For thirty years, he has roamed the Northeast, his divine might overwhelming all immortals under hea

The oxcart moved slowly.

It wasn't the kind of slow, leisurely pace; it was a slow pace where the snow held your foot, causing you to sink in with each step, pull out, and then sink in again.

The wheels crunched and creaked through the snow, leaving two deep furrows. The black soil was turned up and covered by the snow, turning it white again.

I lay on the door panel, with two quilts on top of me, and the quilts were covered with a thick layer of snow.

Xiulian sat beside me, constantly brushing the snowflakes off my face with her hands, but her own hair and shoulders were already covered with a white layer, making her look like a snowman.

"Thirteenth Brother, just bear with it, we're almost there, almost there..."

She muttered to herself, her voice trembling, and I couldn't tell if she was speaking to me or to herself.

My mother sat at the back of the cart, her hands gripping the side of the cart, her body swaying with the movement of the oxcart. She stopped chanting the Buddha's name and just stared at me blankly, her eyes red-rimmed, her lips trembling, wanting to speak but unable to utter a word.

My father drove the ox without saying a word.

The old ox lowered its head, arching forward step by step, panting heavily, white breaths coming out of its nostrils in gusts that were dispersed by the wind.

The snow is still falling.

Large snowflakes fell, landing on the ox's back, the cart shaft, and my father's dog-skin hat, accumulating into a thick layer.

He sat there, his spine straight, holding a whip in his hand, cracking it again and again.

I'm all too familiar with that whip-cracking motion.

With an arm raised high, a flick of the wrist, and then a sharp "snap" as it falls back down.

Just like that person from before.

My heart skipped a beat.

That person.

I turned my head and looked towards the roadside.

The poplar trees lining the road were bent over by the weight of the snow, making each one look like a hunchbacked old man.

Behind the tree was a vast expanse of white snow, nothing at all.

But I just feel like something is following me.

Right there in that white expanse, there was a pair of eyes watching me.

I shuddered.

"Thirteenth Brother, are you cold?"

Xiulian quickly pulled the blanket up and tucked it under my chin.

"Just a little longer, we're almost there, almost there..."

I didn't say anything, I just stared at the roadside.

The oxcart went on and on.

I walked for an unknown amount of time, but the sky was still gray, and I couldn't tell the time.

The snow had blanketed the world, making it impossible to tell whether it was morning or afternoon.

I felt colder and colder, but the pain in my legs wasn't as bad anymore. It became a dull, numb pain, as if something was blocking it.

But I dared not move.

I know the pain is still there, just waiting for me to move so it will resurface.

"We've arrived! We've arrived!"

"My mother suddenly shouted."

"The county town is just ahead! Thirteen, we're almost there!"

I followed her gaze and looked ahead.

In the vast expanse of white snow, a cluster of houses loomed out indistinctly, their gray hues weighed down by the snow, resembling a group of livestock crouching there. Further ahead, a few telephone poles could be seen, dark and stubby in the snow, with icicles hanging from them.

county seat.

Once the oxcart entered the street, the road became easier to travel on.

The snow on the street had been trampled and driven over, making a crunching sound. Several shops on both sides of the road were closed, and the faded couplets pasted on the doors were blurred by the snow.

Occasionally, someone would walk by, hunched over, hands tucked in, crunching through the snow, and stop to glance at our oxcart before continuing on their way.

When my father was young, he also worked in the county town, so he was relatively familiar with the area. He drove straight to the county hospital.

The hospital was a row of single-story buildings with red brick walls and gray tiles. A thick layer of snow had accumulated on the roof, and icicles hung from the eaves, looking like transparent cones. A utility pole stood at the entrance, with a white sign with red lettering that read "First People's Hospital".

The oxcart was parked at the door.

My father jumped off the cart and strode inside. A little while later, several people came out, wearing white coats, pushing a flatbed cart, their footsteps crunching through the snow.

"What happened?"

The doctor who was leading the group wasn't very old, maybe in his thirties. He was wearing glasses, and his breath was fogging up the lenses. He wiped them with his hand and then leaned over to look at me.

"He fell off the ladder."

"I hurt my leg."

The doctor bent down and pressed my leg with his hand.

With just a light press, I hissed in pain and my vision went black.

"At first glance, it appears to be a fracture."

The doctor straightened up.

"We need to take an X-ray. Come in."

Several people lifted and carried me from the door panel onto the flatbed cart. Another wave of pain shot through me, so painful that I gritted my teeth and dug my nails into my palms, causing a sharp pain.

