Da Xia Yu, Qingyun Continent, Beixiang City.
A young boy, only around six or seven years old, was curled up beside a stone lion at the back gate of the Zhao residence.
In the icy and snowy weather, the little boy shivered in an ill-fitting single garment.
Oddly enough, his eyes were also covered by black cloth strips.
The dark cloth barely conceals a pair of sharp eyebrows, a high and straight nose bridge, and thin lips.
The cheeks, on the other hand, appear sharp and angular due to the person's thin build.
Squeak!
The back gate of the Zhao residence was opened, but immediately afterward, a muffled sound was heard.
Bang!
A stiff and rigid body was thrown out through the back door.
The small and slender figure crashed onto the ground, creating a shallow indentation in the snow.
Zhao Qing, dressed in a thick coat, hesitated for a moment, and a hint of compassion flashed in his eyes.
Throwing four strings of copper coins onto the ground, he quickly pocketed the remaining amount.
Snap!
Upon hearing this, the young man quickly stood up, shook off the snow that had accumulated on his body, and a faint, warm smile appeared on his pale and frostbitten face.
"Is it Brother Qing? Just now, leftover food from the mansion was thrown out?"
With that, the young person crouched down and, with his red hands, began to fumble around in the snow.
The boy's face still wore a smile, but when he reached out, he found himself touching the cold, lifeless body.
Li Guanqi's hand froze in mid-air, and his lips trembled slightly. He was visibly shaken.
After a moment, the young person knelt on the ground and, with trembling hands, began to touch the face of the deceased.
The trembling hand reached out to touch the girl's chin, but abruptly withdrew as if struck by an electric shock!
He felt a long scar; it was inflicted by his uncle two years ago after a drunken night of losing money, which resulted in a fight with his sister.
"Sister..."
A faint, melancholic whisper escaped the young boy's lips.
The smile on the young man's face had long since vanished, and two streams of clear tears welled up uncontrollably from his eyes.
Despite the heavy snowfall with fluffing goose feathers falling from the sky, he took off the only ragged piece of hemp cloth he had and wrapped it around the girl's body!
The emaciated body showed numerous menacing-looking scars, and the bruises on the back had not yet fully faded.
Reaching out with a hand covered in frostbitten sores, he gently ran his fingers through the girl's hair.
The young man lowered his head and spoke in a hoarse voice, "It's better to be dead; living... is just suffering."
Despite the biting cold and icy conditions, the young person searched the ground for a long time and only managed to find four strings of copper coins.
Four strings of copper coins!!
A wave of intense fury surged through the young man's heart, as if his chest was on the verge of being scorched to pieces!
Unexpectedly, even in death, my older sister was unable to maintain any sense of dignity.
Easy money, is that how it is?!
A cold gust of wind blew past, causing Zhao Qing to tighten the cuff of his sleeve involuntarily. Looking at the young man, he couldn't resist saying something.
"Your sister doesn't have good luck. Go back with the money, don't freeze to death here."
The young person pulled away the cloth covering their eyes, revealing two pale and lifeless eyes.
Raising my head and following the sound, although I was desperately trying to suppress my anger.
However, his voice trembled slightly as he slowly extended his right hand and softly said, "For the unfortunate death of a servant, the household will compensate with ten quan."
"This money is the last shred of dignity for my sister; you shouldn't take it!"
Zhao Qing clasped his sleeves with both hands. Upon hearing that the other party was seeking money, the expression of pity on his face immediately vanished.
With a cold expression, she said, "Little blind person, these four quan are up for grabs or not. Get out of here!"
After speaking, Zhao Qing turned around and was about to close the door.
Li Guanqi, who was only six years old, was thin and frail, yet a hint of ruthlessness could be seen on his face!
Quickly making her way up the steps of the Zhao residence, she grabbed a man's hand and shouted, "Give me what is rightfully mine!"
Zhao Qing, upon seeing Li Guanqi's hands, which were covered in frostbite sores, suddenly lunged at him, causing him to furrow his brow.
A flash of cold light appeared in the eyes, and with one hand grabbing the young boy's hair, he was thrown off the staircase.
Bang!
A slender and weak body was mercilessly pounded onto the snowy ground, where beneath the heavy snowfall lay smooth, weathered stone slabs.
Any fall onto it would result in a dark blue bruise, let alone a young person who was thrown halfway across a room.
Zhao Qing looked coldly at the young man who was lying on the ground and said viciously, "Stinky blind guy! Get out of here with that body!"
"If it weren't for my sympathy towards you, I wouldn't give you even four quan!"
"Hah! Ridiculous!"
Just as Zhao Qing turned to head back, someone grabbed the hem of his robe from behind.
Zhao Qing turned around to see that the young man had somehow appeared behind him, holding onto his coat with both hands tightly.
"Give me the money!"
"This is a ransom paid by my older sister!"
Zhao Qinge's anger grew with each passing moment. Just as he was about to lash out violently, he lowered his head and caught sight of those bloodshot, pale eyes!
Despite the fact that those eyes could not be seen, he felt as though the person was staring right at him.
A chill ran down Zhao Qing's spine as he glanced back at the girl who had been gruesomely worked to death and starvation.
Zhao Qing, feeling a pang of compassion, finally let go of his raised fist and stuffed the remaining copper coins into the young man's hands from his sleeve.
"Here you go, here you go! What bad luck!"
Li Guanqi let go of his grip and numbly counted the copper coins in his hand.
Bang!
The gate of the mansion is closed, and a somewhat youthful voice can be heard coming from within.
"Xiao Qing, what are you doing? Quickly go feed the birds for this young master!"
"Young Master Yuanlin, I will go right away, right away."
"What were you up to just now?"
"..."
