"Have you heard that Widow Jiang's eldest son was struck by lightning."

"I've even gone to see it. My hair is burnt, and I'm like a piece of wood, and it seems I can't live anymore."

"Didn't it mean that bad people will be struck by lightning? A young man who is a student, usually looks filial, so why would he suffer such retribution?"

"Swish, this kid might have been a villain in his previous life, otherwise so many people would have struck him alone?"

"Widow Jiang is guilty of getting old. It is difficult for a man to pull three children to live. Now his eldest son cannot be saved. God is not good at looking at him."

The rumors mixed with cold rain and wind rush towards three thatched houses at the foot of Xiaozhu Mountain in the west of the town. There was an opening of about a foot on the wall of yellow mud-filled bamboo. The drizzle blew into the house, making the room look even more wet and dark. One bed, one cupboard and one bookcase, was extremely simple. A boy was lying on the bed, covered with an old quilt, his face was gray, and his occasional twitching showed that he was still a living person.

There was smoke everywhere at the door of the room, and the black crock pot was fogging on the mud stove, emitting bitter smell of medicine. A little girl shook a rotten palm fan, looked at the fire with a sad face, and occasionally leaned up and looked into the room.

It has been two days since Jiang Anyi had no sense of consciousness. On the surface, he seemed calm, but his mind was boiling like a pot of porridge. Countless pictures floated like dust. Some were familiar and some were strange: he studied hard under the lamp, danced his sword and fist under the scorching sun, relived his eyes when his father died, and felt panic when he killed someone for the first time. Sometimes he could only pass the sun with a simple meal. He read the vague words on the book under the oil lamp, and sometimes he faced countless delicacies, and enjoyed the lights and wine...

Finally, he returned to dark clouds, heavy rain, lightning, thunder and lightning, and he sheltered from the rain under the trees; while another figure was deep in the dense forest, the top of the strange buildings were also lightning and thunder, and with the same thunder, the golden snake rushed over.

"Ah", Jiang Anyi screamed in pain, his head was split open, and his body suddenly shook on the bed, making a sound. The girl jumped up, shouted loudly, "Brother is awake", and ran into the house. With a "clang" sound, a woman staggered from outside and rushed towards the bedside.

Hearing the urgent call, Jiang Anyi endured the severe headache and barely opened her eyes. Her two tears came into her eyes. It was Mother and Yan'er. Jiang Anyi wanted to smile, but the corners of her mouth twitched, and she drooped weakly into a bitter smile.

"God blessed," Jiang Huangshi softened her softly beside the bed and murmured to herself. It took her a long time to wake up, wiped the tears on her face, squeezed out a smile, and stood up and asked, "Yi'er, are you hungry? Mom has cooked chicken soup, and I'll take it to you."

Having not eaten for two days, the warm chicken soup made a "gurgling" sound in his stomach, making Yan'er laugh. After half a bowl of chicken soup, Jiang Anyi recovered some strength and looked at his sister Yan'er staring at the bowl and swallowing saliva. The little left at the bottom of the bowl could no longer be drunk. Jiang Huang fed the remaining spoons to his daughter, tucked the sheets for Jiang Anyi, gave a few words, and took the bowl out of the house.

Yan'er "clicked" her mouth, stretched out her tongue and licked her lips a few times, exhaled with satisfaction, and lay on the head of the bed, saying, "The chicken soup is so sweet. My mother said that when you get into the scholar, we can eat meat often like Xiuxiu's family. Brother, when will you pass the scholar?"

Jiang Anyi was speechless. At the age of six, he followed his father's enlightenment and passed the mansion examination at the age of twelve, he became a child. He was once called a "little prodigy". He was determined to study hard for several years and passed the scholar's exam. Unexpectedly, his father died of illness and left behind his widowed mother and brother and sister. He was supposed to farm and support his family, but his mother insisted on letting him study, renting ten acres of land in his family for others, relying on weaving bamboo baskets and bamboo brooms to subsidize the family's income.

When my younger brother was ten years old, he helped the villagers herd cattle, chop wood, and do some small work. He could eat a meal or two outside to relieve the burden on the family. Look at my younger sister, her hair was sparse and her patched coat was empty. She was almost seven years old and was stronger than Xiuxiu, who was six years old in the neighbor's house.

My heart was as if my head was stormed, and the headache came again. Jiang Anyi closed his eyes tiredly. Yan'er obediently returned to the medicine stove and fanned her. Her brother had woken up. Yan'er's heart was cheerful. The fan was fanned quickly. The ashes of the stove were raised and floating, just like the kite that the children in the town...

As the surroundings calmed down, Jiang Anyi recalled the situation of lightning strike: when he returned home from the county town, he encountered heavy rain on the road, and sheltered from the rain under the trees, and a sharp flash struck him down. Strangely, why did there be more things in his memory, towering buildings, monsters flying with smoke, and big monsters flew across the sky. Is this the Immortal Palace or the Underworld?

I heard from the old people that in ancient times, there were scholars who sheltered from rain in deserted temples, and the demon fox entrusted them to hide from thunder and escape from the disaster. It is said that the scholar was Wenqu Star who came down to earth, and the Thunder God dared not hurt it, so the demon fox was able to take refuge. Could it be that he was Wenqu Star who came down to earth, but he didn't see anything when hiding under a tree?

