At twenty-two years old, Chen Ping mastered the Thirty-Six Distinct Tan Leg Technique and could kick through eight saplings as thick as a bowl.
Back then, his legs had started to look a bit "unsightly."
Muscles bulging with toughened skin everywhere...
But now, this leg was tender-skinned, neither calloused nor robust.
The bruised and fractured part looked as vivid as peach and plum.
"This is not my leg."
Chen Ping mumbled to himself, suddenly stretching out his grimy, soot-blackened hands. He saw his long fingers, with bloodstained cuts on his palms and fingertips. He faintly sensed a suspicion, raising his eyes to look around.
The pedestrians were dressed in vintage attire, some carrying swords, moving swiftly.
Houses were grouped lowly, with a few two- or three-story structures, exhibiting an ancient charm with their overhanging eaves...
"Of course, it's your leg."
A young lad with a wooden face nearby was busy catching lice in his armpit and chewing them, swallowed after a few bites, then turned to look over.
"Boss Yat kicked and broke your leg that day, I saw it with my own eyes."
This guy's left arm was severed at the elbow, the wound seemingly not fully healed, with faint blood seeping out.
However, he seemed to feel no pain. His gaze was wooden, and when he looked at Chen Ping, a hint of indescribable meaning appeared.
Whether it's pity or mockery.
Pity for his companion who might have a fever leading to brain damage, momentarily unclear of the situation.
Or mocking the crappy situation they were all in? Who could survive longer than whom?
Chen Ping, whose mind was violently shaken, for a moment forgot the pain of his broken leg.
His memories lingered amid a rain of bullets, a bullet prying open his skull...
Touched his head, felt the scalp still intact, but his eyes seemed to have issues. Whenever he focused on his brain, illusions appeared, seeing a white silkworm in the depths of his mind move slightly.
Before his eyes appeared an illusory attribute panel.
Chen Ping strained to make out the numbers, yet found the characters shaking severely, somewhat obscured.
Upon considering a possibility, Chen Ping's heart started to pound.
Noticed the young lad across staring with complex eyes, thus tentatively asked:
"Your hand, was it also chopped off by Boss Yat?"
The gaze across became more peculiar.
"No, I chopped it myself."
The tone of the young lad was very calm. As if the hand chopped off was someone else's, his voice showed no fluctuations.
"Last year during the snow disaster, to avoid the Beizhou Hu Cavalry, I fled south with villagers, no food on the way, and my little sister was abducted by a few beasts...
I pursued them for two days, slaughtered those beasts... My left arm was struck by a poisoned arrow during the fight. Had no other choice but to chop it off."
Truly a ruthless person!
Chen Ping's eyelids twitched fiercely, understood the bleakness in the other's calm words, and didn't ask if his sister was rescued.
Turning his head, on the right was a youth with a crooked mouth, drooling. This man hadn't looked up all along, just dumbly staring at his swollen leg, swallowing constantly.
Damn...
"So, I have a broken leg, you have a severed hand, we're both crippled beggars, and that one too..."
"Yeah, he's not right in the head, called Big Fool. You better watch out he doesn't mistake your leg for a chicken leg and gnaw it off, he can't quite tell."
"What about those two over there?"
Chen Ping noticed two more not far away, similarly without proper clothing, filthy all over, similarly with cracked bowls before them, looking fifteen or sixteen.
But their limbs were intact, their faces even rather clean, somewhat delicate.
Snow residue lingered on their eyebrows, assumed scrubbed with snow, meticulous people.
Even despite falling to begging, they wanted to display their best side to others.
"Them..."
The young lad dragged out the words.
"Little Table and Little Stool are brothers. Both attended private school for a few years, after their family's decline, sought to make their mark, so cut themselves to serve at Jinghai Prince's Mansion, ended up unwanted, thus wandered the streets."
Indeed, considered disabled people.
Chen Ping's face twitched, finally confirming something. His situation was harsher than imagined.
Hearing these words, the Kuihua Brothers striving to appear their best, hung their heads lower.
"Zuo Duanshou, why must you tear open people's scars?"
With a crisp voice, a small figure slipped out from behind.
The person uttered a single sentence, then hurried to Chen Ping, propped him up to sit straight, took out a chicken leg and a large white steamed bun from inside their coat, and pushed them over, "Hurry up and eat, you've been hungry for a day and night. Injured too, worried you wouldn't wake up. Relief, relief."
Who is this, why are they so kind to me?
Newly arrived, no trace of former memories.
Momentarily, Chen Ping just looked blankly at this newcomer.
Clothes in tatters, face painted with black and yellow like a flower face, absolutely unclear of their appearance, just dark eyes filled with concern.
There's a bump on their head, seeping blood...
From stature to clothes, to the food in hand, Chen Ping approximately formed a judgment.
This was also a little beggar, presumably even younger.
Maybe eleven or twelve, maybe thirteen or fourteen, anyway thin and scrawny, hard to judge age.
Then, the chicken leg and bun.
"Is it stolen?"
"Stealing? Why steal? Cheng the Westerner of the Fuyuan Restaurant is heartless, preferring to toss uneaten food into the latrine rather than give a scrap to us... Taking a bit of leftovers from them, can you call that stealing?"
The little guy argued forcefully.
If you ignore the swelling on his head from being hit, his words indeed carry some weight.
As he spoke, he took out two short bamboo sticks, crouched down, and straightened Chen Ping's injured leg. Then he pulled out a rope from God knows where, using the sticks to tie up the injured leg properly.
"You can even do this?"
"I know a lot."
The little guy raised his face and smiled, his face so messy that his features were unrecognizable, yet oddly giving off a sunny feeling.
