Hu Buwei is getting thinner and thinner.

The prolonged seditation caused the muscles in his limbs to begin to atrophy. Riding on a mule, he was like a papier-mâché bamboo man, staggering and weak, as if he would be blown down by the wind at any moment. Qin Su looked at his increasingly thin face, and secretly wept every time, but he was helpless.

From Yuanzhou to Shuzhou, the three of them spent half a year. Many days of wind and frost and hard work have left deep and shallow traces on the three people on the road. Hu Buwei's condition is getting worse and worse, but Hu Tan is growing rapidly, and Qin Su ...... Among the three, she should have changed the most.

On the delicate face, it has gradually taken on the color of wind and dust. The corners of the eyebrows and eyes often contain sorrow. A pair of lively and warm eyes are no longer the warmth of the day, and they have become calm and sophisticated at the moment, with a lot of vicissitudes.

In these days, Qin Su made a little itinerary every day, taking care of the Hu family's father and son's starting, sitting and lying, and meeting the needs of food. He also had to teach Hu Tan's homework and supervise him all the time. Buying food, living in the store, changing clothes, grabbing medicine and decoction, no matter how big or small, she has to do it herself. As a young girl who has just entered the world, she didn't know how to live, but now she has to take on the responsibility of taking care of such a big and a small two people independently every day, repeating the days of fear and pain, and the hardships are really beyond the words to describe.

As the suffering went through as the years went by, Qin Su's temperament also changed a lot. She is not as susceptible and vulnerable as before, and she has gradually become more comfortable with others.

Qin Su has become more mature, and he can deal with changes a little calmly. However, now I see Hu Buwei's body getting worse and worse. But it still makes her worry all the time, and it is difficult to show a smile.

It's winter. The wind shouted, and the heavy snow fell one after another. Walking in the wilderness is especially susceptible to cold. Therefore, he is on the way to seclusion. Qin Su was afraid of being discovered by the characters in the rivers and lakes, so he didn't dare to walk in the downtown area, so he bought thick winter clothes from the Zhuang family and pretended to be a family of three.

The wind and snow of the wilderness always blew unhindered the three of them. Shuoqi scraped on the face, like a knife cutting.

Hu Buwei was wrapped in four or five cotton clothes, so bloated that he was like a bear, and the cold air could not be poured into his body. However, even so, he was often infected with wind chills.

At this time, the soul was empty, and Hu Buwei was completely unaware of the action. The wind swept into his face. He didn't know how to dodge. The snowflakes came into his eyes, and he only blinked, letting the white floc pile up on his brow, and his beard formed ice ballast. For the whole month, he was so white-eyed and white-bearded, with a thin snot hanging under his nose, and he looked straight ahead with a hollow hole, making the cold shiver and shrink.

When Qin Su looked at him. It's distressing and pitiful.

When he arrived in Shuzhou, he saw that Hu Buwei was getting thinner and thinner, so he grabbed his hands. It's almost skinny. Qin Su was worried, and finally took him to find a doctor for treatment. The old man who diagnosed the pulse was a bit famous, and he prescribed some prescriptions for concentrating and replenishing qi. There are also many warm and dry things, let Qin Su catch them and fry them. He instructed Qin Su. Every day, Hu Buwei washed his skin with hot water, and then slapped his hands and feet vigorously. Let the blood flow be smooth, so that there is no hindrance. Qin Su memorized them one by one, and after he went back, he acted according to the law.

When he went to the inn, he lifted Hu Buwei's clothes and saw the ribs under the skin, which were sharp and angular, and Qin Su couldn't help but feel sad. She didn't dare to delay any longer, so after helping Hu Buwei wrap the quilt, she boiled water to scrub and rub his limbs. It wasn't until Hu Buwei's hands and legs were rubbed red and swollen that he put it down.

Such and such. There was more homework like this every day, and they were worried that Hu Buwei would not be able to stand the wind and snow, so the three of them walked more slowly. Seeing that the end of the year was approaching, the three of them were still bound in the hotel in the small village and town.

