Zhu Xian: Learn from the Great Ying Immortal and rebuild the Trinity School

Chapter 18 My Husband's Last Name is Lu
Xu Zhiqiu could no longer remember how long he had been traveling, nor how many days he had not eaten.

He remembered that he hadn't had any water for three days.

My stomach and brain had been numb for a long time, and my whole body felt light as a piece of cotton.

He was like a lonely ghost wandering in the wilderness, a traveler in a daze.

The land along this road is dry and cracked, and the rivers are dry.

There was nothing but dead trees, weeds, sand, gravel and not even a puddle of water.

So, when he stood on a high hill and saw the end of his sight - a village backed by a mountain with sparse smoke from cooking fires.

He rushed towards the village without any hesitation.

When he got there, there were kind-hearted people who were willing to give him some food.

It was out of kindness that he gave away the more than 100 kilograms of meat to be used as food for others.

That's unknown.

Now that it has come to this, we have to try our luck.

………………

Back mountain village,
Perhaps it is the only place in Minzhou that was not severely affected by the disaster.

In other places, people were eating their own children and there were starving people everywhere.

Although most of the people in this place are pale and thin.

But at least every household still has food to eat.

No one will starve to death.

Why is this place so special?

The objective reason is that the mountain that this village is leaning against happens to be on a branch of a spiritual vein of the mountains and rivers, so the products are relatively abundant.

As for the subjective reasons... anyway, according to what the local villagers firmly believe, it is because of the blessing of the mountain god.

There is a low bluestone archway at the entrance of the village.

It is no more than ten feet high and just wide enough for two horses to run side by side.

There are four words written on the archway: Respect Heaven and Follow Ancestors.

Below, a group of three or five children were chasing after a stranger, laughing and throwing clods of dirt at him.

Beat him! Beat him! Beat this outsider!
Xu Zhiqiu was helpless in being disturbed, and suddenly he made a face and took a few steps towards them in a threatening manner.

The dolls screamed excitedly and fled in all directions.

But after a while they gathered around quietly again, picked up clods of dirt and threw them at his butt.

Xu Zhiqiu really didn't have the strength to drive him away.

He just let these kids bully him.

In fact, he was relieved in his heart. The fact that children were playing around meant that the village still had enough food.

On the village road, three or two villagers would gather and point at him.

Seeing his unfamiliar face, many people were wary.

Xu Zhiqiu stepped forward reluctantly.

He took out a light blue purse from his bosom and poured out a few pieces of silver from the purse.

"My fellow villagers, I am a traveler fleeing famine. I have been hungry for several days. Can you sell me some food?"

He had high expectations, but unexpectedly, he hit a wall.

The man in front of him taunted:

"Golden beans are not as valuable as yellow beans these days, and silver is not as valuable as steamed buns. Who would be willing to sell it to you?"

People around agreed:
"You stranger, don't stay in our village, leave now!"

"Yes, yes, the mountain god might blame me!"

He was driven away rudely by these villagers.

Before he could say a few more words, he was almost knocked to the ground.

Xu Zhiqiu was chased out of the archway at the entrance of the village. He was so hungry that he felt weak all over and dizzy. He could only lean on the archway and struggle to survive.

The group of kids from before gathered around again, laughing and throwing clods of earth at him.

He was helpless and could only protect his head with his hands and curl up his body.

I sighed in my heart: For a cultivator to fall into such an embarrassing situation, it is really...

Gradually, his eyelids became heavier and heavier, and he fell asleep.

Time passed, and after an unknown amount of time, the children who had thrown him were called back by their families.

Only Xu Zhiqiu was left, and no one cared about him.

The sun was setting, the sunlight became less scorching, and in the blink of an eye it was dark again.

He leaned in the shadow of the archway, as quiet as a corpse.

Only the chest rises and falls slightly with breathing.

suddenly,

A little girl, seeing that there was no one around, came over quietly, holding a bowl of watery millet porridge in her hand.

The little body squatted in front of him and scooped up a spoon to feed him.

But Xu Zhiqiu's lips were so dry that his upper and lower lips were stuck together.

The whole person fainted and had no reaction at all.

I tried several times but couldn't get it in.
The girl seemed to be anxious and turned around twice on the spot.

Then he broke off a hollow reed from the side of the road and stuck it into his mouth.

He drank a mouthful of the porridge and passed the porridge into his mouth through the reed tube.

