Immortality begins in Goose City

Chapter 31 The Strange Baby's Memories

Goose City is no better.

The only difference was that the shack was moved from the west side of the city to the east side, next to a stinking ditch.

The old woman still washes clothes for others, spending the whole day soaking in the icy river.

The two brothers went to the dock. Ah Bao was strong and could carry bags, but he was mentally challenged and became the object of the laborers' teasing and amusement.

"Idiot! Come here!" Sometimes the foreman would throw down two steamed buns, one the size of a fist and the other the size of an egg.

"Choose! Big or small?"

Abao stood there blankly, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

At this moment, he clumsily tugged at Abao's finger, pointing to the small steamed bun.

"Hahaha! What a silly goose!" Laughter erupted all around, as if the fatigue of the day had been dispelled in that instant.

He heard the laughter too, and in his naive heart, there was no humiliation, only a simple calculation:

If you choose the smaller ones, they'll find it fun again next time and will try to tease their older brother with the steamed buns. That way, the older brother can get several small steamed buns a day. Although each one is small, they add up to more than the big steamed bun.

He kept this discovery as a little secret for survival and told no one about it.

In the evening, Abao carried a few small steamed buns, slightly salty from being soaked in sweat, in his arms as if they were precious treasures, and walked back to his shack.

The old woman had already started a fire and was steaming several hard cornbread buns with coarse black flour mixed with wild vegetables.

Under the dim light of the oil lamp, they placed the warm steamed buns into Grandma's cracked hands.

Grandma would always start by scolding, "Silly child, don't you know how to eat!"

After scolding, he carefully broke the steamed bun into pieces and mixed it into the wild vegetable porridge.

That little bit of sweetness from the grain was the only light in my days.

His deepest desire was for cornbread.

The old woman said that steamed cornbread is golden yellow, smells delicious, and tastes even sweeter.

Unlike black face, which always has a sore throat and a bitter taste.

"Wait until the New Year." Grandma squinted, gazing out the drafty door as if she could see a glimmer of hope. "When the New Year comes, Grandma will definitely find a way to steam a pot of golden-yellow cornbread for you. It'll smell so good..."

"Chinese New Year" has become a distant, golden dream.

My dreams are filled with the sweet scent of corn.

The dream was brutally shattered halfway through.

That day, on their way back from carrying goods, the two brothers saw two men in short jackets chewing on cornbread and muttering something about how an old woman dared to hoard such cornmeal...

Ah Bao's mouth watered as he watched, but in the end he could only watch secretly.

But when they returned home, there was no light or smoke in the shack, only a figure huddled on the ground.

Grandma is now lying face down at the door, blood seeping from her forehead.

She was still alive, but her breath was very, very weak.

Hearing their footsteps, she struggled to open her cloudy eyes a crack, and when she saw them, a faint light suddenly shone within them.

She struggled, using her last bit of strength, her hands trembling as she reached into her bosom, rummaging and rummaging, until she finally pulled out a few golden fragments.

Those were crumbs from cornbread.

"Steamed corn bread..." Her voice was like a candle flickering in the wind, almost inaudible, "A birthday present for Abao...steamed corn bread...smells good..."

The last syllable dissipated into the cold air.

Her hand fell limply to her side, and the golden crumbs of the steamed bun rolled onto the dusty ground.

The two brothers stood frozen in place, the enormous void swallowing their simple thoughts.

Ah Bao could only gasp for breath, and he felt a chill he had never experienced before.

The strange baby thought about it for a long time and finally figured it out.

Grandma made cornbread to celebrate our birthdays.

That day was the day Grandma found him.

But those two men who appeared out of nowhere robbed her and pushed her over, causing her to hit her head and die...

"Hoh—!" A beastly growl escaped from A Bao's throat.

The strange baby remained silently inside A Bao's belly.

They didn't cry, and they wouldn't cry.

I just felt empty inside, and it felt emptier and colder than any hunger I had ever experienced before.

They dug a shallow pit behind the shack with their hands. There was no coffin, not even a tattered mat.

They put Grandma inside and covered her with soil.

The mound was small, and the wind quickly flattened the traces of it.

From then on, they "went crazy".

No more going to the docks, no more "elections" to decide who is who, the world has lost its last bit of color and sound.

They wandered aimlessly in the wilderness outside the city.

When they were extremely hungry, they would dig up tree roots, gnaw on grass, and drink dirty water from mud pits.

My stomach is always bloated and cramped, but that all-consuming hunger never disappears.

I've heard that there's a Dragon King in the Azure Pool, and that it's very powerful.

They went there, knelt by the deep, cold pool, and kowtowed repeatedly in hoarse voices, pleading:

"Please, Dragon King... bring Grandma... back to life..."

"Give us back our cornbread..."

The pool was silent, with only the rustling of the wind through the reeds, like endless mockery.