Xiulian was holding my hand tightly beside me.

The flatbed cart was pushed into the hospital.

Inside was a long corridor with a cement floor that made the soles of shoes shine.

There were doors on both sides, with signs hanging above them that read "Internal Medicine," "Surgery," and "Registration Room." The corridor smelled of Lysol, which made one's nose sting.

I was wheeled into a room where there was a large iron lump with a long pole on top that could rotate. The doctor had several people lift me onto an iron bed and then told everyone else to leave.

"Stretch your legs straight."

I gritted my teeth and tried to straighten my legs.

pain.

The pain was so intense that I was sweating profusely, and my inner coat was soaked through.

The doctor fiddled with the large iron lump, sometimes leaning closer and sometimes backing away, muttering something under his breath. The iron lump buzzed, like the buzzing of mosquitoes.

After a long struggle, he finally let me down.

They were lifted back onto the flatbed truck and pushed into another room.

The room was small, with a table, a few chairs, and a clock hanging on the wall, its pendulum swinging back and forth.

"Plop, plop."

My father and the others were standing inside the house. Xiulian was standing in the corner, her face pale and her eyes red and swollen. When she saw me come in, she quickly ran over, squatted down, and grabbed my hand.

"Thirteenth Brother..."

I grinned at her, as if to say I was fine, but the grin was only halfway done when the pain made me pull my mouth back.

The doctor with glasses came in, holding a few X-ray films in his hand, and held them up to look at them through the window. The films were dark and I couldn't understand them, but I could see a few white marks on them.

The doctor looked at the images for a long time, put them down, and turned around.

"The tibia is fractured, and the fibula is also broken."

"You need surgery."

"Operation?"

My mother's voice suddenly became shrill.

"Doctor, what is surgery? Does it require incision?"

"We need to insert a steel plate."

"The leg was broken so badly that just putting it in a cast won't be enough. We need to set the bone and fix it with a metal plate. Otherwise, it will grow crooked and leave you lame."

He's crippled.

These two words, like needles, pierced my heart instantly.

My mother panicked and grabbed the doctor's sleeve.

"Doctor, doctor, you must save my son! He's only eighteen, about to get married, he can't be lame..."

The doctor pulled his sleeve out.

"Don't worry, sister-in-law. The surgery is done. Just take good care of yourself, and there won't be any major problems."

"Then...how much will that cost?"

My dad spoke up.

The doctor thought for a moment.

"The steel plate is more expensive, plus the surgery and hospitalization fees, it'll probably cost... three or four hundred."

Three or four hundred.

The room fell silent instantly.

It was so quiet you could hear the clock on the wall ticking away.

Three or four hundred is equivalent to a worker's annual salary if he didn't eat or drink.

For many people, this is absolutely a deadly number.

My dad stood there without saying a word.

My mother's expression changed, and she opened her mouth but couldn't say anything.

My mother glanced at Xiulian.

"Xiulian, could we reduce the bride price a bit? Look at Thirteen, he..."

"Auntie, forget about the bride price. Thirteenth Brother and I grew up together. I can't let him get crippled because of this."

"Auntie, I know that Thirteenth Brother has made a lot of money since he started his business, but I, Xiulian, am not a girl who loves money. Besides, my father said when he was alive that I would not ask for a bride price in my marriage to Thirteenth Brother."

Xiulian's words were truly beyond my expectations.

Of course, neither my parents expected Xiulian to say such a thing.

My mother took out the money and handed it to my father, who then rushed off to pay the surgery fees.

I was wheeled into a hospital room.

The room was small, with four beds placed side by side, all of which were empty.

The window faces north, its glass covered with a layer of frost, obscuring the view outside. A metal stove stands in the corner, its fire long since extinguished, leaving it ice-cold.

I was carried to the bed by the window. Xiulian covered me with the quilt, and then put the two quilts that my mother had brought on top of me, making it hard for me to breathe.

But I'm still shaking.

It wasn't cold, it was a shiver that came from deep inside.

He's crippled.

These two words are like they've taken root, swirling around in my head and giving me a headache.

Xiulian sat on the edge of the bed, holding my hand, without saying a word, just staring at me.

Her eyes were red and swollen like peaches, and the tear stains on her face were still wet, glistening in the warmth of the room.

My mother wandered around the house, touching the stove and glancing at the window, muttering to herself.

"Why is this hospital so cold? The stoves aren't even lit; people are going to freeze to death..."

Just as I was muttering to myself, the door opened.

