Chapter 5: The First Meeting with Li Guang

  Night slowly enveloped the earth, Wei Shu picked up some firewood to prepare for a fire. The flint that had been polished smooth couldn't produce any sparks no matter how it was struck, Yun Xiao took out a lighter and also pulled out an alcohol block from her backpack, easily igniting a large pile of firewood.

  The bonfire was lit, and the orange flames drove away the cold. The firelight illuminated everyone's face. Wei Shu looked at Yun Xiao in surprise, amazed by his skills, which were considered to be of a heavenly person. The two children even more so admired Yun Xiao without bounds. Chattering and clapping, they completely forgot about the dignity of the Empress Dowager and the Grand Marshal.

  Wei Shu took out two black things from the package, and the green thing on top should be wild vegetables. Just looking at it made one lose their appetite, but the two children were crunching away with a loud "crunch". Wei Shu handed another piece to Yun Xiao, and when it was her turn, she hesitated and broke off half a piece for Yun Xiao.

  "You're still growing, eat more."

  Yun Xiao didn't take that black thing, but instead took out the last two cans of beef. He took out a Swiss army knife and handed it to the two children and Wei Shu.

  Looking at the pink thing, none of the three people dared to move, staring blankly at Yun Xiao.

  Xiao Bai saw the canned beef, excitedly let out a loud whoop and pounced on it. Yún Xiāo slapped open the can with one palm, tore open the last package of sausage and threw it over.

  Yun Xiao took out a stainless steel spoon and scooped up a piece of food to feed into Wei Qing's mouth.

  Covering his mouth with one hand, Wei Qing's small eyes widened as he shouted at Auntie Wei: "Auntie, it's salty!"

  He didn't even use a spoon, but grabbed a piece with his hand and stuffed it into Weizi's mouth. He didn't even notice that the sharp edge of the can had cut his finger.

  Wei's aunt used the spoon passed by Yun Xiao to scoop up a piece. Her eyes lit up, and another box had already been grabbed by two children and stuffed into their mouths, with their cheeks bulging like squirrels.

  Xiaobai wailed, looking at the shiny tin can with a resentful gaze in her eyes, and lowered her head to fight the sausage in front of her.

  Wei's aunt ate a few mouthfuls and said she was full. She pushed the can of food in front of Yun Xiao, who smiled and said he wasn't hungry. Then she pushed the can towards the two children staring at her with eager eyes, Yun Xiao didn't see clearly what happened, but this time it was Wei's husband who licked the can.

  "Child, what is this dish, with so much salt and pepper? In all the years I've lived, it's the first time I've had a meal with so much salt and pepper."

  Salt is a necessity of life, but it's also a state-controlled item, which has been the case for thousands of years. However, saying that I've eaten so much salt in my entire life, this is a bit excessive. You should be almost fifty this year, right?

  "Don't you usually eat salt?"

  "We eat ghost salt."

  "What's this 'Oni-yo'?"

  Twenty miles away from here, there is a place where the ground is covered with salt. However, after eating the salt from that place, people will slowly become bloated like a drum and die a terrible death. The old man said that this place was formed by the resentment of the dead, and eating ghostly salt would lead to being claimed by the spirits of the dead.

  But people can't live without salt. Our villagers can't afford to buy salt, so we have to eat "ghost salt". We can only eat a small amount per meal, but in just a few years, it will still cause us to die from bloating."

  Yun Xiao scratched his head, unsure of what was going on.

  After eating, the sister and brother were full of curiosity about the zipper on their backpack. The zippers on the backpack were pulled back and forth by the two of them, playing for half a night. Yun Xiao didn't dare take out his phone, the scene of Da Han's future queen and Da Sima general playing Tetris together must be very interesting.

  Looking at the figure who would be high above in the future, Yun Xiao closed his eyes.

  A red sun rose on the horizon, various birds chirping and jumping on the treetops as if they were holding a meeting. Yun Xiao was woken up by the birds' calls, rubbed his eyes, and suddenly jumped up to find several blurry hamsters lying neatly beside his head, their teeth bared in a way that really scared Yun Xiao.

  The birds on the tree were startled by the cloud's whistle and flew around in a flurry, which made Xiaobai resentful. Facing the cloud's whistle, it let out a few milk-like roars, and climbed up to an even higher branch, looking like it had no intention of coming down for a while.

  There was nothing to eat in the backpack, so Yun Xiao had no choice but to take the dark thing handed over by Wei Shu. He tentatively took a bite, and the taste made Yun Xiao almost go crazy, bitter and astringent, not to mention there was also a smelly smell, he dry-retched several times before handing the thing in his hand to his siblings.

  The sister and brother pushed each other, the final result was that they shared it equally, looking at the miserable eating of the sister and brother, Yun Xiao was speechless, Ah, the days of the big Han people are really sad. In the past news, it always said that we were a nation with deep disasters, now it seems to be true.

  When it was time to leave, Xiao Bai was still perched on the tree, refusing to come down no matter how Yun Xiao coaxed or threatened.

