Starting the next day, he was much quieter. When he felt something warm on his face, he wouldn’t ask what the sun was. When he heard something singing, he wouldn’t ask what birds were.

Eventually, he heard enough from other people to understand what it meant to be blind. He learned that the sky wasn’t black, it was blue. The world wasn’t black either. It was filled with many colors.

He also realized that he was different from the other children. They had all been able to see the world from the moment they were born, whereas he....

He thought about what his parents had told him, that he would be able to see the world after he grew up. That was a lie. And yet, he didn’t want to believe that it was a lie, and continued to tell himself that after he grew up, he would be able to see.

The reason he couldn't see... was that he hadn’t grown up yet.

He began to grow more reclusive. He didn’t want to go out and play with the other children, mostly because they always bullied him. They made fun of him for not being able to see, joked about him being blind. But inside, he wanted to have friends, so he did his best to simply smile, and not cry. When he did play with the other children, and got shoved to the ground, tearing his clothes and sc.r.a.ping his skin until it bled, he just smiled.

People made jokes about him being blind, and those jokes only continued to become more and more cruel. He felt so bad that he wanted to weep, but he held it in. He didn't want to harm the friends.h.i.+ps he had. He needed those friends.

One day, he got very excited when the other children, whom he could hear but not see, suddenly came looking for him. They said they wanted him to play a special game with them.

“It's called blind man’s bluff. Little Treasure, you’re blind, so you have to chase us, okay!?”

“Whoever you grab, that person will become blind. Oh right, we’re going to go to a special place to play. Just wait until we say go, then you can start chasing us.”

“Um... I don’t want to play,” Little Treasure said, trembling inwardly. He knew that being blind was a terrible thing, and didn’t want to make other people become blind.

“Shut up! If you don’t play with us right now, then we’ll never play with you ever again!” Refusing to discuss the matter any further, the children dragged him out to play. He wasn’t sure where exactly they were taking him, but eventually he heard birds singing. Eventually they shoved him into a kneeling position.

“Remember, don't start chasing us until we say go.” They started laughing, the sound of which eventually began to fade off into the distance.

He knelt there on the ground, not moving, worried that he would break the rules and start moving too soon. If that happened, maybe they wouldn't want to play with him again. So he waited... for a very, very long time.

Soon the singing of the birds faded away, and he started to get cold and scared.

"Can we start now?” he cried out. But no one answered.

"Can we start now?” He s.h.i.+vered. It was getting colder, and yet no one responded to his cries.

“Can we start now...?” He slowly rose to his feet, trembling. He thought he could hear the sound of people nearby, but no one answered his question.

He was scared. The world was pitch black, and the warmth that he normally felt because of his parents was gone. Now, the world was not only black, it was freezing cold.

“Can we start now...? I... I don’t want to play any more....” He was so frightened that tears began to roll down his cheeks.

“Where are you guys? I don’t want to play anymore.... I want to go home.

“Dad? Mom? Where are you...?” Weeping, he began to walk forward, flailing his arms in front of him, but grabbing ahold of nothing but air. After a few steps, he fell.

“Mother... where are you...? I'm scared....” He struggled back to his feet, weeping in fear. The feeling of being completely alone was stifling. His garments were torn. His head was bleeding. And he was only seven years old. Stretching his hands out in front of him, he began to walk forward slowly.

What he couldn't see that he was currently in a forest, and that up ahead of him was a lone wolf. It was slowly approaching him, staring at him with cold, merciless eyes.

Just when the wolf was about to pounce on him, it suddenly s.h.i.+vered, then sagged in place. A moment later, it had transformed into nothing more than ash. A young woman appeared, wearing a long green garment.

She stared at the child, somewhat in a daze, watching as he groped his way along. She saw the tears on his face, and could hear him crying out in that heartbreaking voice. The young woman bit her lip, and began to cry.

“Master....” she murmured. This was Yan’er. She had been searching for her Master for hundreds of years, and on this day, she had managed to track the faint traces of the Dao of Reincarnation to this very place. At long last... she had found the reincarnation of her Master.

The weeping boy’s foot caught on something, and he began to fall forward, but Yan’er gently caught him in her arms.

Little Treasure s.h.i.+vered and reached out to feel who it was that had caught him. She felt warm, almost like his mother. There was something very familiar about her. She even smelled familiar.

“You....” he whispered.

After a moment, Yan’er knelt down in front of him, smiled, and asked, “Your name is Little Treasure, right?”

“Yes,” he replied, nodding. The woman’s voice was gentle, and suddenly, he wasn’t afraid any more.

It was at that point that voices could be heard off in the distance. Apparently, a large group of people were walking along and calling out sporadically.

