When a country is subjugated, spring grass grows, and there is no ancient hill from the palace.
Since Emperor Liao went south and conquered Chen State all the way to Shangzi, the Han people retreated into Yubi Pass, three hundred miles south of Yubi Pass, connecting Hebei Prefecture to Liao. There is a city of Runan in Hebei Prefecture, which has been the distribution center of goods in the Central Plains and Saibei since ancient times. Now it has fallen into the territory of Liao. In the past, the largest city in Hebei Province was now in ruins, with less than 30,000 households left.
In Runan City, there is a Duan family.
The Duan family said that they were not big or small, and they said that they were not small or small. They did some reselling business from former merchants. There was a pawnshop and an oil mill. The whole family relies on the wife to manage.
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the setting sun shines, and in the city of Runan, the bluestone is engraved with golden light, and the alleys are covered with stone waves like rolling gold. Heartbreaking screams came from Duan's courtyard.
"Let you steal Madam's things again!"
"Speak! Survivor! Little beast!"
The stick fell on a child's head and body like raindrops, making a muffled sound. The child was in ragged clothes, his face was covered with mud, his head and face were covered with bruises, his eyes were swollen, his arms were scratched with purple-black bloodstains, and he hid behind the house, but accidentally knocked over the wooden tray in the hand of the maid, and provoked the housekeeper again. a scream.
Immediately afterwards, the child took a stride, and knocked the shrew to the ground desperately, and punched her in the face.
When the child opened his mouth to bite, the housekeeper screamed, "Murder—"
The scream attracted the groom, and the strong man rushed over with a fork in his hand. The boy was hit hard on the back of the head, his eyes darkened immediately, and he passed out, followed by another beating, which woke him up with pain until blood dripped from his shoulders. He carried him by the back collar, threw it into the woodshed, closed the door, and locked it.
"Selling wontons—"
The voice of the old man in the alley came, and when it was late at night, Lao Wang carried a burden and walked through the streets and alleys.
"Duanling!" the voice of the child outside the hospital shouted.
"Duanling!"
This cry awakened the child, Duan Ling had a wound on his shoulder with a fork, and a blood hole was punched by a rivet on his palm, and he limped up.
"Are you all right?" the child outside shouted.
Duan Ling was panting, his facial features twisted into a ball, and he didn't even have the strength to stand. With a sound of "Ai", he sat down heavily, and the child got a response and hurried away.
He slowly slid down, lay down, and curled up in the damp, cold and dark woodshed, looking at the gray sky through the skylight. There is a twinkle of stars.
The sky was getting dark, and it was cold and silent. In Runan City, thousands of households lit up warm yellow lights, and the roofs were covered with a soft snow quilt. Only Duan Ling was still shivering in the firewood room. He was so hungry that he lost his mind, and there were chaotic images in front of him.
Sometimes it is the hands of the deceased mother, sometimes it is the splendid robe of the Duan family's wife, and sometimes it is the hideous face in charge of affairs.
"Selling - wontons -"
I didn't steal anything, Duan Ling thought to himself. He squeezed the two copper coins in his hand a little tighter, and his eyes were completely dark.
will i die? Duan Ling's consciousness tends to blur, and death is always so far away for him. Three days ago, he saw a beggar who froze to death under the Qingqiao, surrounded by people, and finally pulled the body out of the city with a trolley and buried it on the mass grave.
That day, he was still enjoying the fun and followed a few children outside the city. He saw them wrapped in straw mats and buried the body of a beggar in a pit. There was a small pit beside the pit. Now that I think about it, Maybe after his death, he will be buried next to a beggar he never knew...
As the night got darker, Duan Ling's whole body almost froze, and the last breath he exhaled became white mist, which rose densely, and snowflakes drifted in this breath. He fantasized about when the snow would stop and the sun would appear in front of him, just like the dawn of the sun on countless summer mornings.
The sun turned into a light, and as the firewood door was pushed open with a creak, the light shone on his face.
"Come out!" said the groom gruffly.
"Is he Duan Ling?" A man's voice said beside him.
Duan Ling was lying on the ground on his side, twitching slightly, facing the door, his whole body was frozen stiff, he sat up with difficulty, the man walked in, knelt in front of him, and looked at his face carefully.
"Sick?" the man said.
Duan Ling's consciousness was blurred, and his eyes were full of phantoms and hallucinations.
The man held the pill in one hand, fed it into Duan Ling's mouth, and then carried him into his arms.
In his vague consciousness, he smelled the man's body, and as his footsteps bumped slightly, the road gradually warmed up.
Duan Ling's old jacket had a hole, and the reed flowers sewn in the jacket covered the man's body.
Lonely night, the lights go out.
Holding Duan Ling, he walked through the corridor that was half shadow and half light, with reed flowers flying all the way behind him.
On both sides of the corridor, the unbridled laughter of the girl came from the warm room, and the rustling of heavy snow and the sound of babbling and singing, mixed together, and the world gradually warmed up, and there was light.
From cold winter to warm spring, from night to day.
Heaven and earth are the inverse journey of all things, and time is the passer-by of a hundred generations.
