Changgeng stood on his tiptoes with difficulty, looked over the crowd, and shouted, "Shi Liu!"
No one answered. The crowd that was chasing the giant kite began to swarm over in large numbers. Some cheered, some shouted, "He's here!", and some angrily shouted, "Stop pushing!"
Changgeng was bumped into a few times by people, which made him even angrier. He roared, "Godfather!"
The crowd flowed along the underground river. Changgeng struggled to stand against the flow while looking for the person. Soon, his forehead was covered in sweat from the jostling people. The shock he felt from the giant kite earlier had disappeared. With such a godfather, he didn't know how many years he would have to live.
Changgeng thought angrily, "Shen Shiliu must have nothing better to do. It's such a hot day. Why did he have to come out and see people?"
At this moment, someone not far away shouted sharply, "Stop squeezing, someone fell down!"
Changgeng looked around and couldn't help but look in the direction of the scream.
The crowd by the river became chaotic.
"Oh my god, how did he fall down!"
"Go over there and find the soldier on duty!"
"Make way! Make way! We can't get out. This is … "
Changgeng was just about to make way for the people who were desperately trying to squeeze out when he vaguely heard someone say, "Shi Liu, be careful!"
Changgeng quivered and suspected that his nerves were too tense. He hurriedly stepped forward and reached out to grab a person who was squeezing out of the river, "Who fell down? It can't be Shen Shiliu, right? "
It wasn't clear if the person heard what Changgeng asked, but he nodded carelessly, "I think so. Let me out first."
There was a buzzing sound in Chang Geng's head. In the heat wave of the giant kite's roasting, his back broke out in a layer of cold sweat. He took a deep breath and went against the flow of people to the riverside. He staggered a few steps before he managed to steady himself by holding onto the railing.
He looked down anxiously and saw a person struggling in the water.
The surface of the underground river was sixty to seventy feet above the ground, and the bottom could not be seen at first glance. It was emitting a deep chill. Large white waves swept past, and the people in the river were like duckweed floating in the water. They could not even hear the slightest movement, let alone see who it was.
Changgeng took off his coat. "Excuse me, excuse me!"
Someone shouted from the side, "You can't just go down like that. Hurry up and get that young man a rope!"
It was unknown who had hurriedly stuffed a rope into Changgeng's hand. Changgeng caught it and raised his head to look at the giant kite that was almost within reach. He still jumped down without hesitation.
"Pull it tight! Hurry up, the Giant Kite is coming, the people will be swept away! "
The giant kite that was about to slide over created a row of waves that were about the height of a person in the underground river. As soon as Changgeng entered the water, he was hit in the chest and held his breath. He choked on a mouthful of water and was almost swept away. He quickly grabbed the hemp rope that was hanging from the shore and wiped his face.
The sound of the water and the giant kite slowing down roared in his ears. Changgeng's vision was filled with white waves. He could vaguely hear someone on the shore shouting, "Don't let go of the rope! The giant kite is coming. Hurry up and pull that young man up. It's too late! "
Changgeng said, "Wait a little longer!"
But the noise in the water was so loud that he could not even hear his own shout.
He desperately waved at the people on the shore, indicating that they should not pull on the rope. He struggled to swim towards the place where the waves were the fiercest.
Amidst the chaos, someone grabbed his hand that was groping around. Chang Geng didn't have time to think. He grabbed that person's wrist tightly and pulled that person into his arms. Before he could see who it was, the giant kite had already rolled over with a rumbling sound.
The people on the shore did not dare to delay any longer. The rough rope firmly tightened around Changgeng's waist. With a strong attack, Changgeng's body became heavy. He was forcefully pulled out of the water by several men on the shore.
As soon as he was out of the water, he felt that the weight in his hand was not right. Changgeng quickly blinked away the water droplets around his eyelashes. He suddenly realized that the person he was holding was not Shen Shiliu, but an eleven or twelve year old child — the fake girl, Cao Niangzi.
