Chapter 199 : Where can I find a bosom friend at the end of the world
"Xiaolan, wake up."
A familiar voice woke the little boy from his sleep.
The little boy slowly opened his eyes, and his vision gradually became clearer.
The pale sunlight slanted into the house through the cracks in the dilapidated windows.
In the corner of the high wall, in a dark and damp shack.
The mother leaned against the wall weakly. Because she was facing the light, the bruises on her face were no longer so obvious.
The northwest wind carried snowflakes and made a whirring sound like the roar of an evil beast.
"Mother."
The little boy moved his lips and subconsciously wanted to get up, but found that he had no strength at all.
My stomach was still growling.
He was very hungry and very cold.
In the fire pit, the last firewood was extinguished, leaving only dark red charcoal fire.
The little boy named Canglan shivered.
Subconsciously, he wrapped the torn linen cloth tightly around his body.
But this is of no use.
In the winter in the northwest, when the temperature is more than ten degrees below zero, clothes made of burlap and broken animal skins have no effect in keeping out the cold.
Compared with the cold, the feeling of hunger is more torturous.
The little boy clutched his empty stomach, feeling a dense stinging pain in his stomach, as if countless ants were gnawing at him.
But at this moment, he suddenly sniffed, turned around suddenly, and looked at the iron pot hanging on the fire pit.
The strange meaty aroma is emanating from inside.
The desire for food made the child, who had been hungry for more than ten days, widen his eyes.
The woman leaned over with difficulty and took off the iron pot, "Here is meat, Xiaolan, you eat it."
"Mom, where did the meat come from?" the little boy swallowed and asked curiously.
A sad look flashed in the woman's eyes, and she squeezed out a smile, "It was sent here from the City Defense Department. The Survey Corps has returned to the city and brought back many ferocious beasts. From now on... I will have meat to eat every day."
The little boy smiled happily, picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat, and was about to put it into his mouth when he stopped and said, "Mom, you eat."
"Mom has already eaten it," the woman pointed to the meat slices in the pot, "These are all yours."
The little boy's eyes flashed, not knowing what he was thinking. After a while, he picked up the iron pot and started eating.
Consuming the meat and soup together finally gave his weak body some strength.
"Xiaolan, bring the guqin to mom." The woman raised her hand weakly and pointed to a guqin hanging on the wall.
His slender fingers were placed on the strings, and with a slight hook, a pleasant sound came out.
"Can I play "Mountains and Flowing Water" for you today?" the woman asked.
The little boy nodded.
The sound of the piano is the only comfort for mother and son in the long cold winter.
A familiar melody sounded.
The wind and snow howled outside the house, and suddenly there was a thud and something fell.
The little boy turned his head and looked through the gap in the window.
Found an old man lying in the snow.
After a while, someone came forward, took off the old man's clothes, wrapped them around himself, and limped away.
After a while, two men came over, looked around cautiously, one to the left and the other to the right, then picked up the old man's legs and dragged him away.
The old man was dragged and did not resist. He just tilted his head and looked this way.
The little boy looked at the skinny, skinny face and the empty eyes, and felt very cold.
The old man was dragged into a shack across the alley.
Not long after, smoke rose from the shack.
This winter has been difficult. Many people have starved to death in the small town.
The little boy turned around and continued to watch his mother's fingers playing on the strings.
But out of the corner of his eye, he looked at the bright red tattered linen covering his mother's legs.
In the small town, the remaining returnees were guarding the city wall.
Ordinary people would not be able to survive the wind and snow, let alone fight against those ferocious monsters.
The meat in the pot...can't be animal meat.
The little boy raised his head slightly to prevent tears from flowing out of his eyes.
The woman is still playing.
It's just that I missed several syllables.
The little boy didn't point out the mistake, he just leaned on her thin shoulder and felt the familiar warmth.
His mother once told him the story in "High Mountains and Flowing Waters".
It is said that during the ancient Qin Dynasty, a luthier named Boya was playing the lute in the mountains. He met a woodcutter named Zhong Ziqi and he could hear the meaning of the music. Boya was very happy and regarded him as a confidant.
Later, the woodcutter Zhong Ziqi died. Bo Ya suffered from pain and lost his close friend. He felt that no one in the world could understand his music anymore, so he threw his qin down and stopped playing for the rest of his life.
"Why does that violinist go to the mountains to play the piano? Isn't he afraid of being eaten by monsters?"
This was the first question the little boy asked after hearing this story.
