Font Size:
It happened six years ago when the Eldest Daughter-in-law of the Lu family planned to take the young ladies and Little Lu Ming, to Guangji Temple for an offering. However, the night before, Lu Ying developed severe diarrhea from something she ate and couldn’t join them. Meanwhile, Mama Wang had to tend to Mr. Wang, who fell ill, in the countryside.
Left at home to care for the old lady, kind-hearted Mrs. Xiao Chen remarked, “Man is delicate, and without her personal attendant present, it’s best she stays.”
Young Lu Man had been looking forward to this day and burst into tears upon hearing she couldn’t go.
Feigning concern, Mrs. Xiao Chen added, “Alright, don’t cry, it’s annoying. If you want to play, you may.”
The Eldest Daughter-in-law, Mrs. Ding took the four children to Guangji Temple to pay respects to the Bodhisattva and enjoy a vegetarian meal. On the way back, however, an incident occurred.
As the carriage approached the foot of the mountain, Lu Yuan suddenly expressed a desire to play in the meadow filled with wildflowers. Lu Man, Lu Yuan, Lu Yu, Lu Ming, and the servants disembarked, frolicking and playing in the fields.
Suddenly, a small white rabbit hopped out from the grass, looking adorable. Lu Yuan, and Lu Yuan’s nursemaid chased after it, with young Lu Man eagerly joining the pursuit.
As they chased, Lu Man grew tired and eventually lay down on a rock to rest. When she awoke, the sky was filled with stars.
Standing up, surrounded by the twinkling stars, the rolling mountains, lush vegetation, and the sounds of insects and frogs, Lu Man realized she was not in the same place where she had fallen asleep. What’s more, there was no one around. Terrified, she cried out, “Mama Wang, Lu Ying, elder sister, waaah… I’m scared, waaah…”
Apart from the echoes of her own frightened voice reverberating in the valley, there was complete silence. Even the sounds of insects and frogs seemed to have been silenced by her cries.
Continuing to sob uncontrollably, not knowing which way to go, Lu Man cried for a long time. Realizing that crying wouldn’t help, she gathered her courage and walked towards a slightly sloping hill.
The stars shone like bright lanterns, lighting the path ahead.
After wandering for an unknown time, young Lu Man suddenly tripped over something and fell on it.
Initially mistaking it for a stone, she realized it was soft and, upon closer inspection, found it to be a dead person. Her scalp tingled, and she sat on the ground with eyes shut, crying loudly, “Dead person… dead person…”
To her surprise, the “dead person” spoke, “Who’s the dead person? Please look properly.”
Lu Man, still keeping her eyes closed, continued sobbing, “Ghost… ghost…”
Growing increasingly annoyed, the person retorted, “Who’s a ghost? I’m alive. Stop blabbering…”
Upon hearing him, Lu Man ceased crying and cautiously opened one eye to see the person sitting up. In the starlight, his disheveled hair hung down, which he shook back and tucked behind his ear. He appeared to be a handsome thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy, with a slightly dirty yet attractive face.
Realizing he was alive and didn’t seem like a bad person, Lu Man pleaded with a pout, “Big brother, can you take me home? My grandmother will give you lots of money to build a house so you won’t have to live outside.”
The young man stared at Lu Man with a grin, scoffing, “Chubby girl, my family has plenty of money, I don’t need your grandmother’s money to build a house. What a joke!” He then asked, “Why are you alone in the wilderness? Where is your family?”
Tears welled up in Lu Man’s eyes as she explained, “This afternoon, I was chasing a white rabbit. I chased and fell asleep. When I woke up, it was dark, and my family was gone. I kept walking and ended up here. Big brother, where are we?”
The young man replied, “I don’t know where we are, I’ve been running and running, not sure where I’m headed. I got tired and fell asleep here…” Tears welled up in his eyes as he murmured, “Soldier, my soldier, he had him killed…” He buried his head in his legs and wept.
Soldier? Lu Man assumed they were the young man’s guards. His family must indeed be wealthy.
As the young man continued to cry, Lu Man felt saddened by his distress. Tears streaming down her face, she comforted him, “Big brother, please don’t be sad. The dead cannot be brought back to life.”
Wiping away his tears, the young man raised his head and shared, “The dead can’t be brought back. My birth mother died after giving birth to my siblings, who were only ten days old when she passed away… They’re only four months old now.” With a sigh, he wiped his tears and gazed at the starry sky, whispering to himself, “For my siblings, I have to survive in that household. I promised my birth mother to watch them grow, nurture them, and ensure they have a good life. Before she passed away, she held my hand and made me promise to look after them. I agreed, and only then did she close her eyes.”
As he continued, his voice choked up again.
Lu Man innocently remarked, “You’re stronger than me, having siblings. My brothers and sisters are distant from me, we’re not close at all. And, oh, I can’t even remember what my mother looks like. Although she’s not dead, I never see her…” As she spoke, she also grew upset, pursing her lips, on the verge of tears.
Listening to her, the young man held back his tears and comforted her, “She’s not dead, so you’ll have a chance to see her in the future. When you grow up, you can find a way to locate her.”
Lu Man felt relieved by his words and said, “Big brother, my father called me Manman, so you can call me Manman too. And what’s your name?”
The young man continued gazing at the sky and replied, “My surname is Jiang.”
“Oh, you’re Brother Jiang.” Lu Man acknowledged warmly, adding, “Brother Jiang, how do we get out? I’m scared. I want to go home.”
Puzzled, the young man responded, “I don’t know.” He then asked, “Where did you and your family go during the day?”
Lu Man explained, “We went to Guangji Temple to offer incense. We got off at the foot of the mountain, I chased a rabbit, got tired, fell asleep, and woke up here. And why does this place not look like where I slept?”
Not noticing her last remark, the young man lit up at the mention of Guangji Temple. He smiled slightly and suggested, “That’s easy. We’re probably not far from Guangji Temple. It’s a popular place, and they’ll be cooking meals. By tomorrow morning, you might see smoke rising into the sky. Once we find Guangji Temple, we’ll find our way home. Let’s not wander aimlessly now. If we get lost in the deep mountains, it’ll be even harder to find our way out, and there might be wild animals.”
Hearing about wild animals, Lu Man grew scared, pouting and saying, “Are there wild animals here? Tigers and wild boars eat people. Brother Jiang, I’m scared.”