Shackles of Humanity

As they rode, Luo Kai suddenly slowed down and said softly, ”Let me tell you a story.”

Lu Qing didn’t say anything, grumbling to herself. ’Who wants to hear a story from you? What kind of good story could a crude guy like you possibly have!’

”Once upon a time... no, a long, long time ago, there was a young man who was an excellent student. He was hired as a teacher at his university right after graduation and even won the heart of the prettiest girl in school. His life should have been perfect. But human society always revolves around the struggle for money and power. He gradually grew dissatisfied with his simple life and began to chase after wealth and status...”

At first, Lu Qing was determined not to listen to his stupid story, but as she listened, she sensed a hint of sadness in Luo Kai’s words and quieted down to hear the rest.

But just then, Luo Kai suddenly stopped, as if lost in a memory.

Lu Qing couldn’t help but ask, ”Keep going. Did he turn into a bad person later on?”

Luo Kai snapped out of it and nodded bitterly. ”Yeah. He became a very bad person, obsessed with climbing the ladder. He even had several mistresses on the side.”

”What about his original girlfriend?”

”They had already gotten married. His wife had even given him a lovely little daughter.”

Lu Qing suddenly pinched his waist and said viciously, ”You men really are all scum!”

When they reached Granny Hua’s small courtyard, a gray, furry shadow shot out the moment they pushed open the gate. It perched on Lu Qing’s shoulder and bared its teeth at Luo Kai relentlessly. It was the Blood Monkey. The only difference was that its red fur was now gray, making it look like an ordinary monkey. It had clearly been dyed.

The little guy had forgotten its savior in the blink of an eye and even dared to snarl at him. Luo Kai viciously raised his fist in a threatening gesture. The frightened Blood Monkey scrambled down from Lu Qing’s shoulder and hastily scurried into the house.

Lu Qing glared at him. ”Why did you scare Little Gray!”

It seemed Lu Qing had no idea what had happened that day. Luo Kai spread his hands innocently. ”It bared its teeth at me first.”

Granny Hua stood in the courtyard, watching them with a loving expression. ”Qing’er, quickly, invite our guest inside to sit.”

Lu Qing huffed and stormed into the house first, ignoring Luo Kai.

Granny Hua said with a helpless sigh, ”I’ve spoiled that girl. Come in and sit.”

Luo Kai first looked at the purple flower. Even though light snow was falling, the purple flower was still in full bloom. It seemed to sense Luo Kai’s arrival, its pistil and stamens turning slightly to face him as it bloomed.

Inside the house, Granny Hua brewed a cup of flower tea, its fragrance filling the air. Luo Kai took a sip and felt his entire being suffused with the floral scent; even his pores seemed to be emitting the aroma. He couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, ”What kind of tea is this? It smells amazing!”

Granny Hua smiled. ”It’s made from the fallen petals of Zilan. If you like it, you can come visit me more often.”

Luo Kai truly loved the fragrance and said with a smile, ”Granny, don’t be so stingy. Why don’t you just give me some?”

But Granny Hua shook her head. ”Zilan likes you very much, which is why it specially shed these few petals. If you want to drink this tea, you can only come here.”

Luo Kai couldn’t help but point outside, somewhat dumbfounded. ”Granny, what do you mean? It... it likes me?”

”Yes, young man. Don’t underestimate the intelligence of plants. They just can’t express themselves.”

Luo Kai stood up and walked to the window, gazing at the beautiful flower. ’It seems that in this world, it’s not just animals that possess great intelligence; plants have also gained sentience.’

Granny Hua followed him to the window and said softly, ”Zilan blooms once a year and bears fruit once a year. One of its years is equivalent to one hundred human years. It has just reached the time to bear fruit, but it’s lacking a certain factor, so it has been unable to do so.”

”What factor?” Luo Kai asked, puzzled.

Granny Hua’s expression turned grave. ”Plants are also divided into male and female. It is lacking a male factor.”

”Hmm... Does that mean we need to find one of its own kind?”

Granny Hua shook her head. ”Zilan has no kin. Even if it did, they would likely be in the inland mountains, which are a restricted zone for humans.”

”Then what can we do? Wait for the next hundred years?”

