Fuyao thought of these things intermittently in the midst of her chaotic running. Gradually, they felt distant.
In the end, these flashes of thoughts became fewer and fewer.
She ran all over the place, not knowing where she was going. Eventually, she lost her sense of direction. She didn't even know how long she had been running. At first, she seemed to have run into some mountain and recuperated for a few days. One night, she heard the clamor of people and suddenly felt uneasy. She jumped up and ran away again.
She came out with no money on her. When she smelled the melon and vegetable fields, she rushed in and plucked melons and corn. Along the way, she smacked watermelons to ensure that she could still pick a good melon.
She was very greedy when plucking corn. Like a blind bear, she plucked a huge pile of corn and put it under her armpit. She only plucked along one tree, unlike a blind bear who could not pluck a lot of corn but wasted the entire field.
Some of the corn was still milking and not very ripe. When she chewed on it, milky juice flowed down the corner of her mouth. It tasted astringent. That astringent taste was somewhat familiar. She stopped, grabbed the corn, and looked up at the sky. After thinking for a long time, she couldn't remember anything. She took out a pill and swallowed it. There wasn't much left, so she had to eat it sparingly.
After eating it, she thought for a long time. Then, she vaguely heard someone say to her,
"The people of the world are obsessed with obtaining it. They run for it, but obtaining it is actually just around the corner."
'That's right.' She clapped her hands in approval and continued to eat the corn. She soon forgot about it.
When she was tired of eating corn, she wanted to eat meat. When she crossed the mountain, she would hunt. The wild beasts in the mountain would run away in fear of her. But sometimes, she was the one running away. She would suddenly have a headache while hunting. At that time, she would cover her butt and run away. She was often chased by wild boars and wolves. The most dangerous time was when she fell off a cliff. She hung from a tree on the cliff and had a good sleep. When she woke up, her head was no longer painful. Someone asked her, "Did you sleep enough?"
After a good night's sleep, she felt refreshed and stretched her body.
Someone asked her, "Why did you lose so much weight?"
'That's right.' She touched her face. 'Did I lose weight?' Thinking of this, she was very dissatisfied. With a big stride, she jumped up the cliff and ate the wild boar that was guarding the edge of the cliff and still wanted to eat her. She ate one of its hind legs alone.
When she was tired of eating wild animals, she wanted to eat stir-fried vegetables. When she passed by the market, she would smell the air carefully. If there was a restaurant with a strong aroma, she would barge in. She would sit down with a golden knife and eat. After eating, she would wipe her mouth, and then she would slap her palm on the stone floor in front of the restaurant, leaving a handprint. She was ready to pay her debt in the future.
As for where the money would come from, she had never thought about it. She always felt that with her intelligence, she would have it sooner or later.
She didn't know which direction to go. It seemed that there were two hopes in her heart, and it seemed that the two hopes were conflicting. Why is it so troublesome? Then let's go.
Let's go.
The further they walked, the wider the road became, and the fewer people there were.
The air was getting more and more humid, and the wind was getting stronger and stronger. The fishy and salty smell was getting heavier and heavier.
One day, she raised her head and smelled the moist and bright wind. The sun was especially warm and gentle, and the air was especially open and clean. "Fuyao, when will we be able to work towards the same goal?" She heard a voice speaking leisurely in the wind.
Fuyao.
Oh, my name is Fu Yao.
Fuyao frowned. She had a problem with her name. It was too feminine!
She heard the sound of people passing by. Everyone seemed to be busy, and she was the only one standing there in a daze. She heard the sound of waves.
The sea.
She was by the sea.
The salty and hot smell was the smell of the sea.
"Fufeng has the inner sea, the Sea of Orkney. To the north of the Sea of Orkney is the Sea of Desolation." A clear voice spoke in her ear. "The Sea of Desolation is north of the Sea of Orkney, deep in the Qiong Cang Mainland."
Qiong Cang …
It sounded so familiar.
She wanted to go to Qiong Cang.
