Chapter 451: Character · A-Niu

The year 876 of the Qian Calendar.

A new batch of "Sinners" was being escorted.

All of them were dumped at the border bordering the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

The crowd was dull-eyed, their faces ashen, like dry wells that hadn't seen rain for a long time, devoid of any Life Qi.

A moment later.

Driven by the instinct to survive.

The crowd began to walk forward, building a new home in the remote and desolate borderlands beyond the pass.

…

The year 880 of the Qian Calendar.

The original batch of "Sinners" had completely taken root and settled down in Qingniu Town. Although they suffered from demon harassment every year, they could still barely survive.

Being near the Hundred Thousand Mountains…

…was both a danger and a resource.

Martial Artists and merchants constantly traveled back and forth, staying in Qingniu Town to explore and extract herbs and Ore from the edges of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

The people of Qingniu Town benefited from this.

In their stable life, a couple had their first child.

They named him Zhang Tieniu.

The couple's thinking was very simple: Tieniu, Iron Bull—an iron-forged bull sounded like it would be easy to raise.

…

The year 882 of the Qian Calendar.

Father Zhang, the pillar of the family, died in the winter Demon Tide, leaving Mother Zhang to raise A-Niu alone.

The demons were ferocious.

Bloodthirsty and bone-devouring.

Qingniu Town, which had originally started to improve, instantly turned into a living hell on earth.

By the following spring, the town's population had been halved.

Some wanted to flee, but at the passes leading to the heart of Great Qian, there were always border troops stationed.

If they fled to other towns on the border…

…it would be better to stay in the familiar Qingniu Town.

…

The year 887 of the Qian Calendar.

A-Niu was 7 years old.

He stood under a mottled jujube tree, his skin dark and yellowish; it was clear he spent all year running around under the sun.

“Mom, I'm hungry…”

A-Niu clutched his stomach.

He habitually asked his mother for food.

Soon, Mother Zhang brought over a bowl of Dough Drop Soup and told A-Niu to drink slowly.

“I know, Mom!”

A-Niu finished it happily, licking his lips with a lingering desire, his expression exceptionally simple and honest.

“Being able to eat is a blessing, being able to eat is a blessing…”

Mother Zhang laughed happily.

Later on.

A-Niu's appetite grew smaller.

It wasn't that he couldn't eat, but that he didn't dare to eat.

In Qingniu Town, where food was precious, being able to eat was never a blessing, but a subtle sin.

A-Niu noticed.

Because his appetite was too large, Mother Zhang became afraid to eat; if she did, it was only a shallow layer at the bottom of the bowl.

A-Niu didn't like this.

He really didn't like it.

…

The year 895 of the Qian Calendar.

A-Niu was 15 years old.

He was very stupid—that's what his mother said, that's what everyone said, and that's what A-Niu thought too.

As he grew up, A-Niu's physique became robust.

He became even more capable of eating, often feeling guilty and self-reproachful because of it.

Fortunately, besides eating, A-Niu had another strength: farming.

A-Niu was very good at farming.

Even in the barren borderlands, the land he cultivated could yield a decent harvest.

People praised and congratulated A-Niu's mother.

They said the name "Tieniu" was truly the right choice.

“Hehe, hehehe…” A-Niu stood to the side laughing foolishly, scratching his head and not knowing what to say, while his mother stood beside him with a joyful expression, greeting the neighbors.

…

The year 898 of the Qian Calendar.

The border towns, including Qingniu Town, suffered an even more terrifying Demon Tide.

For some reason.

The annual Demon Tide was becoming increasingly horrific.

The number of traveling Martial Artists and merchants began to decrease.

They were avoiding being swept up in the Demon Tide and losing their lives.

The people of Qingniu Town could only stay and live at the border; there was no path of retreat to speak of.

The year 900 of the Qian Calendar.

A-Niu was 20 years old.

He had become a sturdy young man in every sense, with a silly air about his dazedness. With thick eyebrows and large eyes, his dark features looked quite honest.

