Volume 1 Chapter 3 The third smoke and flames fall
The official took the silver but had no intention of leaving. He squinted his eyes and kicked the pheasant on the stall, saying, "Old Hu, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but you're a bit immature. You've delayed paying the tax until now, and I'm taking the risk for you! If it weren't for me, you would have been arrested a long time ago, right?"
The hunter clenched his fist, but forced himself to hold back. He picked up the pheasant that the official had been kicking, lowered his head and smiled, "It's not that I'm getting worse and worse. It's the New Year, and I don't have much to give you. You can take it home and make soup to nourish yourself."
The official was all smiles, holding the pheasant wings, and walking towards other stalls, swaying. The hunter took out his pipe, lit it, and sat on the ground, smoking it with a puff.
Lin Qing said, "This official is so despicable. He actually oppresses the poor people like this. His cruel rule is worse than a tiger." Lan'er hissed, "Don't let him hear it. This is considered good. If you are disrespectful to him, he will kick over and search the whole stall. The hunter still has some prey, enough for him to sell for the New Year." But a well-dressed man came over, asked the price and took out some silver. He waved his hand and another man who looked like a servant carried the game away. The hunter took the silver, stuffed it in his arms, and tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe before leaving the market.
Lan Er enviously said, "I also want to be a hunter when I grow up, and sell game every day to support my grandma. But my grandma insisted on letting me study and not let me go up the mountain."
Lin Qing touched his head and said, "Lan'er is very filial. Hunting is a matter of life and death. If you are not careful, you will be injured by the prey. It is very dangerous. Your grandmother will naturally be reluctant to let you go."
Lan Er looked up and asked, "Uncle Qing just said that a harsh government is more ferocious than a tiger. What does that mean?"
Lin Qing said, "Even if ordinary people can deal with tigers, they can't deal with these evil officials. Tigers only eat people, but heavy taxes can destroy people in a blink of an eye." After thinking for a moment, he picked up Lan'er, carried him on his shoulders, and shouted, "Let's go to the mountains to hunt!"
Although Lin Qing was poisoned and his strength had not yet recovered, he still managed to kill several preys without any effort. He killed two roe deer and hunted a pheasant. He picked up the prey with his hands and said, "It's almost done. Let's go to the market to sell these." After that, he carried Lan'er on his shoulders as he did when he went up the mountain, held Lan'er tightly, and ran all the way. In a moment, they arrived at the market again. Soon, the two roe deer were bought by the buyer, but the pheasant's wings were broken. Lan'er looked reluctant to let it go, and from time to time she gently stroked its feathers with her little hands. Lin Qing said, "Since Lan'er is reluctant to sell it, why don't we take it home and raise it?"
Lan'er couldn't help but cheer, jumping around Lin Qing. Finding the place where the firecrackers were sold, Lan'er no longer hesitated and picked a few. Lin Qing asked in surprise, "Why did you only buy these?" Lan'er said, "It's good to have some fun during the New Year. These are already much more than last year." Lin Qing nodded, secretly feeling that Aunt Wang had taught Lan'er to be very sensible and sensible.
Before they knew it, it was noon. The two of them walked back slowly. Whenever they met someone pointing at the pheasant in Lin Qing's hand, Lan'er's face lit up and she thought to herself that Uncle Qing was really amazing.
When they entered the room, Wang Po had already set the dishes and chopsticks in the house. Lan'er ran in, looking up with a red face from the cold and said, "Look at the firecrackers Uncle Qing bought for me! Better than those of Agui and the others!" Wang Po scolded, "You have no manners and you don't even say thank you to Uncle Qing for his hard work?!" Lan'er was still very excited. Although she was scolded, she was not discouraged and still said enthusiastically, "Thank you, Uncle Qing!" Then she hurriedly took Wang Po's hand to go see the pheasants, chattering and exaggerating what had just happened, describing Lin Qing as if he were a god.
Wang Po found a strong rope to tie up the pheasant's feet again, and then took a broken basket to cover it. She came into the house and said, "Nephew Lin, he lost his parents when he was young, and I am the only one who raised him. It's because of you that Lan'er is so happy." Lin Qing waved his hand and said, "I like Lan'er very much. Hunting is not difficult for me. These firecrackers are nothing. I just want Lan'er to save face in front of his brothers."
After a few days, although it stopped snowing, the weather became increasingly cold. Sometimes Lin Qing stayed out all day and stared at the window in a daze. Sometimes he went out early in the morning and came back at night. Sometimes he took Lan'er hunting and skating, and Wang Po didn't care about him.
