Volume 1 Chapter 2: From the Youth
The man added: "I am really glad that I didn't make a big mistake, otherwise I would be worse than an animal."
The old woman was relieved to see him let go of Lan'er. She also saw that his tone was sincere and his face was ashamed, but he didn't seem to be lying. She picked up the bowl of hot soup and said, "There's nothing good at home. Drink this bowl of brown sugar ginger soup first to warm your stomach before you eat with us."
The man took the ginger soup, tasted it a little and drank it in one gulp. He immediately felt a heat spreading from his stomach, warming up from the inside out, and sweat oozing from his forehead. The old woman took the empty bowl and said, "Not so cold now, right? Tomorrow I'll go to the town and ask a doctor to come over and take a closer look at you ."
The man bowed again and said, "My name is Lin Qing. Thank you for your rescue. I will repay you in the future. I have almost recovered now. How dare I trouble you again?" After saying that, he coughed and covered his mouth with his hands, spitting out a few mouthfuls of dark red blood.
Seeing that he was seriously injured but still so serious, the old woman hurriedly said, "Who asked your name? Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I don't expect any reward in the future. Now that we have found you, do you want us to watch you freeze to death in the snow? You are vomiting blood now, why are you trying to be brave? Please ask the doctor to prescribe a prescription for you, so that you won't get sick in the future."
Lin Qing was afraid that outsiders would cause trouble here. It would be terrible if he revealed his whereabouts to others, so he said vaguely: "I am a martial artist. This is an internal injury. I have my own way of regulating my breathing and recuperating, which is different from the way of medicine. So there is no need to trouble you. Alas, I was really crazy just now. I actually treated you like this. It's really..."
The old woman waved her hands and said kindly, "It was just a misunderstanding just now. From your tone, you sound like you've been harmed by someone, so you have to be careful everywhere. You martial artists have strong bodies. You've been seriously injured and you're walking in the snow in just a single layer of clothes. An ordinary person would probably freeze to death in a short time." After that, she walked to the wall, opened the wooden box and searched for a while, then turned around and said, "My daughter and son-in-law died of illness at an early age, leaving me with Lan'er. Here are a few pieces of clothes left by my son-in-law. If you don't mind, you can use them for a few days. I'll make another one for you in a few days."
Lin Qing said hurriedly: "Don't worry, these few things are enough. I don't know your name, benefactor..."
The old woman said, "My maiden name is Wang, and everyone in the village calls me Wang Po. The child's father's surname is Lin, which is the same as yours. You take a rest first, I'll bring the food up." Lin Qing nodded, squatted down and said softly to Lan'er, "Did I scare you just now? I fainted and then woke up, and I was afraid of falling into the hands of my enemies, so I acted like this. Please don't blame me." Lan'er shook her head and said, "You listened to your grandma and let me go. I don't blame you anymore, but you are seriously injured and vomited a lot of blood." Lin Qing was touched to see that he was simple-minded, but was worried about her at this moment. As he was speaking, the door curtain was lifted, and Wang Po had brought in the food.
After dinner, Wang Po took some thick clothes and said to Lin Qing, "It's going to be cold these days, put on some more clothes." Lin Qing took them, and Lan'er asked, "Uncle, are you from the neighboring village? Why don't you wear cotton clothes?" Lin Qing couldn't help but smile and said, "Uncle is from Jiangnan, which is thousands of miles away from here!" Although Lan'er didn't know where Jiangnan was, he knew that thousands of miles was very far away, and he was even more surprised . He opened his mouth and just stared at Lin Qing. Lin Qing had experienced many killings, and the peace and tranquility of a farmer's family was very rare for him. After a while, he had become very familiar with Lan'er. Although he was injured, he would pick Lan'er up from time to time and whisper a few words, sometimes making Lan'er's eyes round with surprise, and sometimes making Lan'er laugh, but he didn't mind the thrill just now.
Wang Po came over and said, "It's late. Uncle needs to recuperate. Lan'er, go to grandma's room and sleep!" Then she took the child to the next room. After a while, she brought a quilt and put it down, saying, "Sometimes the kang is extinguished at night and it's very cold. Put another quilt on it." The winter in the north is extremely cold, and people have to burn fire to survive the winter. Therefore, the house is usually built with bricks, stones and loess to form a platform with a fire channel inside, commonly known as a "fire kang", which is connected to the stove outside. It can be used for cooking and heating. After Wang Po arranged it, she walked to the chair next to her and sat down. She poured a bowl of hot tea from the teapot on the table and pushed it in front of Lin Qing. She said slowly, "You came here from the south of the Yangtze River. There must be some major changes. Otherwise, you wouldn't come to the north with only a single piece of clothing and get so badly injured that you fainted on the roadside. Originally, people's sad things should not be asked casually, but since you have come to my house, it is also predestined. If you don't mind me being annoying, let's chat and talk about your future plans."
