Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 41 The First Pure Person

The people that Eji picked up were of very high quality; the men and women in Hekou Village had no reason to survive compared to them.

There were four children, all girls, all plump and fair-skinned, the kind that dogs love to eat, tender and juicy.

There were five girls, mostly around twelve or thirteen years old. Although they were still children, they were already showing signs of beauty. One of the most beautiful girls was probably terrified by the swarming dogs and actually started dancing in the middle of them. If Eji hadn't smashed the head of the closest dog with her stick, this girl who loved to dance would have been eaten by the dogs.

There were only two men; one had an injured leg, and the other was burning up with fever, his body contorted with rage. They both appeared to be under fifteen years old.

Of course, the years here refer to Earth's years. The days and nights are longer here, so a year here is probably longer than an Earth year. According to the calculations given by the dog, based on sunrise and sunset, a day here is 16 hours longer than 24 hours on Earth. In other words, an Earth year is only one-third the length of a year here.

Without careful calculation, Yun Ce would not be able to determine the exact ages of these people.

When Eji was heartbroken as she threw things out of the sheep cart, she was now even throwing away her most beloved gray pottery chamber pot in order to make room for more people in the cart.

It's funny, but Eji was usually very brave, but at night she would cower in her little bed, trembling. Even when she needed to urinate, she dared not leave that bed, so she rarely drank water in the evening.

After Yun Ce moved into the same small house with her, she would retaliate by drinking large amounts of water in the evening. When she needed to urinate, she would drag Yun Ce to the outhouse, sometimes several times a night. I don't know what her mentality was.

She treasured the chamber pot, a marvel of nature, after discovering it in the inn.

Now, where the chamber pot used to be, sits a little girl gnawing on a sheep bone, and on the other side sits the pretty little girl who likes to dance with dog skins. She lies on Eji's lap, looking delicate and boneless, and holds Eji's hand to stroke her smooth face.

Looking at Eji, who was laughing like a fool, Yun Ce's gaze softened considerably when he looked at these people. Eji thought these people were young men and women from wealthy families, but Yun Ce could already tell that these beautiful girls and young women were likely singers and dancers kept by wealthy families, and were important assets of the family.

Now, the road ahead is long and arduous, and in order to save their own lives, they can't worry about anything else.

The sheep cart was crowded, so Yun Ce got off and walked. Behind him, a large group of dogs followed, numbering no less than a hundred. They didn't dare get too close to the sheep cart, only daring to follow from a distance. However, as time passed, they got closer and closer to the sheep cart.

Feng An, a young man who had been shot in the leg with an arrow, looked at the approaching dog skin with a worried expression. It was unclear what he was thinking. Looking at the girls on the sheep cart, he gritted his teeth and tried to roll off the cart, but was caught by the quick-thinking E Ji.

"Stay put, my man is here."

"The smell of blood on me attracted these dog skins..."

Eji pointed to the half-eaten sheep carcass on the sheep cart and said, "Can the smell on your legs be as strong as that?"

Feng An gritted his teeth and said, "These dogs like to gather in groups. It won't be long before even more come."

Eji took a piece of roasted mutton from the jar and placed it in Feng An's hand, saying, "Don't worry, my man is here."

After speaking, Eji took the bone that had been gnawed clean of meat from the little girl's hand and threw it far away at the pack of dogs, causing them to bark and riot. Eji's silvery laughter echoed along the ancient road, carrying an indescribable sense of heroism.

After a loud bark, Yun Ce saw a dog with scars all over its head and face, and few good patches of skin on its body, slowly emerge from the pack of dogs. It first sniffed the bone that was covered in countless dog saliva, then bit it in half. Two plump puppies ran out, each taking a piece and lying on the ground chewing it up.

This must be the king of dog skin.

Yun Ce searched for a long time, but unexpectedly it ran out on its own.

Although the roasted mutton smelled delicious, Feng An found it utterly tasteless. He felt that the mutton he was eating at this moment might not even nourish his body before benefiting those scoundrels. Eating at this moment was completely superfluous for him.

Then he saw Yun Ce walk into the pack of dog skins, seemingly very slowly, turning left and right, but the dog skins could never bite him.

Seeing the ferocious and burly dog ​​Wang Chaoyunce pounce on him, Feng An couldn't help but shout, drop the mutton in his hand, grab Eji's wood-chopping knife, jump off the sheep cart, and hop on one leg towards the pack of dogs.

Yun Ce, standing among the dog skins, saw this scene and a genuine smile immediately spread across his face. He had only seen this smile twice since arriving here: once when he watched E Ji play the drums, and the other time was now.

Just as the King of Dogs' gleaming white teeth were about to bite Yun Ce's outstretched hand, Feng An cried out anxiously. However, he tripped and fell heavily to the ground, dropping his wood-chopping knife. Meanwhile, the stray dogs noticed him and began to surround him.

Yun Ce reached into the dog-skin king's mouth, grabbed its tongue, and pulled it back sharply, tearing the tongue out. There seemed to be something attached to the back of the tongue, but Yun Ce couldn't see it clearly before the dog-skin king's gleaming white teeth bit it off.

