In the cold winter, heavy snow fell and the ground was covered with a layer of snow.

A skinny boy with a purple face huddled under the eaves of the alley. He was shivering from the cold in his thin clothes, holding half a dry, moldy pancake tightly in his arms.

“It’s so cold.”

He tossed and turned in the corner, trying to get some warmth.

Unfortunately, in the coldest days of winter, resistance will not be of much use.

Soon, the boy stood up shakily, leaning on a wooden stick.

He glanced at the empty alley, then looked down at the broken bowl at his feet, and sighed: "Forget it, the New Year is coming, and every family is celebrating the New Year reunion, how can anyone give me alms?"

I didn't have much hope in the first place, and the weather was freezing and windy, so there was no need for me to continue begging on the street and risk freezing to death.

The boy bent down to pick up the broken bowl and walked out of the city in the downy snow.

When passing by a house, the lights were on inside and I could hear the laughter of a family reuniting.

Hearing the sound, the boy stopped in the snow. He looked through the crack in the door and saw a family warming themselves by the fire inside, with a lonely look on their faces.

After a while, the boy sighed, looked down at the half-piece of pancake in his arms, and murmured, "It's New Year's Day today, it seems I can't keep you here."

The boy took out the pancake from his arms and just opened his mouth to take a bite when he suddenly noticed a figure lying in the snow not far away.

His eyes flashed slightly, he walked forward and saw that it was a little girl of six or seven years old.

The boy looked around, hesitated for a moment, and then pretended not to see it and walked away.

It was a time of war and chaos, people were living in poverty, and it was also a season of heavy snow. It was extremely difficult for him, a beggar, to survive on his own, and he didn't have the energy to save lives.

But after walking a short distance, the boy stopped again and looked back with some confusion.

He hesitated for a long time, but finally turned around and walked back.

The boy stretched out his finger to feel the little girl's breath and found that although the breath was weak, there was still a breath.

He threw away the stick, put the broken bowl in his arms, bent down and picked up the girl with difficulty, and staggered out of the city.

Not long after, the boy carried the girl into a dilapidated temple outside the city.

"Girl, I lost half my life to save you."

The boy's face was pale and he was sweating profusely. Years of malnutrition had made his body extremely weak. He almost died on the way back while carrying the girl.

The boy put the girl aside, skillfully made a fire with flint, and then carried the girl to the fire to keep warm.

With the warmth of the fire, the girl who was originally frozen to death gradually looked better.

After a while, the girl's long eyelashes trembled slightly. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the boy in confusion.

"Where is this? Who are you?"

The girl rubbed her eyes, as if she had just woken up.

The boy added a stick to the fire and said with a wry smile, "I should be the one asking this question. You are dressed in gorgeous clothes, so you must be a lady from a wealthy family. How could you faint in the snow and no one rescue you?"

"I can't remember, I, I"

The girl tried hard to recall, but as soon as she remembered something, her head started to hurt.

The boy shook his head and advised: "If you can't remember, don't think about it. Don't make it difficult for yourself."

The girl's eyes were red and she curled up, hugging her knees.

"Daddy, Mommy"

After all, he was only six or seven years old, and he started crying when he didn't see his parents for a while.

The boy stepped forward and patted the girl on the shoulder, and comforted her softly: "Don't be sad, your parents must have just encountered some problems, and they will definitely come to find you."

“Well, Daddy and Mommy are so kind, they will definitely come to find me!”

The girl wiped her tears and nodded with sobs.

The boy breathed a sigh of relief and asked with a smile, "By the way, my name is Jiang Zhige, and you, what's your name?"

The girl lowered her head slightly and said sadly: "I can't remember clearly, I just remember that my last name seems to be Nangong."

"Really? You don't even remember your name? How about this, I'll give you a name, just Rou, Nangong Rou, how about that?"

Jiang Zhige blinked. He could not read many words, but he had accidentally seen the word "rou" (soft). He had remembered it until now and did not expect it to come in handy.

The girl clapped her hands happily and said with a smile, "Great, great, I have a name too!"

