The road is vague

Chapter 7: Tie your hair and become a child
Li Mo and Ding Jie chatted all the way back to Jimin Hall.

During this process, Li Mo learned many things that he didn't know before, which greatly increased his knowledge and experience.

After returning to Jimin Hall, Ding Jie recounted everything that had happened during his medical consultation in the front hall. The people from Jimin Hall immediately took the stolen goods and went to the township government office to report to the authorities.

This has obviously happened more than once or twice.

After breakfast, Li Mo quickly followed another senior brother to Shizhai.

Because Shizhai was far away, it was already noon when they returned from the medical visit. Under the setting sun, the two of them could only open their oil-paper umbrellas and hurry on their way. They did not return to the town until night.

"I'm so tired."

Li Mo lay on the bed, not wanting to move.

He felt that his first day as a traveling doctor was particularly fulfilling, as it had indeed greatly increased his knowledge and experience.

However, thinking of today's gains, Li Mo couldn't help but get excited again.

So he turned over and sat up from the bed, carefully counting the small change on his body. He was one step closer to his goal of marrying Xiao Man in a formal ceremony. The joy in his heart was beyond words. He actually rolled over on the bed with the quilt covering his face, then smiled and let out a long sigh.

After carefully putting away the silver coins, Li Mo took out the "Three-in-One Sword Technique" and read it carefully.

It was just as Ding Jie said.

The so-called martial arts are essentially about strengthening the body and killing skills.

First is the physical fitness part.

"Sanhe Sword Technique" focuses on the flexibility and grace of body movements. The book records a total of three methods of strengthening the body. The first is jumping, the second is moving backward, and the last is swinging left and right. Practitioners need to constantly practice these three body movements and adjust their breathing rhythm to the best. Over time, they will achieve the effect of strengthening their bodies, and the flexibility of their body movements will far exceed that of ordinary people.

The second is killing skills.

"Sanhe Sword Technique" marks the joints, organs, acupuncture points and weaknesses of the human body, and based on this, introduces thirty-six sword moves, twelve of which are fatal sword moves, twelve of which are enemy-breaking sword moves, and twelve of which are defensive sword moves. These single sword moves need to be flexibly combined and matched with each other based on experience, so as to achieve both offense and defense.

Then comes the realm of martial arts.

"Sanhe Sword Technique" divides martial artists into three levels: third-rate masters, second-rate masters, and first-rate masters.

First of all, he is a third-rate master. By the standards of ordinary constables and yamen runners, he only focuses on keeping fit and his killing skills are at the rote memorization stage. It is no problem for him to deal with ordinary people, but he will probably lose his composure when encountering a real desperado.

The second-rate masters are strong in body skills and strength, can flexibly use various combinations of moves, master several special skills, combine evil spirit with intuition, and have fighting instincts in their bodies.

As for first-rate masters, the book only has one sentence to describe them, and that is the mastery of internal strength.

The last part is about the experience in the martial arts world.

"Sanhe Sword Technique" also tells about some martial arts experiences such as treating injuries, making and detoxifying poisons, setting hidden weapons and traps, stopping bleeding and saving lives. The most important point is not to make enemies easily. When necessary, try to use more people against fewer, and make sure to cut the grass and eradicate it completely.

Just then, there was a knock on the door outside.

"Who?"

"I am Wang Pan."

Li Mo opened the door for Wang Pan. After the little fat man entered the room, he asked with envy, "Is it fun to be a traveling doctor?"

"Yeah, it's much more fun than being here every day."

Hearing Li Mo say this, Wang Pan became even more envious.

"I really envy you, but thanks to you, today after I reported the stolen goods you brought back to the police, I sneaked back home and my cousin came and brought some candied dates."

"Wow!"

Li Mo was very surprised by the candied dates shared by Wang Pan. He picked up one and chewed it, and immediately showed a satisfied expression.

For farmers, this is a luxury that they can only eat a few times in their lifetime.

Seeing this, Wang Pan couldn't help but laugh.

"By the way, the Flower Festival is in two days. Where are you planning to go for an outing?"

