Rebel Demon King

Chapter 1 A Not Too Sad Funeral
The weather in Hunan Province in April is overcast and cold.

There are green shoots growing tenaciously in the cracks of the bricks, but the harshness of winter is not far away, and those greenery looks a bit lonely.In the flower bed, light-colored lilacs swayed in the cold wind, and the thin body seemed to be blown off at any time.

"It doesn't matter if it's broken, the spring rain will urge those dull roots and shoots again."

Cheng Mo thought.

--------------

At the moment, he is in the Juxian Hall of the Yangmingshan Funeral Parlor, kneeling in front of his father’s glass coffin to salute the visitors. Behind him hangs a huge black and white portrait of his father Cheng Yongze. The young Cheng Yongze is in the prime of his life, with delicate features and the appearance of an idol star.

On both sides hang a super-long elegiac couplet written by Cheng Yongze's mentor Li Mingde himself: the article economy, all of which are good for the future, from now on, I will pay tribute to the ancient city and climb the building at sunset. I am left to cherish the motherland, the spring breeze and the wine, and even cry to Lin Zong with the party.
Judging from the elegiac couplet, Li Mingde is not like a teacher, but more like a confidant.

Compared with Cheng Yongze's majestic and beautiful appearance like Guanyu, 16-year-old Cheng Mo is not tall, looks a little slender, malnourished, mediocre, barely delicate, but not as handsome as his father at all. It has nothing to do with the beauty of the mother.

Wearing a pair of black plastic-framed glasses, his hair was messy on his head, and his face was immature.An expressionless face that hasn't woken up yet.

But if you look closely, you will find that his eyes are a little numb at this moment, or it is cold. His eyes are fixed on the door of the funeral hall, as if there is no focus, as if he is indulging in endless grief, but if you look carefully, you will be will find the difference.

The angle of his bow is always 45 degrees, there is no deviation, his eyes never stop on anyone, he always looks at the distance outside the gate, and his dark eyes are full of calm.

There was an endless stream of people who came to pay homage, most of whom were colleagues of the Hunan Academy of Social Sciences where Cheng Mo’s father once worked. Last year, Cheng Mo’s father, Cheng Yongze, was transferred to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as the deputy director of the Institute of Anthropology. At the beginning of this year, he became the youngest member of the Academy of Social Sciences (the status is equivalent to the academician of the Academy of Sciences, that is, the academician of the liberal arts). Although he is already the third batch of members of the department, this honor still symbolizes the highest academic level of the Academy of Social Sciences. , and even the highest academic level in China.

After all, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is the ninth largest think tank in the world and the first in the country. (This article has nothing to do with reality, please do not compare the real ranking)

Although Cheng Mo's father, Cheng Yongze, wore the cloak of a scholar and a genius all his life, he was admired by many people in the academic circle.But in life and family, he is not a qualified husband and father.

Cheng Mo was diagnosed with congenital heart disease 3 months after he was born, and was diagnosed with "single ventricle, patent ductus arteriosus, ectopic aorta, pulmonary artery stenosis" when he was 6 years old. Such a complicated condition is very rare and cannot be treated surgically. The doctor bluntly said that it is a miracle that such a child can live past the age of 20.

Speaking of which, Cheng Mo should receive more care from his parents, but Cheng Yongze devoted himself to academic research and almost ignored Cheng Mo. All the pressure was on Cheng Mo's mother, Lin Yiqing.

Cheng Mo's mother, Lin Yiqing, is of Chinese descent. Both parents are in the United States. Cheng Yongze, whom he met when he came to study in China, was attracted by Cheng Yongze's handsome appearance and genius status. Marry Cheng Yongze next.

However, married life is not what she imagined at all. Apart from academic excellence, Cheng Yongze has almost a negative score in other aspects. He is a dull person and has no taste at all. Apart from giving money, he has hardly undertaken any family obligations. Even Lin Yiqing asked When he quarrels, he doesn't quarrel with her, just listens silently.

Everyone thinks that Cheng Yongze is not worth his time and energy for anything other than his academic interest.

As for why he married Lin Yiqing, Cheng Mo guessed that his father might have been deeply influenced by Socrates. We must know that for the ancient Greeks, an ideal marriage did not require spiritual communication. mission.

Xenophon, one of Socrates' disciples, gave the reasons for marriage in "The Qi Family": firstly, to reproduce offspring; secondly, to let people grow old and support them; lastly, to share work, men's work outdoors, women's indoor work work, including keeping food and belongings, feeding babies, making bread, sewing clothes, etc.
Cheng Mo recalled that Socrates once said to Xenophon, "I advise you, when you see a beautiful woman, run away as quickly as possible."