At this time, a long sound from the giant kite pierced his ears like a long knife. Changgeng's ears were buzzing. He did not have time to think. He shouted and first dragged the half-dead Cao Niangzi up.
The people on the shore shouted and pulled the two young men up one by one. But they were still too late. Changgeng's feet were still outside the river bank when the giant kite flew over without stopping. Its flaming wings were about to sweep his bare calves. Before it even arrived, the scorching hot wind had already rolled over, scraping his skin and flesh painfully.
"Don't touch the flaming wings!"
"Be careful!"
At this time, a pair of pale hands suddenly stretched out. Through all the screams, it grabbed Changgeng's arms and lifted him into the air. The surrounding people collectively cried out in alarm and bent down. Changgeng felt that he was almost directly thrown out. Then he fell into someone's arms.
He couldn't help but take a deep breath. A whiff of medicinal fragrance instantly entered his nose. Changgeng suddenly raised his head. The tip of his nose almost brushed Shen Shiliu's sharp chin.
Shen Shiliu's face was as calm as water. "I just didn't see you. You've caused trouble and even went out of the circle!"
Changgeng was robbed of his words. For a moment, he was speechless.
Shen Shiliu angrily said, "There are so many officers and soldiers on the shore. Do they need a child like you to save them?"
Changgeng: "…"
His heart, which had been in his throat, fell back to its original place. The blood that had stopped in his chest rushed to his numb limbs like a flood. At this point, he finally let out his first breath. It was so suffocating that his five viscera and six bowels turned inside out. His legs were so weak that he almost couldn't stand.
Cao Niangzi had already been carried to the side. She coughed and slowly woke up. Shen Shiliu saw that the child was fine, so he carried Changgeng out of the crowd. Shen Shiliu frowned. Changgeng, whose legs were weak, staggered. Shen Shiliu scolded him as he walked, "The temperature of the flaming wings hasn't dropped yet. If it touches you, it can sweep off half of your leg. Do you plan to be a cripple for the rest of your life? You don't know what's important … "
Changgeng trembled as he came back to his senses. Before he could do anything, he heard Shen Half-deaf's complaint. His anger suddenly boiled.
He straightened his neck and roared, "I thought you were the one who fell in!"
Shen Shiliu raised his amorous eyebrows. "Don't make excuses. I'm a grown man. How could I fall into the river for no reason?"
Changgeng: "…"
His heart, which had been disturbed by his concern, was completely treated as a donkey's liver and lungs. Heat rushed from his neck to his ears, turning them red. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether he was ashamed or angry. Anyway, he had a stomach full of demonic fire. Ordinary water couldn't do anything about it.
"Okay, don't quarrel here." Shen Shiliu reached out to touch Changgeng's wet hair. He took off his robe and wrapped it around Changgeng's body. "This is too messy. I won't argue with you today. Hurry up and go home to change your clothes. Be careful not to catch a cold."
He was quite magnanimous!
Changgeng angrily shook off Shi Liu's hand. His big movement made his palm hit something hard in his sleeve, causing his hand to hurt.
Shen Shiliu said, "Oh, that's the rouge I just bought. Remember to bring it back to your mother … Hey, Changgeng, where are you going?"
Changgeng didn't wait for him to finish speaking. He left him behind without a word and ran away.
In fact, Chang Geng knew that he was being unreasonable. He was purely prejudiced by first impressions. He had only heard the sound and didn't see clearly who had fallen into the water. He had panicked and jumped into the water. No wonder his adoptive father scolded him.
But when he thought about how that pervert was picking rouge next to him while he was burning with anxiety, he was so angry that his heart hurt. He couldn't suppress this anger no matter what.
Shen Shiliu was inexplicably left behind by Changgeng. He awkwardly touched his nose and couldn't understand. He could only blame it on the fact that all boys were temperamental at this age. Shi Liu, who was a first-time father, was a little distressed. He thought to himself, "If I had known earlier, I would have kept the Iron Fist for a day before giving it to him. Now he's really anxious. How am I going to coax him?"