Duan Ling gradually regained consciousness, and his breathing became heavier.
The lights in the hall were brilliant, and Mrs. Duan was leaning lazily in front of the couch, holding a piece of landscape embroidered satin in her hand.
"Ma'am," said the man's voice.
Mrs. Duan said with a smile, "Do you recognize this kid?"
"I don't know." The man always hugged Duan Ling.
Duan Ling felt the previous medicine dissolve in his throat, and his stomach gradually warmed, and his strength seemed to come back. He leaned on the man's chest and faced Mrs. Duan, but he didn't dare to raise his eyes. A small piece of the luo bed that is full of flowers.
"The birth certificate is here." Mrs. Duan said again.
The housekeeper took the birth certificate and handed it to the man.
Duan Ling was short in stature, with a yellow face and thin skin. He was leaning against the man's chest. He struggled a little in fear, and the man let him go down to the ground. Duan Ling stood up against him and saw that he was wearing a black robe and his martial arts boots were wet. , with a jade waist pendant on his waist.
The man said again, "Mrs. make an offer."
"Originally, my Duan family will definitely not accept this child." Mrs. Duan said with a smile, "When his mother brought him home back then, it was freezing and snowing, and he couldn't find a place to go. They all said that God has the virtue of good life. , Once you live here, it will be endless."
The man said nothing, staring into Madam Duan's eyes, just waiting for her to speak.
"That's it." Mrs. Duan sighed leisurely, and said, "At least it was handed to me by his mother back then. This letter is still there, now, sir, what do you think?"
The housekeeper handed over another piece of paper, and the man put it away without looking at it.
"But now I don't even know your name." Mrs. Duan said again, "I handed it over to you in such a confused way. How can I explain it to Duan Xiaowan under Jiuquan in the future? You say yes?"
The man remained silent.
Mrs. Duan showed her robe sleeves and said with a lot of style: "Originally, Duan Xiaowan was not clear about this, thinking that since the person is gone, the past will be written off. Today you took this kid away, in case you come. When someone comes to the door again and says it was sent by his father, what should I say? Do you say yes?"
The man remained silent.
Mrs. Duan smiled at him, then turned her eyes to Duan Ling's face and waved at him. Duan Ling subconsciously took a half step back and hid behind the man, clutching the corner of his robe tightly.
"Ah." Madam Duan said, "Sir, you have to give me an explanation."
"No way." The man finally said, "Only money, make a price."
Mrs. Duan: "..."
The man fell silent again. Mrs. Duan looked at the scene and understood that this person was obviously only planning to pay the taels of silver to settle the parenting debt, not to say her identity, and no matter what happened next, she would leave everything to the Duan family.
After a while, Mrs. Duan checked the man's face and saw that he had stretched out his hand and took out several colorful silver notes.
"Four hundred taels." Madam Duan finally made a bid.
The man held a silver note in his fingers and handed it to Mrs. Duan.
Duan Ling's breathing was suffocated. He didn't know what the man wanted to do. He heard from the maids that in winter nights, there would always be people who came down the mountain to buy children, and then sent them to the mountain to be eaten by monsters. He instinctively had fear. .
"I'm not leaving!" Duan Ling said, "Don't! Don't!"
Duan Ling turned around and ran. As soon as he took a step, the maid grabbed his ear and was dragged back in tearing pain.
"Let go of him." The man said solemnly, and then pressed a hand on Duan Ling's shoulder.
The pressing force exceeded a thousand inch, and Duan Ling was unable to move immediately.
The housekeeper took the silver note and handed it to Mrs. Duan. Mrs. Duan frowned slightly, and the man said, "No need to look for it, let's go."
Duan Ling: "I'm not going! I'm not going!"
Mrs. Duan said with a smile: "Where are you going? Why don't you stay overnight?"
Duan Ling screamed hoarsely, but the man looked down at him instead.
"What's wrong with you?" the man asked, frowning deeply.
"I'm not going to feed the monsters, don't sell me! Don't—" Duan Ling burrowed under the table, but the man's hand was faster, grabbed him, then clasped his slender fingers, and flicked Duan Ling's waist , Duan Ling fell straight to the ground.
He picked up Duan Ling, and under Mrs. Duan's suspicious eyes, she carried him out of the door.
"Don't be afraid." The man held Duan Ling in his arm and replied in a low voice, "I won't send you to feed the monsters."
As soon as he left the house, the cold wind was like a knife, rolling the snow and blowing towards his face. Duan Ling's throat seemed to be blocked by a retrograde air. He opened his mouth, but could not make any sound.
"My name is Lang Junxia." The man's voice said, "Remember, Lang Junxia."
"Selling wontons—I." The old man said in a leisurely voice.
Duan Ling beat a drum in his stomach and looked at the wonton stand. The man who called Lang Junxia stopped and pondered for a moment. Then he put him down, took out a few copper coins, and threw them into the bamboo tube in front of the wonton stand. ' sound.
Duan Ling calmed down a little, thinking who is he? Why bring yourself out
A yellow light in front of the wonton stand penetrated the fluttering snow. Lang Junxia pushed and pressed Duan Ling on his back a few times to unblock the acupoint. Duan Ling wanted to call again, but Lang Junxia snorted, and the old man took a bowl of hot air. The steaming wontons were brought to him.
