After getting the hero's knife, Zheng Ming worked hard to gather the Star Weave Grass. Every evening, he would bring a bowl of brown rice and a basin of water to Ding Meng. Relying on this little bit of food and water, Ding Meng rested for half a month before he recovered.
Walking out of the shack, he realized that this place was in a narrow and quiet valley. Blue Star Weave Grass was planted all over the mountain. Zheng Ming made a living by gathering the grass every day.
Next to the shack was a dilapidated cowshed made of wood. There was no cow in the cowshed, but Uncle Niu lived there.
Because Zheng Ming didn't know what Uncle Niu's name was, he just called him Uncle Niu. Uncle Niu was also an old refugee in ragged clothes. According to Zheng Ming, when he came here, Uncle Niu was already living here. Uncle Niu didn't go out all day, only coming out in the evening. He would curl up at the door, facing the vast sky and gently play a tune with a green bone leaf.
The reason he curled up was because Uncle Niu's left leg had been severed, and he could not stand normally. As for how his leg was severed, Uncle Niu never talked about it, and Ding Meng never dared to ask because Uncle Niu had a very strange temper.
He never paid any attention to Ding Meng and Zheng Ming. No matter how hard Ding Meng and the others worked, no matter how tired they were, Uncle Niu would always leave the house punctually at dusk. He only had one thing to do, and that was to ask Zheng Ming for wine.
Wine was an extremely luxurious thing for poor people like them at the border. Even the lowest quality wine sold at the market required Zheng Ming to gather two hours of Star Weave Grass every day and carry it back to town to exchange for a small bottle.
It was because of this small bottle that Zheng Ming was never stingy in exchanging it for Uncle Niu every day, no matter the weather, no matter the weather, and he never complained.
Uncle Niu had a low tolerance for alcohol. Every time he finished drinking, he would slowly play a tune to the sky. The tune was very beautiful, and Ding Meng listened to it many times. Slowly, he learned how to play it as well.
He played the song better than Uncle Niu, but he still did not know the name of the song. Once, while Uncle Niu was drinking, Ding Meng plucked up his courage and approached him. "Uncle Niu, you play this song every day. What is the name of this song?"
Uncle Niu was usually a man of few words, but he made an exception this time. "Why are you asking for his name?"
Ding Meng said thoughtfully, "I always feel that this song is very sad, but also full of nostalgia, just like … just like returning to my hometown."
Uncle Niu glanced at him and said calmly, "The name of this song is' The Original Scenery of Hometown '."
Ding Meng suddenly understood. "No wonder!"
Uncle Niu asked, "Where is your hometown?"
Ding Meng scratched his head and said, "At the Colorful Cloud Plating on the southern border."
"Oh!" Uncle Niu did not ask any more questions. After he finished drinking, he played a song as usual and then returned to the shed to rest.
However, after this time, he no longer played 'The Original Scenery of Hometown'. Instead, he played all kinds of songs, cheerful, heroic, sad, elegant … There were moving and elegant songs of the Da Sheng Kingdom, and there were also songs of the nomads of the Demon Kingdom outside the realm … Anyway, no matter what he played, Ding Meng always learned it very quickly.
"Uncle Niu, you know so many songs. You must have been to many places, right?" Ding Meng asked again.
Uncle Niu still ignored him. He continued to do things his own way. He went out on time in the evening, curled up his crippled body and drank slowly. After he finished playing, he climbed back into the shed to rest.
This person was really strange, so strange that it was scary. However, Ding Meng was not afraid of him. In fact, Ding Meng even felt that Uncle Niu was somewhat close to him.
Winter slowly passed, and the bright and beautiful spring finally arrived. On an evening with lingering spring rain, Uncle Niu played the song for a long time after he finished drinking. The song that night was especially sad. There was an indescribable sadness in the song, which made people unable to control themselves for a long time.
Ding Meng, who was lying on a pile of straw, listened to the song for most of the night. He suddenly felt that Uncle Niu must have experienced something very painful in his life, which was why he was willing to stay in this desolate place and pass the time with wine and songs all day long.
He could live without eating, but perhaps he was alive because of this small bottle of inferior wine every evening.
"What do you live for?" Uncle Niu would occasionally ask this kind of question suddenly.
Zheng Mingzheng came back with rice and noodles. He always had a positive attitude. "Uncle Niu, if we don't work hard, you won't be able to get your next meal."
Uncle Niu ignored him. He turned his head and said, "Ding Meng, what about you?"
Ding Meng smiled bitterly. "I have to live, and I have to live well. Only then will I be worthy of those people!"
He thought of the little girl, the Protector of the People, Ding Wenhe, and his friends who had frozen to death in the ice and snow. Without these people's generosity and righteousness, Ding Meng would not exist in this world.
Uncle Niu picked up the bottle of wine. "Would you like to have a sip?"
Ding Meng shook his head. "I can't drink!"
Uncle Niu snorted coldly. "You are a real man. If you can't even drink, how can you live?"
Zheng Mingzheng rushed up, grabbed the bottle of wine and took a sip. Then, he started coughing violently.
Uncle Niu glanced at the two little guys and said no more. He slowly drank the rest of the wine, played a fisherman's song, and climbed back into the shed.
