When Chang An stumbled and grew to more than six years old, everyone thought it was a miracle.
He really doesn't look like the kind of child who can survive in good health. Not to mention the orcs, even the children of the sub-orcs are a size bigger than him, and even the girls look much stronger than him. I don't know what kind of illness he has, but the cabin where he lives has a strong herbal smell every day, and he opens his mouth and coughs much more than when he talks.
Toddlers are generally full of blood, and their cheeks and lips are usually much rosier than adults, but this child is too unhealthy, he can't see any blood color, and the color of his lips is also pale. On the whole face, only the lips match. On the connected line and the corners of the eyes, there was a little precious blush strangely.
He was brought into the tribe by a sub-beast man named Zheyan when he was just over one year old. The elder and younger had been wandering for more than a year before they found a tribe willing to accept them.
At the beginning when others saw Chang An, they always said a few words such as "Can this child survive?" After Chang An became a little more sensible, people said this a lot, and even he doubted himself, but later no one I said this because Zheyan once heard that he played his life with others like a crazy wild dog.
Zheyan is missing an arm, but he is still a handsome man.
He was always explaining to others that Chang'an was not his own, as if he was afraid that others would forget this.
When Chang An was three or four years old, he always heard other children call the grown-up man in his family a daddy.
Zheyan's answer was a slap in the face.
I heard from the woman who brought the rattan she picked that day back home to weave baskets that Zhe Yan was yelling at the little guy.
"What did you call me? Let me hear it again, and I will smash your mouth! Who is your father? The bravest warrior in the tribe is your father! Before the death of the Great Elder, he personally gave you his domino Naming, look what you're doing?" The one-armed man roared at that time, "How could you... how could you call someone like me Daddy, you are depraved, do you have any shame!"
But the woman didn't hear the boy cry, not a sound.
Even if he went out later, he had to bear his half-swollen face for more than ten days.
The woman sympathized with the child very much when she said this.
Maybe Zheyan became really hysterical under the pressure of the ups and downs and the difficult life, maybe he just felt that he didn't deserve such a child to call him Dad, but such a complicated thing, such a small thing, How could it be understood
And Chang An is really a very peculiar child.
No one has ever seen him cry, and he never played with other children. He ran all day long without knowing where he went, and came back as a ghost at meal time. He didn't like to talk, and others touched him kindly To tease him with his head, he just stood there without saying a word, without smiling, silently enduring the other person's touch, waiting for the other person to finish speaking, then nodded or shook his head and left.
Only occasionally when someone takes pity on him and secretly gives him something to eat from home, the little boy will take a deep look at the other person with those unique, clear and bright eyes, as if he wants to remember him in his heart Like, and then bowed to express thanks.
And he survived like this, and it seems that he has become a good boy who knows how to repay his kindness.
When he was returning home, he saw a few long grass sticking on the door of the wooden house, Chang An paused and stopped - he knew that this was the meaning of Zhe Yan telling him to go away.
Heavy panting and sticky groans came from the room. Chang An actually didn't really understand what Zhe Yan was doing, but vaguely knew from the contemptuous attitude of others that this was a bad thing.
Ever since he was sensible, every time a "guest" came to the family, Changan would be kicked out by Zheyan, and slowly, the children also understood that this seemed to be their only source of income.
Zheyan is not in good health, not to mention missing an arm, even if he grows another arm, it is difficult to go hunting like other people's father. Asian beast men are born lacking in fighting power, so many Asian beasts usually grow up to become certain A craftsman, sometimes these skills will earn them the respect of others.
Of course, if they know neither craft nor fighting, sub-beasts can usually do rough work for people in exchange for food, even if their income is meager, they can still maintain a poor life.
However, Zhe Yan can no longer do rough work, and he has never learned any skills—even if he can, those fine things cannot be done with one hand.
Zheyan became a real useless person.
The north is not like the south. The city-states where people live together are usually scattered tribes scattered in the jungle or on the grasslands. To live in this kind of place, you must abide by the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest and survival of the fittest.
A useless person cannot be recognized by others.
Of course, there is another way to survive, which is to attach to a strong person, such as selling one's body.
The reason why Zheyan and Chang'an were able to stay in this small tribe was because of a word from the patriarch... and one night.
But this tribe named "Vulture" is not as good as Zheyan's original one. The supplies are not very rich, and the patriarch already has three wives, so he really has no spare energy to bring another sub-beast that can't reproduce to the family.
Moreover, after two or three years, the patriarch also gradually lost interest in Zheyan. From then on, the "guests" who came to the family were not fixed.
Chang An turned around and left as usual, walked to the river with his small pannier on his back, sat down and dipped his bare feet in the river.
"Chang'an, Chang'an, come quickly!" A passing woman saw him and waved with joy.
The woman's name is Ayan, she lives not far away, her husband died in a hunting, she has no children, and she lives alone. Generally speaking, women in northern tribes find it difficult to survive when their husbands die, and they will remarry, but there are exceptions—for example, Ayan, no one wants to marry her, not because she is ugly, but because everyone knows that she cannot have children .
A woman who cannot bear children cannot be a wife in a legitimate way. If she wants to, she may be able to exchange herself for the favor of others like a philosophical saying—of course, it is uncertain when she will be discarded.
Compared with such a life without dignity, she would rather live a difficult life by herself.
