Nanny Xiang placed the split piece of locust wood on the tray. She then took the Sunshine Boy with both hands, lifting him gently, and said in a low voice, "Please remain here for your confinement, Mistress. We will take care of everything."
"Go." A large white hand waved, then slowly retracted into the flowing black curtain.
Nanny Xiang’s black, oily eye sockets darted around. Raising the Sunshine Boy over her head, she shrieked, "Peace be with the Lady of Protection for Birth!"
Her voice carried out into the courtyard, where all the villagers shouted in unison, "Peace be with the Lady of Protection for Birth!"
But the Sunshine Boy pointed a finger at Hao Yunsheng and said in a tiny, babyish voice, "Why aren’t you wishing peace upon the Lady of Protection for Birth? Are you trying to harm me? Nanny Xiang, what is to be done with those who would harm me?"
"Kill!" Nanny Xiang proclaimed, holding the Sunshine Boy high. A club wrapped in white cloth levitated to her left and a blood-dripping butcher knife to her right as she slowly advanced on Hao Yunsheng.
Terrified, Hao Yunsheng dropped to his knees again and shouted, "Peace be with the Lady of Protection for Birth!"
At the same time, the Jade Pendant at his waist shattered, its pieces clattering across the ground.
The Deceitful Infant showed an uncanny smile and said in his babyish voice, "Now, that’s more like it."
Goosebumps erupted on everyone’s skin. The Night Guards glanced at one another, their gazes finally settling on Hao Yunsheng.
Hao Yunsheng kept his head down, fists clenched tightly. ’If the Jade Pendant hadn’t protected me, I would have been afflicted by a powerful Deceit and met a gruesome end.’
Hao Yunsheng grew increasingly apprehensive. ’According to the plan, I was supposed to use the credit from carrying the melon and possessing multiple Fu characters to follow the safer Unstained Deceit Resolution Method, forcing the Sunshine Boy onto the more difficult Deceit Contamination Method. But my plans failed one after another. I was even forced to offer a salutation, nearly drawing the Deceit upon myself.’
"Follow me!"
Nanny Xiang spoke coldly, then raised the blood-covered Sunshine Boy and started toward the Hundred Blessings Warehouse. As she walked, she chanted, "The Lady of Protection for Birth grants her sacred water, to cast upon the Human World and wash away all blight!"
Several women in Patchwork Robes walked ahead of her, sprinkling water from red lacquered wooden basins with small brooms.
When they reached the Hundred Blessings Warehouse, the Sunshine Boy glanced toward the entrance. Villagers crowded the temple gate, their eyes now nothing but black oil. They stared over with eerie, wide smiles, drool trickling from their lips as a beastly RUMBLE issued from their throats.
He then looked toward the entrance of the main hall. Inside was pure darkness, where the silhouettes of five statues could just be faintly discerned in the deepest gloom.
Nanny Xiang raised the Sunshine Boy high and cried out in a shrill voice, "The Lady of Protection for Birth grants her sacred water, to cleanse all filth in the Hundred Blessings Warehouse!"
The crowd watched as Nanny Xiang placed the Sunshine Boy atop the grain in the Hundred Blessings Warehouse. The infant slid slowly down the mound until he was completely buried.
The instant the Sunshine Boy landed in the Fuchang, the grain beneath him vanished, replaced by a pool of thick blood.
SPLASH!
The Sunshine Boy fell into the viscous blood, which immediately flooded his mouth and nose.
The Sunshine Boy flailed his tiny arms and legs, struggling to stay afloat, but his body continued to sink slowly.
His vision slowly faded to black, his breathing growing weaker.
’Is this... death...?’ The Sunshine Boy’s eyelids slowly drifted shut.
Outside the Hundred Blessings Warehouse, the crowd watched with bated breath.
Suddenly, Nanny Xiang plunged her hands into the grain and, with a great heave, pulled the tiny infant out.
"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!" The Sunshine Boy, choking on blood, coughed violently, spewing blood from his mouth.
In the eyes of the crowd, however, the little baby was spotless and clean, utterly without filth. Not a single grain of rice clung to him; he was merely coughing softly.
"The Lady of Protection for Birth bestows a floral quilt; the plump, fair boy is tucked into his swaddling!"
As Nanny Xiang shrieked the words, a woman brought over a red-and-green patterned quilt, reminiscent of a traditional padded jacket from the Northeast. Nanny Xiang placed the infant inside and swiftly swaddled him.
The baby furrowed his brow, squirming slightly in the swaddling clothes as if very uncomfortable.