Lin Qing pondered for a moment and said, "Since you asked me this, I dare not hide it. I was poisoned in Jiangnan and lost 70% to 80% of my internal strength. Before I could recover, I was chased for days and fled all the way to the north. I couldn't eat well and couldn't sleep well. To be honest, I haven't had a decent meal for more than a month."
Wang Po sighed, "Your clothes are so gorgeous, but it's really pitiful that you have fallen into such a state. But it's hard to believe that you can't even have a full meal."
Lin Qing said, "When I first came out of seclusion, I thought I had finally gotten rid of the pursuit, so I breathed a sigh of relief. I found a hotel and ordered a table of decent dishes, ready to have a big meal. Before I could even start eating, hidden weapons from all directions greeted me. It turned out that the guests in this restaurant were all disguised people sent by my enemies!" At this point, he clenched his fists, his eyes were full of anger, and he said, "I can only sigh that I didn't have the ability to judge people before. Auntie, who do you think my enemy is? He is my sworn brother, no wonder he knows my whereabouts so well!" As if realizing that his voice was too loud, Lin Qing forced himself to lower his voice and said, "I reluctantly sent this group of people away. I didn't care about eating, drinking or resting. I ran north for several days and nights. It was getting colder and colder. It started snowing in the sky, endlessly. There were actually people ambushing in this bitter cold place waiting to kill me. I gritted my teeth and sent all of them away, but I also suffered internal injuries. Later... I fainted."
Wang Po said, "So you were betrayed by your friends... No wonder you acted like that just now. I just hope you can live in peace in the future. This is a small village that is unknown to the public. I believe you won't be hunted down if you escape here. When the storm has passed, you can either return to Jiangnan or bring your family here."
Lin Qing said sadly: "I don't have any family anymore... I don't know if they will find this place after a while! But don't worry, Auntie, I will never let you down. I will set off as soon as my injury heals!"
Wang Po said, "What are you talking about? Since you have no family, and I saved you, am I going to just watch you get chased and killed? Not to mention whether I let you go or not, even if I let you go, where are you going to go?"
Lin Qing said: "The world is so big, is there no place for me to stay?" As he spoke, a trace of sinisterness flashed in his eyes, and he said: "Besides, I can't hide in such a small village to survive. If a man does not take revenge, he will live in vain. How can I let the people in the world laugh at me, Lin... Qing, for being an incompetent rat!"
Seeing his fierce look, Wang Po stood up, wiped the water stains on the table, and said, "When will the fighting and killing end? I'm not trying to persuade you. I'm afraid that when you are most proud, you are just eating well and dressing well. Although you are down and out now, with your ability, even if you don't have the glory before, hiding your identity and enjoying yourself in peace is also a way out. You hate me and I hate you, and everyone in the world is angry. You kill me and I kill you, but you have no children and no home. You fight me and I fight you, and you waste your best years. Forget it. Fighting for fame with knives and grabbing profits with swords, I'm afraid it's just a life of running in vain." Seeing Lin Qing still standing there, she turned around and smiled, "I've said too much today, please don't be offended. It's getting late, you should go to bed early."
After hearing these words, Lin Qing was stunned and thought to himself: "This Wang Po looks vulgar, but she doesn't speak like a country woman. The last few sentences are even more weird." Lying on the kang, his mind was confused. Sometimes he seemed to have returned to the majestic time when he was giving orders, and sometimes he was being chased and fleeing. He fell asleep in a daze.
More than ten days later, the snow stopped and a big sun hung in the sky. The weather was very clear. Lin Qing got up early and sat cross-legged in the yard. He tested it himself. The toxin was still trapped in the Dantian Palace without any leakage. However, he had traveled a long distance and had no time to take care of it. The toxin stayed in his body for too long. I am afraid it will take one or two years to slowly force the poison out of the body and restore his strength. The internal injuries from the palm strike were not a big deal. Now most of them have healed and he will be able to recover in a few days.
