Zi Yang

  The only way to ward off the cold and drive away the wolves was to start a fire. Without asking, he added branches to the fire from time to time. He knew it was New Year's Eve, but he didn't feel sad or nostalgic about it. What he was thinking about was that the Confucianism and Mencius' teachings his master had taught him were indeed impractical in this environment. Humility, etiquette, and concession could not bring kindness from others. The events of the day were a good proof. The two men did not provoke the robbers, but they still robbed them of their belongings, even wanting to take away their clothes, without giving them any chance to speak or reason.

  When the Hu people were slaughtering, he thought of revenge first, but after careful consideration, there was no way to report. After being robbed in broad daylight, he also thought of reporting to the government, but the two were from Jin State and had no household registration in Zhao State, so even if they reported it, the county government would not pursue the robbers.

  After a day of exhaustion, Mo Wen quickly fell asleep. He didn't know how long had passed when he heard a noise inside the house. Opening his eyes, he found that the fire was almost extinguished. Two dog-like creatures appeared at the door, trying to get in.

  Mo didn't ask if they were two wolves, and in a state of terror, he shouted loudly. The wild wolf was startled, turned around and ran out. Mo hastily added firewood to the fire heap, and the fire reignited. The wild wolf was afraid of the light and did not dare to enter the house, and it wandered outside the temple.

  Don't ask about the scene that scared him earlier, he was drenched in sweat, trembling like a sieve, and didn't dare to sleep or doze off again. He sat by the fire pit, watching over it, while at the same time worrying about Old Five. The flint left behind by Old Five had been given to him, so how would Old Five start a fire to keep warm in the evening, and where would he take shelter? In the desolate city of Qingping and Xiyang County, filled with dead bodies everywhere, wouldn't Old Five be afraid?

  Outside the temple, two wolves may not have caught prey for a long time, and they kept circling around the broken temple. At first, Mo asked only out of fear, but later he had anger in his heart, using stones to drive them away. The wild wolves were driven away and ran far, looking at the broken temple from afar.

  "If you dare to come back, I'll kill you." Mo asked loudly, speaking harshly. As the ancient saying goes, "Reading ten thousand volumes is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles." Two months of wandering and encountering many things had taught him a truth: one cannot be too kind, or else they will be bullied by others.

  Although he spoke fiercely, he was still a bookworm at heart. After shouting, he sat back by the fire and shivered with fear, knowing that if the two wolves really charged in, he would be completely unable to defend himself.

  Just as he was secretly fearful, a heavy footsteps came from outside the house. Just by listening to the footsteps, it was clear that the person who came was a strong man. Mo didn't ask and had already become a startled bird, hearing the sound and picking up a stick in his arms, nervously looking towards the door.

  "A whole mountain of rabbits and field mice that don't even eat, come running to eat humans, ruining their reputation for no reason, get out!" The footsteps outside the temple stopped, followed by a loud scolding.

  No one asked where he was, but he could see the two wolves running away from the temple not far away after the incoming person scolded.

  As the newcomer drove away the wolf, he must not be a bad person. Just as Mo asked thought he had met a kind-hearted person, the strong man who walked into the temple made him almost scared to death. The newcomer wore a sheepskin coat, was seven feet tall, with broad shoulders and long arms, standing like a black tower. However, what made Mo ask surprised and fearful was not his physique but his appearance. His face was narrow, his nose protruded, his eyes were round and open, his beard was all black, his hands were extremely large, and there was black hair on the back of his hand. He grasped a five-foot copper rod as thick as a child's arm in his right hand.

  "How ugly!" Mo Wen thought to himself.

  "Don't be afraid, it's too cold outside, I'll warm up the fire." The newcomer spoke and sat down beside the fire pit without waiting for Mo to ask, putting down his copper rod and stretching out his hands to warm them by the fire. The flames licked at the black hair on his hands, but he didn't seem to care.

  After the newcomer sat down, Mo asked him to put down his stick and move aside, staring at the robust man who looked like a black tower.

  "You ran so far for nothing, and you're still holding onto that stick. What's the point of having a stick like that?" The strong man looked at Mo Wen with disdain.

  "You, I'm not, I took the stick to hit wolves." Mo didn't ask, under tension his words were incoherent, but the sturdy man was right, compared to other people's copper sticks, the stick in his arms could only be used to stir the fire.

  "Hahaha, wolves like to bite people's throats. The best way is to stab them in the belly with a knife when they jump up. You can't use a stick, and as soon as you raise your hand, their necks are exposed." The strong man burst out laughing.

  "Thank you for your heroic teachings." Mo Wen bowed his head in gratitude, the stranger's words were rough and his expression was fierce, but he didn't have a treacherous look.

  "Come on over, I won't hit you." The strong man beckoned to Mo Wen with a wave of his hand.

  Mo Wenxun could only take slow steps and stood beside the robust man with a trembling heart.

  "What have you offended someone for, and been beaten into this state?" The strong man sized up Mo Wen's bruised face.

  "I met a strong man on the road and suffered a disaster. Fortunately, a master lent a hand to help me out, otherwise my life would be in danger." Mo Wen's cautious reply.

  "Damn it, what a bookworm! When speaking to Third Master, don't chew on words, Third Master, I don't understand." The strong man's face showed anger.

  "I met robbers and they beat me up." Mo asked hastily changing his words.

  "Ah, much better." The robust man nodded in satisfaction, reached out to grab the melted snow water from Mo Wen and drank it all in one gulp, then turned to look at Mo Wen, "Do you have any food?"

