Chapter 0003: A Chou and Niu Niu

Niu Niu's mother knew that A Chou was still young and understood that this stubborn child refused to beg. He could not even support himself, yet she had no one else to rely on. The beggars in the temple kept their distance, looking at her with indifferent eyes, and from those numb gazes, she could see not a trace of sympathy.

A Chou resembled a desperate wolf, crouching beside the barely breathing Niu Niu, gazing at her with a deep melancholy. Niu Niu did not understand what A Xiong was thinking; in fact, she had always found it difficult to comprehend A Xiong. She only knew that A Xiong treated her well. Since their mother passed away, A Xiong had become her only family in this world.

A Chou's eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his forehead stood out prominently. With an angry roar, he suddenly pounced on the little wolf, grabbing, scratching, and biting, using his entire body as a weapon

Niu Niu's mother let out a long sigh, her frail hand weakly resting on Niu Niu's head, gently stroking it a few times before suddenly passing away. Her eyes remained open, and a tear gently slid down from the corner of her eye to her cheek.

... ...

When a person dies, they should be buried to find peace

The miracle belonging to A Chou and Niu Niu is marked by both coincidence and extraordinary individuals, as well as remarkable events

A Chou rubbed her head, and her hair became messy, resembling a bird's nest on top of her head

Ah Chou, Niu Niu... I am entrusting this to you...

A Chou still insists on stealing, and still often gets beaten, which is why the two of them often go hungry

A Chou gazed at her quietly for a long time, then tightened the already hollow belly with a grass rope and walked out with a feeble step

She thought about soon meeting her mother, and her heart was filled with joy and tranquility. The thought of parting from her brother brought a wave of reluctance and melancholy. She did not know what the world of death was like, but her instinctive attachment to life and her innate fear of death filled her heart with dread.

Legends are always forged by miracles

His relatives, his parents, and his elder sister were all reduced to a pile of ashes in the raging fire. At that time, he, like Niu Niu, could only cry in terror and helplessness. Once he regained a semblance of clarity, he fled the mountain village. Now he at least has the strength to give Niu Niu's mother a proper burial, rather than letting her become a discarded corpse in a gutter

The rain continues to fall like threads and strands

Their lives are as cheap as the wild grass on the field ridges; no matter how many people trample on it, it will still stubbornly survive

What is a miracle

A Chou used his bloodied, worn hands to bury Niu Niu's mother in a pit, placing a small wooden board at the head of the grave as a tombstone, and then he no longer had the strength to move.

Niu Niu, ah ... ...

A Chou held her tightly, choking back tears as he said: "Niu Niu, I am so scared, I have really become a beggar! I fear... that one day, I will become like them, a mere walking corpse. Niu Niu, I have truly become a beggar!"

Miracles can be extraordinary individuals accomplishing extraordinary deeds, or they can be a series of coincidences coming together to form a wonderful happenstance

She no longer calls him A Chou, but instead calls him A Xiong, while he still calls her Niu Niu

She raised her small face, looking at her brother's tear-filled eyes. His gaze was so sorrowful, reminiscent of the look in their mother's eyes when she suddenly passed away—helpless, desolate, and sorrowful, enough to break one's heart

A Chou's eyes turned red; with red eyes, gritted teeth, and holding back tears, he gently caressed Niu Niu's mother's eyes and stood up to walk out

Niu Niu does not believe their words; she does not believe that the older brother who climbed the tall tree to let her touch the bird's eggs, who used a branch to catch dragonflies for her, and who caught small fish for her to eat would abandon her. She believes that the older brother will return... perhaps... the older brother has gone to dig a grave for her, just like when her mother was buried.

The once stubborn boy, who would rather steal and then be beaten, has become accustomed to living as a beggar. Perhaps within his heart, he still harbors a trace of stubbornness, a sense of pride, and a commitment, but for the sake of Niu Niu, he has buried all of this deep within.