Lin Qing looked around. The yard was not very big. It was surrounded by a wooden fence with dead branches entangled on it. They must be morning glories. No one picked the seeds of the flowers in autumn, and they were still trembling slightly in the wind. A gravel road in the middle led to the gate of the yard. It was called a gate, but it was just a few wooden boards nailed together, swaying back and forth in the wind. The land on the left was cleaned up and there were several ridges. It was probably used by the family to grow vegetables for food. On the right was a big tree that required two hands to hug.
Wang Po came out of the house and saw Lin Qing looking at the tree. She smiled and said, "This is a pear tree. It's a pity that it's not convenient to store. Why don't you try the pears?"
Lin Qing took a deep breath and felt that the air was very cold, but also had a unique fresh smell. The winter in the north is indeed not like the south of the Yangtze River. The weather is always gloomy, and sometimes it rains continuously. The dampness and coldness seem to penetrate into people's bones. Alas, the south of the Yangtze River... Thinking of this, Lin Qing felt a little bored. He turned around and walked into the house. He saw that breakfast had been set on the table. It was just a plate of pickles, a pot of porridge and a few steamed buns. It was a world of difference from the exquisite breakfast that Lin Qing had eaten in the past. However, because he was in a stable state of mind after getting rid of the pursuit, it tasted particularly sweet in his mouth. Seeing that Lan'er was using chopsticks to stir the rice in the bowl, and he was hesitant to speak to Wang Po, Fang slapped his forehead and thought to himself: "When he was rescued that day, I heard Lan'er tell his grandmother that he wanted to buy firecrackers. I guess it was because of this matter."
He put down his bowl and chopsticks and said to Grandma Wang, "Auntie Wang, my injuries are no longer serious. I want to take Lan'er out for a walk and buy him some fireworks and firecrackers to play with."
Wang Po smiled and said, "These things look very nice when lit, but they will be gone after a bang. That's why I don't buy more for him during the New Year. It's a relief that you still remember it." Then she took out a patched small bag from her cotton-padded jacket pocket, spread it out carefully, took out a few coins and put them in Lan'er's hand, saying, "Don't buy things carelessly when you go out with Uncle Qing, do you understand?" She looked up and smiled at Lin Qing, saying, "I'm sorry to make you laugh. If you don't use them quickly, I'm afraid that Lan'er will have a hard time going to the village school in the spring."
Seeing this, Lin Qing sighed in his heart: "In the past, we spent at least eighty silver taels every day, but I never thought that the life of an ordinary farmer would be so difficult. Well, one of them is old and weak, and the other is young. They don't have the energy to make money. They can only live a hard life by working hard on weekdays." Seeing that Lan'er looked very happy and satisfied, he held the big coins tightly in his hand.
After going out the door, Lan'er was so happy that he jumped and chattered all the way. Lin Qing glanced at Lan'er and thought, "This child is so pitiful. He has no father or mother, and only his grandmother brought him up. Seeing him so excited, I guess his grandmother doesn't usually allow him to go out to play." Lan'er took Lin Qing's hand and ran forward for a while. Gradually, more people came. The weather had been bad in the past few days, and few people went out. Today, the weather was clear, and people flocked out of their homes to buy New Year's goods.
Seeing this lively scene, Lan'er was already dazzled. She opened her eyes and looked here and there. Lin Qing had seen bigger scenes than this before, so she didn't care. She just let Lan'er pull her hand and run around in the bustling crowd. But Lan'er was not interested in anything else. She just stood in front of the firecracker seller for a long time. She didn't have much money in her hand, so she couldn't make up her mind after choosing. If someone else bought some, Lan'er would look at them enviously for a while.
Lin Qing wanted to buy , but he couldn't take out the 1,000-liang silver note from his pocket. Not only could such a large amount not be exchanged in this small village, but it would also bring trouble to their family. Looking back, he saw a hunter putting pheasants and animal skins on a cart, squatting on the ground and smoking a pipe. Lin Qing was surprised: "Everyone is shouting, why is this hunter not shouting? Doesn't he want to sell?"
Lan Er said, "It's no use for them to shout. Ordinary people can't afford these wild game. These things are mainly sold to the wealthy families in the town."
As they were talking, a man who looked like an official came over, weighed each piece of game, and said, "Old Hu, you still owe taxes. I see you've been doing well lately, isn't it time to pay it back?" The hunter hurriedly took out some silver from his pocket, bowed and whispered, "Sir, I've remembered this. One tael and two cents, isn't that enough?"
