Chapter 72 I don’t want to study, I want to learn martial arts!
"elder brother?"
Xingxing was only wearing socks and was afraid of getting her feet wet, so she didn't go out, even though the house was originally wet and dirty.
Hearing the sound, Xiaowu, who was concentrating on sharpening the knife, turned around and saw his younger brother standing at the door, tilting his head and looking at him curiously.
Xiaowu lowered his head, picked up a handful of snow, wiped the blade clean, then walked back with the knife in his hand.
Xingxing's eyes were always on the knife in his hand.
It was not sharp at all, and the blade was curled in many places. The whole knife was covered with mottled rust. Even though Xiaowu had been sharpening the knife on stone for a long time, he could not make it sharp as snow.
Xiaowu wrapped the knife with a cloth strip and put it on his waist, then reached out and picked up his warmly dressed and plump brother.
He is really strong.
"Xingxing, let's go to the city tomorrow." Xiaowu walked back with Xingxing in his arms, saying, "Let's go find that kid and find a way to get your things back."
During the time when Xingxing was sleeping, Xiaowu finally made this decision.
He still wanted to get back what belonged to his brother, especially such an important ID.
Although the world is vast and Xingxing may never find his family in his lifetime, at least he has a thought. Just for this reason, Xiaowu must get it back.
Thinking of this, Xiao Wu rubbed his brother's head and said softly, "He had no choice but to take that thing away before. I have just asked other people and someone knows that the child is the owner of a jewelry store. We will go to the city to find him tomorrow."
"He won't return it." Qiuqiu was on Xingxing's shoulder, and had to break the child's innocent expectations.
Xingxing also felt that the child would not return, but he held his brother's hand and nodded obediently.
"Are you hungry?" Xiao Wu touched his brother's bulging belly and said softly, "I left some porridge for you. It's the food they gave you. It's not much, just enough for two meals, one tonight and one tomorrow morning, and then we'll go to the city."
The more Qiuqiu listened, the more he felt that Xiaowu looked a little familiar.
How to say it, at such a young age, he can act and speak so logically. Qiuqiu even suspects that he is not a little beggar at all, but a pearl mixed in with other fish.
Fate made him mature too early, and he had to bear the burden of his own and his brother's survival early, and he had to be cautious in everything he did...
But in essence, Qiuqiu thinks Xiaowu is actually a little fool who doesn't like to use his brain much.
Xingxing ignored what Qiuqiu was muttering in her ear. She held the bowl of rice her brother brought over with her little hands, leaned close to her brother, lowered her head and drank it in small sips.
Xiaowu had already eaten in advance, but was reluctant to take two bites. Now watching his younger brother eat, his throat moved, and he also held his face and tilted his head to watch his younger brother's live eating broadcast.
The broken bowl containing the hot porridge was washed clean. There were actually only a few grains of rice in the bowl. There was little firewood stored in the dilapidated temple in winter, and the rice porridge was not cooked soft, so it was just a small bowl of watery rice soup.
No matter how small Xingxing's appetite was, he drank up the small bowl of rice soup.
Then I followed my brother the whole time and watched him wash dishes with the melted snow water.
At this time, Qi Lao San walked behind the two brothers, smiled respectfully and said, "Xiao Wu, Xingxing, how about you two brothers sleeping in the side hall tonight? We have had people clean up the place again this afternoon. The side hall is quiet and windproof, and sleeping there is much more comfortable than in the main hall."
Xiaowu knew that they had been tinkering with it in the afternoon, but he never thought that it was for him and Xingxing. However, he was only surprised for a moment when he heard it, and immediately took Xingxing to see it.
Compared with the main hall, this hall is much smaller and more like an ordinary Zen room. The Buddha statues in this hall have collapsed long ago. As soon as you enter, you can clearly feel that the whistling sound of wind and snow in your ears has become much smaller.
The most important thing is that the entire floor of the hall is covered with thick hay. Although the hay is a bit prickly to sleep on, it does not feel cold and damp. At least it is more comfortable than usual.
Xiaowu is very satisfied with this place.