Who was it to find in Qiong Cang?
Who? Who?
She took out a pill and ate it like a broad bean. She started to think, but nothing happened after a long time. Perhaps she had taken the wrong pill. She took out another pill and ate it.
Zhangsun Wuji.
Although she could only think of four words, she cleverly linked the two fragments together and came to a conclusion. Go to Qiong Cang to find Zhangsun Wuji.
Very good, a conclusion with a clear goal at that.
Meng Fuyao was overjoyed. She grinned from ear to ear. Everyone who passed by her looked at her in surprise. She was a ragged little beggar with a pair of slightly red eyes. She stood foolishly in the middle of the busy crowd by the shore, and yet she was smiling brightly at the sky.
That smile was bright and clear, noble and comfortable. It was as appealing as the blue sky and wind by the sea.
This smile appearing on a ragged and injured little beggar was truly strange. Thus, someone immediately felt that it was an eyesore. Someone walked over with large strides and pushed the little beggar hard.
"Stop standing there like a rock! Get lost! "
He did not budge.
That person looked so weak that a gust of wind could blow him over, but he could not move him at all.
On the contrary, the man suddenly turned his head sideways and "looked" at him with his slightly red eyes that were clearly focused on something wrong.
Just one look and he could not say a single word. He had prepared a bellyful of vulgarities.
He only felt that gaze. Just a moment ago, he was still thinking of something, that gentle and generous gaze, but it suddenly became hard and cold. Like a sharp blade, it slashed down with a "pa" sound, and when it collided with him, it left a fire mark that cut straight into his heart.
He had never seen anyone with such a sharp gaze. It was as if they had been tempered thousands of times in the flames of hell. In the darkness, they shone with a fiery light.
That was the gaze of a blind man!
The gangsters on the pier had traveled extensively and often dealt with people of all trades. They had always been able to read people. When they saw that gaze, they immediately became vigilant and retreated. But it was too late.
That person easily stretched out his hand and grabbed him. Grabbing him in his hand, he carelessly fiddled with him. All he heard was a series of creaking noises from all the bones in his body. Then, that person let go of him and casually threw him away.
"Plop."
His fat body drew a ball-like arc in the air and fell into the sea ten feet away.
The sound startled everyone on the pier and stopped what they were doing. There was a division of power here, and Meng Fuyao's toss made the pier boss think that it was an enemy who had come to steal his territory. With a flick of his head, a group of gangsters surrounded her.
However, they did not dare to make a move. After all, Meng Fuyao's move was too shocking. They only dared to watch from afar, hesitating.
Meng Fuyao laughed coldly. She held a straw in her mouth and draped it in the wind, pretending to be a great person.
In her memory, there was something that liked to stretch in the wind, but she could not remember who it was. Also, why did she use the word 'something' to describe it? Meng Fuyao thought for a while, but could not think of an answer. She gave up.
Suddenly, her head hurt.
It was an inappropriate time, place, and situation, and it hurt all over the place.
"Ouch!" Meng Fuyao hugged her head, jumped up, and ran away.
The gangsters were immediately agitated.
So it was a spear head made of wax. It was fake!
With a loud crash, the hooligans surrounded her, punching and kicking her. Bricks and tiles rained down on her butt, making a pitter-pattering sound.
The dignified Lord of the Three Kingdoms, Lord of the Nine Firmaments, and Empress of the Great Wan, was being chased by a group of scum at the seaside of Fufeng E Lake.
Fortunately, she could not remember who she was.
She didn't feel ashamed at all as she ran away. Her vision became blurrier due to the headache. She could still see a silhouette at first, but now she couldn't see anything clearly. Suddenly, she bumped into something hard and heard a "bang". Then, a cloud of dust rose up and covered her face.
'So many stars … golden …'
'Spin … spin … spin … spin …'
The dignified Lord of the Three Kingdoms, Lord of the Nine Firmaments, and Empress of the Great Wan, was being chased by a group of scum at the seaside of Fufeng E Lake. Then, she hit a wall. The wall collapsed, and she fainted.
