Gao Yuan has no father or mother. He only remembers that his name is Gao Yuan. He doesn’t know anything else. He doesn’t even know when he started begging for a living. It seems that when he first remembered, he was already lying on the streets of Suzhou, waiting for passers-by to come to him. Two copper coins were thrown into the bowl.
Of course, he wasn't left alone. There are beggar gangs everywhere, and the beggar gangs in each place have their own rules of conduct.
In relatively affluent areas like Suzhou and Hangzhou, even beggars are relatively friendly. Of course, it's just relative.
Gao Yuansheng is thin and pitiful, so he can make considerable money every day. However, not all of the money went into his pocket. Nine out of ten of them were handed over to the local elders.
After finishing his meal every day, he would follow the beggars to gather at the Earth Temple outside the city in order to hand over the offerings to the elders.
This six-year-old child thought that the rest of his life would be like this: begging for food, handing in offerings, and the cycle repeats. When you are in your thirties, if you do well, you can become an elder.
Their elder wore patched clothes - he was not poor, and it was the rule to wear patched clothes. The elder was not bad, and he was very kind to these little beggars. He taught them how to pretend to be pitiful and how to beg money from rich people. Gao Yuan studied very seriously, and the elders praised him more than once in front of everyone.
I thought the days would pass by in such a hazy way, but something happened in the summer when I was six years old.
There was a young man among the beggars who wanted to rise to power. He killed the elder and became the new elder with his ruthlessness. He also took possession of the wife, daughter and real estate of the previous elder. Other beggars did not dare to provoke him and could only obey his orders obediently.
The new elder's behavior is different from that of the previous elder. He doesn't understand the meaning of long-term success. He wants to make a big fortune and never be a beggar again.
So he squeezed his subordinates even harder. In the past, if you earned ten copper coins, you would hand over nine. Now, if you earn twenty, you would hand over nineteen. For a time, there were complaints among the beggars, and some people began to secretly hide money. But he found out about hiding the money and chopped off two heads in front of everyone. The beggars below remained silent.
The new elder sat on the steps of the Earth Temple, looking at the beggars kneeling in front of him, with two heads at his feet. He said sadly: "You all should be sensible, if you don't obey, this is what will happen."
The new elder pointed at a few beggars with his chin, one of them was Gao Yuan.
He said, "You guys were born thin and pitiful. It would be a pity not to do something."
He waved his hand, and several people brought the little beggars to him. He randomly ordered three of them and said, "Break their legs."
He ordered two more and said, "Cut off one hand for each person."
Finally, his eyes rested on Gao Yuan. He smiled and said, "You are the smallest and most suitable...Old Liu."
After saying that, a thin old man walked out shakily. Gao Yuan knew this old man. He used to be a beggar in the north and only came to Hangzhou in the past two years.
The new elder asked: "Have you forgotten your craftsmanship?"
The old man smiled "haha" and said in a flattering manner: "Remember everything."
"Just him."
The old man took Gao Yuan's hand and took him into the Earth Temple. He stood there blankly at the mercy of others, completely unaware of what he was going to do. All I know is that after entering the Earth Temple, the cry of children and the sound of swords chopping bones began to be heard outside.
The old man tied Gao Yuan to the bed. Only then did Gao Yuan start to get scared. He asked tremblingly, "What are you going to do to me?"
The old man took out a sharp knife and said with a smile: "Don't blame me, kid, who made you so suitable. This skill of mine is inherited from my ancestors... cut off the two calves, leaving only the thighs. In this way, the length of the hands and feet will be It’s not too different. Did you see the sack in the corner? That’s dog hair. Later, I’ll rub the skin on your body to pieces, burn the dog hair into ashes, and sprinkle it on you. Wait until your skin grows. Well, my body is covered with dog hair. I used to use medicine to burn the skin, but it was too easy to kill people. It took my family three generations to improve the method, and now it is basically impossible to kill people... Hey, look at me, I am old. Loves to talk, and what he talks about is boundless. Baby, I want you to become a dog, and become a talking dog. Think about it, if a dog sings on the street, how many people will give you money
ah? "
Gao Yuan couldn't hear the cruelty of these words, but he didn't want to turn into a dog, because beggars often caught wild dogs to eat. What if I turned into a dog and was eaten by someone?
Gao Yuan started shouting, he was scared and he wanted someone to save him.
However, a child who has experienced the indifference of the world since he was a child knows very well in his heart: Who will save a little beggar?
Just when the old man was about to strike, he suddenly heard the new elder outside the temple shouting: "Who are you?!"
Immediately afterwards, there were the screams of the beggars and the sound of swords. The old man was frightened and hurriedly hid under the broken bed, not forgetting to warn: "Baby! Don't make any sound!"
Gao Yuan immediately closed his mouth and suppressed his fear, but tears kept rolling in his eyes.
The sound of fighting outside gradually became smaller. The new elder was not dead, but he seemed to be seriously injured. His weak voice rang out.
