The Great Lin Kingdom, Border City Yu.
In the cold winter of the twelfth lunar month, heavy snowflakes fell and covered the ground with a layer of snow.
A thin and pale boy huddled under the eaves of an alley, shivering in his thin clothes, holding a half piece of hard and moldy bun tightly in his arms.
“So cold…”
He tossed and turned in the corner, trying to find some warmth.
Unfortunately, in the severe winter, resisting the cold would not be an easy task.
After a while, the boy stood up shakily, leaning on a wooden stick.
He looked at the empty alley and the broken bowl under his feet, and sighed, “Well, it’s already the end of the year. Every family is celebrating the New Year, how could anyone give me alms…”
He didn’t have too much hope to begin with, and in such windy and freezing weather, he didn’t need to risk freezing to death by begging on the street.
The boy picked up the broken bowl and walked out of the city in the snowy wind.
As he passed by a household, he heard lively laughter and saw the lights inside the house.
The boy stopped in the snow and looked through the crack in the door, seeing a family sitting by the fire, their faces beaming with joy.
After a moment, he sighed lightly and looked down at the half-eaten bun in his arms, murmuring, “It’s New Year’s Day today, looks like I can’t keep you with me anymore.”
The boy took out the bun from his arms and was about to take a bite when he noticed a figure lying in the snow not far away.
His eyes flickered and he walked up to see a little girl about six or seven years old.
The boy looked around hesitantly, but in the end, he pretended not to see her and walked away.
In a time of chaos and suffering, in a season of heavy snow, it was already difficult enough for him, a beggar, to survive on his own, let alone have the strength to save someone’s life.
But he hadn’t gone far when he stopped again. After much deliberation, he ultimately turned around and walked back.
The boy reached out to check the little girl’s breathing and found that while weak, she was still alive.
He threw away his stick, tucked the broken bowl into his arms, and struggled to pick up the girl, staggering as he walked towards the outskirts of the city.
Not long after, the boy carried the girl into a dilapidated temple outside the city.
“Little miss, I risked half my life to save you.”
The boy’s face was pale and drenched in sweat. His lack of proper nutrition had left his body extremely weak, and he almost died of exhaustion on the way back.
He placed the girl to the side, deftly lit a fire with flint, and then carried the girl over to warm herself by the flames.
With the warmth of the fire, the girl, who had been on the brink of death from the cold, gradually regained some color in her face.
After a while, the girl’s long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes, looking somewhat dazedly at the boy.
“Where am I? Who are you?”
Rubbing her eyes, she seemed to have just woken up.
The boy added another log to the fire and said with a bitter smile, “I should be the one asking that. You’re dressed in luxurious clothes, so you must be a young lady from a wealthy household. How did you end up fainting in the snow with no one to help you?”
“I can’t remember, I…I…”
The girl tried hard to remember, but as soon as she recalled something, her head throbbed with pain.
The boy shook his head and advised, “If you can’t remember, don’t force yourself to, don’t make it difficult for yourself.”
The girl’s eyes turned red, and she curled up, hugging her knees.
“Daddy, Mommy…”
After all, she was only six or seven years old, and she started crying when she didn’t see her parents for a while.
The boy stepped forward and patted the girl’s shoulder, comforting her in a soft voice, “Don’t be sad, your parents must have encountered something, and they will definitely come to find you…”
“Okay, my daddy and mommy are so good, they will definitely come and find me!”
The girl wiped away her tears and nodded with a sob.
The boy breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, asking, “By the way, my name is Jiang Zhige, what about you, what’s your name?”
The girl lowered her head slightly and said with some sadness, “I can’t remember, I just remember that my surname seems to be Nangong…”
“What? You don’t even remember your name? How about this, I’ll give you a name, just a single name, Rou, Nangong Rou, how about that?”
Jiang Zhige blinked his eyes. He didn’t know many characters, but he had accidentally seen the character “Rou” before and remembered it until now, unexpectedly putting it to use.
The girl was happy to hear this and clapped her hands, saying, “Great, great, I have a name too!”
……..
