Chapter 10 The Lost Vessel of Life

After she left, my mother came over and stood beside me, then looked at me and said, "Xiaobei, do you think your mother is strange?"

"What do you think?" I replied, my head bowed.

"I thought you hadn't noticed, but now that you have, I'll tell you the truth." As she spoke, my mother took out the object hanging from her neck.

"What is this?" I asked, staring at the crimson jade pendant, which was emitting a dark mist as she revealed it. No matter how I looked at it, the thing felt sinister.

But my mother took it off and handed it to me. "Son, this is your mother's life. I'm entrusting it to you."

"What do you mean?" I didn't quite understand, nor did I want the pendant.

My mother insisted I take it. "Son, you must live well, carrying the hopes of your father and me."

"What about you two?" I hurriedly asked.

"Don't worry about us. We've made our own arrangements," she replied.

I shook my head, trying to return the pendant. "I don't want your and Dad's lifespan. You should live your own lives well."

"It's no use. We are already like this."

"Like what? What happened to you?" I looked at her, worried and frightened.

She sighed, then said, "We're living corpses now. We can't eat, nor can we stay in the sunlight for long."

As she spoke, my mother pulled up her sleeve to show me her arm.

Seeing her skin, seemingly burned by the sun, my eyes filled with tears, and I wanted to touch it out of concern.

But my mother stepped back, refusing to let me touch her. "Son, I've long wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you couldn't accept it. Now, it seems that the earth immortal didn't deceive us."

"Earth immortal? Him again? What exactly did he say to you? What did he do?" I couldn't control myself and shouted.

"Xiaobei, how can you speak to your mother like that?" Just as I was getting anxious, my father returned. Seeing how tightly he was wrapped up in the middle of summer, I knew he too feared the sun's burn.

"Father, Mother, please tell me everything that happened. I don't want to lose you like this." At last, my tears spilled over.

"Alright, I'll tell you everything. Don't cry, son!" My mother reached out to wipe my tears.

Seeing her agree, my father said nothing and went to shut the front door, perhaps worried someone might overhear. He called me to their bedroom.

Entering their room, I could tell no one had slept there for a long time, so I asked, "Where do you sleep at night?"

"Don't worry. I'll explain everything." She looked to my father. "Give the thing to our son. It's useless for us now."

My father took the pendant from his neck and handed it to me. "This matches your mother's. They fit together. Wear them combined around your neck from now on."

"I don't want it!" I declared outright.

"You must. It's useless to us now. Only you can wear it," my father insisted.

"Who gave these to you? Why did you do this?" I didn't want to get caught up in the question of whether to accept the pendants anymore.

My father sighed. "Back then, our family was doing alright, then a beggar came—actually, he was the earth immortal, disguising himself to see what we were like."

"So, was it him who said I wouldn't live past twenty?" I pressed.

My father told me it wasn't just him who had said that—even my grandfather, before I was born, had said so.

My grandfather died young, before my birth. How did he know I wouldn't live past twenty?

My father explained: my grandfather's grandfather, my great-great-grandfather, had, during a time of war, made a pact with a ghost, hoping to keep his family alive. The ghost agreed to protect three generations, so when my grandfather passed, the ghost's protection ended. Knowing this, my grandfather sought out the ghost again.

The ghost told him that surviving the war was done by borrowing the lives of future generations. So, after I was born, I had to inherit my ancestor's fate—wouldn't live past twenty. If my great-great-grandfather hadn't traded his lifespan, he'd have died before age twenty in the chaos, and without him, there would have been no grandfather, no father, and no me. This was fate's exchange, as my grandfather explained before he died.

After I was born, frail and often encountering spirits, my father sought many fortune-tellers, all of whom said I wouldn't live past twenty.

Then the earth immortal came, stayed with us for two months, and, seeing we treated him kindly despite his beggar's guise, told my parents in the third month about my fate. Since they already knew, they believed him.

Only the earth immortal said he could save me, so my parents agreed to whatever he asked.

He said saving me would change our family's fortune, but my parents, wanting me to live, cared nothing for consequences.

The earth immortal gave them the jade pendants—containers of lifespan. They wore them until their life force was drained, then would pass them to me so I could live on.

Hearing this, I was overwhelmed with sorrow. My parents had sacrificed so much for my sake.

In that moment, I threw myself into their arms, crying, "Father, Mother, I'm sorry. For me, you would sacrifice anything, leaving your son with debts he cannot repay."

"Silly child, what parent wouldn't do anything for their child? Having you is enough for us. Quickly, put them on," my father said, loosening his embrace and handing me the pendants.

Just as he was about to join the pendants, a sudden cold wind swept in, carrying a cloud of black mist.

Seeing this, I knew something was coming and prepared to fight.

But Tan Xiao appeared, blocking me, "Zhang Xiaobei, quickly put the pendants on. I'll handle—"

As she spoke, the black mist wrapped around her, lifting her into the air. She struggled, but she was no match for it, so I moved to help.

Just as I was about to intervene, the black mist split into two, snatching the two pendants from my father's hands and preparing to flee.

Seeing this, I chased after it, but as I stepped out the door, the two streams merged and vanished.

I stood at the doorway, frustrated, but as an ordinary person, I couldn't hope to catch it.

"Zhang Xiaobei, your parents…" I looked around anxiously as Tan Xiao, weakened, leaned against the door and spoke to me.

Seeing her soul flicker, I rushed over. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine. Hurry and check on your parents, they're fading fast!" Tan Xiao said, barely holding on.

"But you—" I began, worried as she crouched down.

She shook her head. "I'll recover soon. Go quickly." With that, she vanished.

I hurried back to my parents' bedroom, only to find them collapsed on the floor.

"Father, Mother, what's happening?" I knelt beside them.

"Son, your mother and I are out of time. Remember, you must retrieve the vessel of life. That's what we gave you—don't let it fall into others' hands. Also, take us to the cattle barn…" My father spoke with his last breath, then he and my mother left me forever.

"Father! Mother!" I screamed in agony, suddenly recalling that after death, souls linger near their bodies.

But where were their souls? Why couldn't I see them? I looked everywhere, then remembered how there was no spirit beside the woman's corpse that morning.

Could it be that my parents didn't die here? I searched my mother's body for the key, then ran to the cattle barn.

As I opened the door, darkness made me pause before I could see inside. I hadn't expected to find two coffins in the middle of the barn.

"Son, farewell!" Suddenly, I heard my mother's voice.

I turned quickly and saw my parents' spirits at the doorway. I wanted to rush to them, but they shook their heads, signaling me not to come closer.

"Mother…"

"Son, don't cry. Live well!" My mother smiled at me.

Crying, I shook my head, "No, I don't want you to leave!"

"Son, remember, you must find the vessel. Also, don't hold a funeral!" My father said.

"Why not?" I didn't understand.

"No reason. Your mother and I just don't want one. Also, the money we've saved these years is in our bedroom closet. It's not much, but enough to support you for a while."

"I understand, but if I don't hold a funeral, what if others ask?" I wiped my tears and asked.

My parents exchanged glances. "Ignore them. After you've buried us, leave the village. Don't come back if you can help it."

"But this is my home. If I don't return, where can I go?"

"Anywhere, just not here. It's time for us to go. Farewell, son!" With that, they both vanished before my eyes.

Watching them leave, I leaned painfully against the wall, gazing at the two coffins. It turned out they had prepared for this day long ago.

Both coffins sat in pits. All I had to do was place their bodies inside and cover them with earth.