A bustling market with shops lining the streets. On both sides of the stone road, the shops next to each other are lined with stalls, leaving only a more than one meter wide pavement in the middle for pedestrians, vehicles and horses to pass. The bazaar is full of goods and goods. The streets are mixed, the fireworks are insignificant, and the shouts come and go. Such a noisy market is only held once a Sunday in this remote town. Hard-working people come from far and wide to spend a fulfilling day in the midst of bargaining and pushing and shouting.

On the corner of the street, a circle of children was crowded. Everyone held their breath and stared intently at the white-bearded old man in the corner performing magic. The old man sat in front of an iron stove, he stepped on the blower regularly with one foot, blew the tongue of the furnace fire with his teeth and claws, and rocked the black iron bucket in the shape of a dang on the stove with one hand. Flames and boiling buckets of water

U blending.

After a few minutes, the old man removed the bucket from the stove and unscrewed the lid with a wrench. There was a loud bang, and white smoke burst out of the iron bucket. The children hurriedly covered their ears and closed their eyes, frightened, but passers-by were amused and laughed. The children tentatively squinted their eyes and peeked, but in the fairy mist, they couldn't see the old man, and the mellow fragrance of popcorn came to their nostrils. Everyone's eyes widened, the fog cleared, and the old man had already dumped a pot of freshly baked popcorn into a turquoise bamboo dustpan. The golden corn cracked its big white mouth and laughed uninhibitedly. Each grain is full of fatal temptation for children, as if shouting: "Come eat me, come eat me!"

Everyone clapped their hands and quickly shouted. The old man's face was full of love and motioned to the children to eat and eat. Everyone didn't care about wiping the saliva from the corners of their mouths, and they swarmed up, eager to grab a handful and stuff it into their mouths. The crispy texture with the sweetness of corn quickly spread throughout the body, the children trembled slightly, their pupils dilated rapidly, and the innocence and smile on their faces were incomparably bright. So everyone opened their hands wide, opened their bows left and right, and the crisp sound of "squeaking" chewing came out of their mouths, which lasted for a long time. Corn kernels absorb the stored solar energy throughout the summer and explode in the body in an instant. The breeze was blowing, and the sweet smell of corn leaves hit the face, and everyone closed their eyes and was very happy.

The old man soon noticed that outside the crowd of onlookers, there was a little boy with a difference. He was thin and thin, his face was pale, but his eyes were dark and bright. He was about eleven or twelve years old, and he was holding in his arms a sleeping toddler of one or two years old, who was supposed to be his younger brother. He didn't cry and pounce on the popcorn like the other children, but just watched from afar, his eyes full of curiosity. The old man was amazed, no child had ever been able to resist the attraction of magic popcorn.

The old man picked up a bag of popcorn and walked over to the little boy. "Good boy, grandpa gave it to you!" the old man laughed, his voice deep and powerful, as if coming from the sky.

The little boy raised the corners of his mouth slightly, leaking two tiger teeth. The smile in his eyes was like ripples on the tranquil waters of the lake and the wind. "Thank you, Grandpa!" the little boy had no intention of accepting the old man's gift.

"My popcorn is full of spells and powers! The drowning kid ate my popcorn and soon came back to life!" the old man reluctantly egged.

A light of wonder and excitement flashed through the corner of the little boy's eyes, and he bent down to pick up a few popcorns scattered on the ground. The moment it came out of the pot, a few splashes of popcorn hit him mischievously on the cheek.

The little boy spread out his palms to show the old man, and a few popcorns were beating and stained with dirt. The old man's heart trembled, and the thin and pale little hand, with slender fingers, crawled with thick calluses. The new cocoons try in vain to cover the old ones, shouting and squeezing each other. There was an unhealed wound on the side of his index finger, and he smiled arrogantly. Despite the mild weather, the remaining swelling of chilblains began to scab over, greedily sucking on the back of his hand like a schistosome. That little hand, like the annual rings that have been ravaged by wind and frost, the torment of spring, summer, autumn and winter is vivid.

"I won't be able to do this with my hands all my life! What has happened to this child?" the old man's heart twitched. He lowered his head, only to find that the little boy was wearing a pair of worn-out pale red net shoes, and the pants had long since fallen ill, and the cuffs of the trousers had retreated to the calves. The little boy's toe and thumb were about to pop out of the worn-out hole in the toe of his shoe, where the scabs of chilblains had playfully taken over.

The pale red net shoes were supposed to be worn by the little boy's sister, and the little boy inherited them. He smeared the water-soaked upper with white chalk, and after it dried, the chalk ash lingered on the upper, but it still couldn't hide the original red color.

The little boy felt the old man's surprise, and his face turned red instantly. He leaned back slightly, hesitated for a moment, and hid one foot behind the other. However, the shoe that covered the front was not much better. The two shoes were cleanly washed, white and red, like the shy face of a little boy.