Granny Hua sighed. ”Zilan can only extend its life by bearing fruit. If it fails to bear fruit for too long, its life will gradually burn out.”

Luo Kai couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity. If it were an ordinary plant, he certainly wouldn’t care, but a sentient plant was different. After a moment’s thought, he asked, ”Granny, you must have a solution, right?”

Granny Hua looked at him intently and said softly, ”The solution is inheritance. Back then, my master passed Zilan on to me. Now, I must also pass Zilan on to someone else. This isn’t just an inheritance in the traditional sense; it’s a passing on of life itself.”

From Granny Hua’s gaze, Luo Kai realized something and pointed at himself in surprise. ”Granny, you mean...?”

”That’s right. You are the one I’ve been looking for.”

Luo Kai rubbed his hands together. This was all a bit bizarre. He pointed at Lu Qing, who was eavesdropping from the doorway of the inner room. ”Qing’er is your granddaughter. Can’t you pass it on to her?”

Granny Hua turned to look, her eyes filled with affection. ”Lone Yin cannot grow, and lone Yang cannot give life. For Zilan to bear fruit, Yin and Yang must complement each other. Qing’er cannot do it alone.”

Luo Kai scratched his head. Talking to this old woman was like trying to solve riddles. ”Granny, just tell me directly what you need me to do. Saving a person or saving a flower, it’s all the same to me.”

Granny Hua smiled. ”I hope that you will help me take good care of Qing’er in the future. The girl has had a pitiful life; her parents haven’t been around since she was little.”

The words had barely left her mouth when Lu Qing rushed out, shouting, ”Granny, what are you doing? Who... who needs this jerk to take care of them!”

Luo Kai was completely confused now. ’What is even going on?’ They were just talking about how to save the flower, and now it was about Lu Qing. He quickly waved his hands. ”Granny, Lu Qing is an adult. She has the right to pursue her own happiness. I’m... I’m used to a carefree life, I’m not a good fit. Besides, what I promised you was to help save the flower.”

This made Lu Qing even angrier. She was naturally beautiful and used to being the center of attention. ’From the sound of it, you wouldn’t even want a perfectly innocent young woman like me if I were offered to you!’ Humiliated and furious, her eyes reddened as she stared hatefully at Luo Kai. ”Who needs you to take care of them! Get out! You’re not welcome in my house.” She stepped forward and began to push him, trying to shove him out.

Luo Kai had been wanting to escape for a while now, so he used the momentum of her push to head out.

Granny Hua didn’t try to stop them. She followed them into the small courtyard and called out a strange question to Luo Kai’s retreating back: ”Young man, do you believe in fate?”

Luo Kai had already reached the courtyard gate. His steps came to an abrupt halt, and he couldn’t help but turn back.

Granny Hua walked over slowly and said to Lu Qing, ”Qing’er, go back inside.”

Lu Qing shot Luo Kai a venomous glare before turning and going back into the house.

Granny Hua walked up to Luo Kai and whispered in his ear, ”Haven’t you realized? Zilan is Qing’er, and Qing’er is Zilan!”

Luo Kai looked as if he’d been struck by lightning. He asked in horror, ”Granny, what do you mean?”

Granny Hua’s murky eyes looked up at the sky. She sighed. ”When Qing’er was born, she was injected with Zilan’s genes. At the same time, Zilan also possesses Qing’er’s genes. This is the inheritance I spoke of. In modern terms, they are two parts of a single whole, or you could call it genetic entanglement. Any psychological change in one is reflected in the other. Zilan had a favorable impression of you from the start, and now it likes you so much. That means that deep down inside, Qing’er likes you very much too.”

Luo Kai still hadn’t recovered from the shock when Granny Hua’s next words startled him even more.

”And the only way to make Zilan bear fruit is for you and Qing’er to unite!”

”Granny, I can’t. I really can’t. G-goodbye.” After stammering this out, Luo Kai turned and ran. In his terror, he pushed his heartbeat to its limit and vanished in a flash.

Granny Hua watched Luo Kai’s figure fleeing in a blind panic, a faint smile appearing on her wrinkled old face. She was extremely confident in her granddaughter’s beauty and didn’t believe any man in the world could refuse such a temptation. In fact, Luo Kai’s initial refusal had only increased her favorable impression of this potential grandson-in-law.