Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?
Chapter 422 Good Mother

Chapter 422: Chapter 422 Good Mother

Zhang Yuxia rarely visits Qionghai from the inland city of Yicheng; the plane ticket alone cost her several thousand yuan, so naturally, she didn’t want to just go back after scattering Shen Junzhe’s ashes into the sea. She decided to stay and look around a bit.

Thinking of Shen Junzhe, Zhang Yuxia felt a pang in her heart. His father truly was a scoundrel.

Yet she felt powerless and helpless.

Because Shen Junzhe wasn’t her son.

Yes, Shen Junzhe was not her son, nor was she his biological mother.

Shen Junzhe just never knew about it.

Shen Junzhe’s mother left him shortly after his birth, running off with someone else.

Shen Junzhe’s father and Zhang Yuxia had known each other since childhood, so Zhang Yuxia helped take care of the child. One thing led to another, and they ended up together.

Thus, Shen Junzhe was raised by Zhang Yuxia from a young age, and he truly regarded her as his mother.

But his father, Shen Lei, was a scoundrel. Though not a heavy drinker or gambler, he liked to mess around with romantic affairs, and over a year ago, he directly brought a woman home. Zhang Yuxia couldn’t take it anymore and chose to divorce him.

Even though Shen Junzhe was raised by her from a young age, he wasn’t her son, so she had no reason to take him away with her.

She thought, however scoundrel he was, Shen Lei wouldn’t mistreat his own son.

But she underestimated the evil of the human heart. In merely three months of not seeing him, five-year-old Shen Junzhe was abused to death by these two scoundrels.

It was the doctor at the hospital who reported it to the police; that’s when she found out. The police found several videos on that woman’s phone, and after watching them, she felt an urge to carve out their hearts.

The son she had carefully raised was, after her departure, starving to skin and bones, scavenging through trash cans, eating discarded bones.

When she raised her son, every time he drank water, it was neither too hot nor too cold. But after she left, he could only drink raw tap water.

The butt she couldn’t bear to spank was beaten to a bloody pulp; the fair, tender calves were raw and bleeding, deep enough to see the bones, emitting a rotten stench.

The tender cheeks she couldn’t bear to pinch were slapped with abandon.

...

At that moment, Zhang Yuxia’s heart shattered. She regretted so much for not fighting harder during the divorce.

Even if she wasn’t his biological mother, she should have fought for him.

If you don’t want him, you could have given him to me.

Zhang Yuxia was filled with hatred.

But it was all too late.

Her son had said that when he grew up, he would earn money to buy her many beautiful clothes...

Her son had said that when he grew up, he would buy a big house and raise lots of puppies...

Her son had said that when he grew up, he would open the biggest cake shop for her because her cakes were the best, and he wanted everyone to come and taste her cakes...

Her son had said that when he grew up, he would take her to see the sea, where there are whales in the sea and seagulls in the sky...

...

Her son was obedient, well-behaved, and sensible, always thinking about her.

Sometimes she resented heaven, wondering why such a good child wasn’t born from her womb.

Later she came to terms with it, realizing what did it matter if he was her biological son or not.

He would grow up, become a man, become the kind of person she wished him to be.

But——

He would never grow up again.

She saved several months’ salary and finally decided to take him to Qionghai.

She knew that the reason her son liked the sea was because she liked it.

Growing up inland, she had long harbored a special yearning for the sea.

She wanted to see the sea, the beach, the towering coconut trees...

When she saw the sea, she finally understood what it meant for the water and sky to be the same color. The azure sea and the sky were connected, and she couldn’t tell which was which.

The sand on the beach was as white as fine salt, and stepping on it was soft and delicate, not as rough and yellow as she had imagined.

Coconut water wasn’t milky white, but crystal clear, like sugarcane juice from her hometown, like sweet spring water.

...

So she wanted to take a good look, a careful look, as she didn’t know when she’d come again.

Zhang Yuxia woke from a dream, lying on the bed, unable to regain her senses for a while.

Last night, she dreamt of her son, who had turned into a fish, shuttling through the waves.

She was on a small boat, tossed high by the waves and then slammed onto the sea surface, lest the violent storm capsized the tiny boat beneath her. She clung tightly to the boat’s edge, her face full of fear.

"Mom... Mom..."

The fish her son had turned into broke through the waves and came near her boat.

Though it was clearly a fish, she saw her son smiling at her, and she felt less afraid.

She reached out, wanting to scoop her son out of the sea, but it was like trying to fish the moon out of the water. Several attempts, the water slipped through her fingers each time, and in her panic, she woke up to a bright day.

Zhang Yuxia sat up from the bed, feeling the blanket on her. She thought that Qionghai wasn’t as perfect as she imagined; everything felt damp, even the blanket.

She got up, went straight to the balcony. Although it was still early morning, the sun shone brightly, the sky was clear, the distant sea shimmered with gentle light, seagulls soared in the sky, and long whistles of ship horns echoed in her ears.

Zhang Yuxia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the salty sea wind hitting her face.

At this moment, it was excessively perfect, countless times appeared in her dreams.

"Good morning, Xiao Zhe."

Zhang Yuxia waved her hand toward the sea, murmuring softly.

Returning to her room, she changed clothes, had a simple breakfast at the hotel, and headed out.

Today she didn’t go to the beach again but visited two sites around Qionghai.

Then she discovered that, aside from tourist spots, the rest of Qionghai’s development wasn’t really impressive; many places felt not as good as Yicheng where she lived.

Of course, the coastal natural scenery truly feasted her eyes, and she really liked the climate here—it was already December, yet one could wear just a shirt, while Yicheng had already started snowing, requiring heavy winter clothes, which she didn’t like the bulky feeling of.

To save on airfare and accommodation, she didn’t choose the two most bustling cities, Coconut City and Bin Hai, in Qionghai, but instead chose Wanzhou in Qionghai.

She had done her research online, as this place, being relatively less tourist-populated, had many spots that were more beautiful and better.

Zhang Yuxia got off the bus, walked about two stops’ distance forward, and reached her hotel.

Taking a taxi would surely be more convenient, but for Zhang Yuxia, it was a significant expense, saving money where she could.

So she chose to take the bus, which went directly to the sightseeing spots, but the price was vastly different.

Walking along the coastline, road-separated on her left, were various sea-view hotels and restaurants; on her right were towering coconut trees, green grass, and a serpent-like silver beach.

Halfway through, Zhang Yuxia turned onto a small artificial path, heading towards the beach.

It was past four in the afternoon, the sun was quite strong, the beach was mostly deserted, except for a few jet skis in the distance, skimming over the sea and leaving trails of white waves.

She thought again of the dream from last night—was Xiao Zhe really turned into a fish?

"Xiao Zhe?"

She raised her arm high, waving vigorously toward the sea, as if hoping her son would respond.

Then, indeed, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Mom."