Through the fairy valley

My name is Dong Lixiang, and I am from Nan'an County. My family has been selling tea for a living.

When I was ten years old, my uncle Juxian became an important member of the court, and then my family ushered in a turning point in fate. When I was young, I always thought that my uncle was the pride of our family.

But later, I found out that this pride was exchanged for the craftsmanship of thousands of rivers and mountains.

So, I didn't have a good impression of my uncle.

And my father wants me to continue to be proud of him, strive to become an official, and then bring glory to our Dongli family.

But this kind of thing is just my father's wishful thinking. The uncle's two sons never come to our house, and they never even go home to worship their ancestors. As a nephew, under the meritorious system, my fate has already been determined. reached a conclusion.

So I chose to escape, to escape all the arrangements my family gave me.

"My husband, dad said that we should go to Nandu to take refuge. I heard that Jiuhe is already fighting!" My wife, Hui Niang, persuaded me a month ago.

"What are you avoiding? There are so many troops in Nan'an. Dad said to avoid it. Why didn't he go?" I scolded Hui Niang angrily.

Hui Niang lowered her head and said nothing, looking aggrieved.

I couldn't bear it in my heart, Hui Niang was my father's betrothed, I have always had a kind of rejection, but she is a rare and good wife, every time I rudely scolded her, she just bowed her head silently and shed tears.

"Father refused to leave by himself, but let us go. I, a son, can't do it!" After leaving these words, I looked at the boy in Hui Niang's arms, and turned my head to go out to beg for peace.

Only ten days later, Nan'an was besieged by the Zhao army, and the loud shouts of killing outside the city could be heard from time to time every day, and my father suddenly aged a lot.

"Xiang'er, father, please go and beg them to let you go out of the city and join your uncle in Nandu?" Father said with a pale face.

"Father, the news came this morning that the river leading to Nandu was blocked, and those who escaped from the Jiuhe were all blocked." I told my father the news I heard from the pier, but nothing happened. Tell him about those civilian boats being bombarded back to Jiuhe, because I have a feeling in my heart that the officials in Nan'an County may not be reliable.

"What should I do, what should I do?" Dad cried anxiously, "It doesn't matter if I die, what will your family of three do?"

"Nan'an County still has an army of [-] from the imperial court. Don't just miss it like this. Don't worry, dad!" I could only comfort him. Dad nodded, but he still fell ill.

Food in the city has become extremely expensive, and his father is in a hurry and needs to rest.

I also started to stay at home every day, no longer going out, and stayed with my father, Hui Niang, and Tun'er.

Tun'er is only half a year old, I don't hug him very much in front of Hui Niang, but every time he looks at me and giggles, when I sit next to him, he grabs my clothes with sticky little hands, as if longing for me hold him.

But I can't stand Hui Niang's earnest eyes every time and run away, maybe I was wrong in many things from the beginning.

The war in Nan'an County seems to be getting more and more unfavorable. There are fires everywhere in the city. The guards in the mansion came to collect food once. I carried out my unfamiliar uncle, but it didn't help at all.

The fine grains at home were supposed to be rationed, and hundreds of catties of grains were removed. Fortunately, my father secretly hid the grains in the cellar, otherwise our family's livelihood would be in trouble.

Many mansions have dismissed servants, but father told me not to do this. The nine servants in the mansion are all loyal people who have followed our family through thick and thin for many years. We cannot abandon them at this time.

Therefore, the gate of our mansion is closed every day, and there is almost no contact with the outside world. The gardens in the mansion are planted with vegetables and coarse grains, hoping to withstand the coming of famine.

There are more and more refugees in the city, and the government has no longer established a porridge market as before, and the agreed rationing has become a fantasy.

Until the night before yesterday, the door of our house was knocked loudly.

When I came out of the study, I heard Lin Bo, the butler outside, shouting: "Master, run!"

I was startled and broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that the Zhao army broke the city.

Seeing that it was the Nan'an defenders who rushed in, I couldn't help feeling angry: "Isn't the food already taken away? What else are you going to do?"

The soldier who took the lead sneered: "Under the order of General You, confiscate the gold and silver in the city and drive the people out of the city."

"You bandits, you come to harm us if you can't beat the Zhao army, my elder brother is the second rank!" Dad stood up at some point and cursed.

"Damn it!" A soldier walked over, trying to push my father.

Lin Bo stood in front of him and was slashed by him.

"Uncle Lin." The old Lin Bo fell in front of my father, my mind was confused, and I rushed over, trying to snatch the knife from that bastard's hand.

A group of people came around and punched and kicked me.

