Chapter 8 Brothers (5)

  Li Yang saw two middle-aged men rush out of the ground and quickly ran towards him.

  "Run quickly!" Li Yang shouted loudly at Li Lie who was somewhat stunned.

  At this time, some frightened Li Lie heard that he immediately hugged Taizi and ran up the mountain, while Li Yang quickly drilled out from under the fence.

  Li Lie ran forward and saw Li Yang also quickly crawling out, his tense heart slightly relieved. However, just as Li Yang crawled out, the sturdy man suddenly emerged from under the fence and grabbed Li Lie. After all, he was just a child, and after being slapped hard on the ear, Li Yang had no strength to resist a middle-aged man, regardless of their differences in any aspect.

  After seeing Li Yang being caught, Li Lie immediately became tense. The pressed-down Li Yang loudly shouted to Li Lie: "Run quickly! Run quickly!"

  Li Lie wanted to go back and save his brother, but when he saw the other middle-aged man rushing towards him, all his thoughts turned into wanting to escape in that instant. He thought it was because of Taozi that they came to catch him and Li Yang. So Li Lie ran while throwing away the peaches one by one, crying and shouting:

  "Leave me alone, leave me alone, I'll return everything to you."

  But when he turned around, seeing the middle-aged man shouting and chasing after him, a glimmer of hope was immediately shattered, and he ran forward with all his might.

  After Li Yang was slapped twice, the middle-aged man kept scolding him as a thief's child. Li Yang only cared about his brother's safety and kept shouting loudly to Li Lie to run quickly. If his voice could make Li Lie run faster, he would rather keep shouting. When he saw Li Lie slowly pulling away from the middle-aged man behind him, his worried heart finally calmed down.

  "What are you laughing at? You dare to laugh after stealing from me?" The middle-aged man became enraged upon seeing Li Yang's smile, and then slapped him again.

  Li Yang, who had been slapped in the face, almost fell to the ground, but he immediately straightened up and stared fiercely at the man's eyes, just like a wounded wolf, his eyes unblinking, his body tense, trying to stand even straighter.

  "Son of a... You still dare to disobey me?" The middle-aged man glared at Little Li Yang's eyes.

  "I picked eight peaches for you, and you slapped me four times. That's enough, what more do you want?" Li Yang suddenly found the courage to shout loudly at the middle-aged man.

  "Damn it, you're stealing and still have the nerve? Someone's born without being taught a lesson, I'm going to teach you a good one today!"

  A middle-aged man had not finished speaking when Li Yang hugged the middle-aged man's thigh and bit it fiercely. That bite was both fierce and accurate, and a blood stain immediately appeared on the middle-aged man's thigh, which was wearing shorts.

  "You can hit me, scold me, but you're not allowed to scold my mom." Li Yang was like a small bull that had been provoked.

  "You damn mother!" The middle-aged man cursed loudly and kicked Li Yang hard.

  Li Lie didn't know how long he had run, when he stopped, there was no one behind him. He couldn't run anymore and fell to the ground, panting heavily, the peaches on his body were all gone. After more than ten minutes, he finally caught his breath. For a six-year-old child, this was already too much, he didn't want to move again, if he ran again, he would probably be exhausted. Only then did Li Lie remember that his brother hadn't followed him yet. So he got up again and stumbled back along the way he came.

  He recalled the scene of Li Yang being pressed under his body when he left, and he didn't dare to imagine what they would do to Li Yang. Even scenes of torture on TV appeared in his mind. Exhaustion, fear, and sadness surged in six-year-old Li Lie's mind. So he ran back along the way.

  He was very worried about Li Yang's situation, and he even thought that if those adults beat Li Yang to death, then he would not only lose his mother but also his brother. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but want to cry, with tears rolling in his eyes. He didn't let them fall, as Li Yang had said that men shouldn't cry. Although he didn't let the tears fall, he made a low sobbing sound in his throat.

  About ten minutes later, what felt like an eternity to Li Lie, he saw Li Yang and it was as if ten years had passed. While many children his age were still being spoiled by their parents, he had already started doing chores, learning to be careful, and even suppressing his playful nature to avoid getting beaten. Now, he and his brother were going on a journey to find their mother in an unfamiliar place, where the experiences they would have were unimaginable for someone of his age, who had long understood the meaning of loss. What was there to be afraid of?

  When Li Yang saw Li Lie walking towards him, his worried mood was slightly alleviated. As he quickly approached Li Yang, he raised the peach in his hand, which had been trampled on the ground and was now completely deformed, with only a third of its flesh remaining rotten.

  "Come on, wipe it clean and you can still eat it." Li Yang said, putting the peach in Li Lie's hand.

  When Li Lie caught the peach while crying, Li Yang suddenly fell to the ground. It was only then that Li Lie discovered that Li Yang's face had swollen beyond recognition, his clothes were tattered and torn, a corner of his mouth was split open, both eyes were narrowed into slits, and his hair was covered in mud. Yet he still worried about Li Lie's safety, worried that Li Lie's belly was still empty, the power of kinship gave him immense spiritual strength, when he saw Li Lie, his body had only enough energy to no longer sustain its functions, he needed rest, sufficient rest and replenishment of physical strength.

