The tone, the appearance—it's clearly him, it's clearly him.
She stood frozen in place, staring intently at the beautiful woman approaching.
Was it Zhuangzi dreaming of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of being Zhuangzi? Or... or...
Or perhaps it never happened, that she was possessed by a nightmare last night, and it was all just a dream.
Yes, it was just a dream. The other day she broke her mother's jade hairpin, and now her mother has found out and is scolding her for being naughty.
It was all a dream. How wonderful, how wonderful.
Her heart swelled with the joy of finding what she had lost, and she opened her mouth to call out. But then she saw the man brush past her, lean down and grab the little girl, pretending to be angry, saying, "You deserve to be hit, you deserve to be hit."
They treated her as if she were invisible.
Beautiful memories came together, only to shatter in an instant. Each fragment cut into her body, piece by piece, causing her immense pain and suffering, leaving her covered in blood and wounds.
She did not paint her body to become a demon, swallow charcoal, or become mute, but her mother, the mother she always sought in her midnight dreams, did not recognize her, she did not acknowledge her!
A mouthful of blood from my heart, ten years of resentment lingered within me.
Volume One, Chapter Four
"Ah Niu, Ah Niu, pour me a cup of tea."
"Ah Niu, Ah Niu, quickly give your peerless father a shoulder massage."
"Ah Niu, Ah Niu, where did your mother hide that bottle of 'Osmanthus Wine'?"
“Ah Niu, Ah Niu…”
The man jumped up and angrily shouted at the little girl who was resting with her eyes closed under the banyan tree, "Girl, do you think your wise and mighty father doesn't exist?!"
"Hmm?" The little girl rubbed her eyes. "Did Daddy call me?"
"You, you, you—"
"Just now, Father clearly called me Ah Niu." She blinked her slightly upturned eyes, looking very innocent.
“My dear girl,” the man said in a gentle tone, with a hint of regret, “A-Niu is you, and you are A-Niu. If your mother hadn’t been running around all those years ago, you would have been born on Niushou Mountain, and you wouldn’t have such a common and vulgar name.”
The little boy's eye twitched, and he stared blankly into the distance.
“That’s right! The first candidate on the naming list back then was Yu Niushou! Ah Niu, Ah Niu, it was your father’s fault back then. I didn’t keep a close eye on your mother, and she accidentally ran away to Zigui County. What a waste of such a good name, Ah Niu. Your father is sorry for you…” The tall man trembled.
She didn't see it, she didn't see it, and she closed her eyes and continued to sleep.
Ah, it's no wonder she's so young yet acts so maturely; it's just that such things happen so often that she's long been used to it. She wouldn't be surprised if one day she discovered that the martial arts tournament was actually a needlework competition.
"My dear girl, you must be disappointed too. How about we start calling you Ah Niu when your mother isn't around?"
"Ah Niu, Ah Niu," someone called out cheerfully, as if afraid the little one wouldn't hear. Suddenly, he bent down and asked in a fawning tone, "Ah Niu, that bottle of 'Osmanthus Wine'?"
"Yu Dafeng!" A thunderous roar echoed, its murderous intent drawing near. "You're itching for a beating after just three days, aren't you?"
"Madam..."
"What did you call A-Gui just now? Hmm?"
"No, ha...ha..." he chuckled dryly.
"Niushou Mountain, Zigui County, with your meager knowledge, what are you doing trying to learn from scholars and drink sake!"
"That 'Osmanthus Wine'..." someone persisted.
"It's already been eaten!" the woman's voice boomed with pride.
"What! Fine, fine, but I'm not allowed to drink it! You wine thief..."
Although the man didn't dare to say the last three words, she could clearly see his lips moving as she squinted.
………
"Tiger Mother, my mother's name is Tiger Mother."
Upon hearing this, the young Taoist priests all sneered.
"Ahem." The old Taoist cleared his throat, looked at the disheveled little beggar, and asked again, "Your father is called Yu Dafeng, your mother is called Muhu Laohu, so what's your name?"
The little beggar raised his head, his slightly upturned eyes clear and bright.
“Yu Zigui, my name is Yu Zigui.”
"Very well, from this day forward, Yu Zigui will be my disciple, Wang Shuren's disciple, ranked twelfth."
………
"Junior brother, junior brother."
"Eleventh Senior Brother."
"Junior brother, junior brother."
"What's up?"
"Junior brother, junior brother."