Chapter Five: The Brookside Boy

  Fortunately, although the spring water is cold, it becomes clear and sweet after flowing slowly into the small stream.

  It was summer, and at noon, nine naked boys of seven or eight years old were playing in a small stream about two or three miles downstream from the spring. The water had lost its chill by this point, and there were even some small shrimp and fish swimming in it.

  The creek water was only two feet deep, barely reaching the waist of a small child. Several children, with their upper body and face covered in black and yellow mud, only revealing a pair of clear black and white eyes, were obviously using the mud to defend against the scorching sun. (According to the Zhou Qin measurement units, one zhang is equal to ten chi, and one chi is approximately equal to 23 centimeters.)

  On both banks of the small stream, a few crooked willow trees grew along the creek, their shadows swaying gently, and from time to time, the clear shouts of children could be heard amidst the chirping of cicadas.

  Looking closely, at a narrower point in the stream, several children were building a simple dam using sand, stones, mud, branches and grass. As the dam was about to be completed, the water flow slowed down and gradually rose above the children's necks. The children couldn't help but chirp and shout with joy, one by one slipping into the dam like loaches, their little heads bobbing up and down in the stream.

  In the distance, on a small path, there were more than a dozen children wearing colorful shirts and pants, laughing and playing as they ran towards us. Looking behind them, it was in the direction of Wangzhuang Village. These children were also around 7 or 8 years old. The leader was an eleven or twelve-year-old boy wearing a red shirt.

  This child was a head taller than the other little ones, with a black braid that shook back and forth as he jumped up and down. He had a clear and delicate face, red lips and white teeth, and around his neck hung a silver necklace as thick as a small finger.

  As the group of children approached the stream, a thin and weak boy with an upper body as red as a ripe fruit and wearing a yellowish-brown shorts suddenly jumped out from the grass and blocked their way. The child in red raised his hand, and the people behind him immediately stopped in their tracks.

  "Hey, Skinny Monkey! What did you find out? Are those kids from Cold Spring Village playing at the old spot today? Is that Water Born troublemaker there?" The little boy in red clothes asked excitedly as he jumped out, his face showing a hint of tension when mentioning "Water Born", and the other children behind him stopped their playful fighting, all looking towards Skinny Monkey who was blocking the way.

  The thin monkey smiled, revealing a few scattered teeth, and said with a flattering tone: "Don't worry, Young Master Long. I didn't see any Water Births, only Big Cow and eight other little ones building dams over there."

  The red-clothed youngster suddenly felt a sense of relief in his heart, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he turned to face the people behind him and said: "Did you hear that? Ha ha! Since that scoundrel Waters isn't here, we don't need to play around downstream anymore. Let's just charge forward and wipe out those little brats' arrogance, vent some of our pent-up anger!"

  The little boy behind him suddenly rubbed his fists and palms, the crowd was excited, and they shouted loudly. From the words of the people, it seemed that the children from Hanshui Village who built a dam in the stream had fought several times before, but because of a child named "Shuisheng", they never had an advantage!

  The red-clothed child waved his hand, and the crowd immediately stopped shouting. He pointed to three slightly sturdier children among them and said: "Erci, Huzaizi, Gouwa, you three listen up! Later, just use your strength to hold onto the big cow, so it can't move. The rest will be taken care of by us. If we really get our revenge, when we return, I'll treat you three to those pastries bought from town."

  "Don't worry, Young Master Long. I'll take care of holding onto the big cow. If it dares to struggle free, I'll bite it." A dark-skinned, spirited little boy with a loud voice, puffed out his chest and swung his small fist, saying this in a coarse tone that belied his tender years.

  Two other children, of average height, with similar eyebrows and eyes, all with a head full of ringworm, heard that there were "dim sum" to eat, and their eyes showed a look of longing, involuntarily licking their lips. One of the children said: "Erbao brother is right, if the big cow doesn't obey, I'll bite him!" Another person echoed in agreement. Looking at the two children, they seemed to be a pair of twin brothers.

  The boy in red nodded in satisfaction, his eyes scanning the group of children. He raised his right arm and said with a flourish, "Alright, from now on, let's not make a sound. We'll sneak up on him and catch him off guard!" Turning around, he led the way, taking large strides forward. The other children stopped their chatter and followed quickly, even lightening their footsteps.

  In the creek, it's already a different scene. The little kids are floating and playing in the water, from time to time one of them would dive down to the riverbed to grab a handful of mud, quietly waiting for their companion to surface, then suddenly smearing it on their head and face. Before they even open their eyes, they themselves have already dived back into the water and disappeared. Or else they'd grab onto their companion's ankle or press down on their head, making it impossible for them to surface. They're playing with gleeful abandon.

  A little boy from Hanshui Village just poked his head out of the water, but saw a group of red-clothed children coming with a loud noise. His eyes widened and he shouted: "Big Bull Brother, Wang Long that rascal is here again!"