He stood by the dark river with his hands clasped behind his back. The giant kite had already roared past him. Its tail light flickered and the dark river behind it slowly closed. Shen Shiliu was distressed for a moment. He began to stare in the direction of the tail light. His eyes weren't as unfocused as they usually were when he looked into the distance. Then his brows slowly furrowed.
Suddenly, his body swayed and disappeared into the crowd like a swimming fish. His steps were silent and his body was extremely fast. There was no sign of him dilly-dallying like he usually did when he was crossing the threshold.
Changgeng returned home sullenly. The hot wind blew over his body and the cold river water calmed him down a little. The anger between his eyebrows gradually dissipated.
His eyes looked very much like Xiu Niang's. The outline of his face was very deep. He didn't look like someone from the Central Plains … but he didn't look like a foreigner either. In short, he was a very special kind of handsome.
As soon as Changgeng stepped into the house, he saw the old cook standing on her little feet and looking outside. The old cook was surprised to see him in such a sorry state. "Oh, how did you get yourself like this?"
"It's nothing," Changgeng said weakly. "Someone fell into the river. I pulled him up and got wet."
The old cook followed behind him with small, quick steps. She rambled on, "Madam said that she won't set the table for now. I think she wants to wait for Lord Baihu. That's right, Madam wants Young Master to go to her room when he comes back. She said that she wants to talk to him in private."
Changgeng paused and his shoulders tensed up involuntarily. After a while, he nodded expressionlessly and went back to his room to change into dry clothes. While sulking, he carefully folded Shen Shiliu's robe and put it away. Then he picked up the rouge box and went to Xiu Niang's room.
The old cook was very curious about the strange relationship between Changgeng and his mother. She didn't dare to ask about it openly and could only stick her head out to look.
Changgeng tidied up his clothes in front of Xiu Niang's door as if he was greeting a guest. After tidying himself up neatly, he knocked on the Xiu Niang's door and said, "Mother."
A woman's cold voice came from inside the room, "Come in."
Chang Geng reached out and pushed the door open. After entering the house, he turned around to take a look. The old cook, who was peeking, met his gaze and was startled. She hurriedly looked away and stuck her head out to take another look. However, the door was already closed and she could no longer see any clues.
Xiu Niang's room was very dark. She hung a curtain on the window facing the sun.
It seemed that she couldn't see the light. She sat alone in a dark corner and looked at a dressing mirror.
Changgeng looked at her back and frowned slightly. Xiu Niang seemed to have taken the wrong medicine. She was wearing a yellow dress and her hair was combed like an unmarried girl. Time had treated her well. In addition to the dim light in the room, it easily covered the fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She really looked like a girl in her late twenties.
Changgeng opened his mouth and was about to call out to her when Xiu Niang spoke first, "There's no one else here. Don't call me mother. Did you buy the rouge?"
When Changgeng heard this, he didn't say a word and swallowed the word "mother" a second time. He let his internal organs digest to a pulp. Then he walked over and gently put the rouge box on Xiu Niang's dressing table.
"Oh, the color of this box is nice. It's bright." Xiu Niang finally showed a stingy smile.
She used her fingertips to pick up a bit of rouge and smeared it on her pale lips. She looked at herself in the mirror with great interest and asked, "Do I look good?"
Changgeng stood to the side with a cold expression. He didn't say a word. He was secretly curious. He didn't know why Xiu Niang had called him over.
Just as he was thinking this, one of his eyelids suddenly twitched twice without warning. Changgeng's heart skipped a beat. He seemed to have some kind of ominous premonition in his heart.
At this moment, Xiu Niang said, "In the future, you don't have to call me mother in front of outsiders. Our fate as mother and son has come to an end today."
As she said this, she raised her well-dressed and radiant face. She stretched out a pair of shallot hands, as if she wanted to straighten Changgeng's collar.
Changgeng suddenly stepped back to avoid her. "What do you mean?"
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