As soon as he saw his expression, Qi Lao San knew that his efforts in the afternoon were useful, so he smiled and said, "Then you can sleep here tonight. We are here to watch over you. It's very safe and no one will disturb you."
If it was a day ago, he would never have imagined that one day he would treat these two little bastards with such respect.
But when you live under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Qi Laosan wants to survive, and the other beggars also want to survive.
After he left, Xiao Wu walked to the door and closed one side of the hall door, and the sound of wind and snow in his ears became much quieter.
"Xingxing, slow down, don't get tripped." Xiaowu took his brother's hand and walked around the Buddha statue in front and went inside.
The days are short in winter, and now it is getting dark outside, and it will become pitch black inside in a very short time.
In fact, because it is a dilapidated temple dedicated to Buddha statues, the darkness becomes even more creepy.
Walking a little further inside and stepping on the rustling hay, Xingxing took out a brand new thick quilt from the space and placed it at his brother's feet.
Without waiting for Xiaowu to ask, he put out another quilt, and then took out many things one after another.
New clothes, new pants, new socks, scissors, water, snacks, fruits...
After his brother made the bed, Xingxing stopped the busy little top and stuffed a curved banana into his hand.
"Brother, eat~" Xingxing took him to sit on the soft quilt.
"..." Xiao Wu held the banana helplessly and whispered, "I just... ate it."
The next second, a small hand gently touched his round belly. The child shook his head and said seriously: "I've already touched it, brother, your belly says it's not full yet~"
Xiao Wu: “…”
How come I didn’t know my stomach could talk so much?
Knowing that his younger brother was coaxing him to eat, Xiaowu was so touched that his heart warmed. He lowered his head, opened his mouth and bit the banana in his hand.
Star:"?!"
He was too late to stop him, and only had time to rescue most of the banana from his brother's hand, then hurriedly threw it aside, cupped his two little hands together and stretched them to his brother's mouth, urging: "Wait, brother, spit it out!"
Xingxing forgot that his brother had never eaten a banana. The little boy looked at his brother's bulging cheeks, pursed his lips, his eyes full of annoyance.
You should peel the banana and then give it to your brother.
However, Xiaowu was reluctant to spit out the food that was already in his mouth.
Even though the taste in his mouth was a mixture of bitterness and sweetness and his taste buds felt strange, he chewed hard and swallowed it without changing his expression.
After he finished eating, he realized what was happening and glanced at his brother with a guilty conscience.
The room was very dark. Even though there was a door, he could only see his brother's small, dark figure beside him in his already poor vision.
But this did not affect his guilty conscience under the pressure of his brother's small eyes.
"...Xingxing, you won't get poisoned if you eat it like this, right?" Xiaowu tentatively held his brother's hand that was held to his mouth.
Star:"……"
In front of Xiaowu who couldn't see, Xingxing puffed up her cheeks a little angrily, retracted her little hand, picked up the banana that she had thrown aside, peeled it, and handed it to Xiaowu's mouth.
"Brother, ah~"
Xiao Wu subconsciously opened his mouth and obeyed: "Ah... um?"
The moment the sweet and soft food was captured by the taste buds on the tip of the tongue, the body's instinct drove Xiaowu to chew and swallow it impatiently.
A beggar who has almost never had enough to eat suddenly gets food, especially sweets. The craving that bursts out from the soul and bones can easily destroy a person's will.
What’s more, it was a child who almost starved to death.
But it was not the same as what Qiuqiu thought, that is, wolfing down the food.
Xiaowu took only one bite, then fumbled to hold Xingxing's wrist, turned the banana back and handed it to his brother for him to eat.
This scene is obviously the most ordinary.
But what was strange was that in Qiuqiu's eyes, this scene was even more shocking and speechless than last night when Xiaowu knelt down and begged the non-existent ghost to use his life to replace Xingxing's death.
He knew it very well. Even though the surface memory would be erased after he woke up from the dream, his soul and his subconscious mind knew that the stars were definitely not the same stars as before!
Logically speaking, the emotions invested will become less and less, and the feelings that belong to the original owner will be slowly taken back. When facing life and death, they will never be affected by the original feelings and gradually become strangers... This is right!