It's just that the old doctor's method has gradually shown its effect, Hu Buwei let Qin Su warm his blood and activate his veins like this, and he will be much more energetic in a few days, although he is still unconscious, but his face has changed from his previous gray color, and he has recovered slightly.

After five or six days passed, Xiao Hu Tan saw Qin Su rubbing his Lao Tzu like this every day, and he was also aroused. In the evening of this day, the three of them stayed in a farmhouse, Qin Su begged the owner to get an iron wok to boil water and scrub it, and then slapped Hu Buwei's arm on the bed, Xiao Hu Tan stood by the bed, looked at it for a while, and then clamored to go to bed and help his father pinch his hands.

Qin Su couldn't resist him, so he had to agree, but on the condition that he first memorize a mantra taught at noon. Hu Tan was so happy that he nodded busily, and recited it without waiting for Qin Su to start, so anxious that he didn't even change his breath. Seeing him like this, Qin Su was angry and funny, so he didn't accuse him of reciting a few faults wrongly, let go of a corner, and Xiao Hu Tan rolled into it and squatted down.

He stretched out a small hand, stretched out halfway and froze, he didn't dare to touch Hu Buwei's arm for a while, Hu Tan asked Qin Su gently: "Auntie, will Daddy hurt?" Hu Buwei has been missing for these days, and no longer speaks, the little doll already knows that Daddy is not very good.

Qin Su said: "It doesn't hurt. "I kept on my hands, pinching Hu Buwei's ten fingers hard to help him relax his joints. Xiao Hu Tan held his breath and watched Qin Su's movements, and after a while, he understood, so he reached out to pull Hu Buwei's fingers, and pulled them outward like plucking chicken feathers. The little doll only said that she was helping her father reduce her illness, and she seemed to feel a great responsibility in her heart, and her little face was serious, but she didn't make trouble.

After rubbing his arms, he went to his legs. Hu Buwei's legs and feet are as thin as dry firewood. The square edges of the tibia appear to be extremely conspicuous. Xiao Hu Tan followed Qin Su and moved together, squeezing to her side and wanting to pinch his father's legs. This hindered Qin Su's work, Qin Su frowned, and said, "Tan'er, you give your father a slap on the back, and your father said that his back hurts." ”

The little boy didn't know that it was a fraud, and he replied with an 'oh', and turned to Hu Buwei to beat his back behind him. The small fist fell lightly one by one, not daring to push too hard. Qin Su was secretly amused, thinking: "In the end, it is his own child, and he knows that he feels sorry for his father." He turned to him and said, "With a little effort, Daddy doesn't hurt." ”

The little doll was obedient, and with the force in her hand, it fell on Hu Buwei's back with a 'bang', which was quite powerful. After fifteen or sixteen beats like this, Hu Tan's face was swollen and red, and his little fist already felt sour. Qin Su saw that the strength of Xiao Tong's thrashing had decreased, and knew that he was tired. It is expected that the little doll has no longevity, and as soon as the freshness passes, it is time to find another interesting thing.

But who knows, Xiao Hu Tan is very tenacious, and he insisted on beating it more than 20 times, panting. Squat on your back to rest. After a while, he thrashed hard again. Looking at it from Hu Buwei's coercion. I saw the child puffing out his cheeks and opening his eyes wide. Apparently doing everything he could to thump his back.

Qin Su was very surprised, and thought to himself: Could it be that this little child already knows how to fulfill filial piety? He is only two years old, how can it be? Even if it is a hardship that urges people to grow up, it can't be that they know how to love their father so early.

Surprised, he asked him: "Tan'er, daddy is asleep, do you want daddy?"

Hu Tan nodded and said firmly: "Yes!"

"Why do you think?"

The boy was stunned for a moment, and his fist paused. Why did he want to? How did he know why he wanted his father? Daddy had been asleep for so long. He didn't talk to Tan'er, and Tan'er was scared. Tan'er just hopes that her father will wake up soon, catch butterflies and fireflies for herself, and buy fun things...... But these, how did the little doll know how to say it, she didn't know how to answer for a while, looked at Qin Su, and shook her head.

