A painful yet great life!
These words, used to describe this newborn, carried a heavy weight coming from the mouth of the Chongtian Fortress Grand Protector Hall Master.
As soon as these eight words were spoken, the crowd fell silent.
At this moment, everyone began to doubt: could this child really be different from what they had just imagined?
They glanced at one another, hoping to find an answer in each other’s expressions.
Bolisi gave the crowd no room to question. His gaze was like a torch, sweeping across the entire gathering like a cold blade, before finally pinning itself firmly onto Hei Shihui.
The latter’s expression shifted uncertainly, fear and shock intertwined upon his face.
The Guardian Hall Master’s tone turned suddenly icy, every word like a bead of frozen rain smashing against stone:
"Hei Shihui! You were the one clamoring the loudest just now! Tell me, who were you intending to dispose of? What were you planning to achieve by charging in? With your clenched fists? Or with the stones you scavenged from your feet? To deal with an infant who has just been born, whose umbilical cord is still warm?! Is this what you kept calling 'calming the disaster'?!!"
Hei Shihui’s skin crawled under Bolisi’s gaze, as if an invisible hand were gripping his throat.
His lips trembled; he wanted to refute, but in those eyes that seemed capable of piercing through all falsehoods, he saw his own cowardice and cruelty hidden beneath the guise of 'disaster relief.'
Words reached his lips, only to stall into heavy gasping. The cold sweat on his forehead rolled down his cheeks, splashing onto the stone slab before him.
The stone he had been subconsciously gripping slipped from his palm, hitting the ground with a 'thud.' His bluffing courage dissolved in an instant.
"All of you—stand down!" Bolisi shouted, a final command backed by the century-old prestige of Chongtian Fortress and an irresistible will:
"Retreat beyond the plaza in front of the fortress! Anyone who causes more noise or dares to storm the gate again... do not blame the laws of Chongtian Fortress for being heartless!"
As his voice fell, an invisible pressure suddenly permeated the air.
It was the Earth Vein Spiritual Qi of Chongtian Fortress itself, mixed with the heavy, formidable strength of Bolisi’s lifelong cultivation, washing over the crowd like a rising tide.Even the Spider Shadow Fog that had been lingering over the fortress roof for many days seemed to acknowledge this suppression; it eased off its menacing appearance, as if breathing a sigh of relief, and began to dissipate.
The crowd was completely cowed.
Fear, awe, and confusion intertwined on their faces. The figures that had been restless moments ago now dared not take a single step forward.
"Have you not retreated yet?" The voice of the core disciple Chényàn Xīnzǐ rang out at the perfect moment.
It was not loud, but it carried the chilling sharpness of the Guardian Hall Disciples.
His eyes swept over the few who still hesitated. Only then did the rest, as if waking from a dream, slowly retreat. The commotion outside the fortress gate gradually subsided.
Bolisi took a deep breath, straightened his slightly hunched back, and replaced his anxiety with a solemn expression.
He signaled for the Guardian Hall Disciples in front of him to move aside and strode down the steps of the fortress gate.
Morning light fell upon his silver hair and beard, plating them with a soft halo, yet it could not hide the heaviness upon his shoulders.
Every gaze followed him, filled with expectation, doubt, and also the rejection hidden in the depths of their eyes.
Bolisi slowly scanned each familiar face.
These were the villagers of Bulakeji Village, the generation that Chongtian Fortress had protected day after day, month after month, year after year. Yet, at this moment, the fear and evasion in their eyes felt chilling to the bone.
"Everyone, quiet down!" His voice was loud and clear, carrying the unique majesty of a Hall Master, yet wrapped in a hint of imperceptible compassion, piercing through the cool morning air.
In an instant, the crowd fell deathly silent. Even the children nestled in their Mother’s arms subconsciously held their breath.
"Last night, under the protection of Chongtian Fortress and the Yiqidunge River God, a new life came into this world."
Bolisi’s voice echoed across the open space in front of the fortress, every word landing in people’s hearts, "His mother, Jin Wuji, an ordinary yet great woman, endured unimaginable pain with a mortal body, and ultimately used her own life to bring him into this world. She fulfilled the final and most sacred protection of a mother."
At the mention of Jin Wuji, a low sigh rippled through the crowd.
That woman who was always smiling when she shared wild fruits with the children, that woman who would hum mountain folk songs while washing clothes by the river, had just like that... passed away.
Bolisi’s words were like a trickle of warm water, quietly diluting the fear in everyone’s hearts.
"This child is named Tai Anqiong." Bolisi’s voice suddenly turned firm, as if resisting some unseen resistance:
"No matter what strange phenomena accompanied his birth, no matter what peculiarities were hidden within his umbilical cord...
He is a brand-new life!
A life witnessed by Chongtian Fortress, paid for by his mother with her own life!
Life itself is the most sacred existence!
Under the watchful eye of Chongtian Fortress, no matter where this child came from, he must live on—this is the creed of Chongtian Fortress that has remained unchanged for a hundred years!"
These words were delivered with great impact, striking everyone’s hearts like a heavy hammer.
Some lowered their heads, their fingertips subconsciously twisting the corners of their clothes, as if reflecting on their earlier extremes;
Some revealed shame, quietly shrinking back to avoid Bolisi’s gaze;
Yet, there were still many whose eyes flickered. That deep-seated fear and taboo toward the 'unknown' were gripping their hearts like vines.
Bolisi saw these emotions clearly. His heart felt a surge of sorrow, yet he refused to give up.
His gaze passed over the people in the front row and cast toward the depths of the crowd, as if questioning the entire Bulakeji Village, or seeking an answer from heaven and earth:
"Jin Wuji used her death to exchange for her son’s life. Now, she has gone to the other shore where there is no suffering.
