sbdcsierra Chapter 488 Answer
Chapter 488 Answer
Lu Yangyang pinched her cheek.
Many times, she would just do things on a whim, but when she saw Xiu Niang's bright eyes at this moment, she suddenly realized the meaning of what she had done.
Whether it's doing something big or something small.
If you can save one person or change even a little bit, that is the greatest thing and the greatest meaning.
If she can emerge from that situation and see a wider world, then she can also hold up an umbrella for those in need, sheltering them from some of the wind and rain.
"I'll go wash up and then I'll take you with me to help," Lu Yangyang said.
Xiu Niang's eyes lit up even more, and she ran happily to the kitchen: "Sister, I'll get you some food! I made steamed buns, and they brought meat from the Fairy Palace kitchen, as well as lots and lots of eggs, lots and lots of delicious food. The adults made everyone make some, saying they'll save it for the people at the mine later!"
Lu Yangyang washed her face, tidied herself up quickly, took the steamed bun handed to her by Xiu Niang, and walked towards the medicine stove while taking a bite. "It's almost ready. Go find a jar and pour it in."
Like a busy little bee, Xiu Niang went to find a jar to clean it, poured in the decocted medicine, then turned off the stove and obediently followed Lu Yangyang.
Lu Yangyang had scouted the location before going to the Jade Mountain Immortal Palace. The nearest immortal temple was located halfway up the mountain between the mine and the Jade Mountain Immortal Palace, which was where they were now. Therefore, the mine was on the mountain opposite them. The immortal temples along the way had all been cleared out by Lord Ling and his men. Lu Yangyang led Xiu Niang directly across the iron chains between the cliffs to the other side, but instead of taking the mountain path, they climbed up the mountain.
Of all these interconnected mountains with tunnels dug through them, only two places are the most dangerous: the fairy palace and the mine.
The mining of cinnabar is extremely difficult because cinnabar is highly toxic. Long-term exposure to the dense cinnabar-rich air will inevitably lead to poisoning. Therefore, the conditions for mining cinnabar are extremely harsh.
Lu Yangyang now understood why they used the method of conscripting laborers to recruit manpower. The main reason was probably to mine cinnabar. Their protective measures were definitely insufficient, which led to a large number of miners being poisoned and making it unsustainable. That's why they needed to constantly conscript laborers.
Xiu Niang followed Lu Yangyang, listening to her tell her about the cinnabar mine. With red eyes, she asked, "So, that's how my brother and the others died, and why they can never come back? And those people in the village who were conscripted, did they all actually die from poisoning?"
Lu Yangyang's mood was also very heavy: "Only one in ten survives. The only reason they keep recruiting new people is that the previous batch is no longer viable."
“More than half of the people in our village have not returned. At first, it was for people aged 20 to 35, then it was for people aged 15 to 40, and later, even 13 or 14-year-olds were taken away, as well as old men in their forties and fifties. There are only so many people in the village, and more than half of them have been conscripted,” Xiu Niang said in a low voice. “I have seen my father hiding in the yard crying anxiously many times.”
Remembering Xiu Niang's experience, Lu Yangyang asked her, "Do you hate your father?"
Xiu Niang thought for a moment, "I don't know either. I resent him. I don't understand why they married us off in this way, without caring whether we would come back or not. Maybe they knew we would die, but they still made this choice. I think in Father's heart, my brother is more important than me, and I am more important than the other girls in the village, but if compared with the men in the village, they are more important than me. I can't understand it, and I don't know if he was wrong, so I don't know if I should hate him."
She knew she had been abandoned, but she also knew that this abandonment was conditional. She didn't know whether she should hate him or not, but she resented her family. She resented her father for abandoning her, and she also resented herself for being powerless to struggle.
But that was her father. In the past, when there was nothing going on at home, her father was good to her. He would bring her delicious food when he came back from the city, and when he found good timber in the mountains, he would say that he would save it for her dowry.
He used to be a good father.
Xiu Niang was somewhat disappointed. "Sister, am I wrong to think like this? Father wasn't like this before, but after the incidents started happening in the village, he slowly became a different person. Especially after my brother left, he seemed... like he went mad, feeling that it was his responsibility, feeling that the whole village was his responsibility... But, am I not like that?"
“There’s no right or wrong answer. Only your own feelings are real. Adults also make mistakes and wrong choices. Right and wrong have no age or gender distinction. He may have his reasons, but you are a living, breathing person. You feel pain and fear, so there’s no right or wrong answer to resentment. As you experience more and more things, you will find the answers yourself,” Lu Yangyang said.
"Will we find the answer when we grow up?" Xiu Niang asked.
Lu Yangyang laughed and ruffled her hair: "The day before you felt that living was no longer important, but now you feel that living is really good. Isn't that the answer? Experience is what makes you grow up, and the answer is what you find yourself."
"Has Sister found her answer yet?" Xiu Niang asked thoughtfully, her eyes shining as she looked at her.
Lu Yangyang winked at her: "You are the answer I found. When I went to rescue you, I wasn't really sure, but the moment I brought you down, when you said it was so good to be alive, tell me, isn't this the best answer?"
Xiu Niang heard her heart pounding like a drum.
For many, many years to come, she will never forget this moment, the luckiest moment of her life.
The word "answer" was something she was hearing for the first time, and it would become a lifelong exploration for her.
"Who's there!" Luo Jing, who was on patrol in the distance, shouted. Seeing Lu Yangyang, he hurriedly led his men over. Seeing that she was safe and sound, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"You've finally arrived. I asked around and everyone said you're alright. That's good, that's good."
He couldn't rest easy until he saw them. Just hearing their descriptions of yesterday's events made Luo Jing feel terrified.
Lu Yangyang hadn't expected so many unexpected situations yesterday. "I'm sorry to have worried Uncle Luo. This is Xiu Niang. Did things go smoothly on the mountain yesterday?"
Luo Jing nodded: "It went fairly smoothly... Yangyang, thank you."
Lu Yangyang: "Hmm?"
Lu Yangyang realized that Luo Jing had been away from the battlefield for so many years, and what he had dreamed of all this time was returning to lead troops into battle like before, not hiding in the mountains as some kind of chivalrous bandit. Lu Yangyang smiled knowingly, then suddenly slapped her forehead.
"Oh dear, my medicine is getting cold. Uncle Luo, you continue your patrol. I'm off!"