“Little Treasure, where are you...?”

“Little Treasure... it’s me, mom. Where are you...?”

“Little Treasure....” It was his mother and father, along with other people. They sounded anxious, even fearful, as they called out to him.

“Dad.... Mom....” Little Treasure trembled.

Yan’er hesitated for a moment, then chose not to take the boy away. Instead, she reached out and tousled his hair.

“Your mom and dad found you,” she said softly. “I’ll... see you later.”

She took a step back to leave, but Little Treasure suddenly felt as if he were about to lose something important.

“Big Sis…” he blurted, “May I... may I touch your face?”

Yan’er’s eyes glowed with a kind warmth as she looked at the boy. This was her Master, who meant everything to her.

She knelt back down in front of the boy. His hands were smudged with dirt, but she didn’t care. He reached out and ran his fingers slowly and carefully across her face, and after a long moment, he smiled. Yan’er looked at him one more time. Then, smiling, she turned and left.

Moments later, Little Treasure called out to his parents, who rushed over, weeping, and scooped him up into their arms. After leaving the forest, he never asked about what had happened. However, in the following days, he refused to play with the other children. He preferred to be alone, where he would think back to the woman he had met in the forest.

Sometimes, he felt as if she hadn’t actually left, but was next to him, watching over him. Although she never revealed herself to him, he always had that feeling.

Time pa.s.sed. Ten years went by, and Little Treasure had grown up. However, he still lived in a world of darkness, devoid of any light. It was as if the Heavens had forgotten all about him.

His parents had grown old, although he couldn’t see that. And yet, he could tell that their voices had become different. Because of his nimble hands, he began to learn the same carpentry skills as his parents.

Since he rarely had anything important to do, he took up sculpture as a hobby. Although he couldn’t see, he could imagine, and as such, he carved sculptures that were incredibly vivid and full of life. They were like the dreams of a child.

He carved birds, and houses, and the people closest to him.

He didn't care that people called him blind. He didn’t care that he couldn’t see the world. In his heart, he had come to find his place in Heaven and Earth. His wooden sculptures. They were everything to him.

Although the sculptures didn’t always resemble reality, they were what he saw in his heart. Furthermore, if he was able to feel something with his hands, then he would be able to reproduce it perfectly in sculpture form.

“Mother once said that the Heavens had closed their eyes. I want to sculpt Heavens with eyes wide open. Something that only I can feel.” Little Treasure chuckled and shook his head.

Gradually, word of his sculptures spread in the city, and he was able to start a little business of his own. His parents, who continued to spoil him, were content.

Their son might have no eyesight, but he was an outstanding person. Eventually, it reached the point that he began to care for them in their old age. It was a touching thing, and they felt very content. Their hearts were filled with the love of a lifetime.

However, they still worried about Little Treasure. Although he had the skill to support himself in life, they still felt that he should marry.

Unfortunately, being blind, few families would be willing to marry their daughter to Little Treasure.

Three years pa.s.sed. Eventually, someone acted as a matchmaker, and found a young woman from a small household somewhere in the city who agreed to marry Little Treasure. She was very pretty, and the fact that she had agreed to the marriage left Little Treasure’s parents delighted. They gave their life savings as a betrothal gift, and escorted her back to their home.

That day was one of the happiest days in this old couple’s life. They held the wedding ceremony, and hosted the wedding banquet. Red lanterns were hung. After the relatives and neighbors departed, Little Treasure’s parents led him to the wedding chamber.

He was nervous. He had never even met this girl before. Everything had been arranged by his parents. However, he was a filial son, and would support his parents’ decisions, even though marriage was something he didn’t particularly care about.

Furthermore, he was curious as to why this young woman would agree to the marriage when he was blind.

When he entered the room, there she was sitting on the bed, wearing red wedding garments and a red veil. Although he couldn't see her, he could sense her presence.

Feeling his way across the wall, he approached the bed, reached out, and touched his wife.

She s.h.i.+vered, but didn't say anything.

He stood there quietly for a moment before gently lifting up her veil. “May I touch your face?”

The young woman seemed very nervous; she was gripping her garments tightly with both hands, and was breathing heavily. Her anxiety was no act; deep in her heart, she wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing. But this was what she had always wanted, regardless of whether it was in terms of past lives or the present....

She took a deep breath and then said, “Yes.”

Little Treasure reached out and gently ran his fingers down her face, feeling her eyes, her nose, and her lips. Suddenly, a tremor ran through him.

-----

Before we forget about all the previous reincarnations of Meng Hao's clone, let's have a fun poll to see which one we liked the most!