From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 264 Warrior
After crossing the river, we set foot on land again.

The snow is about to stop, but the wind has not yet settled. The jade is crushed by horse hooves, and the road to the end of the world is endless.

Meng Yuan turned around and looked at Songhe City across the river.

The sky and the earth were dark except for the city of Songhe Prefecture, which was bright and shining like a paradise.

The incessant sound of chanting scriptures had long been blocked by the river. Meng Yuan looked into the distance, but felt as if he was drawing his sword and looking around, feeling confused.

The enemy is too high and too strong, so the road ahead will be bumpy.

Thinking about Master Nie's last words before his death, Meng Yuan remembered that since he entered the rank, Master Nie had talked about the path of a warrior.

"Broken legs and arms, even if you are castrated, it won't stop you from taking this path! Even if your Dantian is damaged, it can be repaired! Unless you are dead!"

"This is the essence of a warrior! Don't be afraid of being broken, just stand up after being broken! Don't be afraid of losing, just fight back! Even if you fall to pieces, you can stand up again!"

"What is a warrior? A warrior is a path of resistance, a path of perseverance, a path that will never be left behind! Even if there is really a dead end, there is always a man who can cut a way out out of anger!"

After a moment of silence, Meng Yuan climbed onto his horse and walked slowly forward.

The sky and the earth were all white, everything was covered with snow, the road was barely visible, and one could only determine the route by looking at the surrounding trees.

The man and the horse were chatting, and after a while, the sky became darker and it was already evening.

Looking back at the way I came, there are only the deep hoof prints left by the horses. There are no traces of people on the paths, no birds flying in the mountains, and it is extremely lonely.

The Songhe City was also hidden in the dark wind and snow, and only the Buddha's light rising into the sky became more and more magnificent.

In a trance, Meng Yuan suddenly felt that the wind and snow seemed to have stopped for a moment, and it seemed that everything was still operating according to the rules of heaven and earth.

Pressing the urn bag around his waist, Meng Yuan felt that the grief in his heart had lessened a little. Instead, he felt a little more excited, and even all the thoughts in his mind were illuminated by the Buddha's light.

For a moment, Meng Yuan actually wanted to turn back and pay homage to the enlightened master, or even become his disciple.

"Is this really light? But warriors can practice the Buddhist path, but they cannot forget their own path." Dispelling the thought from his mind, Meng Yuan shook his head slightly, patted the little red horse's head a few times, whispered a few words of advice, but never looked back.

Keep moving forward, regardless of wind and snow.

The snow was so thick that it buried the horse's hooves. When night fell, although there was no moon in the sky, the light of the snow was guiding the way.

The road was difficult to travel on, but the little red horse was a strong-willed person, so even though he couldn't run fast, he didn't slow down.

The injuries on Meng Yuan's body are no longer serious, but after all, it is new flesh and blood and cannot be compared with his prime.

Amid the strong wind and snow, I didn't feel much cold, but in the vastness, the fatigue from two days of hard work came over me, and I couldn't help but lie down on the horse's back.

A man and a horse were walking together, and the road was difficult to tell. Meng Yuan didn't care and just let the little red horse go forward.

After an unknown amount of time, Meng Yuan suddenly heard the sound of a dog barking and opened his eyes.

I saw that the wind and snow had stopped, the sky and the earth were dark, and in front of me was a courtyard with a wine sign and a wooden door. It should be a simple inn on the side of the road.

The little red horse was covered in sweat and panting, visibly tired.

Meng Yuan estimated that he had slept for an hour or two and had recovered a lot of his strength, so he quickly dismounted.

At the gate of the courtyard, there was an old man with his hands in his pockets, followed by a yellow dog, which kept barking at Meng Yuan.

Meng Yuan saw it clearly and recognized this place. It was the little red horse that brought him to Qishui Town.

At that time, Meng Yuan was entrusted by Chen Shouzhuo to capture and kill Yang Youzhi here, which took a lot of time, so he was very familiar with this place.

This inn is right next to Qishui Town, and past the inn is the medicine field.

"Sir, would you like to stay in our hotel?" The old man was not afraid of Meng Yuan and started to solicit business.

"That's right!" Meng Yuan stepped forward and handed the reins to the old man. "Give me more fine feed, and I'll give you a lot of money!"

"Don't worry, sir!" The old man took the reins happily and pointed towards the room. "Just go inside, my son and daughter-in-law are waiting for you!"

Meng Yuan nodded and looked at the layout of the inn. The inn was not big, built beside the road, with a low wall outside, a lot of firewood piled under the wall, and the snow in the yard had been cleared.

There is a dilapidated two-story building. The first floor should be used as a lobby and kitchen, and the second floor is where you can stay, but it is very simple. Behind the room is the stable, and there is a row of low houses, which should be for poor travelers to live.

In this remote countryside, it is good enough to have a place to shelter from the wind and rain.

After lifting the thick door curtain and walking inside, I saw the lobby of the inn. The lights were on and a group of people were sitting around the fire.

When the group of people saw Meng Yuan coming in, wearing thin clothes, with messy hair and a knife on his back, they were not afraid. They started to make a commotion and shouted something like "Second Mother".

