At the beginning of the morning, when the first rays of sunlight pierce the darkness, a quiet mountain village ............

Ding, ding!

The sound of steel colliding wafted through the hot room, a large black iron stove was burning with raging flames, and the shirtless man kept pounding a piece of red-hot iron, only a faint trace of heroism could be seen in the two sword eyebrows.

Next to the bellows, a silver-haired boy struggled to pull the wooden handle, which was about the thickness of his arm.

"Gu Chen, move quickly, the fire is too small. ”

The big man glanced at the iron stove, grabbed the flask on his waist and poured it hard.

"Well, got it, Dad. ”

The young man known as Gu Chen gritted his teeth, and his sapphire eyes crossed a touch of loneliness, since he could remember, it seemed that he had only done this one thing.

Whew, whew, ding, ding!

The sound of wind and wind once again mingled in the hut.

Sweat slid down Gu Chen's forehead, blurring his eyes.

"Dad, today is ......"

Weakly glancing at the big man who was only immersed in wielding a giant hammer, Gu Chen didn't dare to say any more.

"What's so, pull the bellows well, don't you see that there is no fire in the stove again?"

The big man's eyelids fluttered slightly, and then he regained his composure, picked up the red-hot iron with an iron clip, and inserted it directly into a large water tank next to him.

Wow!

Bursts of white smoke flew out of the water, and the big man lowered his head, and poured another large gulp of liquor into his mouth.

"Dad, today is the day of the awakening of the natal puppet, I, I want to participate. ”

Gu Chen dropped the wooden handle in his hand, stood up suddenly, and stared straight at his father who was facing away from him.

It was never clear to him why his father didn't approve of his participation in the Natal Awakening Ritual, the most high-profile ancient ritual that could change a person's fate in an instant.

"Sit down, that bullshit ritual has nothing to do with you, remember, your life is the life of striking iron, just an ordinary person who can't be ordinary anymore. ”

The big man turned around abruptly and glared angrily at the young man who dared to look at him, and his excessively fluctuating emotions made his forehead burst into streaks.

"Why? You haven't let me go once in so many years, why do you say I can't. ”

Gu Chen still stood proudly, his heart was full of unwillingness, and his eyes did not shy away.

Since Gu Chen remembered, whenever this day came, no matter how much he longed for that place, his father would never agree, he still remembered a year ago today, in order to prevent himself from sneaking out, he was stunned to tie himself firmly to him for a day.

"You little bastard, now you have learned to talk to me, see how Lao Tzu cleans you up. ”

The annoyed man took out a thumb-thick whip from the cabinet in the corner and hurried to Gu Chen.

"I said, do you want to go or not? ”

"Think" Gu Chen pursed his mouth, tears were already swirling in his eyes.

Syllable!

A blood-red whip mark instantly covered Gu Chen's arm, and unassuming tears rolled out of his eyes.

"Say, I can't go yet. ”

"Go, go. ”

Holding his injured arm, Gu Chen still did not back down in the slightest.

Smack!

"I'll let you go, I'll let you awaken, I'll make you want to be a puppeteer......"

In the angry shouts of the big man, the blood stains of Dao Dao slowly covered Gu Chen's body, and his already weak body fell to his knees in the blink of an eye, only those sapphire eyes still revealed an unyielding essence.

For a long time, looking at the young man who was trembling on his knees, a touch of unbearability flashed in the big man's eyes, and he threw the whip in his hand into the fire, ripped off the wine jug, and poured it in a big gulp.

Gu Chen, who had been hanging his head, didn't see it, and the moment the big man raised his head, a row of crystal tears floated out from the corners of his wrinkled eyes.

"Ahh ”

At the door, an old man in good spirits hurriedly rushed over the moment he saw Gu Chen and hugged the young man tightly in his arms.

"Old Gu, it's not my old man who said you, a sensible child like Chen'er, it's rare now, what happened, you have to treat the child like this" Stroking the young man who was clutching his shirt tightly in his arms, the old man's brows furrowed fiercely.

"Village Chief, it's ...... nothing"

Dahan threw the wine jug in his hand aside, pulled Gu Chen over, and said, "Little child, if you don't know anything, I'll teach you two lessons." ”

"Hmph, did you teach that lesson? See for yourself what you have beaten the child into. ”

The old man didn't leave a little affection for the big man, pointed to Gu Chen, who was covered in blood, and reprimanded loudly, "Don't you think I don't know what the matter is, isn't it just that the child wants to participate in the natal puppet awakening ceremony, what's wrong with this, every day in the past few years, you will beat Chen'er, I really don't know what you're thinking." ”

The spit was flying, but the old man still didn't mean to stop, "You are also a person who has lived for half your life, don't you know what the puppeteer symbolizes in this ancient continent? Last year, the boy of the old Wang family should have awakened the natal puppet and was recruited by the academy in the city, and now their family is the most admired person in our small village." Gu Xiaotian, do you know what you're doing? ”

The old man sighed heavily, looking at Gu Chen, who was carried by the big man, and felt pity again.