Meng Fuyao fell to the ground with a thud. Before she fell, she felt countless people pouncing on her. She even vaguely felt someone pouncing on her.
She seemed to hear that person shouting, "Everyone, please have mercy. That's my stupid third brother …"
'Your mother is the stupid one.'
Queen Meng thought.
Then, she sank into the darkness.
= = = =
When Meng Fuyao woke up, she felt that her surroundings were dark. The space seemed very wide, and there was something swaying below her in a rhythmic manner.
The sound of the waves came from far away, and the emptiness was clear. She sat up and listened to the sound of the waves. She knew that she was on the sea.
She was lying on a simple mattress, and around her were some messy ropes and buckets. It seemed to be some kind of storage room on the ship. The door was open, and the sea breeze was strong.
Footsteps approached, and a bowl of water was handed over. The person sat down beside her and seemed to stretch. He smiled and said, "Little brother, I'm sorry. I should have waited for you to wake up and sent you home, but Big Brother Feng was rushing us to hand in this year's fish market. If I left you on land, I would get beaten up, so I brought you out to sea."
The person gulped down the water and asked her curiously, "Why aren't you drinking? Don't people always want to drink water when they wake up? "
"Oh," Fuyao replied. She seriously thought about why she didn't seem to have the habit of drinking water immediately. She thought about the young man beside her, who was straightforward and rough, and gave off a cordial feeling. It was as if she had met someone like him before. However, such a small matter wasn't worth taking medicine for. If she was lucky, she would suddenly remember.
She slowly drank the water, but she felt a pair of eyes staring at her for a long time. She immediately turned her head.
The gaze jumped away, and in the light red light, a black shadow moved uncomfortably. The sound of a smoking pot came from the side of the ship.
The young man beside her looked back and explained, "Ah, that's Old Man Ma, my uncle. He's in charge of this ship. He's a good person."
He quietly moved closer and whispered in her ear, "Old Man Ma didn't want to bring you on the ship … Hmm … You have to be obedient and not anger him."
She smiled. She guessed that he was the one who had called her his foolish third brother. He had wanted to save her, but Father Ma had disagreed, fearing that he would cause trouble. Who knew how long he had begged for the right to live on her ship?
She didn't take such things to heart. "How many days did I sleep?" she asked.
"Three days!" The young man patted her shoulder. "You can really sleep. When you wake up, we're already in the middle of the sea."
He lay down beside her and said, "Let's sleep. We have to hurry to the vicinity of the Sand Island. The white fish season there is coming soon. If we make a good profit, we can lie on the deck and bask in the sun for the next year."
He turned over and lay on his back, muttering, "I just don't know if anyone will come to get a piece of the pie. There are many merchant ships over there, and sometimes I'll get a piece. Fortunately, pirates rarely go there … Eh, why aren't you sleeping?"
She stared at him blankly. "Hey, why are you sleeping here?"
"Of course I'm sleeping here. This is where I sleep."
"Isn't Old Man Ma your uncle? Why are you sleeping in the storeroom? "
The young man fell silent. After a long while, he said in a gloomy voice, "My father died early … Old Ma has a lot of people to take care of …" After a long while, he pulled himself together and said with a smile, "Old Ma has been very good to me! At least I can get on the ship and earn money to support my mother. "
Meng Fuyao's heart skipped a beat. She vaguely heard someone say, "Mother is weak. No matter what, I must let her see me!"
She also heard someone singing in the sea breeze. "… Vast wilderness, vast ocean, my son is gone, I don't know where he is … Vast mountains, bright sun, my son has yet to return, I don't know when he will …"
Mother … Mother …
Fuyao suddenly remembered that she had a mission to find her mother. But where was she?
It seemed that she would have to wait until the next time she remembered. But the next time she thought about it, she might forget about it again.
She thought for a while, touched the wooden wall, and carved on it: Fu Yao, Mother, Zhangsun Wuji.