But why can it still be achieved to this extent?
Qiuqiu doesn’t understand.
I even wondered if something went wrong at some step.
"Brother, eat~" Xingxing pushed the banana back and whispered to her brother during the few seconds of silence: "After you finish eating, there are other foods. Brother, please comfort your stomach, otherwise it will growl and cry~"
While coaxing her brother, she asked Qiuqiu: "Can our stomachs become flatter?"
Xingxing knew that the two brothers' big round bellies were caused by hunger, so they ate Guanyin soil.
It's not just him and his brother, there are several other beggars in the dilapidated temple with the same stomach problems.
As I recall, there were refugees with big bellies who died one after another at the foot of the city wall, and the guards who were guarding the city looked down on them, cursing them for bad luck, and ordered them to be dragged to the mass grave and thrown away.
They say that if you have a belly like this, you won't live for more than a few days.
At this moment, Xingxing was touching her brother's round belly, her brows furrowed in worry.
Qiuqiu had already looked up the answer to this question. "Don't be afraid, kid. As long as you and your brother drink a small bottle of spiritual spring water every day for about half a month, you will be cured. There will be no sequelae, and it can also strengthen your body. Your brother's night blindness can also be cured."
The reason why Lingquan Water is called Lingquan Water is because it is something from the world of immortal cultivation, and it is not a low-level spiritual spring. For mortals, even just drinking a few sips is enough to benefit them for a lifetime.
Xingxing got a positive answer, and her wrinkled little face slowly relaxed.
Xiaowu finished a whole sweet banana. His body and soul seemed to be healed by the sweet food. He licked his lips with satisfaction and wanted to eat the banana peel in his brother's hand.
Although the taste is a bit strange, it’s good to be able to eat it!
He and his brother used to dig up grass roots and tree barks covered in mud and stuff them into their mouths. They could even grind Guanyin soil into powder and mix it with water to drink. What's more, this kind of delicate, flavorful and filling food was even more so.
But as soon as Xingxing sensed his thoughts, she immediately put the banana peel into space and prepared to throw it away the next morning.
"Brother, eat this." Xingxing stuffed another sweet pear as big as his head into his hand.
This is not a seed purchased from the system, but a seed left from the sweet pear that Xingxing once ate. With the dual blessings of the spiritual field and the spiritual spring, the sweet pear has grown bigger, sweeter and more juicy.
Love the stars.
Xiaowu was dumbfounded.
"What...is this?" He stared blankly at the pear that was bigger than his head. He felt that it looked familiar and tasted familiar, but he didn't dare to recognize it.
Xingxing was reaching out to get a small desk lamp that could generate electricity. The orange light made the two brothers snuggling together feel warm. When Xingxing heard her brother's question, she raised the fruit knife her uncle had given her and answered obediently, "It's a sweet pear~"
Qiuqiu also answered loudly: "It's Xingxingzai's favorite fruit, sweet pears!!!"
The two little ones, visible and invisible, both looked at Xiaowu with sparkling eyes.
Xingxing pulled out the fruit knife, handed the handle to her brother, and urged him eagerly, "Brother, you can eat this even without peeling it."
It was obvious that the two of them couldn't finish such a big pear even if they broke their stomachs. But when Xiaowu took the fruit knife, he couldn't take his eyes off it and didn't pay any attention to the pear at all.
“This dagger…” He stammered as he stared at the dagger. The warm orange light of the small desk lamp was reflected by the transparent blade of the fruit knife. This was simply the most top-notch and peerless magic weapon in the martial arts legends of the storytellers!!!
Xingxing didn't wait for her brother to use a knife to give her the sweet pear.
He just waited until his brother looked at the fruit knife with longing and admiring eyes, as if he was looking at a banquet.
Star:"……"
Qiuqiu was not surprised at all, and even whispered to him, "Xingxing, have you forgotten? I said before that humans don't like to share pears. They only share apples, strawberries, grapes, etc., because the homonym of sharing pears is separation, which has a bad connotation."
Hearing this, Xingxing tilted her head and held her chin up to watch her brother admiring the fruit knife in the light.
