Chapter 39

Chapter 39: The Problem Erupts

This had to be a brain hemorrhage.

Or maybe she’d drunk fifty jin of industrial alcohol.

In the fog of unconsciousness, Hu Qing decided she didn’t want to wake up. Not ever.

In her mind, one gigantic line of words looped over and over:

Decades of hard work—back to square one in a single day.

Outside, another line looped just as relentlessly.

“Mom, mom, mom…”

Once, that single word could make her drop everything and run.

Now she’d leap into fire for any other reason, just to avoid hearing it.

She rolled over, and her hip joint screamed in protest.

These monks—who built beds out of stone and didn’t even lay bedding? Were they afraid of living too comfortably?

And this daughter—watching her old mother lie on cold stone without lifting a finger. What was the point of raising her?

Fine. Let her die of heartbreak.

Hu Nuan sat at the edge of the bed. Her little short arms couldn’t reach Hu Qing properly anymore, so she scooted closer, twisted, and braced both hands on Hu Qing’s thigh, shaking earnestly.

“Mom… do you not want me anymore?”

Her hands were so small. The strength was so small.

Hu Qing wanted to die again, just a little.

She groaned, “Let your mom have some peace for a moment.”

Hu Nuan blinked up at her. “But this is a Buddhist sect. Isn’t mom peaceful enough here?”

Buddhist sect.

Hu Qing shot upright so fast Hu Nuan slipped sideways, nearly tumbling off the stone bed. Hu Qing’s reflexes kicked in and she snatched her back with one hand.

“Hu Little Nuan!” Hu Qing thundered. “Have I told you or not—no going to a Buddhist sect! No playing with monks! No running around! Did you listen? Did you listen? Did you take it to heart?”

She held Hu Nuan steady with her left hand, raised her right—

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Three sharp slaps landed on Hu Nuan’s bouncy little butt.

Hu Nuan let out a howl and burst into tears.

“Don’t cry!” Hu Qing snapped. “Don’t you dare pretend to be a child! You grew up long ago—shut it!”

The wailing and roaring rolled out of the room.

Outside, an entire crowd went painfully stiff.

Wait… she just hit the child like that?

At least let the child explain first!

And several monks—everyone except Shui Xin—looked faintly offended on principle. Why wasn’t she allowed to play with them? Reciting scriptures was joyful.

Inside, Hu Nuan sobbed, “You hit me! You said I’d always be your child!”

That hit a nerve.

Hu Qing’s temper flared so hard it felt like her hair might combust. “You will always be my child—but you grew up! You grew up! Can you stop making me worry for one single day? Huh?”

Hu Nuan’s tears ran faster. “I didn’t want to become like this! If I’m like this, do you stop loving me? You said I was the cutest, the prettiest—you said I was your favorite!”

Hu Qing’s voice rose. “Don’t talk like a little child!”

“I am a child!”

“You grew up!”

“I shrank again—waaaah!”

Hu Nuan’s crying turned into a flood. Hu Qing’s anger rose higher and higher.

So what, her body shrank and her mind shrank too? She was getting addicted to baby-talk?

Today, Hu Qing swore, she was straightening this crooked little tree back into shape.

Outside, Hu Hua Hua’s face had gone white. He held hands with Hu Zhu Zhu—who was now just as short as he was—and whispered in horror, “My mom… thank goodness I didn’t go in. Sis… you have to hold on.”

Inside, Hu Nuan suddenly screamed, “You don’t love me! You don’t love me! Aaaah—!”

Qiao Yu’s face changed instantly.

Not good.

He lunged toward the door.

Boom!

A line of thick-stone rooms erupted as if struck by lightning. Blocks of rock exploded outward. At the same time, sharp ice spikes and massive chunks of ice fell from above like a mountain flood. In moments, the courtyard drowned beneath a blizzard of power.

Ice rime flower exploded into existence in savage clusters—beautiful, deadly—spreading like wildfire.

A snow mountain crowned with blooming ice flowers pressed down as if the world itself had decided to crush the place.

The surge forced everyone back, spiritual shields snapping open one after another. When they finally reached a safe distance, they could only stare.

Qiao Yu shouted, “Hu Nuan! Hu Qing—calm down!”

It was obvious Hu Nuan’s mind had slipped.

But the key was Hu Qing.

Under the ice and snow, Hu Qing was frozen too—not by cold, but by realization.

This wasn’t random.