A woman came in, wearing a white coat and a white hat. She had a round face and looked quite kind. She was carrying an enamel mug, which was steaming.

"Here, have some hot water first."

She handed the jar over.

"What's the patient's name?"

"Li Shisan".

My mother quickly took it.

"Comrade, when can my son have surgery on his leg?"

"We have to wait until we pay the money."

As the woman spoke, she walked over and touched my forehead with her hand.

"A slight fever is normal. It's common for fractures. I'll get you a pill later, take it first."

She glanced at Xiulian again.

"Are you his wife?"

Xiulian blushed and nodded.

"Okay, take good care of her. Call me if you need anything. My name is Wang Xiuying, I'm a nurse."

she left.

My mother brought over the tub of hot water and had Xiulian feed it to me. The water was warm, and after drinking it, my stomach felt a little warmer.

But I still felt cold inside.

I lay there, staring at the ceiling. The ceiling was white, tinged yellow by the smoke, and had several cracks, like a spiderweb. The snow was still falling outside; I could hear the snowflakes hitting the glass.

rustling, rustling...

Xiulian just sat there, holding my hand.

After an unknown amount of time, the door opened again.

That's my dad.

"It's paid."

My father walked to the bedside and looked at me.

"Thirteen, just bear with it."

"You'll be fine after the surgery."

I nodded without saying a word.

What else can I say?

I was quickly wheeled into the operating room.

The operating room is in that room inside the hospital. The door is white, and there's a sign on the wall with the three red characters "Operating Room" written on it.

There was a man standing at the door, wearing a white hat and white mask, with only his eyes showing, watching me being pushed inside.

It was brightly lit inside, with a large light hanging overhead that made it hard to open your eyes.

I was lifted onto an iron bed, which was very narrow and had cold armrests on both sides.

Someone gave me an injection.

After that injection, I don't remember anything anymore.

When I woke up again, I was already in a hospital room.

My leg felt incredibly heavy, like it was bound to a stone. I looked down and saw that my entire leg was wrapped in white plaster, from my ankle all the way to my thigh. It was hard and I couldn't move it.

Xiulian sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes red. When she saw that I was awake, tears started falling again.

"Thirteenth Brother..."

I wanted to speak, but my throat was so dry it felt like it was on fire. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

Xiulian quickly poured a glass of water and fed me spoonful by spoonful.

My mother was there too, standing at the other end of the bed, looking at me and muttering to herself.

"Thank God, thank God..."

My dad isn't here.

"Where's my dad?"

"Going to buy food. Will be back in a bit."

I nodded.

After drinking some water, my throat felt a little better. I lay there, staring at my leg wrapped in a cast, and I couldn't quite describe the feeling in my heart.

The pain has lessened; it feels numb and tingly, like my leg doesn't even feel like my own. But I know it's still there, encased in that hard shell.

"The doctor said the surgery went smoothly."

"The steel plate has been inserted, and the bones are aligned perfectly. It will heal in a few months."

Several months.

I looked at her; she had a smile on her face, but her eyes were still glistening with tears.

"Go back and rest."

"There can't be so many people guarding me."

"I'm not going back."

"I'll stay here with you."

There's nowhere to sleep here.

"Just lie on the edge of the bed."

I should say this: she put her hand on my mouth.

"Thirteenth Brother, stop talking. I'm not leaving."

I stared at her, then remained silent.

The days in the hospital felt as slow as an oxcart.

I just endured it, day after day.

In the morning, Nurse Wang comes to take my temperature and give me my medication. At noon, she delivers lunch: cornmeal porridge, pickled vegetable dumplings, and occasionally an egg. She comes again in the evening to take my temperature and give me my medication once more.

The rest of the time, I just lay there.

I lay there staring at the ceiling, at the crack in the glass. I lay there listening to the wind outside, the rustling of snowflakes hitting the glass. I lay there listening to Xiulian and my mother talking, about things at home, gossip in the village, and things at the hospital.

Xiulian stayed day and night. My mother stayed for two days before my father took her back. There were still chickens, pigs, and other chores at home; she couldn't be left alone.

As I was leaving, my mother stood by the bed, looking at me with red eyes.

"Thirteen, take good care of yourself, listen to Xiulian, don't rush..."

I nodded.

She glanced at Xiulian again.

"My child, you've worked so hard."

"Auntie, please don't say that."

My mother has passed away.

Only Xiulian and I were left inside.

Xiulian sat on the edge of the bed, sewing shoe soles. She brought the needle and thread from home, saying she had nothing better to do than sew me a new pair of shoes to wear once my leg healed.