"Grandpa the village chief, don't say it, I just don't go to the ceremony, my father won't let me go, there must be his reasons, and I may not be able to awaken. ”

Gu Chen, who was hazy with tears in his eyes, couldn't bear to see his father being reprimanded by the old man like this, he knew that his father and son did not belong to this village, but came here with his father when he was still very young, if it weren't for his father's blacksmith's skills, this extremely xenophobic village would not have been able to accommodate the two of them.

"Chen'er, don't worry, the village chief's grandfather is here today, and your father won't dare to beat you again. ”

The old man comforted Gu Chen, but the anger on his face did not diminish at all.

"Whew" The big man let out a long breath, and gradually let go of the big hand that was holding on, his eyes were full of complicated feelings.

"Old village chief, our father and son have been bothering you in the village for many years, and I will pack up my things and leave here tomorrow. ”

"You ......" The old man was almost choked by the big man's words, and his fingers that stopped in the air trembled. "Gu Xiaotian, you are really stubborn, how can a sensible child like Chen'er have a father like you. ”

After another burst of reprimand, the old man walked out slowly with his back bent, leaving them with only an old back.

"Dad, I'm sorry, don't be angry, it's not good for Chen'er, let's not leave here, okay. ”

Tears burst out of his eyes again, Gu Chen looked at the big man with a wooden face, and couldn't help but plead.

"Alas!" the big man slowly raised his eyelids, and the still immature cheeks came into view, and he was stunned for a long time without saying a word.

............

That night, Gu Chen walked into an unusually simple room with steaming tea.

"Dad, it's cold at night, drink some hot tea to warm up. ”

Dahan put down the cracked wine jug in his hand, gently took the teacup, the steaming heat hit his face, and a thick warmth flowed in his heart.

"Chen'er, will you blame your father. ”

Taking a sip of hot tea, the big man stared at the young man in front of him who had been accompanying him.

"Dad, of course Chen'er won't blame you, Chen'er knows, you will definitely have your reasons for doing this, from today on, Chen'er listens to you, no longer thinks about those things, and learns to cast iron with Dad, and in the future, like you, he will become a blacksmith praised by everyone. ”

Gu Chen's eyes flashed with aura, grinned, and hurriedly filled it again when he saw that the teacup had bottomed out.

"Someone like me, someone like me......"

The big man muttered this sentence over and over again, and his eyes, which were already colorless, looked even paler at the moment.

"Chen'er, if your mother knows that you are so sensible, she will be very pleased. ”

"Mother?"

Gu Chen's hand holding the tea shook for no reason, but this title, which had never appeared in his life, made his heart tremble slightly at this time.

"Yes, your mother, speaking of which, your eyes are exactly the same as your mother's. ”

Dahan gently stroked Gu Chen's cheek, and his eyes showed warmth that he had never felt before.

"Dad, mother...... Where is she?"

Gu Chen's eyes were also a little dilated, as if he was trying to remember that unusually vague face.

"Mother, I don't know, but I think she's pretty peaceful now. ”

The big man glanced at the tea on the table, and instead of serving it, he grabbed the wine jug next to him and took a big sip.

Gu Chen stood quietly at the table, lowered his head, kept fiddling with the corners of his clothes, and didn't say a word.

There was a sudden oppressive silence in the small room, and only the dim candlelight was still flickering softly.

After a long time, as if he had made some serious decision, the big man suddenly raised his head, looked at the young man in front of him with burning eyes, and said, "Chen'er, you tell sù father, do you really want to be a puppeteer?"

"Ugh. The sudden question made Gu Chen stunned for a moment, and then he nodded blankly, he didn't know why his father suddenly asked this question.

"Well, then you can go to the ceremony tomorrow too. Dahan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Huh?" Gu Chen suddenly felt a burst of ecstasy, pinched himself with some uncertainty, and jumped up in an instant after being sure that he had heard correctly.

"Dad, do you agree?"

"Well, Dad agreed, okay, don't be too happy, go back and rest early, and you will have the energy tomorrow. ”

"Yes" Gu Chen nodded fiercely and walked out, and the sound of happy laughter echoed in this humble hut for a long time.

Dahan looked at the cheerful back that disappeared, smacked the wine overflowing from the corner of his mouth, and a faint layer of qi slowly floated around his body.

Airplanes!

The space moved lightly, and a huge phantom appeared behind him, and a domineering, bloodthirsty aura instantly filled the room.

"Liuli, my son has grown up and has his own ideas, it depends on him what Cheng Dù can get, but if anyone dares to do something behind his back, don't blame me Gu Xiaotian for turning his face and being ruthless. ”

Rumble!

A punch struck in the void, and a slight spatial crack appeared on the Great Han's fist tracks.