This year, A-Niu encountered a strange thing.

After learning about the Officials' wanted posters, he hurried to inform Brother Xu.

But from Brother Xu's room, he heard the thumping sound of rats scurrying about.

A-Niu was full of admiration: “Brother Xu is amazing, and the rats in his house are amazing too. Rats making such a big racket must be very fat.”

A-Niu was craving rat meat.

…

A-Niu was very clumsy.

He knew he didn't understand the teacher's words, nor did he understand the obscure martial arts Qi circulation.

However, A-Niu felt he was very lucky.

Because of Xu Xi's existence, A-Niu could finally eat his fill.

The demon meat was a bit sour and hard to chew, but it filled his hollow stomach, giving A-Niu a heavy, satisfied feeling for the first time.

Especially during the winter Demon Tide.

Those were the few days when A-Niu could fill his belly.

A-Niu liked this and wanted this life to continue forever, until that fierce fire burned down the Qingniu Town he grew up in, and burned down his "home."

“A-Niu, let's go.”

Brother Xu called out from ahead, reaching out his hand to A-Niu.

“Where are we going?”

A-Niu carried his elderly mother on his back, his expression dazed.

“To eat, to live.”

A-Niu was very stupid; he didn't understand what it meant to [live], but he knew [eating], and he could eat a lot.

And so.

Carrying his old mother and with the other people of Qingniu Town, A-Niu followed in Brother Xu's footsteps.

…

Forming the Qiuhuo Army, fighting back against the Great Qian Imperial Court, occupying multiple county seats, and spreading to several provinces.

A-Niu saw the real world.

He saw stripped white bones and rivers where blood gathered.

When he first stood on the battlefield, he was as helpless as a child, relying entirely on Xu Xi to lead him through the breakthrough.

“I'm sorry, Brother Xu… I've caused you trouble…”

Time really passed very quickly.

So fast that A-Niu didn't have time to think carefully.

Just eating year after year, and a long time had passed.

A-Niu was stupid, but he knew that as long as he followed closely behind Brother Xu, he could also do his part.

That was the "secret" his mother taught him day and night.

The year 909 of the Qian Calendar.

A-Niu was 29 years old.

A-Niu's mother passed away.

She didn't starve to death, she wasn't killed, and she didn't die of illness.

Instead, she peacefully never woke up from a dream during her sleep.

“Mom…” The daylight that day was exceptionally gloomy, with dark clouds shrouding the heaven and earth, yet not a single drop of rain fell.

A-Niu's tall figure looked exceptionally small in the overcast weather.

He knelt dazed before his mother's grave.

So clumsy he was speechless.

He didn't know what to say, and couldn't say anything; he only knew to stare blankly at the tombstone and then kowtow heavily forward.

Once, twice, three times.

He kowtowed until his forehead bled, mixing with crystal tears.

…

The year 910 of the Qian Calendar.

Xu Xi began to take action. He led everyone in the Qiuhuo Army toward the outside of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, attempting to carve out a true path to survival.

A-Niu followed.

He was still clumsy; his stupid brain hadn't gained any enlightenment because of his mother's passing.

He only looked at Xu Xi's increasingly weary back.

A-Niu had an idea.

Or rather, an impulse.

“Mom is gone, I can't, I can't let Brother Xu also…”

A-Niu did something stupid, but he was a stupid person to begin with, so it was normal for a stupid person to do stupid things.

He resolutely left the ranks of the Qiuhuo Army.

Running in the opposite direction.

Trees on both sides flew past the corners of his eyes, his hurried breathing driving the movement of his legs. A-Niu ran toward the largest demon; even though his body was trembling with instinctive fear, he still ran forward.

He was so happy.

So happy that he gradually lost sight of everything.

Turning into darkness, turning into blood-red, turning into his mother's call.

“A-Niu, hurry home for dinner.”

On Earth, in Yanshan City, A-Niu suddenly snapped back to his senses at his mother's call.

“Coming, Mom!”

He turned his head and answered loudly.