I saw the little boy crouching in the dark. The faint light of the lamp only shone on half of his cheeks, and there seemed to be traces of melancholy in those clear pupils. Qin Su's mother's heartstrings were violently touched.

She paused and asked softly, "Tan'er follows Auntie." Are you afraid?"

Xiao Hu Tan nodded. He was frightened, so he confessed it directly, and he didn't know how to fake it.

"Good Tan'er. Don't be afraid. Qin Su said, thinking about this comfort, it is not convincing. And he said, "Daddy woke up soon, at that time. You can talk to Tan'er again......"

The child's eyes flashed with earnestness. Qin Su sighed secretly.

Will Brother Hu really wake up soon? Will this trip to Jiangning Mansion go as smoothly as expected? She asked herself in her heart.

There is no answer, only in exchange for confusion.

It's just that Xiao Hu Tan was really inspired by her words, and the punch power of beating Hu Buwei also became bigger. Qin Su smiled bitterly, the little doll is so easy to deceive, just believe it when you say it. What would he think if he learned tomorrow that his father had been robbed of his soul, and that he didn't know where he was hiding, and that there might be no hope of recovery for the rest of his life?

Qin Su was silent. The situation of this little boy was something she could never have imagined before. At the age of one or two, while still enjoying love in the arms of his parents, he has been displaced and bumped on the road. Every day, wind, frost, rain and snow, hunger, sickness and cold. God knows how he survived.

Qin Su once asked Hu Tan in the Dao and learned that Hu Tan's mother was no longer around.

"Went far, far away. This is the common rhetoric of every parent who has lost a partner when it comes to responding to their child.

Qin Su judged that Hu Tan's mother had either passed away, or abandoned the two of them. In her selfish heart, she was happy that Hu Buwei did not have a wife, however, her natural gentle temperament made her deeply sympathize with Hu Tan, an orphan who had lost her parents.

"Poor doll, it's still so young, my mother is gone, and now even my father has become unaware of life and death......" Qin Su's nose was sour, and he was about to cry.

Hu Tan didn't see the sadness on his aunt's face, he was still excited about the false hope. How did he know that the future was full of twists and turns, and the hardships were long, and the obedient fate he was experiencing now was just the precursor of his suffering process.

In troubled times, human life is as cheap as a dog, and even life may be lost at any time, who dares to talk about hope?

In the small house, the oil lamp lit up with a faint bean, casting the shadows of the three of them on the wall, which was unusually large. The wind and snow outside the door are still there, and the wind of the call sign rolls up thousands of cold snow, rushing through villages and towns, mountains, forests, and rivers, venting the last residual power of the year to thousands of households in the world.

It's been closed for almost a year. At the end of the year, it should be an auspicious time, but at the moment of chaos and chaos, who has real enthusiasm to celebrate the New Year?

Who knows what life will be like tomorrow?

But all of this is completely incomprehensible to today's little charcoal. He was tired for half the night, shrunk under Qin Su's armpit and fell asleep. After Qin Su finished rectifying Hu Buwei, he blew out the oil lamp, pondered in the dark for a while, and fell asleep with his clothes.

At dawn the next day, the three of them were back on the road despite the wind and snow. Heading northeast from Shuzhou, after Chinese New Year's Eve on the way, we arrived at Jiangning Mansion more than a month later.

Jiangnan scenery, after all, is different from the way it came. Although it was in troubled times, this place was in a safe corner and did not suffer from disasters. Jiangning Mansion is the ancient capital of several dynasties, and the place where Buddhism is at its peak. I don't know how many gate wall gangs are hiding in the mountains and forests, there are many hidden dragons and hidden phoenixes, and all kinds of monsters and cults in the Western Regions do not dare to attack immediately.

Hu Tan and Qin Su walked into the city and saw a steady stream of people and countless jugglers. I was dazzled to see it, Qin Huai ten miles of bead curtains. The orchestra of the painting boat continues, and the tea shop is 14th Five-Year Plan. There are eight or nine restaurants, all of which are in a square inch, and such a prosperous place is really difficult to describe.

