Chapter One: Crying

  Prologue: Birth

  Mysterious and desolate land, the fertile territory of the northern divine state, dark clouds gathered, thunder rumbled, the sky suddenly cracked open a huge gap, a dazzling ball of light shot out from the gap, heavily falling into a deep mountain forest where humans rarely set foot and birds dare not enter, startling a deafening roar, one day later, when the dust settled, on the ground appeared an additional three-hundred-zhang-tall jet-black giant mountain, resembling a coiled dragon.

  After two months of torrential rain, the storm finally subsided, and from the mountain peaks began to fly out strands of black light. The light strands slowly condensed in mid-air into a fist-sized dark gleaming light ball, which floated lazily westward.

  Three months later, a loud cry of a baby was heard in an inconspicuous thatched cottage.

  Please go ahead and provide the text you'd like me to translate. I'll return the translation in English.

  Longyan City is located 800 li south of the majestic Taiyue Mountains.

  Mountains stretch for thousands of miles, with high peaks and strange rocks everywhere. Deep valleys and dense forests are home to many wolves, tigers, leopards, and other fierce beasts. According to legend, there are also mountain spirits, tree monsters, immortals, fox demons, and other supernatural beings that appear and disappear here.

  Deep in the Taiyue Mountains, there is a mountain peak about 1,000 zhang high, with steep terrain and a main peak resembling a woman holding a baby. Locals vividly call it "Mother-Child Mountain". In order to pray for good fortune, kind-hearted men and women built the "Niangniang Temple" at the summit, where infertile couples or villagers suffering from illness often come to seek blessings, with incense burning in abundance.

  Centered on the Mother-Child Peak, within a radius of 200 miles, there are more than ten large and small peaks of varying heights. The taller ones reach 500-600 meters, while the shorter ones exceed 100 meters. Dozens of deep gorges and dense forests surround the mountains.

  In the mountain stream, flying waterfalls, hundreds of years old cypress and cedar are everywhere, elm, tung, mulberry, pagoda trees and other miscellaneous trees grow lushly. Wild rabbits and pheasants run and jump in the dense forest, poisonous insects and fierce beasts occasionally appear. Of course, in the shaded areas of the mountain, many medicinal herbs also grow, including valuable ones like Tricholoma matsutake, ginseng, and Lingzhi mushrooms.

  Thirty miles away from the Mother Peak of Lianhua Mountain, there is a small town with a population of several thousand people, named Wan'an.

  On the third day of the third month in the year of Bingchen, at noon, in a small thatched cottage in Zundongtou, a loud cry of a newborn baby was heard. Along with the cry, the originally clear sky suddenly produced many dark clouds. Under the gentle breeze, the thick black clouds transformed into various shapes, including fierce lions, giant tigers, wolves, and even dragons. With the white clouds as a backdrop, they were vivid and unpredictable. Immediately afterwards, a rumbling thunderstorm began.

  Dark clouds began to merge and separate in the midst of thunder and lightning, like ten thousand fierce beasts fighting in mid-air. The sky gradually darkened, and from within the dark clouds came the faint sounds of beasts howling and metal clashing.

  At noon, the whole town was shocked by the strange phenomenon in the sky. People put down their bowls and rushed to the streets, pointing and discussing. After the initial shock, they couldn't help but marvel at it. Especially the children, who were completely absorbed in watching the various shapes of dark clouds in the sky, jumping up and down with excitement. The elderly, on the other hand, were secretly worried, wondering how there could be such a loud thunderstorm in early March, and speculating about the ominous sign from heaven.

  Half an hour later, the rain poured down.

  In a long shed not far from the small grass hut, more than ten men and women of all ages gathered together. A 35- or 36-year-old man in gray clothes was smiling all over his face as he poured tea and offered snacks to the crowd. The heavy rain outside had no effect on the man's mood.

  "Second brother, you're really lucky! I didn't expect your wife to give birth to a big fat boy on her first try. You must be satisfied now? No need to urge your wife to visit the temple anymore." A plump woman said while eating snacks and talking to the man.

  The man was respectfully adding fragrant tea for an elderly white-haired old man. Upon hearing this, he turned around and said to the fat woman: "Also thank your younger sister for often accompanying your second aunt to climb mountains and suffer together. When this kid grows up, I will definitely make him show filial piety in front of you."

  As if responding to the man's words, the baby in the house let out a clear cry, which could still be heard from far away amidst the sound of the heavy rain.

  An elderly person sat opposite, a young woman smiled and said: "Second brother, just based on this crying sound, the child will grow up to be absolutely different from others, you and second sister can enjoy happiness!" The man smiled foolishly but didn't speak.

  An old man stood beside a six or seven-year-old girl, who was chewing on some pastries and said unclearly: "I just don't like it when he cries, it's deafening!"

  The old man glared at the little girl, stroked his long beard, shook his head and said: "What does a little girl like you know? It's good to cry! Life is bitter, when you're young, cry more, drive away some bitterness, and when you grow up, the road will be smoother!"

  The little girl pouted and made a face, looking disgruntled, but her small hand secretly reached out to the old man's plate of pastries in front of him.

  Inside the thatched hut, a frail woman lay quietly on the bed, gazing at the infant who had stopped crying in its swaddling clothes. A satisfied smile floated onto her face. The baby's tender cheeks were puffed out as it blew bubbles, and on its forehead, a faint blue mark resembling a small caterpillar was visible.

  The woman's name was Lan, and the man outside was named Ye Cheng. He was a medicinal farmer who made a living by picking herbs in the mountains. The couple had been married for 17 years but still had no children. Ye Cheng's parents longed to hold their grandson every day, but it was difficult to fulfill their wish. As time went on, there were naturally many complaints, and the neighbors' wives would often gossip behind their backs.

