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Li Guanqi lowered his head, his body trembling slightly, holding the herbs and standing rooted to the spot, not daring to move. But the man instantly saw Li Guanqi's uncovered eyes. The man's face darkened, and he slapped Li Guanqi to the ground!
Slap!
"Damn it, how many times have I told you to cover your eyes!"
"You unlucky piece of trash!"
Li Dashan's anger flared even more as he saw the scattered herbs. He kicked Li Guanqi several times. Roaring, "Did you use the money to buy medicine?!!"
The boy had probably experienced such scenes countless times. He hugged his head, curling his body as much as possible. Since they fled and sought refuge with this distant uncle three years ago, these hellish days had begun. The fallen boy desperately shielded the scattered herbs beneath him.
The woman on the heated sleeping platform heard the commotion, stumbled, and pushed Li Dashan away, shouting, "Don't hit... don't hit the child..." Li Dashan, seeing this, picked up a wooden plank nearby and smashed it onto the woman's head!
Thump!
"You sickly wretch! Why the hell are you spending money on treatment! Just die already!"
"I should have sent you to the Zhao Manor as a servant earlier. At least you could have compensated us with some money if you died!"
Blood slowly trickled down the woman's forehead, but she continued to desperately shield the boy, continuously pleading, "Don't hit the child." Li Guanqi suddenly felt a warm, sticky sensation on his face. The boy's expression gradually turned ferocious as he realized what it was! He struggled desperately out of the woman's embrace and, relying on familiar memory, instantly grabbed the kitchen knife from the chopping block!
"Shut up!! If it weren't for your alcoholism and gambling, how would our family have come to this!!"
"How could my mother's illness have been delayed again and again!! How could my sister have been sold by you to the Zhao Manor and worked to death!!"
"The one who truly deserves to die is you!! You, Li Dashan!!!" Li Guanqi roared at the man, his face distorted, venting the fury that had been suppressed in his heart for so long. The anger, repressed for years, seemed to find an outlet at this moment.
Li Dashan, reeking of alcohol, watched his expression gradually turn vicious, and he cursed. "If I hadn't given you two a mouthful to eat when you were starving, you would have starved to death outside the city by now. And now you dare to raise a knife against me?"
Li Dashan looked around for a handy object, but the boy's ears twitched slightly, and he instantly pounced on the man! The kitchen knife shimmered coldly in the moonlight from outside the door. In his panic, Li Dashan grabbed a clay pot and smashed it down at Li Guanqi! The boy's figure was thin but agile. The moment the man made a sound as he lifted the heavy object, the boy, relying on his extremely keen hearing, dodged to the side.
Slap!!
Crash!
The clay pot shattered at Li Guanqi's feet. Accompanied by the sound of copper coins hitting the ground, the boy stood frozen in place!! Because he understood what that sound meant!! Those strings of copper coins looked so dazzling in the moonlight.
Li Dashan's voice suddenly rang out in surprise: "Hahahaha!! Ten strings!!"
"I'm definitely going to turn the tables this time!!"
"This time, I'm going to win back all the principal and interest, hahahaha!!!"
Li Guanqi, standing still, trembled uncontrollably. In an instant, scenes from his mind flashed like a replay. He hadn't eaten his fill since he could remember. He didn't know who his father was, because he had never seen him. He heard he had died in a famine long ago. Three years ago, after seeking refuge with this distant uncle, the true nightmare began.
Li Dashan often came to the house to take money. If he had money, he would buy alcohol and drink himself into a stupor, or he would spend days at the gambling den.
He's here again!!! He somehow found out about his sister's death and even set his sights on the ten strings of copper coins! Sometimes, Li Guanqi would fantasize, how good it would be if I were an immortal who could fly through the sky and burrow into the earth. Perhaps this worldly suffering would spare him somewhat.
As Li Guanqi turned, Li Dashan's curses still filled his ears. "Dead is dead, why burn the ashes!"
Li Guanqi slowly raised the kitchen knife in his hand!!
Song Wanrong's eyes flashed with a hint of reluctance, but in the end, she didn't open her mouth to stop him. She had long been utterly disappointed with Li Dashan. She knew her own life was nearing its end. She didn't want Li Dashan to sell her child for money after she died.
"Perhaps this... is for the best."
Pfft!
The sharp kitchen knife sank into his neck. The boy only felt a warm splash on his face.
