“That's right,Grandpa immediately smiled! Has grandfather's sorrow gone?” Zhou Fu's eyes lit up when he saw that his grandfather became more cheerful.
"Yeah, I think so. By the way, Grandpa doesn't feel well today. It seems that I got sick. Can you concoct a healing potion for me?” Li Xian pretended to massage his temples while Zhou Fu immediately got up from his seat to examine his grandfather's head.
"Where, which hurts, Grandpa? Please don't die yet, I don't want to be alone here!”
Zhou Fu gave quite an exaggerated response to Li Xian's pretense. This is because Li Xian managed to teach Zhou Fu a lesson about the meaning of death. Where, death is a big farewell that makes someone no longer able to chat with.
“Perhaps I will die soon, unless…
"Except what, Grandpa? Say it…"
"Unless you concoct a potion that can prolong my life."
"I do! I'm ready to make it! What should I do?"
Li Xian smiled inwardly, he hoped his plan would go smoothly without a hitch.
"To make the potion, you have to look for several types of plants at once," Li Xian sat Zhou Fu still standing while massaging his head. Li Xian explained to Zhou Fu about the names of the plants he had to find along with the characteristics of the plants.
“Unfortunately, the plant is behind this mountain. I'm afraid you won't be able to carry out this task."
"I'll do it! I can do it!!"
Zhou Fu, without saying goodbye, got up and ran leaving his grandfather alone. Before his back completely disappeared from his grandfather's sight, Zhou Fu turned and waved at his grandfather.
"Wait for my arrival! Be careful not to die, okay?"
Zhou Fu's voice echoed in the wind of the mountainside. Li Xian smiled widely to find his innocent grandson talking about death in an inappropriate way.
“Haha, do you really think people can choose to delay death?” Li Xian replied inwardly. However, he replied to Zhou Fu's message with a nod and a wave.
Li Xian lay down under an old cyprus tree. Now, he could feel the loneliness that the solitary cyprus might have experienced. Li Xian patted the roots of the cyprus tree as if to empathize with his loneliness.
"Relax, don't be in a hurry to miss the boy because he may be back in two or three days."
Li Xian comforted himself by pretending to comfort the cyprus tree. Yes, judging by the remote location Zhou Fu was assigned to, Li Xian guessed at least two or three more days his grandson would be there again. Two or three days is the fastest estimate, if Zhou Fu's journey is calculated smoothly without a hitch. However, if Zhou Fu's journey was not smooth, he might only arrive five or even six days from that day.
The area that Zhou Fu passed was not a forest or grass that was decorated with beautiful vegetation but included a valley flanked by two steep cliffs, a forest inhabited by several black bears, and rivers with strong currents that occasionally could even carry a mother bear as heavy as 200 pounds.
“Despite being an idiot when it comes to reading and writing, Zhou Fu is an intelligent adventurer. He can definitely overcome all obstacles in ways that are always unexpected!”
Li Xian changed his lying position. Although he was quite sure that Zhou Fu would be fine, he couldn't stop the worry that was flooding his heart and mind. After all Zhou Fu was just a kid. Let alone crossing a fast-flowing river, normally a child his age may be kept away from a calm river by his mother. Let alone dealing with a herd of bears, just being close to a baby bear might already be able to make a mother lose consciousness because of her worry.
“No, Zhou Fu is different! And so, I must do this to confirm my conjecture!” back, Li Xian changed his lying position.
***
The sun had already set five times since Zhou Fu had gone hunting for some medicinal herbs. Meanwhile Li Xian spent his days walking back and forth waiting for Zhou Fu who didn't come back soon. It was the 5th day, and in the end Li Xian had to be patient again because on the fifth day at night Zhou Fu had not yet shown the bridge of his nose.
The next day, just as the sun was getting ready to rise on the eastern horizon, Li Xian heard the faint sound of a child screaming. Li Xian who wasn't sleeping chose to lie down while pretending to have a headache again.
Even though he came screaming, at least Zhou Fu still came back alive, and that was the news he had been waiting for.
"Grandpa!!! Grandpa!!! Grandpa… Don't die yet! How about this?"
Zhou Fu's screams grew louder and louder. It was no ordinary scream! It was a scream mixed with the sound of sobs. Li Xian's hair stood on end, he had to celebrate that day because it was the first time Zhou Fu had cried. Initially, Li Xian was worried that his grandson would not have empathy, because he educated Zhou Fu for a mandate to create a powerful and kind child. Meanwhile, empathy is quite needed as one of one's capital to have a good heart.
“Grandpa… I've been going around all the places Grandpa mentioned, but… but…..
Zhou Fu ran to his grandfather who was lying down, he hugged the old man while holding back the tightness in his chest.
“I didn't find any! One of all the plants that Grandpa mentioned, how about this?”
Li Xian didn't answer, he was still massaging his forehead with his eyes closed and his lips tightly shut.
“Grandpa, is grandpa dead? Are the dead like this in form and state?”
Zhou Fu wiped his tears for a while then turned his grandfather's body around while shaking him occasionally. Unable to stand it, Li Xian finally opened his eyes, pretending to be struggling to sit up. Zhou Fu helped his grandfather to lean against the cyprus tree.
"Where's my life-sustaining plant?" Li Xian asked in a tight voice.
"There is not any! None! I'm sure I'm not in the wrong place, everything is according to grandfather's instructions, but… but I can't find a single plant… how is it?”
“Ouch… How is this… What if I die this afternoon?” Li Xian shook his head with a pitiful face.
"Don't die... Please don't die…. Whoa….”
Zhou Fu hugged his grandfather tightly, "I want grandfather to live forever and never die..."
Li Xian tried to stretch Zhou Fu's embrace. He wiped away Zhou Fu's few tears for the first time. He looked at his grandson's face, his eyes were red and puffy.
“Fu'er, that tightness in your chest… That's called sadness,” Li Xian touched Zhou Fu's left chest which Zhou Fu felt was very tight and hot. Zhou Fu looked at his grandfather's palm pressed against his left chest.
"Close your eyes with both hands now," Li Xian ordered and Zhou Fu complied. After a few seconds of silence, Li Xian asked Zhou Fu,
“My granddaughter, has your sadness gone? Has the tightness in your chest subsided?”
Zhou Fu shook his head while still sobbing, he opened his eyes again and hugged his grandfather.
"That's how it is, sadness can't be removed by just closing our eyes."
"Then…."
Li Xian gave his little grandson a hug. He whispered right in Zhou Fu's ear,
“Now that I think about it, I don't think I want to die just yet. Later, let's hunt for crocodile eggs!”
Instantly, the tightness in Zhou Fu's chest disappeared! Zhou Fu was happy even if he knew that his grandfather was only pretending. In fact, the various plants that his grandfather had mentioned the other day were all bullshit. No wonder Zhou Fu failed to find it, it would be strange if he managed to find a plant that didn't exist. Other than that, Zhou Fu felt that it was the happiest day for him.