Xenophon asked in confusion, "Why?"

Socrates replied, "Young and beautiful creatures are far more terrible than poisonous spiders! A good marriage will only bring you happiness, but a bad marriage will make you a philosopher."

Cheng Mo felt that his father's marriage was nothing but an experiment, while he was an incomplete test.
After giving birth to Cheng Mo, Lin Yiqing persisted for six years. In the end, Cheng Mo's illness became the last straw that broke her down. When Cheng Mo was seven years old, he chose to divorce Cheng Yongze and gave up Cheng Mo's custody. back to America.

Originally, according to the doctor's suggestion, it was best for Cheng Mo not to go to school, but unfortunately, Cheng Yongze really didn't have the energy to take care of Cheng Mo, so he hired a nanny to take care of him at home. Yidian's nanny tried to seduce Cheng Yongze and did not do much housework, so at Cheng Mo's own strong request, he was sent to school.

Facts have proved that the doctor's words are not wrong. Cheng Mo, who was 16 years old, has already brushed shoulders with death several times, and critical illness notices are almost commonplace for him, but Cheng Mo is lucky, because most of them have such serious diseases Some people died in infancy, but God's blessing made him survive tenaciously, and like other children, he carried a schoolbag on his back and "enjoyed" campus life.

It's just that Cheng Mo is different from other children since he was a child. Not only can he not exercise vigorously, but he is also prone to colds and illnesses. He often goes to the hospital for injections.

Because of his illness and intelligence, he was specially taken care of by the teacher. In addition, he could not exercise, and his lips would turn purple when he was emotional. He was so different, he was laughed at and rejected, so he couldn't make friends. Even if he was like his father, he had been Xueba, the grades have always been the first in the class, but still can't change the situation of being isolated.

After entering junior high school, Cheng Mo's cyanosis became more serious, and his lips and nails would turn purple with a little exercise.Mobility is also weakened, and walking for a long time will cause chest tightness and shortness of breath.

When he was 15 years old, when he took part in the physical examination for the senior high school entrance examination, the doctor told Cheng Mo that his heart had grown like a gourd, and it was a miracle that he could survive until now.The doctor also called Cheng Yongze and told Cheng Yongze bluntly that Cheng Mo might not live to be an adult (18), and suggested that he should not continue to go to school. It is better to take Cheng Mo around and have a look and enjoy the end of life. time.

Cheng Yongze ignored the doctor's suggestion. Cheng Mo still took the high school entrance examination and the national examination, and entered Changya Middle School with the first grade in the Xingcheng examination. Cheng Yongze was also transferred to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences that year.

Originally, Cheng Yongze wanted to bring Cheng Mo to the capital, but after Cheng Mo passed, he was seriously unaccustomed to the environment, unwell, and his condition worsened, so Cheng Yongze could only let Cheng Mo go back to Xingcheng. Anyway, Cheng Yongze was not worried about Cheng Mo. silent self-care ability.

In addition to giving money, Cheng Yongze has not given Cheng Mo any help in life these years. Cheng Mo is completely taking care of himself. Except for Cheng Mo's own medical treatment, taking medicine, and eating, all other trivial matters in the family's life, such as Cheng Mo takes care of paying water, electricity and gas bills, asking people to clean up, etc. Therefore, Cheng Yongze is very relieved about Cheng Mo, but Cheng Mo feels that he is more worrying about his father who can only do research and write papers. .

It's just that Cheng Mo didn't expect that before he hung up, his father who had basically zero self-care ability died in a car accident.

Cheng Mo didn't feel much sadness about his father's death. In Cheng Mo's view, life and death were inevitable things, and his father Cheng Yongze, as an anthropologist, must also be a philosopher.

Philosophical research is the process of constantly moving towards such a state of mind and gradually establishing a conscious awareness of death. It is a process of constant rehearsal and exercise to prepare for death, that is, to attain a being without the limitations of the physical framework.

This is what Plato meant when he said "philosophy is the rehearsal of death".

In layman's terms, people's life is accompanied by death, and they are preparing for death. Death is not the loss of life, but just out of time.

Cheng Mo has a very deep understanding of this, and he is very light on life and death. It is not enough to not be light on it. For someone like him who has been so close to death since birth, he has long been worried about himself.