Hu Nuan’s heart-state problem hadn’t been resolved.

It had erupted.

Juan Bu’s voice shook. “What… what happened? How did she suddenly—”

Hu Nuan sat limp in Hu Qing’s arms, pressed against her forearm, panting hard. Her eyes were unfocused, her cheeks fever-flushed, her whole body trembling with spent strength.

Hu Qing tightened her hold until Hu Nuan could feel her heartbeat.

“I love you,” Hu Qing said, voice rough. “I’ll always love you.”

She said it again. And again.

Her hand stroked Hu Nuan’s head and back, over and over. She rubbed Hu Nuan’s arms and legs in steady passes, grounding her. When Hu Nuan’s breathing finally began to smooth, Hu Qing lifted her up in front of her face.

Too small. So small.

“Look at me,” Hu Qing said.

Hu Nuan’s tears slid down her cheeks as she looked.

Hu Qing stared into her eyes—deep, steady, unflinching—and spoke slowly, clearly, like she was carving the words into stone.

“Didn’t mom tell you? Mom will always love you. Even when mom is angry. Even when mom spanks your butt. That’s still love, isn’t it?”

Thank goodness the people outside couldn’t hear. If they could, they’d all be rolling their eyes at her for sweet-talking a child.

“Everyone has moments when emotions break,” Hu Qing continued. “But our love doesn’t change. Right?”

She took Hu Nuan’s tiny hand and pressed it to her own chest.

She’d raised a child carefully—carefully, as an unmarried older young woman who had never planned on motherhood. But she didn’t believe in treating a child like fragile glass. A little frustration didn’t kill anyone. Sometimes it made you stronger.

And more selfishly—no one was perfect. No one controlled emotions flawlessly. Not her. Not Hu Nuan. What happened when they fought? What happened when they got angry and went cold?

First rule: the love was certain.

As long as that held, everything else could be solved.

Hu Qing had drilled that into Hu Nuan early, back when Hu Nuan couldn’t even understand the meaning. Again and again, like a protective charm.

Hu Nuan had remembered.

Now, even in this fragile state, she still believed.

“Then… why did you ignore me?” Hu Nuan sobbed, voice thin.

Hu Qing’s shoulders loosened. Good. She was speaking again.

Hu Qing took a careful breath and pretended no one else existed, no ice mountain, no shattered rooms—only mother and daughter.

“If mom suddenly turned into a little child and appeared in front of you,” Hu Qing asked gently, “could you accept it?”

Hu Nuan answered without hesitation. “Yes. Then I’d be mom. I’d raise mom.”

Hu Qing’s mouth twitched.

Thanks so much.

“But mom got scared,” Hu Qing said, keeping her voice steady. “No one warned mom. You suddenly became a little child again. Mom was shocked. Mom couldn’t accept it right away.”

She tapped Hu Nuan’s forehead lightly. “Mom has never seen someone grow backward. Have you?”

Hu Nuan blinked, dazed. “No.”

“Then can you understand mom?” Hu Qing’s voice softened further. “Mom never said she didn’t love you. Mom is right here. Mom is holding you. How could you say mom doesn’t love you? Mom would be hurt.”

As she spoke, she watched Hu Nuan carefully, testing the edge of calm, probing for stability.

Hu Nuan’s lashes trembled. “I… I scared mom.”

Hu Qing exhaled. Good. Blame shifted off the cliff.

“Then we’re not crying anymore?” Hu Qing coaxed.

Hu Nuan’s mouth wobbled and she cried again. “But you ignored me.”

Hu Qing swallowed the spike of guilt and forced her tone soft. “My fault. It’s all mom’s fault. Mom shouldn’t have ignored you.”

She pressed her forehead to Hu Nuan’s. “Mom promises. From now on, mom won’t do that again.”

It took a long time.

But finally Hu Nuan’s sobs eased, leaving only hiccuping breaths. Hu Qing felt like her heart had been wrung out.

“All right,” Hu Qing murmured. “Now tell me what happened to you.”

She shifted Hu Nuan so she could check her properly. “You talk. Mom will examine you.”

Gentle spiritual power slid into Hu Nuan’s back. Hu Nuan relaxed against her, no resistance, trusting.

Hu Nuan sniffled and began, voice soft. “On the second day after you left, Mom, my friends and I went out to play. Master and the others wouldn’t let us go. They said…”

Hu Qing’s eyelid twitched.

Starting from that day?

This was going to be a long story.