pain.
All the bones in his body seemed to be cracked, blood was splashing everywhere, his meridians were flowing backwards, and his limbs were twitching.
It hurts so much, so thirsty...Am I going to die? Help, help...
Water, I want to drink water, I want... Who can give me a sip of water?
Water...ah, who is it?
Shi Song desperately opened his eyes, and the world in front of him was a little blurry for a while. He winked hard and saw clearly that the monster in front of him was not a three-headed and six-armed monster, but a seven or eight-year-old little girl.
The girl was holding a bowl of soup in her hand and was putting spoonfuls of it into his mouth.
"You..." Shi Song grabbed the girl's hand, but his voice was as hoarse as a ghost's scream, "Who are you?"
He is too weak now, his internal strength has been lost, and he cannot exert any strength at all. Therefore, the girl easily got rid of Shi Song's hand, put down his left hand, and patted it comfortingly.
She filled a spoonful of soup, brought it to Shi Song's mouth, and said, "Ah——"
Shi Song looked at her and opened his mouth involuntarily.
His sense of taste has not yet recovered, but most of his sense of smell has recovered. When he drank a spoonful of soup into his mouth, a spicy fishy smell instantly poured into his nose, forcing his stomach to churn and he almost vomited the soup.
Looking at the girl in front of him, he endured it again and again before vomiting it out.
"Little sister, may I ask," Shisong leaned on a pile of thatch and tried to raise his body and asked, "Where is this?"
The girl glanced at him, and that glance made Shi Song's pain and restlessness disappear.
Nothing but because the girl in front of him looked so much like his sister Coral.
The long dark black hair that is the hallmark of the Shi family, the two big eyes that are like apricots, and even the left-handed habits are exactly the same as Shi Coral.
Now, is Coral at home, playing games with her aunts? Will she suddenly think of herself, and her young heart aches for him?
The pain was like a clinging Ayovine, densely wrapped around Shisong's body. He raised a hand to cover his heart, but did not raise his hand several times.
Shi Song struggled and rolled to the right. He instantly lost all strength and fell down.
On the right side of Shisong, there was only half a shoulder covered with blood scabs, rotten bones and flesh, and hastily bandaged.
His right arm was missing!
Shi Song felt it was difficult to breathe, and the cold sweat on his body made his clothes stick to his body, making him feel heavy and sticky. There was a sharp noise in his ears, his vision went black, and his missing right arm was aching.
At this moment, the girl stepped forward and said: "This is Yaxia Village, the ya of malt, the summer of summer."
Yaxia, budxia? How come he had never heard of this village?
Shi Song's heart tightened: I'm afraid the word "Yaxia" does not refer to "malt" and "summer", but refers to "under the cliff"!
The world was spinning and he was under the cliff! ! !
Shi Song pressed his temple where the pain was severe with his left hand, trying to remember what happened before.
One word kept appearing in his mind - martial arts conference.
He thought of the crowded road, the girl in gorgeous clothes, and the warrior with weapons and excitement written on his face. He was also very excited, not only because the martial arts conference was reopened after six years, but also because he came to find his friends today.
……friend?
There was another sharp pain in the back of his head, and a vague white figure appeared in front of him.
Ah, yes, his friend. Shi Song thought that it must be Xu Zhuchen.
Xu Zhuchen, with white clothes, white hair and dazzling red eyes.
He still remembered Xu Zhuchen competing with him before setting off. Zhuchen held the knife, and Shi Song held the sword. The two gave each other the weapons they were most familiar with and good at. Although the moves were unorganized, they were back and forth, which was very lively.
"Zhuchen," Shi Song held the sword like a knife and blocked Xu Zhuchen's blow, "I'm afraid there are no delicious dishes like Meichuan north of Lanhe River. Whoever loses this time will win. Can we go to Jinmantang to treat us?"
Xu Zhuchen pushed the sweaty hair away from his face and said with a smile, "You want to treat me to dinner so much?"
Shi Song clenched his fists and said, "It's not certain who will invite whom!"
He had forgotten who won and who lost that competition. He only remembered that that day, in order to practice it for the two of them, Jin Mantang cooked a table of delicious dishes, which were all delicious and delicious. They both ate and shouted, " No regrets in this life."
But why didn't Zhuchen rush to Yucheng with him?
It turned out that Mrs. Lan kept her and asked her to handle some accounting work. Shi Song really wanted to wait for her to leave together, but he couldn't bear it and Yu Cheng had important things to do, so he set off one step ahead.
Important matter?
What's important in Yucheng?
What's going on? Or... who?
