Firmament

No one is poor.

- She proverb

Wang Yide and Gong Deren happened to be on the same team. Their task was to guard several county towns under Pingxi Prefecture.

The soldiers of the government forces and the soldiers of the rebel ranks were locals. During the exercise, they were braver than the other, but when they went to the battlefield of life and death, they saw that each other were familiar villagers, and they couldn't bear to shoot at the neighbors. The battle had just started on this side, and most of the other side had withdrawn in a hula-la-la. The outcome of the battle can be imagined.

The government of the Northeast State had no choice but to send troops from other places.

Officers and men from other places did not have the same concerns as Wang Yide and Gong Deren. They were resolute and brave in battle, and repeatedly defeated the rebel teams that roamed the valley of the river.

Wang Yide and Gong Deren followed behind the foreign army, pacified the county capitals around Pingxi, and went south to capture Bayan City, and finally pounced on Jishi City, the last stronghold of the rebel team.

The vast majority of the inhabitants of Jishi City are fierce and heroic Salurul people. Men from almost every household participated in the rebellion.

The government army invaded the city and took a dragnet to arrest them, searching from house to house to carefully screen out the rebels and good citizens.

According to the arrangement of the chief, Wang Yide and Gong Deren came to the north of the city with big swords and spears to search for them.

They saw a large courtyard with neat houses near the tall mosque, with a pale yellow gate carved with various flowers and plants, and the lintel was engraved with Arabic characters in flower fonts. They knew it was a wealthy Salur family. According to local customs, the people who have such decorations on the gate must be from Salur. Oriental people generally post couplets wishing good luck and health and portraits of door gods to ward off evil spirits and ghosts on the door panels. Most of the Tibetan people hang colorful prayer flags fluttering in the wind on the lintel.

Wang Yide was eager to make meritorious contributions and rushed to the front of the team first. He flew up and kicked open the thick log door with a thud. Gong Deren led the other soldiers to shout loudly as they followed and rushed into the courtyard.

A row of tall houses facing north and south, with cornices and corners, gray tiles and red walls. The hall in the middle faces the courtyard gate. The recessed space forms a square foyer. The wings on both sides of the hall protrude outward, and wooden lattice windows with white paper are installed on them. At the base of the wall below the window are pots of green geraniums and bright red impatiens.

In the middle of the courtyard there is a small pond full of peonies. In the middle of the pond are two and a half fruit trees. The branches of the trees are full of delicate and brilliant flowers. One has white flowers. The other has pink flowers.

This is the home of Han Suleiman, a descendant of Hassan.

Han Suleiman's father, four older brothers, and three brothers-in-law all joined the rebel ranks. Three brothers and two brothers-in-law were killed on the battlefield, and the remaining three did not know where to hide.

Fearing persecution by the government and army, the old men and women of Jishi City gathered together in a panic to discuss and prepare to float down the river to the provincial capital of Jincheng on a sheepskin raft across the river.

Although Han Suleiman is only 12 years old, he seems unusually calm. He insisted on sticking to his home and resolutely refused to flee home.

It's time to burn your eyebrows, and the adults don't have time to take care of this stubborn Gawa. Everyone hurried out of the city, and came to the bank of the great river not far away, where you pushed me and squeezed me into a sheepskin raft.

Unfortunately, the area of the sheepskin raft was too small, there were too many people swarming up, and there was no competent person to command everyone, and the scene suddenly became a mess.

The

sheepskin raft shuddered away from the riverbank, floated to the middle of the river, and was suddenly hit by a huge rolling wave, and in an instant it was turned upside down. Men, women and children all fell into the raging river.

They struggled desperately in the rushing river, shouting for help. It didn't take long for the old man and child to disappear, and then the young man was exhausted and swept to the bottom of the river by a whirlpool.

Han Suleiman stood on the bank of the great river and saw with his own eyes this terrible tragedy in the world. After all, he is just a child, and in the face of powerful natural and man-made disasters, he is weak and powerless. He was filled with grief and indignation, and looked at the great river for a long time, and the tears on his face merged into a small river.

As the sun gradually set in the west, Han Suleiman returned home in despair.

He is now the only one left in this once-large family. He sat dumbfounded, not knowing what to do. He could not comprehend the tragic outcome of today, nor could he know what tomorrow would be like.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Han Suleiman kicked off his shoes numbly, climbed onto the big kang, stood in the middle of the kang, and took off a purple-red flannel wrap from the beam. He imitated his father's usual way of opening the package, knelt on the side of the small kang table with his legs, and carefully unwrapped the package.

A book of scriptures that every family of Salur treasured was presented to him.

Han Suleiman crossed his legs, sat on the clay kang, held the thick scriptures in both hands, and read them carefully. Whether on important festivals or ordinary days, he saw his ancestors reciting the scriptures reverently day after day, and guessed that there must have been many profound life philosophies treasured in them. He intends to find answers to many questions from the scriptures, to find the meaning of life, and to explore the past, present, and future ...... of the world

At this time, Wang Yide and Gong Deren raised their spears and broadswords and rushed into the hall of Han Suleiman's house at high speed. When they found that the hall was empty, they quickly turned to the side room, and suddenly saw a little boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and still childish, sitting straight on the kang and reading a book.

Han Suleiman was engrossed in reading the book, turning a deaf ear to the uninvited guests who rushed in.

Wang Yide felt very funny when he saw Han Suleiman's focused appearance. He glanced back at Gong Deren behind him, and said contemptuously: "The big knife is all on his neck, and he is still studying here, what a pedantic nerd!"

Gong Deren said with a smile: "As the saying goes, sour pears can't go to the banquet, and nerds can't become martial artists." If Nau kills this nerd today, he is afraid of defiling Nau's sword. Let's go, don't delay the Nau people's business. "

They then withdrew from Hansuleiman's house and searched a neighbor's house.

The government army arrested all the suspicious people and tried them as rebels. They tied up the suspects with hemp ropes, dragged them to the tidal flats on the banks of the river, and forced confessions one after another. As soon as they found doubt about the size of a sesame seed, they would wield a terrible knife and cut off the head of the so-called traitor.

The heads of the rebel officers and soldiers rolled everywhere on the tidal flats. Blood and muddy water were mixed into a piece of red lara, like red poppies blooming on the earth. In the end, the head covered in mud was kicked into the river by the officers and soldiers. The mighty river was stained with blood and turned into a piercing red river.

The tragedy that took place hundreds of years ago on the banks of the Glafshan River outside Samarkand is strikingly similar to that of the Great River in the East. The tragedies of the world are repeated in the form of repeated reincarnations all over the world. Is it the just firmament punishing the wicked, or is it the Ibilis (Salur, the devil) mercilessly poisoning innocent beings?

Han Suleiman looked up at the sky, waiting for a ...... answer that would convince him