One day, Lin Qing was leaning against the window again, and occasionally heard a few firecrackers outside. Lan'er was talking to the children outside the courtyard, her little hands dancing non-stop. Wang Po was busy in and out of the house alone. Unknowingly, the sun set in the west, and the house gradually became dark. Lin Qing slowly exhaled, turned around and saw a table full of dishes and a small pot of wine soaked in hot water, which was slightly steaming. Just as he was surprised, Wang Po had already led Lan'er in and said with a smile: "Hurry up and eat the New Year's Eve dinner, we will have to set off firecrackers and put up Spring Festival couplets later!"
Lin Qing was stunned for a moment, then he came back to his senses and said with a wry smile: "I actually forgot that today is already the 30th." Seeing his sad face, Wang Po was about to persuade him, but Lin Qing smiled and sat down and said: "Did you buy this wine specially for me? Thank you, Auntie. Speaking of which, this is the first time I have spent such a peaceful New Year." Lan'er said: "It will not be peaceful soon, because many families will set off firecrackers, and it will be very loud!"
Lin Qing smiled, poured a cup of wine, stood up and said: "I don't need to say thank you for your kindness, just use this wine to express my gratitude!" After that, he drank it all in one gulp, and sighed: "I just don't know how long I have to trouble you to take me in." Wang Po said: "It's a great fate that we can meet like this from all over the world. Why are you saying this? Don't you see that Lan'er treats you like his own uncle?" Lan'er shouted: "Yes, Agui and Xiaoer are very envious of me for having such an amazing uncle!" The three of them ate while chatting. After a meal, it was already pitch black outside. There were more and more firecrackers and fireworks, and the crackling sound continued. Before Wang Po had finished cleaning up, Lan'er had already pulled one with each hand and said: "Today I will compete with Agui and the others in setting off firecrackers. You have to go and help me!"
Wang Po and Lin Qing smiled at each other, and followed Lan'er out of the yard. Looking up, they saw the sound of firecrackers coming from various courtyards, from near to far. A group of children about the same age as Lan'er were looking around not far away. When they saw Lan'er, they waved to him. Lan'er ran out of the yard with firecrackers in his hand, chatting and laughing with them, and then set off the firecrackers they brought from home. It was very lively.
Wang Po looked at Lin Qing for a while and said, "I am not in good spirits, so I will go back to my room first. If you want to rest, ask Lan Er to come back with you."
Lin Qing stood at the gate of the courtyard for a while with his hands behind his back. He saw Lan'er and the other children looking up, their faces lit up by the fireworks, all of them excited, and cheering from time to time. Because he bought more and better fireworks for Lan'er than for others, Lan'er had a proud look on her face, and it was obvious that she had won the first place among the children.
Lin Qing looked up and saw fireworks in the distance shooting straight into the sky with a whoosh sound, followed by a loud bang, emitting thousands of golden lights, and then disappearing again; there were also fireworks that climbed upwards like golden snakes dragging a curved tail, and slowly dimmed; there were also fireworks that shone ; there were also fireworks that bloomed into large flowers of different colors in the air, and then fell and disappeared, like petals falling and scattering flower rain.
Lan'er and the others were just here for the splendor and joy that they could only see once a year. Lin Qing looked at them and smiled slightly, thinking of Auntie Wang's words: "It looks very nice when it's lit, but after a bang, there's nothing left." He thought to himself: "They just enjoy these things. Children are really easy to be happy."
The more he watched Lan'er and the others having fun, the more sad Lin Qing felt. He could no longer laugh. Aren't things in the martial arts world just like a big fireworks display? How many people want to become famous in the martial arts world? They work hard to climb up, some die at the hands of others while they are still unknown, and some are forgotten as soon as they become famous. It's like the waves washing away the sand. Generation after generation, who remembers them? In the martial arts world, it's all about taking revenge. He wants to take revenge, but if the enemy is right in front of him, can he really be "happy"? "Have you ever been as happy as these children for a moment?" He couldn't even answer.
In an instant, Lin Qing felt exhausted physically and mentally, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "You have lived for all these years, and what you pursued is nothing more than a big firework! If you don't stop these fame and fortune killings now, when will you stop?" Then he turned around silently, walked under the pear tree, and said to himself: "Li is a homonym for Li, I hope I can stay away from disputes and live a peaceful life from now on."
