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墨書 Inktalez
Song Shiting arrived home holding a pearl, and as soon as he pushed the door open, the foul smell rushed into his nostrils. He frowned, puzzled by how such a significant difference in hygiene could exist with only a thin layer of water separating them. He was a fish that loved cleanliness and had never encountered such an odor before.
In the pond, he was the unique king of fish, having lived there the longest and being the most beautiful. He only ate tender water plants and could understand human language; now he had even become a person...
The pearl glanced towards the source of the stench and saw that one side of the yard was surrounded by a low rectangular wall, where several pigs were gathered. A sow was sleeping under a grass shed against the wall, while several other pigs were either hungry or excited, squealing and rolling in the mud, covering themselves in black muck.
Before reaching the main room, a strong odor of spoiled food wafted out, suggesting that no one had cleaned up for quite some time. The pearl's frown deepened; what a messy family!
At the entrance to the main room sat a woman with fair skin and a slightly plump figure in a wheelchair. She had just reached out to pull aside the door curtain when her eyes met those of the pearl. The woman had an unremarkable appearance: her nose was not prominent, her eyes were small, her lips lacked color, and her hair lacked luster. The only advantage she had was her fair skin.
This was Song Pearl's mother, Liu Cuiying, who used to work part-time in the city.
Song Pearl's family had moved back to the village because Liu Cuiying had been paralyzed in a car accident, losing both her job and her ability to care for herself.
Seeing Pearl's face turning red from holding her breath, Liu Cuiying quickly leaned forward in her wheelchair and exclaimed, "Oh dear, if you squeeze her head like that, what will happen to her?"
Song Shiting ignored the woman's mildly angry reaction and dragged Pearl straight into the house. After pulling up a stool and sitting down, he finally let Pearl sit beside him.
"Where's Treasure?" Song Shiting looked around the room but did not see Song Zhenbao. He turned to Liu Cuiying and asked, "Where did you hide her? When something happened, she ran away; hasn't she come back home yet? She pushed Pearl into the fish pond and almost burned down the kitchen. I’m not planning to blame her for that anymore; just tell me where she is so I can bring her back to help with some chores."
Liu Cuiying fell silent for a moment before lowering her eyelids and saying, "Yesterday, Wu Qiang suddenly came by in a car to pick up our daughter. Treasure went with him."
"You..." Song Shiting hadn't heard Wu Qiang's name in many years. After hearing Liu Cuiying's words, he could only utter "you" before falling silent. The room grew quiet as Pearl distinctly felt one of Song Shiting's hands trembling.
Pearl stared at Song Shiting's clenched hand, sensing that he was about to lash out at someone. She wondered if there was some past conflict between Song Shiting and Wu Qiang. Perhaps Song Zhenbao was fostered by Wu Qiang at Song Family’s place; however, Liu Cuiying's reaction seemed strange.
Song Shiting pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, struck a match to light it, took a puff, and exhaled a long stream of smoke.
Liu Cuiying simply lowered her head and remained silent, the warm air suddenly becoming stifling and suffocating.
This silence did not last long. Song Shiting finished a cigarette, glanced at Pearl, and seeing that she was sitting there quietly without moving, he stood up, pushed Liu Cuiying in her wheelchair out the door, and turned back to lock it. Pearl looked up and saw the mottled wooden door just closing.
At this moment, apart from the occasional grunts of the pigs in the pigpen, no other sounds could be heard in the yard. Pearl gently walked out of the main room to the door and leaned down to look outside through the crack.
By the bank of the Fish Pond, under the willow tree, Song Shiting squatted by the pond smoking, while Liu Cuiying leaned back in her wheelchair and lit a cigarette as well. The two sat by the Fish Pond chatting about things Pearl had no interest in hearing and could not clearly understand, so she had no choice but to return to the main room.
Sitting in the room, she boredly surveyed her surroundings. Against the west wall on the north side was a homemade wooden dining table, on which there were some leftover rice and dishes covered with a lid. A few flies buzzed around it, occasionally flying off to land elsewhere.
She sat opposite the dining table, her nose having already adapted to the sour smell of the food.
On the south side was the door to the West Ear Room, painted in faded green and standing open. She could see clothes and shoes scattered about; that must be where the sisters slept.
Against the north wall was a three-drawer desk that held no books but was cluttered with various daily necessities.
Behind her was the master bedroom separated by a wardrobe; that was where Song Family's couple slept. A rope was strung along the south wall with some clothes hanging from it.
The house was newly built, with white walls still carrying a faint smell of lime. However, overall it was simply arranged and quite messy.
Pearl lowered her head, staring at the dusty floor, thinking: "No matter what, I have to sneak out tonight to see if my fish body is still alive and whether Song Pearl has become me."
When Song Shiting and Liu Cuiying returned, they found Pearl sitting on that stool with her head drooping, breathing steadily—she had actually fallen asleep.
Song Shiting exchanged a glance with Liu Cuiying, walked over gently picked Pearl up and placed her on the bed. He took off her shoes and covered her with a thin blanket. Pearl turned over and continued sleeping.
Song Shiting let out a slight sigh, exited the room, and closed the door behind him.
The sun had not yet set when Song Shiting finished preparing dinner. He fed the pigs and called for Song Pearl, signaling that the family was ready to eat.
Song Pearl was not asleep; she just thought she should pretend to be like Song Pearl a bit more in order to gain her freedom sooner, so she acted as if she were sound asleep.
