The surging river quickly pulled Xiao Liu's body underwater.
He remained unconscious, allowing himself to drift downstream with the current.
Xiao Liu felt nothing, only a muddled head, his mind alternating between black and white, or perhaps flashes of lightning and thunder, with fragmented memories flickering through his mind.
"Rumble..."
"Then you will take your mother's surname and be called Lu An."
Mother?
Who is this woman with such a pleasant voice?
Gurgle... In the rolling river, Xiao Liu felt this scene was very familiar, as if amidst these chaotic images, he had once encountered the same situation.
Memory fragments continued to flash, and suddenly, in one image, he saw a burst of light.
This light was beneath the river water, starting as a mere pinpoint, then growing larger and larger, enveloping him.
"If there's a next life, and you're still willing to be my child, I will definitely take good care of you..."
It was that woman's voice again. Who is this woman? I've never heard her before!
Xiao Liu tried hard to think, to see the woman's face, but everything in the image was too blurry; he couldn't see anything clearly.
He could only hear that it was a night of changing weather and torrential rain.
Following that, he completely lost consciousness.
When Xiao Liu woke up, he was lying beside a small river.
The sunlight was glaring, and he turned his head, wanting to shield his eyes with his hand, but felt a sharp pain throughout his body.
"Hiss..." Xiao Liu couldn't help but gasp, then endured the pain to stand up, slowly stretching his limbs.
As a slave, Xiao Liu, though never bought by any family, had been working since he was four.
He played with the rich children at the docks, let them ride him like a horse, spent a whole day in the dock water just to hold a pole, and had been beaten countless times until his skin was torn.
He had never known what hardship was since childhood, only how to quickly adapt to his environment.
After moving, he felt much more comfortable and couldn't help but sigh in relief.
But then, as if remembering something, his face instantly turned ugly.
Father, Mother, they're all dead...
Xiao Liu felt a pain in his heart, a pain so intense it made him unable to stand, and he knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
He still remembered that he seemed to have killed those murderers, although he forgot how he did it, he remembered that those people were all dead.
However, even if those people died ten thousand times, they couldn't bring his parents back.
He hated, hated why his parents had to suffer such a fate!
Just as Xiao Liu was crying, several people suddenly appeared from the riverside woods.
These people were very young, appearing to be only sixteen years old or so.
They were dressed luxuriously, clearly from wealthy families.
And in the midst of these men, surrounded by them, was a beautiful woman.
This woman was very beautiful, her eyes bright, making her seem Spirit Monster-like and opinionated.
Her lips were painted with red lipstick, and being surrounded by these men, she clearly appeared somewhat arrogant and proud.
The group walked forward, chatting and laughing, when one of the boys said, "Xiao Ling, formal schooling starts tomorrow, and it's likely we won't be able to be so carefree for the next few years.
How about we go to the Wine Fragrance Tower tonight and drink until we drop?"
"Yes, yes, let's drink until we drop tonight and have a blast!" The other boys quickly agreed, excited and thinking it was a great idea.
"Hmph, dreaming!" The girl referred to as 'Xiao Ling' glanced at the surrounding boys and said, "Do you think I don't know what you guys are thinking?
And don't call me Xiao Ling anymore; call me by my full name, got it?"
The boys around looked embarrassed, and the boy who had just suggested it quickly said, "Alright, alright, Chu Ling, it was my mistake..."
"Hmph!" The girl snorted and walked forward.
The boys quickly followed, afraid of falling behind the group.
Soon, after only a few steps, they discovered a boy kneeling on the ground, crying, ahead of them.
The boy wore the cheapest coarse linen clothes, like a sack cut open and thrown over him, or even worse.
His pants were also multicolored, and most of the color had faded, indicating they had been washed countless times.
His hair was also wet, making him look very disheveled.
These wealthy young people walked up to Xiao Liu, looking down at him, and couldn't help but curiously examine him.
Especially the young woman, after observing him for a while, a scornful smile appeared on her face, and she said, "Although he's young, crying like that, he's hardly a man, is he?
Don't you guys be like him; you'll never amount to anything later."
The other boys were already annoyed by the dirty boy in front of them, and upon hearing the girl's words, they quickly said, "How could we possibly cry like this person?
He has no masculinity at all; only trash cries!"
"His clothes are so ragged, do you think he might be a runaway slave?" one of them asked curiously.
Xiao Liu, who had been crying with his head down, suddenly widened his eyes upon hearing this.
"That's right!" another person suddenly realized, saying, "There have been quite a few runaway slaves lately.
Looking at him, what else could he be but a slave?"
"Hey! What's your name!" One of the boys suddenly said to Xiao Liu, raising his foot and stepping on Xiao Liu's back, "Whose slave are you?
A runaway slave, anyone has the right to kill!"
