Sui Qiuming was a devout believer of the Life Lady’s faith.
Joining the Life Lady’s followers had been remarkably straightforward. It all boiled down to him suffering from a terminal illness—one that modern medicine couldn’t cure, leaving him to simply await death.
Only his mother refused to accept it. She desperately scoured every possible avenue for a way to keep Sui Qiuming alive. Eventually, she heard about a group called the Life Lady’s faith from some unknown source. They proclaimed that all life originated from the Life Lady, who held dominion over every living thing. Every believer was her child, and by devoting oneself to her, one could gain a second chance at life.
Such claims sounded utterly fraudulent at first glance—clearly the rhetoric of a cult. Sui Qiuming hadn’t bought it, but his mother insisted it was his path to survival.
“The life we live now is far from our true potential,” his mother had said. “It’s just that a monster called ‘aging’ curses us, forcing us to grow old.”
“But if we devote ourselves to the great Mother, she will help us. She’ll drive away the curse of ‘aging’ from our bodies, and we’ll be able to live on forever in her embrace, advancing with her into a new era.”
That was what his mother, ever the devoted parent, had told him.
She had sighed then. “If only my own mother were still alive. If she’d believed in the great Life, she wouldn’t have passed away so young.”
Sui Qiuming knew his grandmother had died from illness a few years earlier. That was his mother’s deepest regret, and combined with his own condition, it was probably the real reason she’d turned to this so-called Life Lady cult.
His mother simply couldn’t bear to lose another loved one.
Yet Sui Qiuming still refused to believe in the group.
His mother kept urging him, though.
“Just attend one Mass, and you’ll understand,” she said.
“This world really does have miracles.”
It was probably some cutting-edge tech creating the illusion of a “miracle,” Sui Qiuming figured. Even a magician’s tricks could pass for real magic in the eyes of some old folks.
But he couldn’t hold out against his mother’s pleas forever. In the end, he went to a single Mass as a final comfort to her before he died.
And there, he was utterly awestruck by the miracle he witnessed.
The nun buried a seed in the soil and extended her hands over it. Incredibly, the seed began to sprout right before their eyes, pushing through the earth to become a thriving hyacinth plant.
A hyacinth, no less—not some fast-growing weed.
From what Sui Qiuming knew, it took at least three years for a hyacinth seed to mature enough to bloom. The seed had to absorb nutrients and form a bulb underground first, then sprout leaves and flowers from there, which took another year or more.
And yet, it all happened right there in front of him—in mere seconds!
No wonder his mother called it a miracle…
The nun invited everyone attending the Mass to come onstage and touch the hyacinth, to feel its vibrant life force.
Sui Qiuming went up and reached out in disbelief.
“Do you know?” the nun said with a gentle smile.
“The flower language of the hyacinth is ‘rebirth.'”
Rebirth. The word struck a chord deep within Sui Qiuming.
What was she implying…? Could I be reborn too?
Harboring lingering doubts, Sui Qiuming joined the Life Lady’s faith anyway. At that point, he still didn’t truly believe in the Life Lady as some great being. He just wanted to uncover the trick behind it all.
But as he attended every gathering without fail, his body—which had been wasting away from the terminal illness—began to improve.
When he went back to the hospital for a checkup, the doctor stared at his results in astonishment.
“It’s a miracle!” the doctor exclaimed.
“How on earth did you do it?”
Years of medical expertise couldn’t explain Sui Qiuming’s recovery.
His mother wept tears of joy beside him, too overcome to speak.
“We can arrange a full-body scan for free,” the doctor offered, “as long as you authorize me to use your data for a research paper.”
“No,” Sui Qiuming replied.
He was convinced now. This was a miracle from the Life Lady.
“Really? What if we cover your hospital stay for free and handle all follow-up treatments? Your body isn’t fully recovered yet.” The doctor tried to persuade him again, a far cry from the man who’d shaken his head over the previous scans.
“No,” Sui Qiuming said.
This was the Life Lady’s miracle, he thought.
The Life Lady truly existed! She had bestowed her blessing upon him!
As Sui Qiuming gazed at the doctor now, he smirked inwardly.
He pitied the man for not knowing the truth of the world, pitied the ignorance of the masses and his own clarity.
Praise Life!
As Sui Qiuming attended Mass after Mass, his body gradually mended. That terminal illness vanished without a trace, turning him from a man on death’s door into an ordinary, healthy person. It was nothing short of miraculous!
During his final check-up, the doctor confirmed his full recovery. No more treatments were necessary—just follow-up visits every six months. The physician watched Sui Qiuming leave the hospital, a hint of regret in his eyes, as if a groundbreaking SCI paper were slipping from his grasp.
But before Sui Qiuming could even rejoice in his cure, another tragedy struck.
His mother was dead.
She had perished in a car accident. Overjoyed at the news of her son’s recovery, she had rushed out to buy ingredients for a grand celebratory feast—and to prepare an offering for the Life Lady. On her way back from the market, disaster struck. A collision claimed her life, and by the time rescuers got her to the hospital, she had already stopped breathing.
That was the moment Sui Qiuming’s fury ignited completely.
