C1

In the midst of the greenery, there was a small river flowing in a straight line. The river's surface gradually widened without the least bit of ripples. The few willow leaves on the surface of the water, which seemed peaceful, never disturbed this moment of tranquility. It was noon in the middle of autumn, and the sun was still as hot as before. There was not even a hint of autumn weather, and the cicadas that were vaguely visible on the willow branches by the river appeared lifeless.

The man was half-naked as he laid at the edge of the water, staring blankly into the water. He had maintained this posture for a full hour. Finally, he moved his hand and gently stroked the silver-black mask on his face. The mask was a perfect match with his face, covering the right side of his face. At first glance, it didn't look any different from his left side. However, his eye sockets were completely dark without any light or shadow. The man smiled at himself in the water. His left eye was filled with gentleness.

"Is this me?"

After saying that, he reached into the cloth bag beside the firewood.

The man did not hold back and with two bites, he stuffed the rice ball into his stomach. The boy swallowed his saliva, pointed at the man's upper body, and asked timidly.

"Who are you to … "Why are there so many …"

The man gently patted the boy's back and smiled.

"Kong Wu Chi's entire body is covered with dragon and tiger stripes, but so what? How could he be as strong as me?!" Come, come, come, let me show you this large river on my back again. "Haha …"

The man turned and showed the boy the scar on his back. The boy carefully examined the scars on the man's back. He nodded slightly as if he understood the man's words. He was filled with curiosity towards this fiendish masked man.

"Who is Kong Wu Chi?" "Is it very powerful?"

"Ah, this, ah, I don't remember. For some reason, he suddenly appeared. Don't blame him, hahaha. Right, lend me your machete to use! "

The boy picked up the machete with both hands and handed it to the man.

"What are you going to do with it?"

"What else can I do?"

The man took the knife and used it on his face.

"Aiya, your knife is too damn dull."

After he finished speaking, he jumped into the river and fished out a few small pieces of rock, and then scattered them on the large square rock on the shore and began to slowly grind the sword. the boy asked softly.

"From the sound of your accent, you don't seem like an outsider. Why haven't I seen you before?"

The man paused for a moment and said loudly:

"Hahaha, I have a skill. Once I reach a place, I don't need to spend too much time talking and acting just like the locals. Hahaha, you shouldn't doubt it, right? "

The boy looked at him suspiciously.

"You mean you've been here before?"

"I can't remember. He must have been here before!"

The man stared at the boy with his left eye, his eyes amused.

"Little brother, do you know how to swim? My clothes are on the other side of the river. Can you get them for me?"

The boy nodded slightly. It seemed that he had also hit the mark on his pride. He quickly took off his clothes and jumped into the river. In a split-second, he swam to the other side of the river. When he came back, he used only his feet to tread water and stood up straight in the water. His clothes were not even half an inch wet. The boy put his clothes on the stone and rested his chin on his hands as he looked at the man. The man was shaving his beard with a freshly sharpened firewood knife, occasionally tilting his mouth to the side. The boy chuckled, no longer feeling any fear towards the masked man who was covered with scars and loved to laugh. However, he knew that underneath the mask was a place he couldn't reach, so he didn't question him too much.

After the man finished shaving, he stretched half of his body out to the river, looked left and right, occasionally touched his face with his hand, and finally used his left thumb and forefinger to gently support his lower jaw.

"This way, I'm afraid the ladies will fall to the ground again!"

The boy couldn't help laughing. "You, you're not ashamed! "I don't think you're as pretty as the seventh brother next door!"

After the man heard this, he said angrily, "What Seventh Brother, take me there. I beat him up until he can't even recognize his neighbors!"

The boy laughed.

"Seventh Brother married the most handsome girl in all of China. A few years ago, those matchmakers stepped on her doorstep and broke it. She didn't take a good look at any of them and only glanced at Seventh Brother who was working in the fields before marrying him. Do you think Seventh Brother will look better than you?! "

The man remained silent. Then he picked up his clothes and put them on, whistling softly. He touched his body from head to toe, as if he was amazed at the emptiness outside his clothes. He hung up his machete, carried the firewood, and dragged the boy off the rock.

"Bro, how about staying at your house for dinner?"

The boy rolled his eyes, nodded, and hopped ahead to lead the way. After walking a few steps, he turned around and seriously asked,

"What's your name?"

The man replied,

"You go first!"

The boy simply replied,

"Lee Shan, it's your turn!"

"I'm Li Dashan, haha, what a coincidence! Haha, what a coincidence! We should be half-brothers who have been separated for so many years!"

The man walked forward and placed his left hand on Li Xiaoshan's shoulder while singing loudly,

"You're Lee Shan, ah. I'm Lee Shan, and there's another mountain outside the mountain. It's not like the other side of the mountain..."

