Zi Yang

  The two left Xiyang County at around 2 pm. As they headed north, Mo Wen didn't even turn his head back to take a look. Although Xiyang County was his hometown, it had now become a dead city. After sunset, the city was filled with eerie winds, and he just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

  Not long after proceeding forward, a fork in the road appeared ahead. It had snowed recently, and neither of the two roads had any footprints or tire tracks.

  "Old master, which way?" asked Lao Wu.

  "Let's take the main road." Mo Wen thought for a moment before speaking up, he didn't know which path was correct and could only rely on luck.

  Lao Wu nodded and turned onto the left road. Both of them were traveling far from home for the first time, neither had any experience traveling outside, they could only take it one step at a time.

  In the winter, it gets dark early, and by around 5 pm, the sky had already darkened. The two of them were in the middle of a desolate wilderness at this time, with no village ahead or store behind, and could only rely on the snow's faint light to take shallow steps and hurry along the road.

  At the second watch, the two saw a long wall faintly appearing in front of them. Judging from their speed and the time they had traveled, this should be Qingping City, fifty miles away from Xiyang County. This city has no civilians, it is a military camp where Jin State troops are stationed.

  After seeing the city, the two of them quickened their pace. As they drew closer, Mo Wu discovered that there was no light within the city walls. The absence of light meant that there were no barbarians living here. Compared to lonely spirits and wild ghosts, Mo Wu feared barbarians even more. Therefore, the lack of light in the city actually made him feel somewhat at ease.

  The city gate was open, and the heavy snow had not completely buried the carnage. The city was filled with corpses in various states of death. However, the two were no longer as frightened by the sight of dead bodies as they used to be. After entering the city, they found an abandoned barracks to rest and take a break.

  "Old master, can you make fire?" asked Lao Wu, stamping his foot.

  "It doesn't matter, the nomads shouldn't be coming back again." Mo Xiang said after a brief pause, before this everything was taken care of by his parents, he wasn't used to making decisions for himself, but now he had to learn how to make them.

  There was a fire pit in the barracks, and scattered around it were wood chips and tinder. Old Five quickly lit a fire. After trudging through the snowy terrain for dozens of miles, both men's shoes had long been soaked through. They huddled by the fire to dry their snow-soaked shoes.

  "Old master, are we on the right road?" asked Lao Wu.

  "Right." Mo Wen nodded and said.

  "How did you know the Huren went back on this road?" Lao Wu asked in puzzlement.

  "The corpses on the main road in the city have all been moved to both sides, apparently for vehicles. When the barbarians came, they were riding horses, and only when they left would they hurry to load their loot onto carts."

  "They ride horses and drive carts, we can't catch up with them." Lao Wu said with a hint of disappointment.

  "They always have time to stop." Mo Wen said.

  "Master, after passing Qingping City, it's the territory of the Huren people. If they see us, will they kill us?" asked Lao Wu with concern.

  "It won't be, I have a fellow student who fled to Xiyang with his family from Zhao Guo a few years ago. According to him, the Huren in Zhao Guo cannot kill Han people at will." Mo Wen said.

  "If the Hu people don't kill Han people, why are they still fleeing?" asked Lao Wu again.

  Mo Wen heard this and smiled bitterly, shaking his head. "I've heard that in Zhao Guo, if the Hu people take a liking to something belonging to the Han people, they can just take it away, even their women can be taken, and the authorities won't investigate."

  "We've got nothing left now, as long as we hide our silver coins well, we're not afraid of them robbing us." Old Five said.

  "It can't be put in a bundle." Mo Wen nodded and spoke up.

  "Where is it hidden?" Lao Wu asked, minding his own business.

  "Open it and hide it in your shoe." Without asking, he was currently baking shoes, a flash of inspiration came to him.

  "What a wonderful plan!" Old Five gave Mo a thumbs up.

  Mo Wen furrowed his brow and glanced at Lao Wu, the servant of a scholarly family might have picked up some official jargon from their master, but they only occasionally learned it from their owner, so they didn't understand it thoroughly and couldn't help but misuse it.

  At this time, there was no official currency, and the people's labor and business transactions were all in copper coins or scattered gold and silver. When a lot of gold and silver accumulated, they would be melted into large ingots for storage. Therefore, every household had melted gold and silver, including Lao Wu. The two of them melted the gold cakes and hammered them into four strips, each carrying two strips. The scattered gold that fell off during hammering was put outside for expenses.