  In the river, water splashed everywhere. The children all ran to the shallow part of the water and stood up one by one, casting their eyes on a boy with a red face and black hair, thick eyebrows and big eyes. After playing in the water for a while, the mud that had been stuck to their bodies was washed away, revealing their smooth skin.

  The little boy in front, strings of crystal clear water droplets fell from his small body, looked at the red-clothed children rushing over, not only was he not afraid, but a spark of excitement flashed in his eyes, took a step forward and blocked the way for the other children. He smiled with a sneer on his face and said loudly: "Wang Long, you loser, instead of staying downstream to drink my wash water, you dare to run up here, do you think having more people means you can win? First eat a rock from me!"

  Before the words had fallen, he quickly bent down and picked up a stone the size of an egg from the creek water, shook his hand and threw it out. The smooth pebble drew an arc in the air, heading straight for the little boy in red, with incredible accuracy.

  Just as he was about to be hit by the stone, Wang Long's face showed a hint of anger, and he let out a hum, his footsteps slightly swaying, jumping into the roadside grass. His movements were agile, as if he had practiced martial arts.

  A stone hit the ground with a loud "thud", kicking up a cloud of dust. The big cow secretly regretted it, lifted its right hand, put its thumb and middle finger to its mouth, took a deep breath, and blew out a long, clear whistle that echoed far away.

  At the sound of the whistle, Wang Long's face changed, and he saw that the little boys from Wang Zhuang had already rushed over, shouting loudly: "Brothers, quickly, give me a good beating, don't wait for him to call that scoundrel Water Birth."

  A group of children shouted and rushed into the small stream, with Er Zhuang and Ma Daren taking the lead, followed closely by Hu Zi and Gou Wa. The three of them charged towards the big cow separately. The big cow was not afraid at all and went forward to meet them.

  The children all found their opponents and started wrestling with each other, splashing water everywhere. The air was filled with the sounds of shrieking, laughter, and crying, creating a lively atmosphere. Even the cicadas on the old willow tree by the stream stopped chirping and flew away in a flurry.

  Wang Long looked at his relatively clean red shirt, gazed at the murky creek water that had been stirred up by the commotion, furrowed his brow, and climbed alone onto a large rock on the riverbank. With his hands on his hips, he shouted repeatedly, directing the children of Wang Village in an orderly manner.

  The children of Hanshui Village, although outnumbered, were not afraid. Especially the big cow in the middle, surrounded by five children, was much stronger than the others. With eyes wide open, it punched and kicked with its fists and feet. In no time, the five children surrounding it had their noses blue and faces swollen. If not for Erzhuan's arms tightly wrapped around the big cow's waist, it would have probably broken free long ago.

  The dog held onto the left arm of the big cow with all its might, seeing that the five people were joining forces and still couldn't gain the upper hand, it lowered its head and bit down on the big cow's armpit.

  The horn marks were deeply imprinted on the flesh, and fresh blood oozed out. The big cow let out a painful cry of "ah", and its empty right arm withdrew with force, striking its elbow heavily between the second pillar's chest and abdomen. The second pillar was in pain, and its arms relaxed, releasing the cow from its grip. The freed cow kicked its foot into the tiger's belly, which had pounced forward, causing it to stumble backward and fall onto the water dam. The small water dam, which had been built with great difficulty, collapsed and fell apart, and the creek water that had gathered flowed away quickly.

  The big ox pulled the dog wa, which was biting his left arm and wouldn't let go, towards his chest with great force. His right fist flew out quickly, "bang, bang, bang" three punches later, the dog wa fell to the ground by the river creek, wailing loudly, its small face covered in tears, nosebleed, and blurred vision, a tooth also knocked out, fresh blood flowing from its mouth.

  The two other children standing around were shocked and retreated backward. The big cow glanced at the two, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes, but he didn't chase them. Instead, he bent down to pick up two egg-shaped stones from the creek, shook off one and threw it at Wang Long on the big rock by the creek.

  Just as the boulder was about to hit him, Wang Long had no choice but to jump down from the rock and angrily shouted: "Zhou Daniu, you stubborn fool! If you have the guts, come up here and see how I'll deal with you!" Crouching down, he had just touched a stone when he was about to stand up and counterattack. His gaze inadvertently swept towards the road by the stream, but suddenly his hair stood on end, his face turned pale, and he jumped into the water, shouting: "Wolf! There's a wolf, run!"

  Just as the big cow was about to throw out another stone, it suddenly stopped, its gaze turned towards the small path by the stream, and its face changed color, its heart suddenly tightening.

  On the road behind the giant stone where Wang Long was standing, a robust gray wolf with a height of five feet and a body length of seven feet was standing at this time. Behind the gray wolf, a dense thicket swayed and four smaller gray wolves crawled out silently, looking like a mother wolf with four cubs.

  The leading mother wolf bared her teeth, her tawny eyes gleaming with ferocity as she scanned the children in the creek. Her long red tongue lolled out of her mouth, and she scratched the ground lightly with one paw before springing forward, pouncing on Wang Long who had jumped into the creek. Four grey wolves followed close behind her.

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