There are clearly something in my body that I have these strange memories. However, this thing is not a good person. I often change my clothes and kill people, use fists and legs, weapons, and a kind of fire-breathing monster. It is bitter. In the story, the foxes will repay their kindness, while the demons will only harm people. Not only will they be afraid of themselves, but they will also implicate their family. I must never tell others that there are demons in their bodies, otherwise the catastrophe will be in front of me.

……………………

Half a month later, Jiang Anyi was staggering in her yard, and Yan'er followed her carefully, making her brother's crutch. Jiang Huang leaned against the door frame and weaving a bamboo basket. Seeing that it was getting late, he muttered: "It's so late, why haven't Yong'er come back yet?" He said, and got up to prepare supper.

The sky was gloomy and it was raining. There were few people walking on the street. A young man ran quickly along the bluestone slab in the middle of the street. A broken hole in his right sleeve fluttered in the air like a small flag as he walked.

Yan'er had already smiled and rushed to the fence door, shouting at the boy in the distance: "Second brother."

The boy ran to the door and habitually reached out to rub Yan'er's head. Yan'er turned her head and stared at the broken piece of clothes on Jiang Anyong's arm. She said angrily, "Second brother is not good, he is fighting with someone again. I want to tell my mother."

Jiang Anyong made a face and signaled Yan'er to whisper softly. He hurriedly took out a lotus leaf bag from his arms and handed it to Yan'er in a flattering manner. He opened the lotus leaf and wrapped it in it. The green lotus leaf set against the snow-white steamed bun, which was particularly tempting. Yan'er exclaimed, grabbed the steamed bun and forgot about the others.

Jiang Anyi looked at the bruises on his younger brother's face and frowned and did not speak. The elder brother was like his father. Jiang Anyong was a little afraid of his brother. He subconsciously touched the pain on his cheeks and explained with a silly smile: "Erniu and the others are talking bad about me. I was so angry that I argued with them for a few words, it would not hurt."

Looking at Jiang Anyi's short, black and thin brother, a burst of sorrow appeared in his heart, and anger rose in his chest, which made him both angry that Erniu was rude and hated that he was incompetent.

"Brother, what's wrong with you?" Yan'er exclaimed: "The face looks so ugly. Has it got sick?"

"It's okay," Jiang Anyi gently patted Yan'er's head, smiled on her face, and said to her brother softly: "Take off the clothes and I'll help you repair them."

A square table of pine wood was placed in the middle of a plate of boiled shepherd's purse, without oil, and looked dry. A large bowl was filled with several boiled taro. Jiang Huang's middle was Jiang Anyi on the left, Jiang Anyong on the right, and Jiang Huayan knelt on the bench below. A bowl of millet porridge in front of each person. The porridge was as clear as a mirror, which was the dinner of the Jiang family.

Large pieces of oily meat, scorched roast duck, fragrant roast chicken, prawns about a foot long, shells with long noses, and picturesque pastries. This is the memory of the demon, which is confusing my mood. Jiang Anyi quickly recited "Taishang Laojun", "Amitabha Buddha", "Amitabha Buddha", and "Guanyin Bodhisattva", and invited all the gods and Buddhas they knew, and the "evil thought" slowly disappeared.

He sipped the porridge and ate a bite of taro, and imagined it was a very roasted pork. Jiang Anyi ate it with relish, but when he stretched out his chopsticks, he found that the bowl was empty.

"For you, brother", Yan'er giggled and handed over the one bite in her hand. Jiang Anyi blushed and shook her head.

Jiang Huang stopped chopsticks and smiled and said, "Mom has forgotten Yi'er. Yong'er has grown up and has a longer appetite. I'll cook more tomorrow. Yan'er just ate steamed buns, so you can eat them."

After dinner, an oil lamp was placed on the table, and Jiang Anyi studied hard under the lamp as usual. Jiang Huang weaved bamboo baskets beside him, and Jiang Anyong squatted on the ground to break the bamboo pieces into bamboo silk. After Yan'er waited for him to break it, she carefully placed the bamboo silk at her mother's hand.

The oil lamp emits a faint halo, soft and warm, and the figures of the family dissolve into a ball under the light.

Suddenly, Jiang Huang's hand shrank, put his finger in his mouth and sucked. Her mother's hand was pricked by bamboo thorns again, and Jiang Anyi knew that the hands were covered with holes of all sizes. He lifted the lamp a little, and Jiang Anyi quietly moved the lamp to his mother's side, and the room was brighter.

Jiang Anyi's mind was hard to concentrate. He always thought of the holes in his mother's hand, which were as bloody as pricking on his heart, painful and suppressing. It seemed that there were many ways to make money in the demon's memory, so they borrowed it for use. He didn't seek wealth. As long as he could ensure that the family had no worries about food and clothing, his mother and brother would not have to work so hard, and he could study with peace of mind.

"Yi'er, why don't you study?" My mother's voice sounded in my ears, and Jiang Anyi quickly lowered his head to continue reading, "...Zi Lu said angryly, "Is there a gentleman also poor?" The master said, "A gentleman is poor, but a villain is poor and a villain is poor."

The Master warned scholars to be content with poverty and stick to their virtues. Only villains will do whatever they want because of poverty. Jiang Anyi was shocked. This demon was hidden in me and was tempting me at all times. I must stick to my original intention, not take advantage of it by demons, and not give him the opportunity to do evil.

So, Jiang Anyi chanted softly and firmly: "A gentleman is poor, but a villain is poor and he is indiscriminate." He calmed down again in the expectant eyes of his family.
Chapter completed!