It Really Is

Chapter 22

Li Qingqing told Sha Niu’s Mother everything she had learned during this period.

She was truly about to burst from holding it all in.

She had actually wanted to talk to Sha Niu about the Immortal Lady, but Sha Niu would only say that she already knew.

As for her husband, she always felt he wouldn’t believe her.

Thus, Sha Niu’s Mother became the perfect person to confide in.

“I saw it with my own eyes.”

“She went to see that crazy woman. I heard her say that as long as she accumulates a hundred merits, she can return to the heavens.”

“She tapped her wrist with some water, and red beads appeared there. Those are her merit beads.”

“That crazy woman was nothing but skin and bones at first, but later on, she slowly seemed to get better. Go see for yourself, she can even speak now.”

Like everyone else, Li Qingqing took it for granted that the woman was a “crazy woman.” Her mind only seemed to be large enough to hold the things the other villagers talked about.

The crazy woman had indeed changed. She no longer acted insane or hammered her head against the ground like she used to. She seemed to have turned back into a normal person.

And all of this was because of one person.

Sha Niu’s Mother knew. She had always known, she just hadn’t dared to believe it.

Li Qingqing was younger, and she spoke the thoughts in Sha Niu’s Mother’s heart almost without any hesitation.

“She really is the Immortal Lady from the mountaintop. She came to the village, just like in the stories.”

Li Qingqing began to grow excited, connecting the series of current events with all the stories she had heard before.

“She’s just like those stories. She came to our village and met a few bad people, and then all those bad people died.”

Li Qingqing was a local girl; she didn’t truly understand what all of this implied.

Then, Li Qingqing began to discuss the dead Old Bachelor and the dead man from the Zhang Family.

In her world, it seemed as if the matter ended there.

The Old Bachelor who had caused the death of another woman was dead, and the man from the Zhang Family who had been disrespectful to the Immortal Lady was also dead.

Just like the endings of all those stories, the villains were punished, and the good were rewarded.

She didn’t know what it truly meant for a deity to descend to the mortal realm, turn into an ordinary woman, and then be abducted by human traffickers to a mountain area to be the wife of a madman.

Sha Niu’s Mother knew. She knew that this was absolutely not the end, but only the beginning.

“I understand. Don’t tell anyone else about this.”

Li Qingqing nodded. She knew that the reason she chose to tell Sha Niu’s Mother was because Sha Niu must have told her mother many times already.

Sha Niu’s Mother exhorted Li Qingqing repeatedly, but Li Qingqing’s words remained stuck in her mind.

She didn’t even feel shocked. Instead, a feeling of “so that’s how it is” surfaced in her heart.

Everything made sense now.

If that was the Immortal Lady, then everything about her became logical.

Sha Niu’s Mother couldn’t wait to find Ming Wen, this young deity.

“She’s at Old Li’s place looking at the sheep. Their sheep are sick.”

Sha Niu’s Mother rushed over. Ming Wen was currently examining a flock of sheep in a methodical manner.

Sha Niu’s Mother watched blankly from the side. The more she looked, the more she felt this woman was glowing.

She also knew that the current Ming Wen couldn’t be considered the full Immortal Lady yet. She had to wait until she finished Undergoing Tribulation. Then, she would become one with the boundless sky and the vast earth. At that time, she would be the all-powerful Immortal Lady.

She didn’t know how to speak to her—how to mention her previous offenses, her apologies, her disrespect, or her longing for forgiveness.

Once Ming Wen put the sheep back into the pen, Sha Niu’s Mother finally stepped forward. Like a child who had done something wrong, she couldn’t squeeze out a single word for a long time.

She looked up, only to find that she didn’t need to say anything at all.

Ming Wen simply looked at her with a gaze that seemed to know all her pain.

With such tolerance and such gentleness, she didn’t need to say a word.

Sha Niu’s Mother even felt a sense of resentment toward her past self. How could she have been so foolish back then? Her daughter had clearly told her that the Immortal Lady was glowing.

She was clearly glowing, yet she hadn’t recognized it.

Sha Niu’s Mother began to cry for no reason, like a child who had been lost for years and had tasted all the bitterness of the world, only to suddenly encounter a deity who could bring her justice.

Even though this deity looked younger than herself.

But beneath her youthful appearance was a powerful, calm deity who could handle all suffering.

Ming Wen said nothing and gently embraced her, like a divine mother holding her human child.

From that day on, Xinghua Village seemed to come to life.

Sha Niu’s Mother felt energized in everything she did. She even felt her body was filled with strength. She attributed this feeling to a blessing from the immortal. Because she had been unfortunate in the past, she hadn’t received it. But now that she believed, she had it.

This was what her grandmother had told her when she was a child: if you believe, it exists; if you don’t, it doesn’t.

The massive boulder that had been on the verge of crushing her disappeared in an instant.

She truly felt a sense of lightness and joy.

This was a feeling that had never appeared in the twenty years since she arrived at Xinghua Village.

