountain God Grandfather, where are you? My mother's about to die; I'll be left without a mother—please, Mountain God Grandfather, come out and save her!"

Xiaocao walked on, wailing loudly.

Besides the birds startled from the forest, there was no other sound around.

Hu Xiaocao's shoulders and hands had already been rubbed raw by the coarse hemp rope, leaving red marks; even if the woman were light, she still had weight.

She dragged the woman alone, her tiny body already unable to bear the burden, yet she seemed oblivious to the pain, feeling her way with the woman through the vast mountains.

All for the sake of finding the divine trace where the night-blooming cereus had once blossomed.

The woman felt heartbroken, weakly calling out: "Xiaocao, put me down; your hands are rubbed raw, if we can't find the Mountain God then forget it—we can't keep bothering people like this."

The woman had never seen the Mountain God, but her child had returned because of the Mountain God; since Hu Xiaocao said there was one, she firmly believed.

Hu Xiaocao shook her head wildly, wiping away tears, "I won't let go, Mom, wait a little longer—I'll find the Mountain God Grandfather right away."

She seemed to think of something, turned her direction, and headed east.

That was the place where Hu Xiaocao first saw the Mountain God.

Perhaps the Mountain God would be there.

Hu Xiaocao held a faint hope in her heart: "Mom, we'll be there soon, wait a bit longer, wait a bit longer."

The light in the mountains was dim, most plants blocked the sun, only scattered specks of light fell down.

Half of the woman's body had sunk into darkness; the shadow of death had already come beside her.

The mountain wind blew onto her face, and it was bone-chillingly cold.

The woman only felt her eyelids heavy, her vision blurred, and the surrounding trees remained only as a rough outline.

Only Hu Xiaocao was the brightest color in this black-and-white world.

She was reluctant to look at Hu Xiaocao one last time, then slowly closed her eyes……

"Mom, why aren't you speaking? Don't scare me."

Hu Xiaocao's voice already held a sob, but she dared not turn her head to look, for fear she would lose the strength to persevere to the end.

She also knew that even if she stopped now it would be useless; she must find the Mountain God quickly, for this was the last hope.

Heaven seemed to have finally heard Hu Xiaocao's prayer.

Just then, a rustling sound was heard; she pushed aside the vines in front and saw countless tiny animals not far away, just as the village rumors had said.

But at this moment these animals seemed sorrowful, letting out mournful cries.

Hu Xiaocao's eyes, brimming with tears, suddenly lit up; she felt no fear, only excitement and joy.

"Mom, look, I've found the Mountain God!"

(End of chapter)