Hearing Song Shiting come to the bedside and call her, she got up, got out of bed, put on her shoes, went to the yard to fetch water to wash her hands, walked to the room to grab a towel to dry them, and then sat down at the dining table.
The table was set with clean utensils. After Song Shiting returned, he had discarded the leftover food from before and now brought out two plates of freshly cooked dishes: one with green beans and the other with scrambled eggs.
Song Pearl was puzzled. During the days when Song Shiting was away, how did Liu Cuiying and the pigs in the pigpen, along with Song Zhenbao who had just been taken away yesterday, manage to eat?
Liu Cuiying quickly answered her unspoken question.
She said, "Thanks to Wang Baoguo's family for coming over to help feed the pigs and even bringing a few meals. We should go over and thank them properly in a couple of days."
Song Shiting nodded in acknowledgment. He served each of them a bowl of rice. After eating a few bites, Song Pearl put down her chopsticks, leaving more than half a bowl untouched.
Song Shiting glanced at her, and Song Pearl felt that there was something deeper in his gaze. Was it that she wasn't pretending well enough?
However, Song Shiting said nothing; he simply took her leftover rice and finished it himself. No one spoke at the table anymore; only the sounds of swallowing and chewing filled the air.
After dinner, with the sun still high in the sky, Song Pearl pondered how to find an opportunity to go outside. But Song Shiting pulled her out of the house instead. This time he did not carry her but held her hand as they walked toward the village.
Song Pearl was led by Song Shiting until they reached a house. The front door of this house was slightly ajar, and beside it stood a large locust tree with lush branches. Clusters of white locust flowers weighed down its limbs, releasing a faint fragrance.
Song Shiting stood outside and called into the courtyard, "Is Aunt Er at home?"
Someone inside responded affirmatively, and Song Shiting pulled Song Pearl inside. With her head down, she focused on the clean ground beneath her feet. Although she did not look around, she could tell that this household did not have a pigpen; its owner seemed to be an efficient person.
The well was cleaned thoroughly, and the smell of cooking wafted from the kitchen, indicating that the owner was preparing a meal.
As Song Shiting and Song Pearl reached the kitchen door, they saw a thin, spirited old lady extinguishing the fire on the stove and coming out to greet them.
"Is that my second nephew? You're back this time? Oh, and this must be Pearl, right? You’re all better now?" The old lady smiled, revealing a set of uneven yellow teeth, and her face was lined with deeper wrinkles.
Although they lived in a remote area, the news of Song Pearl's hospitalization after falling into the water had spread throughout the village; people here were quite well-informed.
"I'm fine, but I'm still a bit worried. Could you please take another look for me, Aunt?" Song Shiting said as he took out half a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to her.
The old lady removed the towel from her shoulder to wipe her hands, accepted the cigarette from Song Shiting, returned to the kitchen to light it, and then grabbed two Maza from the counter, handing one to Song Shiting before sitting down herself.
Pearl stood beside Song Shiting, looking down at the ground.
The old lady pulled Pearl closer, lifted her hand to grasp Pearl's wrist. Her fingers were rough and dry, with loose skin and veins that twisted like worms. When her fingers touched Pearl's wrist, Pearl couldn't help but get goosebumps.
The old lady placed her hands on Pearl's temples and closed her eyes.
"What is she doing? Have they noticed something unusual about me?" Pearl raised her head to look at this eccentric old woman.
The old lady's sunken eye sockets suddenly opened wide, staring at Pearl with a somewhat frightening expression that matched her appearance; however, Pearl did not feel afraid.
They locked eyes for a few minutes without either blinking. The old lady then shifted her gaze to Song Shiting and nodded. "There is something off, but don't worry. I'll just call it out and it will be fine."
After saying this, her rough fingers tugged at one of Pearl's ears. She blew into Pearl's ear canal; before Pearl could react, the other ear was pulled as well, and a warm stream of air rushed in. Despite it being directed at her ear, the strong smell of smoke still wafted into Pearl's nose.
In an instant, she felt a burning pain in both ears.
"Just keep walking back, don't look back on the way, and after a good sleep, everything will be fine," the old lady said as she extinguished her cigarette and spoke to Song Shiting.
"Thank you, Auntie. Here, take this to buy a pack of cigarettes," Song Shiting handed the old lady a bill, which she accepted without hesitation and tucked into her pocket.
"I'm sorry to have delayed your cooking. We'll head back now."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Song Shiting led Pearl home. Along the way, his hand naturally rested on Pearl's shoulder to prevent her from looking back. It wasn't until they entered the house that he finally let it drop.
So that was what he was doing—calling Song Pearl's spirit! Pearl secretly admired him; despite his honest and simple appearance, Song Shiting was quite impressive for being able to notice something was off with her. However, the village witch was too inexperienced to help Song Pearl.
The only one who could truly assist Song Pearl was her own Fish Pond's Pearl Fish King. Yet, she couldn't share this information with Song Shiting; she could only act quietly.
After returning home, Song Shiting locked the front door and closed the door to the main room. After a day of worry and fatigue, the couple went to bed early to rest. Soon, the sound of deep snoring filled the master bedroom.
Pearl lay in bed, her bright black eyes fixed on the window. Gradually, her consciousness began to blur. She felt as if she had returned to the tranquil water, surrounded by coolness and comfort, happily blowing bubbles.
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