Lan'er was having fun, but when she turned around, she saw Lin Qing walking towards the yard dejectedly. She couldn't help but think, "Uncle Qing went back alone, and he didn't want to watch these beautiful fireworks. Is he thinking about his mom and dad too? I only know that when I miss my mom and dad, I don't want to watch any beautiful fireworks. My grandma gave me a lot of delicious food, but I don't think it's fragrant or sweet. Why don't I go and accompany him?" She looked back at the remaining fireworks on the ground reluctantly, and said to Agui and others, "You guys set them off first." She left the group of children alone, quietly walked into the yard, and saw Lin Qing half-kneeling under the pear tree, muttering to himself.
Lan'er walked silently to Lin Qing, squatted down and said, "Uncle Qing, why don't you watch the fireworks? Are you thinking about your father and mother?" Lin Qing turned around and saw Lan'er's face full of worry for him. He gently shook his head, took off the sword on his body, slowly pulled it out, and flicked it on the sword. The sword trembled slightly, like a pool of autumn water, and the moonlight reflected on it swayed gently.
Lin Qing held the sword and dug at the frozen soil below. After a while, he had dug out a big hole about three feet long. Then he wiped the sword carefully with his clothes, put it back into the scabbard, and put it into the hole he had just dug.
Lan'er had been watching silently from the side, and finally realized that Lin Qing wanted to bury the sword under the tree. She asked anxiously: "Uncle Qing, you usually never let go of this sword. That day you fell down on the side of the road with the sword tightly in your hand. Why did you bury it?"
Lin Qing turned around and said, "Because Uncle Qing has figured out some things." Seeing Lan'er frowning and still looking confused, he continued, "Uncle Qing traveled the world with this sword and killed many people. Now Uncle Qing doesn't want to kill anyone anymore, so he wants to bury this sword." Lan'er said, "Uncle Qing must have killed bad people." Lin Qing was stunned for a moment, shook his head and said, "There are good people and bad people. Some people are actually very good and upright, but they are only bad to themselves. I have a sword in my hand, so I killed him." Lan'er seemed to understand and said, "Is it like the teacher in the village? Everyone says he is good, but he always hits my palm." Lin Qing saw that Lan'er understood it completely wrong, and said, " The teacher hits you for your own good, to make you study hard. You will understand what Uncle Qing said when you grow up."
Lan'er said "Oh" and stopped talking, still puzzled: "Why do you kill people who are not good to you? I am afraid I still won't understand this even when I grow up." Lin Qing thought that Lan'er asked him a question but he couldn't explain it clearly, and he still blamed the killing on the sword in his hand. He couldn't help laughing, and prayed to the sword secretly that he would never hold this sword again. Thinking of this, he untied a leather bag from his waist. This was the jewelry and silver bills he brought with him when he fled that day. At this moment, he threw it into the pit without even looking at it.
Lin Qing pondered for a while and took out a small object from his arms. He stared at it for a long time and gently stroked the object with his thumb. Lan'er came forward and asked in surprise, "Ah, I've seen this green plaque before. It was thanks to it that Uncle Qing was saved!" Lan'er then told him in detail how the jade plaque fell out of Lin Qing's arms and was put back into his arms, which is how he discovered that Lin Qing was not frozen to death.
Lin Qing felt sad after hearing this, and said in a trembling voice: "This is an heirloom of my Lin family. Perhaps it was the spirit of my ancestors who used this jade tablet to bless me to be rescued by you that day."
Seeing the tears in Lin Qing's eyes, Lan'er slowly put the jade tablet into the pit, and then took it out again, repeating this several times, showing that he cherished it very much. In the end, he put it back into the deep pit and buried it with his hands. Lan'er thought to himself: "Since this green tablet was passed down by Uncle Qing's ancestors, it must have been given to him by Uncle Qing's father and mother. No wonder Uncle Qing is so reluctant to part with it." Thinking of this, she also helped push the soil next to it into the pit with her little hands. After burying it, Lin Longqing waved his sleeves and rolled up the snow next to it and sprinkled it on it.
Lan'er saw that the snow under the tree was no different from other places, with no signs of digging and burial. He knew that Lin Qing did not want others to know. He also felt that Uncle Qing treated him like an adult tonight and buried the "treasure" together, as if the two of them had a common secret. He felt a little sweet and proud in his heart.
It was already late at night. The children who had set off firecrackers had long since dispersed and the surroundings had become quiet. The air was filled with a pungent smell of fireworks, making the village seem even more desolate.
Lan'er was about to get up when she felt her legs and feet go numb and she sat back. It turned out that she had been squatting for too long and it was cold at night so she was a little frozen.
