vrcanaries Chapter 1289 Are you going to go against my wishes?
Chapter 1289 Are you going to go against my wishes?
The needle and thread in the woman's hand fell to the ground with a soft sound.
The two children playing with stones also looked up blankly, staring at the stranger who had suddenly appeared, dressed so elegantly that he looked like someone from a painting.
"Xiao...Xiao Shen?!" The man sprang up from the wooden stump, his movement so sudden he nearly knocked over the charcoal stove beside him. His voice was hoarse and dry, filled with utter shock and disbelief, as if he had witnessed the most incredible miracle descend upon this dilapidated shack!
Upon hearing this, the woman trembled violently, and her cloudy eyes instantly filled with immense horror and awe.
She practically scrambled off the kang (a heated brick bed), her knees buckled, and she collapsed to her knees with a thud, her body trembling violently with excitement and fear.
"God Xiao... God Xiao has appeared... I pay my respects to God Xiao! I pay my respects to the Divine Consort!" The woman's voice was choked with sobs as she kowtowed repeatedly.
Although the two children on the ground were bewildered, they were so frightened by their parents' reaction that they burst into tears and instinctively knelt down, their little bodies trembling.
The man finally came to his senses, his legs buckled, and he knelt heavily, his forehead pressed against the cold, damp ground. His voice choked with sobs: "This humble subject...this humble subject, Wang Laoshuan, pays respects to Prince Xiao! Pays respects to Your Majesty! May Your Majesty and Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace!"
He was so excited that he was incoherent, only repeatedly saying "May you have ten thousand blessings and peace," his body trembling like a leaf in the wind.
In the Xiao Kingdom, Xiao Ce is a god. Although these people stayed here for various reasons, their faith in Xiao Ce is no less than that of people outside...
To these ants struggling at the very bottom of the ghost town, Lord Xiao Shen is a legendary figure above the clouds, a true god who saves all people!
His portrait was treasured and displayed prominently in every household, serving as the only spiritual sustenance in their dark lives.
Now, this legendary figure is actually alive and well in their dilapidated home. This huge shock makes them feel like they are in a dream, wondering if it is an ancestral manifestation or a hallucination caused by their impending death.
Seeing her family's reaction, Little Mudfish felt both heartbroken and excited. She quickly stepped forward, her voice trembling with tears yet filled with pride: "Father! Mother! Don't be afraid! It's true! It's Prince Xiao and His Highness the Princess! The Prince... the Prince said he's going to take me away! To take me to the Western Regions!"
"Take you away?"
Wang Laoshuan suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes filled with extreme shock and confusion, as if he hadn't understood his son's words.
Looking at the family before him, who were filled with fear and excitement to the point of near collapse, Xiao Ce felt a slight pang in his heart.
He stepped forward, his voice gentle yet carrying an undeniable authority: "Get up and speak. The ground is wet and cold; don't kneel and hurt yourself."
His voice seemed to possess a strange magic, causing the trembling, excited Mr. and Mrs. Wang to subconsciously stop kowtowing, but they remained kneeling, not daring to get up.
The two children were still sobbing.
The two elderly people seemed still in shock, and were quite surprised by Xiao Ce's gentle voice...
Seeing this, Yin Pan'er stepped forward and said softly, "Old man, please get up. The prince is here, there's no need for such formality. This child is clever and quick-witted, and the prince likes him very much. He wants to take him with him on our westward journey as an attendant. What do you think?"
"What...what do you think?"
Wang Laoshuan's mind was buzzing. The immense surprise struck him like a second thunderbolt, completely stunning him. Prince Xiao... liked his Mudskipper? He wanted to take Mudskipper with him? To make him his attendant?
"Yes! We are willing!"
The woman beside her was the first to react. She suddenly raised her head, tears streaming down her face, yet her eyes shone with an unprecedented light of hope. Her voice trembled with excitement as she exclaimed, "God Xiao, and the Empress's grace! An immense grace! For Mudfish to be able to follow the Prince is a blessing he has accumulated over many lifetimes! Our Wang family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke! We are willing! A hundred times willing! A thousand times willing!"
She was about to kowtow again as she spoke.
Wang Laoshuan finally came to his senses, his lips trembling with excitement as he nodded repeatedly: "I'm willing! This humble subject is willing! Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Majesty! This is a blessing for the loach! It's an honor for our whole family! We couldn't ask for more! We couldn't ask for more!"
