The mute boy wasn't mute from the start.
He could talk and laugh, just like the other children in the village, and he was quite lively.
But gradually, he stopped speaking.
He became silent, as if erased.
Even when scared, he could only flail his hands aimlessly.
The villagers guessed that the shock of his parents perishing at sea had been too much for him, leaving him stunned.
Seeing his pitiable state, alone,
they tried to buy him medicine, and the village chief even offered him a place to stay.
But he refused them all, stating he would support himself.
As Zhang Xiaobei's father put it, he was a stubborn and strong-willed child.
From then on,
the mute boy's personality fell silent along with his voice.
He had no presence, and he didn't proactively greet the villagers.
Gradually,
he became known as the mute boy, and everyone had almost forgotten his original name.
—Jiang Li.
At first, Zhang Xiaobei didn't like playing with him either.
She always felt he was strange, walking around alone every day, like a ghost.
However, after some coincidental encounters...
she found that being with the mute boy was actually quite nice?
It was incredibly easy and comfortable.
Although he couldn't speak, no matter what she chattered about, he would listen quietly and never tell anyone.
Unlike some of the big-mouthed kids in the village,
who, upon hearing something, would want the whole village to know.
Moreover, the mute boy knew many tips for catching fish and shrimp, making him much more reliable than those who only caused trouble.
One day—
When Zhang Xiaobei found the mute boy, he was by the sea, processing a basket of shrimp.
The mute boy's hands were nimble; he could clean a shrimp thoroughly in just a couple of moves.
"Mute boy, what are you looking at?"
Zhang Xiaobei saw him glancing up at the sky from time to time, looking distracted.
She couldn't help but look up at the sky as well.
There was nothing but a clear blue sky.
Not even a bird.
What was he looking at?
The mute boy shook his head, withdrew his gaze, and quickly finished processing all the shrimp in the basket.
Then, carrying the basket, he started walking home.
Zhang Xiaobei wanted to follow, but the mute boy stopped her.
He was going home to cook the shrimp.
[You should go back too.] he gestured.
Watching the mute boy hurry away, Zhang Xiaobei pouted and muttered,
"Am I going to steal your shrimp?"
However, the mute boy often had strange behaviors.
She didn't think much of it, kicked at the sand and stones at her feet, and thought about the Sea God Festival the village was preparing for.
"If you don't want to go, then don't. I'm going to see my mother prepare for the Sea God Festival!"
...
The Sea God Festival was a tradition in the village.
Every year before the harvest season, the villagers would set up a high platform by the sea.
On it, they would place various delicious foods, things they usually couldn't bear to eat.
Then, led by the village chief, everyone would pray together.
Hoping for a good harvest during the season.
If seabirds flew by, or fish leaped from the sea, it meant the Sea God had agreed.
Then, in the harvest season, their boats would have smooth sailing, and their fishing nets would be exceptionally strong and not easily damaged.
Even the fish would foolishly swim into their set nets.
But in reality...
Zhang Xiaobei and the village children had never seen this Sea God.
"Mom, have you ever seen the Sea God?" Zhang Xiaobei asked curiously.
"What nonsense are you talking about? How can ordinary people like us see the Sea God just because we want to?"
Zhang Xiaobei's mother replied without looking up, as she was preparing food,
"If anyone could truly see the Sea God, they must have accumulated eight lifetimes of good fortune."
"For people like us... as long as we pray sincerely, it's good enough to have a decent harvest during the season to get through the winter."
Saying that, she glanced at Xiaobei,
"You, always running around, and then thinking about all sorts of things when you come back, it seems you're too idle."
"I'm not..."
Zhang Xiaobei stuck out her tongue. Just as she was about to playfully cajole her mother, a commotion suddenly arose outside.
The sky, which had been clear and sunny, changed in an instant.
In the time it took to speak, raindrops as big as beans began to fall with a patter.
Creating small splashes on the surface of the sea.
In an instant, dark clouds gathered, and the sea breeze howled.
Waves crashed against the shore, never ceasing.
Pat!
This sound came from inside the house.
The wooden box in Zhang Xiaobei's mother's hand dropped to the floor. Looking at the rain outside, her face showed anxiety.
"This is bad! Those who went out to sea haven't returned!"
"No, I'll go to the seaside to check."
After pacing in place for a few moments, Zhang Xiaobei's mother took out a straw cape and instructed,
"You stay put and don't wander around. Eat something if you're hungry. I'll be back."
The rain outside was heavy, but Zhang Xiaobei's mother wasn't the only one going out to check the situation.
Zhang Xiaobei stood at the doorway, watching the figures in straw capes hurrying away.
The uncertainty of what lay ahead left her momentarily unsure of how to react.
Would something happen?
She touched her arm, suddenly feeling a chill.
The silence inside the house contrasted sharply with the noise outside.
At this moment, how wonderful it would be to talk to the mute boy.
Being with the mute boy always made her feel so at ease.
...
Something had happened.
The heavy rain continued for two days, only slightly subsiding on the third day.
It was at this time that the village boats, drifting and swaying, finally docked.
What had started as a journey with several strong young men returned with only one person.
He lay shivering inside the boat, his body burning hot, clearly ill.
In his delirium, he was muttering incoherently.
But as people came forward to help lift him out and take him back to his house,
he suddenly opened his eyes, grabbed the person beside him, and cried out as if possessed,
"The Sea God! It's the Sea God!"
"It's the Sea God! It's the Sea God!"
After shouting, he fainted again.
Meanwhile, the village was thrown into an uproar by this turn of events.
"What happened to the Sea God? What exactly happened?"
"Did we do something wrong and anger the Sea God?"
"Do you remember the last time Lin's son came back and said the Sea God had appeared?"
"We're already preparing to increase the offerings... Could it be that we misunderstood the Sea God's intentions?"
No one had ever seen the Sea God, but no one dared to defy the Sea God's will.
Perhaps, those who had seen him were already dead.
The villagers' fear of angering the Sea God had overshadowed their grief for the 'missing' young men.
"When the Sea God is enraged, the floods will rise!"
The admonishments left by their ancestors surfaced in everyone's minds.
Even children aged six or seven knew this saying.
"Floods will rise, and corpses will litter the fields..."
Zhang Xiaobei stared blankly at the anxious faces of the adults, the latter half of that saying echoing in her mind.
She then looked at Uncle Yu, lying unconscious on the bed, feeling a buzzing in her head, a sense of dizziness.
She didn't know what to do.
What could she do?
Or rather, what could the entire fishing village do?
How could mere mortals possibly understand such an extraordinary existence as the Sea God?
What should they do?
Right, where was the mute boy?
She looked around, but couldn't find that familiar figure in the crowd.
With such a major event happening, hadn't he come?
...