Qin Su has grown so big, this is the first time he has seen such a prosperous scene. Although she grew up on the edge of Jiangning Mansion since she was a child, the distance between Jade Girl Peak and the distance of dozens of miles is still dozens of miles, and the sect's precepts are strict, so if a disciple has no task. It is not allowed to go down the mountain without permission. Therefore, for more than ten years, except for a trip to the north with her master when she was fourteen years old, she spent the rest of the time hiding in the mountains and cultivating quietly.

Touching the bag, Hu Buwei had worked so hard to hide the six ingots of gold, but there were only a few pieces of broken silver left. Qin Su didn't know how much it took, he consumed most of it on the way, and now he just knew that silver money was important, but it was too late.

Hu Tan looked at the little clay figure selling on the side of the road with good eyes. A black-faced man set up a small table on the side of the road. There are straw poles with colorful clay sculptures on them. Taoyuan Sanyi, fisherman, woodcutter. Checkmate. It's hard for him to be in shape. When the child saw such an interesting thing, how could he still walk? Looking at the longing in Hu Tan's eyes, Qin Su gritted his teeth. Out of the way, Xiao Hu Tan has suffered enough these days. He should also be given some children's playthings. bought two villains at the moment and took the two of them to stay at the inn. Then he led the children to the street to buy playthings, sugar gourds, dough cakes, bean cakes, and all to eat.

The two of them were out of control, and after tasting the snacks, Qin Su took Hu Tan to the restaurant to eat again, anyway, he was wearing a coarse cotton coat, and he was not afraid of being recognized. However, before entering the restaurant, Qin Su raised his guard and covered his mouth and nose with a towel before entering.

Eat a sweet meal. Xiao Hu Tan was satisfied, in his heart, this day was really the happiest day in his life. He has a round belly, a lot of toys in his hands, and a variety of snacks in his pocket. He jumped up and down and took Qin Su's hand, licked the candy ball, and took a bite of the flower cake, and the two walked towards the inn.

Qin Su couldn't be happy. After buying Hu Buwei's rations, there was not much money left. If you don't find some ways to make money quickly, I'm afraid that in a few days, the three of them will go hungry.

Fortunately, we are now at the end of the road, so I don't have to worry about other expenses. Qin Su looked at Xiao Hu Tanle's peach blossom face, and gradually opened his mind, money and foreign things, no matter how much money he earned, what did it matter, look at the little doll happy like this, no matter how much money was spent, it was worth it.

Three or four days later, when a few people settled in a village near the Jade Girl Peak. Qin Su finally discovered the preciousness of the things outside his body. The owner of the overnight stay is an old woman, who is easy to talk to, and the money she asks for is fair. After spending just a while, Qin Su's purse finally bottomed out, she shook the five or six copper plates in the cloth bag, and only the desolate sound of jingling was heard in her ears.

Hu Tan was still in the interest, and on this day she was tired of her knees, begging: "Auntie, Tan'er wants to eat cakes." ”

"I still eat cakes, it's good to have gruel to drink in the future......" Qin Su said to Hu Tan with a sad face: "Tan'er, if you don't eat cakes today, my aunt will take you to eat another day." ”

The boy did not follow the life and death, pleaded and pleaded, and began to be angry, but the anger was unsuccessful, and he began to cry again. Qin Su had no choice but to take out two more copper plates and buy two fruits in the village before he could be regarded as sending him away.

But what should she do with her life in the future? This question, which she had not thought about before, had pressed down on her brow in a matter of moments. After all, the three of them can't drink the northwest wind together.

In the evening, Qin Su asked the old woman for advice. The old woman asked, "Do you know how to embroider female red?"

Qin Su shook his head.

"Do you know how to weave cloth with a machine?"

Qin Su shook his head again.

"How's it going?"

Qin Su shook his head violently. Hu Buwei is half tired of washing clothes for his father and son, and he has to make a living from it, so it's really better to die. Besides, Qin Su had never cooked before, and even the barbecue food was half-cooked and half-cooked, so he was afraid that he would rush home that day.

