When the boy waking up, it was already evening, and although the sun had not yet completely set, the sky could still faintly see the outline of a crescent moon.

The young man chopping wood rubbed his sleepy eyes, looked around, and suddenly found that there were eight piles of horse bones scattered not far from his left hand, so frightened that he got up, took a few steps back, remembered what had just happened, couldn't help but shudder, retracted his head into his neck, and looked around for the eight black-robed knights and the strange man riding a six-legged strange bird.

Just thinking about where these people had gone, he suddenly heard someone shouting something in the forest not far away, and when he listened carefully, it turned out that he was calling his name, so he hurriedly agreed, picked up the scattered firewood, tied it neatly and put it on his shoulder, and ran towards the forest.

The young man who was chopping wood went into the woods, and soon found the man who called him, who was about the same age as the young man who was chopping wood, only fourteen or fifteen years old, but this man was much fatter than the young man who was chopping wood, and one arm was almost as thick as the thigh of the young man who was chopping wood.

"Zhou Chang, you have been chopping firewood for so long, it is almost dark, and you are not afraid that the mountain wolf will eat you. Grandma Han still thinks you've been eaten by a mountain wolf!" the fat man glared at the wood-chopping boy and punched him in the chest.

It turned out that the young man who chopped wood was named Zhou Chang, and he lived in a village at the foot of Mount Yubi, and the fat man was also from the same village as him, and the two of them were good playmates.

Zhou Chang touched his head and said with a smile, "I'm afraid you won't believe it, I just met a few knights of the undead clan, and behind them there was a bronze coffin as big as a hill......

Before he could tell the strange man riding the six-legged strange bird, he was interrupted by the fat man. The fat man waved his hand and said, "Keep these nonsense and explain it to Grandma Han, I don't want to hear it." ”

As he spoke, he dragged Zhou Chang to the village, and Zhou Chang kept talking about the strange things he encountered on the mountain, and the fat man was tired of hearing it, so he slapped him on the head twice, "You like to tell these stories of gods and monsters so much, why don't you go to the monastery to take the talisman exam, or go to the seminary to learn divine magic? There are so many beautiful and innocent girls in the seminary." ”

As soon as the fat man spoke of the beautiful and innocent girl, his eyes lit up.

Last time, the fat man helped his father pull a cart of radishes to sell in the city, and when he passed by the seminary, there happened to be several beautiful girls wearing divine robes coming out of the gate, his eyes were straight, and the radishes on the car fell to the ground, and he didn't notice that he was picked up. For this reason, he was slapped a few times by his father, and because of this, he remembered the seminary girls very well.

"Fat man, aren't you going to pursue Xiaowei from the neighboring village?

In the summer of this year, Zhou Chang and the fat man went to the watermelon field in a neighboring village to steal watermelons, and they happened to be caught by Xiaowei's father.

Xiaowei's father is a very humorous person, at least Zhou Chang thinks so. Xiaowei's father didn't beat and scold Zhou Chang and the fat man for stealing his family's watermelons, but just forced the two of them to nibble on the watery watermelons one by one.

After Zhou Chang and the fat man nibbled on a few watermelons, their stomachs were a little unbearable.

But as soon as they stopped, they would see Xiaowei's father pick up a wooden stick and knock it on the ground in the palm of his hand. That seems to be telling Zhou Chang and the fat man, if you don't want to gnaw the watermelon, then prepare to gnaw the stick in Lao Tzu's hand.

Of course, the two chose watermelon, and after eating a few more watermelons, their bellies were bulging like balls, and they couldn't help but worry about whether their stomachs would be broken if they ate them again, so they cried and begged Xiaowei's father for mercy.

At this time, Xiaowei, who had caught insects in the field, came over, and when she saw the appearance of Zhou Chang and the fat man, she covered her mouth and laughed.

In the end, it was Xiaowei who pleaded with her father, and the two were kicked a few times in the ass before leaving.

Since then, Zhou Chang and the fat man no longer dare to go to Xiaowei's village to steal watermelons to eat, and even when they see watermelons in the field, they can't help but touch their belly and burp.

On the way back, Zhou Chang and the fat man both supported their round bellies with both hands, limping like ducks. It was at that time that the fat man said to Zhou Chang that Xiaowei was the most beautiful and innocent girl he had ever seen, and he was ready to pursue Xiaowei.