He lunged at the driver, roaring, “Why did you take her to the hospital?! Why?! If you’d brought her to the Nun, nothing would have happened!”
Had they taken her to the Life Lady’s followers, his mother would have been fine without a doubt! A mere injury like that couldn’t have harmed her! His own incurable disease had been healed—how could they fail to save her?!
It was all their fault!
These fools couldn’t recognize the greatness of life, so they resorted to such ignorant actions. The hospital was useless, taking money without ever truly healing anyone.
Only the great Life Lady watched over them all. Only she truly loved her people.
Ignoring the protests of those around him, Sui Qiuming didn’t attempt to revive his mother himself. Instead, he carried her body straight to the Nun.
He knelt before her, a far cry from the scornful, arrogant man he had been at their first meeting.
“Great Life Lady… I beg you to resurrect my mother,” Sui Qiuming pleaded.
“Of course, child,” the Nun replied with a smile. The gentle curve of her lips never wavered.
“As long as you are devout enough and make a significant contribution to the faith, the Life Lady watches over us. She will surely grant a divine miracle in response to your piety and bring your mother back to life.”
Her voice was slow and measured as she continued. “Soon, we will hold a Ritual in S City to commune with the Great One. If it succeeds, we will receive Life’s blessings. With such blessings, you may yet revive your mother.”
“What must I do?” Sui Qiuming asked, catching the implication in her words.
“Collect offerings,” the Nun said, her smile unwavering.
“I will give you a Green Leaf. Any person or thing that turns it gray and withered—or makes it even more vibrant and tender green—is a suitable offering for us.”
“Then, all the devout believers will have a chance to draw near the Great Life and receive her blessings. The closer you stand to the center of the Ritual, the greater the blessings you receive—and the higher the chance of resurrecting your mother.”
“Of course, the number of offerings matters too. The believer who presents the most will earn the spot nearest the Priests, basking in the richest blessings.”
“I understand!” Sui Qiuming exclaimed eagerly.
“Give me the Green Leaf quickly—I’ll start collecting them right now!”
“Faith in the Life Lady alone,” the Nun murmured, bowing her head and clasping her hands in the shape of a blooming flower.
This was the prayer gesture used within the Life Lady’s cult, which governed life and nature.
“Faith in the Life Lady alone!” Sui Qiuming echoed with fervent zeal.
Over the following days, Sui Qiuming searched obsessively. He discovered that things connected to death—like bones long buried or ancient ritual vessels unearthed from graves—turned the Green Leaf gray and lifeless.
But the things that made it brighter and more verdant were unpredictable. It might be a fish, a person, or even a piece of jade.
Through trial and error, Sui Qiuming honed his instincts. Yet his long isolation due to illness had left him penniless and without connections. He couldn’t afford antiques or the jade he sought.
His only options were to sneak into cemeteries and dig up graves or kidnap people and objects that enlivened the leaf. Both methods often failed, yielding few successes.
Yet it seemed the Life Lady was watching over him. He always managed to escape, never truly falling into the hands of the Police.
As the Ritual drew nearer with each passing day, Sui Qiuming grew ever more desperate and unhinged.
He realized he couldn’t accomplish this alone. Fortunately, he had a knack for leadership. He rallied the Devout Believers in B City to join the hunt. When they spotted a suitable person, they worked together to abduct them as an offering. Their success rate soared.
Before the ritual ceremony was set to begin, they had already successfully captured five or six people and locked them away in a villa arranged by the suburban group. Each day, they provided only the bare minimum of food to keep their captives alive.
At first, Sui Qiuming still clung to a shred of his humanity and found it difficult to lay hands on them. But then he thought of himself—of his own deceased mother—and gritted his teeth to get it done. By now, he could tune out their wails, their pleas, and their curses without a second thought.
“Hurry it up and load them in. We’re heading out today; we won’t get there until tomorrow night at the earliest. Make sure every last one gets safely to S City,” Sui Qiuming directed as the other Devout Believers crammed those pitiful souls into the cargo holds, then piled goods on top for cover.
A little while later, the lookout posted outside rotated shifts, and it was Sui Qiuming’s turn to take over. He lit up a cigarette and stood on the street, watching the steady stream of people passing by.
Sui Qiuming had never been a smoker before. With his terminal illness, lighting up would only have sped up his death.
But now that his body was healed, he indulged in all the simple pleasures a normal person could enjoy—including cigarettes.
As he watched the crowds flow past, Sui Qiuming pulled out the Green Leaf out of habit to check its condition.
If only a few more prime catches would wander by. The more sacrificial offerings, the better, he mused idly.
Right then, the Green Leaf’s vibrant hue drained away in a flash, fading to a sickly gray that bordered on black. Nothing like this had ever happened before.
Hiss…
Sui Qiuming froze.
What the hell? Was someone walking down this street with some ancient relic they’d illicitly unearthed?
Even the grave goods they’d bought off tomb raiders hadn’t caused the Green Leaf to wither like this!
He followed the direction of the leaf’s drooping tip and looked up.
There, heading straight toward him, were two young men walking alongside a Labrador Retriever.
Sui Qiuming’s eyes narrowed to slits.
Looks like a big fish just swam into view… Sure enough, it was life’s blessing!