When Xiaowu finally took his eyes off the fruit knife, the pear in his arms was no longer as big as his head.
Xiaowu looked at his brother blankly.
Xingxing held her face in her hands like a little adult and sighed: "Brother likes knives, I'm giving them to you, eat this~"
He took out the familiar tomato and stuffed it into his brother's hand.
No need to peel or cut with a knife, just put it in your mouth and chew it.
Needless to say, my brother would not be willing to use a fruit knife to peel the pears.
Seeing his inner thoughts clearly, Xiaowu smiled awkwardly at his brother, leaned closer and asked in a low voice: "Xingxing, are you really giving it to me? This knife is very powerful, it must be worth a lot of money."
"Brother, are you going to exchange it for money?" Xingxing asked curiously.
Xiao Wu shook his head without hesitation, his little hand tightly grasping the hilt of the knife, "No! I can't bear it!"
What's more, this was a gift from his younger brother, so he was even more reluctant to give it away.
Xingxing smiled with her eyes curved, and said softly, "Well, then give it to brother, but don't cut yourself~"
If her brother bleeds, Xingxing can't guarantee that she won't subconsciously go up and lick it...
The soul is a little zombie cub, and it has never given up the urge to taste human blood.
Xiaowu: "Yeah! I'm here and the knife is here!!"
Star:"……"
Qiuqiu is a fool, and his brother is also a fool.
So do the stars want to be fools?
This is a stupid family~
After thinking about it, Xingxing shook her head and refused to be a part of this stupid family.
Don’t be a fool, always be a smart star!
The two little ones each held a big red tomato and gnawed it hard, just like two little mice who couldn't stop eating.
By the time I filled my stomach, it was already completely dark. There was no entertainment in that era, and there was not even electricity, so I went to bed as soon as it got dark.
But Xiaowu was very excited, inexplicably excited, and he couldn't sleep at all.
Xingxing had just woken up for a while, and now he was suddenly asked to sleep, but he couldn't fall asleep...
So the two little mice huddled up in the warm, crackling quilt, with their heads close together, chatting in low voices.
Xiaowu told Xingxing the story he heard from a storyteller outside a teahouse when he was begging.
Xingxing listened quietly, and from time to time she fed her brother some spiritual spring water with a straw inserted.
Qiuqiu held his forehead with his hand as he watched. According to the rate at which Xingxing was feeding the baby, it would probably take less than half a month, or about ten days, for all the Guanyin soil in Xiaowu's stomach to be completely cleared out.
"...That general is really amazing! It is said that he can shoot an arrow through a target from a hundred paces away! He can also shoot the target while sitting on a tall horse, with his eyes covered with a black cloth, and hit the bull's eye!"
"And his elder brother is also very powerful. I heard that the great general died on the battlefield, and then his brother took his place and continued to fight on the battlefield, killing the enemies so badly that they cried for their parents..."
Xiaowu was telling the story he had heard half a year ago about the Li Kingdom's Anqing Hou's battles on the battlefield.
There are many exaggerations, as well as various artistic processing and fantasy insertions.
For example, when this young general was just born, the sky and the earth changed color, the star of general shone brightly, and the sky of the entire Anqing Marquis Mansion was filled with colorful sunset glow.
For example, this person is the reincarnation of Wude Star God. He is full of martial virtue and kills countless people on the battlefield. The enemies are so scared that they wet their pants when they hear his reputation. When he appears, the enemy troops tremble in fear.
There are also stories that the young general was not actually dead, but was picked up by the daughter of a farmer's family after being injured on the battlefield. After his body was finally healed, his brain was damaged and he lost his memory. He could not remember to go home, but lived an ordinary life like ordinary people in a place like Peach Blossom Spring. Although he was no longer rich, he lived an ordinary and stable life.
besides……
Xingxing’s comprehension ability is actually not bad, but she couldn’t stand her brother’s long and chaotic conversation.
Xingxing was so confused by what he heard.
Why do you say the young general is dead one moment and still alive the next?
Why is it said that the Marquis of Anqing's Mansion is in the emperor's favor, with three generals in the family, and that they cannot kneel down to meet the emperor in the palace, and that the title of marquis can be inherited forever, and then the next moment it is said that the Marquis of Anqing's Mansion is so powerful that it makes the emperor jealous and wants to get rid of it as soon as possible?
