Chapter 2 The Most Pleasant Sound

Ruo Xuan's childlike voice fell, and the whole yard went silent, even the chirping of insects and birds ceased.

Madam Zhao's mouth hung open, scared into forgetting how to wail.

How did this fool know there was no baby in her belly?

Old Lady Lei's body stiffened, her face filled with disbelief as she looked down at the child in her arms.

Had she just heard a child's voice, was it Xuanbao who spoke?

The only child in the yard was Xuanbao, wasn't it her?

Could her Xuanbao speak now?

Madam Liu also looked at her daughter, her face filled with disbelief; her heart jumped as her lips trembled slightly. She rubbed her ears and asked cautiously, "Xuanbao, did you... speak just now?"

Had she heard it wrong?

Xuanbao had spoken just now!

And she even called out 'Mother'!

Was it a hallucination?

Thinking that Madam Liu hadn't heard her clearly, Ruo Xuan repeated, "Mother, why would she have 'pregnancy reactions' when there's no baby in her belly?"

Madam Liu shed tears.

It was true, Xuanbao could speak!

Old Lady Lei's eyes reddened.

Ah! Her Xuanbao spoke, her words crisp and her voice tender, too sweet, too lovely!

Madam Zhao was scared out of her wits, yelling loudly, "Xuanbao, what nonsense are you talking! What does a three-year-old child know? The doctor in town said I was carrying a sister in my belly!"

Madam Zhao intentionally said it was a sister because she knew that Old Lady Lei had six sons and four grandsons; the Ruo Family hadn't had a girl in generations, which was why they treasured Xuanbao, a simple-minded child, like a gem!

But no one paid attention to her words.

Or to say, whether there was a baby in her belly wasn't important at all!

What mattered now was that Xuanbao could speak!

Both were completely immersed in the joy of Xuanbao's newfound ability to speak.

Over three years! They had hoped for three years!

With tears streaming down her face, Madam Liu said excitedly to Old Lady Lei, "Mother, Xuanbao can speak! Xuanbao called me 'Mother'!"

Old Lady Lei nodded vigorously, "I heard it, I heard it!"

Wiping away her tears, she coaxed softly, "Xuanbao, I am your grandmother, call out 'Grandma'."

"Grandma," Ruo Xuan obediently called out.

"Good, Xuanbao is good! Xuanbao is amazing, she can call 'Grandma'! Hehe... Xuanbao can call 'Grandma'... Wah wah..." Old Lady Lei cried and laughed at the same time.

"Xuanbao, could you call out 'Mother' once again?"

"Mother," Ruo Xuan sweetly called out tirelessly.

She knew that they were her grandmother and mother in her previous life.

Her memories were filled with their care for this body.

She not only had a mother and a grandmother, but she also had a father, five uncles, and four brothers - all of whom were kind to her, often talking and playing with her.

How wonderful!

This life, she wasn't a lone flower anymore.

"Wha wha..." Madam Liu and Old Lady Lei couldn't help but embrace Xuanbao together, sobbing in a huddle!

Ruo Xuan, almost unable to breathe in their grasp: "..."

Madam Zhao was shocked too – how could this simple-minded child suddenly speak?

However, if she knew about the pretense of her being pregnant, it would have been better if she just remained mute, a fool!

At that moment, the men of the Ruo Family returned from the fields, only to find the three of them crying and hugging, which startled them.

Ruo Shui, seeing his mother and wife hugging their daughter and sobbing, had his heart miss a beat, and panic crossed his face, "What happened? Mother, what's wrong?"

The others were terrified too, asking what had happened.

Seeing that her husband had returned, Madam Zhao, scared and feeling guilty, took the opportunity to sneak back into the house.

She feared that Ruo Xuan would again mention the lack of a baby in her belly, raising Ruo He's suspicions, knowing nothing had happened and that he might divorce her.

Madam Liu and Old Lady Lei, seeing the men had returned, hastily wiped away their tears.

Old Lady Lei joyfully told everyone, "Xuanbao can speak! She just called out 'Grandma'!"

Madam Liu said excitedly, "Husband, Xuanbao can speak! Xuanbao, your father has returned, quickly call 'Father'!"

"Father," Ruo Xuan obediently called out.

That "Father" was like thunder from clear skies, exploding into bloom in the small courtyard of the Ruo Family!

The explosion left Ruo Shui, a man of over six feet tall, suddenly in tears, standing motionless, not knowing what to do, his mind filled with one thought: Xuanbao can speak! Xuanbao can call 'Father'!!

After Ruo Xuan called out, she rubbed her eyes; she thought she saw a dark cloud envelop her father, but it disappeared in an instant, and she suspected she had seen it wrong.

"Xuanbao called me brother! Xuanbao called me brother!" The little boy jumped up, overjoyed.

"Xuanbao, I am your eldest brother! Ruo Zhou, your eldest brother! Call 'Eldest brother'! I'll fetch you bird eggs!"

"Xuanbao, Second Uncle, call 'Second Uncle'..."

"Xuanbao, Second Uncle's wife..."

"Third Uncle! Xuanbao, call 'Third Uncle'..."

"Xuanbao, Second Brother..."

...

The family members competed with each other to have Xuanbao call them.

Old Lady Lei had a total of six sons, named Ruo Hai, Ruo Jiang, Ruo He, Ruo Shui, Ruo Shan, and Ruo Chuan.

At that moment, only the second son's family, the third, the fourth, the sixth, and four grandsons were present.