The path along the river was very narrow, but it wasn't difficult to tread on. Occasionally, there would be a few mud puddles, but they would also only leave some marks on the grass shoes. Lee Shan carried a heavy load on his body, but he didn't feel tired at all. He walked with ease and comfort, and only after a few jogs did he manage to catch up. Lee Shan slowed down his steps, straightened the ropes, grabbed the hill and placed it on top of the bundles of firewood on his back. The small mountain was facing the mountain with its back facing the sky. It was extremely excited. He fished out two horsetail grasses from nowhere, placed one in his mouth, and pushed the other one back into the mountain's mouth.

"Xiaoshan, how far are we from home?"

"I'm afraid it will take another hour."

"This weight is quite heavy. I'm afraid that this is the only thing you can do for the rest of the day."

"That's right. The firewood on my back travels very slowly. Every time, I would carry a lot of firewood on my back. As I walked, I would throw some of the firewood away. I can always remember the places where I threw the firewood."

Little Shan was very happy and kept talking.

"I found that each time I can carry it a little more than last time. I want to grow up faster, I want to be as strong as a mountain, and I also want to marry the most beautiful girl …" After saying that, Little Shan's face was full of pride. His eyes were filled with anticipation.

"Sit tight ~"

Mountain immediately started sprinting, his speed was extremely fast, he didn't seem to be carrying anything heavy. Hill put his hands on Mountain's shoulders and screamed. As for the man behind him, his name was the same as the man behind him. He was as mighty and majestic as a mountain, and caused the boy to feel incredibly at ease.

At the end of the day, the village was in sight. The village was called Green Water, and the houses were built according to the water. The villagers dressed in waterside racetracks, and the idling ducks played in the water. It was very quiet and peaceful. Big Mountain put down the hill and the two walked into the village side by side.

As soon as he entered the village, an old woman came to greet him. She was about fifty years old. Her face was dark and her forehead was full of wrinkles. She looked like an old woman, but her steps were light. The old woman walked closer and stared at Big Mountain for a few moments. Then, her face lit up with joy as she shouted.

"I think I saw you a few days ago!"

Big Mountain looked surprised, "Aunt, I'm afraid you got the wrong person!" "Hahaha!"

"Impossible, I'm Old Mrs. Liu, that's a well-known sharp-eyed person. Those who meet me will not be wrong, and with such a mask on your face, it would be hard for you to admit your wrongs!"

"Auntie, you must be wrong. I'm afraid that all of our brothers you met are wearing masks. It would be very difficult to tell them apart. Hahaha!"

Liu Qingmei looked at Big Mountain in confusion, then looked at him from head to toe as she muttered:

"It really doesn't seem like it. Today, it seems to be more cheerful, and the other day, I was depressed and couldn't speak at all …" She kept muttering under her breath. Hillside greeted her and she left. Little Shan was very curious,

"Brother Mountain, do you have any brothers?" Do you look exactly like you? Also, is he as strong as you? "

Big Mountain rubbed his head and answered embarrassedly.

"I don't know. I think there is, but I don't think there is. I don't remember. What do you think!"

Then he laughed again.

Shan Shan's face was full of suspicion, but he didn't deny it.

The two continued forward and soon, they arrived at the front of Hill Village's courtyard. The courtyard was simply surrounded by furry thorns. There was a tent filled with vines.

"Look, Big Brother Shan, this is my home!"

At that moment, the door of the neighboring house opened. The "Seventh Brother", who was in the mountain's mouth, supported his pregnant wife as they walked out. The two of them smiled at each other, showing their love. "Mountain stared at them without blinking, not knowing what to think." Seventh Brother, together with the big-chested woman, nodded to Big Mountain and Big Mountain in greeting before slowly walking away.

Xiaoshan smirked, "How about it, isn't Seventh Brother much better looking than you? And Seventh Sister-in-Law is also extremely handsome, right?"

Big Mountain had a relaxed expression on his face as he nodded and smiled.

"A girl is indeed beautiful, and a man is not bad looking either. If he was a bit more fair, then he wouldn't even need to spend money to go to the Spring Snow Restaurant." Mountain turned around and looked at the hill.

"But, it's better for me to watch. Hahaha ~"

Little Shan looked at the weirdo who liked to laugh and thought about his strange words. He was at a loss for words. He had no choice but to open the door and bring Mountain to the hospital. Little Shan brought the stool, and cold water and Big Mountain had a good drink.

"Why is there no one home? Where are your parents?" The mountain was leaning on the vine, leisurely resting.

"My mother and sister should be working in the fields, my father … "My little sister died before she was even born …" A lonely look appeared on Xiaoshan's face.

A large hand touched the back of Xiaoshan's head, "Heh, Xiaoshan, you're the only man in this family, you have to straighten your chest."