Shi Song only felt as if his head had been cut open by someone, and the white skylight leaked in. It seemed that someone was standing in front of him, and he was very happy.
Who is it?
Dressed in moon-white clothes, he looked as familiar as the person he had known since childhood.
The person who has a sweet scent on his body and learns everything very quickly.
The person with pain written all over his face, the one who was conquered by everyone.
The person who took his hand, took away his inner strength, and pushed him off the cliff...
There was a throbbing pain in Shi Song's heart. Countless past memories and beautiful fragments of the past surged from the depths of his mind, pulling and forcing him to recall.
He saw Zhuchen and Han Ling competing in Qinggong. The two figures were as light and elegant as butterflies in flowers. He saw three people sitting in the grass pretending to "pass on Qinggong". Zhuchen and Lao Han both made painful moves. He also saw a red sun setting on the distant horizon. He galloped, with Zhu Chen and Lao Han's horses beside him. The three of them sang loudly and chased the sunset.
He saw countless past events, and those fragments finally settled on Han Ling's face - the twisted face that pushed him off the cliff.
Old Han, Han Ling, why are you like this?
Shisong looked up dejectedly: this room was a firewood shed for storing firewood. The soft and moist dry grass under him was cushioned. On the left hand side, there were piles of firewood, piled up in bundles. Shi Song was lying with his head against the wall right in front of the door. An unknown insect smelled the smell of blood and crawled around anxiously on his empty right arm.
Shi Song swallowed the bitter taste of blood in his mouth and saluted the little girl solemnly: "Little sister, I am Shi Song, the son of Shi Baichuan in Meichuan. Thank you little sister for your help."
He saluted with one arm, looking ridiculous. The girl also imitated his actions and said, "I am the coral from Yaxia Village in Yucheng."
Shi Song was stunned and couldn't help but laugh: "That's really fate. I have a little girl in my family, and her nickname is 'Coral'."
Coral nodded: "Yes, it's because you always call 'Coral' in your dreams. I guess Coral is very important to you, so you named yourself Coral."
Shi Song saw her serious face and couldn't help laughing.
"Then, Coral, I will treat you like my sister."
Coral looked at Shisong, thought for a moment, and said, "Okay, drink the soup first. I'm in a hurry to leave, so I can't be discovered by my parents."
Shi Song stretched out his left arm, picked up the wooden bowl, and took a sip of the soup in the bowl.
The soup was extremely fishy and had a foul smell. After it cooled down, it was even more difficult to swallow. Shi Song took two sips, chewed the meat slices in the bowl and swallowed. He couldn't help but frown and asked the coral: "What kind of meat is this?"
Coral stood by the haystack with her hands behind her back and said with a smile: "The leopard meat my father beat is not delicious, but it fills your stomach."
After hearing her words, Shi Song held his nose and drank the soup in the bowl. The fishy smell lingered in the tip of his mouth and nose, forcing him to almost vomit.
Coral watched him finish the soup all night long, her face full of appreciation. She took back the wooden bowl and turned to leave.
Shi Song was a little anxious and quickly reached out to hold her and asked: "Coral, how did I get here?"
Coral stood by the door and said with a smile: "Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you."
After Coral left, Shi Song carefully took out two bags of plasters from the waistband of his pants. The bottles and jars he carried with him were probably smashed to pieces, but these two bags of golden sore medicine were still intact.
Before Shi Song went out, his father specially changed this belt for him and told him that in critical moments, this belt could really save his life.
Now that I think about it, it was all thanks to my father’s foresight. Without these two bags of golden sore medicine, Shi Song would have been unable to do anything even if he woke up in Nha Xia Village. He could only watch his arm slowly rot.
Now with only one hand, Shi Song bit the corner of the bag with his teeth and slowly pulled the cloth apart. He was very careful in his movements, for fear of spilling a little of the medicine powder.
When he opened the cloth bag, Shi Song realized that he had been worrying too much. There is a layer of oiled paper inside the cloth bag. The oiled paper is tied very firmly, and the thick red rope is very reassuring.
This was tied by my father. Although it is not beautiful, it has a simple warmth.
After my mother passed away, my father seemed to have become too old overnight to move. After that, my father consciously or unconsciously took over the work that my mother had done when she was still alive. Whether it was cooking or packing the children's bags, he did it meticulously. If his father's craftsmanship hadn't been as bad as before, Shi Song would have doubted whether his father was being possessed by his mother.
But no, my mother has passed away and will never come back.
Shi Song still remembers the day his mother passed away. The sky did not turn gloomy and silent as in the story, but became uncharacteristically sunny and beautiful. My mother was lying on the hospital bed, panting with a smile on her face. But no matter how you look at that smile, it's the end of the stick.
