Chapter 20: The Lower Marriage Proposal (Part 1)

  Cao Guangyi listened to Yang Yingqi's words and said in surprise: "The Eastern Continent?"

  Yang Yingqi said: "That's right, according to... that ancient book, on the other side of the ocean, there is a vast continent..."

  "Is it Dongying?" asked Cao Guangyi.

  "No." Yang Yingqi said: "Dongying is just a few big islands, and the Eastern Continent is much farther away from Dongying, maybe with tens of thousands of miles of sea routes."

  Cao Guangyi clicked his tongue and said: "Several tens of thousands of miles! How can this General Li get past!"

  Yang Yingqi said: "According to ancient records, our land and the land on the other side of the sea extend northward, and at the northernmost point, there is a place very close by, only tens of miles apart. If we take advantage of the seasonal winds, it's possible to cross over from that route. However, this path is fraught with danger, and the chance of successfully crossing the sea and returning is low. The specific circumstances back then are now difficult to guess, and this genealogy doesn't describe it clearly either. We can only infer that General Li chased after the rebellious minister to the Eastern Continent, and later the rebellious minister escaped ashore into the interior of the Eastern Continent, fleeing thousands of miles, but General Li also landed and pursued him, and amazingly managed to capture the rebellious minister again." At this point, he let out a sigh and said: "This General Li is truly extraordinary!"

  Cao Guangyi said: "He may be great, but I still can't figure out why you were so excited just now."

  Yang Yingqi said: "What I'm happy about is the things he brought back! General Li met some 'foreigners' on the Eastern Continent, yes, it's written here: 'Their faces are all painted with colors, their language cannot be understood, but they do not offend each other, and they use gestures to communicate...'. That's right! That's right! It seems that General Li obtained these food and supplies from them, as for the tobacco, most of it was probably brought back as a curiosity. Alas, he actually managed to return along the way, it can no longer be said that it is remarkable, but rather fortunate."

  Cao Guangyi nodded and said, "Unfortunately, he returned after the fall of Bohai State. He was pursued by the treacherous general Hu Bing and escaped to this deep valley where he lived out his days in seclusion."

  Yang Yingqi said, "Yes, and his descendants continued to live in this small valley, planting corn, potatoes and other crops he brought from the Eastern Continent. Fortunately, there were these things, otherwise this mountain valley was so small that it could not support so many people."

  "But there's one thing I don't understand, how could such a heroic figure become so foolish later on? Could it be that something he brought back from the Eastern Continent is poisonous?"

  "No." Yang Yingqi flipped through the genealogy and said, "From various signs, it can be seen that after General Li moved in, no one has come to this valley again! And General Li's descendants underestimated the danger of the outside world and didn't dare to go out. Over the centuries, the fear of the outside world seems to have become an instinct! We should be the first batch of intruders. Second brother, have you noticed that in the first generation of this genealogy, there are only six men, including two brothers? But now, this small valley is probably already home to over a thousand people."

  "What's the difference?" Cao Guangyi said.

  Yang Yingqi sighed: "Six families have become several hundred households, which explains one thing: they are intermarried with close relatives!"

  Cao Guangyi said: "Of course it's not good, but... will marrying close relatives lead to stupidity?"

  Yang Yingqi said, "I've read a medical book that mentions the marriage of humans. It's best to marry those who are farthest in blood relation. Close relatives marrying each other can easily lead to all sorts of strange diseases and even cause the human species to degenerate. I had only seen it in books before, but today I'm seeing a real-life example! Alas, what a pity that General Li, such a heroic figure, has descendants like this." He thought to himself, "These people have no resistance to external forces or natural disasters. If war were to break out here, or some plague were to spread through animals, they would likely be wiped out. In the history of my dreams, crops like corn didn't appear until the late Ming dynasty. It seems that in that time and space, this valley was completely destroyed for some reason. Perhaps it was due to war, or perhaps an earthquake or great fire."

  Cao Guangyi also sighed and said: "Then what should we do? Should we rescue these people?"

  Yang Yingqi shook his head and said, "I can't think of a good solution right now. As for saying that forcibly relocating them would be a disaster for them."

  "Can't we just let them fend for themselves here?"

  Yang Yingqi sighed: "Our strength is limited, and for the time being, we can only do so. If we become stronger in the future, maybe we can think of other ways."

  Cao Guangyi took Yang Yingqi to that unnamed valley, and the companions who stayed in the village were not idle either. Xiao Tienu said to Ouyang Yi: "Yang Yingqi has left, we can handle things now, why did you follow him!"

  Ouyang Shidao said: "Are you referring to the matter of Zhe Lao Da? Are we taking action now?"

  Xiao Tienu said, "Right now! Cao Laoer said that the place is two or three days' journey away. They will come and go, plus the delay, at least five or six days, we can handle it just in time!"

  Ouyang Shidao said: "What to do?"

  Xiao Tienu said: "You have more tricks up your sleeve than I do! This matter was also stirred up by you, you think of a way and I'll assist."

  Ouyang Shi frowned and said, "You're really good at talking! How about this? You first tell us how that woman tricked you into marrying her. If the strategy is clever, we can learn from it."

  As soon as he heard this, Xiao Tienu's face changed greatly, and he snorted: "I won't get involved in this matter anymore, you handle it yourself!"

  "Hey! Don't go! I won't mention this again, okay?" Ouyang Yi hurriedly called out. However, Xiao Tienu ignored him.

  "Damn it! If you can handle it yourself, then handle it yourself! Deception... deception... Fine! I'll make a big move!"

  He went to the forging room, took out the best one from Zhang Lao Yu's newly made strong bows, let Yang Kai Yuan engrave a tiger character on it, and then ran to find Wanyan Hu Dao: "My big brother gave it to you."

  Wanyan Hu took it and said, "Which big brother is this?"

  Ouyang Shidao said: "Which big brother do I still have? Naturally it's Zhe Yan Chong!"

  Wanyan Hu pushed his bow and said: "Since you want to send something, why didn't he come himself."

  Ouyang Shidao said: "You don't understand this, we Han people often have some things done by our brothers."

  Wanyan Huzi smiled unintentionally and put away his bow, saying: "So that's how it is. I've never heard of this before."

  Ouyang Shidao said: "Do you have anything to give to my elder brother?"

  Wanyan Hudao said: "I don't have anything precious that can be compared to this bow..." He paused and said: "Wait a minute!" He went into the house, found a tiger skin, and handed it over: "Here."

  "Give me?"

  "Let your elder brother have it!"

  Ouyang Yi smiled and said: "A girl sending tiger skin, this is rarely seen."

  Wanyan Hudao said: "The day I was born, my father happened to have shot a tiger, it's this one."

  Ouyang Yi was overjoyed and said: "So that's it! My elder brother will definitely be very happy when he sees this!"