The Flower Festival is a traditional festival in the Central Plains countries, and generally speaking, Jimin Hall will also have two days off.

Speaking of Huachao, Li Mo couldn't help but think of Zhao Siman. Remembering that they had agreed to go for an outing at the River God Temple, he blurted out, "Over at the River God Temple Beach, how about you?"

"Together we will!"

"it is good!"

After the two parties reached an agreement, Wang Pan left with a smile and left all the candied dates to Li Mo.

the next day.

Li Mo followed his brothers from Jimin Hall to make three visits to see patients. It was another fulfilling day. After returning to Jimin Hall, he was told that the day after tomorrow would be the Flower Festival. Starting from tomorrow, there would be two days off and people could arrange their time freely.

into the night.

Li Mo was studying attentively in the room alone.

Although the basic medicinal properties and pharmacology content he needed to learn became less, his practical experience was gradually increasing. For example, he had to carefully study the various injuries recorded in the "Sanhe Sword Technique" and combine the corresponding experience from various medical books to summarize the treatment methods.

It was not until late at night that Li Mo fell into a deep sleep, but the ethereal dream he had been expecting did not appear.

After waking up the next day, Li Mo was not disappointed. He was a patient man.

After getting up early, Li Mo went to his master's door to pay his respects and told him the questions he had accumulated over the past two days.

Jimin Hall was quiet and everyone had left.

After Zhang Dongliang answered Li Mo's questions one by one, he began to intentionally impart some of his unique insights to him. Before he knew it, it was already 9:00 PM and time for breakfast.

"If I remember correctly, you should be old enough to tie your hair. Since your parents are gone and you have no other relatives around, I will take your place and tie your hair for you."

Zhang Dongliang stood up and said, "Follow me."

Li Mo didn't understand what he meant, but he was still grateful and followed Doctor Zhang.

The two of them had breakfast first. Zhang Dongliang ordered twenty buns in one go and two bowls of clear soup noodles, indicating that Li Mo should eat more.

This breakfast cost Doctor Zhang seventy cents. The two of them enjoyed the meal very much. Li Mo was extremely grateful in his heart. He finally had a full meal.

After eating and drinking, when Li Mo was about to return to the pharmacy, he was stopped by Doctor Zhang. "What's the hurry?"

Li Mo was stunned, and then followed Zhang Dongliang to the clothing store.

A big and strong woman came forward and measured Li Mo's body, then started chatting with Zhang Dongliang with a smile.

"Doctor Zhang, this young man has a very handsome figure. If he dresses up well, he will surely charm all the girls in this town!"

"Well, let's get him a set of satin clothes and leather boots according to his size."

"okay!"

Nuhong left with a smile, but Li Mo's expression changed.

Cloth fabrics can be divided into four grades: brocade, gauze, silk and satin, followed by coarse cloth and linen that are not presentable.

The difference lies in the quality of silk and linen and the proportion of craftsmanship.

Hua'an Town is just a remote town, and only a handful of people can afford to wear silk fabrics. Most people wear coarse cloth or linen clothes, and some of them are even patched. Many poor families only have one set of clothes all year round.

The amount of silver needed for this set of silk clothes and leather boots was simply beyond Li Mo's ability to afford.

After a while.

Doctor Zhang looked at Li Mo, who was wearing a luxurious blue silk shirt and black leather shoes, and standing in front of him with vigor. An uncontrollable smile suddenly appeared on his old cheeks, as if he saw his younger self.

"Good! Good!"

"When you reach the age of twenty, it would be even better if you could wear a noble hat."

The woman kept praising him, and Zhang Dongliang smiled with satisfaction and asked, "How much silver?"

"Ten taels in total."

Li Mo's expression froze, and he said bitterly, "I wonder if it can be cheaper..."

Zhang Dongqueliang stopped Li Mo, calmly took out the silver, and then took the dazed Li Mo away. The two returned to Jimin Hall together.

"After the hair is tied up, one becomes an adult, learning great arts and observing great virtues."