The mother didn't answer, just touched his little head and smiled faintly.
The little boy later learned that in ancient times, many monsters and beasts did not dare to hurt people because of the suppression of many gods and immortals.
For example, on the Huashan Mountain next to this small town, there is the temple of the immortal Jin Tianwang, which guards the Qinling Mountains and protects all people.
However, since the era of catastrophe, the northwest has experienced many earthquakes, and Huashan Mountain has long since collapsed.
The Qinling Mountains, like a dragon's spine, have become a paradise for countless monsters.
"Then who is mother's Zhong Ziqi?"
"Of course it's your dad."
"But dad went to Kyoto City and couldn't hear mom playing the piano."
"He will come back, and when the time comes, he will take us to live in Kyoto City with him."
The sound of the piano suddenly stopped.
The woman put her hands on the strings, her head lowered, and she was not breathing.
The little boy didn't dare to turn around or move.
I can only feel the temperature, disappearing from the woman's body little by little.
He stared blankly at the drafty roof and remained motionless for a long time.
The door was suddenly kicked open.
Several thin but fierce men rushed in, holding hatchets and sticks in their hands, "Hand over the food!"
No response.
The men were stunned for a moment, then stepped forward with knives in hand.
"Dead?"
"I'm starving!"
"There is still a little bit of residual warmth. He died not long ago and is still fresh."
"The little boy is still angry, what should I do?"
"Eat the big ones first and keep the small ones as spare rations."
"The second brother took off the door panel and burned it, the third brother set up the pot, and the fourth brother came over to help!"
The man with the scar on his face walked towards the woman's body and was about to take off his clothes when he suddenly heard the sound of a piano.
He turned his head and looked at the little boy sitting next to the guqin in surprise.
On the neck, a thin line suddenly appeared.
A thin line also appeared on the wall behind him.
The scar-faced man's head fell to the ground and rolled around a few times.
The sound of the piano kept ringing.
Several men lay scattered in the room.
There was a whistling sound outside the house.
On the city wall, a figure fell and crashed in front of the dilapidated shack door.
"Returning to the ancestors? There is no energy in the red mist, it is the awakening of the autonomous bloodline! It's actually... so small!"
"Don't be afraid, kid. I am the deacon of the City Lord's Mansion. What is your name?"
"Canglan."
…
"Canglan comes forward to listen to the seal!"
"Canglan, West Shaanxi Province, conferred upon you the title of "The Golden Heavenly Holy Emperor of Mount Huashan, Xiyue", granting you divine status and a divine status!"
The godhead containing terrifying energy penetrated between the eyebrows and entered the sea of consciousness.
Memories that have been sealed for a long time come in like waves and recede like tides.
That winter, that small town, that dilapidated shack.
The woman played the last song for her son.
The little boy knelt in front of the small tomb, with the bloody guqin beside him.
The little boy suppressed the sorrow in his heart and sobbed softly.
The wind and snow howled in the vast northwest land.
A little boy named Canglan carried the piano on his back and came to the wall of the small town.
Just to protect thousands of people like that woman.
Only by guarding the city can the man find his wife and his "Yu Boya" after he returns.
But this wait is ten years.
The eighteen-year-old boy finally decided to go to Kyoto City to search.
So, carrying his guqin on his back, he left that remote northwest town.
Arrive at the bustling city of Kyoto.
He stood outside the window of the luxury apartment and looked at the man and woman, watching TV together on the warm and soft sofa.
Their chubby, pink and tender little daughter of seven or eight years old, dressed like an exquisite little princess, was practicing the piano next to them.
There is heating in the house, so you will never feel the coldness of the northwest winter.
There is food in the refrigerator and you will never feel hungry.
"You shouldn't have left her."
The piano sounded.
The man's body shattered.
The woman and little girl fell in a pool of blood.
The police received a report and came to the apartment. They only found a photo in a pool of blood on the floor.
It’s a family portrait:
The young men and women smiled brightly, and the swaddled babies giggled.
Very happy.
Scenes of memories were awakened, then shattered and disappeared.
"My son can't understand this piece of music."
Chengchengcheng!
One string after another broke.
"Those who can understand it are also here to accompany you."
Bang!
The guqin collapsed.
The man in the divine robe slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes were full of majesty and coldness.
Godhead condenses, divinity crushes humanity.
The man named Cang Lan looked at the huge phantom of Huashan Mountain standing in the northwest.
Eyes cold.
"The Great Emperor Jin Tianyuan of Xiyue Huashan has returned to his throne."