But this child, Tai Anqiong, he is still here.
He is an orphan!
He needs warm milk, he needs swaddling clothes.
He needs someone to shield him from the cold winds of the night! He needs a home!"
Bolisi’s voice suddenly rose, filled with urgent inquiry and an even heavier sense of responsibility.
He looked around at the entire scene, his words clear, as if carved into stone:
"So now, who will raise this poor child?!
Who will take on the weight of this life?
Who will give this orphan who has just lost his mother a little hope to survive? A pair of arms he can rely on?"
His questioning was like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, creating silent ripples through the crowd.
The shouting and discussions from before vanished, leaving only a heavy, suffocating silence.
People looked at each other; their eyes dodged away, and no one dared to respond.
To raise a child haunted by the shadow of a spider and rumored to bring death to his mother?
This was more than just 'trouble'; it was practically 'inviting disaster.'
Fear was like cold water, extinguishing the last bit of compassion in everyone’s hearts.
Inside and outside the fortress gate, there was complete silence, save for the sound of the wind flapping the flags on the fortress roof.
Bolisi’s heart sank lower and lower. He had guarded Chongtian Fortress for decades, seen floodwaters, and battled evil beasts, yet for the first time, he felt such a tremendous sense of powerlessness. This did not come from a threat of external force, but from an estrangement in the human heart that threatened to overwhelm him.
At this moment, just as the silence was about to freeze into ice...
A clear, steady female voice, carrying undeniable strength, suddenly pierced the silence. It came from the outer perimeter of the crowd, like a thunderclap breaking through the gloom:
"This child is mine. From today on, I am his mother."
Bolisi shuddered and looked in the direction of the voice in astonishment.
He saw a figure behind the crowd steadily pushing through the onlookers, walking step by step toward the fortress gate.
She was somewhat slender in build, yet her shoulders were straight. Her gait was steady and powerful, each step landing firmly, as if she were not stepping on soft soil, but on hard stone slabs.
The morning light outlined her well-defined profile.
She appeared to be twenty-three or twenty-four, with wisps of hair fluttering in the wind across her forehead, obscuring the peak of her brow, but unable to hide the eyes that were as calm as water. Within them, there was no fear, no hesitation, only firmness and composure.
It was Aierhua.
All eyes were instantly focused on her.
There was Bolisi’s admiration, the villagers' disbelief, and the whispering hidden in the shadows.
The low murmur of discussion spread like a tide:
"Is that Aierhua? How... how could she appear here?"
"Aierhua, who has been living a solitary, almost isolated life since she broke up with her husband last year?"
"Is she crazy? Wanting to claim a 'freak' as her son? Isn't she afraid of being implicated?"
"A fool..."
Aierhua turned a deaf ear to these voices, as if everything around her had nothing to do with her.
She walked straight to a spot a few paces from Bolisi and stopped. Her gaze traveled past the old Hall Master and toward the inner fortress, as if looking for the room where the infant had been temporarily placed.
Then, she met Bolisi’s gaze.
Her voice was not loud, but it was clear enough for everyone outside the fortress gate to hear, like a pebble hitting the calm surface of a lake:
"His name is Tai Anqiong, right? He has no mother now. From today on, I am his mother."
The moment these words fell, the air seemed to solidify completely.
The shock on the villagers' faces was almost overflowing; their mouths hung open, their expressions frozen in surprise.
Aierhua, she actually wanted to adopt a child viewed by everyone as 'inauspicious'?
"How rebellious!"
Just within this deathly silence, a roar of rage suddenly erupted from the back of the crowd.
The voice was filled with shame, fury, and the embarrassment of being defied in public. It struck the crowd like a lightning bolt:
"Aierhua! You wretched girl!"
People looked in the direction of the sound to see a sturdy, middle-aged man with a build like a Mountain-Running Ox fighting his way through the crowd.
It was Aierhua’s father, Aierwen.
His face had flushed a deep, purplish red from extreme anger, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing as if they might burst.
He rushed to the front in a few strides, staring fixedly at his daughter with eyes wide as brass bells, his chest heaving violently, as if he would spit fire in the next second.
"You getting a divorce already made your Mother and me suffer in our hearts until now!"
Aierwen pointed a trembling finger at Aierhua, every word squeezed out from between his teeth with gritted resentment:
"Are you deaf? Don't you hear how the villagers are stabbing us in the back?!
Now you want to make it even worse by adopting such a freak?! A disaster star born with a spider's shadow, cursed to kill his own mother, with some monster thing on him?!"
His voice grew higher, like a wounded beast roaring, making people’s eardrums ache:
"If you dare to take this step today, you are taking the pride of our ancestors and the reputation of our family and grinding them into the dirt!
Don't ever think about stepping into your original home again! I will pretend I never had a daughter like you! Did you hear me?!
Get out! Get as far away from me as you can right now!"
Aierwen’s roar echoed in front of the fortress, but Aierhua stood still.
She looked at her father’s furious face, at the expressions of pity or disdain from the people around her, her lips pressed into a straight line, but her eyes were firmer than before.
She knew that from the moment she said those words, she could never go back to her old life.
But she did not regret it, because she thought of the infant being protected inside the fortress. He was so helpless and lonely, which reminded her of the sorrow and despair she felt when she fled that man’s house years ago.
She could not let this child face such a cruel life.
Bolisi was right: no matter where this child came from, he must live on.
Bolisi’s thunderous words echoed in her ears, and a surge of enormous courage rose from the bottom of Aierhua’s heart.
This courage was like a burning flame, instantly igniting the blood throughout her entire body.
At this moment, she felt her body was filled with strength, fearing nothing ahead,
no matter how dark the storm.