under the tower

Ji Xi was not in the mood all day.

There is a market in the southeast of the sickwood area, which is the busiest area in the entire sickwood area.

Ji Xi was wandering in the street and arrived at that place after walking.

It is said to be a market, but the scale is not very large. On a circular open-air square, there are mostly long wooden tables and benches, which seem to be made of directly cut trees, which are very simple.There are all kinds of miscellaneous gadgets on the table, most of which are daily necessities, such as washbasins, hangers, hand-embroidered handkerchiefs and so on.The stall owner stood at the back and yelled. The asking prices for these things were basically not expensive, and the price of each piece was around twenty or thirty points. There were still many people standing in front of the stall and bargaining with the stall owner red-faced.

"Brother, can this pot be cheaper? Wipe a zero, I'll have it right away at forty o'clock, can you?"

"It can't be any cheaper! Dude, can I call you dude, you just cut my price by almost half, my family has two hungry children who rely on me to eat, you can pity me..."

"Oh, it's not that I don't want to give it. I really only brought this little money. Really, I won't lie to you. Can I sell it? In a word, there is no more..."

"..."

One after another, the noisy and noisy voices converge into a river, galloping and flowing, seemingly never tireless and never stopping.

There is a strange vitality in the diseased wood area, which is vividly reflected in this small market, which is different from any place Ji Xi has seen before.

Everyone here is working very hard.

Ji Xi is in a state where he doesn't know what he is doing. He has almost bought all the necessities at home, and he doesn't need to buy anything by himself. He is walking in the endless stream of people, but he just can't stop.

Someone pushed and bumped against his shoulder, and he took a few steps forward before he became dull aware that someone seemed to be calling his name amidst the noisy noise.

"Xiao Ji—Ji Xi—"

Ji Xi looked like a rusty machine, turned his head slowly, and saw two familiar faces, Chi Miao was carrying a big bag on his back, waving at him excitedly, Mao Hei was like an old man who came out with a baby , followed slowly behind, with a lifeless expression on his face.

"Why didn't you respond to calling you so many times?" Chi Miao trotted over humming, "Eh? Where's Brother Yan? Didn't you come with me?"

Ji Xi nodded: "I'll take a stroll by myself. Why are you here?"

"It's Saturday today. We're here to buy quilts. It's too cold now." Chi Miao said, with a proud face, "Take a look, my big quilt is so cheap. I just bargained down the price to only six Ten points!"

Ji Xi boasted: "Amazing."

"Xiao Ji, what do you want to buy? I can help you bargain."

Ji Xi shook her head.

"What's wrong with you?" Chi Miao blinked her eyes, tilted her head, and said in a concerned tone, "You seem to be in a bad mood, didn't you sleep well at night?"

Ji Xi still shook his head, a little at a loss, faltering, not knowing where to start.

"What else can he do?" Mao Hei pushed aside the crowd and walked over slowly, his eyes glanced at Ji Xi, "What kind of moth is your guy messing with again? Or was it broken again?"

"Ah?" Chi Miao was confused, "Who is it? Brother Yan?"

Ji Xi blinked, and when he heard Mao Hei's familiar tone, he suddenly realized that he actually didn't know Yan Yi at all.

"Will he be beaten?"

To be honest, Ji Xi is a little hard to imagine, with Yan Yi's ability, there are people who even he can't beat.

Did he have any grudges before?

"A training partner." Mao Hei hugged his chest, looking like he didn't think it was a big deal to watch the excitement, "It's not like he hasn't done it before as a sandbag for human flesh, which costs fifty points an hour."

Ji Xi froze for a moment, thinking of the job of "martial arts coach" that Yan Yi told him yesterday, could it be that he used to stand and get beaten?

Is he sick to do this kind of work?

Just thinking about it, Ji Xi felt angry.

Mao Hei looked at Ji Xi's expression, and at a glance, he knew that he had hit the mark, and said vaguely with meaning: "...I really don't know why this guy is always short of money."

Ji Xi choked for a moment: "I'm looking for a job."

"Hey, Xiao Ji, are you looking for a job?" Chi Miao said, "Did you find it?"

Ji Xi: "...Not yet."

"Oh." Chi Miao nodded and patted him on the shoulder, "It's okay, look slowly, and you'll find it." He held his chin, "...Speaking of which, I seem to know someone who recently hired someone It's very urgent to recruit, if you are interested in Xiao Ji, I recommend you to try it?"

Ji Xi was provoked by Mao Hei, and agreed without thinking: "Yes."

The job Chi Miao said was near his former home, the Skull Cave.

It's Ji Xi's first time here, the sick area is huge, and there are some places that even Yan Yi would never take him there, such as here.

When Ji Xi heard Chi Miao's description before, he felt uncomfortable, but Chi Miao's description was relatively broad, so he still didn't have a very specific concept of this place.

How poor is it that children in this place have to rummage through trash cans to eat?

Ji Xi couldn't imagine it.

However, when he actually set foot on this land, he realized that all imaginations are flimsy, and the reality is much skinnier than he thought.

On the uneven land, even complete houses are rarely seen. There are isolated walls corroded and damaged by the wind and sand everywhere, and people in poor clothes nest in the corners. Their bodies are so dirty that they are almost as dirty as those on the ground. The soil was the same color, and these people were so skinny, with ribs and joints protruding, that they really looked like walking skeletons.