Ding Meng looked at Zheng Mingzheng's crooked body with sympathy in his eyes. He finally understood why Zheng Mingzheng worked so hard every day and insisted on buying a small bottle of wine for Uncle Niu.
If you were old and had no family or friends, and could only live out the rest of your life alone, what would you think?
Would you be able to live on?
The days went on, and soon, summer arrived. Midsummer was the most suitable season for Star Weave Grass to grow. Zheng Mingzheng bought a new batch of seeds from town. Because Ding Meng was helping him, he decided to expand the Star Weave Grass and sell it in town. He would get a batch of food to store for them during the most difficult winter.
This patch of Star Weave Grass was the foundation of their livelihood. Zheng Mingzheng had always cultivated the grass well.
"Uncle Niu, you only drink wine every day and don't eat. Are you an Origin Energy user?" Ding Meng finally asked this question.
Uncle Niu was surprised. "You know about Origin Energy users?"
"I don't know!"
Ding Meng shook his head. "When I was very young, I heard about Origin Energy users in the Caiyundu Village."
When he mentioned the Caiyundu Village, a complicated look flashed across Uncle Niu's eyes. "You've never seen an Origin Energy user before?"
Ding Meng still shook his head. "Our village was too poor. I heard that even the soldiers at the border weren't willing to go there, so we've never seen what an Origin Energy user looks like."
Uncle Niu's expression was somewhat absent-minded. After a long time, he sighed. "Being an ordinary person is actually quite good. If you really become an Origin Energy user, it might not be a good thing!"
"Why?" Ding Meng clearly didn't understand.
Uncle Niu said, "If you really become a warrior in the future, you'll realize that no matter how strong you are, there will always be someone stronger than you. The higher you climb, the harder you'll fall."
This time, Ding Meng understood. Uncle Niu had definitely been an Origin Energy user in the past. This leg of his must have been broken by someone. Ding Meng didn't know whether it was because he was disheartened or because he was running away from his enemies that he had ended up in this place.
Uncle Niu continued, "But ordinary people won't end up like this. They work hard their whole lives, willing to work hard without complaint. As long as they have something to eat, they'll be satisfied …"
As he said this, his gaze fell on the haystack in the distance. Zheng Ming was currently binding Star Weave Grass. Although Zheng Ming was working hard, he seemed to be very happy.
Uncle Niu sighed. "That's why being an ordinary person is quite good. At the very least, you won't do something as stupid as hitting a rock with an egg."
Ding Meng asked, "Why do you say that hitting a rock with an egg is stupid?"
Only a child like him could ask such a question. Uncle Niu glared at him. "Then if you smash an egg against a rock, do you think the rock will break, or do you think the egg will break?"
Ding Meng pondered for a moment and said, "No matter how hard a rock is, it's still dead. Although an egg is weak, it's still alive. A rock can only lie on the ground forever, but an egg can give birth to a chick. The chick will grow up sooner or later, and one day, it will be able to fly into the sky and trample the rock beneath its feet. I feel that an egg is still stronger."
Uncle Niu looked at him and didn't say anything for a long time.
From that day onwards, Uncle Niu suddenly stopped drinking. He would only play a simple tune in the evenings.
Zheng Ming was very surprised by this, but Uncle Niu didn't explain anything. He only called Ding Meng over. "Watch and see if you can understand."
He slowly raised his right hand, forming a knife-hand motion. Then, he slashed out at an extremely slow speed.
Ding Meng definitely couldn't understand it, but Zheng Ming seemed to have understood something. He also raised his knife-hand and slashed out with his palm.
Uncle Niu nodded, but also shook his head. Then, he crawled back.
This knife-hand motion seemed to have some kind of magic. Zheng Ming would do it every now and then. Even when he was working, he would use his hand to chop trees. After a long time, even Ding Meng had learned how to do it.
At this time, Ding Meng finally understood that Uncle Niu's demonstration was actually a simple yet profound martial technique. This was the Carp Leaping Over The Dragon Gate, the knife-hand motion.
Therefore, the two children waited for Uncle Niu to come out every evening. They took advantage of this short period of time to humbly ask him questions about their cultivation. Only at this time would Uncle Niu patiently teach them and become talkative.
"First of all, you need to exert force in your lower body. Then, you need to exert force from your waist. Then, you can stack the force on your elbow. Only in this way can you increase your attack power. Zheng Ming's movements are very correct. Ding Meng, you're still not proficient enough …"
"This knife-hand motion must be decisive. If the attack is not neutral, then you have to forcefully attack the opponent's shoulder and chest. From top to bottom, all the way to the opponent's feet. After landing, if the opponent still hasn't been defeated by you, then you have to escape …"
"Brother Zheng Ming, let's practice …"
"Okay, Brother Ding Meng, you've improved a lot …"
…
Seeing Zheng Ming and Ding Meng excitedly practicing martial techniques, a complicated look flashed across Uncle Niu's eyes. He didn't know whether his secret teaching of martial arts was a blessing or a curse for these two children.
He only saw the continuation of his life in these two children. He was once so naive and happy, and also worked hard. He didn't want these two children to fall into his situation when they were old.