The road is vague

Chapter 1 Shanbei Village

Shanbei Village is an inconspicuous small village in Anbei County, Muzhou, Qian State.

There are mountains everywhere and the land is barren. Shanbei Village is located in a wild area at the junction of Qian, Lu and Zhongshan countries. Before it was ruled by Qian country, it was in a lawless area all year round. Therefore, the young people in the village once made a living by smuggling salt and iron.

It was not until five years ago that the Qian Kingdom took over this place and vigorously built Hua'an Town, and the people of Shanbei Village gradually settled down.

into the night.

Fourteen-year-old Li Mo, with slightly rough skin and a somewhat introverted personality, was leaning against the head of the bed, looking at his mother who was mending clothes for him in front of the oil lamp.

"Your father originally had three brothers. Two of your uncles died fleeing famine during the war between the states of Qian and Lu. Only your father survived and joined the Zhao family's salt trading team at the west end of the village. That's how he married me and later had you. Unfortunately, the good times ended after just a few years. We mother and I have a terrible fate, ahem."

Whenever she talked about this, Zhou Mei couldn't help crying. She smoothed her long hair and gently stroked it on her forehead, then covered the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Seeing his mother sick from overwork, Li Mo felt sad and quickly got up and brought her a bowl of water.

"Mom, when I come back from town in a few days, I'll ask Doctor Zhang to prescribe some more medicine for you."

Li Mo hated that he couldn't earn more money to pay for his mother's medical treatment.

As an apprentice at Jimin Hall, he could only receive three hundred coins a month. Including the year-end bonus, he had less than four taels of silver for the whole year, which was not enough for his own food. Even if he lived frugally, he still needed his mother to subsidize him with another two hundred coins every month.

Now he could only hope that he could become a pharmacist in Jimin Hall or a traveling doctor, or at least a herbalist. This way, he could at least get a hundred taels of silver every month, plus the year-end bonus, and he would have fifteen taels of silver in his account throughout the year. After that, the amount would increase year by year, and he would be content.

After Zhou Mei drank the water, she asked Li Mo to put the empty bowl away.

"Mo'er, we are now citizens of the Great Qian Nation. We no longer need to make a living by selling contraband in the wild mountains and tribes of the southeast, living a precarious life. Not to mention the chaos and war, we might even get eaten by mountain spirits or water monsters and our bodies wouldn't be found."

As she spoke, she adjusted the wick again to dim the light and save lamp oil.

"You have to fight for your reputation. No matter what you do in the future, you must be diligent and hardworking, single-minded, and see things through to the end. Don't be half-hearted and end up accomplishing nothing. Now that you're an apprentice to Doctor Zhang at Jimin Hall, you must learn his skills well. No matter how he scolds you, don't get angry. Do you understand?"

"Got it, mother."

Li Mo responded honestly.

Seeing Li Mo being so sensible, Zhou Mei smiled with satisfaction, and a hint of fondness appeared on her face under the light.

"My son will soon be old enough to tie his hair and get married."

The Qian Kingdom stipulated that men could tie their hair up at the age of fifteen. At that time, they could undo their hair and tie it into a bun, study and learn skills, and get married.

Hearing this, Li Mo felt shy and lowered his head.

Seeing Li Mo like this, Zhou Mei felt sorry for the lamp oil, so she quickly sewed the clothes in her hands and extinguished the oil lamp, and the room fell into darkness.

the next day.

It was just dawn when Li Mo heard shouting outside the window.

After he got up, he saw his mother cooking and stopped for a while by the stove.

Zhou Meizheng put a mixture of millet and wheat into boiling water, then added some wild vegetables and salt, and cooked the rice until it became a paste. After it cooled and solidified into blocks, she cut it into small pieces and shared them for eating.

The voice outside the door was Zhang Qin, Li Mo's distant cousin.

Zhang Qin is seven years older than Li Mo. Li Mo has been playing behind him since they were young. Until five years ago, Uncle Zhang spent some money to get Zhang Qin a job as a constable in Hua'an Town. Since then, the two have seen each other less often.

Later, Li Mo also became an apprentice at the Jimin Hall in the town, and the two had fewer opportunities to meet.

