Tzu-yang

  The Hu people were originally a nomadic hunting nation in the north, who loved to eat meat. Wherever they went, no chickens or dogs were left behind. Xiyang County is now a veritable dead city, with no barking of dogs at night and no crowing of roosters in the morning.

  Mo Xiang didn't ask about his injuries, but he had caught a cold and spent three days in bed. Xiao Wu was busy running back and forth, using a wooden cart to pull a coffin from the coffin shop in town to hold Mo's wife's funeral. Afterwards, he searched all over town for any remaining food. On the fourth day, Mo Xiang's injuries and illness improved, so he struggled out of bed and set up a mourning hall in the main room for his mother, burning incense and paying his respects.

  On the fourth day at noon, Xiao Wu went out to find food and had not returned by sunset. As night fell, Mo Wen began to feel anxious, but he was not afraid of his deceased mother; he was worried about Xiao Wu's safety.

  After the hour of You, Xiao Wu still hadn't returned, Mo Xun couldn't sit still anymore, and slowly made his way to the gate. Yesterday's heavy snowfall had left a trail of footprints in the snow, which indicated that Xiao Wu had gone towards the East City.

  Mo asked loudly for Xiao Wu, but there was no response. After a moment of hesitation, Mo turned around and went back into the house with a lantern to follow the footprints. The footprints showed that Xiao Wu had been searching from door to door for food, but refugees would not leave behind food, and coupled with the Hu people's plundering, there were very few things in the city that could fill one's belly. Xiao Wu's footprints extended all the way to the lecture hall where he used to study, and after leaving the lecture hall, they continued east into the mountains.

  The gate of the lecture hall was open, and inside it was pitch black. No one dared to go in and investigate, but if they didn't enter the lecture hall, they wouldn't be able to figure out why Xiao Wu left from here and entered the mountains and forests on the east side.

  After hesitating for a long time, Mo Xiang did not enter the lecture hall, but instead followed Xiao Wu's footprints eastward.

  He hadn't walked many steps when he discovered something unusual. The footprints in the snow on the east side of the lecture hall were much deeper than before, indicating that Xiao Wu had carried something very heavy when leaving the lecture hall.

  When the barbarians invaded, not all residents of the city fled. Some elderly, weak women and children chose to stay behind. Their choice was clearly wrong, as there were corpses buried in the snow everywhere in the city. Every time he saw a corpse, his fear increased, and he wanted to turn back several times, but after repeated attempts, he chose to continue searching.

  The footprints continued east into the eastern mountain range, and when they reached the edge of the city, Mo Wen stopped again. Not far in front of him was a pitch-black forest, but he really didn't have the courage to go in. Mainly because he couldn't figure out why Xiao Wu wanted to enter the forest, and also what Xiao Wu had taken from the lecture hall.

  The lantern's light was very dim, but the dim light gave Mo Xun a sense of security. After standing still for a long time, Mo Xun thought of a way to remove the outer cover of the wind lamp and use an oil lamp to ignite a pile of hay stacked next to a civilian house. The fire quickly broke out and burned more and more fiercely, eventually igniting the house. The houses in the city were all in rows, once they caught fire, the flames would not be extinguished for a short time.

  The house was set on fire and the surroundings suddenly lit up. Mo didn't ask, his fearful heart greatly reduced, carrying a wind lamp into the eastern mountain range.

  When winter arrived, the villagers would stock up on grass to get through the winter, so in the mountains, except for the big trees that were forbidden by the government from being cut down, there was no underbrush or shrubs. Mo didn't ask and carried a wind lamp as he followed the footprints into the depths of the mountain, occasionally looking back at the large fire in the city to give himself courage.

  After passing through the forest, Mo Wen saw a large tomb mound, which was the cemetery of Xiyang County. When someone died in the city, they would be sent here for burial.

  When he saw the cemetery, Mo Wen shouldn't have been afraid, but he wasn't. He saw Xiao Wu digging a hole in the northwest of the cemetery with his head down, and beside him lay a corpse. Although it was too far to see what the corpse looked like, Mo Wen could guess that it was Lao Fuzi's body. Xiao Wu must have entered the lecture hall while searching for food, and since he respected his teacher and the Tao, he would only bring the body here for burial after discovering Lao Fuzi's corpse.

  Mo Wen walked to the side of the grave that Xiao Wu was digging, the grave had already been dug three feet deep, and Xiao Wu was leveling the soil at the bottom of the pit. Mo Wen bowed in front of the old man's body, paying his respects.

  Xiao Wu saw Mo Wen arrive and immediately quickened his digging speed. Mo Wen saw this and waved his hand, saying "No need to rush."