  The couple went everywhere to seek medical treatment, took countless herbal medicines and sought many incense sticks, but still had no effect at all. For 17 years, the couple used up all their income from collecting herbs until Ye Cheng's parents passed away one after another, without seeing the birth of a grandson.

  Unable to bear the ridicule of her neighbor, Lan's wife decided to accompany her husband to the deep mountains to pick herbs, hoping to earn more money. Unexpectedly, a rainstorm trapped the couple in a mountain cave for over a month. After eating all their dry rations and surviving on wild fruits, the couple returned home only to discover that she was unexpectedly pregnant.

  The two were overjoyed, and Ye Cheng even sold a hundred-year-old ginseng that he had treasured for many years and rarely took out, to focus on taking care of his wife at home.

  It is unknown whether it was because of Lan's weak body or the excessive consumption of medicinal decoctions for fetal nourishment and calming, but this pregnancy lasted a full thirteen months, and the fetus refused to be born. The couple felt that the fetus was safe, although they were anxious and uneasy, they did not dare to spread the news of this great abnormality outside, fearing it would bring more trouble and gossip, so they secretly spent five taels of silver to ask the doctor who came for a consultation to keep the secret together.

  Lan's wife became pregnant, and it was the same doctor who treated her. Seeing that Lan's wife had been pregnant for such a long time, even the doctor secretly found it strange. After several careful examinations, he discovered that the fetus in Lan's wife's belly was indeed alive and well. Considering the silver involved, he did not want to stir up trouble or tarnish his own reputation, so he really covered it up.

  This secret, apart from Ye Cheng's two brothers, was unknown to anyone else.

  Fortunately, the baby finally played enough in his mother's womb today and was born smoothly into the world. The couple's hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, finally put down.

  Two days passed, and the couple was worried again. Lan's body was weak, and she had taken several doses of medicinal soup to induce lactation, but not a single drop of milk appeared, and the baby was crying loudly from hunger. Perhaps because he had stayed in his mother's womb for too long, the baby was born much stronger than other babies, and his cry was loud and clear, especially at night, and could be heard across several streets, making it impossible for people to sleep.

  Seeing that rice porridge couldn't satisfy the newborn, Ye Cheng had no choice but to ask a neighbor who was breastfeeding her own child for help. Who would have thought that their own child would suckle endlessly, draining the milk from both breasts of the woman until she was completely dry, yet still not full? Moreover, while suckling, a strange power unlike other infants caused the lactating woman to feel anxious and flustered, as if her very life force was being sucked away.

  For three consecutive days, Ye Cheng invited three breastfeeding women to come one after another. After feeding them, all three left with a bitter smile on their faces, unwilling to feed the child again.

  Helpless, Ye Cheng had to take out all the remaining silver and buy milk from other women. What he didn't expect was that his own child's appetite was far greater than any other baby, and the town was too small, with less than 10,000 people. The milk squeezed out by almost all the lactating women in the town was only enough to keep him half-starved.

  In less than a month, Ye Cheng had not a single penny left. The baby was hungry every day and could only cry loudly to vent his discontent. Tens of streets, dozens of households, spent their days and nights in the midst of the baby's loud wailing, even the cats and dogs on the street ran far away upon hearing the crying sound.

  Fortunately, the couple were good-natured and got along well with their neighbors, so although everyone was extremely dissatisfied, they didn't dare say anything. Lan's body was weak, and although she finally had some milk, it was far from enough to satisfy the child's hunger.

  With the food at home barely enough for half a month, Ye Cheng had no choice but to ask his two brothers to accompany him to the mountain cliff to gather some Blood Spirit Mushrooms to make ends meet.

  Everyone who picks medicine knows that the Blood Spirit Mushroom only grows on steep cliffs where humans and animals can't climb. Ye Cheng had previously discovered a few old Blood Spirit Mushrooms while picking medicine, and made a mental note of them. Although it's dangerous to pick them, it's currently the fastest way to get money and food.

  Three brothers brought good hemp rope, came to the depths of the mountain, Ye Cheng tied a rope around his waist, carefully climbed down from the cliff, found the place where several blood spirit mushrooms grew in the stone crevice, but unexpectedly discovered that not only did those few blood spirit mushrooms grow luxuriantly, but also deeper in the stone crevice, there were more than ten older blood spirit mushrooms.

  Overjoyed, Ye Cheng carefully picked a few Blood Spirit Mushrooms and put them in his pocket. He pulled the rope and headed deeper into the stone crevice. Unexpectedly, he stepped on empty air, and the strong downward force caused the sharp mountain rocks to quickly cut off the hemp rope.

  When the two brothers found Ye Cheng at the foot of the cliff, Ye Cheng was already a corpse. The sorrowful brothers could only make a stretcher and carry Ye Cheng back home.

  According to local customs in Yiwu Town, after a grown man dies, he must be buried in the ancestral tomb. A good grave is selected and a chamber is dug out and deeply buried underground.

  Unexpectedly, when burying Ye Cheng, disaster struck again. The previously compacted tomb suddenly collapsed, burying the six robust men who were placing the coffin inside. By the time the people on the surface dug open the tomb passage, all six had stopped breathing.

  In the northern land, the yellow earth is hard and firm, and the collapse of this kind of tomb chamber is a rare occurrence in the world.

  Wan'an Town is no longer peaceful, and for countless years, the town has never encountered such a situation. Connecting to an astonishing celestial phenomenon a few months ago, rumors suddenly spread, and the spearhead instantly pointed to that child who cried day and night without stopping.

  The end of this chapter.

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