A Leisurely and Extravagant Life - Chapter 20
Chapter 20: The Blue Character
The little sparrow brought Luo Tianwang strange things every day—sometimes a beautiful pheasant feather, sometimes a butterfly. Each time, what it brought made Luo Tianwang laugh and cry at the same time.
Teacher Cheng Yulian occasionally tried to give Luo Tianwang trouble, but she seemed somewhat wary of him and never dared to push too far.
Luo Tianwang couldn’t be bothered with her either. After all, she was a teacher, and with only that character that could heal illnesses, he couldn’t really do anything to her. After all, Teacher Cheng’s “sickness” wasn’t something that medicine could cure, and perhaps even the character was of little use.
Time passed. The rice harvest was gathered, sweet potatoes dug up, and chili plants withered in the frost. Autumn finally ended, and winter quietly arrived. One day, walking along the dirt path, every step gave a crunching sound. Mud clung to his shoes, and beneath the mud, he discovered sharp, fang-like frost. Only then did he realize—winter had come.
The children began looking forward to snow, for when it snowed, school would close, and the New Year would not be far behind. Parents who worked in the distant, bright cities would return home.
Luo Tianwang also waited in hope. Every day he still slept in the classroom, but his naps grew shorter. Something was changing in him, something other children did not have. It was a strange feeling, something he could sense but not explain.
Inside his qi cavity there was still that pool of green water, condensed from green light points. But the pool never grew, nor did it shrink. The blue light points, however, still drifted like a dense mist, as if about to condense into a single blue droplet—but it had never come together.
On the turtle shell, no new characters had appeared either. It seemed nothing more than an ordinary shell now.
“Uncle Baolin, Zhengjiang wants you to bring Tianwang to my house at eight tonight to wait for a phone call.” Luo Changqing, a village cadre, was the only one in the compound with a telephone. Migrant workers all called home through his house. But it wasn’t free—each call cost one yuan.
“Alright, alright,” Luo Baolin nodded.
Hearing that his parents had called, Luo Tianwang couldn’t contain his happiness.
Luo Baolin, however, felt heavy-hearted. A call this close to the New Year likely meant they wouldn’t be coming home for it. The whole family had looked forward to this all year, only to hear, right before New Year’s, that they weren’t returning.
For the two elders, it was bearable—but what about Tianwang? His illness had only just improved. What if it relapsed? The thought made Baolin deeply worried.
He glanced at his grandson. The boy’s face was lit up with a smile, and though he said nothing, Baolin knew he was hoping desperately for his parents to come home for the New Year.
Luo Tianwang kept watching the time. Their family had an electronic clock bought from town, but it ran about half an hour slow. Every time he looked, he had to add thirty minutes. Today, the hands seemed to crawl even slower than usual.
“Grandpa, is our clock slow again?” Tianwang had already asked this question countless times.
“Half an hour slow. What time is it now?” Baolin glanced at the wall clock.
“Six-thirty. Why don’t we go now? What if my dad calls early?” Tianwang suggested.
“What would we do that for? We’d just interrupt their dinner. We’ll go close to eight, that’s just right.” Baolin shook his head. No matter how close grandparents and grandchildren were, they could never replace one’s own parents.
At last, at seven-thirty, Baolin took Tianwang to Changqing’s house.
The couple welcomed them warmly, giving them stools and letting them watch TV while waiting for the call.
“Don’t worry, it might not be exactly on time. It could be a little late. They might be using the factory’s IC card phone,” said Changqing.
What an IC card phone was, Tianwang had no idea. The city had many strange things.
Sure enough, it was well past eight before the phone finally rang.
Changqing answered, exchanged a few words, then handed the phone to Baolin. “Uncle Baolin, it’s Zhengjiang.”
“Hello! Is that Zhengjiang?” Baolin, worried his voice might be too soft, shouted loudly into the receiver.
“I brought Tianwang. Yes. What? You’re not coming home for the New Year? How can you do this? Don’t you want Tianwang anymore? Hongmei is pregnant?…” In the end, Baolin couldn’t bring himself to scold his son and daughter-in-law. They really did have a reason—Zeng Hongmei was pregnant, and a long journey would be unwise. But then… what about Tianwang?
He handed the phone to his grandson. “Say a few words to your parents.”
When Tianwang heard they weren’t coming home for the New Year, his eyes filled with tears. He whispered into the phone, “Dad, Mom… why aren’t you coming back for New Year?”
“Tianwang, Mom is carrying your little brother. I can’t travel so far. Once he’s born, we’ll come back together. I’ve sent new clothes and good food with someone from the village. You must listen to your grandpa at home. Remember that.” Zeng Hongmei gave him many reminders. She missed her child dearly, but with her belly growing, it wasn’t convenient to travel. Besides, Luo Zhengjiang’s work was just starting to take root—he really couldn’t leave. Even she wasn’t sure when they could return.
Grandfather and grandson left Changqing’s house in silence. Tianwang shone his flashlight into the sky, a beam cutting into the endless night. From above, white “petals” drifted down, swaying silently in the air before landing on the earth.
“Ah! It’s snowing!” Tianwang’s voice carried a note of joy.
“It really is snowing,” Baolin sighed deeply, white breath curling like smoke from his lips.
Back home, Tianwang soaked his feet in hot water, then went to bed. But once the lamp was out, his eyes remained open, staring at the dark ceiling. Crystal tears slipped quietly from the corners of his eyes.
He didn’t know when, but at last, in sorrow and disappointment, Tianwang drifted into sleep.
In his dream, countless blue light points surged toward him. Inside his qi cavity, the blue mist grew denser and denser—until, finally, it condensed into a single blue droplet that fell from the fog.
The turtle shell by his pillow suddenly flashed, glowing with a magnificent, deep blue light. A character, formed of blue radiance, rose from the shell and flew into his qi cavity.
The newly formed droplet immediately entered the character—but that was not enough. Blue light points from all around flooded into his qi cavity, gathering onto the character. It grew clearer, more distinct.
No one knew how much time passed, but at last, a brilliant blue character hovered in Luo Tianwang’s qi cavity.