Si Tong hugged my arm and pouted cutely, asking to climb onto Si Jiangchen's bed.
How could I bear to turn down such an adorable child?
Fortunately, Si Jiangchen had given me one of his own silk nightgowns. It was long and big, with a wide belt that covered all the hickeys on my body.
Si Tong let out a little cheer and dived onto the soft bed. He rolled around excitedly and buried his head in the pillow.
"Si Tong, where's your mom?"
I watched the little boy wriggling around like a worm and couldn't help but ask the question that had been on my mind.
"Mom's dead," Si Tong said, popping his head out from under the blanket. There was no trace of sadness in his big eyes. "She died when I was two."
"Did... your dad tell you that?"
Si Tong's mom's death wasn't a surprise to me.
"No, Dad and Mom died together," Si Tong said casually, tugging at the decorative lace on the corner of the pillow. "They died in a car accident. Their bodies were burned to a crisp..."
"Ah?!"
Hearing such a tragic death described by a child sent a chill down my spine. "Who told you that?"
"I did," a voice suddenly came from above me. Si Jiangchen's shadow loomed over me. "Si Tong, you're not allowed to sleep on my bed. Have you forgotten?"
I quickly looked up and saw Si Jiangchen's silhouette against the light. His lips were slightly pursed as he looked at Si Tong snuggled up next to me.
"But... but Sister Xiaohe can sleep here!"
Si Tong looked a bit aggrieved. His dark eyes peeked out from under the blanket as he whispered, "I want to play with Sister Xiaohe..."
"No," Si Jiangchen said firmly, lifting Si Tong out of the bed by the collar. "Go back to your hospital bed."
"Dad..."
Si Tong's lower lip trembled. He looked like he was about to cry.
"Hey, that's a bit too much! He's just a child!"
I thought Si Jiangchen's attitude towards Si Tong was way off!
This poor little kid had lost his parents. He must be so lonely and sad.
And yet Si Jiangchen wouldn't even let him get close... He was such a heartless jerk!
My words seemed to break the dam. Tears streamed down Si Tong's face.
He didn't cry like a normal kid, wailing and screaming. Instead, he bit his lips hard to hold back the sobs. It was heartbreaking to watch.
I considered myself someone who didn't like kids, but even I thought Si Jiangchen had gone too far!
"Crying won't solve anything," Si Jiangchen said coldly, pointing towards the door. "Go. Old Tang is waiting for you outside."
"I don't want to go," Si Tong said, looking at me with a pout. He looked like a stray puppy. "Sister Xiaohe..."
"Then don't go!"
I couldn't resist the pleading of such a weak little guy. I was about to get out of bed and grab Si Tong when Si Jiangchen suddenly picked me up by the waist.
"Old Tang, take Si Tong out for dinner," he said to the half-open door. His tone was cold and unyielding.
Old Tang's gentle voice came from the corridor outside. "Tongtong, come on. Tangtang has prepared your favorite egg yolk buns."
Si Tong looked at Si Jiangchen one more time. Seeing that his dad wasn't going to change his mind, he wiped away his tears and slowly shuffled out of the room.
Old Tang was waiting by the door. He picked up Si Tong and bowed slightly to us before closing the bedroom door.
"You've gone too far, Si Jiangchen!"
Watching Si Tong's lonely little figure disappear, I started to struggle. "How could you treat a child like that!"
"Xiaohe, how do you want me to treat him?"
Si Jiangchen's arms tightened around my waist. He pressed me back onto the bed. "Let him get close to me and risk being infected by me and turning into an undead zombie?"
His words stunned me.
Si Jiangchen seemed so human that I'd almost forgotten he was a zombie!
A terrifying being that could destroy a person's body and soul.
"I... I didn't mean that," I said, propping myself up on his chest. I didn't know how I felt at that moment.
I finally understood why Si Jiangchen didn't let Si Tong get close to me... Now that I was involved with Si Jiangchen, I didn't know if a normal person would turn into a zombie if they came into contact with my body fluids!
"So, Xiaohe, from now on, you're only allowed to be with me. Do you understand?!"
Si Jiangchen noticed my silence. He let out a low laugh and kissed my lips. After a long, passionate kiss, he pressed his forehead against mine and said, "Otherwise, anyone who tries to get close to you will die!"
My heart skipped a beat. My grandpa had said the same thing to me.
"I don't have to be with you," I said, looking into Si Jiangchen's eyes. I bit my lips hard. I remembered clearly what the White Impermanence had said to me and Lin Shuya.
The Great Heavenly Tribulation was coming. Lin Shuya and I were both substitutes, living people who were meant to take the tribulation for Si Jiangchen!
The Heavenly Tribulation was a punishment from the heavens. When a monster or a ghost had cultivated for a certain number of years, the heavens would send down thunderbolts to destroy their cultivation. If it was the Nine-Nine Great Heavenly Tribulation, the thunderbolts would be so powerful that they could destroy the body and soul of the cultivator!
I remembered a story my grandpa had told me about a giant python that had cultivated for a thousand years in Huangshan.
That python was a cruel and evil creature. Every time it moved, it would cause floods and destroy countless houses and fields. The local people suffered a great deal.
But it always managed to escape the Heavenly Tribulation. No one knew how it did it.
Until the once-in-a-thousand-year Nine-Nine Great Heavenly Tribulation. This was its last chance. If it succeeded, it would turn into a Heavenly Dragon and soar into the sky. But with its cruel nature, even if it became a real dragon, it would still bring great disaster to the world.
When the python was going through the Heavenly Tribulation, several Taoist masters were entrusted by the local people to kill it.
To their surprise, they discovered the python's shocking method of surviving the tribulation!
It used its own unborn child as a talisman to beg for mercy from the heavens.
In the end, it was either because of its evil deeds or because the heavens were tired of being deceived.
Before the thunderbolts descended, the python gave birth to its child... The moment the little python was born, the thunderbolts struck the python, reducing it to ashes!
That was the power of the Great Heavenly Tribulation. No matter how much you schemed, you couldn't escape the will of the heavens!
Si Jiangchen was a zombie who had lived for countless years. He had gone through the Heavenly Tribulation many times. He naturally knew how to deal with the trials from the heavens!