In his dream, Changgeng recalled the events of many years ago. Around him floated the pungent smell of kerosene, the salty smell of blood, and the earthy smell of hay. He dreamt that he had turned into a small ball, curled up in a shabby basket, bumping along with the woman's uneven steps.
Hugel had long hair that looked like dark clouds. Unfortunately, her body was too thin, and her head looked a little big. She looked like a person who was made up of bones. She walked through the bandit nest that looked like a mass grave, humming a barbarian song.
Suddenly, she turned around, and her eyes met with Changgeng's. Changgeng instinctively shrank. Even though he had grown up and was indestructible, this thin and weak woman could always hurt him. He had a bone-deep fear of her.
However, she only looked at him silently for a while and did not make a move. Her face was stained with blood, her lips were pale, and her expression was wooden. Her whole soul was curled up in her eyes, which looked like two submerged reefs hiding stormy waves.
Then Hu Ge'er sighed softly, not looking very crazy. She reached out her thin hand and touched Changgeng's head. She changed the tune in her mouth. People from all over the world spoke different languages, but the songs that mothers hummed to coax their children to sleep were all similar. Changgeng was a little surprised. He had never known that his memory had such a scene.
She carried him through a seemingly endless path of death, and then stopped at the foot of the mountain. The mountain behind them was quietly burning. Thick smoke rose to the sky, and resentful spirits sank to the ground. Hu Ge'er wiped the sweat from her forehead, sat on the side of the road to rest, and took the little Changgeng out of the basket.
Changgeng struggled unconsciously, but Hu Ge'er raised him in front of her with both hands and stared at his face. He did not know who she was looking at, but her face suddenly showed an indescribable melancholy and tenderness. She placed the little Changgeng on her knees and gently traced his small facial features with her fingers. Then she bent down and gently kissed his forehead.
Changgeng did not dare to blink. He saw that the woman's eyelashes were thick like butterfly wings, and when they trembled slightly, they seemed ready to fly into the sky at any time. Then, without warning, she shed tears and said softly, "Why were you born here, child? Did Heaven send you here to suffer? "
Changgeng looked at her through his many years of memories. When she put her skinny hands around his neck, he suddenly felt very calm. He did not know why, but he was not afraid of this woman.
When she cried and wanted to strangle him, her hands that were stained with human blood were fierce, but her eyes were gentle.
By the time she was exhausted from crying and regained her senses, she released her hand from Chang Geng's neck and breathed into his dying throat. Her eyes, however, turned cold.
Every time she wiped away her tears, she seemed to evaporate a part of her soul from her body. She became more and more indifferent, and she became more and more at peace with little Changgeng.
Changgeng followed her and wandered all the way.
Until one day, Hu Ge'er accidentally saw Changgeng's feet. She suddenly showed a look of horror, covered her face with both hands, and took a few steps back. Under the helpless gaze of the little boy, she collapsed into a ball and cried bitterly. In his dream, Changgeng looked down at his feet and found that his toes were miraculously self-healing...
What was "self-healing"?
Changgeng tried hard to recall for a moment, and then the clear dream suddenly brought back the things buried in the depths of his memories.
He remembered when he was very young, when he should not have memories. At that time, he did have a congenital defect in his toes. Later on, he did not know when, but inexplicably, it grew back on its own.
Gradually, the characteristics of the brother he devoured would appear on the body of Urgan.
The growing toe gave Hu Ge'er a great shock. It was as if it constantly reminded her that she had turned her child into Urgan, and the characteristics of the child began to appear on this little "evil god", just like in the legends.
Changgeng looked at her with some pity. When he looked at all this from the perspective of an outsider, he suddenly understood how the crazy woman felt.
When a person was enraged by national humiliation and family hatred, it was easy to make extreme decisions, such as committing suicide, or even murdering her own child. But after all, it was just a quick cut. Even if it was bloody, there would always be a time when things would change. But she had to choose the path of incessant dismemberment.
Hu Ge'er suddenly rushed over, grabbed his feet, raised a stone, and smashed it down fiercely...
The pain was real, even if it was in a dream.
Hu Ge'er fiercely bent his toes. As she bent, she repeatedly said as if she was possessed, "You are not my child, you are not my child..."
Changgeng let out a painful groan. Stuck between the dream and reality, his whole foot was in so much pain that he almost could not feel it.
At this moment, a cold hand suddenly grasped his foot, just enough to relieve the burning pain. Changgeng gasped for breath. Someone whispered in his ear, "Shh — it's okay. It's all over. It doesn't hurt."