The dog skin king, weighing over a hundred pounds, fell heavily to the ground, writhing in pain but unable to make a sound. Yun Ce seized the opportunity to grab the dog skin king by the throat, lifted it up, and hung it on a tree to begin skinning it, surrounded by a crowd of dog skins.

The dog skin was still alive at this time, kicking wildly with its four hooves. Even after Yun Ce tore off the entire skin, it was still struggling. Yun Ce cut open the dog skin king's belly with a knife, watched the internal organs flow out, then dropped the dog skin, found Feng An, picked up his belt and sent him onto the sheep cart.

Yun Ce left, the sheep cart left, and a group of dogs wailed and worshipped around the corpse of their king. Once Yun Ce was out of sight, the dogs dispersed. The dog king hanging in the tree was left with nothing but bones, and the blood that had flowed to the ground was licked clean by two fat little dogs.

"Just drive it away, why treat it so cruelly?"

Feng An considered it for a long time before mustering up his courage to ask the question to the man dressed in coarse cloth.

Yun Ce flicked his long hair and said, "I want to show these scoundrels who the true masters of this land are." "Beasts, do they even know these things?"

Yun Ce looked back at the empty ancient road behind him and said softly, "They can understand and agree with what I say. Their new king will also tell Goupizi to stay away from people like me."

"You're a really good person, so how did you end up being left to fend for yourself on the street?"

Feng An shook his head and said, "They didn't abandon me. It was my own choice. Just like I said, my leg is injured, and the smell of blood will attract more dog skins, which will endanger everyone's safety."

Who are your companions?

"Clan members".

"When you meet your people later, how will you deal with them?"

"As always, when a gentleman suffers a setback, he should face it with a calm mind."

What does "君子" mean?

The Grand Master said: A gentleman is open and honest; when he raises his sleeve, the wind seems to blow through his ribs; when he lifts his leg, the path is smooth everywhere.

"Even when faced with difficulties and hardships, one should accept them with equanimity?"

Feng An laughed and said, "Then you'll gain access to a vast world."

Are gentlemen and petty men opposed to each other?

"The kindness of a virtuous person will eventually extend to everyone, including the petty person."

"How should a virtuous person respond when harmed by a petty person?"

"kill him."

"you said?"

"No, it was the answer that the Grandmaster gave to a scholar when he was giving a lecture in Luoyang."

Yun Ce nodded and said, "Such a good teacher, I must have the opportunity to study under him and learn from him."

Feng An thought for a moment, then took out a scroll of silk from his bosom and handed it to Yun Ce with some reluctance, saying, "I have no way to repay your life-saving grace. I think you should need this, brother."

Yun Ce curiously opened the silk scroll, glanced at it, and couldn't help but laugh. It turned out that what Feng An handed over was the letter of recommendation from Zhang Yaliang, the city lord of Pingyuan City, after he had used his seal.

Feng An continued, “With this letter of recommendation, you can go to the Chuyun Prefecture Academy to participate in the grand competition. If the winner of the grand competition does not wish to enter officialdom in Chuyun Prefecture, he can take the Chuyun Prefecture official carriage to Chang’an and Luoyang to participate in various academic societies. If he is fortunate enough to be recommended by a noble person, he can enter officialdom in Chang’an or Luoyang.”

Yun Ce shook the recommendation letter in his hand and laughed, "My name is Liu Chang'an, not Feng An."

Feng An looked down at his inflamed thigh and sighed, "I'm a cripple now, and my career prospects are hopeless."

Yun Ce returned the letter of recommendation to Feng An, and handed him a letter of recommendation that he had personally written and stamped, saying, "I have a letter of recommendation, also recommended by Zhang Gongyaliang."

Feng An opened the letter of recommendation handed to him by Yun Ce with surprise. After reading it, he exclaimed in astonishment, "A genius of unparalleled talent, a talent fit to be a king's advisor! Don't you think Lord Zhang is overpraising me?"

Yun Ce smiled and withdrew the letter of recommendation, saying, "This cannot even describe a fraction of my talent."

The usually humble and polite Feng An suddenly became stiff and asked, "I wonder how much money you spent to obtain this arrogant letter of recommendation?"

Yun Ce recalled Zhang Yaliang's face, which he had beaten until it was limp, and shook his head, saying, "Not a penny was spent. Every word on this is Zhang Yaliang's heartfelt opinion."

"What talents do you possess, brother? Please tell me."

Yun Ce asked E Ji for a ceramic bowl, put some alcohol in it, lit it, and then placed the knife on it to heat it. While it was heating, he said to Feng An, "Taking the head of the dog king from a pack of dogs is as easy as taking something out of a bag. Does that count?"

"Half of it."

Seeing that the blade was already red-hot, Yun Ce lifted Feng An's outer robe, revealing his blood-stained injured leg, pressed the knife firmly against the wound, and then asked, "Does healing your serious injury count?"

A wisp of smoke, accompanied by the sizzling sound of roasting meat, caused Feng An's previously curled-up body to suddenly straighten, and a scream pierced the sky.

(End of this chapter)