The boy pressed down with force, but just as he finished his last word, the boy beneath his foot suddenly pushed his foot away, struggled fiercely to stand up, and then, without even lifting his head, frantically ran into the woods!
The boy was almost knocked down, but was supported by someone next to him and regained his balance.
Everyone laughed at him, loudly saying, "Look at you, even a child almost knocked you over.
No, even a slave almost knocked you over, hahahaha..."
Listening to the mockery from the surrounding boys, the boy's face turned ashen, and he looked hatefully at the slave who had already disappeared, his eyes gleaming with malicious light.
He hadn't expected to be outsmarted by a slave; this was an enormous humiliation!
"He's just a slave; I will definitely find him and tear him to shreds!" The boy gritted his teeth and said viciously.
"Then you can take your time looking.
With your family's power, finding a slave in Starfire City shouldn't be difficult.
When you find him, let us know; we'll come watch the fun too!" The other boys said with a laugh.
"Enough! A slave is enough for you to discuss for so long." Just as the boys were laughing, the young woman's delicate eyebrows furrowed, and she said, "I'm not interested in walking any further.
Let's go back to the city!"
With that, the young woman walked back without looking back, leaving the boys to look at each other, but they quickly followed.
Xiao Liu had been running wildly in the mountains and forests, as if tireless, running and running.
He was afraid, afraid that he would be recognized as a runaway slave, in which case his fate would be incredibly tragic.
If a slave ran away, even a normal execution was a luxury.
Due to fear, Xiao Liu ran desperately.
He had no shoes and could only run barefoot on the ground.
Even though the forest floor was covered with branches and broken stones, cutting his feet and making them bleed, he paid no mind.
Pain was better than death.
However, Xiao Liu, who was only focused on running, did not notice that every cut on his skin from the branches healed rapidly at a visible rate within a short time.
Xiao Liu kept running and running; even he didn't know how long he had been running, even after he had run out of the forest.
He was afraid of being caught by those wealthy young people, and he kept running until nightfall when he saw a city in front of him.
The city was very large, and the city walls were very, very high.
Xiao Liu's previous hard labor only involved road construction, and he had never entered a city before.
Just as Xiao Liu stopped, he suddenly heard a sound behind him.
His heart trembled, fearing that those people were chasing him, and he quickly ran towards the city gate!
Soon, he arrived at the magnificent city gate.
The city gate was a full ten zhang high, and Xiao Liu felt tiny standing beneath it.
He looked up and couldn't help but be stunned.
Starfire City?
Not Tianmu City? Then where is this?
But fearing that those wealthy young people would catch up, he looked at the people entering the city around him and quickly followed them, preparing to enter.
There were guards at the city gate, and they would question and search everyone entering the city.
Xiao Liu frowned at this scene, looked around, took a deep breath, lowered his head, and slipped into the crowd, letting the adults around him shield him so he could sneak in.
Closer.
Even closer.
Xiao Liu successfully hid in the crowd, getting closer and closer to the city gate, seeing it right in front of him!
"Hey, you, kid, come out!"
A sudden furious shout instantly shattered Xiao Liu's hope.
Xiao Liu immediately stood still and looked to his left, following the sound.
He saw a soldier with a long saber at his waist stride over, coming in front of Xiao Liu, frowning as he looked up and down at the shabbily dressed Xiao Liu, and loudly asked, "Where are you from?
Why do you want to enter the city?"
Xiao Liu's heart trembled, his brows furrowed slightly, and after slowly blinking, he said, "I'm from out of town.
My family thought I could work, so I came here to stay with a relative."
The soldier listened to the answer, looking down at the child in front of him repeatedly.
The child spoke without any hesitation, and his expression showed no panic.
Although he felt the child looked like a slave, he didn't believe such a young child could lie so well.
"Go on!" The soldier waved his hand and said loudly.
Xiao Liu breathed a sigh of relief, but his face still wore a forced smile, and he strode into the city.
However, Xiao Liu had barely taken a few steps when a voice came from behind him again.
"Wait!" The soldier shouted again.
Xiao Liu's body stiffened, and he turned to face the soldier, asking with a smile, "What is it?"
"What's your name?" The soldier scrutinized the child carefully and asked loudly.
Xiao Liu's heart skipped a beat.
As a runaway slave, it was very likely that someone was looking for him, and he absolutely couldn't say his name was Xiao Liu.
But if not Xiao Liu, what name could he come up with on the spot?
"Speak! What's your name!" The soldier shouted, "Have you even forgotten your own name?"
Hearing the soldier's reprimand, Xiao Liu's heart trembled, and he subconsciously blurted out, "Lu An!"
As the words left his mouth, both the soldier and Xiao Liu were stunned.
Then, Xiao Liu revealed a genuine smile and said, "My name is Lu An."
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