Seeing that a woman like Qin Su couldn't know anything, the old woman couldn't help but groan.

"None of this will ...... Well, looking at your appearance, if you can speak, it's okay to go to a rich family's house to be a maid, but ......" She glanced at Qin Su. The meaning in his eyes made Qin Su ashamed. Qin Su cherishes his mouth like gold, he can't even coax people, how can he be a handmaid for others? This job makes Hu Bu do it for a man to disguise himself as a woman.

Qin Su never expected that he was empty of a spell, but he didn't even have the skills to make a living. Spells can't be eaten, and besides, this is near the Jade Maiden Peak, so she doesn't dare to risk using spells.

Looking at Qin Su's distressed appearance, the old lady sighed and said, "Child, if you don't work too hard, go up the mountain with my wife to chop wood." Your body is so weak, help me tie some vines, and let's carry them down the mountain, so that the old woman can stutter and you can also have a full meal. Only then did Qin Su know that the white-haired old woman in front of him actually made a living by chopping wood.

In this way, the three of Qin and Su settled down in this place called Panquan Village. Every day before dawn, he would go up the mountain with his wife to chop firewood, bundle it into neat stacks, pull it down the mountain and sell it, exchange it for very little copper plate, and buy back oil, salt and grain.

Only then did Qin Su know that it turned out that survival was such a difficult thing.

The old woman is almost 70 years old, and she still has to climb mountains and forests every day to cut firewood. Then, carrying the boss down the mountain with a bundle of wet firewood. In the middle of the road, I don't know how many steep places, if you accidentally stumble, you will die in the mountains. And these firewood and grass that were exchanged for their lives can only be exchanged for a dozen copper plates! After buying a day's food, there is nothing left.

It is hard to imagine that such days have passed for decades, and there is no day of rest. If there is a sickness or a disaster in the middle, then you will keep starving until you desperately cut back the firewood and grass, and the food in your mouth will be settled.

This suffering world, Qin Su deeply realized it for the first time. In the past, I only listened to reason, and felt that the people were hard, but who would have thought that it would be so hard! They were exchanging their lives for food every day! Under the oil lamp, Qin Su watched the old lady busy preparing dinner, only to feel that her throat was caught by something as hard, and her nose was sore, which made her cry uncontrollably.

Since Qin Su's helper, the old lady has worked a lot, and after Qin Su followed her into the mountain for three or five days, she refused to sit idly anymore, took an axe to find a secluded place, and then used spells to chop wood. The old woman now carries down the mountain every day, and the stack of firewood is more than three times larger than before, and the strange thing is that such a large pile of firewood and grass is lighter than the one that used to be carried down the mountain. The old lady only said that the older she gets, the tougher she becomes, and her strength is greater. She naturally didn't know that every time Qin Su followed behind her, he would use the method of wind control to remove the pressure on her.

The daily income is more than before, and the old woman is smiling from ear to ear. But Qin Su was not satisfied. She didn't come here to make more money, but to be busy with food and clothing every day, so that she had no time to do business.

Time flies. Ten days, one month, three months. Hu Buwei is in the same situation as before, neither good nor bad. Hu Tan still recites mantras every day and learns to read and write. He memorized the "Great Yuan Refining True Scripture" very well, and he also remembered dozens of Jade Girl Peak spells taught by Qin Su. The text is moving faster, and I remember hundreds of words now.

But Qin Su was more and more worried. After such a long time, it is long overdue for the master to return to the mountains, and it is time to go back and steal the soul. If you continue to live like this, when will it end?

Thinking like this, she took leave with her wife, only under the pretext that she had something to do when she went out, entrusted Hu Buwei and Hu Tan to her, and went out.

The majestic mountain in the field of vision is like a goddess waking up in the morning light, and the large white stones on the top of the peak are shining brightly. This is the Jade Girl Peak, where Qin Su has lived for more than ten years.

Forcing the waves surging in his heart, Qin Su took a deep breath.

Master, I'm back. She said to herself.