In the chaos, my father was pushed down and fell to the ground.

My head was severed by a knife, and blood flowed out.

Hui Niang was calling from the back of the courtyard, but I fell into a pool of blood and couldn't move.

Hui Niang's desperate cries continued, hoarse and desperate.

My heart seemed to be dead.

When everything was quiet, I felt like I was being dragged along.

There were waves of heat coming from all around. Did this group of beasts set fire after killing people?

The dizziness came, I was so tired, I felt like giving up, giving up everything, as if it was all a dream.

Xiaotun's cry came from his mind, it was very clear but seemed far away.

There was a scorching sting on my face, and I was woken up.

Everything in the house was burning, but I heard Tun'er's voice.

"Xiaotun...!" I got up strong, and my father fell to the ground, already engulfed by the fire.

Rushing to Hui Niang's room, the fire had already reached the roof.

Hui Niang fell on the floor of the carved flower bed, her clothes were torn, her eyes were opened in despair, they were full of tears and endless fear.

Her hands gripped the ground vigorously, and her nails drew bloodstains on the bluestone board.

"Huiniang." I hugged her, and my heart burst into infinite cries. I never told her how much I love her, and I never told her that I knew the pain in her heart.

Hui Niang and I have never enjoyed happiness. There is only a husband who faces her coldly and makes her live in a low voice.

I twitched silently, tears ran across my face, and my face was hot and painful, but all of this was numb. Dad died, Lin Bo died, everyone in the family died, Hui Niang was also killed by those beasts Yes, this is the fate of a second-rank official.

"Woohoo!" Xiaodun's cry interrupted my convulsions, his face flushed red from the thick smoke.

I hugged him, as if clinging to all hope.

After escaping from the mansion, Nan'an Street was full of displaced people. From time to time, some people knelt down and begged for mercy, but were hacked to death by the soldiers who came.

The whole of Nan'an is like a purgatory, and it is General You who claims to 'coexist and die' with Nan'an.

We were driven to the pier, and we were told that we could bring ten taels of silver and three days of rations, but we were still robbed before we left the city.

The soldiers guarding the pier looked at my blistered face, searched me in disgust, and made sure there was nothing there. I was kicked in like a dog.

I was pulled onto a boat by well-meaning people, and there were no longer homeless people on board like me.

Children and women dare not even cry.

Our boat had nowhere to go, only Yuntao, the former county guard who also escaped with us.

He left with our fleet and sailed towards Jiuhe.

The fleet was not intercepted, and more than 2000 large and small boats and thousands of bamboo rafts floated to Jiuhe like rootless duckweed, which became General You's last sympathy for us.

But Xiaotun cried and blushed. An old lady on the boat helped me look and said that I had a fever.

There is no doctor, no place to stay, not even a penny, so I can only hold the little hoard and pray, pray that my father will have a spirit in the sky, let me die if I want to die, and pray for Hui Niang to save our son.

The fleet did not go to Jiuhe, but entered a strange river under the protection of a group of black iron boats.

In the evening, I found out that we were taken in by the Immortal Valley, and the huge pier was full of people who came out to help us. They said they were from Jiuhe, and now they are from the Immortal Valley.

I followed the boat, looking everywhere for someone to rescue my son.

"What's wrong with your child?" A man's voice came, and I turned my head to see a handsome young man in a white fox fur coat, surrounded by a team of guards.

"Please, save the child." I instinctively knelt down, and the kindness in his eyes reassured me.

After speaking, I fainted.

When he woke up again, Xiaodun was already healed, and he was holding him in his arms, smiling happily.

Medication was smeared on my face and a silver mask was put on.

"The silver mask can ward off fire and poison, your son is already healed!" The young man showed Xiao Tun to me.

Xiaotun stretched out his hand, wanting to touch my mask.

"This is my master's son, they are all dead, please take us in!" I begged him and said, I hope he can adopt Xiaotun, because I want revenge.

"You are such a loyal servant, you all stay, I will adopt him!" The young man's words reassured me.

"I miss my benefactor so much!" I got up and knelt down to him.

He helped me up: "You're welcome, I'm Cao Yang, the owner of the Immortal Valley. You can keep it here from now on. What's your name?"

"I don't have a name anymore. You saved my life. Please give me a name!" Prime Minister Dong Li is dead, and I only have revenge.

"Then I'll call you Tie Mian, and I'll give you a new name when Master Qian Gu comes back!" He helped me up with Xiao Tun in his arms, and then left leisurely.

From then on, there is no one named Dong Lixiang in the world, only Shenxiangu Tiemian, my benefactor and my young master 'Qian An'an'!