He was so moved that tears streamed down his face, as if his son had ascended to heaven rather than become a servant.
In their eyes, this was nothing short of divine grace!
Even if his son is just serving tea and water to Prince Xiao, it is an incredible opportunity!
This means that the loach have completely escaped this dark and desolate ghost town, escaped the quagmire where their ancestors struggled to survive for generations, and have a bright future that they never dared to dream of!
This kindness is greater than the heavens!
Seeing his parents' tears of emotion, the little loach couldn't help but get teary-eyed himself, but more than that, he felt boundless anticipation for the future.
Seeing their family's reaction, Xiao Ce nodded: "In that case, good. Little Mudskipper, go pack your things, keep it simple. We'll leave shortly."
"Yes, Your Highness!" Little Mudskipper answered loudly, then quickly ran to a broken wooden box in the corner and began rummaging through his meager belongings!
A few faded, patched clothes, a worn-smooth wooden top, and a small bag of coarse grain biscuits that he treasured and couldn't bear to eat.
While the little mudskipper was tidying up, Xiao Ce's gaze swept over the dilapidated but exceptionally clean shack again, along with the weathered but grateful and respectful faces of Wang Laoshuan and his wife, and the two children who were timidly peeking at him.
A thought struck him, and he asked:
“Old Wang, there is something I don’t understand. Little Mudfish told me that you were originally the inhabitants of this Dragon Guard City. Now that the new city above ground is prosperous, the imperial court has issued an order to accept you to live there and provide you with subsidies and resettlement. Why do you prefer to stay in this dark, damp, and cold ghost city, where you have to endure hardship, rather than move to the new city?”
Upon hearing this, the excitement on the faces of Mr. and Mrs. Wang subsided slightly, replaced by a complex and profound emotion.
Old Wang rubbed his calloused and cracked hands, his hunched back seeming to bend even deeper. He glanced at his wife, then at his children who were still sobbing in bewilderment, his cloudy eyes revealing a deep longing and an indescribable stubbornness.
“Replying to Your Highness,” Wang Laoshuan’s voice was low and slow, with a heavy local accent!
"We, the common people, are deeply grateful for the imperial court's benevolence! The new city is wonderful—bright, clean, and blessed with peaceful days thanks to Your Majesty, Xiao..."
He paused, as if organizing his thoughts, his gaze drifting towards the low doorway, looking at the deep, dark, layered pit-walled buildings that resembled a honeycomb.
"But... Your Highness, this... this is where the roots are."
His voice trembled slightly, “Xiaomin’s parents, grandparents, and ancestors were all born in this pit and buried in this pit.”
"Five years ago, the sky collapsed and the earth caved in; half the city was gone, and many people died... Those who survived, like the grass growing in the cracks of the rocks, stubbornly took root in this mud and rubble, rebuilding this shelter from the wind and rain brick by brick, nail by nail, piece by piece... Every plank of wood, every piece of sheet metal, is soaked with the sweat of our ancestors and stained with the blood of our loved ones..."
The woman beside him silently shed tears, and continued, "Xiao Shen, the new city is nice, but it's a place for people from the surface world. We people from the pits feel... out of place when we go up there."
"Clumsy, ignorant of the rules, and with an accent that people laugh at... like a fish out of water. At the bottom of this pit, everyone is the same, we've all crawled through the mud, so no one should look down on anyone else."
The neighbors, all of them had crawled out of piles of corpses together back then. If someone was starving, the neighbors would share their food; if someone's child was sick, the old woman who knew a little about herbal medicine would come over to check on them... This kind of affection, this kind of support, there's nothing like it on earth!
Wang Laoshuan nodded vigorously: "Yes! Your Highness, we have received the government's subsidies and we are grateful for your kindness! But does this money... buy a brick or a tile on the ground, severing the roots of our ancestors?"
We...can't bear to leave! We can't bear to leave this place where generations have lived, we can't bear to leave these neighbors with whom we've weathered storms, we can't bear to leave...our ancestors buried in this pit!
He pointed to the darkness deeper below the door: "Look down there, where the old city collapsed, it became an underground river... But how many of our loved ones are buried down there!"
During festivals and holidays, burning some paper money by the pit and saying a few words makes me feel at ease.
