The Beidou Plateau is like a divine sword rising from the ground, condescending, overlooking the entire Reincarnation Continent.

Due to the high terrain, the plateau is cold all year round, and one after another endless snow-capped mountains are like wrapping in a mink robe all day long, which is both slippery and dazzling.

However, because the Beidou Plateau is rich in jade-like crystal clear 10,000-year-old Xuanxi, as well as high-purity primordial Xuanlu. Many human villages are located in low-lying river valleys and plains, and these neighboring villages are united to form various tribes.

Between the tribes, they often fight for the precious Xuan Glacier and the Xuan Lake, and at the same time, the alliance attacks other tribes, and betrayal and alliance often occur.

And among the many tribes, there are three very powerful tribes, namely Yugong, Buchi, and Mossa. The Mosa tribe was the only one of the three major tribes that lived on the plains.

Tianhuang Town, on the edge of the Mosa tribe, is close to another powerful empire in Zhongzhou, the Xingxuan Empire, which has established centralized power.

Tianhuang Town was originally a small village, but due to the perennial struggle between the Mosa tribe and the other two tribes on the Beidou Plateau, as well as the Xingxuan Empire's precautions against another empire in Zhongzhou, coupled with its remote location, a relatively relaxed environment was formed, so that the people on both sides slowly merged together to form a large-scale village and town.

The sky was cloudy, and the cloudy sky had just vomited several layers of light, and the egg yolk-like winter day was already stretching its limbs and jumping into the sky.

In the past, at this moment, the merchants who opened their doors to do business in Tianhuang Town had already been wafting with fireworks at the door, lingering.

The streets are also full of traffic, and there are bursts of shouting and shouting, which are also endless, one after another.

But today, the streets are deserted as if they were swept away by a hurricane.

Cold.

It's too cold, and the world is cold. Going out for too long makes the cold cramping.

The grass rooster, who was supposed to be punctual to tell the time, struck in the depths of the haystack, and when he went to the morning class of a very strict private school teacher called "Mr. Koo", the mischievous ghosts who were destroying everywhere on the road were frightened with bamboo poles, but they were indifferent.

And on the quiet street corner, Huo Di alone came out...... Fragrant baked cakes, white and tender steamed buns......"

The man with the green scarf in the circle, the sleeve of his right hand was empty, swinging in the wind, and he actually broke an arm. With his only remaining left arm and a very powerful shoulder to carry the cargo box, he kept walking at the door of one house after another, knocking on the door and shouting.

Perhaps the coarse linen garment was not enough to withstand the ubiquitous cold, and the merchant wore a robe woven of bamboo and grass.

The cold wind was pressing, and the clothes were constantly shaking and sizzling.

Only a one-armed rough man is willing to take over the business of selling goods for others in this cold winter.

After a while, there was a squeak at the door of a house that had been knocked, and an old woman poked her head out, carrying a bamboo basket, yawning, and said weakly and tremblingly: "Baked cakes, steamed buns, take three each." ”

When the merchant heard this, his face was overjoyed, and he said loudly, "Okay! ”

Immediately, he carefully put down the burden, rubbed his frozen left hand on the scarf a few times, and then took off the lid of the cargo box.

Suddenly, it was steaming hot, and a fresh fragrance was permeating.

"The goods that have just come out of the cage are hot. There are six copper coins in total. ”

The merchant smiled and groaned, a little flattering.

The old woman took the baked cake and steamed bun, put it in the bamboo basket, and handed over the copper coin that she had already held in her hand......

Just when the merchant received the money, a short and thin black shadow burst out of the corner of the wall in an instant, like a whirlwind, running straight towards the cargo box.

The black shadow moved his hands in unison, took a piece of baked cake in one hand, touched another piece of steamed bun in his hand, and ran away to the corner of the street.

The merchant stood straight, quietly watching the dark figure disappear into the corner.

"It's this kid again!"

The merchant just sighed, did not chase after him, and then silently put away the container, and kept shouting as he walked.

"-Baked Cakes--Fragrant-Baked Cakes-"

……

……

The boy finished the last bit of crumbs, licked his fingers one by one, and with some unfinished thoughts, stuck out his tongue and licked around the corners of his mouth.

The boy looked no more than eight or nine years old, but his face was not cute, and his hard cheeks were unhealthy white, dry and shriveled. And the eyes are like a rainy day, very dark and humid all day long, making people not feel the innocence of a child.

Dressed in an adult man's dress that was a circle older than him, tattered and tattered, with patched rags everywhere, if it weren't for the cuffs rolled up and pulled, he could have gone to the stage to perform a flower fairy's fluttering long sleeves.

He didn't have much flesh on his body, and although he couldn't be called the skin and bones of a starving ghost, he was also extremely weak, as if he was terminally ill, and if he didn't pay attention, he would be blown to death by the wind.

The boy pinched a whole piece of steamed bun in his arms, which was still warm, and looked around vigilantly.

At the boy's chest, there is a big hole in the inner and outer layers of clothing, which is obviously not enough to resist the cold, and it is even more difficult to cover the big steamed bun clinging to the chest.

The boy hadn't eaten for two days, and steamed buns were his lifesaver, because it was hard to find food at this time.

In winter, the weather is cold.

Wild dogs are even more ruthless.

