Near the capital, there is a continuous mountain range, at the foot of which a few households are scattered, forming a small village.
Although they lived very close to the capital Chang'an, their lives were very difficult, a stark contrast to the lives of ordinary people in the city.
The villagers did not originally live here. They lost their homes due to war many years ago and fled here.
At first, the government would take care of them, building them simple houses and distributing relief supplies, but as time went on, they seemed to be completely forgotten and left to fend for themselves in the mountains.
Because they had no land, the villagers could only rely on picking wild delicacies or hunting every day and then exchanging them for rice and flour in the city to make a living.
Chu Huaixu was living here at that time. He was taken in by an elderly woman surnamed Sun.
Granny Sun's children all died in the war. When Chu Huaixu said he wanted to stay in her house, she agreed without hesitation and didn't even want any money.
It is said that the most dangerous place is the safest place. Chu Huaixu hid here for seven or eight days. Everything was calm and peaceful. Apart from the old woman, he did not see anyone else.
The mountain area is vast, and the villagers live quite far apart. If you don't leave your house, you might not see anyone for ten days or half a month. This couldn't be better for Chu Huaixu.
That day, he parted ways with Zhou Tong at the foot of the mountain. The latter had to rush back to Chang'an and go to the northern desert in place of Song Ting the next morning.
“That’s where I used to live with the eldest son. I belong there. Once we drive the Turks home, I will go to Jiangnan and take the eldest son with me.”
"Young master, from now on, may you live a long and prosperous life. Take good care of yourself."
They solemnly bid farewell, watching Zhou Tong's departing figure on horseback. He seemed to see his eldest and second eldest brothers, as well as his father, on horseback, dressed in armor, carrying spears and holding swords, bravely fighting the enemy.
Dayan never intended to negotiate with the Turks; the previous compromises and hesitations were merely smokescreens to mislead them.
Zhou Tong had been waiting for this day for far too long.
He had waited far too long.
Unfortunately, given his current physical condition, he is unable to go to the battlefield and can only hide here and wait for Zhou Tong's triumphant return.
"Young man, there's not much food at home. I'm sorry you've had to go through this these past few days."
Grandma Sun made cabbage dumplings today, one small bowl for each of them, and thoughtfully saved a few for Fatty to cool down before feeding him.
"Thank you, Mother-in-law. I'm sorry to have bothered you."
His health deteriorated, and he could no longer do ordinary work. After moving into the old woman's house, he relied entirely on her for care.
"Hey, what are you saying? I'm practically halfway to the grave, and I've never seen such a handsome young man before. He's like a god; just one look at him makes me happy."
"I'm so happy that you're here with this old woman!" Grandma Sun said cheerfully.
Having lost loved ones in the war, Granny Sun has had little contact with others since moving to this mountain. Although she has gotten used to it over the years, who wouldn't want their home to be lively and bustling?
Furthermore, this young man named Huai San is truly handsome; one look at him and one's heart is instantly drawn to him.
She just didn't know what serious illness she had contracted, as her body was really weak, which made her feel more heartache than joy.
After lunch, the old woman went to the mountains to dig for wild vegetables as usual, while Chu Huaixu moved a small stool and sat in the yard to play with Fatty.
Originally, I didn't want to bring Fatty along. He was a dying man who just wanted to find a quiet place to wait for his death. What would happen to Fatty then?
But Fatty was so clever that no matter how lightly he moved, he couldn't escape its ears.
The little guy stumbled and crawled over from the carpet, rubbing against his feet, his big, watery eyes darting around as he stuck out his tongue and wagged his tail.
He couldn't bring himself to do it, and as if losing his mind, he bent down, picked it up, and took it with him.
Fortunately, Fatty is easy to take care of. It will eat whatever you give it and is never picky. I think it will get along well with Grandma Sun in the future.
"Fatty".
Fatty was digging a hole around the big tree in the yard whose name he didn't know, scattering pebbles and dust everywhere. When he heard Chu Huaixu call him, he turned around and ran towards him.
Its chubby body wiggled and swayed; as the old woman put it, it was as fat as a little piglet.
Suddenly, she remembered that day when Song Ting was holding Fatty, her face scrunched up, complaining pitifully, "I'll throw this thing away one day. Since we got it, Young Master's attention has been completely diverted by it."
Back when his grandfather was still alive, he almost brought a puppy home, but Song Ting refused, which is why he declined his grandfather's gift.
From then on, Song Ting became his "little dog".
His little dog had done so much for him, yet he misunderstood and mistreated him. Only now does he realize that he hated the wrong person.
The puppy has never changed; it's the person who has become unrecognizable.
Chu Huaixu rubbed his chubby head and smiled silently. A bittersweet feeling welled up inside him.
"Okay, go play, but don't be naughty."
The further along the process, the greater the effects of the Gu poison become. At this stage, both the physical body and the spirit are depleted very quickly. After performing such a simple action, Chu Huaixu was already covered in cold sweat and felt a pain and tightness in his chest.
He clenched his fist against his chest and took a few breaths, but the pain in his chest not only did not lessen, but became even more intense.
The pain started in his heart and spread throughout his body in an instant. Every inch of his skin and flesh felt as if thousands of ants were crawling and gnawing at him, trying to devour him bit by bit.
Such pain is akin to being subjected to slow slicing.
"Ugh—" My stomach was churning. The dumplings I had forced down half an hour ago were all vomited up. After vomiting for a while, there was nothing left in my stomach, and I was just vomiting acid.
This kind of pain has been coming several times a day for the past few days. Chu Huaixu thought he could get used to it, but it turns out he couldn't.
The pain intensified each day, and each time he endured it, he felt as if he had already died once.
Sometimes he even felt that since he couldn't escape death either way, he might as well die now and be free from it.
After coughing for a while with his head down, Chu Huaixu suddenly thought of the phrase "oil lamp running out of oil." He felt that he was like that oil lamp that was about to burn out, and that he might go out at any moment.
He gave a self-deprecating, bitter laugh.
"Woof woof woof".
There was a slight noise outside the door; it was probably Grandma Sun returning.
Fatty crawled out of the hole he had dug, staggered to the door, blocked the gap in the wooden door with his mouth, and barked incessantly, thinking he was very fierce, but actually his voice was very childish.
"Grandma—" The old, dilapidated door was pushed open from the outside in. Chu Huaixu's words stopped in his throat. The person who appeared at the door was not Grandma Sun, but—Song Ting.
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