Chapter 281: What a touching, sacred, grand, beautiful, and pure love! (2 / 3)
On a stormy night, a gaunt, yellow-faced man stumbled into his home.
He hadn’t even waited for the final imperial exam before rushing back, utterly dejected. His frail little sister stood on a small stool, feeding the livestock through a window. The moment she saw him, she cried out in delight, “Brother!”
But the first thing the yellow-faced man said was, “Quick, help me take off my shoes!”
His little sister ran over immediately, using all her strength. She pressed her whole body down and then leaned back hard, pulling with all her might, much like the boat trackers along the Yangtze River hauling a vessel ashore.
With a loud pop, the shoe came off.
“Hiss—” The yellow-faced man sucked in a breath.
No wonder he had needed help removing his shoes—inside, they were soaked with blood. The soles of his feet were raw and mangled. But before taking off his shoes, he had been walking with such numbness that he hadn’t even felt the pain.
“I walked three to four hundred miles home to save money. My skin’s thick—I’ll be fine.”
As soon as he finished explaining, the grief of his failure surged back, threatening to drown his heart. Unable to hold it in any longer, he wailed, “Little sister! Mother! I didn’t pass!”