At this moment, Zhang Qin was holding two stone slabs and working hard in the field, with sweat dripping down his forehead.

"Brother Zhang Qin!"

Li Mo greeted with surprise.

Li Mo is usually not talkative and only becomes so enthusiastic when he is with acquaintances. This is related to his experience of losing his father at a young age. Without a father, he has to speak less and make fewer mistakes to avoid being bullied, which has cultivated his slightly introverted personality in the eyes of outsiders.

"Xiao Mo, you're back too!"

Zhang Qin put down the slate, looked at Li Mo with a smile and said, "You've grown a lot taller than last time."

Li Mo looked at Zhang Qin with envy, not only because of his job as a constable, which earned him at least two taels of government salary every month, but also because of Zhang Qin's skills. He had demonstrated them in front of Li Mo once, and after just a few years of training, he could now climb walls and fly over rooftops, and had excellent swordsmanship.

"Brother Zhang Qin, I heard a monster appeared in Dagou Village. Is that true?"

Zhang Qin's face changed when he heard this.

"I'm not entirely sure, but the Ministry of Destiny did send some people here. As for whether they were mountain spirits or water monsters, that's hard to say. These kinds of people are much harder to deal with than those wanted criminals who roam the rivers and lakes and commit crimes. We're mortals after all. Even if we toil for ten years, training our muscles and bones, we can't match the internal strength of those monsters who have practiced a hundred years of internal cultivation."

For ordinary people, it is no secret that there are monsters and demons as well as monks who can fly and hide in the sky.

As the saying goes, train your muscles, bones and skin externally, and your breath internally.

All kinds of demons and monsters are causing trouble in the country, but the monks from various holy places travel around as inspectors of the Ministry of Destiny, slaying demons and monsters, combating secret organizations and enemy forces, and enjoying a transcendent status. This is an open secret of the Qian Kingdom.

There has always been a saying that there are hundreds of countries in the Central Plains, with six countries dominating the land.

Among them, the Qian Kingdom was established more than two thousand years ago. Although it was a latecomer among the six major countries, the Saint Emperor Qianyuan worked hard to govern the country during his reign, disbanded the sect he once belonged to, and created the Qian Kingdom's court system. With his unfathomable cultivation, he repeatedly led the Qian Kingdom out of the crisis of extinction, making the Qian Kingdom's national strength increasingly prosperous. It has gradually shown a trend of becoming the leader of the six countries, constantly annexing the surrounding small countries, and competing for hegemony with the Lu and Ling countries.

in this way.

In the hearts of the people of Qian State, it is not an exaggeration to say that this monarch is a saint, so he was given the title of Qianyuan Saint Monarch.

Hua'an Town is a small border town.

The people here once lived a poor life of slash-and-burn farming, hunting, and fishing. Even further afield, in the mountains, there were many barbaric tribes that ate raw meat and drank blood, still clinging to the land. Now, having joined the Qian Kingdom only a few years ago, the influence of Qian Kingdom's officials, merchants, customs, and culture has brought great convenience to the local people. With the people's support, many are eager to identify themselves as citizens of the Great Qian Kingdom. "Mo'er, it's almost noon. Let's go to town early!"

"understood!"

Zhou Mei's voice came from behind him. After saying goodbye to Zhang Qin, Li Mo ran back into the house and took the mixed rice, clothes and pottery jars handed to him by his mother.

Zhou Mei cut the mixed rice into pieces and wrapped it in lotus leaves.

"This pack is for breakfast on the road, and this pack is for afternoon feeding. The pottery jar contains musk deer meat that I bought from Butcher Zhang a few days ago. It has been pickled and made into sauce. You can have some when you feel like it later."

"mother."

Li Mo held clothes, rice, and a clay pot, and looked at his mother with eyes full of reluctance.

"Cough cough."

Zhou Mei couldn't help but cough lightly, and then touched Li Mo's head again, using the excuse that the smell of smoke was too strong.

She looked at her son, who was already half a head taller than her. Although her eyes were also filled with reluctance, she still sighed and said, "Hurry up and get to town as soon as possible. Don't delay your studies. Remember what mother said. You must be down-to-earth and hardworking. You must focus on what you do. Don't be fickle and end up accomplishing nothing."