Recalling that when he was young, he couldn't exercise, and the only entertainment he could choose was reading books, but Cheng Yongze didn't read children's books to Cheng Mo, but directly sent him a set of philosophy books for him as enlightenment readings. When his child was reciting "Three Hundred Poems of the Tang Dynasty", he read "Philosophical Enlightenment for Children".

He still remembers that Chapter 1 of this book is called "Life and Death".

A stone doesn't die because it doesn't change.It doesn't die because he never lived.Everything that changes, grows, grows, disappears: there is life and there is death.

The difference in life lies in its value. Mosquitoes die when they die, and you cry when a dog dies. After a person dies, the more sad people and the more people who cherish him, the more valuable he is.
Cheng Mo watched the people with Xixi mark write five hundred or one thousand favors in front of the table at the door. He thought that with his father's emotional intelligence, he could be the deputy director of the Institute of Anthropology. That was done academically. How big is the contribution?
Seeing his aunt Huang Qiaoyun, who was sitting at the table, counting money until his hands cramped, Cheng Mo felt a little helpless. The next life might not be as easy as he thought, because the identity of a minor is not a protection, but a restriction for him. .

Just when Cheng Mo felt sore and numb in his legs and his body was unbearable, his uncle Cheng Jidong came over and said affectionately to Cheng Mo: "Cheng Mo, it's time for cremation, you wait and walk in the front holding the urn. "

Cheng Jidong is 41 years old, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and regular facial features. He looks a bit like Cheng Yongze, but he is far less handsome and refined than Cheng Yongze. He is a bit fat and dressed like a village cadre. Dong opened a small store of several square meters in the DC area of ​​his hometown Wuling to make a living.

Cheng Mo's aunt, who looks a little pretty, looks virtuous but actually pungent Huang Qiaoyun is an accountant in a factory.

After Cheng Yongze passed away, Cheng Jidong and Huang Qiaoyun came to Xingcheng to help manage Cheng Yongze's funeral. In fact, most of the work was done by Li Fengxian, the chairman of the labor union of the Hunan Academy of Social Sciences and a colleague of Cheng Yongze. , Cheng Jidong also did the work of serving tea and water, and Huang Qiaoyun, as a professional accountant, naturally took on the work of collecting favors.

Cheng Mo's grandparents passed away early, and his mother, Lin Yiqing, has long since disappeared, and the custody of Cheng Jidong and Huang Qiaoyun will most likely fall on Cheng Jidong and Huang Qiaoyun. Although he can live independently, legally he cannot.

In fact, Cheng Mo, who was accustomed to his own life, was somewhat repulsive to the intervention of his uncle and aunt, but there were some things that he, a high school student, had no way to decide.

Cheng Mo didn't even look up at Cheng Jidong, he just made a soft "oh" sound, got up and rubbed his kneeling legs that had lost consciousness, because he had been kneeling here for a long time, and now his lips were carrying A touch of purple, with crystal beads of sweat on the corners of his forehead.

Kneeling for such a long time is actually a big burden for Cheng Mo's body. Although he has been very fortunate, Cheng Mo just patiently endured without saying a word. Although this kind of filial piety is meaningless to Cheng Mo, But he is still willing to do his best to complete such a ceremony, which can be regarded as a kind of respect for tradition.

Cheng Jidong doesn't care about Cheng Mo's hard work, nor does he mind his slightly indifferent attitude. His nephew has always been like this, and he has already understood and used to it. Cheng Jidong explained to Cheng Mo. After a few words, he immediately went to greet the leaders who came to see Cheng Yongze off, with a flattering look on his face.

After a while, I don't know who handed the urn to Cheng Mo, and then his father's body was carried out of the glass coffin. Looking back at my father with the urn, he thought: We're all going to die, because we're alive, it seems a little ridiculous to say that.

Following the funeral master's words, the crowd in the auditorium quietly lined up according to their positions. The unbeautiful sad music played by the cheap band, except for the noise, did not have any sorrow.

Cheng Mo stood at the front as the only son, when the queue marched towards the cremation furnace - everyone was silent
Thinking of other people's see-off procession, they were all crying. Cheng Mo felt that he should respond to the situation and sobbed twice. Otherwise, no one shed tears during the whole funeral, which would be too sad.

It's just a pity that the cremator arrived before Cheng Mo could squeeze out two tears.

Cheng Mo looked at his father's profile in the shadow of the fire, and thought: This is really a not-so-sad funeral.

　Because the prologue does not have the function of this chapter, the prologue is specially adjusted to Chapter 1, and the chapter is postponed. If "This Chapter" does not match the title, please don't mind.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)