People are more vicious.

The boy walked on the hard dirt road with his bare feet on the hard dirt road, and although his feet were already a little purple, he didn't care.

The streets were deserted, there was no one, and the boy was alone and lonely.

When he got to the east street, the boy who was running at a gallop slowed down a little, and finally ran slower and slower, and by the time he was about to stop, he had already reached the deep alley at the corner.

The two innermost rows of walls in the deep alley are supported by a single wall, and a simple shed is built of wood and stone.

The old beggar was in the shabby, narrow shed.

The old beggar was very kind to the boy, although he himself did not live well.

The boy and the old beggar are like good friends with no age gap, a big friend, a little friend.

Back then, the old beggar was begging on East Street, and the boy was stealing on North Street.

Originally, there was no intersection, but at that time, the gate on North Street was very tight, and the boy had no choice but to go to East Street to find some food to steal.

At that time, the pickpockets on West Street thought that the boy had occupied the territory, and he did not give them a signal, and broke the rules, so he had to cut off his three fingers as a punishment.

At that time, he finally escaped and was almost discovered, but fortunately the old beggar secretly helped. The boy had no respect for the old beggar, even contempt.

The boy felt that although the old beggar was half-paralyzed, he knew a great deal of knowledge.

Which of the learned people he saw was not a great official? Even if you can't be a big official, why beg? The boy thought.

But the boy didn't think that the steamed buns picked up from the ground, the leftover rice that others ate, or the hares taken from the dogs' mouths were dirty.

Boys have such thoughts from an early age, whether they are good or bad.

Once the old beggar asked, what would you think if someone stole something from you? The boy replied: I would be angry why I didn't steal from each other.

On that day, the old beggar was angry again and again. The boy was puzzled, but the old beggar just shook his head. The boy hadn't figured it out, but he was just puzzled and not on the tip of the horns.

The old beggar was originally born in a family of embroiderers on the Xingxuan Empire, and his ancestors heard that he had been ranked as the third prince, but when it was passed on to the old man's generation, the family assets were squandered by him. But the remnants of the ancestors are still there, and although the days are not called prestige, they can barely live a chic life.

However, I heard that a major event happened later, which was widely implicated, and even the old case of the ancestors a hundred years ago was turned over, which had a huge impact.

In the end, the old beggar was almost beheaded, and although he was only imprisoned for twelve years, he was beaten to death when he came out of prison.

These things were told by the old beggar himself.

At that time, the old beggar was very plain, as if he was talking about other people's affairs, insignificant.

Deep in the alley, the sun was dim, but warmer.

Looking into the shed, I saw the old beggar lying on his side in a shallow haystack on the ground, his face curled up against the wall. His long, curly white hair was knotted and unruly draped, covering his entire head tightly, and he had one hand tucked into his chest like a chicken's claw, while the other hand clung to the half-cracked mat that covered his baby-like curled body.

Although the old man was hunched, he still couldn't cover his head, heels, and feet. Maybe it's not a mat, but it's like a fisherman's fishing net, which can't hold the heat at all.

The boy stood and watched for a long time, was silent for a moment, then kicked the old beggar in the back and said, "Hey! Wake up, old man! ”

This kick is not heavy, and it is not light.

But the old beggar did not move, as if in a dream, motionless, unresponsive, like a clay sculpture.

The boy's heart sank, and he turned the old man over with his hand, feeling that the old beggar's body was cold and stiff.

finally turned the old beggar over, but found that the old man had already closed his eyes and had frozen to death.

The old beggar didn't survive this winter after all.

The boy clearly remembered that five days ago, the old beggar grabbed a handful of snow, admiring it like a child, and admiring it like a poet:

"This year's snowflakes are bigger and more beautiful than last year."

Life and death in the world are impermanent, and the boy doesn't care, because he has long been accustomed to it, and he is as ruthless as he is to these things.

The boy was sad, but did not shed tears.

In addition to sadness, he also felt a little regretful, and seemed to foresee his fate.

The boy bowed his head silently and muttered, "Old man, you can finally sleep well."

Because the old beggar hardly slept much, he often looked at the sky at night and did not know what to think, or even when he fell asleep, he often woke up, muttering, "leaves", and then cried and laughed, and sat until dawn.

The boy swept up the old beggar with the half of the grass and dragged him to a graveyard.

After all, the boy is just a child, and his strength is limited, and even pulling it hard is laborious.

Halfway up the mountain, the corpse began to be scratched on the ground, and the boy continued to stretch along.

It was difficult to reach the grave, and the old beggar's back was already bloody, and white bones could be faintly seen.

The boy blamed himself, didn't look at the old beggar, turned his head to the side and said, "Old man, I'm sorry, if I don't bury you earlier, those wild dogs may eat you." I've seen with my own eyes that there was a girl who was eaten alive, and she kept screaming, and I hid there and couldn't do anything......"

The boy vaguely remembered that one night, the old beggar who had just cried, holding a porcelain bowl that had been half missing, stared at the rice wine inside, was silent for a while, and suddenly said to him: "After I die, don't bury me, I'm afraid of stuffiness, just burn me." The wind will take me back to my hometown, to her......"

Missing this, although the boy was sad in his heart, in addition to apologies in his eyes, there was more numb helplessness.