And just now it said that the young general was invincible on the battlefield and was a god of war who never lost a battle, and the next second it said that the young general met his destined mortal enemy, and they fought many battles but the outcome was still unclear?
Xingxing was confused.
Qiuqiu accepted it well.
It's normal for it to be artistic processing, and it's also normal for there to be some illogical parts in it.
Isn’t the original plot of this small world that it and the stars have entered now ridiculous?
Just get used to it.
The stars are not sleepy originally.
But after hearing his brother tell a story with more than a dozen endings, he was confused by the messy logic.
The little boy yawned and decided to change the subject for his brother.
for example:
"Brother, do you want to go to school?"
Xingxing heard Qiuqiu talk about the original plot, which said that the koi boy would study with the prince in the palace in the future, and would go to the Imperial College when he grew up.
Qiuqiu said that the place where the princes studied was equivalent to the royal kindergarten, and the Imperial Academy was equivalent to the national university...
Xingxing doesn’t know why the little Koi boy in the book hates studying in kindergarten and the Imperial College, but Xingxing wants his brother to go to school.
Because Qiuqiu said that this world is different from the doomsday and the peaceful era.
Here, everything is inferior, only reading is superior.
Xingxing hopes that her brother will grow tall and stand tall.
Standing where even the fate of the plot can't push him down.
However, what stunned Xingxing was her brother's answer without hesitation:
"I don't want to study, I want to learn martial arts!" Xiaowu spoke in a low voice, but he answered every word very seriously.
Xingxing turned to look at him in confusion, "Why?"
"Because I want to be a great general who kills countless enemies! Just like General Wei Fengyao, I will kill people everywhere on the battlefield and make all enemies tremble in fear!"
Xiaowu became more and more excited as he spoke, and finally got out of bed, picked up the down jacket that was placed aside, and put it on his shoulders as a general's shawl, and said with bright eyes: "As long as I become a general, I can kill all the enemies and the bad guys who bully us! Then I can protect the stars and more people. As long as there are no enemies, the people of our country will be able to grow crops and harvest food in peace, so that no one will be hungry or cold anymore."
Xiaowu wrapped himself in clothes and sat down. He also wrapped his brother who had also sat up in his clothes and said earnestly and happily, "As long as I become a general and drive the enemy out, children like us won't be abandoned by our families because of hunger, and there won't be so many beggars in the dilapidated temples under the bridge piers..."
Finally, he reached out and hugged his brother tightly, who was listening quietly, and whispered in Xingxing's ear: "Besides, when I become a general, we will have endless meat buns to eat and endless fur coats worth thousands of gold to wear. I can kill many enemies and save a lot of money for you, Xingxing. Then you can wear brocade clothes and go to school like the children of officials!"
He didn't want to study, but wanted to be a general, kill enemies, save money, and then send stars to study.
It’s because of those four words: scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans.
In this era, the best way out is to study hard and become an official. Only then can you turn your life around and step on the heads of the poor and suffering to become a superior person!
Every word he said was particularly powerful and thought-provoking in my heart.
It was a little beggar's roar at the top of his lungs against his fate.
The child in his brother's arms listened quietly to the words that were exactly the same as what he said in his heart. His eyes curved slightly, and he hugged his brother with his backhand, and whispered softly in his ear: "Yeah! Come on, brother!"
My elder brother is a general, my elder brother eats meat buns, my elder brother wears fur coats worth thousands of gold.
My brother has to stand tall.
The small table lamp that was lit in the corner was taken back into the space by the stars.
The child who aspired to become a general had no idea of the impact a desk lamp had on this era. In his eyes, it was just a magical treasure similar to the legendary night pearl, and was far less exciting than the dagger.
But after Xingxing fell asleep in his arms, Xiaowu still closed the dagger and hid it under Xingxing's pillow.
We are going to the city tomorrow, and Xingxing has to carry such a powerful magic weapon for protection. He can use the knife at his waist first, which he has been sharpening for a long time today!
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