"Song'er, Song'er..." His mother held his hand and said gently but firmly, "You must...not give up, you must revitalize the family."
Shi Song looked at his mother - there were only two of them in the huge room, which made his nose feel sour.
"Definitely." Shi Song grasped his mother's hand, "I will definitely do it."
Coral dislikes wielding swords and guns, and is determined to be the first "female champion" in Meichuan. Her father is getting older, and the shore-breaking knife is harmful to the body. To realize his mother's wish, he still has to rely on himself.
Shi Song gritted his teeth, spat on the powder, and covered the wound with the powder.
A sharp pain made him almost faint. He tried to maintain his sanity and applied another layer of powder on the wound.
Shi Song's eyes suddenly turned black. In the darkness, he saw two children, Zhu Chen and Han Ling when they were young.
"What happened next?" He saw himself grabbing Han Ling's sleeve and pleading, "The roses, chestnut cakes, and crab roe cakes are all for you. Just finish telling the story."
Han Ling was holding a bag full of pastries and was about to tease Shi Song when he looked up and saw Xu Zhuchen holding up his hands, his blood-red eyes slightly narrowed, and his hands making a "clicking" motion on his neck.
Han Ling trembled all over and continued:
"But the dancing girl discovered that the knight's face was streaked with blood and tears. One by one, they were like the winding scars left by the flames.
“It turned out that she danced all night and he cried all night.
"The dancing girl was grateful for the knight's kindness, so she took out her belongings and left Zixun Tower with the knight that day.
"A few years later, Wu Ji returned to Zixun Tower and bought the building, but gave it to the then owner. After the owner left due to fatigue, Wu Ji inherited Zixun Tower and raised her daughter as the heir.
"When her daughter was fourteen, Mai Ji died of illness.
"It was at that time that the knight reappeared in Zixun Tower. He collected the bones of the owner of Zixun Tower and personally carried the coffin to the funeral. Afterwards, people never saw the knight again, and the dancing girl's daughter was never seen again."
Seeing that Shi Song was still eagerly waiting for the follow-up, Han Ling gave him another shock: "It's over! This is the ending of the story."
Xu Zhuchen smiled imperceptibly, but Shi Song frowned in confusion.
"that's all?"
Han Ling nodded: "That's it."
Shi Song sighed heavily, leaned on the table, and said regretfully: "This ending is obviously not the ending... Oh, it's so boring."
At noon the next day, Coral arrived as promised, holding a bowl of soup in his hand.
Shi Song obediently finished the soup - the soup was even stale than yesterday, and the fishy smell was so strong that it was bitter, and even the use of Sichuan peppercorns couldn't cover it up. After Shi Song finished drinking, he felt that his teeth were coated with a bitter taste. While drinking, he was thankful that he had never eaten leopard meat since he was a child.
Coral sat on a pile of firewood. The clothes made of linen were not afraid of getting dirty, but it was hard to tell how dirty they were. She straightened her legs, stretched out her two little hands to reach her toes, and almost fell off the firewood.
"What's your name? Meichuan, right?" Coral swung her two skinny yellow legs, looked up at the beams of the woodshed, and said with a smile, "You are really lucky. When my sister went out When she saw you, she picked you up—she said you were very heavy!”
Shi Song smiled and said: "My name is not Meichuan, my name is Shi Song." He turned his head away from looking at Coral's calf, and asked: "Then when I was carried back...did I already have no right arm?"
He thought that Coral would deny it, but he didn't expect Coral to be quite sincere: "No, your right hand was only broken at that time, but it was still on you."
A terrifying conjecture appeared in Shi Song's mind, and he trembled: "Could it be...that you are coming later?"
Coral looked at him, confused: "What happened next?"
Shi Song saw that her eyes were innocent, and she really didn't look like someone who could eat people without any burden, so he relaxed a little and asked: "It's nothing, I just want to ask why your parents don't let you stay outside longer." ?”
When he was a child, the three of them, Han Ling, Xu Zhuchen, not to mention sneaking out of the house, would even ride horses for thousands of miles, forcing Zhuo Yuhuai to hunt down the three of them personally.
Speaking of which, Aunt Zhuo is really good at being a famous catcher of the generation. Carrying one in one hand, holding one in the other, and tying another to the horse's buttocks, the three teenagers took it home without any effort.
Coral sat on the tall firewood, with a pair of shining eyes like a lake filled with moon.
"Because my parents said," Coral's voice was innocent, "if you sneak out, you will be made into 'leopard meat' by others."
