The Weight of Belief

In Blue Lake Village, there weren't many who held titles or degrees, but there were still those people everyone trusted when something went wrong.

Doctor Ling's full name was Ling Natong. He wasn't formally trained, nor did he hold a medical license, but for the villagers, he was good enough. He knew how to set bones, mix herbal remedies, and bring fevers down. That was all anyone here needed.

As for Ms. Yue, her real name was Yue Meixue.

Her life was the stuff of whispered stories and quiet glances.

Her parents had died young, and it was her uncle who arranged her marriage to a man from Blue Lake Village. In the first year of their marriage, both her parents-in-law died of illness—within months of each other. It was said many women in the village envied her luck.

But then came the second New Year's Eve.

Her husband, drunk and staggering, went to relieve himself outside. He slipped, fell into a pit toilet, and drowned. He left behind only a newborn daughter.

After that, people began to whisper.

"She brings misfortune."

It was hard enough to raise a child as a widow. Yue Meixue not only worked the fields but also picked up the old practice of fortune-telling. She didn't chase rumors—they chased her. And the more they spread, the more people believed her readings.

She stopped farming entirely in time, renting out her fields and surviving solely on the income from her fortune-telling. She even managed to find a son-in-law for her daughter, Gu Suqing.

But tragedy struck again.

In the second year of his marriage, the man collapsed from a heart attack while planting rice, falling face-first into the muddy paddy and dying instantly. Again, a newborn child was left behind.

It was then that people no longer whispered.

They believed.

Her fate—her family's fate—was sealed in their minds. Misfortune followed her like a shadow, and her business only grew from it. Even people from nearby villages came to consult her.

Now, she traveled wherever business called. Her daughter had bought a motorized tricycle from town, and whenever someone requested her services, Gu Suqing drove her there without question.

---

Back at the house, Mo Ring sat beside the unconscious Gu Chen, gently stroking his forehead, whispering his name over and over again.

"Chen… Chen, wake up, child…"

A little girl, her eyes wide with concern, peeked up at her. "Grandma, what happened to Brother Chen?"

Before Mo Ring could answer, a boy piped up from across the room. "I know! Brother Chen met a water monkey! It dragged him into the lake to make him a scapegoat!"

A sudden hush fell over the room.

The children's faces turned pale. Some took a step back in fear.

Smack!

A red mark bloomed on the boy's cheek.

Mo Ring glared at him. "Don't you speak nonsense in this house!"

The boy looked more surprised than hurt, but he didn't argue.

"Go outside. See if the people we sent for have arrived. Now!" she barked.

"Okay, okay! I'll go!" he yelped, grabbing his younger brother and rushing out the door.

Around the room were the sons and daughters of Mo Ring's and Gu Liang's sons, but Gu Chen—he was the child of their only daughter. Their precious grandson.

Turning to her eldest granddaughter, Gu Yuexue, Mo Ring said calmly but firmly, "Bring me a bowl of water. And a needle."

Gu Yuexue nodded and hurried to the kitchen.

Soon, she returned, placing the bowl of clean water on the low table beside her grandmother.

Mo Ring took the needle between her fingers, its silver tip catching the light.

There was an old custom here in Blue Lake Village. If someone in the family had fallen ill—fever, headache, or something unexplained—they would use a needle to "call back the spirit."

With a steady hand, she scratched the tip of the needle across Gu Chen's forehead and scalp several times. Then, she laid the needle flat in the bowl of water.

The room fell silent.

The children watched, wide-eyed, as the needle floated gently on the surface. A few drops of sweat trickled down Mo Ring's face, but she didn't move. Her lips murmured something quietly—prayers passed down from her own grandmother.