"What's the matter again? You are the only one who is always bothering others!" An impatient voice was heard, and a woman in her twenties walked out of the kitchen.

The woman had an ordinary appearance and a big belly. She must be seven or eight months pregnant. She held a handkerchief in her hand. When she saw Meng Yuan, she smiled and said, "Why are there distinguished guests in the middle of the night? Are you hungry, young man? We have wine and meat here, and the price is very fair!"

"Cut five pounds of cooked meat and prepare a clean room." Meng Yuan said.

After hearing this, the woman did not prepare anything. Instead, she held her big belly with one hand, waved her handkerchief with the other, and asked with a smile, "Where did you come from, little brother?"

Meng Yuan ignored him and just took out a piece of silver from his purse and threw it over.

The woman quickly took it and said with a smile, "That's not what I meant. You can tell at a glance that this young man is not someone who is short of money!" As she spoke, she turned her head and shouted towards the kitchen, "Boss, quickly cut five pounds of beef!"

When the men who were warming themselves by the fire saw the woman accept the silver, they started laughing. Some of them wished Er Niang good fortune, while others asked with a smile where the beef came from. It was obvious that these men were very familiar with the woman.

Soon the meat was served, along with a bowl of hot soup. Meng Yuan was already extremely hungry, so he started eating right away.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, one of the people who were warming themselves by the fire, who seemed to be the leader, bowed to Meng Yuan and said, "We are merchants who came here to buy medicine. We were trapped here by the heavy snow and couldn't sleep at night, so we came to talk about interesting things about business. If you don't mind, come and warm yourself by the fire."

"Thank you." Meng Yuan sat down next to the fire.

"Young man, are you coming from the north?" When the man asked, everyone looked at Meng Yuan. The woman leaning against the kitchen door also came to see with great interest.

Meng Yuan nodded.

"During the day, we saw something strange happening in the direction of Songhe Prefecture. Do you know the details, little brother? We were planning to do some business before the New Year, but we were trapped here for two days. We want to see when we can go back." The man asked again.

Meng Yuan shook his head and said, "Why not wait a few days before returning? Something happened in Songhe Prefecture, and there was a demonic riot."

When everyone heard this, they were so frightened that no one said a word.

Meng Yuan didn't say anything more and went straight to the second floor.

The woman hurriedly held her belly and followed, "Brother! I'll lead the way for you!"

Going up to the second floor, the place seemed even more shabby. There were six rooms in a row, connected by corridors, and the railings were in tatters.

"This room, this room! It's the innermost one, and it's quiet! It's much better than the low room downstairs!" The woman walked to the end of the corridor, pushed open a door, lit the oil lamp, and saw that the room was small and smelled musty. There was only a broken table and a bed in the room.

"Call me if you have any problem!" The woman held a handkerchief and said in a low voice, "Little brother, you have to remember that the group of drug dealers downstairs are all poor people. If they ask you to treat them to a drink tomorrow, you'd better be thick-skinned!" "Thank you." Meng Yuan said.

The woman said nothing more, closed the door and left.

Meng Yuan took off the knife and the urn bag and simply lay down to sleep.

The inn was simple and cold wind leaked in from time to time.

When he woke up, it was already noon of the second day. Meng Yuan's strength and spirit had recovered a lot. The jade liquid flowed slowly. Although it was not full yet, it was not bad.

After sitting cross-legged for a while, he opened the door and looked out.

I saw snowing again in the sky, and the sky and the earth were covered with white.

"Are you awake, young man?" The woman was feeding chickens in the yard downstairs. When she heard the door open, she looked up and held her stomach while saying, "We just slaughtered a sheep last night and stewed it in the pot all night. Would you like two pounds of it to warm yourself up?"

When he said this, Meng Yuan felt very hungry.

"Give me ten kilograms and a pot of wine!" said Meng Yuan.

"Okay!" The woman was very happy, and shouted with her belly bulging, "Boss, we need ten pounds of mutton and a pot of wine upstairs! Send them to the room quickly! To the innermost room!"

After a while, a simple and honest man brought a pot of mutton, and the woman followed behind with a pot of hot wine in her hand.

"Don't despise this wine from our village." The woman was very straightforward. She put down the wine pot and rubbed her handkerchief. "What are your plans for the future, little brother? Our Qishui Town has not been doing well recently, especially since it snowed heavily. No one has come here to visit us. It seems that there will be no business before the New Year..."

Meng Yuan took out a silver ingot and threw it over.

The woman quickly took it, slapped her man's offspring, and complained: "I told you that you are not short of money, but you didn't believe me!"

The man felt extremely aggrieved, but dared not say a word.

After the couple closed the door and left, Meng Yuan buried his head in his food and started eating.

The mutton is stewed till tender and soft, dipped in this year's chive sauce and washed down with a sip of hot wine, it is really refreshing.

The wind and snow were howling outside. Meng Yuan remembered that there was a poetry gathering whose first line was "Building a cozy nest". If there was another poetry gathering today, the theme should be snow.

Putting aside all distractions, Meng Yuan grabbed the mutton with his hands, his mouth and hands full of grease.

