Chapter 6

After returning home, I again had a low fever for several days straight, and Li Feng also left; before he left, he only said to my mother: "When the Dao robe falls off, when the infant spirit is reborn, that is also the day you pass away as an immortal; at that time, I will naturally come to take your son."

I never heard those words; it was only the day before my mother's impending death that she told me.

Strangely, after I repaid the child's life, after a period of low fever, without taking medicine, my body also got better. However, that dream hasn't ended; I often dream of my sister at midnight, but this time she wasn't fierce and demanding I repay her something; she just smiled gently at me. This was the first time I saw a 'person' smile at me, and her eyes held no mockery or pity.

Every time my sister appeared, I no longer felt panic; I gradually felt safe. From then on, even when I saw the shadows of those dirty things again, my sister would appear beside me, and whenever she appeared, those dirty things would be frightened away.

And I, my feelings toward my sister shifted from panic to affection. I had no friends; everyone disliked me, but my sister never would. Only when I looked at her statue did I not feel lonely.

Sometimes I would stand before my sister's statue and whisper, telling her what I had seen, what I had noticed, the strange bits of gossip. Even if I talked all day, I wouldn't feel tired.

However, this happy time didn't last long. After I recovered from my illness, my mother insisted I go to school. To be honest, I hated school; those people treated me like a monster, some even threw trash at me. I only liked being with my sister; at least she never scolded me, and she appeared in my dreams, stroking my head and smiling at me.

After going to school, I could only see my sister in the mornings and evenings, and the time for whispering became very little.

But I didn't dare defy my mother; after arguing twice, I still obediently went to school.

I secretly hid my sister's clay figurine in my backpack; when my mother found out, she was furious. Later, she saw that no matter how she scolded or beat me, I would stubbornly stuff the figurine into my backpack each morning before leaving.

So my mother could only give in to my nature. However, she stipulated that my sister's clay figurine could only be taken after she finished her morning incense offering and sutra recitation.

I had no objection to that; every morning I accompanied her in offering incense to my sister, and only then would I stuff the figurine into my backpack.

Thus, a strange phenomenon appeared at school. During breaks, I would always hold a clay figurine and talk to myself. Those who originally thought I was mentally ill now thought I was even more so; those who thought I wasn't an idiot perhaps now saw me as an idiot in their eyes.

But I didn't care about them; I believed my sister could hear my words. We are blood siblings, and there is nothing in the world closer than blood siblings.

It wasn't until later, when something happened by chance, that I became even more certain that my sister had always been by my side, accompanying and protecting me.

That was one afternoon, just after class ended, I took out my sister again and whispered to her. Then a sturdy boy came over, snatched the figurine from my hand and threw it out the window. He then tossed a stack of small notebooks in front of me and ordered, "Do our homework for us."

That sturdy boy was Li Gen Da, a class bully who, relying on his size, led a gang of lackeys and often bullied people. As someone with a strange appearance, I was frequently a target of his mockery and bullying.

Normally, if I saw Li Gen Da I would take a detour and hide, or obediently do his homework. But this time, when he threw my sister's clay figurine away, I simply could not forgive him.

For the first time, my eyes bloodshot, I grabbed that figure, half a head taller than me, and shouted at him, "Give my sister back!"

"Hahaha, this kid is really stupid, treating a lump of clay as a sister, you guys see..." With Li Gen Da's mockery, his gang of lackeys all laughed loudly. The bystanders also watched with interest; such a situation had happened before.

What happened next goes without saying: angry, I fought with them. But I was small and thin while they were big and numerous, so of course I was dragged out and beaten badly until the class bell rang, when they slipped back to their seats as if nothing had happened.

When the teacher came, he merely glanced at my bruised nose and swollen eyes, then ignored me and continued teaching; he had seen such situations many times. Moreover, even if I complained, the teacher only scolded Li Gen Da and his gang a couple of sentences. Because they are relatives, and whenever the teacher speaks to me, he always turns his head away, fearing my left eye that is all white with no black pupil.

So I could only slump over my desk, head down, crying. I cried not because I was in pain, but because my sister had been thrown out the window by Li Gen Da and landed in the woods beside the school; I didn't know if I could ever find her again.

I rested my head and cried quietly. After a while, when I wiped away my tears, I froze, hardly believing my eyes. My sister's clay figurine lay quietly in my drawer.

Overjoyed, I rubbed my eyes, thinking I had misseen. But after a long while, the figurine was still clearly in my hand, and I could not help but believe that all of this was real.

But my sister had clearly just been thrown out by Li Gen Da; could I have been mistaken?

I scratched my head and glanced at Li Gen Da; it wouldn't have mattered if I hadn't looked, but the moment I did, I froze. I saw my sister lying on Li Gen Da's shoulder, while Li Gen Da curled up, trembling.

After that day, Li Gen Da fell seriously ill for several days. Those who had thrown trash at me and bullied me, without exception, also came down with serious illnesses.

From then on, I gained another nickname. From "Sweeping Star" I upgraded to "Lonely Soul Chen". Many children told their parents about my deeds at home. Their parents all said I was ominous, a rebirth of a lonely soul wild ghost; now this wild ghost has awakened and wants to eat people. They warned their children: guard against fire, wolves, and Hai Sheng.

Then some people used Li Gen Da and his gang as an excuse, saying I had heavy yin energy, which caused Li Gen Da and his gang to fall seriously ill.

I never understood why, among those who pointed fingers at me, many had been bullied by Li Gen Da. Why could they watch Li Gen Da bully me as if it were a monkey show, yet when that wicked Li Gen Da was punished, they stood on the side of justice and blamed me?

Why, their gaze toward me still held ruthlessness and indifference. At least I gave them an outlet for their anger. At least, after this incident, Li Gen Da is no longer as arrogant and overbearing as before, right?

I don't understand, nor can I see through it, but I know that from then on, no one dared to bully me. All of this is because of my sister, who protects her brother. When her brother is bullied, she steps forward and speaks up for him.

Time passed bit by bit. Two years later, my mother died, and only then did I learn the words Li Feng had left before his departure.

The day before my mother's passing, she seemed to sense her own end. Lying in bed, she took my hand and told me not to grieve, saying this was fate, the karmic debt she had incurred, a life for a life, and no one to blame. She urged me to listen to Li Feng's words from now on and to live well.

At the moment my mother closed her eyes, my sister also disappeared, leaving only that black robe.

My mother was gone, my sister was gone; that period was a nightmare in my life, the lowest point, I once again had nothing, and even thoughts of suicide arose.

At my mother's funeral, Li Feng arrived as promised, and before all the relatives and friends, he took up the Dao robe and carried me away.

Those people just watched me being carried away, without bothering to ask who Li Feng was. In their eyes, the departure of the Sweeping Star was a fortunate thing. Especially those few people huddled in the corner, seeing me being carried away, they let out a great sigh of relief. Perhaps they were thinking: "This burden has finally been taken away by someone; I don't have to bear it myself."