The little boy hugged his younger brother and bowed deeply to the old man as a sign of gratitude. Only then did the old man realize that the little boy was going to save the popcorn he had picked up for his sleeping brother. The younger brother's breath caused the little boy's body to tremble slightly. Their heartbeats and breaths have become one.

The corners of the old man's eyes were slightly hot, and he stretched out his hand to caress the little boy who was a little shy and wooden. The little boy's hair was as thick as a hedgehog, and his hands hurt.

There was a sudden scream of terror from the crowd. The air was filled with a strong smell of burning, and thick smoke came from not far away. The little boy and the old man were scattered by the crowd.

The sudden rush of people hit the little boy, and he stumbled and nearly fell. The accelerated heartbeat unconsciously makes the body lower its center of gravity. Several thick roots rushed out of the chilblain scabs on his feet and embedded themselves in the ground, holding his body firmly to the ground.

The crowd surrounded the source of the smoke from afar. A house on the corner of the street not far away was on fire. While standing still, the boy was surprised to find that he could see the burning house through the crowd.

The little boy felt dizzy and nauseous, and his breathing was pounding strongly against his trachea and lips. Beneath the thick smoke, the burning flame was clearly a distorted human face, ugly and hideous. It opened its bloody jaws and frantically tore at the wooden roof. Although it was an open flame, the cold was so cold that the little boy couldn't help but shiver all over.

Through the burning rubble, the little boy saw an even more terrifying scene. His heart beat against his eardrums, and sweat gushed out from the sweat glands all over his body. Beneath the rubble and smoke lurked a shivering young brother. My sister was probably the same age as herself, and she was thinly dressed and fell to her knees, her hands firmly on the ground. Her body was like a solid castle, protecting her brother who was lying below. Her brother's face was as gray as he twitched slightly, and his hands clutched the corners of his sister's clothes, like the only straw. However, what he grasped was an equally weak straw.

Fear and weakness made the corners of the young lady's mouth flutter, but the little boy clearly heard her heart-rending cry: "Mother, mother, where are you, come and save my brother!

The flame man stared greedily at the young brother, and his saliva fell to the ground, sparks splashing everywhere, causing more open flames.

The little boy gasped, finally overcoming his fear and crying out for help. His cry was like a submerged pebble thrown into the sea, without causing a ripple. No one heard his cries, nor did anyone see the murderous flaming face and the dying young brother under the rubble. The boy saw that the strong men not far away were trying their best to pour water into the house with wooden barrels, trying to extinguish the flames. This water becomes a constant supply of food, like gasoline, which makes the flames even stronger.

"Mom... You... At... Where?" the young lady's cry trembled, full of doubt, more desperate, and weaker. Every word was like a hammer hitting the bell, making the little boy inside the bronze bell ringing and dizzy.

"No one can hear your cries, not even your mother!where is she?hahaha! How lovely the helpless bleating of the lamb sounds!" the flaming face let out a sinister laugh slowly, the voice sharp and sharp, like ten thousand needles shot at the innocent young brother.

The young lady's body suddenly stiffened. The little boy no longer heard her rapid breathing and shouting. The flames were like swimming snakes, in all directions, driving straight in, straight towards the younger brother. They lazily spat at scarlet apricots and grumbled proudly, "These useless ants!

At the moment when the flame snake opened its bloody mouth and swallowed the young brother, "Stop!" A resounding rebuke resounded through the sky like lightning. The Flame Snake was caught off guard and froze in the air, scattering back into its disgusting flaming face.

The flame face swept around with contempt in its afterglow, and when it noticed the windfall, it laughed contentedly, "There are two more little fat sheep!" It easily smelled a strong smell of fear, and at a glance it spotted the thin little boy and the younger brother he was holding in the distance outside the crowd. They were small and imperceptible, but at this point the entire crowd faded into their background. The flame man's face was a little curious, this little boy could actually see himself, he couldn't protect himself, but he dared to shout in front of him.

The little boy tried to escape, but the roots on his feet prevented him from moving. The younger brother in his hands became heavier and heavier, and his hands trembled until he began to slip out of his arms.

"Little ghost, your brother looks even more tender and delicious!" The flame man stared at the younger brother in the little boy's arms with a salivating face, and his eyes were like a blazing sun, and the sunspots continued to erupt. The ensuing solar storm swept over, and the little boy felt a stabbing pain in his ears.

The little boy's eyes darkened, but he had to regain his footing and use all his strength to carry his brother back into his arms. He looked down at his sleeping brother in his arms, his long curved eyelashes turned up, and his little face was red, like the apple his mother gave him when he was a child, which was the happiest gift of his childhood. Tears fell down his brother's face. The little boy deliberately twisted his body sideways, trying to block the view of the flamed face with his thin self.

