The malt candy in Fatty's mouth crunched noisily. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the earth, and the wind was as gentle as a feather. There was no trace of the usual sternness and coldness. Ai Hui did not know if he would remember this day in the future.
"Have you decided?" Fatty asked vaguely.
"Yes," Ai Hui answered firmly. He had already made up his mind, so there was nothing to hesitate about.
Fatty sighed, but also seemed to be envious. "Don't be outshone by those brats, it'll make me feel ashamed. I don't understand, what's so good about fighting and killing? This money is enough for us to live the rest of our lives! How many people came to the Wilderness with us? Two thousand! Only the two of us survived! This is money to buy your life, understand? If I die, my family will still get the money, but if you die … "
"That's why I have to live." Ai Hui interrupted Fatty, who was getting more and more agitated. His arrogant face was indescribably calm.
The opportunity to enter the Avalon of Five Elements was not easy to come by. His aptitude was not outstanding enough, so he was not qualified to enter the Avalon of Five Elements. However, his performance in the past three years was outstanding. He was calm under complex and tense circumstances, and his courage and fighting spirit at critical moments left a deep impression on everyone.
When he asked for a place to enter the Avalon of Five Elements, the higher-ups finally agreed after some consideration.
Only two out of two thousand labourers survived. Even if it was mostly luck, it was enough to explain many problems.
Fatty sat down dejectedly. He was too familiar with Ai Hui's stubbornness. After thinking for a while, he became excited again and said sincerely, "Remember to write my name in the death compensation column. It's better to let it go to me than to let others benefit."
Ai Hui could not be bothered with him. He plucked a blade of grass and put it in his mouth before lying down comfortably with his head pillowed. In the past three years in the Wilderness, he had been extremely tense every day. Blood, life and death, fighting, it was a dark and cold world mixed with scarlet.
He did not know how he had survived these three years, nor did he want to recall them. They were not pleasant memories.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on his body, warm and comfortable. Ai Hui's eyebrows unconsciously relaxed, and the coldness and arrogance on his face relaxed bit by bit.
So comfortable!
As his warm body gradually relaxed, Ai Hui's thoughts also became lax. Like a fog that had lost its restraints, it spread out soundlessly.
The warm sunlight, the slightly intoxicating wind, the somewhat strange yet somewhat familiar feeling awakened the strange yet familiar memories in the depths of his mind.
Three years ago, the sun and wind at Swordsman Training Hall were just like this.
The sun had yet to rise. Breathing in the cool air, he began to clean up the training hall that had been transformed from an old warehouse. He wiped the floor three times as a warm-up. After wiping the floor, he began to knock on the wooden frame. He usually picked up the wood from the nearby streets, and they were of different lengths and thicknesses. Naturally, he could not be too particular about the shape of the shelves.
After setting up the wooden frame, he began to organize the sword manuals that the boss had recently collected.
The market price of these secret manuals was one yuan twenty catties. Paper books were cheap, iron coupons and gold scallops were slightly more expensive, and jade slips were the least valuable. The workload was not small, but no one rushed him. Ai Hui was never in a hurry, so he casually flipped through the books and commented on them.
Occasionally, he would fantasize about how glorious he would be in the Cultivation Era, where he would sell sword manuals until his hands went limp.
After organizing the sword manuals, he began to organize the flying swords and treasured swords.
The sun had already risen, and it was warm, just like it was now. The corners of Ai Hui's mouth could not help but curl into a slight smile.
Even though the flying swords and treasured swords had lost all their spiritual power and were dull and lifeless, they were just a pile of scrap metal. However, under the sunlight, Ai Hui was often attracted by their ancient charm and beauty.
Flying swords represented the pinnacle of the Cultivation World, and were the favorite objects of master blacksmiths. They were of all shapes and sizes, and some of them were so strange that people could not even associate them with flying swords.
He did not touch those that were too rusty. If they broke, the boss would scold him again.
There was no salary and three meals a day. This kind of life was as beautiful as the sunlight for a homeless child who had been homeless before the age of ten. He could not find any better words to praise.
The boss was a good person, but he was not good at doing business.
Would a qualified businessman set up a Swordsman Training Hall?
Ai Hui had stayed at the training hall for three years, and the number of people who visited the training hall did not exceed ten. Seeing the signboard of the Swordsman Training Hall hanging at the entrance, ninety percent of the people turned and left.
How could there be any swordsmen nowadays?
Other than countless secret swordplay manuals, treasured swords, and flying swords, there was nothing else in the swordsman Training Hall. For these things, the boss went all over to various waste markets. Even when he was doing business in other places, he would bring back a batch.
It could be said that the boss's passion for swordsmen was simply unreasonable. Even the transportation costs were much higher than the cost.
Of course, occasionally, Ai Hui felt that with the boss's pitiful financial resources, he could only afford a cheap hobby like swordsmen.
Ai Hui had advised the boss that it would be better to change it to something like body forging, as it would have a much better future than swordsmen. The boss flew into a rage and berated him. At that time, Ai Hui realized that the boss's talent in doing business was really nothing to write home about.
Ai Hui, who was guarding the empty training hall, simply blindly pondered over those ten kilograms of swordplay manuals. He did not become a swordsman, but thanks to his perseverance in training, he became much better at fighting. He used his fists to recruit two or three brats.
The boss was not good, and his business failed, and he was unable to repay his debts, so he committed suicide. Ai Hui was very sad. The boss was a good person, but he was not strong.
