Last night, it snowed in the middle of the night, and Little Liang River was surrounded by snow.
The river water is not frozen, and the flow speed is not slow. It floats out from the valley in the distance, carrying rotten leaves and broken branches.
A small fishing boat was parked in a leeward bend.
Old Man Sun was wearing a raincoat, squatting at the stern of the boat to collect the fishing nets. Several small fish were swaying their tails in the wooden basin, and a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old stood at the bow of the boat.
The young man's figure has grown longer, but his sleeves have become shorter, revealing two wrists that were red from the cold.
"Grandpa, it's stuck, it's stuck."
The young man lifted the fishing line and it was stretched straight.
Old Man Sun said without raising his head, "You idiot, don't pull hard and break the thread, and even the hook will be taken off."
The young man moved forward along the side of the boat, changing the direction and exerting force. A large ball of grass was pulled out of the water.
The grass grew strangely, with fine roots that were tangled into a thick ball.
"It's such a cold day, but it's still green."
The young man murmured, using all his strength to reel in the thread, and with difficulty dragged the ball of grass towards the side of the boat.
Suddenly, green grass rose up from underneath.
The young man shrank back in fright and almost knocked over the wooden basin, but the fishing line in his hand was still tight, "Master, there is something in the grass!"
Old Man Sun's eyes lit up, and he quickly picked up the fishing net, "Hold the line steady, there is a big fish, it is probably entangled in the grass, I can catch it this time!"
With a whoosh, Old Man Sun spread the fishing net and covered the ball of grass.
Then, he tightened the rope of the net and lifted it up with force, and the hull of the boat was tilted.
The young man rushed over to help. The grandfather and grandson blushed and pulled the rope until the net rope was shaking, before finally dragging the thing ashore.
The young man gasped and rushed over to pick up the weeds.
After only two handfuls were removed, five pale fingers were exposed under the grass blades.
"Master, ghost..."
The boy was so frightened that he jumped three feet high and ran away.
Old Man Sun is, after all, older and has seen a lot of things. He knows that he was just unlucky and saw a floating corpse.
He yelled twice, scolded the young man for being a disgrace, and then came up to select the fishing nets before he finished selecting them.
The man under the water plants suddenly coughed.
This cough almost knocked Old Man Sun out of his wits.
The grandfather and grandson were stunned on the spot, only to see a hand raking away the water plants, and a body that was so thin and disfigured sat up.
"God!"
Old Man Sun Grandpa and grandson shouted in unison, turned around and ran away, Old Man Sun actually rushed in front of the young man with a puff of smoke.
The man sat for a while, then his head suddenly dropped, his body tilted, and he fell back again.
The next day, early in the morning.
The sun was shining brightly, falling on a face that was so thin that it was out of shape.
Deng Qing's eyelids trembled and finally opened.
The first thing that comes into view is a few withered yellow reeds, with water droplets hanging from the tips of their leaves.
He turned his head and looked at the sky, where several water birds were soaring in the blue sky.
He looked at it for a long time and tried to push himself up to sit up, but he couldn't do it at all.
Deng Qing waited for a long time, finally gritted his teeth and sat up, moved his body again, and leaned against a big rock.
At this time, the grass blades on his body were half dry in the sun.
He tore off the roots that were wrapped around his chest and immediately took down a few rotten rags with a large number of fish bones and shrimp skins hanging on them.
Deng Qing was stunned for a moment, and finally, memories came flooding back.
He remembered, he remembered everything.
"I absorbed a large amount of Sha Qi in Li Dashan's body, which led to me being blinded by Sha Qi. Yes, then the underground river water came over and I fell into the river..."
With this thought, Deng Qing noticed that his hands were normal human hands.
He was overjoyed, it seemed that Sha Qi had melted away on his own, and Devour Heaven Scripture was indeed domineering.
"No, why am I so thin?"
Deng Qing noticed that his ten fingers were frighteningly thin, the joints were protruding, and the skin was wrinkled and clinging to the bones.
Looking further up, there is only one thin arm left, like two wooden sticks wrapped in human skin.
The muscular body of his body had completely disappeared.
"How long have I been floating in the water?"
Deng Qing was so surprised that he stared at the fish bones and shrimp skins hanging on the rags and thought to himself, "Did I keep eating fish and shrimps from the river while I was being deceived by Wasteland Baleful Intent?"
As he was thinking about it, suddenly there was movement in the east. It was an old man and a young man, one holding a wooden gun and the other holding a hatchet, shivering and coming towards this direction.
The person who came was none other than Old Man Sun's grandson.
Yesterday, something unexpected happened, and the grandfather and grandson fled home in a hurry.
After hiding in the quilt and shivering all night, the cruel reality forced the two of them to come here again.
After all, the guy who was eating, the boat, was still where he was.
"My father-in-law, what do you call me? I haven't thanked you for saving my life."