The fat man scratched his head, "Didn't I mean it?" Besides, if Xiaowei doesn't like me, there must be a backup. ”

The fat man laughed as he spoke, put a hand on Zhou Chang's shoulder and asked him, "Zhou Chang, do you have a favorite girl?"

Zhou Chang knocked the fat man's hand off his shoulder and shrugged, "My house is not like yours, there are several blue brick houses. And sometimes I can't eat, who will take a fancy to me?"

The fat man clasped his hands in front of his chest and pouted, "Look at what you said sour, after my old man kicks his legs, Lao Tzu will be the housekeeper and give you half of the property." ”

Zhou Chang kicked the fat man and said with a smile: "According to your old man's temperament of eating people and not even willing to spit out bones, he still doesn't jump out of the ground and swallow you alive." ”

The two laughed and soon returned to the village.

Zhou Chang lived in a small village, with only about 100 households, and the houses were scattered together, ranging from brick houses to wooden houses made of wood and thatch.

Zhou Chang's home is a simple wooden house to the west of the village. The hut was surrounded by a fence woven with twigs and thorns, enclosing a small courtyard.

"Grandma, I'm back. Before Zhou Chang walked to the gate of the courtyard, he shouted into the courtyard.

Hearing the voice, an old woman with white hair came out of the wooden house on crutches.

Zhou Chang opened the wooden door made of wood and vines, put down the firewood on his back, and hurriedly ran over to support the old woman.

The fat man on the side also walked over quickly, and supported the old woman's other arm, "Grandma Han, I brought Zhou Chang back to you."

The old woman smiled and nodded, and let the fat man come into the house to sit.

The fat man hurriedly waved his hand and refused, saying that it was getting dark, and it was too late to go back, and the old man would definitely give him a board to eat.

The fat man didn't give anyone else time to speak, and after speaking, he patted Zhou Chang on the shoulder, turned around and ran outside the courtyard gate, and soon disappeared around the corner.

Zhou Chang helped the old woman into the house, the wooden house is not big, there are three rooms, the middle is a four-meter-wide hall house, and the left and right rooms are the bedrooms of Zhou Chang and the old woman. There was no furnishings in the room, and a few wooden chairs and tables were missing legs and feet.

After helping the old woman to sit down, Zhou Chang also squatted down beside the old woman, opened the oil paper bag, and a smell of oil immediately entered Zhou Chang's nose, he swallowed his saliva and handed the oil cake to the old woman, "Grandma, this oil cake is still hot, you can eat it while it's hot." ”

The old woman glanced at the thin Zhou Chang, stroked Zhou Chang's head with her withered hands, and sighed, "Alas, my hard-working grandson, how ruthless your parents are to abandon you." ”

Zhou Chang is not the old woman's own grandson, but an abandoned baby she picked up in the mass grave of Yubi Mountain, the old woman's wife and children are dead, and when she saw the cuteness of the baby, she adopted him.

"I didn't have parents in the first place, and my grandmother was Xiao'er's only relative. Zhou Chang buried his head in the old woman's arms and tried his best to hold back the tears in his eyes.

After a while, the old woman asked Zhou Chang to eat oil cakes, Zhou Chang shook his head and refused to eat, the old woman said that he didn't eat himself and didn't eat it, Zhou Chang didn't dare to disobey when he saw this, and the two of them divided the oil cakes and ate them.

At this time, it was not early, Zhou Chang boiled some hot water for the old woman to burn her feet, and after serving the old woman to sleep, he returned to his room. He had been tossing and turning all day today, and he was already exhausted, and he fell into a deep sleep as soon as he fell into bed.

In the second half of the night, Zhou Chang suddenly felt chills all over his body, and sat up from the bed with a start.

The bright moonlight came in through the window and shone on Zhou Chang's body, only to see that he was bubbling with white gas, and his whole body seemed to be covered with a thick layer of white frost.

Zhou Chang was startled, rubbing his body vigorously with his hands, trying to keep warm by this method.

After rubbing for a while, his body did warm up a lot, and his stiff legs began to move, he slowly walked out of bed, picked up the coat placed on the chair and draped it over his body, raised his feet and trotted back and forth in the house, while scolding: "This ghost weather, cold to me." ”

Zhou Chang walked back and forth in the room all night, and when the rooster crowed in the early morning, his body no longer emitted white gas, and the hoarfrost on his body began to dry.

