Chang Geng stood on tiptoe with difficulty, looked over the crowd, and shouted: "Sixteen!"

No one agreed, and the crowd chasing the giant kite began to rush over in large numbers. Some were cheering, some were shouting “here we come”, and some were shouting angrily “stop pushing”.

Chang Geng was hit several times, which made him even angrier. He roared in anger, "Godfather!"

The crowd kept flowing along the underground river. Chang Geng was looking for people while struggling to stand upstream. He was soon sweating from the crowds of people. The shock he had felt just now from the giant kite was gone. With such a foster father, he didn't know how many years of life he would lose.

Chang Geng thought angrily in his heart: "Shen Shiliu is just bored. Why did he have to come out to watch people on such a hot day? Why not do something else?"

At this moment, someone not far away shouted sharply: "Stop pushing, someone is falling!"

Chang Geng looked around and couldn't help but glance in the direction where the scream came from.

There was a small-scale chaos among the crowd by the river.

"Oh my god, how did it really fall down!"

"Go over there and find the military officer on duty!"

"Make way! Make way! We can't get out..."

Chang Geng was just about to make way for the people trying to squeeze out when he vaguely heard someone say, "Sixteenth Master, be careful!"

Chang Geng shuddered, suspecting that he was too nervous. He hurriedly stepped forward and reached out to grab a person who squeezed out from the riverside: "Who fell in? Could it be Shen Shiliu?"

The man didn't know if he heard clearly what Chang Geng asked, and nodded randomly: "It seems so - let me go out first."

Chang Geng's head buzzed, and in the heat waves from the giant kite, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back. He took a deep breath, squeezed into the river against the flow of people without touching the ground, and staggered a few steps before he could stand firm by holding on to the railing.

He looked down anxiously and saw a person struggling hard in the water.

The water surface of the underground river was about 15 to 170 feet above the ground. You couldn't see the bottom at a glance. There was a deep chill and huge white waves were passing by. The people in the river were like floating duckweed with nowhere to rest. You couldn't hear any movement and couldn't see who they were at all.

Chang Geng took off his coat and said, "Please make way, please make way!"

Someone nearby shouted, "You can't just go down, get that boy a rope!"

Someone hurriedly stuffed a rope into Chang Geng's hand. Chang Geng caught it, looked up at the giant kite that was almost within reach, and jumped down without hesitation.

"Hurry up! Hurry up, the giant kite is coming and people will be swept away!"

The giant kite that was about to slide over created a row of waves more than a person high in the underground river. As soon as Chang Geng entered the water, he was hit in the chest and held his breath. He choked on the water and was almost swept away. He quickly grabbed the hemp rope hanging from the shore and wiped his face hard.

The sound of water and the giant kite's deceleration roared in his ears. Chang Geng's entire vision was filled with white waves. He vaguely heard someone on the shore shouting, "Don't let go of the rope! The giant kite is coming, hurry up and pull the boy up, it's too late!"

Chang Geng: "Wait a little longer!"

But the noise in the water was so loud that he couldn't even hear his own shouts.

He waved desperately at the people on the shore, signaling them not to pull the rope, while swimming hard towards the place where the waves were the strongest.

In the chaos, someone grabbed his groping hand. Chang Geng didn't have time to think, and immediately grabbed the man's wrist tightly and pulled him into his arms. Before he could see who it was, the giant kite had already rumbled over.

The people on the shore did not dare to delay any longer. They tightly tied the rough rope around Chang Geng's waist. With great force, Chang Geng felt a weight all over his body and was pulled out of the water by several men on the shore.

As soon as he came out of the water, he felt that the weight in his hand was not right. Chang Geng quickly blinked away the water drops around his eyelashes, and suddenly realized that the person he was holding was not Shen Shiliu at all, but a child of about eleven or twelve years old - the fake girl Madam Cao.

At this moment, a long trumpet sound from the giant kite pierced into his ears like a long knife. Chang Geng's ears were buzzing. Without time to think, he shouted and lifted up the half-dead Madam Cao.

The people on the shore shouted and pulled the two boys up one by one, but it was too late. Chang Geng's feet were still outside the river bank when the giant kite flew past without stopping. One of its flaming wings was about to sweep over his exposed calves, but before it could reach his exposed calves, a scorching wind had already rolled over, scraping his skin and flesh painfully.

"Don't touch the Fire Wings!"

"careful!"

At this moment, a pair of pale hands suddenly stretched out, cutting through all the screams, grabbed Chang Geng's arms, and swung him up into the air. The people around him screamed and bent over. Chang Geng felt that he almost flew out, and then he fell into someone's arms.

He couldn't help but take a deep breath, and a scent of medicine instantly entered his nose. Chang Geng raised his head suddenly, and the tip of his nose almost brushed against Shen Shiliu's knife-like chin.

Shen Shiliu's face was as gloomy as water: "I just didn't see it, but you got into trouble and got out of the circle!"

Chang Geng was interrupted by him and was speechless for a while.

Shen Shiliu said angrily: "There are so many officers and soldiers on the shore, do you really need a little kid like you to step forward and save people?"

Chang Geng: “…”

His heart, which had been hanging in his throat, fell back to its original place fiercely, and the blood that had stopped in his chest rushed to his numb limbs like a flood. Only then did he spit out his first breath in one go, which made his internal organs turn upside down and his legs so weak that he could hardly stand.

Madam Cao had been carried to one side, choking and coughing before slowly waking up. Shen Shiliu saw that the child was not seriously injured, so he carried Chang Geng out of the crowd. His brows were knitted, and he dragged Chang Geng, whose legs were weak, so that he staggered. He scolded him as he walked, "The temperature of the fire wing hasn't dropped yet. If it touches you, it can wipe off half of your leg. Do you plan to be a cripple for the rest of your life? You ignorant brat..."