The outside world was in an uproar, the mighty Demon Emperor Jiang Zhige, in his childhood, was actually a beggar?
“I knew that Fairy Nangong had a close relationship with the Demon Emperor, but I didn’t expect that Fairy Nangong’s name was also given by the Demon Emperor.”
“The Nangong family was powerful back then, so why did Fairy Nangong end up in such a situation? Something must have happened.”
“Wait, haven’t you noticed? If it weren’t for the Demon Emperor’s rescue back then, Fairy Nangong would have frozen to death in the snow long ago?”
“Shh! Fairy Nangong is still nearby…”
Inside the hall, hundreds of powerful people whispered to each other, reluctant to discuss Nangong Rou’s past too loudly because she was nearby.
Nangong Rou could hear their discussions, but she didn’t pay too much attention, her face blankly looking at the images in the light and shadows.
“Why is my memory of that year so fuzzy…”
Nangong Rou’s mind was in chaos, and she only knew that she had met Jiang Zhige in her childhood, but she had long forgotten about this past.
Could it be because of practicing for thousands of years, some things from back then were no longer clear?
Qu Yun, who was next to her, noticed that Nangong Rou’s expression was off, and his heart suddenly sank, thinking that Nangong Rou was getting emotional from the scene.
“Xiao Rou, while saving each other in the snow deserves respect, the revenge for betraying and stealing treasures outweighs that gratitude. The blood feud of killing your father will be hard to settle in a lifetime.”
“I know.”
Nangong Rou’s expression returned to calm, and her eyes towards Jiang Zhige in the center of the hall were full of disgust.
Qu Yun was right. While the gratitude for saving her in the snow was commendable, the vengeance for killing her father could not be forgotten in any way.
Moreover, Nangong Rou’s most important reason for hating Jiang Zhige was not the act of stealing treasures and killing her father, but the betrayal she suffered from Jiang Zhige when she trusted him the most.
If it had been back then, Nangong Rou would definitely have questioned Jiang Zhige. How could one treasure make him betray her, and even go as far as to harm her and her father.
Nowadays, Nangong Rou had already let go of it, and she and Jiang Zhige were destined to be enemies.
…
“Do you still remember where your home is?”
“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 had lost her memory, and she didn’t know where her parents were, she could probably have to stay with him for some time.
Nangong Rou didn’t notice Jiang Zhige’s annoyance and asked curiously, “How old are you this year?”
Jiang Zhige looked reminiscent, counting on his fingers, “After this year, I should be nine years old.”
Nangong Rou’s eyes lit up and she asked excitedly, “Then you’re two years older than me, can I call you brother?”
Jiang Zhige was stunned and unsure of how to respond to Nangong Rou’s request.
“Is it no good?”
Nangong Rou looked disappointed, thinking that Jiang Zhige didn’t agree.
Jiang Zhige came back to his senses and nodded with a smile, “Yes, of course you can. From now on, you’re my little sister!”
Nangong Rou was overjoyed and danced around Jiang Zhige, calling him brother repeatedly.
Jiang Zhige’s face turned red, and he scratched his head, unsure of how to respond to Nangong Rou’s excitement.
Just then, Nangong Rou’s stomach rumbled loudly.
She stopped moving and held her stomach, cutely asking, “Brother, I’m hungry. Can we go eat?”
“Let’s eat later. For now, have this.”
Jiang Zhige forced a smile and pulled out the half-eaten bun from his pocket and handed it to Nangong Rou.
He was relieved that he hadn’t eaten the bun earlier, otherwise Nangong Rou would be hungry now.
As for a proper meal, Jiang Zhige had never had one in his life. In good times, he could beg for food by the roadside, and in bad times, he had to dig up tree roots and drink from streams to survive.
Nangong Rou still looked unhappy after finishing the bun and pouted, “Brother, this thing is too terrible. I’m still hungry. Can we go eat something delicious?”
“Don’t worry, Rou’er. Brother will take you to eat something good soon.”
Jiang Zhige’s expression stiffened. To him, the bun was like a feast, but in Nangong Rou’s mouth, it had become unappetizing.
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