Временные трудности / Temporary hardships: Глава 15

Chapter 15, in which the hero meets a new life in every possible sense of the word

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 17:06

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Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 17:05

Feng was nervous. For him, who had defeated many monsters and fought in the forest, water, and swamp, such feelings were ridiculous. But even with all the ways he knew how to stay calm, he couldn't keep his excitement at bay.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 17:51

And it wasn't even because the day of the summer solstice was approaching, which meant that he, who had been born presumably in spring or maybe winter, was already in his first dozen years, so it was time to get an adult name and stop being considered a child.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 17:52

He could not get the most important thing he wanted, but in this respect, he had settled everything long ago. It took a lot of effort to gain the priest's trust and make him friendly with him, as much as friendship was possible between a child and an old man. He made some valuable gifts, like pots of forest honey and a well-made wolfskin with qi, "to keep your knees warm, grandfather." Over time, the priest realized that this nice, friendly, and kind Feng was a great example for the younger generation and, unlike the youth of today, idle, lazy, and disrespectful of their elders, more than deserved a good-sounding name.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 17:54

Still, Feng felt regret. No matter how much he tried, no matter how many ways he invented to awaken his memory, he couldn't remember his master's name. Unfortunately, at that unfortunate moment, he had not listened to anyone, and he could only retrieve what he had once remembered.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 17:54

The most frustrating part was the certainty that if Feng had remembered his master He would have looked at the idea from different angles, found a lot of flaws in it, and thought of a name many times better.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 17:58

But it was the mysteriousness and inaccessibility that made the master's name so coveted, that made his heart full of demons, that turned the desire to "become like him" into a kind of obsession. Feng recognized this obsession, learned to use its power to train harder and harder. But he still couldn't get rid of the slight feeling of defeat.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 18:00

The battle between him and his master, of which he was not yet aware, was a battle of equals. Feng had the advantage of his looks. As he grew older, his face became more and more masculine and strong-willed, leaving his master's repulsive face no chance. But his master had more than made up for it by stealing Feng's future name from him.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 18:04

But right now, at this moment, it wasn't the names or the masters he was worried about. And not the training, because he was standing there, doing nothing, just waiting.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 18:05

"Are you worried, Feng?" Father asked. "You shouldn't be. Everything will be fine, especially now."

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 18:06

Feng glanced at his father, at his siblings standing or sitting on the grass nearby, and nodded.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 18:07

"Don't worry, Feng!" said Headman Wang, who had obviously decided that an event so important to the honored members of the village could not go without his presence. "The honorable Jishan is the best midwife for the next dozen villages! I, that is to say, brought her by cart!"

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 18:14

The headman had told him about his great merits and invaluable help five times already, and Feng was surprised every time by how much things had changed in recent years. Wang used to puff his cheeks, and his father used to talk to him in an ingratiating tone and avert his eyes. Now, after being able to eat plenty of food, Feng's prolonged covert healing, the awakening of qi, and intense training, his father no longer looked pathetic and puny. His shoulders and back straightened, his movements became smoother and more majestic, and his beard and mustache became so thick and silky that they would be the envy of a capital city official! He had not yet regrown the teeth he had lost, but the blackness of the remaining teeth was gone, and they gleamed white even now in the light of the evening torches. He no longer looked like a withered old man. The most a stranger would give this strong, broad-shouldered man was three dozen years old. And now it was not his father, but the headman who was trying to please, to gain the favor and approval of Shirong and the rest of his family.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 18:16

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Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 18:16

The brothers also became handsome and mature. Kang and Gang easily found wives and left home. Both wives, like most of the village, were Feng's disciples and had even awakened their qi.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 18:17

Ying and Aimin had not married yet, but it wasn't because there were no suitors. There were a lot of people who wanted to marry such a beautiful woman from a wealthy family. But these fools turned their noses up at the stories Feng had told them because what they had learned from the stories was not the importance of training, perseverance, determination, and heroism but the fact that city girls had to show their inaccessibility while a great family heir or even a prince was winning their attention.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 18:18

Mom was the one who had changed the most. She, too, seemed to have lost a few dozen years, straightened up, and even grew taller. Her face was smoothed and wrinkle-free, her eyes glistened, and her lips became inviting and scarlet. The changes in her figure, which had previously resembled the shape of a sack of straw, were not worth mentioning, and even Aiming was envious, as even Aiming, to whom complaining would only anger the gods!

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 18:19

Her newfound youth and beauty, which she would never have dared to dream of before, had led to a natural result. And now, nine months later, Feng stood in front of the closed door, waiting for news. He didn't really want to attend the birth, but no one else in the family had been given the opportunity. The overbearing and bossy grandmother had thrown them out of the house with hisses and shouts.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 19:09

"Of course he's worried!" Kang muttered. "It's our mom! We're all worried!"

