The autumn wind blew every cloud away in the sky.
"Do you feel better?" Doctor Liu put the bowl with medicine on the table and looked at the boy curling up in the quilt.
"Much better. Thank you." Yun Qing sounded better. He lifted the quilt and sit up, asking, "Where is A Mang?"
Doctor Liu looked at Yun Qing who was just as ordinary as any other child except his unopened eyes.
"Your eyes…" Doctor Liu asked.
"Those bad guys found A Mang was strong so they wanted to poison him in the water." The child startled for a second and answered, "But A Mang was too strong to be influenced. As for me, I cannot hold the poison and become blind gradually."
Doctor Liu noticed that he talked about it in a peaceful way, which was quite weird. Who knew what was hidden in his peaceful expression and closed eyes? The burly man looked crazy all the time because he felt danger. In fact, the weak child was actually at the death's door. But the child was totally the opposite of the burly man. He is not anxious at all. Everything he did was appropriate, from escape to seeking for help.
When Doctor Liu was wondering, Yun Qing jumped down the bed and walked towards the door.
"Wait! What are you doing?" Doctor Liu was shocked and stopped him.
"I am going for A Mang." Yun Qing said naturally with childishness.
"You can't go."
"Why?" Yun Qing raised his head confusedly, with his eyes closed.
"Because…" Doctor Liu could not tell the reason. He had not got any instruction from Leader Song, so it is inappropriate for him to let Yun Qing go.
"I will go find A Mang." Yun Qing saw he could not tell the reason and ran outside without hesitation.
But he dashed against someone.
"What's wrong?" Leader Song frowned, hit by Yun Qing.
"I will go find A Mang." Yun Qing rubbed his forehead and said, "We must continue our trip."
"Answer my questions first." Leader Song looked up and down on Yun Qing and said seriously.
Yun Qing nodded, "OK. What question?"
"Where are you from? What are you doing?"
Yun Qing answered without thinking, "I come from a little village in the southern Million Mountains. Its name is Yun's Village. I went out to find my father."
"Your father?" Leader Song frowned.
"My father works in an official's house in the capital. I want to visit him so I took A Mang with me." Yun Qing was still clam, which was weird but natural as well.
"So did you run away from your home?"
Yun Qing looked surprised, "of course not. My father is my only family. How can it count as running away?"
Leader Song could not find any flaw in his expression so he had to let him go.
Yun Qing went for A Mang happily. But the two men in the tent shared a worried look.
"Isn't the Million Mountain…? How can there be village?" Doctor Liu talked like it's a taboo.
"But he doesn't look like lying. Maybe it's a village near the mountains. After all, children know little about…" Leader Song ordered calmly, "Send them out and don't get in this business again."
"Yes, yes." Doctor Liu lowered his head. He knew that they should not get in touch with anything about the Million Mountains.
After lunch, A Mang and Yun Qing left from the north gate with full stomach.
The city was desolate and no one accompanied them. Yun Qing ride a mule sent by Leader Song privately, followed by A Mang.
When they were about to reach the official road, they heard an old man's voice, "wait a moment, little kid."
Yun Qing turned back and saw an old man in worn-out clothes waving to them, with a little tea pot on his hand. He is the Uncle Tea of the Nine Song City.
"What's wrong?" Yun Qing did not walk back. He only looked at the old man with his head tilted. A Mang repeated his behavior and tilted his head as well.
"I'd like to ask you, is everything right in…the Million Mountains?" Uncle Tea walked to them, squeezing his eyes.
Yun Qing smiled, "of course yes. Only the hunters hunt more for the winter, so the smell of blood is thicker."
The Uncle Tea sighed and shook his head. He looked at the smiling child and asked, "Don't you worry about food shortage in winter?"
"I will be in the capital in the winter. Why do I worry about the mountains?" Yun Qing kept smiling.
"Ai…you are right." Uncle Tea sighed again and handed the tiny tea pot, "One of you is blind and the other is dumb, it's not easy for you to go there. I'll send you this tea pot."
"How do you know that A Mang is dumb?" Yun Qing did not reach for the tea pot but asked.
Although the burly man cried all the way, he did not say a complete sentence. The Uncle Tea now pointed out that he was dumb.
"The capital is not a good place either. Be careful." The Uncle Tea did not answer him. He put the tea pot in A Mang's hand and left.
"Hahaha, interesting." Yun Qing touched A Mang's head which was lowered because A Mang was much taller than Yun Qing who was sitting on a mule.
"Let's go, A Mang. Hang this pot on your neck."
A ten-year-old child, a silly man and a slow mule walked towards the north.
The Nine Song City was like an isolate island in the south without any city or town around. Cities in the south were usually far away from each other. The northern cities were more prosperous. Yun Qing and A Mang walked on the mountain road, not seeing any flat official road.
They were walking on a small mountain outside Flower City, with A Mang first and Yun Qing following.
The autumn has come. The tips of leaves were turning red, while the leaf roots were still green. The red and green made the grove full of vigor.
It only took a moment to replace the vigor with killing intension.
A man in white stood on the branch and fell down towards Yun Qing. His expression was stiff without any intelligence but killing intent.
Yun Qing seemed to be unaware of it, with smile on his face.
Along with a loud sound, the attacker was stopped by A Mang who was knocked out for a distance. After destroying several hundred-old trees, A Mang stood up blankly, uninjured.
"Are you OK, A Mang?" Yun Qing jumped down from the mule and hid in the shadow of trees.
The attacker's neck was grabbed by A Mang. He could not get rid of A Mang's hand who was trying to kill him. If he was an ordinary man, his neck might have been broken. However, without any change of expression, the man in white took out a little cup and rubbed it. After a flash, the attacker disappeared.
"I will spare you if you give it back!" At the next moment, he showed up in front of Yun Qing and seized him by the throat. His plain tone made other' hairs stand on end.
Yun Qing coughed painfully but talked with smile, "do people from the Million Mountains only greet with the same sentence?"
"I will spare you if you give it back!"
The man in white strengthened his force. Yun Qing looked more painful, but he still smiled, "you stupid thing, do you know how many of your companions have been killed by me?"
A glaze cup appeared in Yun Qing's hand. Without much movement, he disappeared from the attacker's hand in the same way as the attacker disappeared from A Mang's hand.
The attacker in white did not react in time. When he saw Yun Qing again, a huge figure stood in front of him. A Mang had angry expression on his foolish face. He shouted painfully and tore the man's arms from his body with bare hands.
"A Mang." Yun Qing frowned when he smelt the blood.
A Mang was flustered. He broke the cup and stepped on the attacker's head heavily.
"Let's go." Yun Qing rode on the stunned mule and covered his mouth, coughing, "or we will be caught again."
The body of the attacker disappeared bit by bit under the leaves.
A Mang's expression became peaceful gradually. He followed the mule quickly, foolish as usual. Not a hint of a killer's expression could be found.