From now on, every time she thought of something, she would have to carve it down. A good memory was not as good as a bad pen.
The youth beside her had already fallen asleep and was snoring. She laid down, pillowed her head against the rocking of the boat, and fell into deep thought. The scene seemed somewhat familiar. It was as if there had once been someone who had slept beside her, whispering and teasing her in the wind on the water.
"Fuyao … Ten years of cultivation, crossing the same boat, a hundred years of cultivation, sleeping on the same pillow …"
Hmm, judging from this sentence, this person was most likely a romantic.
She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
= = =
From then on, Old Man Ma's ship had a boatman called Silly Ah San.
It was not accurate to call him a boatman. He did not know how to do all the work on the ship, and was even half-blind. He was basically useless. His only use was to help lift the net if it was too heavy. He was shockingly strong.
The ship did not keep useless people, but they were in the middle of the sea. Were they supposed to throw him into the sea? Moreover, the boatmen often saw the young man hugging his knees and sitting at the bow of the ship, his face facing the other side of the sea. At that moment, he looked very distant. Some people tried to make fun of him, but when his light red eyes turned to look at them, everyone lost their voices.
They could not provoke him, and they hated him. Intentionally or unintentionally, they ostracized him, giving him the worst place on the ship and eating leftovers. The weather was getting colder, so they did not give him a blanket. But the silly Ah San did not seem to care, and would not sleep without a blanket. When the people on the ship woke up at night, they saw the young man sitting cross-legged, not knowing what he was doing.
Little Hu, who had saved Silly Ah San, was also implicated. He often accompanied Fuyao to eat leftovers, and when everyone laughed at her, he was the only one who defended her. Once, Fuyao was enjoying the wind at the bow of the ship, and heard Old Man Ma lecturing Little Hu, "Stay away from that fool!"
"He's a good person!" Ah Hu retorted.
"It's not about whether he's good or not!" The experienced and knowledgeable Old Man Ma knocked on his tobacco pipe. "It's about his unknown background. Did you notice that he's obviously not from an ordinary family? Even the way he drinks water is different from us! If he's the son of a rich family being hunted down, or a high-ranking official involved in a struggle, you and I will not be able to escape! "
"The son of a rich family? An official? " Little Hu laughed. "Uncle, the first one is fine, but the second one is a joke. How old is he to be an official?"
"What do you know!" Old Man Ma scolded. "You're ignorant. So what if you're young? Haven't you heard of the neighboring Dayan Empress? She inherited the throne at 19! "
"I know, I know …" Little Hu muttered in dissatisfaction. "Really, why are you comparing him to the Empress? Silly Ah San can't be the Empress … "
"Can't we compare? You pig … "Old Man Ma banged his pot even more fiercely.
Fuyao listened from afar and raised her head to laugh.
Dayan Empress?
That sounded familiar.
Someone I know?
It can't be me, can it? Fuyao looked herself up and down, from her fishy hands to her tattered trousers. Finally, she confirmed that even if she wore a dragon robe, she would not look like an Empress.
She stood on the mast and closed her eyes to welcome the sea breeze. Recently, because she was partially blind, her hearing and other senses had become more and more sensitive. Vaguely, her brain seemed to have suffered a lot, as if she had accidentally broken through a barrier. She was just waiting for the day when the clouds broke and the moon dispersed. She vaguely remembered that she had a very critical breakthrough in the last level of a martial art she practiced. It was not easy to achieve it with ordinary practice, and she needed to put herself in a desperate situation to survive. She wondered if she was referring to this.
As for what kind of martial art it was and what the last level was, she had forgotten.
That night, she returned to the storeroom and sealed Little Hu's acupoints, using her True Force to clear his meridians.
As she did so, she vaguely remembered that a long time ago, someone had done the same thing to her.
"Fuyao … your strength is more important than mine."
Whose voice was that? It was deep and elegant, like the sea breeze of this night, soft and touching as it floated over, wrapping around her, lingering and lingering.