Little Shan acknowledged with a sound, his eyes brimming with vigor.

Although the scorching sun was overhead, it was exceptionally cool under the vines. All the hills and hills fell asleep unconsciously, and loud and loud snores rose and fell. What a long autumn afternoon!

After an unknown amount of time, the courtyard door creaked open and Mountain Little woke up at the same time. The hill jumped up and ran towards the gate to welcome a woman. Behind the young woman was a six or seven year old girl. It was obvious that she was Shan's mother and sister. Little Shan pulled his mother and sister over to the top of the mountain.

"Mom, this is Big Brother from Big Mountain, whom I met by the side of the green water. He must be really strong …." Xiaoshan recounted the entire story, but he still concealed the scars on Mountain's body. The mountain pulled over the hill,

"Little Shan, in the future, you have to call me uncle. Seeing how young and beautiful your mother is, if you call me big brother, you'll have to call her old!" "Hahaha, how do you do, sister-in-law? I'm Mountain, and I had a snack at noon. I thought I couldn't just freeload, so I came over to see if I could help with something …" Big Mountain said a lot of polite words and then laughed out loud. The little girl was not afraid of being born.

"Hello Uncle Mountain, I'm Little Qing. Are you really going to carry your big brother on your back and run down the mountain?" "Can you help me bring it next time too!?" Big Mountain once again let out a loud laugh. He thought that this little girl's mouth was just like his brother's.

"Okay, okay. Next time, I will hug Little Qing with my right hand and with my left hand, I will sprint down from the tallest mountain there!"

"It's a deal!"

"It's a deal!"

The woman's face was slightly red. Looking at the two children, her heart was filled with joy. She looked up and down the mountain, then smiled.

"I'll go get you something to eat. You guys can stay in the yard and play with Uncle Shan."

With that, he walked into the room.

The two children were very curious about this uninvited guest. They pulled up the corner of Mountain's clothes, and from time to time, they would ask the children questions. Mountain also patiently answered them one by one.

After about an hour, the woman called the child in. The two children brought food and table to their table. The few of them sat under the vine and began to eat. There were two vegetables for the season, a plate of cured yellow meat, and a big bowl of plump fish. The children stared at the bacon, their eyes shining, but they simply put their chopsticks to their mouths. Mountain smiled happily. This family treated him as a VIP.

"Hurry up and eat! There's no need to be so particular about it!"

Then he picked up the chopsticks, picked up the sliced meat and put it into the child's bowl. He also picked up a piece of meat. The fragrance was rich, soft and delicious. Big Mountain couldn't stop praising her, saying that he wanted to open a restaurant and invite a woman to be the chef. The woman's heart was filled with joy.

"We have a lot of fish and prawns here, and we also have plenty of vegetables. Only this cured meat, it can't be eaten more than a few times a year. These two kids love it very much. The mountain behind the village was full of miasma. Once people entered, they would not be able to come out! If the men from the village wanted to go hunting, they would have to go along the green water and travel twenty miles of mountain roads. Usually, they would only come back after three to two days or even ten days to half a month, and most of the time, they wouldn't be able to find anything. The hill will find firewood to walk to that side, and that's when you met it on the way. Although it was a bit inconvenient, the village had never had any wild animals, so it was quite peaceful. A few years ago, many soldiers came and took away all the big animals, leaving only a few old cattle to plow the fields. They came every year after that, and they gave a few dollars, but very little. The villagers were not happy. However, they were afraid that the other party would make a move on them, so they decided to save the money. "Therefore, this cured meat is very precious."

"This bunch of bastards, if I meet them, they'll gather together until even their mothers won't recognize them!" Big Mountain loudly said while chewing on the cured meat.

When Little Qing Shan heard this, he began to giggle. The woman looked at the mountain and smiled as well, lowering her head to eat. This meal felt so good. Mountain had enough to eat these three bites alone for two days. Little Qing and Big Mountain helped the woman clean up the dishes. They sat on the rattan chairs and puffed out their stomachs to see who would eat the bigger ones. Big Mountain won without any suspense.

Big Mountain put Little Green on his shoulder and walked out of the yard. After strolling around the village, Mo Ran arrived at the back of the village.

"Is this Mt. Ping?" It seems to be very fun! "

"It's not fun at all, people won't be able to come out right after they go in. Mom said that there are monsters and poisonous gas in this mountain, so you can't go in!"

"I seem to have entered it before. Do you believe me, Xiaoqing?"

Xiaoqing used her hand to stroke Mountain's hair, not replying. Mountain looked at the miasma that permeated the mountain, shook his head, and muttered to himself.