  "Old master, you said that madam and my wife who didn't pass the door are still alive?" After finishing, Old Five took out dry rations and handed them to Mo Xun.

  "You can't call her your wife until she's married into the family." Mo Wen heard this and felt like laughing and crying at the same time. He wanted to laugh because Lao Wu still had feelings for Lin Ruochuan's maid, but he wanted to cry because this question was exactly what he had been afraid to think about all along.

  "Are they still alive?" Lao Wu stared straight at Mo Wen.

  "Living." Don't ask with closed eyes and open mouth.

  "The barbarians are cannibals, how do you know they're still alive?" asked Lao Wu again.

  He didn't ask, but instead reached out to wipe away the tears that had welled up in his eyes. The words he had spoken earlier were carefully chosen, and Lin Ruochen and the maid should still be alive, but the reason they survived was something he didn't want to face.

  "Old master, speak." Lao Wu did not notice Mo Xun's actions and continued to ask questions. Although Mo Xun called him Old Five, in reality he was still Young Five, a year younger than Mo Xun.

  "The two women, mistress and maid, were both beautiful, the barbarians wouldn't bear to eat them." Mo asked with a trembling tone. Having experienced the huge changes before, he understood a truth: cruel things won't stop happening just because one closes their eyes; some things must happen, whether you want to see them or not.

  "Are you saying that the barbarians will keep my wife and your unmarried daughter-in-law to sell for a good price?" asked Lao Wu.

  Don't ask, at this moment he was extremely sad and pained in his heart. Lin Ruochen had fallen into the hands of the barbarians and couldn't avoid suffering humiliation, it had already become a settled matter, it would inevitably happen, he couldn't stop it or change it, which made him heartbroken and wished to die. But Lao Wu's words also made him laugh, Lao Wu still remembered the things he had promised, fearing that the master's promises wouldn't be kept, so he kept saying "cheap inside" and "old lady" in order to make things real.

  "What you said is right, the barbarians will leave their goods behind, so they are still alive. We have more than 30 taels of gold, and we can definitely buy them back. At that time, I will let you two get married." Mo asked out after a moment of silence, he didn't want to make Xiao Wu suffer, without revealing anything.

  "Thank you, young master." Old Five said happily.

  Don't ask for a nod and a smile, although smiling, but with a heart full of sorrow.

  The loyalty of the servant is partly due to the bloodline, and partly due to the master's genuine treatment. Mo Wen's words moved Xiao Wu deeply, who poured water and made the bed with great diligence.

  "Young master, this pair of boots is for officials to wear, I'll give it to you." Old Five handed a pair of dried boots in front of Mo Wen.

  "Your shoes are broken, just keep wearing them." Mo Wen said with a wave of his hand.

  "That's it." Old Five began trying on shoes. This pair of boots was well-made, with rabbit fur insoles inside, and they felt very comfortable when worn.

  Lao Wu put on his boots and walked back and forth, testing whether they fit. Mo asked suddenly, "You can't wear these boots."

  "I'm hot-tempered and I'm not afraid of even ghosts." Lao Wu said casually.

  "These boots belong to the Jin State's school lieutenant. If you wear them, when you arrive in Zhao State, you might be mistaken for a spy by the Hu people." Mo Xiang explained.

  "What is Xiaozuo?" Lao Wu heard this term for the first time.

  "It's just an explorer." Don't ask for explanations.

  Lao Wu's face turned pale with fear, and he hastily took off his boots and threw them into the fire. However, just as they were about to be burned, he quickly pulled them out again, saving the rabbit fur insoles that had not yet been scorched.

  "Old master, you're getting more and more like Master Tai, thinking things through so thoroughly." Lao Wu hastily asked.

  Lao Wu finished speaking to Mo Xiang, but instead of responding, he stared blankly at the branches in the fire pit. During this time, he felt that he had indeed thought too much. Without his parents' protection, everything could only rely on himself. Just like trees, when a person loses their father, it's as if they've lost their crown. As the ancient saying goes, "When the crown is broken, new shoots emerge; when the father leaves, the son takes over." The loss of his family forced him to learn how to think and survive in the shortest amount of time possible, a process that was both cruel and swift.