Niu Niu was very anxious. She thought that her brother was in great pain, so she stopped crying. Understanding the situation, she gently approached him, carefully blowing on his swollen eyes, and softly rubbing his bruised cheeks with her small, slender hands. She only wanted to stop her brother's tears. Seeing him cry made her heart ache, a pain that surpassed her own fear.

On the grassy bank by the small river, A Chou forcibly dug a pit using a stick and his hands.

A Chou and Niu Niu ran to a cluster of banana trees, where the broad banana leaves served as their umbrella. Although the rainwater still flowed down the leaves, it was much more comfortable than being drenched directly on their faces

A Chou's face was covered in blood, his eyes swollen, and he was biting down on a lump of indistinct flesh. He crawled step by step back to the sobbing Niu Niu, holding her tightly.

She spoke, making an effort to show a smile to her elder brother, revealing a newly grown playful little canine tooth

A Chou was awakened by a sudden cry. Upon waking, he discovered that the middle-aged beggar nicknamed Little Wolf, who also lived in this dilapidated temple, was on top of Niu Niu, tugging at her already tattered clothes, with his foul-smelling mouth indiscriminately kissing her.

From that time on, A Chou and Niu Niu relied on each other for companionship, sharing a bond akin to that of siblings

The beggars in the dilapidated temple were all startled awake, and they looked at everything happening before them with a warm, ambiguous, and eerie gaze. Not a single person spoke; as they watched, their expressions even began to take on a restless eagerness. That gaze was both unfamiliar and frightening.

A beam of pure moonlight fell through the hole in the temple roof, illuminating A Chou, whose face was covered in blood. His fierce gaze swept over the faces of all the beggars, like a wounded wolf defending its territory. He spoke each word with intensity: "Whoever wants to bully her must first kill me"

A Chou took out the bun he had just begged for, treating it like a treasure, but it had already been soaked and ruined by the rain, causing A Chou to frown in distress. The obedient Niu Niu hurried to comfort him: "Brother, it's alright. Today we ate a lot of mulberries, and my teeth are all loose, so if the bun is too hard, I won't be able to bite it."

... ...

Niu Niu is still young; she does not know what the little wolf intends to do to her. However, a girl's intuition tells her that something very frightening is about to happen to her. Therefore, she begins to cry out loudly.

Niu Niu was cared for by her mother since childhood. She did not understand begging very well, and the territory where she could usually obtain food was occupied by other beggars. As a result, she could not get much to eat. On one occasion, she was bitten by a vicious dog kept by a household, and for several days she was unable to move. A Chou could not steal anything either, and she was on the verge of starving to death

A Chou was awakened and saw the little wolf bullying A Mei. Suddenly, A Chou transformed into another person. Perhaps that person had always been locked away in the cage of his heart, tormented and nourished by hatred and shame, having long since become a fierce beast. At this moment, the cage door swung wide open, and that beast was released.

Mother! Mother... ...

However, Brother's tears flowed more and more, and thus, Niu Niu also began to cry.

Niu Niu has come back to life

Because of their departure, a legend that belongs to them has begun

Niu Niu lay helplessly on her mother's body, crying, while A Chou was on the other side, tears welling in his eyes, but he held back, refusing to let the tears fall. Ever since he cried for an entire afternoon in Huan Shan Village, leaving his eyes swollen and his voice hoarse, he had not cried again, as if his tears had run dry since that time

A Chou resembled a small dog that had rolled in the mud, dirty all over. He weakly walked back to the dilapidated temple, sat down next to Niu Niu, and after panting for a long time, he lifted the tattered bamboo mat and pushed Niu Niu's mother onto the grass mat, gripping the mat tightly as he pulled it outside the broken temple.

In spring, the rain falls like threads, weaving a dense net between heaven and earth

Two people, one holding a half-soaked bun, used tender banana leaves to make a cup, collecting rainwater. They filled their stomachs with a sip of rainwater and a bite of the bun.