Deng Qing opened his mouth to speak, but even his voice was dumb.
He vaguely remembered that the two people who rescued him were the two people. Looking at their formation, he could guess that it was these two people.
"Are you... a human or a ghost?"
Old Man Sun trembled.
The young man tugged at Old Man Sun's sleeve, "Grandpa, look, he has a shadow. He is a human being. I heard the book said that those without shadows are ghosts."
Old Man Sun's tense shoulders finally relaxed.
Deng Qing looked at him and asked, "Old man, what time is it now?"
Old Man Sun completely relaxed, "The sun will come out around midnight."
Deng Qing said, "I'm asking, which year, what month and day?"
Old Man Sun said, "You young man, did you just run away from the mountains? You don't even know the year, month and day.
I really don't know which emperor is sitting on Imperial Court now. I just remember that it was the fifteenth day of the winter month in the year Jiachen."
Deng Qing was surprised, "Which year?"
Old Man Sun said with a worried look on his face, "In the year of Jiachen, on the fifteenth day of the winter lunar month. Young man, were you abducted by a gangster? Do you still remember where you live?"
Deng Qing smiled bitterly and counted it silently. Then he was surprised and counted it again.
Thirteen months, yes, thirteen months.
I actually floated in the river for more than a year, or in other words, I was in a state of ignorance and ate raw fish and shrimp in the river for more than a year.
Looking at how thin he is, he probably hasn't even eaten enough raw fish and shrimp.
Old Man Sun saw that Deng Qing didn't speak for a long time, so he asked the young man to catch the boat and find a set of old clothes. "Young man, put them on first, it's windy on the river."
Deng Qing thanked him, took the patched bunt, and when he put it on, it was a bit shorter and still empty everywhere.
Fortunately, although his body is thin now, he is not very afraid of the cold.
Half an hour later, the young man brought another clay pot with a lid from the boat.
When the lid was opened, there was half a can of freshly cooked porridge inside, still steaming.
Deng Qing thanked him, picked up the jar, and drank it in three sips.
The warm porridge water fell into his stomach, and he let out a soft sigh of relief.
But then, the hunger fire in my belly was aroused, and it became even more uncomfortable.
Deng Qing handed over to Old Man Sun, "Thank you, old man, for saving my life. May I ask where this place is?"
"Huai'an Prefecture."
Deng Qing was startled. He knew that Huai'an Prefecture, although still within the territory of Qingzhou, was already on the border of Qingzhou. It was at least seven or eight hundred miles away from Yanshan Prefecture.
Deng Qing asked again about the official location, stood up with a stick, and solemnly thanked his grandfather and grandson.
Old Man Sun asked, "Are you leaving?"
Deng Qing Thinked about it and sat down again, "It's okay to rest here for a few days. Don't worry, I will repay you with a big favor."
Deng Qing will not compete with his weak body.
He has already tried it, and now not only is his cultivation completely gone, he can't even summon the panel, and Mystic Wasteland Baleful Blood can't come out either.
At this moment, forcing yourself to walk is just seeking excitement.
Although the situation is not good, he firmly believes that time will be his friend.
As long as you slowly dissolve the impurities Sha Qi in your body, everything will be on the fast track.
The benefits of this Liangshan war will also be realized one after another.
What he is most anxious to see is what Mystic Wasteland Baleful Blood will look like now.
"You, a young man, speak elegantly and seem to be a scholar. It doesn't matter, I just treat it as a meritorious service. I can't afford anything else. I can still hold a few bowls of fish soup and vegetable paste."
Old Man Sun said, and asked the young man to help Deng Qing onto the boat. Deng Qing was very grateful.
In this way, Deng Qing stayed at Old Man Sun's house for more than ten days. Although he still didn't have enough to eat every day, he finally regained some energy, and the good news is that Devour Heaven Scripture can already operate.
On this day, Old Man Sun went to the market to sell fish and came back and told Deng Qing: "Young man, I have asked you to help you inquire about the matter."
In a few days, the theater troupe from New Moon Society will go to Yanshan Prefecture. They are often in this area. I asked the manager, and they said that if you help with the chores for free, they are willing to give you a ride."
Deng Qing felt warm in his heart and thanked him repeatedly.
Three days later, Deng Qing followed Old Man Sun to Jishang and joined the troupe.
Old Man Sun went away without waiting for Deng Qing to express his gratitude.
Just like that, Deng Qing followed the troupe and started walking towards Yanshan Prefecture.
Naturally, the troupe cannot move fast. When they encounter a market town, they have to stop and sing twice. When someone is having a wedding, they sometimes have to stay a few days longer.
Deng Qing followed suit and moved stools and rolled up mats, and cleaned up the debris on the floor after the show.