"It's just the death of a low-ranking maid. What big deal is this? Quickly get that blind person out of here!"
Li Guanqi gazed blankly at the sky for what felt like an eternity, sitting on the steps of the Zhao residence with a copper coin in hand.
Stepping down from the steps, he struggled to carry the already stiff body and then turned to leave.
Squeak… squeak…
Those were the sounds of Li Guanqi's feet making contact with the snow, with a somewhat slow and wobbly motion.
All of this was witnessed by an elderly man sitting atop a teahouse situated some ten or twelve yards away.
The elderly man was dressed in a simple gray robe, with both his hair and beard completely white.
The bridge of her nose is high and straight, her lips are slightly thin but do not give the impression of harshness, and there is not a hint of weariness in her eyes; instead, they appear exceptionally clear and bright.
There are a few small dishes on the table, along with a pot of warm wine.
Gazing at the young man who was cautiously navigating along the wall, the hand holding the wine glass suddenly froze mid-air.
The old man's eyes flashed with a barely noticeable gleam as he looked at the young boy. He murmured to himself, "Unbelievable, after searching for hundreds of years, I found a blind child instead..."
"Well, perhaps this is just the will of fate."
Immediately after, the elderly man slowly stood up and spoke in a smooth and melodious voice, "Second-in-command, let's settle the bill!"
Winter and January are when the north winds sting.
The waves of cold winds were like stabbing knives at young Li Guanjie.
There were several breaks on the road until night fell and the teenager placed the stiff body in the doorway of a medical clinic.
The old man in grey was also thinly dressed, but the wind automatically avoided the old man as he passed by.
"Everyone is dead, and the three souls and seven souls are in the reincarnation. What are they doing here?"
"I got my wife medicine... It's not her..."
Soon, the teenager had several pairs of herbs in his hand and struggled to pick up the body and continue on his way.
Next came a small shop with a white silk hanging at the door.
After a while, the boy came out of the room with an altar in his hand.
There was a piece of paper on it.
'Li Cuiwei.'
It was wrapped in the girl's pink dress, and from the beginning to the end there was not much emotion on the boy's face.
On the way, the boy picked up two steamed buns like bricks at the door of the stuffed bun house.
There was a hint of laughter on the boy's face at this time.
This left the elder, who had been following closely behind, puzzled. Why did the young man show no emotional response to the death of his own sister?
But he was just stubbornly insisting that the servant of the Zhao household had withholden the copper coins that were owed as compensation.
The young boy holding the ashes of his loved one didn't show any emotion, but he burst into laughter after finding two leftover steamed buns that no one else wanted.
The old man's curiosity was thoroughly piqued and he continued to follow the young boy.
Suddenly!
The figure of an elderly man in the midst of a blizzard paused, then looked up towards the sky.
In a calm tone, he said, "Wow, it seems that just recently, I dismantled a sect. How surprising that the Protector-Sage of the Northern Liang State would personally come to my doorstep!"
"A small-sized Nirmanakaya... it would be nice to meet, to avoid any trouble for both parties."
Swipe!
The elderly person took a step forward and, in an instant, traversed dozens of miles, appearing in a secluded pavilion in the wilderness.
However, the venerable figure in the brocade robe had already been preparing a warm drink and some tea, as if waiting for quite some time.
Upon seeing the old man, the Protector-Priest of the Northern Liang State immediately stood up and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, venerable sir/ma'am..."
In a dilapidated courtyard located south of Beiliu, even the main gate could not be closed properly.
The young person stood at the door for a long time, then finally took a deep breath and pushed open the door to leave the house.
Squeak!
In the pitch-black room, not even a single light bulb is turned on. The entire house is bare, with numerous holes in the window paper that cannot be repaired due to a lack of funds.
A faint movement was detected on the cold earthen kang bed, followed by a feeble voice whispering softly.
"Back from watching the game?"
The woman's voice was incredibly gentle, but it also conveyed a sense of extreme weakness.
The person who spoke was indeed Li Guanqi's mother, Song Wanrong.
The woman, who had just gotten up, looked haggard, with sunken cheeks. However, when she looked at the young boy, her eyes reflected a deep tenderness.
The woman looked around under the moonlight and asked softly, "Where is Cui Wei?"
Li Guanqi, who was rummaging through the drawer for a candle, suddenly froze. He lit the candle, casting a glow that highlighted the solitary clay jar beside him.
Turning his head away in fear of what he might see, he spoke in a dry voice, "Sister Cuiwei... is dead. The Zhao household has been forced to pay ten quan of copper coins as compensation."
"I'm getting all the money back; it's been hidden away to use for my mother's medical treatment."
After speaking, the young boy took out a steamed bun that had partially melted due to the warmth of his body and handed it to Song Wanrong.
Guided by the scent of herbs, she made her way to the kitchen and spoke in a hoarse voice, "I'm going to make some medicine for Mother."
Song Wanrong gently took Li Guanqi's hand and placed the steamed bun in it.
Holding back tears, she said, "Mother... Mother is not hungry. You go ahead and eat."
The dry and brittle hair obscured most of the woman's face, but Li Guanqi could still hear a few drops of tears hitting the mat.
Just as the two individuals were deeply immersed in sorrow.
Bang!!
The main gate was kicked open, and a biting cold wind rushed into the house. The young boy shivered, not sure if it was due to the cold or fear.
The visitor was indeed Li Guanqi's distant uncle, Li Dashan.
Li Dashan is of average height and is dressed in a dark blue jacket. He has prominent cheekbones, triangular eyes, and an eagle-like hooked nose.
The person looked incredibly menacing, and even before entering the premises, a sinister voice could already be heard from a distance.
"Damn it! Where's the money?!"