Ah Yan is good at extracting sugar from the malt barley used to make steamed buns. No one has such skills as hers. The sugar she refines is crystal clear and sweet—if she lived in the south, maybe her life would be easier. The desolate, poor, and war-filled Northland However, malted wheat is an important grain, and only a very small number of families can afford the surplus to make candy for children and women.
She had to do rough and heavy work for others besides making sugar.
Chang An picked up her straw sandals and ran over with them. A Yan carefully glanced around and found that there was no one. Helping the patriarch's wives to tidy up these raw hides—then reached into his bosom, took out a small paper bag and stuffed it to Chang An: "Take it."
Chang An took it over and opened it, and inside were three fingernail-sized pieces of bud candy, round and translucent.
Ah Yan whispered to him: "Take it and eat it, don't let others see it."
These are leftovers from when she helped people make sugar. She dare not take too much, or they will be discovered by others. Chang An picked up a piece, stood on tiptoe, and handed the candy to her mouth.
Ah Yan gently grabbed his frighteningly thin little hand and pressed it down, and said softly: "Chang'an eats, I've eaten."
Only then did Chang An put the candy in his mouth with great care. After all, he was a child, and after eating sweets, he couldn't help showing a smile.
Ah Yan looked at his smiling face—this child's eyes are beautiful, but his eyes are always a bit cold when looking at people, only when he smiles, the corners of his eyes are slightly pink, like peaches flying in spring Like petals. Ah Yan stroked his hair and sighed: "Chang'an looks better than all the kids in the tribe, as long as it's my child..."
Her gaze accidentally fell on Chang An's neck, and suddenly her expression changed, and she pulled off the child's coarse clothes, and there was a bloodstain that seemed to be pulled out by something on the place covered by the clothes.
"How did this happen?" Her face darkened, she stood up suddenly, and looked angrily at the wooden house not far away, "That bitch...he hit you?"
Chang An quickly shook his head, and said softly, "Zhe Yan is not a slut, he treats me very well."
He picked up his small back basket, opened the lid, and took out a bunch of flowers from it. The flowers grew in clusters, like little bells. Even if they were picked off, they could keep fresh for ten and a half months. , exuding a quiet fragrance, called "color bell flower", women like to hang it at home as decoration, but it is very rare, only in the deep forest, that is the place where hunters can set foot.
Chang An whispered: "Ayan, here it is."
A Yan took the flower, a little surprised: "Is it for me?"
Chang An nodded.
Ah Yan was stunned for a moment, then sighed, and rubbed the child's tender face with her hand: "Didn't you say that you can't go into the woods alone? What if you encounter a beast?"
"Go and see the training." Chang An replied.
At the other end of the forest is the training ground for young hunters and warriors. Chang An always likes to sneak into the bushes to peek. The adults there know it, but he doesn't hate it, and he never makes trouble, so let him do whatever he wants.
"Don't you like it?" The child seemed a little nervous.
"Very beautiful," Ah Yan said, "I like it very much."
She seemed to have something to say, but at this moment, the wooden door of Zheyan's house opened, and a man came out from inside. Zheyan was wearing clothes and followed him. They whispered something, Zheyan suddenly With a happy expression on his face, he shouted to this side from a distance: "Chang'an, come quickly!"
Chang An picked up the small backpack and ran over, Zhe Yan pulled him past him, and enthusiastically pushed him to the man next to him: "This is Chang An, the child I told you about."
The man frowned and looked at the little guy: "Are you crazy? This is too young... four years old?"
"He is more than six years old." Zhe Yan smiled apologetically, bent down and said to Chang An, "This is Lu Ke, a famous carpenter, and he will be your master in the future. You will become a respected person like him in the future. Craftsman."
Chang An looked at Lu Ke silently.
Zhe Yan grabbed Lu Ke's sleeve: "I can't teach him anything, please accept him, this kid can do everything, and he doesn't eat much... Please."
Lu Ke looked at Chang An critically: "Is he really six years old? But he looks too young—there are so many herbs in the room, is there something wrong with him?"
"No, no, he is very healthy, but he grows up later than other children!" Zhe Yan quickly denied, "I drink those herbs in the house, really! You believe me, if you think he is troublesome, every day Let him come back at night by himself, I will take care of him, Changan is very smart, he will never forget the road he has walked once, right? Talk to him!"
Chang An didn't nod or shake his head, and remained silent.
Probably after a man has vented his desire, his heart is always a little softer. Lu Ke hesitated, and finally agreed: "It's not impossible to let him try it tomorrow, but if he can't bear the hardship, I'll still give it a try." Will send it back to you."
When Zheyan heard this, his eyes lit up.
Lu Ke touched Chang An's head a little rudely, then put his hand into his arms: "Today's..."
"No, no," Zhe Yan pushed his hand back, showing a meaningful smile, "Nothing is needed, I like you, I am willing."
After watching Zheyan send Luke away enthusiastically, Changan came back and said to him, "The best way out for Yashou is to be a craftsman. You can live in any tribe in your life. Do you understand what I mean? ? To learn from Lu Ke, it is not easy to catch up with him... "
Chang An whispered: "I want to learn swords."
But Zheyan, who was immersed in his own joy, didn't hear it at all. He was busy looking forward to the future—this child was his treasure, and he used to be all the support for him to live, so he must have a bright future, and he must have a brighter future than anyone else. Everyone is strong.