Ink panel: Hunting the sun and surveying the sky from the bow.

The mottled yellow land spreads out under the blue sky, tranquil and vast.

Shen Qing lay on the simple cart floor, looking at the sky without saying a word, his body swaying constantly with the bumps of the donkey cart.

Around him, there was a group of farmers in coarse clothes, following the donkey cart and moving forward together.

The dry yellow soil rose up under their feet and floated aside.

"Sir, you look like someone from the city, it's really rare here!" Li Dazhuang's rough voice broke the silence around them. He asked curiously, "Sir, where are you from?"

Others couldn't help but prick up their ears, and were very curious about Shen Qing's origins.

Shen Qing glanced at these weather-beaten men and said sparingly, "Kyoto."

"What is Kyoto?"

"It's very far away. It's three thousand miles away."

"Boy, that's really far away."

Everyone else thought Shen Qing was bragging and didn't quite believe it.

In their opinion, after walking more than 3,000 miles, a pair of legs would probably be worn out.

Master Li from the next village, even though he had practiced martial arts, wouldn't dare say he could walk such a long distance.

Shen Qing had no intention of explaining.

Nowadays, demons are rampant in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and his cultivation has not yet fully recovered. It is very dangerous for him to be alone in the wilderness.

So after comprehensive consideration, he decided to go back with these people, so that he would have some protection.

As long as he can settle down and be given one night, his injuries will be mostly recovered, and it will be safer for him to leave then.

After all, these people are just casual acquaintances, so there is no need to communicate too much.

As the donkey cart continued to move forward, the scenery on both sides gradually changed. There were more and more trees, and there were traces of many human activities.

Not long after, they finally arrived at a village in a valley.

The village is not big, with only a dozen or so households scattered around.

The old houses built with loess are almost integrated with the hillside. If it were not for the curling smoke rising from the chimneys, it would be difficult to tell from a distance that there is a village hidden here.

"Oh, look! Chen Gouzi, Li Dazhuang and the others are back!"

At the entrance of the village, a little girl with pigtails was shouting excitedly, her little hand tightly grasping a potato, her eyes full of joy.

"Oh, it's true! You came back so early today?"

The lady next to her responded with a smile, without stopping the needlework in her hands, but her eyes involuntarily looked in the direction of the donkey cart.

"Xu~"

The donkey cart stopped at the entrance of the village. Chen Gouzi stepped out from among the people and shouted, "Auntie Li, I want to talk to the village chief about something."

Aunt Li glanced at Shen Qing behind Chen Gouzi and asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"

"I found it on the road. Is Muramasa in the house now?"

"I just saw him come back from the fields. I didn't see him go out. He should still be in the house."

"Okay, I'll go see him." Chen Gouzi instructed the others behind him, "You all wait here for a while, I'll be back soon."

After saying that, he left in a hurry without waiting for Li Dazhuang and the others to say anything.

After he left, Shen Qing used up some strength to sit up on the car board.

"Can you sit up now?" Li Dake looked at Shen Qing in surprise.

Shen Qing said calmly: "Yeah."

He looked around Shangao Village. This village was very poor in some ways, even poorer than Hongshan Village where he lived.

At least Hongshanzhai relies on the mountain and the water for its livelihood, so there is still some hope.

But the mountains here are barren and even water is extremely scarce.

Shen Qing felt uncomfortable and difficult to adapt after staying here for a while.

Li Dazhuang smiled heartily and said, "That's great. There are many fun places in our village. When you recover, you can go and experience them yourself."

Shen Qing responded with a smile and nodded.

On the other side, in a mud brick house in Shangao Village.

Chen Gouzi walked to the door of the village head's house.

The door hinges on the mottled wooden door made a slight sound.

The village chief came out of the house and sat calmly on the doorstep.

After years of wear and tear, this threshold has become extremely round, with a slight depression in the middle, making it just the right size to sit on.

When the village head saw Chen Gouzi coming over, he pretended not to see him and lowered his head to knock the pipe in his hand.

Then, he held the dry pipe in one hand and took out wisps of golden tobacco from the small cloth bag beside him with the other hand and filled the pipe with the tobacco.
After completing all this, the head of the village gently took out a fire starter from his pocket and blew it gently.

Flames burst out of it.

The headman brought his pipe closer and lit the tobacco in it.

He took two quick puffs, waited until the tobacco was burned before putting away the lighter, took a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes.

After a while, he slowly spit it out.

In the smoke, his face looked even more peaceful.

The village head said, "It's Gouzi. Come in and sit for a while. It's windy outside."

His voice was deep and as old as a jar of aged wine.

Chen Gouzi took two steps forward and said anxiously, "No, I want to tell you something. We found a stranger outside today. His identity seems a little different, so we brought him back. We need your advice."

The village head frowned slightly when he heard this, and his expression became serious. He put aside the pipe in his hand and said, "Gouzi, what's going on? Explain it to us."

"Here's the thing."

Chen Gouzi told them everything from how Erdan snatched the other party's tripod, to how they took the initiative to apologize, and finally how they returned to the village together, without hiding anything.

After listening, the village head took another long puff of his cigarette, nodded in agreement and said, "You are right. I heard that things are very chaotic outside, and we ordinary people don't have much ability. If we provoke the wrong people, the whole village may be in danger."

"That's where you think we are..." Chen Gouzi asked.

"Since you're here, just bring him in. It's always better to have more friends than more enemies." The village head said with finality.

"Okay. I'll go and let them in."

"Well, send it to me first?"

"got it."

Chen Gouzi turned and ran away. The village head shouted, "Tomorrow, Wong Tai Sin will send his men to ask us for offerings again. This time the lottery is for your Ni'er, so you better be prepared."

Chen Gouzi paused, then pretended not to hear and walked towards the village gate.

When he reached the entrance of the village, Li Dazhuang stepped forward and asked, "What do you mean?"

"The village head said he wanted to see you first." Chen Gouzi walked up to Shen Qing and raised his chin.

Shen Qing straightened his back and said calmly: "Okay, please lead the way, brothers." (End of this chapter)