C5 Will Never End!

The following day, a relentless drizzle fell from the sky. With her vacation at an end, Luh Xiaoya braved the rain to catch a ride back to Yanjing.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaolong, who aspired to be a champion farmer, found himself being chased around the yard by his father, Zhang Daniu, wielding a broomstick.

"Enough already! You're both drenched. What if you catch a cold? Give me some peace of mind, will you?" Liu Mei, watching the father-son duo, carried two steaming bowls of soup into the house with a sigh.

"You little rascal, have some soup before I give you a thrashing!" Zhang Daniu, feeling the chill himself and worried his son might be colder, grumbled as he headed back inside.

"Dare to lay a hand on him after he's just come around? If you so much as think about hurting Xiaolong, I'll have your hide!" Liu Mei, fuming, snatched the soup bowl back. "Expecting me to serve you soup after you hit my son? Make your own if you're so capable."

"Have you lost your mind?" Zhang Daniu, infuriated, slammed his hand on the table and bellowed.

"So what if I have? What are you going to do about it?" Liu Mei stood her ground, not giving an inch.

Realizing his usual tactics were futile, Zhang Daniu softened, muttering, "Fine, have it your way. It's not like it hasn't happened before. Happy now?"

Liu Mei couldn't help but laugh, quickly sliding the bowl of soup back towards Zhang Xiaolong. "Come inside, Xiaolong. Your dad won't dare touch you, or he'll answer to me!"

Zhang Daniu, on the verge of losing his temper, caught Liu Mei's stern look and cleared his throat, ducking his head into his soup bowl.

The couple had been overjoyed these past few days. Their son was awake, and Luh Xiaoya had impressed them greatly. The only sore point was Zhang Xiaolong's refusal to return to school, adamant about becoming a farming prodigy. This had infuriated Zhang Daniu, leading to the earlier commotion.

Seeing his father had quieted down, Zhang Xiaolong reluctantly returned to his room and accepted the bowl of hot soup his mother handed him, taking a couple of sips.

"Xiaolong, why won't you go back to school? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?" Liu Mei watched her son drink his soup with affection and inquired with caution, "If something's wrong, we can go to the hospital for a checkup. Don't worry about the cost; we have plenty of money at home."

"I..." Zhang Xiaolong realized he needed a plausible excuse. A quick thinker, he soon had an idea, "Actually, I am feeling a bit off. I saw a doctor the other day who said it was due to excessive mental strain, leading to weakened brain nerves. I need to rest my mind for a while, or it could result in nerve damage..."

"What? Nerve damage? Isn't that serious?" Zhang Daniu and his wife, lacking formal education, became anxious upon hearing such alarming terms.

Liu Mei began to tear up, "My child, why didn't you tell us sooner? If we had known, forget about some university, even if we were summoned to the Golden Throne Palace, we wouldn't go." She then shot Zhang Daniu a fierce look, as if blaming him for his earlier intent to discipline their son.

Zhang Daniu was also distressed, "Never mind that now. What's the treatment? Let's visit the county hospital first thing tomorrow. No, let's go today. If the county hospital can't handle it, we'll head straight to Yanjing!"

Hearing their concern, Zhang Xiaolong felt a pang of guilt for his fabricated story, and quickly tried to reassure them, "Don't worry, the doctor mentioned the condition isn't too serious. All I need is to rest my mind. There's no medication needed, and there are no other health issues. I didn't want to worry you, so I thought I'd rest at home for a year and decide next year whether to return to school."

"Don't worry, don't worry," Liu Mei hastened to say, "As long as you're healthy, you could stay at home forever, and your dad and I would take care of you."

"Mom, what are you talking about? I'm fit as a fiddle. How could I just lie around at home all day?" Zhang Xiaolong chuckled. "Besides, the doctor said that physical work is better than any miracle drug. So I figured, if I work on the farm for a year, maybe I'll get rid of whatever's ailing me. Then I can head off to Yanjing for university. Wouldn't that be something?"

"Is that true?" his parents asked together.

"Absolutely. When have you ever known me to lie?" Zhang Xiaolong had indeed never lied, which made him feel all the more uneasy now, forcing him to stand his ground.

Boom!

A clap of thunder resounded, and the rain outside intensified.

Meanwhile, after two days of quiet, Zhang Xiaolong's chest began to burn once again.

"I'm going to rest for a bit!" Noticing the change, he quickly set down his bowl and darted inside the house.

Watching his somewhat odd son, Zhang Daniu hesitated before asking softly, "Do you think Xiaolong is telling the truth? Something seems off to me."

"If he says it's true, then it's true," Liu Mei responded, slightly irritated. It was only after a good while that she added under her breath, "Though... I also sense something's not quite right."

"What do you think we should do?" Zhang Daniu pressed.

"What can we do? We let him be," Liu Mei shot the man a look. "Xiaolong has always been a thoughtful kid. If he's lying, he's got his reasons. If he doesn't want to go to university right now, then he won't go. What's more important to you, Xiaolong or the university?"

"Well, obviously the university... Pui!" Zhang Daniu caught his wife's glare and quickly corrected himself, "I mean, our son, of course. As long as Xiaolong is alright, we have nothing to fear... But naturally, it'd be wonderful if he could attend university."

"Xiaolong mentioned that if he's feeling better after this year, he might still pursue his plans, right? Let's give the kid some time. Who knows, by then he might outshine even the top scholar by a hundredfold," Liu Mei suggested.

"How can you even say that? What could possibly be better than being the top scholar? It's such an honor, and yet it was all disrupted by a bolt of lightning. Talk about bad luck," Zhang Daniu grumbled in frustration.

...

Inside the house, Zhang Xiaolong quickly locked the door from within and immediately noticed the shadow of the small black cauldron emerging from his chest, clearer than ever before.

Initially, when Zhang Xiaolong had just regained consciousness, the cauldron would manifest three times a day. After the second day, it appeared once daily. Now, after two days without a sighting, Zhang Xiaolong thought it had ceased, but the apparition was more tangible than ever.

Boom...

The sky thundered ominously, and the cauldron's shadow in Zhang Xiaolong's chest seemed to pulse with excitement. The thick yellow glow intensified and began to drift towards the roof.

Zhang Xiaolong gaped in disbelief as he witnessed the extraordinary event. Lightning tore through the roof, leaving a gaping hole, and hurtled straight towards him. In a flash, the potent force of the lightning spread numbness throughout his body.

Oh lord, I, Zhang Xiaolong, can't recall doing anything to deserve this. It was one thing to be struck once before, but this is relentless!