"You eat." Lang Junxia said.
Duan Ling couldn't care less, took the bowl, not afraid of burning his throat, and immediately ate it. A bowl of fresh meat wontons has a large filling, sprinkled with sesame seeds and crushed peanuts, and a small piece of oil is dissolved in the soup, which is fragrant and fragrant. The bowl is covered with boiled red snow.
Duan Ling buried his head and devoured the food, his hunger had overcome his fear, and when he was eating his mouth full of soup, he put on a fox fur and wrapped himself around him.
He drank the soup bowl upside down, put down his chopsticks, exhaled, and then turned to see Lang Junxia.
The man's complexion was wheat-colored, just like the person in the painting, with a high nose bridge and deep eyes. His pupils reflected the lights in the alley and the flying snow in the world.
A suit of clothes complemented his tall figure, and the black robe was embroidered with a few ferocious monsters with long and beautiful fingers. There is also a bright sword hanging around his waist that can only be seen on the stage.
Sometimes when visitors from the capital return home in brocade clothes, they ride high-headed horses down the street, and Duan Ling huddles in the crowd to watch the fun, and he sees those brocades and buddies who are proud of the spring breeze.
But none of them are as good-looking as this person, and Duan Ling can't tell how good-looking this person is.
He was terribly afraid, for fear that this man named Lang Junxia was a monster, and the next moment he was about to show his fangs and swallow himself to fill his stomach, but Lang Junxia stared at him intently.
"Are you full?" Lang Junxia asked, "What else do you want to eat?"
Duan Ling didn't dare to answer, thinking about how to escape from his side.
"Let's go when you're full." Lang Junxia said again, and stretched out his hand to hold Duan Ling, but Duan Ling only shrank back and cast a look for help at the wonton seller, but Lang Junxia turned his hand and pulled Duan Ling's hand. Hold it, Duan Ling didn't dare to earn it, and followed him obediently.
"Report to Madam." A servant came to report and said, "The man took the escape child to eat wontons in the alley."
Mrs. Duan held her jacket, blinked uneasily, called the housekeeper, and said, "Call someone, follow him, and see where he will send the survivor."
There are thousands of lights in Runan City, and Duan Ling's face was red from the cold. He was led by Lang Junxia and walked barefoot on the wet snow. After reaching the Diancui Tower in the middle of the city, Lang Junxia finally noticed that Duan Ling had no shoes, so he had to put He picked it up, whistled inside, and then a horse came out slowly.
"Wait for me here, I'll do something." Lang Junxia wrapped Duan Ling in a fur coat and helped him mount.
Duan Ling looked down at him, Lang Junxia had handsome features, sharp-edged eyebrows and eyes, as if carved out of a jade bib, and there were some reeds on his hair. Lang Junxia motioned for him to calm down, turned around and plunged into the night, like an eagle spreading its wings.
Duan Ling thought wildly, who is this? run now? The horse's back was too high, and he didn't dare to jump off, for fear of breaking his leg, and even more afraid of being kicked by the horse. He pondered over and over again, not knowing whether to hand his fate to this stranger or to himself. The point is, where can you escape to? Just when he turned his heart, whether it was dead or alive, and handed it over to heaven, a figure flashed again at the entrance of the alley. Then, Lang Junxia stepped on the stirrup and turned on his horse.
"drive!"
The tall horse stepped on the bluestone road, made a series of hoof noises, galloped out of the alley, and left Runan City in the deserted night.
Sitting in front of Lang Junxia, Duan Ling sniffed and smelled the damp smell of his clothes. Unexpectedly, Lang Junxia's clothes were very dry, as if they had just been baked in front of the fire, and there was a good smell of biscuits. The cuff of the hand holding the rein was even more charred.
Duan Ling noticed that the place had not been charred before, so what did he do
Duan Ling remembered a story - it is said that in the black valley outside the city, there was a Jianghu guest who was killed in a dispute with the previous dynasty. They first turned into human beings, all of them were unparalleled in beauty and martial arts. After they found the child, they took them to the grave, showing their rotten faces and sucking the spirit of the child.
The child who was used as a substitute has been lying in the grave since then, but this corpse demon has changed into a skin and swaggered to the world to live a good life.
Duan Ling couldn't stop shivering. He tried to get off his horse several times and run away, but the horse was too high, and he might break his leg if he jumped off.
Is he a ghoul? Duan Ling thought wildly, what if the corpse demon wanted to suck his energy? Why don't you take him to someone else? No no... Never hurt anyone.
Someone was waiting under the city gate and opened the city gate for Lang Junxia. The horse went all the way to the south, galloping along the official road in the heavy snow, not going to the mass grave or entering the black valley, Duan Ling was relieved a little, there. Feeling sleepy in the turbulence, he gradually fell asleep in the dry smell of Lang Junxia.
In my sleep, two stretches of valleys, like paintings on a shadow puppet play, swept across the screen.
The goose feathers are snowing like a quilt, the mountains are like ink, and the horses are gone in this ink landscape.