One bite after another.

Using this method, I quickly fed him half a bowl.

Slowly, the instinct to swallow awakened consciousness.

But as soon as Xu Zhiqiu opened his eyes, the girl seemed to be frightened. She shrank back nervously, then picked up the bowl and ran away.

His mind is still in a state of confusion.

Seeing only half a bowl of sweet porridge getting farther and farther away from him, how could he be willing to give in? He hurriedly propped himself up and staggered after it.

One ran and the other chased, and soon they caught up to a remote courtyard with a private entrance.

Xu Zhiqiu saw the girl hiding behind a woman.
The woman was holding a pair of scissors and looking at him tremblingly.

Only then did my mind become somewhat clearer, and I suddenly felt extremely ashamed.

"Don't be afraid, sister-in-law, I'm not a bad person!"

He bowed deeply to the mother and daughter, but they remained unmoved and remained vigilant against him.

Xu Zhiqiu took out all his wealth again and raised it above his head respectfully.
He consciously made another shameless request:
"Please... at least give me something to eat."

The woman stared at him for a long time, not sure whether she was moved by the money in his hand or by his sincere attitude.

Slowly, he put down the scissors.

…………

The room was not shabby, but it was tidy.

There is a row of bookshelves in the east wing, which smells quite like books.

It doesn't look like an ordinary farmer's family.

With the candlelight in the room, Xu Zhiqiu could clearly see the appearance of the mother and daughter.

She was a woman with pretty features, probably less than 30 years old, but her face was thin and her figure looked extremely frail.

She was wearing a light blue linen dress, her hair was tied into a bun at the back of her head with a wooden hairpin inserted diagonally.

It gives people a kind of pure and beautiful yet grotesque beauty.

The girl was about seven or eight years old and was wearing clothes of the same color as her mother.

He is pale and thin, and obviously physically underdeveloped.

She looked like a silent person, staring with a pair of dark eyes, saying nothing.

"Clap."

A bowl of steaming millet porridge was placed in front of Xu Zhiqiu. Compared with the previous watery soup, this bowl was thicker.

The aroma of rice stimulates the brain.

Xu Zhiqiu picked up the bowl and started to wolf down the food without saying a word.

"Cough! Cough!"

But I accidentally choked my throat and tears came out.

By chance, I glanced over and saw a woman hugging a child, while the child was staring at the porridge in his bowl.

"..."

I suddenly felt uncomfortable.

This family was already living in extreme poverty.

now,

If he hadn't been thicker than a city wall, he would have been unable to finish this bowl of porridge.

The woman suddenly asked:

"Excuse me, little brother, how is the world going outside?"

Xu Zhiqiu was silent.

Thinking back on what I have seen and heard along the way, my heart feels heavy.

wry smile:

"What can we do? It's just cannibalism..."

The woman stared at his face and asked calmly:
"You ate too?"

"no!"

He answered firmly, but wiped his face, revealing a bit of bitterness: "But I don't want to eat, but others want to eat me..."

"Then how did you survive all this time?"

"Roots, tree bark, ants, bugs, whatever is available."

After that, Xu Zhiqiu stopped talking.

He just stared at the sticky yellow rice in the bowl, lost in thought.

Until the woman suddenly said:
"This place is blessed by the mountain god, so the damage was relatively light. Although we can still feed ourselves, it's not much better, and we don't have any surplus food to help outsiders."

Xu Zhiqiu nodded, hearing her hidden meaning, and was about to stand up and say goodbye.

As for the remaining half bowl...

He glanced at the kind-hearted girl and forced a smile.

Keep it for the children.

He was just about to go out.
Unexpectedly, the woman called him:
"You are weak now. If you leave like this, you will starve to death in a few days."

"But……"

Xu Zhiqiu didn't quite understand what she meant.

"Stay here first and take care of yourself. It won't be too late to leave in a few days."

"..."

Xu was stunned for a moment.

This family of orphans and widows was already having a hard time making ends meet, yet they were willing to take in a wild man like him, whose origins were unknown.

Could it be because...

He severely criticized his own dirty thoughts.

"Sister-in-law has a kind heart!"

He bowed deeply to the woman:

"My name is Xu Zhiqiu, may I know your name, sister-in-law?"

The woman hugged her daughter tightly and replied calmly:
"My husband's surname is Lu."

(End of this chapter)