The Lost City of Alien Beasts

Chapter 613 Jupiter
33 years ago, I left the city, west of Xijing District.

This area has no traffic and is completely mountainous. There are countless clear streams hidden in the endless green mountains. They converge into a large river at the foot of the mountains, which is one of the sources of Lijiang.

There is a famous "Mandarin Duck Tree" near the river. It is actually two ancient pines and cypresses close to each other, with their branches and leaves intertwined. Over the years, they merged into one big tree.

Local people will go to the mandarin duck tree to seek marriage, and the branches are covered with red ribbons.

Because of the Yuanyang trees, this river is also called the Yuanyang River.

There is a dam at the lower reaches of the river, which becomes a small lake when the water rises. Every summer, locals like to come here to swim.

Almost every year, children and even adults drown here, but it still can't stop everyone's enthusiasm.

In the early morning, there was mist in the mountains.

A woman wearing a plain white shirt, navy blue trousers, and short shoulder-length hair was riding a tall horizontal bar bicycle on a bumpy mountain road.

Sitting behind the bicycle was a four or five-year-old boy. He was wearing a blue and white striped T-shirt, yellow shorts, and a pair of brown sandals.

The woman riding the bicycle is 25 or [-] years old, with beautiful features. Unfortunately, her cheeks are too thin, her skin is pale, her eye sockets are slightly sunken, and her face is grim.

The little boy was well-behaved and cute, with a pair of big dark eyes that were moist and clear. He lowered his head in a depressed manner, grabbing the clothes on his mother's back with one hand and holding a small bamboo basket with the other.There are things in the bamboo basket, covered with white cloth, and it looks heavy.

The bicycle was swaying on the mountain road, and there was a not-so-steep uphill road ahead. The woman began to have difficulty pedaling the bicycle. She straightened up, gritted her teeth, and pedaled hard.

"Mom, let me down, I'll go by myself." The little boy whispered.

"No...Mom can..." the woman answered laboriously. For her, it would be more laborious to stop and get in the car.

Every time, the woman had to put one foot on the bicycle to run for a while, and then struggled to get on the bicycle. The son then trotted to catch up and jumped on the back seat of the bicycle.

The little boy stopped talking and tightened his grip on his mother's clothes.

The mother and son went uphill, and it was another bumpy mountain road. The little boy's buttocks were numb from the bumps. He endured it and did not dare to complain at all.

Finally, my mother stopped the bicycle, and the dam of the Yuanyang River was in front of her.

It was very early and no one came to swim yet. The water surface was quiet and shrouded in light mist. The river dam was surrounded by green woods, and the cool morning breeze blew with the faint chirping of cicadas.

"Jupiter, come here." The woman wiped the sweat from her forehead and waved to her son.

Jupiter did not dare to neglect, holding a small bamboo basket in both hands, he quickly caught up with his mother and followed her towards the dam.

The name Jupiter was given by his father.

His father's name is Mu You, and he claims to be an astronomy enthusiast. In fact, he only went to elementary school and became a cement worker, and his understanding of astronomy is only superficial.

His father always told Jupiter that when he goes to school, he must study hard and become an astronaut in the future. He will ride a rocket to the moon and Mars, fly out of the solar system, fly out of the Milky Way, and travel the universe.

Every time his father mentioned this, his eyes sparkled, but Jupiter didn't have much interest in it.

Jupiter has no idea about the boundless universe. To him, the mountains around the village are already boundless. What do the stars in the sky have to do with him?

Even going to elementary school seemed very far away for Jupiter.

Jupiter's favorite thing is to play with his father.

In the spring, I pulled bamboo shoots and flew kites with him; in the summer, I went swimming and caught crabs with him; in the autumn, I played chestnuts and gleaned wheat with him; in the winter, I played snowball fights and baked sweet potatoes with him.

There are so many happy things, the universe and so on, they are not important at all.

Until last summer, my father died.

That day was no different from usual. The weather was hot. After taking a nap, Mu You had free time. He rode a horizontal bar bicycle and took Jupiter to the dam of the Yuanyang River for a swim.The father and son took off their clothes, stood on the concrete dam platform, jumped down with their bare buttocks, and got into the water with a "plop", like two happy fish.

The father and son started a race to see who could swim to the other side first.

Muyou is always far ahead, but halfway through the swim he will deliberately slow down to let Jupiter catch up. In the end, the father and son are tied, and everyone is happy.

This time, Mu Yu also swam very fast.

Halfway through the swim, he seemed to hear a call from the shore.

He looked back and found that his son behind him was missing!

"Old Mu! Your son has sunk! He's heading toward the dam mouth!" an acquaintance on the shore shouted. As he shouted, he took off his clothes, jumped into the water, and swam over to help.

Mu You's heart sank, and he turned around and swam towards the mouth of the dam...

When Jupiter woke up, he found himself lying on the shore, and his neighbor's uncle was pressing hard on his chest.

"Wow……"

Jupiter spit out the water and saved his life.

"Dad, dad..." Jupiter felt uncomfortable and scared, trembling all over: "Where is dad? I want dad..."

The uncle's face was heavy and his voice was a bit unbearable: "Jupiter, your father... was washed away..."

In order to save Jupiter, Mu You swam hard toward the mouth of the dam. The water there was fast, and below was a deep pool several meters high. The water in the pool flowed directly into Lijiang River.

Mu You caught his son and swam back with all his strength to be caught by his uncle who was chasing him. At this time, Mu You's legs and feet cramped, and he was carried by the current and rushed towards the mouth of the dam.

The uncle first focused on saving the child, and when he dragged Jupiter ashore, when he turned around, Mu You was gone.

The uncle ran to the pool under the dam and looked around, but he didn't see Mu You.

That afternoon, the whole village started looking for wood along the Yuanyang River to Lijiang River, but there was no sign of it.

Everyone speculated that Mu You fell into the pond from the mouth of the dam, hit his head, and fell into coma. He was then swept away by the fast current and rushed directly into the Lijiang River.

Some superstitious old people also said that Mu You was dragged down by the water ghost in the river dam. People die there every year and it is the water ghost that is causing trouble.

The fact is: Mu Yu is missing.

A month later, the police determined that Lao Mu had drowned and his body had gone to Lijiang and could not be found.

Muyou's wife, who had been crying all day, finally accepted the fact that her husband was dead, held a funeral for him, and performed rituals.

But from Jupiter's point of view, mother didn't really accept it.

In the days after her father left, my mother's spirit collapsed. She quit her job and was haunted every day. She would often sit on the bed in a daze while holding her husband's photo.

Sometimes, she would suddenly become hysterical and beat and scold Jupiter, but Jupiter would always endure it silently.

He knew that he had killed his father and this was the punishment he deserved.

In fact, Jupiter was also sad and missed his father very much. However, he didn't even dare to cry. He was the one who killed his father. How could he still have the nerve to cry?
"Jupiter!" came the mother's voice, impatient: "Don't be stunned, come here."

Jupiter realized that he was distracted again, and he hurriedly ran over carrying a small bamboo basket.

(End of this chapter)