He can't do heavy work now, but fortunately he can read and count, and he can also keep accounts for the class teacher. If it weren't for his heavy appetite, the class teacher still likes him very much.
In this way, after walking for more than thirty days, we finally arrived at Fertile Water County next door to Everjoy County.
At this point, Everjoy County is already in sight, and Deng Qing bids farewell to the class leader.
When they heard that he was leaving, several girls from the theater troupe chased him out.
For no other reason than Deng Qing, just to get more food, he has been showing off his talk these days, and he has made it comfortable to serve these girls.
There are a lot of stories, jokes, and nonsense.
Seeing that such a wonderful man was about to leave, the girls were naturally reluctant to leave him.
Deng Qing bowed to everyone and left heartlessly.
At a quarter past noon, he finally saw the familiar city gate. There was no troupe to accompany him, and he was immediately severely interrogated.
But Deng Qing chose the entrance carefully. It was the north gate that he commanded when Everjoy County was patrolling.
The gatekeepers in this area, from common soldiers to gatekeepers, are all familiar with him.
After he revealed his identity, the gatekeeper Chen Pockface looked around him again and again, and after a long while he said, "It's brother Deng Qing. It's unmistakable. Darling, you are still alive. It is said in the county that you killed the enemy bravely and died for the country. You even built a tomb. It is very big."
Deng Qing was in a hurry to go back, reluctantly exchanged a few words with Chen Pockface's group, and then hurried to the Celebration Hall.
At three quarters past noon, he arrived at the Celebration Hall and stopped in front of the door.
The gate of the Celebration Hall has not changed, and the plaque is still hanging, but it shows a sign of decay.
The red paint on the door has peeled off, and a lot of the copper ring on the left side has disappeared, leaving two dark nail holes.
The gate, which used to be frequently visited and entered, is now very deserted.
On the notice wall to the left of the gate, there were several notices recruiting disciples. The number of disciples written on them was actually one or two less than when he entered.
Deng Qing stepped through the door, not even the concierge was there, but there were still voices inside.
"My waist sank! Tiger-Subduing Fist, Tiger-Subduing Fist, I didn't learn this set of boxing to fight a tiger, but I simulated a crouching tiger that could hunt at any time.
You can't even sink your waist, so what kind of tiger are you lying on?"
"While punching out, your feet should not be careless. Are you hitting someone, or are you afraid of falling yourself..."
Hearing that familiar voice, Deng Qing felt warm and relieved.
He followed the sound and walked into the martial arts training ground, and saw a dozen teenagers standing sparsely in three rows, practicing Tiger-Subduing Fist.
He just showed up, and Fan Sheng's outstretched hand suddenly froze in mid-air.
He stared at Deng Qing, his eyes widening little by little.
Deng Qing blinked. "What, Senior Brother, don't you recognize it?"
Fan Sheng's eyes turned red quickly and he rushed over. Deng Qing backed away repeatedly, "Don't do this, I'm not interested in men."
Fan Sheng said, "You still look so lazy, I know you won't die, you won't die!"
More than a dozen teenagers all stopped practicing boxing and stretched their necks to look here. After all, they had never seen the always stern Senior Brother Fan look like this.
Fan Sheng wiped his face, turned around and pointed at everyone, "Come here, see you Deng Qing Senior Brother!"
Your Senior Brother Deng is the Personal Disciple of our Celebration Hall, and can be called the number one master of our Everjoy County younger generation!"
Deng Qing frowned, it's not that he couldn't get used to hearing Fan Sheng brag.
But he knows that Fan Sheng has a stable temperament, and even he will risk his life to praise himself and give Celebration Hall control, which shows how little Celebration Hall is now.
It's just that I have to take two breaks to carry a bucket of water. How can I still Everjoy County be the number one master of the younger generation?
If this bullshit is blown out, if a guy really comes here to compete for fame, he will make a fool of himself on the spot.
However, those teenagers had already gathered around.
"Are you Senior Brother Deng who killed Monk Tang?"
A tall and thin boy looked at Deng Qing with admiration and said.
Fan Sheng waved his hand, "Who else is there besides him!"
The crowd suddenly became lively.
"I heard someone say that Monk Tang was very vicious, and he died at the hands of Senior Brother Deng."
"I also heard that Senior Brother Deng Initiation became Personal Disciple in less than a year!"
"I heard that Senior Brother Deng also came from a poor family..."
"That's not true! Senior Brother Fan said a few days ago that we, Humble-Born, can also produce such a genius."
More than a dozen pairs of eyes fell on Deng Qing, either excited or curious. Some people secretly looked at his thin wrists, as if they couldn't understand how such a thin person could have such abilities.
Deng Qing could only smile and nod.
Fan Sheng showed everyone the courtesy again, then drove them back to practice boxing, while he took Deng Qing to the back hall.
"Where have you been? Over the past year..."
Fan Sheng can't wait to ask.