Chapter 165: Fate Is Determined

Chinu was born on a humble sleeping mat.

This was something Du Shanü had known beforehand.

Whether it was the brothel hinted at in his words, the orphanage, or after leaving the orphanage, the arms camp that trained the children......

Every little thing, even his name, was the lowly origin he could not shake off.

She had several times wanted to comfort Chinu, telling him that in the previous dynasty many parents gave their children nicknames containing the character 'slave' in hopes of raising them well.

However, upon a little thought, one also knows that having a nickname means there will be a formal name.

Their parents gave them a proper formal name, then a nickname seeking blessings and protection.

But Chinu, but her Chinu......

He never had any formal name.

Just as, just as even to this day, Liu Er remains nameless.

In this world, those without names are not only Liu Er, but also her Chinu, and countless nameless people struggling endlessly.

That Liu Er was beaten to death, while Chinu is more like one who swallowed suffering, endured pain, and finally managed to eke out a hint of hope—another 'Liu Er'.

So he knows all the more that he cannot retreat even a bit, cannot regret even a bit.

If he regrets, then all the past suffering and pain would have been endured in vain.

If Du Shanü collapses in disappointment here, then this Liu Er, and the countless Liu Ers behind her who could not leave a name......

would have died in vain.

The hint of gloom in Chinu's brow and eyes is too deep, too genuine.

Perhaps because it is rare for him to reveal his ruthless thoughts, or perhaps merely because he is cold.

He never would let go of the hand entwined around hers.

Du Shanü's heart felt as if something had twisted it hard; the heart that had gradually turned cold from that blood also finally began to beat again.

She already loved him to the point of being unable to bear it.

From Cang Cheng all the way to Ju Cheng, then from Ju Cheng all the way to Dun Cheng, to the prefecture city, she sank all the way into utter degradation.

Her heart always remained on him, like a drop of water falling into the sea, impossible to pull out or retrieve.

And at this moment, amidst this chaos and numbness......

Du Shanü only just realized that everything was indeed like a drop of water entering the sea, but her drop of water, compared to Chinu's sea, was somewhat lacking.

Chinu is the smartest of the smart, yet Chinu is also the stupidest of the stupid.

Even though he is willing to scheme so much for her, he......

He actually still walks step for step holding her hand, repeatedly explaining, afraid of being abandoned.

Both are covered in blood, but Du Shanü can do nothing; Du Shanü truly is utterly helpless.

She did not let go of her grip on Zhao Daniu's hand, only able to bend down and kiss the fingers Chinu had placed on her arm.

Those fingers, from gathering corpses, were already stained with blood.

At this moment, the bloodstains again spread from his cool fingertips to dye her crimson lips.

Chinu started, instinctively wanting to let go.

But this time, Du Shanü instead stopped him.

The cold autumn wind outside the city blew over her face; she inhaled, feeling the clarity of two lifetimes combined in her mind, a clarity she had never had before.

In the next instant, she heard her own voice.

She said:

"Good slave-slave, I am destined not to be able to part from you."

"If it's wrong, it's wrong; if heaven and earth won't tolerate you, I will take your place."

"If I am fortunate enough to have another life...... I will surely bring you along as well."

The chill is bleak, wind and rain about to come.

Outside the city, in the mass grave, all things have reached decay.

After a long while, the person hired by Chen Er finally hurriedly came outside the city carrying a coffin.

He remembered the master's instructions: that coffin was made of fine pine, solid and heavy in hand, valuable.

The porters chose a slightly higher slope, set down the coffin, then nimbly took out their tools and dug the pit bit by bit.

They were many, strong, and swift; soon the earth outside the city piled up into a small mound.

Du Shanü and Chinu stood together, gazing at all this, their brows deep, silent from beginning to end.

Others did not know her face was as calm as a plain lake, her heart holding thunder......

But Chinu knew a little.

Chinu's eyes flickered slightly; just as he was about to ponder, a noisy sound suddenly came from afar.

That was a woman's weeping, miserable and piercing.

The weeping grew nearer, mixed with intermittent shouts, mixed with men's rough, gruff rebukes.

This weeping interrupted Du Shanü's scheming; she followed the sound and saw a young maiden stumbling from the other end of the mass grave, running after three or four men ahead.

The leader of the men was a roughly fifty-year-old thin old man wearing silk robes, walking not quickly, his face showing an impatient expression.

The maiden chased all the way, unable to stop them, so she flung herself to the ground and wailed:

"Don't bury! My father only just passed an hour ago; the first seven days haven't even passed, you can't bury him!"

The maiden's appearance was not bad; a man carrying an iron hoe was somewhat moved, turning his head to glance at the silk-robed old man.

The old man grunted, took a step forward; his voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable harshness:

"Second Uncle has laid down the words today; I am in charge of your father's funeral. He died of drowning this morning; the heat won't allow delay, so he must be buried today—that's the rule!"

"What rule!"

The girl turned her head, her face full of tears:

"My father usually has no illness or disaster; only today, because I needed to go buy incense for the Dharma assembly, walking the night road made him slip...... What difference would a few more days make?! It won't cause an epidemic! You clearly are just eager to seize my family's house and shop!"

The old man's face changed and changed, then immediately resumed a smile that didn't reach his eyes, lowering his voice to say something.

The girl suddenly jumped up as if pricked by a needle, her voice shrill enough to almost pierce someone's eardrum:

"What did you say? You want to betroth me to whom?!"

"The Sun family east of the city."

The old man's voice rose, carrying a kind of frankness put on for show:

"I just inquired this noon: the head of the Sun family is forty-seven this year, his main wife passed away last year. Your father is now dead, and as your uncle, marrying you to them—what's wrong with that?"

The old man had long resented his elder brother's family for their parents' partiality in youth; now being able to vex them, he naturally felt the unspeakable joy of a petty villain.

He wanted to see his niece cry and beg for mercy, but he never expected that, upon hearing the number 47, this little niece's face turned from flushed to ashen, her lips trembling, unable to speak for a long while.

Du Shanü knew what the other had recalled, because she too had recalled it——

This young lady was none other than the one who, back then, had sought a young Daoist at the street stall, and was none other than the Celestial Master 【Fucuzi】 who told fortunes.

Fucuzi had said back then that she would marry a forty-seven-year-old man; she said her parents doted on her, and with them around she would certainly not agree, almost scolding the unnamed Fucuzi harshly.

However, however.

In just a day's time, her father fell into the water, and she fell into the hands of her heartless uncle; everything was destined to be completely different.

But who could have expected that this girl's father would die?

Who could have expected that after the girl's father died, there would still be a second uncle with a sickly, evil heart?

Who could have expected......

There are plenty of wealthy people in Zhoufu, but the person the second uncle picked just happens to be forty-seven years old???

Du Shanü had not yet recovered from the shock of Liu Er and Zhao Daniu's deaths; hearing this, her heart was again seized by tumultuous waves——

Accurate?

That Fucuzi's divination actually turned out to be accurate?!