The Legend of Fangren

"The sun is high in the sky~ Time to gather herbs~ The sun is low in the sky~ Time to go home~"

At the foot of the green hills, an old farmer, having worked all day, walks home on the dirt road, carrying a rattan basket on his back and singing a song. Though tired, he is content.

"Hey, we found a rabbit yesterday, what great luck! The broth was amazing, there's still some left, hehe, we'll have some to eat tonight. I wonder if my wife has warmed up yet~"

The old farmer lived to be seventy or eighty. He had suffered a lot when he was young, but it didn't break him. Instead, it gave him an optimistic and open-minded personality. He had a wife who took care of him, and he was content even though life was poor.

He lived on the edge of Cangmu Valley, at the foot of the green mountains, in a small village with only a few dozen villagers. They usually went up the mountain to collect medicinal herbs and exchange them for money to make a living.

Perhaps due to their years of collecting medicinal herbs, the villagers have some knowledge of pharmacology, so although they are not wealthy, they are healthy, which is a blessing for ordinary people.

The old farmer's surname was Han. He was a rough and tough man all his life. Everyone in the village called him Old Farmer Han. Because he was old and had a lot of experience in collecting herbs, the villagers asked him to teach the young men.

The old farmer had no children, which made him happy. He could enjoy watching the children having fun with his wife every day, which was a blessing in his old age.

"Tap~ Tap~ Tap~"

The old farmer, though old, was still vigorous. Stepping on the green grass and reeds, he walked with light steps, turned past a mountain stream, and the small mountain village came into view.

Usually at this time, there will be wisps of smoke rising from the village chimneys.

But today... oh my, why is there still a flame coming out of the house?

"Oh no! Fire!"

The old farmer was so frightened that he quickly dropped the medicine basket and ran over in a panic. But when he got closer, he saw that the village was not on fire at all. It was clear that thieves were burning, killing and robbing the village!

Someone in the village shouted, "Bandits are here! Bandits are here!"

But soon, the shouting stopped abruptly, indicating that they had been killed.

"This...this..."

The old farmer, who had hurriedly taken refuge behind a grass mound, was so anxious that he was incoherent. He couldn't understand why his village, which was near a big city and had always been peaceful, had suddenly been attacked by bandits.

Seeing the villagers either dead or injured, or fleeing, he suddenly thought of his wife who had difficulty walking, and his resolve to retreat vanished.

"Oh right, and the children...they should be with me right now, I can't leave!"

The old farmer quickly crouched down and crept through the village from the outside.

Fortunately, his house was in a corner, and there were only five or six thieves, so they hadn't yet looted his house.

He went to the back of the house, climbed in through the window, and as soon as he landed, he shouted, "Old woman!"

"Old man!"

An old woman was sitting on a simple wooden bed, neither hiding nor concealing herself.

"Old woman, why don't you hide? There's a cellar at home, hurry up!"

The old farmer was extremely anxious, but the old woman said, "Old man, the children are all in the cellar... Take the children and hurry up and go along the path behind the village."

"But what about you!"

"My legs are bad, I can't run anymore," the old woman said, but she struggled to sit up from the bed.

Seeing this, even though he was anxious, the old farmer had no choice but to help her push open a clay pot and open the lid.

"Come out, come out, children, follow Grandpa Han, let's run to the city."

Seeing the children huddled in the earthen cellar, covered in dust and dirt, the old farmer felt a pang of heartache and quickly told them to come out.

"Grandpa Han... what's going on outside?"

The younger children were still asking questions, but some of the more mature children couldn't stop crying.

The old farmer could only pull them out one by one and push them out of the window. When only the old woman was left, the two looked at each other but could not make any further moves.

"Old man, go away. I'll hide in this cellar. You send the child away, then bring the soldiers back to rescue me."

As if to persuade her husband, the old woman, with her hunched back, squeezed into the narrow earthen cellar. Even though the old farmer was heartbroken, he could see the children outside the window.

Knowing the mountain paths well, he knew that even if the thieves couldn't find the cellar, his wife's health wouldn't allow her to survive until he returned. Once the house burned down, everything would be gone.