The outside world was in an uproar. The Demon Emperor Jiang Zhige, who was so powerful that he could shake the sky, was actually a beggar in his childhood? "I knew that Fairy Nangong had a close relationship with the Demon Emperor, but I didn't expect that Fairy Nangong's name was given by the Demon Emperor."

"The Nangong family was quite powerful back then. Fairy Nangong has ended up here. Something must have happened."

"Wait, didn't you realize that if the Demon Emperor hadn't rescued her, Fairy Nangong would have frozen to death in the snow?"

"Shh! Fairy Nangong is still beside us."

Hundreds of strong men in the hall were whispering, but because Nangong Rou was not far away, they did not dare to discuss Nangong Rou's past loudly.

Nangong Rou could hear these discussions, but she didn't care too much and looked at the pictures in the light and shadow with a confused look on her face.

"Why, my memory of that year is so vague."

Nangong Rou was extremely confused. She only knew that she and Jiang Zhige had known each other since childhood, but she had long forgotten such a past.

Could it be that after thousands of years of practice, he can’t remember things from the past clearly?

Qu Yun, who was standing next to her, saw that Nangong Rou looked a little uneasy and felt a pang in his heart, thinking that Nangong Rou was just being reminded of the past.

"Xiao Rou, the kindness of saving me in the snow is certainly admirable, but the revenge of betraying and stealing treasures can outweigh this kindness. The blood feud of killing my father is hard to settle in a lifetime."

"I know."

Nangong Rou's expression returned to calm, and she looked towards Jiang Zhige in the center of the hall with disgust in her eyes.

Qu Yun was right. The grace of saving his life was certainly respectable, but the hatred of killing his father could never be forgotten.

Besides, the reason why Nangong Rou hated Jiang Zhige the most was not because he stole the treasure and killed his father, but because she was betrayed by Jiang Zhige when she trusted him the most.

If it were back then, Nangong Rou would definitely question Jiang Zhige why a treasure could make Jiang Zhige betray her and even kill her and her father.

Nowadays, Nangong Rou has come to terms with the fact that she and Jiang Zhige are destined to be enemies standing on opposite sides.

"Do you remember where your family lives?"

“I don’t remember.”

Jiang Zhige looked helpless. If Nangong Rou still remembered where her home was, he might be able to take her back.

Now that Nangong Rou has lost her memory and her so-called parents are nowhere to be found, I'm afraid she'll have to stay with him for some time.

Nangong Rou didn't notice Jiang Zhige's confusion, and asked curiously, "How old are you this year?"

Jiang Zhige looked reminiscent and counted on his fingers, "After this year, I should be nine years old."

Nangong Rou's eyes lit up, and she asked excitedly, "You are two years older than me, can I call you brother?"

Jiang Zhige was stunned when he heard this and looked at Nangong Rou at a loss.

"Is it not possible?"

Nangong Rou looked disappointed when she saw this, and thought Jiang Zhige disagreed.

Jiang Zhige came back to his senses, smiled and nodded, "Yes, of course, then you will be my sister from now on!"

Nangong Rou immediately danced with joy and kept calling Jiang Zhige "brother".

Jiang Zhige's face turned red and he scratched his head, not knowing how to respond to Nangong Rou.

At this moment, Nangong Rou's stomach suddenly made a gurgling sound.

She stopped moving, covered her stomach, and asked softly, "Brother, I'm hungry. Can we go eat?"

"We'll go eat later, you can eat this first."

Jiang Zhige forced a smile, took out the half-piece of pancake from his arms and handed it to Nangong Rou.

He was very glad in his heart. If he had eaten the sesame cake at that time, Nangong Rou would have to starve now.

As for food, Jiang Zhige had never had a proper meal since he was a child. When times were good, he could beg for food on the roadside, and when times were bad, he could only dig tree roots and drink stream water to fill his stomach.

Nangong Rou was indeed hungry. She took the sesame cake and ate it up in no time.

Jiang Zhige on the opposite side was drooling as he watched, but on the surface he pretended to be calm.

Nangong Rou still looked unhappy after finishing the pancake, and pouted and asked, "Brother, this thing is too disgusting, I'm not full yet, can we go eat something delicious?"

"Don't worry, Rou'er, I'll take you out for a good meal later."