If we move away, there won't even be a place to worship... I feel so empty inside, it's worse than being hungry!
His voice wasn't loud, but every word was heavy, carrying a deep-seated attachment to his homeland and an endless longing for his deceased loved ones.
This is not simply poverty or laziness, but an inseparable spiritual bond and cultural identity formed among survivors as they band together to rebuild their homes from the ruins after a massive disaster.
The bottom layer of this ghost town is their home, their roots, and the final place where their deceased loved ones watch over them.
The old woman then said somewhat awkwardly to Xiao Ce, "Master Xiao, we dare not hide anything from you. Of course, we do have some selfish motives here..."
After hearing the old woman's words, Xiao Ce asked in confusion, "Oh? Selfish motives? What selfish motives?"
The old woman said directly to Xiao Ce, "Master Xiao, if we stayed here, the imperial court wouldn't have filled this pit. But if we all left, this underground city would definitely have been filled in!"
"Then...then...we won't even have a place to pay respects to our family members..."
Yin Pan'er was moved by what she heard, and her eyes reddened slightly.
She understood that the court was offering a way to improve their material lives, but for those who had experienced annihilation and rebuilt their homes from ruins and despair, leaving meant spiritual displacement and severing their last connection with the past and their loved ones.
Xiao Ce listened quietly, his deep gaze sweeping over the small but emotionally charged shantytown, over the almost devout persistence in the eyes of Wang Laoshuan and his wife, and over the two innocent children who might face the same choice in the future.
He understood where the little loach's cleverness and resilience came from—it came from this soil, which was steeped in hardship yet also nurtured tenacious vitality.
He didn't try to persuade him further, but simply nodded slowly.
"I understand." His voice was low and calm, with a hint of barely perceptible respect: "It is hard to leave one's homeland, and it is hard to sever one's roots. I respect this sentiment."
Just then, Little Mudskipper had packed his small, deflated bundle, clutching it tightly to his chest, and walked up to Xiao Ce and Yin Pan'er, his eyes bright and determined.
"Your Highness, Madam, I'm all packed!"
Looking at the child who was about to say goodbye to his parents and the muddy place where he was born and raised, Xiao Ce said to Wang Laoshuan and his wife, "Don't worry, I will take good care of him. You... take care too."
Upon hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Wang were so moved that they prostrated themselves on the ground and kowtowed again: "Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness! Your Highness and Your Highness are so kind and virtuous! Mudfish, hurry! Kneel before Your Highness and Your Highness! When you're outside, be obedient! Be respectable! Don't bring shame to Your Highness!"
Little Mudskipper knelt down and kowtowed three times to his parents, his voice choked with emotion yet incredibly clear: "Father! Mother! Your son is leaving! Take care of yourselves! My younger brother and sister must be obedient! I will make them proud! I definitely will!" He then turned to Xiao Ce and Yin Pan'er, "Your Highness! Madam! Little Mudskipper will do everything in his power to repay your great kindness!"
Xiao Ce reached out and gently lifted the little mudfish.
He then looked at Wang Laoshuan and his wife and said, "Gentlemen, what do you think if I asked the imperial court to redesign and renovate your underground city?"
Mr. and Mrs. Wang shook their heads: "No need, Your Highness. This is all a waste of resources and manpower. Besides, who knows if this pit-like place will collapse? Moreover, this Dragon Guardian Ghost City has already reached a certain scale and has its own unique characteristics. People probably just like this eerie, chaotic, and mysterious feeling..."
After hearing what Wang Laoshuan and his wife said, Xiao Ce nodded, feeling that what they said made a lot of sense.
He then touched his body and found that he still had some dragon coins on him.
He handed it directly to Mr. and Mrs. Wang: "Consider this your child's wages for working for me."
After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Mr. and Mrs. Wang shook their heads repeatedly and said no.
"Master Xiao, no need, no need... It's an honor that you're even bringing Little Mudskipper along..."
Yin Pan'er then said, "This is the prince's intention. Also, no matter what difficulties you encounter in the future, you can go to your city lord outside. We will follow their instructions, and we will fulfill any reasonable requests you may have!"
Mr. and Mrs. Wang simply waved their hands, declining the offer, refusing to accept the money under any circumstances.
Seeing that Yin Pan'er was about to speak, Xiao Ce said directly, "Alright, this is an order! Are you going to disobey my will?"