Changgeng looked up blankly, only to see that the scene around him had suddenly changed. His body gradually grew taller, but his clothes were still ragged, and his body was still covered with wounds. The boundless coldness seemed to soak into his bones. In the lonely land outside the Great Wall, he narrowed his eyes and saw a man coming against the light. His cloak was fluttering, and his steps were firm. There was an old wine pot with a Xuan Tie hanging on his waist.
The man's hands were as steady as iron, but his facial features were picturesque. He reached out a hand to him and asked, "Do you want to go with me?"
Changgeng looked at him. His body and mind were on the verge of collapse, and he could not speak for a moment.
"Go with me. You don't have to come back anymore."
Chang Geng grabbed the hand and let him lead him forward. He felt that he was growing taller and taller, stronger and stronger. It was as if he could cross thousands of mountains and ten thousand rivers with one step. As he walked, he suddenly turned his head and saw that the bitter cold outside the pass and the pack of wolves were gradually being left behind. Hugel was wearing the same yellow dress that she had worn before she died. Her hair was combed like an unmarried woman's, and she was silently watching him.
And there was another person beside her. At first, it was a little boy. Then, as Changgeng grew up on his own, he became a teenager step by step, and then a young man...
He had a face that was exactly the same as Changgeng's. He stood side by side with Hu Ge'er.
Hu Ge'er suddenly turned her head and pulled his head down. She stood on tiptoe and kissed the young man's forehead.
Then, together, they watched Changgeng go into the distance.
Changgeng suddenly opened his eyes. The sky was already bright. He suddenly had a different feeling, as if the shackles that had bound him since he was born had suddenly disappeared. His body was so light that he was almost not used to it.
The smell of Anshensan floated around him. Changgeng looked up and saw Chen Qingxu sitting silently on the side with a scroll in her hand. Seeing that he had woken up and was about to get up, Chen Qingxu gently raised a finger at him. Changgeng hurriedly followed her line of sight and turned his head. He saw that Gu Yun had already fallen asleep on the side with one hand on his shoulder.
Changgeng, who had originally planned to sit up, suddenly did not dare to move.
Chen Qingxu tactfully rolled the book into a scroll. After taking the next Anshensan, she quietly retreated.
In the silence, he could hear that person's light breathing. Changgeng gently grabbed the hand on his shoulder. Their fingers were interlocked in his hand. He silently watched Gu Yun for a moment. Then, he held his breath and got up. Slowly, he took off the glass mirror on Gu Yun's face.
Then, he carefully touched Gu Yun's lips.
The sneaky kiss did not alarm Gu Yun. Changgeng waited for a while. Finally, he had no choice but to slightly increase his movements. He gently licked Gu Yun's lips open. When he heard that the frequency of his breathing had finally changed, he pulled Gu Yun over and held him in his arms. Gu Yun did not open his eyes. He just habitually patted his back and coaxed him vaguely, "Sleep, I'm here."
Changgeng closed his eyes slightly and buried his head in the hollow of his neck in satisfaction.
The nightmare was over.
Then, the war was also over.
On the day that the western allied forces' letter of surrender was sent to the capital, Shen Yi sent an urgent message to ask Gu Yun how to escort them into the city.
Gu Yun replied briefly, "Giant kite."
Eleven years ago, Calais Yinghou used a giant kite to sneak into Yanhui Town in the northwest. He cast a shadow over Daliang. That shadow was also the starting point for the emperor of a generation to walk from the small town to the capital thousands of miles away. Now, the smoke of war had dispersed and the wind and rain had stopped. It seemed that such an ending was about to happen.
The capital was not like Yanhui Town. The city did not have the function of receiving the giant kites. Therefore, Beidaying was responsible for the defense. A path was opened on the moat outside the ninth gate. The inner city was filled with miniature iron fences to prevent the crowd from crowding into the water.
The new emperor led hundreds of officials to personally welcome them outside the city. In the evening, a whole row of giant kites returned from the south like wild geese.
Thousands of flaming wings rotated in the dusk. The setting sun plated the giant kites with a layer of gold through the steam. The roaring sound came from a few miles away. The setting sun fell into the moat and melted into the water, circling around the city.
All the generals on the giant kites lined up on the deck and cheered loudly.
The onlookers pushed thousands of river lanterns into the water. They floated and sank for thousands of miles, carrying the souls back to their hometowns.
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