The moment the Sunshine Boy was swaddled, he felt an icy chill. The material was slick and soft, like frozen pigskin.
He could hear breathing coming from all parts of the swaddling. He could faintly feel puffs of air against his skin, as if he were wearing nothing but a fishnet in the dead of winter, exposed to drafts from every direction.
The Sunshine Boy’s expression flickered. Looking down to inspect the swaddling, he saw two moles protruding from one of the colorful patches.
The Sunshine Boy’s stomach churned, and his face went dark.
The Witch cradled the swaddled baby, gazing down at the infant’s delicate features with a wide, beaming smile. Rocking him gently and making soft cooing sounds, she walked slowly toward the Dark House where the Deceitful Mother resided.
Wang Laoshu followed behind, craning his neck to look at the child with a broad smile.
The Night Guards exchanged glances and silently followed.
The Witch carried the child into the room; the others remained outside the threshold.
"Quick, let Mother see!" Two long, pale, and tender arms extended from the darkness, taking the swaddled baby.
"My good, dear son..." The two hands rocked him gently from side to side.
The Sunshine Boy suppressed his revulsion and said in a babyish voice, "Your son pays his respects, Mother."
"Good, good, my dear son..." The Deceitful Mother’s voice choked with emotion, sounding increasingly affectionate.
Nanny Xiang said, "Mistress, now that the child is born, it is time to bury the melon to fulfill the vow."
The Deceitful Mother replied dismissively, "Then let them go."
Wang Laoshu added with a smile, "Mistress, we still need to make the Tiger Head Hat and Tiger Head Shoes."
"Then let them do it. Look at my child, he’s so handsome. When he grows up, who knows how many women he’ll charm to death." The Deceitful Mother’s voice was filled with adoration.
Nanny Xiang and Wang Laoshu exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.
Nanny Xiang picked up the watermelon that had been split in two, wrapped it in a cloth bundle, and walked out the door of the Dark House. Smiling at the crowd, she announced, "I’ll have to trouble you all to go to the Gua Field west of the village and bury this melon properly."
Hao Yunsheng inconspicuously backed away into the crowd.
Inside the house, the Sunshine Boy remembered the grudge of having his limbs severed and said with a laugh, "Nanny Xiang, you’re getting on in years. Carrying that melon must be so tiring. Why don’t we let Hao Yunsheng carry it to be buried? I’m sure Hao Yunsheng wouldn’t refuse Nanny Xiang, right, Hao Yunsheng?"
The Night Guards quickly parted to either side, exposing Hao Yunsheng.
Hao Yunsheng stood frozen to the spot, silent.
"The young master is so thoughtful. Hao Yunsheng, why don’t you help me carry this melon," Nanny Xiang said, offering the bundle to him.
Hao Yunsheng hesitated, making no move to take it.
The Sunshine Boy said, "Hao Yunsheng, do you want to wear out Nanny Xiang’s old arms and legs?"
Hao Yunsheng narrowed his eyes at the swaddled Sunshine Boy, then slowly accepted the bundle. "I certainly can’t let Nanny Xiang tire herself out," he said. "Captain, let’s go together to the west of the village to bury the melon and fulfill the vow."
After a few seconds of silence, the Captain said, "Since Nanny Xiang has told us to go, then we will all go together."
The fourteen of them walked away.
Wang Laoshu followed them, calling out as he walked, "After you bury the melon, you still have to make the young master’s Tiger Head Hat and Tiger Head Shoes. You’ll need to go hunt a tiger and bring it back."
The Night Guards flinched, then trudged away, crestfallen.
The Sunshine Boy sighed inwardly. Not daring to look at the Deceitful Mother behind the curtain, he gazed out the door and began to think about how to resolve the Deceit.
’Hao Yunsheng has slipped up again. He got the Deceitful Mother to sever my limbs, which means that as long as a suggestion is reasonable and doesn’t violate the rules, the Deceitful Mother and the others might accept it. That’s something neither I nor the Book Listener considered. We thought of the Deceit as mere butchers, forgetting that they too must abide by certain principles. This time, my suggestion for Nanny Xiang to give him the melon actually worked. It seems Hao Yunsheng knows far more than I imagined...’
The Sunshine Boy sank deeper into thought. Every Fate Skill and every legend about Deceit he could remember surfaced in his mind, and he began to analyze them one by one.
After a moment, an idea suddenly struck the Sunshine Boy. He began the practice of Mind Guarding Life Mansion.