Fuyao climbed up the tall mast and gazed into the distance from the top of the sail. She did not know which direction to look, just as she did not know what important thing she had lost. It was so important that once it was gone, she would feel an emptiness in her heart. Then, when the salty sea breeze blew, she felt a burning pain.
She suddenly felt lonely amidst the pain, like the ceaseless washing of the tide, knocking on her dejected heart in the quiet night, filling her with sour emotions.
She vaguely heard him say,
"Fuyao, the brave do not fear to cry."
Yes, the brave do not fear to cry.
Fuyao sat quietly on the mast, facing the wind.
Late at night.
Above the boundless, dark sea, a lone boat sailed toward the distant moon. In the pale moonlight, a lonely figure sat cross-legged on the mast, illuminating her cheeks with faint red tears.
= = =
After sailing for an unknown period of time, she heard the people on the boat cheering in unison.
They had arrived at Sand Island.
Amidst the cheering, Fuyao could hear the sound of the fish swimming in the water. She could hear the sound of the waves becoming more turbulent. She could hear the sound of the silver net falling and being pulled up with joy. She could hear the joyful laughter spreading across the broad, sunlit sea.
She could even hear the sound of large fishes swimming through the deep red corals and green aquatic plants at the bottom of the blue sea. They were gurgling with transparent bubbles. Those fishes should be crimson or silver in color. In the transparent blue sea, there was a colorful light refracting.
Her ears twitched.
'Strange sounds.'
'Far away.'
'No, it's getting closer.'
The sound of the rushing wind and the sound of a heavy ship quietly turning around behind the island …
Beside her, Little Tiger ran over happily with a big fish in his arms, excitedly offering it to her for a sniff. She grabbed him and asked, "Are there any boats nearby?"
"Ships?" Little Tiger was taken aback by the question. He raised his hand and said, "There's a merchant ship, a very big one, and … and … and …"
He suddenly stuttered and couldn't say a single word.
There was no need to say anything else.
Suddenly, a miserable cry for help was heard from afar. It was the sound of arrows piercing through a human body, and the sound of blood splattering all over the cabin. Each sound pierced through Fuyao's sensitive eardrums, as well as the ears of everyone on board the medium-sized fishing boat.
The joy of the harvest was immediately replaced by a huge panic.
"It's the Shark Pirates!"
"The Shark Pirates are here!"
"Why would the Shark Pirates appear in this sea region!?"
"Everyone on the merchant ship is dead! They're coming for us! "
The people on the ship began to run frantically, but where could they run to in the vast sea? Some people jumped into the water and tried to swim to the opposite island, but the splash sound had just sounded when they fell into the water, followed by a shrill scream. At the same time, a huge gust of wind flew over from the side of the front. It seemed like a thick spear and a sharp arrow shot from a crossbow, splitting the sky. In an instant, there were continuous sounds of 'dou dou', and the arrows pierced through the bodies of the people who were trying to escape, bringing out shrill flowers of blood.
The air was quickly filled with the stench of blood, covering the sea that had been filled with laughter and laughter just a moment ago.
Little Tiger, who was beside her, did not move. He seemed to be scared out of his wits. She patted him and he suddenly came to his senses. He pulled her back to the cabin with all his might. "Ah San, Ah San! Jump off the back of the ship! Quietly! "
"What about you?"
"I … I'll come later …" The young man's voice sounded a little strange. He pushed her with all his might. "Ah San … I'm sorry, I didn't know that the Shark Pirates would appear here. I shouldn't have brought you out. Jump off and hide behind the ship. They'll leave after snatching the things."
Fuyao turned to him. 'This kid still wants to save Daddy Ma?'
Before she could say anything, a violent gust of wind shot over. Fuyao pulled Little Tiger's head away, and a heavy arrow pierced deep into the deck beside her. Wood splinters flew everywhere.
At the same time, a hoarse voice sounded from the other side.
"Kill them all!"
= = =
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