Chapter 1 Beautiful Aspirations

Over the ink-dark canopy of the heavens, more than a dozen bright stars suddenly appeared, making playful counterparts to the three flying stars in the true north.

A little boy scurried out from a subterranean burrow, waving his three hands frantically in the air and shouting at the top of his lungs, "So many stars! So many stars!"

His mother chased after him in sheer panic, clutching a tattered, threadbare quilt. With rapid movements, she wrapped the little boy within the quilt and shoved him back inside the cavern.

"Have you lost your mind?! If I had come out even a moment later, you would have frozen into an ice block, and you’d never see your mother again!" Though her rebuke was fierce and stern, her eyes overflowed with deep care and anxiety for her child.

"Mother! There are so many new stars in the sky! They're so pretty!" The little boy wrapped his three arms around his mother's neck, swaying back and forth in a spoiled, pleading manner.

The mother offered a faint smile, placing both hands on her child's frail, slender shoulders. "My son," she said, "those aren't stars. Those are the warships of the Cloud Peak Palace. They must be bringing us grain."

The boy glanced back toward the entrance of the cave, then lowered his head in thoughtful contemplation for a moment before asking, "Mother! It’s been so long since we last had grain, and there's hardly anything left of Father. Are we going to starve to death?"

The woman turned her head sideways, gazing at the sole remaining roll of dried fiber sitting on the stove, an inexpressible look clouding her face.

She possessed the standard appearance of women in this void: delicate and pretty features, a tall stature, slender hands, and legs of exceptionally symmetrical and slender lines. Yet her face bore the deep, weathered traces of sorrow, for if no more food arrived, she and her son would have no choice but to dehydrate themselves and transform into rolls of dried fiber.

"Mother! I don't want to dehydrate! If I dehydrate, I won't be able to play with Swallow from next door anymore." The little boy was actually quite handsome, but a prolonged lack of adequate nourishment left him with an oversized head and a terribly thin neck. His three arms and three small legs flailed about in the air like bean sprouts.

The mother smiled gently and said to her son, "My boy, dehydration is always better than starving to death. If you dehydrate, there is still a chance to live on; once you starve to death, truly nothing is left."

Her words sounded as though they were meant for her son, but even more so, she was trying to convince herself.

"But," the son pointed at the half-roll of dried fiber on the stove, "look at Father—he couldn't move after he dehydrated, and now there's only this little bit left of him because we've been eating him. Can he still turn back into his original self after being soaked in water?"

The young mother's voice choked with emotion. For a moment, she could not find the right words to guide her son. After a brief silence, she could only say, "Your father chose to dehydrate voluntarily so that we could survive. It is for the best! Being released from this suffering early is something we should be happy for him about."

Just as the mother and son were speaking in hushed, sorrowful tones about the uncertainties of life and death, a voice cut through the wind and snow outside, arriving well ahead of the person.

"Mistress Shi, have you heard? We are saved!"

Deep inside the stone cave, the two figures peered intently toward the entrance through the faint, flickering firelight. After a moment, a figure finally stepped into the small radius illuminated by the flames.

"Mistress Xu! What wonderful news brings you out in this blizzard?" Mistress Shi rose to her feet and instinctively reached out toward the half-roll of dried fiber, but her hand halted halfway. She redirected it to a water bowl nearby, poured some water, and handed it to the visitor.

The woman addressed as Mistress Xu glanced sidelong at the dried fiber on the stove and chuckled bitterly, "Oh my! You still have some left at your place! That good-for-nothing at my house was long since devoured down to the last scrap by the starving mouths in our family. Lately, we've had to survive by digging up dried grass roots buried in the snow."

Her tone shifted abruptly. "However, we won't have to endure this wretched life much longer."

"What? Is a golden sun about to rise again?" Mistress Shi asked.

Mistress Xu shook her head. "Who could ever know with that thing? It rises if it pleases, and stays down if it doesn't. I heard that our Queen has discovered an earthly paradise—a place with flowing rivers, mountains full of lush green, and even blooming flowers! There is an abundance of food there, and no one will ever have to dehydrate just to scrape by."

"Is there really such a wonderful place? How can we go there?" Mistress Shi felt a surge of hope and asked eagerly.

"I heard we have to register with the village head, and then wait for a notice from the royal palace. Once our verification passes, we can go." Mistress Xu was practically glowing with excitement, spittle flying as she spoke.

"With something this wonderful, surely it isn't a trick?" Mistress Shi said anxiously.

Mistress Xu waved a hand dismissively. "How could it possibly be a trick? The royal decree will be handed down immediately. The old king has already gone there to bathe in the sunlight and enjoy the earthly paradise. Could that possibly be false?"

"In that case, the lords will probably go first. Slaves and laborers like us will surely be left behind until the very end," Mistress Shi said with a trace of disappointment.

"That's where you're wrong. In the past, it certainly used to be that way—whenever people had to die, we slaves died first; whenever there was dehydration, we dehydrated first. But this time is different. This time, all undeleted, registered laborers will draw lots alongside those high-ranking officials. Whoever gets drawn can leave immediately."

Mistress Shi immediately stood up, pointing a finger toward the outside of the cave. "Then what about the people who have already been dehydrated and stored away in the dry-warehouse? Can they go?"

"Naturally not, at least not right now!" Mistress Xu replied.

Tears instantly welled up in Mistress Shi's eyes, and she murmured to herself, "Does that mean my parents and my parents-in-law are just going to be left in the dry-warehouse to rot away?"

Mistress Xu sighed. "Slaves like us have always had this kind of fate! At least we still possess some skills, so we won't be forcibly dehydrated. As for those in the dry-warehouse, what other use could they possibly have besides being tossed into the stoves of the warm-houses as firewood?"

The two women embraced and wept together. After crying for a short while, Mistress Xu patted Mistress Shi on the shoulder and said, "Alright, no more crying. Crying only wastes precious physical energy. Your man only has that little bit left; if your food runs out completely, what will become of your child? I have already helped you register with the village head. When the lot-drawing comes around, if you're lucky enough to be picked, you and your son can live out the rest of your days in peace."

With that, Mistress Xu beamed with smiles as she reached out to stroke the head of the little boy beside her, saying with heartfelt relief, "Your little rascal has been bright and spirited since he was small, with those big eyes and handsome features. Anyone can tell he's a blessed child who will surely make it to that fairy realm."

The little boy lifted his clean face, smiled, and asked the woman, "Can Swallow from our house go too? She already promised to be my wife! I only like playing with Swallow; if she isn't going, I won't go either."

The two women exchanged a glance, a bitter, helpless smile hanging on both of their faces.