When she returned home, her foolish daughter was sitting by the fire pit giggling. The more Sha Niu’s Mother looked at her, the more she loved her.

She understood that this was brought about by Sha Niu.

No wonder people said “fools have foolish luck.” Wasn’t this exactly that?

Sha Niu peered at her mother, sensing something was different.

“What’s wrong?”

Sha Niu leaned down and tilted her head to look at her mother. She watched for a while, and her mother continued to look at her with those smiling eyes.

Sha Niu couldn’t help but laugh. She didn’t understand why her mother was suddenly so happy, but she was very happy herself.

“Mama, you’re so happy,” Sha Niu said.

All along, she had wanted her mother to be happy. Many times she had dreamed that she had become smart and her mother was very happy.

But in reality, her mother had always been unhappy.

Now, her mother was suddenly happy.

At this moment, it was as if Sha Niu’s Mother was truly seeing her daughter for the first time. A wave of tenderness surged in her chest. “Mom is happy today. You, child, used to talk about the Immortal Lady the moment you got home. Why aren’t you saying anything today?”

Huh? Sha Niu was stunned.

Every time she had mentioned the Immortal Lady before, her mother never really listened.

But since her mother wanted to hear it now, Sha Niu hurried to explain what the Immortal Lady had taught them to do today.

“We went into the mountains together today. The Immortal Lady found a lot of grass for us. It can all be used to save people.”

Sha Niu’s Mother listened while watching her daughter. Suddenly, she had a feeling that her daughter had unexpectedly grown up.

This made her remember Sha Niu’s chubby face when she was little. Back then, Sha Niu always loved to press her plump cheeks against the back of her mother’s hand.

She felt a pang of regret. Back then, she should have kissed those cheeks more.

Her heart was filled with such tenderness that she couldn’t help but reach out and stroke Sha Niu’s head.

Reflecting on the years gone by, she suddenly felt that perhaps Sha Niu was sent to her by the Immortal Lady.

She had seen the trafficked brides in the village go mad. Those Outsider Wives were not only tortured by their parents-in-law and the men who bought them, but they were often looked down upon by the children they gave birth to. Being beaten and scolded by their own children was a common occurrence.

The villagers looked down on those trafficked brides who didn’t settle down and spent every day trying to escape. Naturally, this disdain showed in their speech. Adults would often say things to the children like, “Is your mom trying to run away again?”

Many children of these trafficked brides grew up hating their mothers for such things. They hated them for being restless and for making them lose face.

But her Sha Niu wouldn’t. Her Sha Niu… her Sha Niu.

That winter years ago, when Sha Niu was gravely ill, she had carried the child to the Immortal Lady’s temple. In a fit of madness, she had fed her own blood to the Immortal Lady and smashed the goddess’s statue.

When Sha Niu eventually woke up, she was alive, but she had become simple-minded. Her mother had always believed it was her divine retribution.

Thinking about it now, perhaps on that very day, the Immortal Lady had heard her words. The goddess understood what the best arrangement was for this mother and daughter.

And all of this was brought to her by her young and powerful Immortal Lady.

Sha Niu’s Mother suddenly understood why her grandmother used to take her to worship the gods when she was a child.

This time, when Sha Niu mentioned the Immortal Lady again, the hearts of the mother and daughter drew very, very close.

At this moment, Xinghua Village was still the same Xinghua Village, but in the darkness, the mother and daughter were no longer isolated and helpless.

At night, when Sha Niu’s Mother fell asleep, she could feel happiness. A strange, warm light enveloped her at all times, just as it had once enveloped Sha Niu. Silly smiles couldn’t help but appear on their faces.

Every day began to have a sense of hope. She and her daughter were together, following the Immortal Lady.

They were waiting, waiting for the Immortal Lady to ascend back to the heavens.

Only this time, the Immortal Lady had descended to the mortal world specifically for them.

By the time Ming Wen’s merit points reached eighty-two, Li Qingqing could understand most of what Ming Wen said.

Occasionally, Ming Wen would teach them how to write their own names and how to identify traditional Chinese medicines.

The medical clinic also began to make money. In the past, this clinic didn’t earn much and required subsidies from the town. Now, besides the villagers coming for medicine and treatment, people from several other villages came as well. Combined with the income from treating livestock, the monthly earnings were quite substantial.

This money was naturally managed by the Village Chief. Ming Wen didn’t say anything about it; she only fought to secure the wages that Sha Niu and Li Qingqing deserved as assistants.

“I’ll be working in the clinic from now on? I’ll get paid?” Li Qingqing was so happy she hugged Sha Niu.

This was no simple job. One had to realize that the Village Chief had originally prepared this position for his own son. Anyone could guess how good of a job it was.

People like Li Qingqing and Sha Niu would normally have only been able to look at such a place from afar.

“The medicines in the clinic are all Western medicines. I want to find some basic Chinese herbs so we can treat people that way too. In the future, we’ll go out to dig for herbs together,” Ming Wen explained. “It might be a bit hard.”