After a night of tossing, Zhou Chang was tired enough, and was about to go back to bed for a nap, when he suddenly heard someone outside the house calling him, and when he listened carefully, he heard the voice of a fat man.

Zhou Chang put on his clothes and walked out quickly, and when he opened the door, the fat man had already opened the courtyard door by himself and was walking over.

The fat man saw Zhou Chang's red and swollen eyes at a glance, and when he got closer, the fat man raised his hand and shook it in front of Zhou Chang's eyes, "What's wrong with your eyes? ”

Zhou Chang knocked down the fat man's hand with his backhand, pouted his lips and said, "It was too cold last night, I couldn't sleep in the cold, and of course my eyes will be swollen." ”

The fat man pinched his chin with his right hand and muttered for a while, "No, why did I feel hot last night with a thin blanket?"

Zhou Chang lightly punched the fat man's chest, "The fat on your body is like being covered with a layer of animal skin, of course you won't feel cold." ”

Zhou Chang said as he looked at the sky, there was no fog, and he was very puzzled when he remembered the hoarfrost on his body last night.

At this time, the sun has already shown most of its head, sprinkling a fiery red light, and today must be another sunny day.

"Why did you come to me so early?" Zhou Chang suddenly asked the fat man.

The fat man looked left and right, and saw that there was no one around, so he suddenly leaned into Zhou Chang's ear and whispered, "I heard that the city master of Yubi City will forcibly recruit new soldiers to fight the monsters in Xishan, and every household must send a man to enlist in the army and follow the city lord to kill the monsters." I've also heard that those monsters can soar through the clouds, so they can be born, and if they go, they will definitely die. ”

After listening to the fat man's words, Zhou Chang was a little stunned, he was not afraid to go to Xishan, besides, how could there be such a powerful monster in this world, if there were, he would have occupied the entire luxury city a long time ago, which turn is the current city lord so majestic. He was just worried that after he was really drafted into the army, Grandma Han would have no one to take care of.

"Who did you listen to this news, is it true?" Although Zhou Chang knew that the fat man would not lie to him, he still couldn't help but want to confirm it.

The fat man pouted in the direction of his house, "It's my old man who listened to my third uncle when he went to the city to sell vegetables yesterday." ”

The fat man's third uncle is a servant of the city lord's family, and he heard that he can make sycophants, but now he seems to have mixed up with the position of steward, and most of the words coming out of the fat man's third uncle can't be faked.

Zhou Chang's brows furrowed together, and he looked into the room, his eyes resting on the wooden door of the room where the old woman lived.

The fat man knew Zhou Chang's thoughts, and patted him on the shoulder, "I told you the news, you can do it yourself, I will go back to pack my things, the old man is ready to let me go, and I don't know if I am born to the old man, and I am not afraid that I will die in his house in Xishan." ”

The fat man looked annoyed, and he didn't have the heart to take care of Zhou Chang, so he greeted him and left in a hurry.

When the sun rose to the top of Mount Habi, several knights could be seen faintly from outside the village, rushing towards the village with the dust and shouts.

Not long after the knights arrived in the village, the chief of the village began knocking on the door from house to house, telling all the people to assemble at the threshing floor at the east end of the village.

At this time, Zhou Chang had already told the old woman what the fat man had told him.

The old woman knew that these knights might have come for the conscription, but she didn't say anything, but went back to her room, and found a hard object more than a meter long wrapped in linen cloth under the bed, and walked out of the room tremblingly.

Zhou Chang saw that the old woman was walking with a cane in one hand and a linen wrap in the other, and it was very difficult to walk, so he hurriedly stepped forward to help.

The old woman glanced at Zhou Chang lovingly, and handed the package in her hand to Zhou Chang, "When I found you in the mass grave, there was such a thing next to you, which may have been left to you by your parents." ”

Hearing the old woman say this, Zhou Chang hurriedly took the package and couldn't wait to open it, only to see that the package was a rusty iron sword without a scabbard.

Zhou Chang thought it was some kind of rare treasure, and he couldn't help but show disappointment at a glance, holding the iron sword, looking at it for a long time, and said that this broken thing was taken out and sold, and it couldn't be exchanged for a few oil cakes, and my parents' family was too poor.