Before I could eat much, I heard someone talking in the strong wind outside, "There's an inn in this shabby place? Shop owner, shop owner!"

The person who spoke was rude and impolite, and seemed to have entered the lobby of the inn. "Get out of here! Boss! Second brother! Come and sit here!"

Meng Yuan listened carefully. It was clearly Xiong Wuwei's voice. The so-called eldest brother and second brother must be Xie Yishen and He Jiulang.

"Why are they here?" Meng Yuan muttered and continued to eat meat.

These three men had slaughtered dozens of people in Mu Village, kidnapped Dugu Kang, and ambushed him. They really had a deep hatred for each other.

But this was not the time for revenge, so Meng Yuan did not act rashly and waited until another day. Anyway, there were many people here, so as long as he did not show up, he would not run into them.

While continuing to eat meat, Meng Yuan heard a commotion downstairs, and then it became quiet. It must be someone who was angry, and Xiong Wuwei took action to calm the situation.

"Boss, second brother, now that the stinky rat has done something wrong, where are we going from now on?" Xiong Wuwei said in a loud voice.

Without hearing what Xie Yishen said, Xiong Wuwei's tone also dropped.

Meng Yuan had eaten most of the meat in the bowl when he heard crying and shouting again from downstairs.

"Master!" The woman named Er Niang cried and shouted, "I am pregnant. If you want, I will go to the town and bring you a few girls! I will keep Shui Ling!"

"I just like your body!" There was a loud sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, and Xiong Wuwei laughed non-stop, "I was splashed with rat urine by a stinky rat, so I need to find a pregnant woman to change my luck! Second brother, let me try first!"

Meng Yuan held the mutton in his hand and continued to eat.

I heard the sound of crying for my parents outside. Xiong Wuwei had come to the second floor and kicked open a door. There seemed to be someone inside. Xiong Wuwei yelled, "Get out!"

Then there was a noise, and Xiong Wuwei actually threw the person in the guest room down the stairs.

"Master!" The woman's husband wailed and banged on the door hard. The woman in the room cried louder and louder.

Meng Yuan held the mutton in his hand, dipped it in chive sauce, and ate it in big mouthfuls, while thinking at the same time.

His own jade fluid had not yet fully recovered, but his strength and spirit were sufficient. It was not difficult to kill Xiong Wuwei, nor was it difficult to kill He Jiulang, but his chances of winning against Xie Yisheng were extremely low.

Meng Yuan always remembered that when he was in Qingtian County, Xie Yishen alone defeated all the masters, which was definitely not comparable to an ordinary sixth-grade master.

At this moment, his own essence and fire are very weak. Even if he fights to the death, he will probably not be able to defeat Xie Yishen.

Moreover, if these three people arrived together, even if they suddenly launched a surprise attack and killed Xiong Wuwei alone, Xie Yishen and He Jiulang would definitely be alert. If the two of them joined forces at that time, their chances of winning would be even slimmer, and they would probably lose their lives here.

Meng Yuan sighed. There are people being bullied every moment in this world. It’s a world of the jungle, and who can do anything about it?

The grand Buddha's light over the city of Songhe is still there, but perhaps only one in ten people in the city are alive. Who cares about this?
But what is the purpose of learning martial arts? Meng Yuan couldn't help but think of his original intention. Is it to settle down? To have many wives and concubines? To have mountains of gold and silver? Or to endure the hidden minions?

You should be patient now. In the future, when your energy grows and your realm is further advanced, killing these three people will be as easy as taking candy from a bag.

But things in the world are complicated and confusing. We can say that those who do evil will eventually perish, or we can say that it is not that there is no retribution yet.

But at this moment, it seems too long.

Meng Yuan doesn't want to be a knight who uses force to break the law, nor a Confucian scholar with the world in his heart, nor a monk who saves all living beings, nor a Taoist who helps the people. He is just a man with a cold blade in his hand.

Wiping off the grease on his hands and the dust in his heart, Meng Yuan picked up Master Nie's knife and opened the door.

The cold wind blew the snow, and the cold air seeped into my clothes and hair. All I could see was white.

There were two people lying in the yard downstairs, an old man and a middle-aged man. The group of drug dealers that I saw at night stood there blankly, all looking upstairs in confusion and helplessness.

Meng Yuan turned his head and saw the woman's husband kneeling in front of the door of the first guest room, his hair disheveled, knocking weakly on the door.

From the room came the sound of a woman crying and Xiong Wuwei's unbridled laughter.

Meng Yuan walked slowly to the door of the room and kicked it open.

In the cramped room, a dishevelled woman was pinned on a worn-out table, her arms firmly on the table, protecting her stomach, wailing hoarsely in pain.

The man behind the woman was shirtless, revealing his muscular build. He was holding the back of the woman's neck with one hand and untying his belt with the other. He was Xiong Wuwei, one of the four generals of Prince Xin.

The north wind suddenly rushed into the room, blowing up the clothes on the ground, bringing in the freezing cold of ice and snow, and ending the momentary sorrow and joy.

Xiong Wuwei turned his head gloomily, "Who is it?"

"Warrior." Meng Yuan drew his sword.

(End of this chapter)