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 19:09

Feng only nodded in response to his brother's words. And with that nod, he only partially lied.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 19:10

He liked his new family and wished them only the best. He made friends with his brothers and learned to tolerate his sisters. But he never loved them, nor did they love him. He had once been an outsider, an adopted boy from the city, and though, to Shirong and Zanzen's credit, they had not singled him out among their other children, handing out nutritious and tasty slaps to all equally, Feng felt a clear boundary. Later, when they had overcome poverty and the daily grind, the warm feelings grew stronger, but they were not based on love but on mutual respect.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 19:12

In both lives, he had loved only his real parents - his mother, Lihua, who was so fond of him that she indulged his every whim, and his father, Guang, who looked stern and imperious but was ready to let a real demon into the house for the sake of his son's happiness, as he understood it, and doom the whole family to destruction. Now, as the years passed, Han realized and forgave this betrayal. The parents simply had no chance of resisting the master's demonic sorcery and mind-affecting techniques.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 19:15

But despite the lack of filial love, now, Shirong's mom was also no longer a stranger. So with his eyesight and qi perception, Feng watched the birth right from the street, not letting the situation go to waste.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 19:16

Things were going well at first. The Qi of the mother lying inside the house shone bright and healthy, merging with another weak and fading source of life in her belly. Beside her, a dim light flickered, clearly belonging to the midwife. As the pulsations of qi that signified exertion began, Feng saw the midwife's qi leaning over her mother, a warm, strong lump separating from the bottom of her mother's belly. But then something happened, and the lump began to fade away.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 19:31

"Into the house!" Feng said decisively, heading for the door.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:36

"But the honorable Jishan..." Wang began.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:36

"No matter how honorable she is, I will not allow her to kill my mother and her child," Feng retorted.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:37

He felt that the door was bolted, but it didn't matter. A burst of qi from the palm of his hand against the deadbolt, and the door swung open, the remnants of the thick plank of wood crumbling to the floor.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:37

Feng walked resolutely into his parent's room, followed by the relatives and the headman piling in.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:38

"What are you doing here?" screamed the midwife. "This is an important moment, and you're in the way!"

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:39

Feng looked around at the surroundings. Despite the sight of a naked woman's body, he was not aroused in the slightest. He remembered the scroll, the same scroll that the rogue master had used to humiliate him in front of Mei. And he realized how quickly this bad situation could become hopeless.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:41

The child was large and strong, but the position in which it was trying to come into the world was inappropriate. There were many ways to solve the problem in the scroll, but the foolish midwife had made it worse, and now Feng could see with his inner vision that the cord around the baby's neck was about to take its life. He was surprised that the midwife had not used any ash, clay, or herbs to clean her hands. The importance of cleanliness was repeated half a dozen times in the scroll!

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:52

"Get out!" Jishan continued to shout. "The child might die because of you!"

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:52

"He's only going to die because of you," Feng said. "Go away, I'll handle the delivery!"

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:53

"You snot! I've been doing this for four dozen years! What do you know?

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:53

Feng opened his mouth to reply sharply and, if necessary, to kick the grandma, but he heard his mother's soft voice.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:54

"He's from the city!" she said.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:56

"From the city?" The midwife opened her mouth and looked around.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:56

The friendly nods from his father, brothers, sisters, and the headman crowded in the doorway confirmed that yes, Feng was indeed from the city. So, pushing Jishan aside, Feng stepped up to his mother.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:47

There was nothing to wash his hands, as the scroll prescribed. Even the warm water in the wooden basin was muddy. Well, he had qi, and that was enough.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:48

Feng threw his hands into the air, and a light wave of fire swept through them so fast that it only destroyed the invisible demons and scorched the hairs on the back of his palms.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:49

He squeezed his eyes shut so the sight of his mother would not distract him from the sensation of life and slipped his hand inside, wrapping his chi around the fetus. Feng would have loved to cut the umbilical cord and destroy it like a deadbolt on the front door, but then the future child would suffocate right at the edge of the new life. The scroll explicitly stated so. So Feng used qi to encompass the fetus and begin to turn it into position, moving the umbilical cord out of the way. Mentally, he reluctantly admitted that he had been unfair to the midwife. The fetus was indeed in a very bad position, and it was impossible to pull it out, even with qi, without hurting the mother or killing the child.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:50

Then, he resorted to another method, described in the scroll as the most dangerous and difficult. He put his finger on his mother's belly and, carefully measuring the strength and depth of the qi, ran it from one side to the other, creating a wide incision. The flesh parted easily as if it had been shredded by a dagger's blade. Feng made another incision inside the womb to reach the fetus directly.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:46

Then Feng let the qi flow, stopping the bleeding, stuck his hands into the gaping wound, pulled out the child, no longer restrained by the mother's flesh, and finally cut the umbilical cord. He knew he should slap the baby to make it breathe and scream, but he had much safer ways. Another pulse of qi and a lump of mucus and liquid spurted out of the baby's mouth.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:45

Belatedly, as if he couldn't believe it was over, the child screamed. Feng picked up a piece of clean cloth, wrapped the child in it, and slipped it into the hands of the dazed father. Then he leaned over the mother again and drew the edges of the wounds together one by one, running his palm over the cuts each time as if erasing a pattern in the wet river sand. The wounds closed as if they had never been there.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:44

The father nodded and handed the baby to the mother after receiving a kick on the ankle from Feng. The mother happily clutched it to her chest.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:43

"Congratulations, it's a boy!" Feng belatedly and inappropriately blurted out, only now realizing what had happened.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:42

There was a sudden silence in the house, broken only by the slurping of the baby already suckling on Zanzen's breast.

Camrad_RIP 17.01.24 в 06:42

Everyone stared at Feng as if he was the incarnation of the Twelve Gods.

Camrad_RIP 16.01.24 в 19:12