  Helpless Yun Xiao climbed onto the horseback, pretending to leave. Xiaobai quickly jumped down from the tree and bounced into Yun Xiao's arms, making all sorts of cute expressions.

  After comforting this guy who had just been at odds with himself, several people continued on their way.

  Suddenly a dazzling white patch appeared by the roadside, and in the scorching sunlight, it seemed as if the clouds were shouting, making it hard to open one's eyes.

  "That's Ghost Salt Flat, where ghosts' salt is everywhere. Let's go, we'll pass by there."

  Wei's aunt saw that Yun Xiao was very curious about that place.

  The vast expanse of salt sea was truly breathtaking, Yun Xiao jumped off the horse's back and took a small taste in his mouth. It was indeed salt, but how could it have a hint of quicklime flavor? He spat out the salt in his mouth, and his mouth felt hot and sour.

  I understand, the salt here contains a lot of calcium carbonate. It seems that this was once a lake, and after the water evaporated, the calcium carbonate settled on the surface of the salt. This place also has very little rainfall, so the calcium carbonate does not dissolve, eating this stuff is equivalent to slow suicide.

  "Brother Xiao, don't eat it, you'll die."

  Wei Qing's voice was very childish, who would have thought that this young boy would become the great general of the Xiongnu in the future.

  Yun Xiao patted Wei Qing's head.

  "Brother Xiao will never die."

  Maiyi is a large border town, with a population of no less than one million people in the city. The imperial court dispatched General Li Guang, known as the Flying General, to lead an army of 20,000 soldiers stationed here, supporting the northern border of the empire together with Yunzhong and Daijun.

  The soldiers guarding the city saw Yun Xiao's attire was unusual and he had four tall Xiongnu horses, so they went forward to interrogate him.

  Yun Xiao didn't waste words with him and threw a gold medal over.

  The garrison soldiers here are all old guys who have been on the border for many years. As soon as they saw the Huns' words engraved on the sign, they were shocked at once.

  After years of fighting on the border, I have seen the bone plaques of the Huns' soldiers and the wolf-tooth plaques of their leaders. This golden plaque is a symbol of the Huns' high-ranking officials. Could it be that they are envoys of the Huns? It doesn't seem like it, how could Huns' envoys have only a few people with them, without even any guards?

  He took out the head of Zuoduwei from his backpack and said, "This is the head of the Left Great General of Xiongnu. Take me to see General Li Guang quickly."

  The defender's lieutenant kicked away the soldier who was blocking his way, staring at the head of the Left Grand General with a dead gaze. After a long time, he actually knelt down.

  "Heaven has eyes, I, Liu Cheng, thank the young hero for executing this evil thief."

  Having finished speaking, he bowed his head and descended, the soldiers and civilians guarding the city all knocked their heads.

  Yun Xiao hastily dismounted and pulled Liu Cheng up.

  "What's the little hero's surname?"

  "The little boy's surname is Yun, his given name is a single character ' Xiao'."

  On the way to General's Mansion, Yun Xiao listened to Liu Cheng's explanation and only then did he understand why the soldiers guarding the city and the civilians were acting in such a manner.

  Five years ago, the Xiongnu invaded the border. The Left Grand Governor attacked and broke through the defenses of Mayi City, plundering nearly a million people. Mayi, which had a population of three million households, almost overnight became a hell on earth. Almost every family had been robbed or killed by the Left Grand Governor, so that the military and civilians of Mayi were all gnashing their teeth with rage towards him. Now seeing Yun Xiao bringing his head into the city, how could they not bow?

  Liu Cheng walked ahead with the head of Zu Dashou, and the people on both sides of the street all bowed their heads in gratitude to Yun Xiao.

  In front of the general's mansion, Li Guang personally welcomed him. Contrary to Yun Xiao's expectations, the legendary Flying General turned out to be a fat man, not only fat but also short. He was six feet tall and his waistline was also six feet. Possibly to avoid being beheaded by the enemy, his head was directly connected to his body, omitting the neck procedure. A pair of sideburns grew very luxuriantly, Yun Xiao didn't get a clear look at this simple yet not simple Flying General's appearance. He only got a clear look at his full beard, making one wonder if he had fully evolved.

  Li Guang had a crazy love for the head of Zuo Da Wei. Although it was already somewhat rotten, Li Guang still couldn't bear to put it down, holding it in his hands and spitting saliva at the head with big mouthfuls.

  "You young scamp also have today, when you harmed the people of Maiyi, did you ever think of today?"

  It seems that Li Guang even had the urge to take a bite, fortunately Liu Cheng reminded him in time. This didn't let Yun Xiao see a disgusting scene, otherwise Yun Xiao would have vomited three liters of "thank you but no thanks".

  Order the yamen to hasten the beheading, then send the head and gold medal to Chang'an by fast horse to report their merit to the imperial court. The historical records gave Old Li a good evaluation, his reputation was guaranteed. Yun Xiao didn't worry that he would embezzle his own merits.

  "Bring people, kill a sheep. I want to entertain this cloud general."

  Li Guang shouted loudly.