"understood."

Li Mo calmed down his emotions, nodded solemnly in response, and walked away under his mother's gaze.

At the west end of Shanbei Village, there lived several families of the Zhao family. Li Mo's father once invested his life in the business and followed Zhao Chunsheng of the Zhao family to start a business of selling illegal salt.

When Li Mo was seven years old, Zhao Chunsheng's private salt caravan disappeared without a trace, and no one was found alive or dead.

Not long after that, Hua'an Town, where Shanbei Village is located, was incorporated into the territory of Qian State.

After all, selling illegal salt is a job that requires a lot of effort, and it happened during the war years. The deaths of the caravan members were not surprising to the households in Shanbei Village, and Li Mo did not hate the Zhao family for this. In fact, deep down, he was very grateful to Uncle Zhao, because it was he who saved his father from starving to death like his two uncles.

Although Li Mo has lost his father, he can still make a living.

But Zhao Siman, who was of the same age, lost the protection of her father Zhao Chunsheng. Many relatives of the Zhao family came to her house to eat her whole family. She was extremely miserable and had no one to turn to.

Now the mother and daughter can only live under someone else's roof and lead a hard life.

"Brother Xiao Mo."

A thin, fair-skinned girl, carrying a bundle of firewood taller than herself, was walking slowly towards them from a distance.

When she saw Li Mo, she greeted him timidly and then smiled.

The girl had two buns on her hair and wore a blue-gray linen dress with many patches and holes. There was a little dust on her face, but her pretty features could be vaguely seen.

This is Zhao Siman, Li Mo’s best playmate and favorite girl in childhood.

"Xiao Man."

Li Mo hurried over and helped Zhao Siman put down the firewood on her back.

"You haven't had breakfast yet, right? This is the breakfast my mother prepared. Let's eat together."

The firewood on the nearby mountains all belong to someone. Zhao Siman came back so early carrying so much firewood. She must have gone out very early, walked a long way, and came back only after chopping the firewood.

Compared with Zhao Siman, Li Mo suddenly felt that his life seemed less difficult.

Zhao Siman did not refuse Li Mo's kindness.

She and Li Mo were good friends who grew up together, childhood sweethearts, and she was really very hungry. She didn't have enough to eat every day, and her thin body seemed like it could be blown down by a gust of wind.

The two of them sat on the stone steps, opened the lotus leaves, and ate the warm rice inside. They didn't smile until they had finished eating.

"Here's some meat sauce."

Li Mo shared the precious meat sauce in the pottery jar with the other party.

Zhao Siman lowered her head, chewing the meat sauce carefully, and muttered with tears in her eyes: "Brother Xiaomo, after my father passed away, besides my mother, you are the only one who treated me so well."

Whenever Zhao Siman thought about how after her father passed away, there were no male descendants in her family, leaving only her and her mother, two women, to depend on each other. Many relatives came to her house to bully her, forced her to sell her property, land, and livestock, and squandered all her property with banquets. Then they left her and her mother to fend for ourselves, and her life turned into hell overnight. She couldn't help but feel sad.

She prayed countless times, hoping that all this was just a nightmare.

However, reality is more cruel than nightmare.

Hearing this, Li Mo felt sad for the other party. At the same time, he couldn't help but recall what his mother had said to him. He imagined how great it would be if he could marry Zhao Siman home and have her be his wife.

Looking at the beautiful, simple and hardworking girl in front of him, Li Mo couldn't help but encourage himself again in his heart. He must be serious in doing things in the future, become a master as soon as possible, save more money, and then go to her house to propose marriage.

"Xiao Man!"

The shouting in the distance made Zhao Siman tremble instinctively. She quickly stood up and said, "Brother Xiaomo, I have to go back. When will you come back?"

"It will take a month. I can only take two days off every month to come back and visit my family."

After hearing this, Zhao Siman picked up the firewood and said with eyes full of expectation: "Be sure to come and see me when the time comes."

"Ah."

Li Mo's response brought a bright smile to Zhao Siman's pale and tired little face. She once again picked up the heavy firewood and walked step by step towards her home occupied by her third uncle and aunt.

(End of this chapter)