  Xiao Wu nodded and quickly leveled the bottom of the pit, then picked up Mr.'s body and put it in the pit, filling it with soil.

  "Sir has enlightened me with his teachings, it's not right to send him off in a coffin like this." Mo Wen sighed and spoke up.

  Xiao Wu turned his head and glanced at Mo Wen, then immediately turned back to continue filling.

  The grave was originally not big, and soon Xiao Wu finished filling it up. Without asking, he put down the wind lamp, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to worship.

  Kneeling in front of the deceased should bow three times, but Mo Wen only bowed once and was pulled up by Xiao Wu. Mo Wen looked at Xiao Wu in confusion.

  "As a teacher, I've misled you young people, and I'm ashamed to have received your generous gift." Little Wu said.

  Mo Wen's body hair stood up in an instant, and Xiao Wu's words were not only in the old man's tone, but also completely identical to his voice.

  "Don't ask me any more questions, I just want to rest in peace and have no intention of harming anyone." Little Wu spoke again.

  Don't ask about the terror below, eyes wide with mouth agape, whole body trembling and retreating continuously.

  "The way of Confucius and Mencius cannot be applied in a chaotic world, doing things solely by one's own heart." Xiao Wu shook his head and sighed, "There are too many vengeful spirits here, it's not a place to stay for long, let's escape with our lives as soon as possible."

  Mo's injuries had never fully healed, and after being startled, he fainted again.

  When he woke up again, he found himself lying on Xiao Wu's back. Thinking of the scene where Xiao Wu was possessed by the old man earlier, Mo Xun suddenly let out a sharp cry.

  "Master, what's wrong?" Xiao Wu hastily put down Mo Wen upon hearing his voice.

  "You, you..." Mo Wen stared at Xiao Wu in horror.

  "Master, how did we end up at the cemetery?" Xiao Wu also looked stunned.

  "I'm not sure either. There are too many evil spirits here. It's not suitable for a long stay. We should leave as soon as possible." Mo Wen repeated Mr.'s words, coming back to his senses.

  "Alright, I'll carry you back." Xiao Wu agreed and bent his knees again.

  "No need, I can walk myself." Mo Wen shook his head and said, at this time he was already not far from home, the big fire behind him was still burning.

  After this incident, Mo Xiong never let Xiao Wu go out to find food alone again. Wherever they went, they were together. At night, they set fire to the houses and burned them down, trying to make the city bright.

  Two days later, Mrs. Mo finished the funeral and buried the coffin. The two prepared incense and candles and came to the riverbank to offer sacrifices to Old Wu and his wife, as well as Mr. Mo. All three had been swept into the icy torrent that day and were certainly dead, their bodies impossible to recover, so they could only be mourned by the riverside.

  Mo Wu then brought Xiao Wu to the Mo family ancestral hall, where he retrieved the gold biscuits his father had buried there for future use. Little did he know they would be needed so soon.

  Mo Wen didn't take all eight gold bars away, he left one behind. This was something he learned from his father: in life, you never know what's going to happen, but it's always good to be prepared.

  "Master, where are we going now?" Xiao Wu asked as they left the ancestral hall.

  "Don't call me young master anymore, just call me by name." Mo Wen sighed and spoke up, the master and servant who had been through thick and thin no longer had the worldly distinction of superior and inferior.

  "No matter what time it is, you are always the young master." Xiao Wu shook his head resolutely. The Mo family had saved the lives of the Wu family's ancestors, and the Wu family was forever grateful, following them for generations.

  "My father has passed away, and it's improper to call me 'young master', showing disrespect to our ancestors." Mo Xiang said.

  "Master." Xiao Wu immediately changed his address. After the old master passed away, the young master should be called the old master to show the inheritance of father and son, and the continuation of blood.

  "Just call me by name." Mo Wen didn't like this title with a tone of superiority.

  "Where are we going now, Master?" asked Xiao Wu.

  "Lao Wu, where are you going?" Mo also changed the way he addressed him, this new title was more intimate and could to some extent dilute the hierarchical meaning of "master".

  "Old Master, I'll listen to you." Xiao Wu didn't refuse Mo Wen's change in address because he too had no parents.

  "I heard that not everyone who was captured by the Hu people would be eaten, some would be sold. I think we should head north, and if we encounter the mistress, maybe we can use this money to redeem her." Mo asked Wu for his opinion, after all heading north was a very dangerous thing to do.

  "Good." Old Five nodded immediately. He wasn't unaware of how dangerous going north was, but he had grown accustomed to listening and following orders.

  After the discussion, Mo Xun took Lao Wu and left Xiyang County, leaving his hometown, heading north to find his wife...