"That damned scoundrel! Wait till I get back after I've sent the kids away, then I'll fight him to the death!"

Climbing out of the window, the old farmer led the child and ran all the way, crawling through a hidden little hole.

"Grandpa Han, Grandma Han, what should we do!"

After the sensible child finished crying, he anxiously asked the old farmer.

The old farmer could only suppress the tears welling up in his eyes and nose, urging both the children and himself, "Children, be good, run with Grandpa, run...run!"

He pushed the children around, and if any fell, he would quickly pull them up. If a child scraped their skin and wanted to cry, he would pick them up and run with them, without stopping for a moment.

Despite his desperate efforts, a voice still echoed from afar behind him, "Don't run!"

The sound was like a ghostly scream, echoing through the valley, piercing the spine and sending chills down the spine.

The old farmer quickly pulled the children away and made them hide in the bushes by the roadside. He warned them not to come out later and to wait until things calmed down before fleeing to the city.

"Grandpa Han!"

"Shh!" The old farmer pressed the child's head down. "Don't be afraid, Grandpa is just going to find Grandma."

After saying that, he deliberately ran onto the road so that the chasing thief could see him, and then climbed up the hillside to the side.

Upon seeing this, the thief indeed followed, observing that the thief's speed was extraordinary, unlike that of an ordinary person.

Could it be that the cultivators were actually bandits...? The old farmer was filled with despair. But he made a desperate decision and climbed up the even more treacherous rock face, hoping to buy himself more time.

"Old man, come down here! It's a dead end up there. If you just come down quickly, you'll save me some effort, and maybe I can give you a quick death." The thief was not good at climbing, and seeing that the old farmer had reached the top of the stone wall in a few moves, he shouted.

To everyone's surprise, the old farmer didn't even turn his head, but instead shouted, "You beast!"

"court death!"

Enraged, the thief grabbed the blade in his hand and threw it straight at the old farmer's left ear.

"These cultivators, instead of protecting the people's safety, have resorted to banditry—what a terrible deed!"

With a sharp pain in his ears, the old farmer knew his days were numbered. He looked up to the sky and sighed, about to fall.

"Hmph, stubborn old man, your brain isn't working properly. Do you really think such a clumsy plan can fool me?" The thief saw that the old man was six or seven meters below the stone wall and knew that he was doomed, so he turned around.

Heh, those kids are quite pretty. I wonder if there are any girls among them. Hehe~ I'll catch one and play with her.

With evil thoughts swirling in his mind, the thief took a few steps, but then realized something was amiss.

That old guy fell down without making a sound? Is he still resisting? He really doesn't know what's good for him...

The impatient thief stopped and turned around.

Unexpectedly, a thick shadow suddenly loomed over their field of vision.

Bang! ! !

The force suddenly struck the bridge of his nose, breaking the wooden stick on the spot. The thief couldn't react in time, and with a sharp pain in his nose, he flew backward, screaming all the way down the hillside.

"Not using an axe is already being polite."

Fang Shi casually tossed the wooden stick aside and then leaped up the stone slope in two steps.

It turned out that the old farmer had been lifted up by a crooked tree and had not fallen to the ground, thus saving his life.

"Uncle, uncle, are you alright?"

He shook the dazed old man and saw that blood was flowing from his other ear. He immediately took out some wound medicine, applied it, and covered it with a clean cloth.

"Child, save the child..." The old farmer vaguely realized that someone was coming to his rescue, and quickly pointed down the mountain.

The thief rolling down the hillside startled the hiding child, exposing him, and he then attempted to kidnap the child.

"rest assured."

Fang Shi looked at the thief with a cold gaze, a stone axe appeared in his hand, and he threw it into the air, cleaving the sky in two.

……

P.S.: Based on friendly feedback from readers, some felt the opening beast-related events of this volume were a bit dull. Therefore, I'd like to clarify that the main tone of this book remains consistent with the previous volumes, maintaining a relaxed, adventurous, and exploratory style with lighthearted commentary. If you, the readers who have reached this point, feel free to speed up the reading; from Chapter 79, "Back on the Road," the tone basically returns to a relaxed and leisurely exploration and adventure. (●°u°●) 」