Zhang Dongliang gestured to Li Mo to sit in front of the bronze mirror, and personally untied Li Mo's pigtail. After carefully combing his hair, he took out a bamboo hairpin and explained the hair-tying techniques to Li Mo in detail while tying his hair for the first time in his life.

This is a ritual that should have been performed by parents, but today it was done by the master.

"master."

Li Mo looked at himself in the bronze mirror, who seemed to be reborn. When he looked at Zhang Dongliang again, his eyes were already blurred with tears.

Zhang Dongliang smiled and said, "I am not from Anbei County. I was ordered to come here seven years ago to educate the people and save the world. Now this place is under the rule of the Great Qian Kingdom. The people are simple and kind. I am also getting old and unable to continue. I wanted to stick around for another two years until there was someone to take over here. I didn't expect you to be so talented and leave early. You have helped me relieve my worries. So I plan to leave here after the Dragon Boat Festival and enjoy my old age from now on."

Although Li Mo was reluctant to see his teacher leave, he could not stop him from enjoying his old age.

Zhang Dongliang warned: "You must obey the imperial edict in the future and benefit the people. You must not lose your original intention. Do you understand?"

"Yes, master!"

Next, Zhang Dongliang began to talk about some of his past events outside Anbei County, many of which were legends about the Qianyuan Saint King.

Li Mo listened attentively.

The Saint Emperor Qianyuan, who was originally just a symbol in his mind, seemed to gradually come alive as Doctor Zhang slowly narrated the story, making him full of longing and respect for this living saint who had lived for at least two thousand years.

……

On the eve of the Flower Festival, night markets are held in various places.

Li Mo was walking in the night market of Hua'an Town. He first spent 800 coins to buy a set of coarse linen clothes for Zhao Siman, and then bought some fried beans and malt sugar. Finally, he stopped in front of a stall selling hairpins.

Li Mo was stunned when he saw the dazzling array of hairpins on the stall.

The stall owner was an old woman who seemed to notice Li Mo's embarrassment and hurriedly asked with a smile.

"Sir, do you want to buy a hairpin as a gift for your beloved?"

Li Mo blushed when he heard this, but still nodded.

Beside the old woman, there were two children, a boy and a girl, who seemed to be her grandchildren, playing mischievously.

Seeing Li Mo like this, the old woman smiled and introduced: "That's right, I have here all kinds of women's decorations. According to the different materials and craftsmanship, they can be divided into different styles such as hairpins, hairpins, hairpins, step-shaking ornaments, etc...."

Li Mo had never come into contact with these things before, and today he was really enlightened.

The so-called "ji" can be understood as the simplest hairpin, which is often made from a beautiful tree branch or a piece of bone, and is the cheapest.

Hairpins are relatively gorgeous ornaments, usually made of gold and jade, but also of fragrant wood, ivory, rhinoceros horn and other materials, and decorated with gems.

Chai can be understood as two hairpins.

The most gorgeous buyao is extravagant. It is a hairpin with tassels and wings hanging on it. It sways when you walk, and it shines with fluorescence with every step, so it is called a buyao.

After thinking about it, Li Mo spent eight cents to buy a simple wooden hairpin for Xiao Man.

Holding the wooden hairpin, Li Mo was about to leave, but then he remembered that he had never seen his mother wear any ornaments in her hair. He suddenly felt nostalgic and stopped and said, "I want two."

The old woman was stunned for a moment when she heard this, but she still politely handed Li Mo another wooden hairpin.

When Li Mo saw the old woman's strange expression, he realized that she had misunderstood him and hurriedly explained with a stammer.

“This one is for my mother.”

The old woman immediately smiled and said, "I see. Your filial piety is truly remarkable."

Then the old woman looked at her grandson and granddaughter and said kindly, "In the future, you must be as filial as this uncle, understand?"

"Got it, grandma."

"Well, when I grow up, I will definitely give grandma the most beautiful hairpin."

Hearing that the other party actually asked the two children to call him uncle, Li Mo felt a little uncomfortable. Thinking that it might be because of his new clothes, he paid the eight cents required to buy the wooden hairpin and left quickly.

(End of this chapter)