Ruo Xuan obediently called them one by one, "Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Third Uncle, Sixth Uncle, Eldest Brother..."

Sound after sound, crisp and melodious, like the music of the heavens!

The Ruo Family turned their heads to secretly wipe away tears.

It was too beautiful to hear!

This was the most moving sound in the world, bar none.

For this call, they had waited for more than three years, a full thousand days and nights.

They had finally waited!

They wanted to see who would dare call their Xuanbao an idiot again!

At the moment, they thought that Xuanbao being able to speak was the biggest surprise, but they didn't expect that there were even more surprises to come.

At dinner time, Xuanbao could eat by himself.

During bath time, Xuanbao wanted to wash himself.

After bathing, Xuanbao dressed himself and came out.

Xuanbao could not only talk, eat, and bathe by himself, but he could also walk!

So many surprises made the Ruo Family feel a bit incredulous, as if they were dreaming.

The night had grown deep, and the whole village was asleep.

Ruo Shui and his wife held each other and silently shed tears, out of joy and also because of the past hardships and heartaches.

They dared not sleep, fearing that waking up would reveal it all to be a dream.

Ruo Xuan's soul had just recovered and he was in a child's body, tired and already asleep.

Ruo Shui asked Mrs. Liu how Xuanbao could suddenly speak; with so many surprises that evening, he kept forgetting to ask.

"I don't know either, I went with my mother to deliver firewood to the village chief, leaving only Xuanbao at home. When we came back, we saw Xuanbao… but I had chased them away!" Mrs. Liu detailed the events that had transpired.

Thinking back to the blackened face and the bruises on Xuanbao's body, she wished she could beat up Zhao's wife again.

"Good beating!" Ruo Shui felt his heart wrench, clenching his fists. Was Zhao's wife even human?

Ruo Shui wanted to check Xuanbao's injuries, although his wife had already applied medicine, he was not at ease. It was too dark around to see clearly, so he could only check his daughter's breathing: there was breath.

Only then did he relax.

If she hadn't been carrying his brother's child, if he wasn't the kind to not hit women, he would have wanted to rise and beat her again!

But he couldn't beat her, she wouldn't have it easy either!

She had nearly killed his daughter, so she would not remain in the Ruo Family!

Mrs. Liu thought of something and said, "Do you think Xuanbao's soul woke up because she choked?"

They had taken Xuanbao to many doctors before, and those doctors all said she was naturally foolish, with no cure.

They didn't believe that and never gave up; how could Xuanbao, so well-behaved, be foolish?

Later, a wandering monk said that Xuanbao was not foolish, but her soul had not yet awakened. Once awake, she would be a normal person.

But even the monk didn't know when her soul would awaken, only that it could happen at any moment or perhaps never at all.

However, they firmly believed that Xuanbao would one day awake.

Ruo Shui believed in fate for the first time: "The heavens have blessed us, Xuanbao has finally awakened!"

Mrs. Liu also felt it was right: "Husband, I want to find an auspicious day to repay our vows at the temple."

"Good." Ruo Shui wanted to ask if the first words Xuanbao said were calling for mom, and what else she said.

At this moment, Ruo Xuan turned over.

He immediately hushed.

Fearful of waking the child, they dared not speak or move and gradually fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, Ruo Xuan woke up hungry, her stomach growling.

The previous night's dinner had been just a big pot of wild vegetable soup; usually, in the evening, she could eat a bowl of egg custard and drink a bowl of vegetable soup.

In the entire Ruo Family, only she had such treatment, but that bowl of egg custard was eaten by Zhao's wife.

Ruo Xuan knew from her memories that it was because the family was too poor, with no silver to buy grain, and could not afford to eat.

The reason was that her eldest uncle had been bitten by a dog in the army camp, contracted rabies, and bit others, for which they had to pay a lot of silver in compensation.

Her second uncle had gone to the county town for exams, fell off a mountain in the dark, broke his leg, and spent a lot of silver on his treatment.

Her third uncle had an eye disease that prevented him from seeing at night, and numerous doctors couldn't cure it.

Because she didn't cry or fuss after birth, didn't talk or walk at three years old, her parents spent a lot of silver taking her to doctors.

The silver earned by the family wasn't enough for their medical expenses, so they grew poorer and poorer.

Ruo Xuan felt from the look on her family's faces that the Ruo Family shouldn't be like this.

It must be because of that clump of dark energy.

Dark clouds above one's head meant being plagued by bad luck, but where did this misfortune come from?

She was too hungry and without spiritual power, temporarily unable to find the cause.

As a Xuancao Flower that could grow just by absorbing sunlight and dew, it was the first time she grasped the feeling of hunger, slightly uncomfortable.

Rou Xuan thought about cultivation, which wouldn't make her feel hungry!

And through cultivation, she could obtain Spiritual Power!

Ruo Xuan immediately began to cultivate, only to find tragically that the spiritual energy here was too thin! So thin that it was almost non-existent!

Moreover, the Dantian in her body was like being sealed in ice, unable to store any spiritual energy.

She glanced at the moonlight spilling in from the small window.

Luckily, being a flower, she could absorb the essence of the sun and moon to cultivate.

She quietly lay under the moonlight, then desperately dug in her tiny Dantian!

Dug a hole to store spiritual energy.

It was almost dawn by the time she dug a tiny hole, storing just a little spiritual energy, barely enough to cast a minor spell.

Her stomach was still a bit hungry, and she wanted to eat something.

Ruo Xuan thought of the unripe persimmons hanging on the tree in the yard and the old hen that no longer laid eggs.