Ascension Day

In Mataopo Village, Xu Ying sat obediently as Mrs. Lu held his head down. She ladled water over it, scoop by scoop, to wash the bloodstains from his hair.

"I've washed his hair like this for seven years. How can he not be my son?" Mrs. Lu said, tears falling as she spoke.

The villagers also closed in, armed with wooden pitchforks, pickaxes, and kitchen knives. They surrounded Yuan Qi, Da Zhong, and Zhu Chanchan, refusing to let them take Xu Ying.

Though they were extremely weak and terrified of the Big Snake, they still summoned their courage and stepped forward.

Mrs. Lu finished washing Xu Ying's hair, wiped her tears, and choked out, "How can he not be my son?"

Xu Ying sat up. "Mother," he said, "I might really not be your son. I can vaguely remember a few things. I remember this Big Snake's surname is Niu, and his name is Yuan Qi. We've been through life and death together and experienced so much. And Lord Zhong… I keep seeing these flashes in my mind, images of it fighting to the death to protect me."

Zhu Chanchan looked at him expectantly. "And what about me?"

Xu Ying hesitated for a moment. "Are you... my child bride?"

Zhu Chanchan flew into a rage and hammered his head twice. THWACK! THWACK! "In your dreams! What are you even thinking?"

"No wonder I have no memory of you," Xu Ying said. "If you were my child bride, I'd definitely remember. I do remember a girl who liked to eat rouge."

He wracked his brain, trying to think of the girl's name. "I remember now!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Her name is Yuan Weiyang! I liked to eat the rouge from her lips!"

Yuan Qi glanced at Da Zhong, a worried look on his face.

Da Zhong transmitted a quiet thought. 'He thinks Yuan Weiyang is a girl. That's actually a good thing. At least he's starting to remember something.'

Mrs. Lu wiped away another tear and looked at Xu Jin, but Xu Jin said nothing.

The village's Li Zheng shouted, "Ying's Mother, just say the word, and we'll fight these demons! We have to make Yingwa stay!"

Suddenly, the Bell's chime resonated, long and drawn-out, releasing the true, sealed memories in everyone's minds.

These people were only Mortals. The memory seals left in their minds by the three grim-faced elders weren't very strong, and Da Zhong could easily break them.

The villagers' sealed memories suddenly flooded back. Soon, someone remembered that three months ago, three people of strange appearance had brought Xu Ying to the village.

At that time, the villagers hadn't known Xu Ying, but they all quickly came to know him. Everyone "knew" that seven years ago, Xu Jin had been fishing and pulled Xu Ying from the water with his net.

From then on, everyone "knew" that Xu Ying had lived in the village for seven years, and they all "knew" that a great fire had destroyed his old home at the Xu Family's Field.

But now, with their memories unsealed, a deep fear of Xu Ying bloomed involuntarily in their hearts.

'Just what is this young man?'

'Why did all our memories change after he arrived?'

Xu Jin and Mrs. Lu's memories had also awakened. The couple clung to each other, looking at Xu Ying with terror in their eyes.

"So, I'm really not your son, am I?" Xu Ying asked with a smile, though his heart sank.

The couple shook their heads.

Xu Ying's nose twitched. The water for his hair today had been a little cold. 'I must have caught a chill,' he thought. 'My nose is stinging a bit.'

Mrs. Lu hesitated but did not speak.

Xu Ying looked at them, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Mrs. Lu and Xu Jin's memories had returned. They knew he wasn't their son and that they hadn't lived together for seven years. But Xu Ying's memories remained unchanged.

He still felt a deep affection for them. In his mind, the memories of living with them for seven years were still preserved.

To him, they were still his parents.

Xu Ying leaped into the air and landed on the surface of the river. With a wave of his sleeve, schools of large fish flew helplessly from the water and landed on the riverbank. These fish were enough to ensure the residents of Mataopo Village could live well for some time.

Zhu Chanchan took out a Spirit Pill and dropped it into the village well. "Once the Spirit Pill has dissolved," she said, "you two can drink the well water, and you will be able to conceive a child of your own."

Yuan Qi swam into the Yuanjiang. Da Zhong flew up and vanished into the back of Xu Ying's head. Yuan Qi then dove underwater and surfaced with a jolt, lifting Xu Ying onto his back before swimming away to the east.

Mrs. Lu and Xu Jin watched them disappear into the distance, a sense of melancholy in their hearts.

Life in Mataopo Village returned to its peaceful state. The villagers' encounter with demons became a topic of conversation after their meals, but the matter was not yet over.

The next morning, Mrs. Lu's cry of alarm was heard. Xu Jin rushed outside to see a new boat sitting in their yard.

A few more days passed. The couple woke up one morning to find a large fish, twenty to thirty feet long, in their yard. They hadn't even finished the fish from before, so the couple took this one to the market to sell.

A few days later, another large fish appeared in their yard for some unknown reason.

Every few days, a large fish would mysteriously appear at their home. Some said it was that demon named Xu Ying, returning to repay their kindness.

Xu Jin and his wife's lives gradually improved. Before long, Mrs. Lu became pregnant. The other villagers who drank the well water also found their health improving, becoming hale and hearty and free from all sickness.

「Three months later」

Autumn arrived. Xu Jin said to Mrs. Lu, "That demon child of ours... he hasn't sent any fish these past few days."

Mrs. Lu said, "We took care of him for three months, and he came to repay the favor. Now the debt is settled. We have our own child on the way, so he can finally move on."

Xu Jin nodded and went out fishing as usual. Strange as it was, the boat their 'demon child' had given him was incredibly stable. No matter how rough the waves on the river became, the small boat remained as steady as Mount Tai.

'Ying isn't the demon they talk about,' he thought to himself. 'He's human. He has a human heart.'