  "Old master, listen." Just as Mo Xun was stunned, Lao Wu spoke out and interrupted him.

  Don't ask, as soon as he came back to his senses, he pricked up his ears and listened carefully, only to find that there were footsteps outside the house. The footsteps were very urgent, from far to near, apparently rushing towards the house where the two of them were.

  The sudden footsteps startled them both. When they arrived earlier, there were no footprints inside the quiet city of Qingping, so it was natural that the person outside came from outside the city.

  "Master, what shall we do?" Lao Wu hastily asked Mo for advice.

  Mo didn't ask, extremely panicked, instinctively wanting to escape, but he suddenly thought that there was only one set of footsteps, it shouldn't be a nomad, and besides, the nomads wouldn't have any reason to run here in the middle of the night to catch them.

  "It shouldn't be a barbarian." Mo Xiang said his own judgment.

  Don't ask how accurate the judgment was, but the person who came in was indeed not a barbarian. However, he took too much time to think about the problem in his panic, and as soon as his voice fell, a voice came from outside the house, "Wú Liàng Tiān Zūn."

  Don't ask, upon hearing the sound, he turned his head and saw a young Taoist standing outside the house, wearing a blue Taoist robe. The man was around twenty years old, with a pale face and no beard, his hair tied up in a Taoist knot, holding a large package in his left hand and grasping a long sword in his right hand.

  "Would you two gentlemen mind doing me a favor and letting me rest here for a moment?" the young Taoist asked.

  "We are also just passing by, please come in quickly." Mo didn't ask and stood up to welcome him. As long as the visitor wasn't a barbarian, no matter if he was a monk or a Taoist, male or female, he would be welcomed.

  The Taoist got the permission of Mo Wen, and then stepped into the house. After entering the house, he put down his bag and long sword, and saluted the two with a bow, "I am at your service."

  By the firelight, don't ask why this person's bowing action is different from others. Others bow with their right hand clenched into a fist and their left hand grasping their right fist, but this Taoist in front of him bowed with his right hand grasping his bent left thumb.

  "Please have a seat." Mo Wen asked again.

  The young Taoist's eyebrows and hair were covered with frost, apparently frozen. Upon hearing this, he quickly walked to the fire heap to warm himself up.

  "Old Five, bring some food for Daozhang." Mo Wen said to Old Five.

  Lao Wu took out a piece of flatbread from his bundle and handed it to the young Taoist, who thanked him and accepted it, eating slowly. Mo Xun saw that he was having trouble swallowing, so he poured half a bowl of warm water for him. The young Taoist thanked him with a nod, took the ceramic bowl, and drank it all in one gulp.

  "Thank you both." The young Taoist finished his meal and stood up, appearing as if he was about to leave.

  "It's cold tonight, let's stay here for the night." Mo didn't ask him to persuade him, he and Lao Wu had just left home, their eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, and they urgently wanted to talk to people and understand the situation outside.

  "The burden is heavy and the road is long, we can't slack off. These two wooden plaques are given to you two, perhaps there's a auspicious connection." The young Taoist took out two yellow wooden plaques from his package, each about the size of a palm, and handed them over to Mo Wen and Lao Wu.

  "Thank you, Daozhang." Mo Wen took the wooden plaque and thanked the young Daoist. The young Daoist's package was full of such plaques, numbering in the thousands, probably talismans to be given to pilgrims for protection.

  The young Taoist didn't stay long either, bidding farewell and leaving hastily, coming in a hurry and going in a hurry.

  "Old master, this Taoist's amulet is a bit strange?" said Lao Wu.

  "What's strange?" Mo Wen stood at the door and saw the person off as they headed south.

  "Other Daoist priests' talismans I couldn't understand, but there's a character on this one that I recognize," said Old Fifth.

  Mo Wen felt a slight sense of doubt, Old Five was diligent but not fond of reading, the characters he knew wouldn't add up to more than a hundred. With this doubt in mind, Mo Wen walked over to the fire pit and examined the wooden sign carefully by the light of the flames. He discovered that this sign wasn't one of those protective talismans drawn by Daoist priests he had seen before, but rather had writing on both sides. The characters on the back were small and numerous, and the lighting was poor, making them hard to discern. The characters on the front were large and few in number, with only two crimson seal script characters

  Cheers!