Thud!
Li Dashan, his eyes filled with disbelief, collapsed into a pool of blood. The boy, who had experienced all this, also went limp, slumping to the ground.
Song Wanrong felt dizzy, her vision blurring. Her body gradually grew cold. Song Wanrong knew her time was coming to an end. She forced a faint smile onto her pale face. She softly called, "Guanqi... come here." Hearing his mother's voice, Li Guanqi quickly went to her side, trembling as he hugged her.
Song Wanrong held Li Guanqi in her arms, not even glancing at Li Dashan, who lay dead beside them. She instinctively covered Li Guanqi's eyes with her hand, comforting his back, "Guanqi, don't be afraid..."
"Dead is dead. It's better to be dead."
"Come, look up and let Mother see you properly again." Li Guanqi was incredibly sensitive; he immediately sensed something was wrong. When he looked up at his mother, tears were already streaming down his face, and he was sobbing uncontrollably.
"Mother... are you going to leave me too?"
"What will I do..." Song Wanrong's eyes grew blurrier. She looked up at the wind and snow outside the window and murmured. "Mother was useless; I made you suffer..."
"In the future, you must become a strong and upright man."
"Marry a wife, have children."
"Mother... will always be watching you from heaven."
"You must... live well..."
"Go see all the rivers and mountains, and the splendor of the human world."
Thud...
Li Guanqi felt the hand on his back fall limply. He roared with grief and indignation, "Mother!!!" He called out a few times, but still received no reply.
Li Guanqi sat slumped in his mother's embrace, his eyes blank, murmuring, "I... I don't have a mother anymore."
"I don't have... any family either." Li Guanqi's eyes were bloodshot, and tears streamed uncontrollably. He didn't speak, just carefully stroked his mother's face, as if to firmly engrave her image in his mind.
Afterwards, the boy once again knocked on the door of the shop draped in white mourning cloth. The fat boss impatiently opened the door, and saw it was the boy who had come earlier that evening. His anger immediately flared: "Why are you here again? Didn't you come during the day?"
"I'm telling you, those of us in this business operate with a conscience. I truly didn't overcharge you by ten copper coins!"
The boy, barefoot in the wind and snow, lowered his head, and only spoke in a hoarse voice: "My mother also died. Can you help me move her over?"
The boss, hearing this, suddenly felt a lump in his throat. His anger had long dissipated, replaced by a look of profound heartache. The boss removed the door panel, pulled the boy inside, and put a discarded old padded jacket from his home on him. His voice choked slightly as he said, "First, warm yourself up... I'll get dressed and go out now."
"You child... your life is too bitter. If you don't mind, you can work as my helper from now on."
"I won't promise you a lot of money, but at least you won't starve."
The boy, who had stopped crying, was overwhelmed by the boss's sudden concern. He squatted on the ground and burst into loud sobs. Li Guanqi felt the scorching flames in front of him and slowly knelt on the ground. He heavily prostrated himself towards the brazier.
"Mother, I will never forget your nurturing kindness. Guanqi will definitely live well!"
In the sky, Su Xuan, dressed in grey, silently watched this scene. As his fingers calculated, he couldn't help but sigh softly, "Such is fate. Even if I were here, I couldn't defy heaven and change destiny."
When the boy returned home through the wind and snow, Su Xuan stood outside his door. Li Guanqi, sensing someone, spoke in a hoarse voice, "Who are you looking for?" The old man's hand flashed with light, and he took out a thick padded jacket, draping it over the boy. He squatted down and held the boy's already frozen hands with his warm hands. Even the old man, who had witnessed countless sufferings in the human world, couldn't help but sigh with emotion over the boy's experiences that night.
Su Xuan softly opened his mouth: "Child, are you willing to come with me?"
"From now on, I am your grandfather, and we will leave this place."
The boy's eyes had long become numb, but he felt a warmth in his hands he had never experienced before. Tears involuntarily streamed from his eyes, and he said in a trembling voice, "Can I eat my fill...?"
Su Xuan felt a pang in his heart. He pulled the boy into his embrace and said in a deep voice, "Yes!"
"Not only can you eat your fill, I can make sure you have full meals and warm clothes every day!"
The boy nodded slightly. Afterwards, he left behind only two graves in this desolate wilderness, with inscribed tombstones. It was on this day that the boy left Beiliang City with the old man named Su Xuan.