Chang Geng came back to his senses trembling, but before he could do anything, he listened to Shen Banlong's complaints, and his anger suddenly boiled over.

He stiffened his neck and yelled, "I thought it was you who fell!"

Shen Shiliu raised one of his sentimental eyebrows: "Stop making excuses. How could I, a grown man, fall into the river for no reason?"

Chang Geng: “…”

His concerned heart was completely ignored. Heat surged from his neck to his ears, and his ears turned red. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether he was ashamed or angry, but he was just full of anger. Fan Shui was helpless.

"Okay, stop arguing here," Shen Shiliu reached out and touched Chang Geng's wet hair, then took off his outer robe and wrapped it around Chang Geng. "This is too messy. I won't argue with you today. Go home and change your clothes quickly. Be careful not to catch a cold."

He is quite generous!

Chang Geng angrily shook off Sixteen's hand, but with such a big movement, his palm hit something hard in his sleeve, causing pain in his hand bones.

Shen Shiliu said: "Oh, that's the rouge I just bought, remember to bring it back to your mother... Hey, Chang Geng, where are you going?"

Chang Geng didn't wait for him to finish and left him alone without saying a word.

Chang Geng actually knew that he was being unreasonable. He was just prejudiced and only listened with one ear. He didn't see clearly who fell into the water, and he jumped into the water in a panic. No wonder his adoptive father scolded him.

But when he thought about how that pervert was picking rouge beside him when he was extremely anxious, he got so angry that his heart ached and he couldn't suppress his anger no matter what.

Shen Shiliu was inexplicably left behind by Chang Geng. He touched his nose awkwardly, unable to understand. He could only attribute it to the fact that boys are all moody at this age. The first time he became a father, Shiliu Ye was a little distressed, thinking, "If I had known earlier, I would have kept the iron fist for a day before giving it to him. Now he is really anxious, how can I comfort him?"

He stood not too far away from the dark river with his hands behind his back. The giant kite had already roared past him, and the lights on its tail flickered. The dark river behind him slowly closed. Shen Shiliu was distressed for a moment, then began to stare in the direction of the tail lights. However, his eyes were not as distracted as usual when he looked into the distance. Then his brows slowly frowned.

Suddenly, he disappeared into the crowd like a swimming fish. His steps were silent and his body was extremely swift. There was no sign of the usual hesitation of looking down for a long time before crossing the threshold.

Chang Geng went back home in silence. The hot wind blew across the icy river water on his body, calming him down a little. The anger between his brows gradually dissipated.

His eyes looked very much like Xiuniang's, and his facial features were very deep, not at all like someone from the Central Plains... but not too much like a foreigner either. In short, he had a very special kind of handsomeness.

As soon as Chang Geng stepped into the house, he saw the old cook standing on tiptoe and looking out. Seeing his disheveled appearance, the old cook was surprised at first: "Oh, how did you get into this state?"

"Nothing," Chang Geng said weakly, "Someone fell into the river, and I pulled him out, and got soaked."

The old cook followed him in small steps, chattering, "Madam said not to set up the meal yet. I think she wants to wait for the captain. Oh, by the way, Madam asked the young master to go to her room when he comes back. She said there are some private conversations between mother and son."

Chang Geng paused, his shoulders tensed up involuntarily. After a moment, he nodded expressionlessly, went back to his room to change into dry clothes, and while sulking, he carefully folded and put away Shen Shiliu's outer robe, then picked up the rouge box and went to Xiuniang's room.

The old cook was extremely curious about Chang Geng and his family's strange mother-son relationship. She didn't dare to ask openly, so she had to follow and spy.

Chang Geng arranged his clothes in front of Xiuniang's door, as solemnly as if he was going to meet a guest. He dressed neatly and then knocked on Xiuniang's door, lowering his eyebrows and eyes: "Mother."

A woman's cold and desolate voice came from the room: "Come in."

Chang Geng stretched out his hand and pushed the door open. After entering the room, he looked back. The old cook who was peeking at him made eye contact with him and was startled. She quickly looked away and when she looked over again, the door was closed and she could not see any clues.

Xiuniang's room was very dark, and she had hung a curtain on the sunny window.

She seemed to be unable to bear the light and sat alone in a dark corner, facing a dressing mirror.

Chang Geng saw her back and frowned slightly - Xiuniang must have taken some wrong medicine, she was wearing a yellow skirt and had her hair done like an unmarried girl. The years had been kind to her, and the dim light in the room easily covered up the tiny wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and she really looked like a young girl in her twenties.

Chang Geng opened his mouth and was about to call her, but Xiuniang spoke first: "If there is no one else, don't call me mother - have you bought the rouge?"

After hearing this, Chang Geng swallowed the second "mother" without saying a word, letting his internal organs digest it thoroughly. Then he walked over and gently threw the rouge box that he had warmed in his palms onto Xiuniang's dressing table.

"Wow, the colors of this box are beautiful and bright." Xiuniang finally showed a stingy smile.

She picked up a little rouge with her fingertips and smeared it on her pale lips. She looked at herself in the mirror with interest and asked, "Do I look good?"

Chang Geng stood aside with a cold expression, not saying a word, secretly wondering in his heart why Xiuniang had called him over when she had nothing to do.

When he was thinking this, one of his eyelids suddenly twitched twice without any warning. Chang Geng's heart skipped a beat, and he seemed to have some kind of ominous premonition.

At this time, Xiuniang spoke up: "In the future, don't call me mother in front of outsiders. The fate between us as mother and son has come to an end today."

As she spoke, she raised her face, which was radiant after being dressed up, and stretched out a pair of hands that looked like they were peeling onions, as if she was going to straighten Chang Geng's collar.

Chang Geng suddenly dodged and said, "What do you mean?"