But no one could blame them.
These mortals, whether they were aware of it or not, tried to resist the cruelest truth in the world—the unfairness.
Mortals were the weakest, the lowest. They learned over time, through hurdles and losses, that if they remained beneath the strong, they would never achieve true freedom.
—The end of Page 1 of "Wonder and Reality of Immortality and Aspiration" by Li Shi.
...
As dawn broke, the rooster of the Mao Family opened its eyes. It gazed at the sun peeking from the eastern mountains. Feeling nature's call, it perched tall and proud, flapped its wings, and opened its beak.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
Mao Xuelian woke up right after hearing the rooster's boast.
However, she didn't immediately sit up and start tidying the room as she usually did. Instead, she stared wide-eyed at her right side.
There was no one there, in this room, except her.
Her mother, Mao Yan, was gone.
"Mom!" Mao Xuelian panicked, calling for her mother.
She didn't know what had happened to her mother while she was asleep or where she had gone, but first, she prioritized her acting, doing what Mao Xuelian would do in a situation like this—panic and confusion.
"Mom! Mom!" Mao Xuelian called out repeatedly, but received no response at all.
She checked the kitchen, the yard, and the living room, yet found only empty rooms and an empty yard devoid of her mother's presence.
Then she stopped pretending.
Her furrowed brows relaxed, her panicked demeanor faded, replaced by a calm but serious expression. She raised her right hand and pinched her chin.
"Where has she gone?" Mao Xuelian questioned herself.
Reflecting on what had happened the day before, she began analyzing every single event with extra detail. She focused particularly on her exchanges with her mother when she expressed her desire to venture beyond the village's territory, just as Li Zui had said to the Village Chief.
But no matter how she thought about it, she doubted that something as trivial as that could influence her mother's actions to this extent.
So what was really going on?
"I don't have enough information yet..." Mao Xuelian murmured.
She decided to stop thinking about it for now and resolved to ask the villagers for more information. Then she would decide how to act.
Seconds later, she dropped her calm and serious façade and put on her panicked and confused expression again before rushing out of the house. She ran frantically and aimlessly, continuing to call for her mother.
Eventually, Mao Xuelian stopped in the center of the village, tears streaming down her face.
"M-mom..." she muttered tremblingly, searching for a response.
Before long, the villagers began to awaken and approached her after hearing her frantic calls.
"W-what's happened, little Xue?" An aunt asked her in confusion and worry as she reached the front of Mao Xuelian.
Mao Xuelian's tears welled up as she looked at the aunt.
"A-Aunty Pu... M-my mom is gone!"
...
The interactions and relationships among the villagers of Li Village were incredibly close. There were no strangers among them.
Their connections resembled those of relatives more than merely fellow residents of a living environment and society.
The first woman to breastfeed Mao Xuelian was not even her mother, but Aunty Pu—Pu Jichu.
To calm the crying Mao Xuelian, Aunty Pu pulled her into an embrace as they waited for the others to gather.
Once the villagers had assembled in the center of the village, Aunty Pu patted Mao Xuelian gently and encouraged her to share what had happened.
Mao Xuelian began to explain how she couldn't find her mother after waking up that morning. She had simply vanished without leaving a word or two.
"Miss Yan is gone?"
"She wouldn't have abandoned Xuelian... right?"
"But she was such a kind woman..."
The villagers began discussing the matter among themselves. Worry and doubt clouded their faces.
In a corner, Aunty Pu gently grabbed Mao Xuelian's small shoulders and smiled at her.
"It's okay, little Xue. Don't worry; your mother will be back soon. Okay?" She tried to reassure Mao Xuelian to ease her troubled heart.
After shifting her focus from the crowd of villagers to Aunty Pu's gentle, round face, Mao Xuelian nodded her head. "Okay..."
Meanwhile, at the same time, two men guarding the village gate found themselves facing a pair of suspiciously dressed men in black-red robes.
"Who are you?" one of the guards inquired.
The two strangers looked incredibly suspicious, with their exceptionally pale faces, bruised skin, and dusty robes.
One of the robed men, who is holding a clay flask, is smiling at the two villagers and respectfully cupping his hands toward them.
"Sorry for the disturbance..."