Li Qingqing was even happier. Compared to working in the fields with repetitive, numbing movements, going into the mountains to dig for herbs and chatting along the way sounded wonderful. Just thinking about it made her happy.

That evening, the Village Chief’s wife came to find Li Qingqing. Usually, men discussed matters with men in the village, but when it came to talking to the village women, it was the Village Chief’s wife who did the talking.

“Ming Wen is a treasure to our village now. Several villages are counting on her for medical treatment. She wants to go into the mountains to dig for herbs. Your Fourth Uncle didn’t agree at first, fearing something might happen to her.”

Fourth Uncle referred to the Village Chief.

“But she’s a doctor and has her own ideas.” The Village Chief’s wife took Li Qingqing’s hand and said, “Sha Niu isn’t very bright and can’t help much. When you go into the mountains to dig for herbs later, it’ll be up to you to watch over Ming Wen. Don’t let anything happen.”

The Village Chief’s wife added very cryptically, “If something happens to her, the Zhang Family will definitely demand you compensate them for their daughter-in-law and grandchild. Their son is already gone; all they have left is this daughter-in-law and the grandson in her belly.”

“The rest of the village will definitely blame you too.”

Li Qingqing understood how precious Ming Wen was. This was the Immortal Lady descended to earth. Even if others didn’t know, she did.

She certainly wouldn’t let Ming Wen trip or get hurt.

Li Qingqing nodded immediately. “Don’t worry, I care about Ming Wen very much. I won’t let anything happen.”

Much later, at a certain moment when Li Qingqing looked back on her past with the benefit of experience, she suddenly realized that on this day, the words the Village Chief’s wife had spoken were ostensibly about taking care of Ming Wen, but in reality, she was telling her not to let Ming Wen escape.

Having just reached adulthood back then, she hadn’t understood the subtext. By a twist of fate, she had given the Village Chief’s wife exactly the answer she wanted.

Seeing her respond this way, the Village Chief’s wife felt that the girl had understood her meaning, so she didn’t press the matter further.

In reality, Li Qingqing only felt that the Village Chief’s family was quite kind at this moment, realizing she had been prejudiced against them in the past.

She walked through the evening breeze to see the Village Chief’s wife off, already looking forward to digging for and identifying medicinal herbs with Ming Wen and Sha Niu.

She felt a greater sense of responsibility now, believing she needed to take good care of Sha Niu and Ming Wen.

The next day, the three of them were set to go out and gather herbs together.

Before dawn, Li Qingqing began preparing their supplies.

Digging for herbs was no simple task. Many herbs had to be found deep in the mountains, and since they would be trekking a long distance, they certainly wouldn’t be coming back for lunch.

Li Qingqing climbed out of bed at four in the morning to prepare the midday meal for the three of them.

By the time Ming Wen and Sha Niu arrived, Li Qingqing had already finished the preparations.

Li Qingqing felt the joy of being the mistress of her own household as the three of them set off toward the deep mountains.

Along the way, Sha Niu skipped and hopped about, while Ming Wen looked at everything as if it were a potential medicinal herb.

That evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, the wind picked up, and a vast expanse of red clouds burned across the sky above Xinghua Village.

Ming Wen, Li Qingqing, and Sha Niu were walking along a hillside, intending to reach home before dark, when Ming Wen suddenly came to a halt.

She lifted her head and gazed at the sky, her eyes filled with an emotion that Li Qingqing and Sha Niu could not comprehend.

Li Qingqing was somewhat dazed. What was Ming Wen looking at? There was… nothing in the sky. She also raised her head to look at the heavens.

Aside from the clouds, there was nothing.

“Immortal Lady, what are you looking at?” Li Qingqing finally couldn’t help but ask.

Now that she could speak Mandarin, she no longer needed Sha Niu’s help and could speak directly with Ming Wen.

Ming Wen said, “These clouds are beautiful.”

Beautiful?

Li Qingqing sat on a rock, tilting her head back to look at the sky.

Today’s sky looked much the same as usual. The clouds were clouds, and the sky was the sky.

How was it… beautiful?

Sha Niu nodded along. “Beautiful! I think it’s beautiful too!”

Li Qingqing felt embarrassed to ask, but she still heard Ming Wen explain from beside her, “It is a feeling.”

Li Qingqing stared fixedly at the sky, trying to grasp the kind of feeling the Immortal Lady spoke of.

But she felt her chest was empty, containing nothing at all.

From that day forward, Li Qingqing began to enjoy looking up at the sky.

She wanted to understand exactly what that feeling the Immortal Lady mentioned was.

The clouds remained clouds, and the sky remained the sky. Her eyes began to ache, yet she still couldn’t see where the beauty lay.

Li Qingqing rubbed her eyes and then looked once more.

Finally, she was certain that it was a type of beauty she simply could not feel.

She gave up.