Everyone was quiet along the way, but occasional glances drifted over.

"Does it hurt?" Aunt suddenly spoke. I didn't expect her to say that, so I didn't react for a moment and just remained silent.

Someone gently hooked their arm around mine, but I wasn't used to physical contact, so I pulled my arm back.

I hated being touched. In the past, in that place, touch meant either being beaten or having several people surround me and tear at my scales.

Touch meant pain, meant flesh turning inside out, meant scars that wouldn't heal for months.

The only touch I probably didn't resist was from Big Yellow and Second Yellow because they were not humans, they were dogs, yet they gave me a warmth that humans couldn't provide.

I was born as a monster covered in scales, my eyes wide open, emitting faint sounds resembling death.

Just at that time, Great-Grandfather, who I happened to point at, also passed away.

They said I was an ominous monster and threw me to the guard dog, Xiao Hua.

They said I was neither human nor ghost, just a beast, and beasts should be with beasts.

And the woman who gave birth to me was also imprisoned in the mansion.

Later, a blind fortune teller told me that the woman was bought. At that time, he divined that if she gave birth to a male baby, it would help the family prosper for a hundred years.

If she gave birth to a female baby, it was because her fate was special and she could prolong Great-Grandfather's life.

Everyone had expectations, but no one expected that I would be born as this monster.

Fortunately, Xiao Hua got pregnant that year and gave me a mouthful of milk.

Coming back to reality from my memories, the wound that no longer felt pain seemed to be tightly constricted by a thread, throbbing hotly.

Blood kept oozing from the spot where the scales had just been pulled off, but I ignored it.

Once, I pulled off scales from more than half of my body in one breath, and they all healed.

In time, everything would be fine.