Zuo Duanshou forcefully pulled his gaze away from the chicken leg and steamed bun, trying to make conversation: "Hua Lian'er was picked up by you, those days I thought he was going to die, but he survived.
You'd rather starve yourself to give him a bite to eat. So, don't feel guilty, just eat, live one more day, one day at a time."
He was now certain that while Hua Lian'er went out to get food...perhaps due to injuries, cold, maybe even a fever, he had burned his brain thoroughly, forgetting everything.
Chen Ping nodded slightly, as the aroma of the chicken leg and bun wafted to his nose, it felt like seventeen or eighteen little hands reached out from his stomach, pulling, tugging, twisting—a feeling indescribable...
His eyes were starting to bloodshot slightly, just wanting to devour the food in his hand in one bite.
People who haven't experienced extreme hunger can never understand this feeling.
Just as he was about to bring the chicken leg to his mouth, a gust of wind arose behind his ear.
Chen Ping, by reflex, tilted his head slightly, moving his body aside.
Bang...
Half a brick slammed against the ground, a dirty big hand swept past under the chicken leg.
Turning his head suddenly, he saw Big Fool's large face, his mouth crooked.
Actually going to snatch.
Weren't they supposed to be companions?
"Ah..."
A sharp scream was heard beside his ear, Hua Lian'er sprang up like a wild cat, his hands quickly aiming to scratch Big Fool's large face: "Trying to snatch, trying to snatch, still hitting people, Big Fool, you wanna die?"
Big Fool seemed bigger in size, but his movements were somewhat clumsy, unable to block those scratching hands completely, quickly leaving several deep bloody marks on his face... Immediately disregarding the counterattack, squatted on the ground, holding his head with both hands, cried out: "I'm hungry, I'm hungry."
"You're hungry, so you hit people? Snatching things as well, why don't you snatch from pedestrians on the street, are you truly foolish or pretending?"
Hua Lian'er was furious, panting as he stopped, cursing, but did not continue attacking.
"All going to die, all going to die."
Seeing that Hua Lian'er paused, Big Fool's eyes went bloodshot, barking like an injured wild dog, "Boss Yat said, if we can't get any silver, it's our incompetence. Might as well break our arms and legs, throw us to beg in the street, none of us will stay alive!"
A cold wind blew over, ice-cold, rain mixed with snowflakes, slanting down.
The few felt a chill inside, losing all heart to speak.
Big Fool certainly wasn't truly foolish, capable of snatching food, hitting people, and even excusing himself after doing wrong.
Calling him foolish, you'll be the real fool.
With a wooden face, Zuo Duanshou walked slowly into the Earth God Temple.
Dusk was closing in; the north wind outside was as sharp as a knife; this early spring, it was still bitterly cold. The few didn't light a fire because there was no firewood... But, at least, the temple offered a roof over their heads, dry places to take a nap, and that was already good.
Hua Lian'er also lost the mood for vitality, helping Chen Ping into the temple, finding a place under the half-collapsed incense table.
Here, the wind couldn't reach, nor could the rain, a perfect place to sleep, yet strangely, the others didn't seem to want to claim it.
The rain gradually stopped, the clouds dispersed, the last sliver of daylight shone in through the broken tiles, casting an even gloomier shadow inside the temple.
"Can't we escape?"
Chen Ping wasn't worried about himself but rather curious.
From earlier observations, he realized they were mostly a beggar syndicate, controlled by someone.
Breaking limbs, artificially creating pitiful figures, utilizing the sympathy of passersby to beg for silver coins...
This behavior, whether in ancient times or later on, was occasionally seen. In chaotic times, it is completely a common sight.
So, if survival here is impossible, why not switch places?
"Can't escape, inside the city offers a sliver of vitality, stepping out leads to certain death, bandits rampant, refugees like ghosts, even wild beasts attacking people..."
Hua Lian'er's voice was low, nasal, "Moreover, Qilin Street is the territory of the Cyan Hall Incense Hall under Seven-Colored Hall, many are watching the streets, won't get far before being discovered. Boss Yat, though fierce and cruel, wouldn't kill his beggar subordinates without reason, might even show kindness, giving us a way to live."
"What kind of a way out? Remember when you forgot to put on makeup, Boss Yat said he'll sell you to the nobles for enjoyment? If not for your lame brother guarding you with his life, you'd be gone." Zuo Duanshou spoke with irony in his eyes.
"However, escaping is truly impossible. The thirteen streets in the South City, all are under the Seven-Colored Hall. Going out to be caught back, is a dead end.
Even if you make it out of the Southern Thirteen Street to the North City District, the Changhe Gang there is no pushover, nowhere offers a place to settle."
"Death is death, I absolutely refuse to be beaten, like a dog, becoming a tool for others to make money."
Suddenly, Big Fool shouted, taking advantage of the moonlight, darting out of the temple door.
He was indeed not foolish, trying to escape still.
But fact proved, whims are unworthy, even if they're just some stinking beggars, someone's still watching them.
Big Fool had just charged out the temple door when a shadow flashed at the door, a big foot heavily kicked his chest.
"Crack!"
Big Fool's whole body lifted off the ground, flying a yard away, crashing heavily against a temple pillar, broken tiles and dust fell straight down, the pillar slanted.
A torch lit up...
In the light, Big Fool's lifted mouth seemed even more twisted, groaning in pain, blood flowing from his mouth.
His chest had completely caved in, demonstrating the strength in the attacker's kick, even a casual strike could be fatal.
"Boss Yat!"
Watch as the man stepped forward through the door, a large man with a face full of scars, Hua Lian'er instantly recognized him.