  However, the little Li Lie didn't understand all that. When he saw Li Yang fall to the ground, he burst into tears. His already confused heart became even more at a loss, and as he cried, he shook Li Yang vigorously.

  "Brother, wake up. Brother, wake up."

  That childish and stubborn voice couldn't help but move people, as if the heavens themselves were saddened by their plight. The sky began to drizzle with rain, as if the rain was a manifestation of the heavens' sorrow. But now, it seemed that the rainwater was actually going to make things even harder for the two young brothers.

  Li Lie didn't give up, he shook Li Yang awake from his daze. He tried with all his might to pull his brother up from the ground, but his small strength was no match for the task. After several attempts, he only managed to move Li Yang a few dozen centimeters. The rain quickly turned the ground into mud, and water flowing down from the mountain formed a small stream on the road. When Li Yang got stuck in the middle of the road, the water immediately submerged his shoulders. Li Lie used all his strength to pull Li Yang towards higher ground, but he didn't know how many times he rolled over. After pulling Li Yang to a slightly higher area, Li Lie was exhausted but didn't rest. He went to break off some branches to use as an umbrella. Although the makeshift umbrella wasn't very effective, Li Lie simply took off his outer clothes and draped them over the branches. Li Lie was quite satisfied with his invention, at least the rainwater under his homemade umbrella decreased a lot. Little Li Lie wouldn't know that during the thunderstorm season, doing this was almost like asking for death. But he only knew that he couldn't let his brother get rained on.

  At this time, after busy with everything, he felt thirsty, then raised his head, narrowed his eyes, opened his mouth, and let the rainwater pour into his mouth.

  Summer rain, came quickly and went quickly, less than half an hour later, the sky began to clear up again. A rainbow hung in the sky on the distant mountain edge. The leaves with dew slowly started to dry, and some insects began to chirp again. The air was much fresher, and when the sunlight shone on the ground again, Li Lie finally felt a warmth, but before he could feel it for long, he fainted and fell to the ground.

  Li Lie was shaken awake by Li Yang, when he opened his eyes it was already evening, a round moon hung in the sky, and the sound of insects came from the forest in the mountains. He shook his head hard to make himself more alert, but he still felt dizzy and cold.

  At this time, Li Yang was not much better off. Due to the daytime walking, beating and rain, the two brothers showed symptoms of heatstroke and fever. They only knew they were sick but did not know how dangerous their bodies were at that moment.

  "Where are we going?" Li Lie asked.

  "Let's go, we can't stay here anyway." Li Yang said weakly, at this time he felt extremely hungry, his stomach was growling so much that it didn't make a sound anymore, the feeling was like being drowned.

  "Where's Mom?" Li Lie said weakly: "I want Mom, I want Mom."

  At this time, the two brothers suddenly found that they couldn't cry anymore. Physiological fatigue and physical illness had caused the body to lose many functions.

  Li Yang broke off two thicker branches from the tree by the side of the road, and then he took one branch and Li Lie took the other to support their bodies as they walked. Although it was just two branches, it still took some effort for Li Yang, something that would normally be easy but now was very difficult.

  The moonlight shines on the ground, allowing the two brothers to see the road ahead clearly. In their hearts, they both think of their mother's time, in the summer, at night, the three would cool off in the courtyard, also under a full moon. The stars in the sky are sparse due to the moonlight, but one or two can still be found. In the distance, the mountains appear black, and some mountain roads can be faintly seen. The trajectory of the summer moon is like the trajectory of the winter sun.

  Many things, once past, can never come back again, and are gone forever. It's just that at the time, little Li Yang and even smaller Li Lie didn't understand, but the seeds of loneliness and helplessness were sown in their hearts, because those hardships made them stronger later on.

  Li Yang propped himself up with a branch in one hand and pulled Li Lie with the other, both brothers' bodies burning with fever. However, they couldn't stop, as a feeling of impending death rose in Li Yang's heart, and even more so for Li Lie behind him. Yet, Li Lie's stubbornness far exceeded Li Yang's imagination, as he didn't utter a word of exhaustion or complaint.

  "Brother, am I going to die? But I miss mom, let's go find mom, let's go find mom."

  In Li Lie's immature mind, he couldn't help but think of his mother whenever he heard Li Lie's words. All the fatigue was suppressed deep in his heart, and there was only one goal in his mind - to find his mom. He suddenly had a feeling that he couldn't let his brother die, absolutely not. He had promised his mom to take good care of Li Lie, he had promised his mom.

  Suddenly, the darkness and fear in his heart were swept away by the trees. After all, both of them were going to die anyway, what was there to be afraid of? If there was anything to be afraid of, it was that before seeing his mother, he would fall down on the road, and if he wasn't careful, he would fall off a cliff in these mountains, and even his body might not be found.

  So, he couldn't die, he had to stay awake. Li Yang told himself.

  The two brothers walked the entire way without saying a word, their desire to find their mother transformed into the strongest conviction in their hearts, this conviction supported their bodies and sustained their souls.