With their hopes dashed and their last bit of strength exhausted, they found a dead old tree, leaned against it, and sat down, ready to go find their grandmother, who had fragrant, golden cornbread.

Suddenly, a small section of the soil beneath them collapsed.

His thin body emerged from Abao's belly and discovered a hidden, downward-pointing opening.

Driven by his survival instinct, he crawled inside.

Dark, long, winding... At the end, there was a cold tomb, a tomb robber lying stiffly on the coffin, and a cloth bag containing some dry food as hard as stones.

With this food, they managed to survive for a while longer.

The tomb became their new home.

Unable to squeeze in, Ah Bao stood guard at the cave entrance, like a silent stone statue.

He then settled down there permanently.

Using the chisels left behind by tomb raiders, he silently dug into the side of the heavy sandalwood coffin, day after day.

Finally, they dug a small hole and crawled inside.

The abdomen of the female corpse inside the coffin was already decayed and hollow, emitting a strong smell of decay.

Strangely, when he crawled into the hole and curled up, he felt a long-lost, cold warmth and an unprecedented sense of security.

It felt like... I was back in that dark, cramped home, and I had a hug to lean on again.

After an unknown amount of time, deep within the woman's cold, stiff throat, he felt a bead the size of a pigeon's egg.

He pried it out and kept it close to his body.

Gradually, he noticed changes in his body.

Its fingernails turned black and hard, easily cracking wood and brick. It moved faster and faster, becoming as fast as a shadow, frightening even itself.

He and Po are connected by blood, and this change also affected his brother. Po became taller, his skin became rough like old tree bark, and his strength became astonishing.

They began to prey on wild rats, snakes, insects, and even small wild animals around the grave.

The raw meat was bloody and barely enough to fill our stomachs.

But the most tempting taste in my memory is never blood.

It was that golden, warm cornbread, carrying Grandma's last warmth and love.

Obsessions are like weeds, growing wildly in a frenzy.

They began to return to Goose Town, wandering around at night.

He was covered by clothes at the time and couldn't remember the exact appearance of those people, only that they were dressed in nice clothes and had an arrogant attitude.

And so, in Goose City, the Ripper appeared in the night.

Like ghosts, they pounced on those who looked similar, using their sharp claws to cut open warm bellies, frantically rummaging through the stench of blood and entrails...

"Steamed corn bread... Grandma's steamed corn bread..." they muttered softly, their eyes vacant and obsessive.

At the train station that time, there were so many people, and so many people wearing similar clothes.

They saw it, their eyes turned red, and they rushed forward without hesitation... disemboweling, cutting open, searching...

Then, they encountered a tough opponent.

With a flash of light, A Bao's head, with a bewildered expression, flew into the air.

Warm blood sprayed all over his face.

fear!

He was overwhelmed by boundless fear!

He abandoned his brother's headless corpse and fled back to the tomb at an unprecedented speed, crawling into the abdomen of the female corpse, trembling with fear.

This time, he remembered what that person looked like...

"Get stronger...I need to get stronger...to take revenge...and find that steamed bun..."

With this simple yet insane thought in mind, he sank into a restless sleep in the cold embrace, hoping that when he woke up next time, he would have the power to tear everything apart.

But before he could draw enough strength from his dream, a huge explosion destroyed his home.

The blinding flames and scorching heat dispelled the darkness and warmth.

He tried to escape, but amidst the chaotic light and dust, he saw that person...

The one who cut off his brother's head.

Hatred and fear intertwined.

He manipulated the recently deceased corpses, making them rise and pounce on the man, creating an opportunity for himself.

Closer... even closer!

The claws tore through the fabric and touched the flesh!

Then... a scalding liquid, with an indescribable burning sensation, sprayed onto his face and body!

"laugh--!"

It was like a red-hot branding iron being branded directly onto the soul!

That was an extreme fear and pain stemming from the instinct of life, a fear of the supreme and yang power!

He screamed and retreated, but was tightly entangled in the already spread, tough fishing net, which tightened the more he struggled.

In the very end, he saw the man's eyes.

In those eyes, there was anger, coldness, and murderous intent, but it seemed... there was something else he had never seen in anyone else's eyes before.

There was no pure disgust, no mocking ridicule, no greedy scrutiny...

That look in his eyes was unlike any other look he and his brother had ever encountered along their journey.

In my final moments of consciousness, there was no darkness, no coldness.

There was only a hazy, gradually brightening warmth, as if I had returned to that cramped home from the beginning. Grandma's kind smiling face was in front of me, holding a steaming winnowing basket filled with golden yellow filling.

My older brother, Abao, was right beside me with his honest smile, scratching his head, his drool glistening.

"grandmother……"

"This world is so bitter..."

"From now on... I can eat golden cornbread with my brother... right?"