"It's another ant that doesn't measure itself and uses its arms as a car!" The flame's eyes lit up, transforming into countless roaring snakes, converging into a dazzling pillar of fire, which was a huge and powerful flame king cobra. Its neck contours gradually widen, with dazzling flames on each side. It could not hold back anymore and pounced on the little boy at a gallop, eager to enjoy the thrill of tearing its prey apart with its sharp teeth.

The little boy subconsciously blocked his younger brother with his arm. As soon as he raised his hand, the king cobra's fangs had already forcibly stabbed the venom into his arm. His arm was instantly filled with a stinging pain like a soldering iron. The little boy was knocked out, the roots of the trees on his feet were broken, and his body rolled on the ground several times. He used his body to protect his brother in it. The moment the younger brother almost slipped out of his arms, he clung to the corners of his clothes, just as a younger brother under the rubble grabbed his sister's clothes.

The little boy and his brother were covered in mud. Not only his hands, but also his internal organs were churning violently with the heartbeat in a rhythmic manner, and the drum beat of the heartbeat became denser and denser. "Am I just a useless straw? We've lost our mom and dad and my sister. My brother is still so weak, he has only just learned to walk, and his life has not yet begun. I can't afford to lose him anymore!"

"I'm definitely not a useless straw!" unwilling to burst like a volcano, he hunched over to adjust his breathing, trembling and holding his brother back into his arms, gritting his teeth and standing up. His arms also grew strong rhizomes, providing him with strong support, and holding his brother's hand no longer trembled. Thick roots grew from his feet again, digging deeper into the earth. He is like a big banyan tree in abundance, and a young lady under the rubble, and his whole body is a nest and harbor for his younger brother.

The little boy looked up, and tears welled up like green beans. The tears shone with determination, as if mocking the flame king cobra: "Is that all you have to do?"

"How can such a thing happen?" the flaming king cobra didn't want to believe its eyes. This little boy who should be vulnerable can actually resist!

The little boy pulled out the magic popcorn he had picked up on the ground from his arms and stuffed it into his mouth. He remembered that the old man with the white beard had said that the popcorn was full of spells, and that the rats had the courage and strength to defeat a pack of wild cats when they ate it. His eyes were determined, and his jaw moved up and down forcefully as he chewed.

The "creaking" sound of chewing greatly stimulates the flame king cobra, a horn of victory that only apex predators deserve. It wagged its tail, and with a "rustle" warning sound, it split into thousands of flaming king cobras.

The sky was obscured by fiery serpents, who pounced on the little boy and frantically bit his arm. Their bodies sway suspended in the air, and the rustle of their tails converges into a symphony of victory. The emaciated arm was infused with several pounds of venom, so swollen that it was out of harmony with the little boy's body. The whole arm burned, and the little boy's heart became sluggish, like a hammer striking a bell, and the aftermath lingered, and it would beat again in the middle of the hour.

The black blood containing the snake's venom suddenly burst out along the sharp teeth of the flame king cobra on the little boy's arm, splashing on the body of the flame king cobra, corroding the body of the snakes like concentrated sulfuric acid, and the burning flames on their bodies were instantly extinguished and fell one after another.

The little boy smiled weakly, the magic popcorn really gave him the courage and strength to challenge a powerful enemy.

"Interesting!" the flame king cobra grinned excitedly, it hadn't encountered a single prey that had stubbornly resisted for a long time.

The dense king cobra spewed out a faint green flame. Their pupils spread across the sky. These vertical black lines, evil and eerie, repeatedly switch with horizontal lines, and extend infinitely towards the sky, intertwined, enveloping the little boy and his younger brother like a net of heaven and earth.

The burning and swelling of the little boy's hands gradually receded, followed by dizziness and a severe headache. In a trance, he saw his father glaring at him angrily. From the time he was sensible, his father stared at him with this disgust. The father turned away, and let the little boy shout at the top of his voice, but he never looked back, and walked farther and farther until he was gone. The little boy saw his mother lying quietly on the bed. The wind blew gently, the leaves swayed with it, but the mother was forever frozen in a coma. The little boy burst into tears, how he longed to have the love and warmth of his parents.

He looked down at his brother in his arms, and his cute little face was like a long-rotten apple. The whole world closed in an instant, and the little boy howled and fell into the darkness. The ecstasy array formed by the interweaving of the flame king cobra's pupils caused the illusion that so realistically simulated the origin of the little boy's fear.

However, this despair of losing a loved one is fleeting. In a trance, the little boy heard a "whoosh" sound, and a gust of wind swept across his face, blowing the hair on his forehead. With the scent of grass, someone held his hand. At the moment of being touched, the little boy's arm instantly became light and comfortable. He was surrounded by a warm ocean current, and the sun was shining through.