"You...who are you...why...kill us..."
"The rules of Yeyu Xiaozhu are that the name of the employer cannot be revealed. However, this time the employer has made it clear that you will die, so we have to tell you... This is not how the rules of the Beggar Clan work. Kill the elder, you Broken rules. Come on, brother."
After saying that, the new elder screamed and became silent.
The killers outside did not leave, but seemed to be checking if there were any survivors.
At this time, he heard another killer say: "Brother, how are these children? I remember the leader said..."
"They are very similar in age and body shape...but they have broken arms and legs, so they can't be used. Be smarter and let the children suffer less."
"Yes!...Brother, that's not right, there seems to be someone in the temple!"
"Go in!"
As soon as he finished speaking, two black figures rushed into the ruined temple. As soon as they entered, they saw the old man's two feet exposed under the bed. Without saying a word, the black shadow dragged the old man out from under the bed and killed him with a knife amidst the old man's pleading.
One of the dark figures saw a child lying on the broken bed with tears on his face, and raised a steel knife to chop him.
Another dark figure stopped him and said, "No, this kid has good hands and feet."
As he said that, he put one hand into Gao Yuan's crotch and touched it. He nodded and said, "It's a boy. Take him back."
Gao Yuan was taken away by two men in black, but he didn't know where they were taking him. They put him in a bamboo basket and carried him all the way, giving him food, drink, and even bought him new clothes. However, he could not show his head in the bamboo basket during the day, and he had to wait until night to eat, drink or relieve himself. Obviously, this is much easier than begging for food.
After walking for who knows how many days, they finally stopped in front of a big house. After entering the house, two men in black took him into a cellar. The cellar was very dark, with only two oil lamps on.
There seemed to be a person sitting in the center of the cellar. The person was tall and his face could not be seen clearly, but he had a full sense of majesty.
Two men in black knelt on one knee and said, "Chief, we have brought them."
"That's right," the man's voice was cold, thick, and emotionless, "send it to the house."
"Yes, leader."
From that day on, Gao Yuan lived in a tall, bright house with many servants around him. This little beggar who didn't know his life experience suddenly became a rich man and got a new name.
Chi Junqing.
After living in this house for a few days, another child came. This child was two years older than me and a little taller than me. The servants said that this was his brother named Chi Junyan.
Gao Yuan was very happy, at least he had a playmate.
They lived carefree in the house for half a year. They had enough to eat every day and they were very happy.
Of course, they are not completely free in this house. There are two rules: first, they are not allowed to go out. Second, you are not allowed to enter the backyard.
The two children abided by the rules at first, but as time went by, their naughty nature grew and they wanted to break the rules... They really wanted to see the backyard.
One afternoon, while the servants were taking a nap, the two sneaked into the backyard.
This backyard is okay
Such a unique place, the two of them were a little disappointed. At this moment, they heard a conversation coming from the backyard room.
"Send these two away, I'll rest assured that you can do your work."
"Thanks to the great chief's trust, I will take the two young masters away."
"Mark my words, don't let them get involved in the world."
"My subordinate understands."
After saying that, the two children heard the man walking towards the door, so they hurriedly hid in the flowers nearby. After a while, the door opened and four people came out, two adults and two children.
One of the adults was mature and steady, while the other one actually had a black cloth covering his face in broad daylight - not just covering his mouth and nose, but covering his entire face except his eyes. The two children were about the same age as them, but their eyes were a little more unruly.
The mature-looking man bowed to the masked man and took the two children out of the backyard.
After they left, the masked man suddenly said: "Here comes someone!"
In the dark corner of the yard, two men in black appeared. They stood silently in front of the masked man.
The masked man shouted loudly: "How did they get into the backyard!"
"Go back to the chief," the man in black said in a calm voice, "This is a matter in the front yard."
The masked man nodded and said to one of them: "Replace all the servants in the front yard."
"yes."
After saying that, the man in black pulled out the long knife from his waist and walked to the front yard.
He then said to the remaining man in black: "Bring them both into the house."
"yes."
After saying that, the man in black walked directly towards the flowers where they were hiding. Before the two children could escape, the man in black picked them up one by one and brought them into the house.
As soon as he entered the house, he could hear the cries of people in the front yard.
In the room, the two children were shivering.
The masked man sat on the bed, with a cold light projected from the two holes in the mask on his face.
"From today on, you two must know two things. One, I am your father. Two, you must learn to be obedient."
He waved his hand, and the man in black tapped their acupuncture points. The two trembling children fell to the ground unable to move.
The masked man stood up and said slowly: "If men have desires, they will think blindly. If they think blindly, they will be disobedient... Cut off their desires."
At this point in the dream, Chi Junqing suddenly woke up.
It has been many years, and he still dreams about that day. Every time I dream about something that has long since ceased to exist, I feel a dull pain, as if the scimitar is still between my legs.