  Don't ask, he hastily took out a pancake from his bosom and handed it to the strong man.

  "Third Master, I won't eat this, you have it yourself." The robust man reached into his bosom and pulled out a leg of mutton, opening his mouth to take a big bite.

  Don't ask, he was already terrified, and seeing this made him even more afraid. The strong man was eating a raw sheep's leg, and as he tore at the meat, his sharp canine teeth were clearly visible in his mouth.

  "Do you want to eat? Here." The strong man saw Mo Xiang staring at the lamb leg in his hand, so he casually tore off a piece and handed it to Mo Xiang.

  Mo Xiang hastily waved his hand, the strong man suddenly glared at him, Mo Xiang quickly reached out to take it over, holding it in his hand like a hot potato, neither daring to eat nor throw it away.

  "May I ask the hero's surname and great name?" Mo asked without a word.

  "You've got a good eye, you know I'm a hero, but my surname isn't Gao, nor do I have one. My name is Hei San, just call me San Ye." The robust man spoke as he pulled out a wineskin from his bosom, removed the stopper and took a few swigs.

  "Do you want a drink?" Hei San handed the wineskin over to Mo Xian.

  "Thanks, hero, I don't drink." Mo Wen shook his head repeatedly.

  "You can't even drink, what are you staring at me for?" Hei San glared again.

  Don't ask, Wen heard the words and hastily turned his head away, never daring to look directly at Hei San again.

  Hei San ignored him and continued to drink by the fire, eating meat until he had gnawed a sheep's leg clean, then threw away the bones with satisfaction and let out a contented belch.

  Mo Wen took the opportunity to put the raw meat aside and sat by the fire pit to add firewood.

  "Hey, bookworm, can you read?" Hei San'ao asked loudly.

  "Recognize the character." Mo Wen nodded in response, by this time he already knew that Hei San was not a bad person, but Hei San's mental state seemed to be not quite right, at least he didn't seem very intelligent.

  "Take a look at what's written on this and read it out loud to Third Master." Black Three handed over a wooden sign with his fluffy big hand.

  No need to ask, seeing the style of the wooden signboard, I knew it was also a post from the Upper Clear Sect. I took it over and looked at it with my head down, and indeed, it was correct, only the number was different. This one was "Bing Chou Liu Er Ba".

  Mo Wen read out the words on the wooden sign, and Hei San Yi burst out laughing, "You're half a month early."

  "Is the hero also going to Mount Wulang?" Mo asked, according to the numbering on the wooden sign, this person received a wooden sign that was not issued by the same person as him and Lao Wu. If calculated using the Jiazi method, there may be sixty people distributing the wooden signs, with each person responsible for distributing one thousand, and the total number should be around sixty thousand.

  "That's it." Hei San yawned.

  "Is the hero also going to Mount Wutai to listen to the scriptures?" Mo asked.

  "Third Master doesn't know a single big character, heard some bird scriptures, Third Master I'm going to learn magic." Hei San grabbed a bundle of branches as a pillow and lay down in his clothes.

  Mo Wen didn't say a word, in his opinion, the so-called magic was too elusive and unreliable. However, after a moment, he suddenly had an idea, "Hero, I heard that scriptures are orally recited, while magic is written on bamboo slips and paper, you can't read, how can you learn?"

  "Hei San said, 'I can bring back Bu Xian Shan and have my wife read it to me.'"

  "What if they don't let us take it away?" Mo Xiang said.

  "Then I'll just find someone nearby to help," said Hei San.

  "People who go to Mount Wulao are all there to learn skills, who would help you for no reason? What if they take the opportunity to steal the wonderful method, wouldn't you suffer a great loss?" Mo Xun said.

  "This makes sense, bookworm. I think you're quite loyal, why don't you come with me? Third Master will pay to hire you." Hei San quickly scrambled up.

  "I'm poor and destitute, I also have this intention, unfortunately my wife and I were separated in Ye City, I want to go find her, can't accompany the hero to Wu Liang Mountain." Mo Xun felt deeply ashamed of the other's generous praise, in fact he was secretly plotting against Hei San.

  Hei San frowned and pouted upon hearing the words, but after a moment, he suddenly glared with wide eyes, "This is easy to say, I'll help you find her, follow me to Wu Liang Mountain."

  "Thanks, Third Master, but Ye City is very big, I'm afraid it can't be covered in three days. Mo didn't ask, but he was overjoyed in his heart. This man was extremely strong and had a copper club, so he must have been skilled in martial arts. With him by his side, not only would food and drink be taken care of, but safety wouldn't be a problem either."

  "Third Master, I rarely come down from the mountain, so it's just right for me to take a stroll for ten days or half a month." Hei San didn't think much of it.

  Good fortune descended from the sky, Mo asked happily and exceptionally, but he was after all a bookish scholar, his heart upright and unable to speak flattering words. He repeatedly said things like "This copper rod cannot be wielded without the strength of ten thousand pounds" and "The hero's power should surpass that of Xiang Yu". Even so, Hei San was very pleased and had a great conversation with Mo, eventually considering him a kindred spirit. They took out their wine pouches and drank heartily.

  Hei San's face turned redder as he spoke, Mo Wen's face turned greener. Earlier, he only thought of asking someone to help find his wife, but ignored Hei San's identity. Hei San had drunk too much wine and was heavily intoxicated, unknowingly revealing a long black tail behind him...