No wonder it's called "Skull Cave", it's so vivid.

Those people were piled up together, lying there leaning against the wall half dead, only a pair of eyes looked extraordinarily large and hideous because of the thin cheeks.

When Ji Xi and Chi Miao passed by, they all stared at them.

Ji Xi felt chills all over his body, he couldn't describe the feeling.

The eyes of those people were like knives, and he felt that a piece of his heart had been dug out, and he was constantly blowing cold wind.

"You'd better not think about giving them food or money." Chi Miao leaned over and said in a low voice, "Don't give them alms just because they are pitiful. This is a big taboo for outsiders who come to Skull Cave."

Ji Xi was stunned: "Why?" He did have such an idea just now.

"Because they will rob, and your little things are not enough." Chi Miao's slightly immature voice was extraordinarily flat at the moment, "The better situation is that they will injure and kill their companions in order to grab that little thing." .The worse situation is that they will entangle you and use any means to take away any valuables from you, and you will never be able to get out. Many people are like this, so be careful."

Ji Xi frowned.

"……how so?"

"I can't help it, everyone wants to live." Chi Miao said, probably seeing that Ji Xi's face became a little pale, he added, "Don't worry too much, you just need to take a small knife, which is more conspicuous on your body Look, just like me." Chi Miao pointed to the dagger tied to her leg.

"——they dare not embarrass you. They are so hungry, even if they fight, they don't have much strength, so they just fall down casually."

Chi Miao said lightly, in the tone of a bystander.

To him, those painful pasts seemed to be just a few clouds in the sky, which passed away as soon as the wind blew, and disappeared without a trace.

It is true that although Chi Miao in front of Ji Xi is still wearing an old patched padded jacket and flared trousers full of thread ends that don't fit well, but his cheeks are plump and he looks radiant. Compared with those people lying on the ground, he is already They are much more "human" than they are.

Ji Xi thought about it and said: "At that time, how did you..."

"I know what you want to ask." Chi Miao smiled, and when he smiled, there were very shallow dimples on his cheeks, "I'm really lucky. Although I was wandering for a while, I met a kind person who took me in. I met my master Hei Ge later."

Ji Xi: "Good-hearted person?"

"I'm going to take you to meet him now, and he's the one who will provide you with a job." Chi Miao said, "You'll understand when you see him later. He's really a good man."

Not long after they walked, they came to a slightly less dilapidated alley.

There are also a few crowded residential buildings here, and the walls are filthy, but at least it looks better than the previous place, where a few people occasionally pass by on the road.

There is a three-story bungalow in the middle of the end of the road. It is made of black bricks. It faces the road with a half-open glass door. Pull it up, and you can vaguely see a person sitting inside the door, and rows of shelves behind it.

There is a big sign handwritten in ink on the door——

"Fish brother groceries".

In a place like Skull Hole, such a "decent" house is quite rare, let alone a grocery store.

Is there really anyone in this place who can afford what he has in his shop?

With such doubts, Ji Xi followed Chi Miao and walked into "Yu Ge Groceries".

"Brother Yu!" Chi Miao yelled, and the man sitting by the door stood up and greeted him.

The man named Yuge seems to be in his early 30s, tall and tall, with a cigarette pinned behind his ear, his hair combed back, and hairspray. A scar runs from his right forehead to his jaw. His eyes are of different colors. Similarly, the eye on the right side with the scar is cloudy and dead gray. When looking at people, only the left eyeball will turn, but the right one will not.

He is blind in one eye.

The moment he saw Ji Xi, his eyes lit up.

This person was born with a ferocious appearance, his face was full of hostility, his skin was pale and bloodless, and the scar on his face made him look like a stranger.

Ji Xi instinctively took a step back.

Chi Miao happily greeted Yu Chengyuan and said, "Didn't you tell me that you were in a hurry to find a buddy? My friend just happened to be looking for a job, so I introduced him. His name is Ji Xi."

Brother Yu stepped forward and smiled: "Hello, Ji Xi. I'm Yu Chengyuan, the owner of this store. You can call me Brother Yu just like Xiao Chi."

Ji Xi's whole body was in a state of vigilance, and he stared at Brother Yu.

Sure enough, Brother Yu then said in a meaningful tone: "You're a poor guy..."

Chi Miao said from the side: "Wait, brother Yu, did you misunderstand something? He is our brother Yan's younger brother, just let him be a buddy."

Yu Chengyuan thought for a while: "Brother Yan? That mercenary of yours?"

"That's right." Chi Miao said, "He and my master are also brothers."

"Okay." Yu Chengyuan sighed regretfully, and repeated in his mouth, "It's a pity, it's a pity."

"However, Xiao Ji." He said, "I really lack a buddy here. Due to some accidents, I am the only one in the store now, and I am really busy. If you are willing to do it, I can give you a higher salary." salary, but the premise is that it will be very hard, and you have to be mentally prepared.”

Ji Xi asked: "How much is the higher salary?"

"One hundred hours a day, the working hours are from [-] am to [-] pm, there is no rest on weekends, and meals can be provided at noon in the store." Yu Chengyuan replied, "If I was not in a hurry to recruit people, I would not have given so much."

"Then what am I going to do?"

Chi Miao glanced at Yu Chengyuan and nodded, Yu Chengyuan looked at Ji Xi and said, "Come with me."