It was rare that the Beast Deity was not sitting on the bench waiting for her, but standing at the entrance with arms open. The moment he saw Gu Mengmeng, he immediately hugged her with a fatherly benevolence. “My precious daughter. You have suffered.”
Gu Mengmeng hasn’t cried since Chixuan woke up. The tears dammed up over the past dozen over days burst through at the Beast Deity’s words.
She did not dare to cry in front of Elvis and Lea and was also afraid of her son witnessing her tears.
She had kept everything inside with much hardship. Her chest felt clogged up as if someone had stuffed a bunch of cotton wool into it.
The Beast Deity gently patted her on her back. “Silly girl. Why bear all that unhappiness alone? Why didn’t you come back earlier if you felt so miserable… you still have me.”
Gu Mengmeng cried for a long while until all her frustrations were finally unleashed. She then raised her swollen eyes to look at the Beast Deity. “Can you please answer my question first? I am not in the mood to watch television now.”
The Beast Deity nodded. “What do you wish to ask?”
Gu Mengmeng said, “I hypnotized Chixuan, but the effect was bizarre. Chixuan now behaves like a puppet with its soul stolen. He is like a walking zombie… father, have I done wrong?”
The Beast Deity stroked Gu Mengmeng’s head as he said tenderly and helplessly, “You are already doing very well. He will be fine.”
Gu Mengmeng’s eyes bulged. The tears in her eyes were sealed by hope, as her voice quivered timidly. “Really?”
That one word expressed her high level of unease.
Slender fingers clutched at the Beast Deity’s sleeves. Her pale fingertips trembled uncontrollably.
The Beast Deity turned his hand around to hold Gu Mengmeng’s. “Haven’t you already given the Soul of the Forest to Chixuan?”
Gu Mengmeng was momentarily stunned, before nodding.
The Beast Deity continued. “The Soul of the Forest has two leaves. The first has already bloomed and it saved Chixuan’s life, right?”
Gu Mengmeng nodded again.
The Beast Deity said, “There is another leaf. Wait for it to mature and it will unfurl. By then, Chixuan will go back to normal.”
Gu Mengmeng hurried asked, “Then, when will it unfurl?”
But the Beast Deity shook his head. “Wait.”
Gu Mengmeng’s expression dimmed. “How long must I wait… my heart aches to see Chixuan in such a lifeless state.”
The Beast Deity chuckled. “My heart also aches when I look at my daughter’s despairing face.”
Gu Mengmeng looked up at the Beast Deity’s benevolent smile. A lump grew in her throat and she couldn’t speak.
So this was what a father’s love felt like.
After the age of five…
She had forgotten.
The Beast Deity placed one large hand on Gu Mengmeng’s head. He gave her a couple of gentle strokes. “You must learn to believe in your own children. They are not as weak as you think. It’s like with you—there were many times when you did things which surprised me and made me feel very proud.”
“For example?” Gu Mengmeng was a mother in front of Chixuan. But before the Beast Deity, she had truly rediscovered the feeling of being a daughter.
A 19-year-old girl pestering her father for love and comfort. It was a pretty good feeling.
The Beast Deity chuckled and fell silent thinking for a moment. “For example, you often come back to watch television with me. When I went for my latest meeting and asked after the others, none of their children would go home to watch television with them.”
Gu Mengmeng smiled at the Beast Deity’s solemn face. She thought: Perhaps they don’t really like to watch television? Do you think that all deities are like you and love to watch television dramas?