The beggars in the temple immediately became indignant, saying that Niuniu's mother had raised a white-eyed wolf, and that A-Chou had abandoned Niuniu to fend for herself, no longer caring for her. However, they were reluctant to part with a morsel of food they had begged for.

She waited for a long time, thought for a long time, until she no longer had the strength to think. The beggars' indignant buzzing ceased. Niu Niu saw her brother return; he walked with little energy, yet his hands were neither scraped nor covered in dirt. He held in his hands a broken clay pot, which contained half a pot of hot porridge.

A Chou and Niu Niu ran barefoot in the rain, resembling a pair of fish in the water

Little Wolf, nicknamed Little Wolf, but at this moment, A Chou has transformed into a real wolf

Note: During the Tang and Song dynasties, it snowed in Guangzhou

This winter, the closest fire pit has been occupied by other beggars. Two children are at the farthest point, with a hole in the temple roof directly above them. Snowflakes gently fall upon them, and they are covered with straw, tightly embracing each other to withstand the bitter cold.

During the summer, an event occurred that prompted A Chou and Niu Niu to leave the dilapidated temple, thus leaving them without even a single place to stay.

A Chou fed Niu Niu mouth to mouth, bite by bite

That winter, Niuniu's mother fell ill. Perhaps she could have endured a common illness, but this time it was different; she was gravely ill. Niuniu's mother grew increasingly haggard, and gradually, she could no longer struggle to beg.

Niu Niu does not understand her brother's words; he often says strange things that she simply cannot comprehend. However, she knows that her brother truly cares for her. Since their mother passed away, her brother has been her only family in this world. Whether she understands his words or not does not matter; as long as she knows he treats her well, that is enough.

Their shoes have rotted beyond recognition, and Niuniu's mother has turned into a pile of yellow earth, unable to weave straw sandals for them any longer

Niu Niu is very afraid of losing him, just like losing her mother. She tears up and holds onto A Chou tightly, saying: "Brother, do whatever you want. No matter what you do, Niu Niu will be with you, whether it is begging with books or stealing. As long as I am with you, nothing else matters"

Spring has arrived, and my brother has transformed from a stuttering and painfully shy clumsy beggar into a clever and capable little beggar

Niu Niu lay on her mother's body, crying continuously. When she cried to the point of having no strength left to make a sound, A Chou returned

Niu Niu's mother held Niu Niu's slender little hand in one hand and pulled A Chou with the other. Her gaze was filled with such sadness, a mixture of helplessness, desolation, longing, attachment, and pain, that it broke the hearts of those who beheld it

A Chou and Niu Niu left the dilapidated temple overnight, worried that the frightened little wolf might return. With only courage, they could not protect themselves. They continued to live as beggars, as it was their only means of survival. However, A Chou had already made up his mind to find something to do; he wanted to live, to live like a human being.

The beggars turned over and fell asleep one after another, as if nothing had ever happened. In the dilapidated temple, only the sound of Niuniu's crying remained. A Chou held her close, the pale moonlight casting a glow over them. After a long while, A Chou suddenly began to cry silently, and this was the first time Niuniu had seen him in tears

The little wolf cried out in pain, striking him with one punch after another. The blood spewing from A Chou's mouth splattered all over the little wolf's face, yet all he had in return were his sharp teeth. At that moment, when the little wolf saw A Chou's eyes, which were as cruel as those of a wild wolf, he suddenly realized that the often dazed A Chou had likely gone mad. He finally broke down and howled as he fled.

One day, the emaciated Niuniu's mother lay in a dilapidated temple, the sunlight shining upon her; the sunlight remained brilliant, yet her complexion was still ashen.

Niu Niu embraced her mother’s body and cried out loud

His frail body could easily be thrown against the wall and turned into a meat patty by the strong little wolf with just a flick of its hand. Yet at that moment, he did not know where such immense strength came from; he clung to the little wolf, refusing to retreat at all costs. In a frenzy, he first bit off half of the little wolf's ear, and then he forcefully tore a chunk of flesh from the little wolf's shoulder.

On that summer night, the moon was very full

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