It was only right to repay debts, and the training hall should belong to someone else. On the last day, when the debt collector came to confiscate the training hall, Ai Hui said to himself.
But when he saw with his own eyes that the crude bookshelf he had beaten was pushed to the ground, and the swordplay manuals were scattered all over the ground, half of which had been dragged back by the boss from a distant city. When he saw the sword rack, which he had to clean several times a day, being trampled to pieces by the debt collector, the boss said that it was a treasure he had plundered from the abode of a swordsman. Back then, the flying swords on the sword rack had once dyed a thousand miles with blood, intimidating all heroes. When he saw the Nine Sounds Sword Wind Chimes hanging under the eaves being torn to pieces, the boss said that they were the treasures of the illustrious Nine Sounds Sword Sect back then. When the nine swords were unleashed, the heavenly sounds would break through the void.
He could not hold back, and like a wounded wolf on the verge of despair, he pounced on it crazily.
It was just a struggle. Yes, a struggle before death.
Ai Hui did not know the boss's name, so he found a wooden board and wrote the word "boss" on it as a memorial tablet. He used a twig as incense and burned all the swordplay manuals he could for the boss. After kowtowing, he prayed that the boss would be able to fulfill his swordsman dream in heaven.
With a body full of injuries, he stared at the messy training hall for a long time before turning around and leaving. He walked past the mottled shadows cast by the sunlight piercing through the uneven roofs along the street. Subconsciously, he walked forward with his legs, not knowing where he was headed.
Even though a year had passed, the feeling of being at a loss and alone was still as clear as ever. He remembered feeling a little cold at that time. He wrapped his body tightly in his clothes that had turned white from washing and stuffed his hands into his pockets. The sunlight that day was different from today's. It was bone-piercingly cold.
As he walked, he did not know how much time had passed until a strong sense of hunger woke him up from his stupor. Hungry and cold, he saw the Avalon of Five Elements' recruitment notice for laborers in the Wilderness.
With nowhere to go and nowhere to go, he went.
Fortunately, he had survived.
...
Ai Hui retracted his thoughts and realized that his body had unconsciously tensed up. He could not help but laugh bitterly in his heart. Such a good time had been ruined by the not-so-good past.
He let out a long breath and tried his best to relax his tensed up muscles.
He had been lucky enough to survive in the Wilderness for three whole years. Of the two thousand men in his team, only two survived. One was him, and the other was Qian Dai. Oh, Fatty's name was Qian Dai.
The families of the laborers who died would receive a pension, and the survivors would receive a large sum of money. The Avalon of Five Elements had never been stingy in this regard.
Fatty was preparing to go home. His family was made up of orphans and widows, and he had to support a large family by himself.
"Alright, I also know that you're like a tortoise that eats the weight of a steelyard. You have a bad temper, a lot of problems, and never listen to advice. You're not young anymore, yet you're still like this. How are you going to get a wife in the future? Be frugal with your money … "Fatty was still nagging non-stop. Ai Hui did not know if it was because they were about to part ways.
Ai Hui no longer felt that Fatty's usual impatient nagging was so annoying, but when he heard Fatty mention money, he immediately felt a dull pain in his head. Whenever the word 'money' came into contact with this fellow, it was as if he had been injected with chicken blood.
Sure enough, when he saw the green veins on Fatty's neck start to throb, Ai Hui made a prompt decision and immediately threw a cloth bag at him. "This is for you!"
Fatty looked at Ai Hui with a puzzled look, but he was one step faster and caught the bag with agility that did not match his body. Once the cloth bag was in his hands, Fatty's small eyes immediately widened.
His fingers, which were as thick as carrots, instantly opened the cloth bag. Fatty took a look and was so excited that the fat on his body trembled.
Ai Hui turned his face away with a look of disgust. Fatty's face when he saw money was simply unbearable.
"Pa!" Fatty rushed over and held both of Ai Hui's hands. His face was full of gratitude, and tears were welling up in his eyes.
Seeing Fatty's expression, Ai Hui was also moved. He felt that he had thought too little of Fatty. The two of them had fought side by side for so long, and their friendship was sincere and deep. He was not used to such a scene and really wanted to shout at Fatty to scram, but thinking that they were about to part ways, he tried his best to restrain himself. He slowed down his voice and said somewhat awkwardly, "Anyway, I'm alone and don't need much money. You're going back to the Old Territory and have a lot of family, so you'll need more money than me …"
"Good brother! You're really my good brother! " Fatty choked with sobs and shook Ai Hui's hands with all his might. His eyes were brimming with tears. "The Avalon of Five Elements provides food and lodging. You won't be able to use the remaining half anyway. Why don't you give it all to me?"
He was really too naive to think that he would be lucky with this fellow. Ai Hui suddenly reversed his grip and exerted a little force. Fatty was like a lithe and graceful fat cloud as he flew more than thirty meters away and smashed onto the ground, causing a mouthful of maltose to splatter out.
"Scram!"
It felt good to finally be able to express his feelings.
Ai Hui clapped his hands lightly and conveniently touched the money bag in his arms. Fatty's movements were very fast, and it was impossible to guard against him.
Fatty crawled up from the ground with his face covered in dirt.
The whistle for the gathering at the campsite rang in the distance, and both of them fell silent at the same time.
It was time to part ways. This was the last time they would gather. Ai Hui was going to the Avalon of Five Elements, and Fatty was going back to the Old Territory. The orange sunset that was about to fall to the ground dragged their shadows very, very long.
"Ai Hui, survive!"
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