"It seems like I've really been there before …"

The peak of the mountain was flat and straight. The entire mountain was like a wall that separated the two peaks, while the rocks on both sides were extremely dangerous. At first glance, it looked more like a door, giving the mountain the impulse to open the door and take a look. One of them was about fourteen or fifteen years old, but he looked a little similar to Little Shan. He was squatting in the yard, looking at the boy next to him with a smile. The boy next to him was about the same age as him. He was chewing the food as his clothes were tattered. There was a black wooden stick tied to his back.

While Big Mountain was lost in thought, Little Mountain ran over happily. Big Mountain grabbed him by the collar and threw him onto his shoulder. The two children were loud and happy, and Mountain was not annoyed at all. He hopped and hopped, making the villagers constantly look at him. The woman in the distance had a happy expression as she silently shed tears.

It was already late at night, and the woman had already made up her bed. The guest room where Big Mountain and Little Shan lived was clean and tidy. Mountain walked around the room and nodded his head. It seemed like the people of this village were having a comfortable life. Compared to the rich and prosperous village in the Central Plains, it wasn't any worse. He lit a candle and felt extremely comfortable in the room.

Xiaoqing was actually unwilling to be with her mother. She directly leaned on Mountain and caressed the mask with her small hands. The two children were curious about the face beneath the mask, but tacitly did not ask about it.

Little Shan suddenly whispered.

"Big Bro Shan..." "Uncle, do you know martial arts?"

"I don't know. A little, I think!"

"Many of the older brothers in the village have joined the army. I heard that everyone is dressed in martial arts and no longer afraid of being bullied anymore. I also want to go, but I'm still young and my body is very weak …"

"Little Shan really wants to learn martial arts!"

Little Shan's eyes lit up. "Of course I want to! "Even in my dreams!"

"Why is that!?"

"After learning martial arts, I can protect myself, mother and sister, protect good people, and punish bad people. I still want to be a great hero!"

"But being a hero is hard."

"I am not afraid of hardship, I am willing to endure any hardship. "Uncle Shan, can you teach me?" Little Shan looked at the mountain with eyes full of expectation. Big Mountain thought for a moment before tilting his head to the side.

"I can't even remember what it was! However, Xiaoshan, if you practice martial arts just to strengthen your body, you will not be able to defend yourself. If you are practicing martial arts to protect your home, then you are my man's responsibility. However, if you have evil intentions and want to be above others, then bullying the good will of others, practicing martial arts will become a bad thing. Therefore, in the end, he still practiced his mind. I don't have any techniques or methods to teach you. However, martial arts techniques and the like were derived from life. It was just like cutting wood in the mountains. A big man using the same machete might not be as fast as chopping a small hill when facing the same tree. A Pig Slaughtering Craftsman could easily chop off the head of an ordinary military man with just a Pig Slaughtering Knife. He had never learned martial arts, but he could still kill. "To spar, one must be steady, and to kill, one must be ruthless!" Big Mountain cleared his throat.

"Let's not talk about killing people. This martial arts technique still needed to be comprehended from life itself. Of course, the most important thing is for you to train your body well, just like me.

"I want to make a mask like Uncle Mountain. Seeing it, even Ah Mu's group in the village wouldn't dare to bully me!"

"Haha …" Masks were meant to scare people. If you had the ability to do so, you wouldn't be looked down upon by others. "Little Shan, remember, no matter how strong you are, do not bully others."

Little Shan nodded in understanding.

"There are many so-called famous martial arts techniques. In fact, they are all just flowery flowers. There are very few people who can understand the essence of these martial arts. If one wanted to become a martial arts master, one's perception and ability to understand the bone was extremely important. However, an ordinary person could also achieve some success after tireless efforts. This martial artist, ah, the most important thing is to breathe, but unfortunately, this kind of basic technique is the one that is easily overlooked … "

Big Mountain continued on for a long time before he suddenly stopped. He embarrassedly touched his head.

"I suddenly feel like I'm an expert!"

"Little Shan, who was lost in thought, could not help but laugh when he heard this." "Uncle Shan is a top class master!"

The two chatted merrily. If Little Shan was confused, he would stop and ask. Big Mountain also tried his best to answer, and afterwards, he would teach all the useful breathing exercises to Little Shan. Xiaoqing didn't quite understand Mountain's words. Not long after, she laid down on Mountain's body and fell into a deep sleep. Big Mountain picked up the candle flame and walked towards the door with Little Green in his arms. As soon as he stepped out of the door, he bumped into the woman. She was obviously embarrassed, so she quickly picked up Little Qing and nodded to Big Mountain before returning to her room. Big Mountain noticed that the woman's face was completely red.

It was late in the night, and the snoring sounds of mountains and mountains rose and fell one after another. There were also quite a few voices coming from the farmyard. It seemed a long time since Little Shan had slept so peacefully.