The cold wind has subsided, the sun is high above the blue sky, this is a nice weather in winter.
In the abandoned village, people one big and one small got out of the shabby houses, tidied up a little, and then set off southward in the vast white snow.
After walking a long way, Qingchun looked back at the village from time to time.
Following closely Li Po, who was walking forward with his head full, Qingchun finally said calmly for a long time: "Brother...brother, when can we come back to see you again?"
It is said that it is hard to leave one's hometown. Even though I am only a young boy, my attachment to my hometown is beyond words.
"Can't bear to part with you?"
"Well...a bit..."
"Is your ancestral grave here?"
"No, my family hasn't buried anyone yet."
"Is there an ancestral hall?"
"My family is the only one in the village with the surname Qing, so we don't have a clan..."
"Then what's the reluctance to give up?"
The child held the short knife tightly in his arms and followed hard behind his brother. His mind was a little confused and he couldn't figure out the relationship between the ancestral grave and the reluctance to give up.
In fact, what he didn't know was that the person who spoke full of questions was just following the instructions and had no accurate concept of things like ancestral tombs and ancestral halls.
It's just that after staying in the village outside the Great Wall for a few years, I have accumulated a few values that are in line with this era under the influence of my ears and eyes.
The road ahead is uncertain. Let alone Qingchun, who has never seen much of the world. Even Li Po doesn't actually have many plans for the future. He can only take one step at a time.
The shadow of the village gradually disappeared, and the child's nostalgia for his hometown was soon submerged in the difficult journey and cold weather, and he could no longer take care of it.
Two figures, one large and one small, staggered along the river bank in the vast expanse of land.
During this three days of walking, I didn't meet a single person, let alone a village.
It wasn't until around noon on the fourth day that a dark shadow was vaguely seen ahead.
Mayi City has finally arrived.
At this time, the north wind was raging and the weather was a little colder than before.
Li Po wiped the frost off his face. Because he had been walking, his body was feeling better and a little warm, but his hands and feet were already numb from the cold.
This walk made him miss the dilapidated camp outside the Great Wall. Although the winter there was colder, there was still a warm little nest.
But since he went south and entered the territory of the Sui Dynasty, he has become a homeless man with no fixed abode. This contrast has lowered his expectations for the legendary rich and powerful Sui Dynasty.
Qingchun, who was lying on his back, cheered.
But in the cold wind, the sound was not much louder than a cat's meowing. Since the third day, no matter how stubborn the child was, he could only stay on Li Po's back.
What a lucky guy.
Isn't that right? If this child stayed in the mountains, he would definitely have a narrow escape from death. After he came out of the mountains, he got seriously ill again, but he was lucky enough to escape the illness.
Now that we have been traveling all the way, if the journey lasted even a day and a half, the child would not be able to bear it, but luckily he reached the end point.
This is not luck, what is luck?
Looking at the city in the distance, Li Po felt that since this child followed him, he had indeed had good luck and benefited a lot.
Qingchun struggled to get down, and Li Po tightened his arms tremblingly, signaling him to be more honest, and then he quickened his pace and walked towards the city.
It's gradually getting closer.
The city walls, gates, moats, crenellations, watchtowers, etc. are becoming increasingly clear.
Soon, Li Po had a general understanding that living in such a war fortress would be much easier and safer than surviving in the villages outside.
Therefore, he felt very wise in his decision to go south to Mayi regardless of the cold weather.
He had already begun to imagine getting a house to stay in such a city, and cooking a pot of beef... Suddenly, his mouth was filled with saliva, and even his steps were a little brisk.
However, although the intention is beautiful, it still requires a lot of effort on his part.
For example, how to enter the city......
The risk of entering the city is not small. Without household registration and customs clearance documents, let alone making a pot of beef, it is not impossible for someone to make soup for you.
However, as long as you don't think about being turned into a bandit, you can live an honest life, and whether you can enter the city or not, it doesn't actually matter too much.
Arriving near the city, Li Po stopped. His eyes, which had lost their former glory due to fatigue and cold, gradually became sharper.
The city gate is not small and is wide open on all sides.
The dark city gate corridor made a strange whining sound as it passed by from the north.
From the outside, you can even see the streets of the city.
Li Po looked up again and saw a large flag flying at the top of the city, with a big Sui character on it, marking the ownership of this city.
But what makes Li Po hesitate is that he hasn't seen a ghost yet.
There were no soldiers guarding the city as expected, and apart from the whistling sound of the north wind, there was no human voice at all. The complete silence gave the city a strange feeling no matter how you looked at it.
Damn it, is this an empty city plan for me?
The contrast with what he imagined was a bit big, making every pore in Li Po's body feel alert.
However, Li Po soon breathed a sigh of relief. What he saw in front of him was not a ghost town.
Because several people were together, they walked meanderingly out of the city gate.
They were wrapped in thick sheepskin coats, and their dirty and tattered clothes were only slightly better than those of Li Po and Li Po. Their heads and faces were covered tightly, and they all carried knives at their waists, bows and arrows, and holsters on their shoulders and backs.
Wearing hemp rope, in Li Po's opinion, this kind of attire is neither civilian nor military, and a bit weird.
There is no characteristic of being a citizen of the Central Plains Empire at all. Instead, he is very similar to those tribesmen on the grassland.
Several people walked by silently, some glanced at Li Po and the other two, but didn't pay much attention, and no one came to ask.
Looking at the backs of these people, Li Po was quite suspicious.
"Brother, they are all woodcutter..."
Woodcutter? The woodcutter who makes a living by chopping wood with an ax? The woodcutter who carries a knife and a bow and arrow? This is a very destructive statement about the worldview. Is it easy to criticize?
During Qingchun's intermittent explanations, Li Po soon understood that the so-called woodcutter might have other identities.
For example, soldiers and hunters, for example, may also act as "swordsmen" in their spare time, committing robberies and so on. The strong folk customs do not need much explanation.
This is an age where cars are racing, horses are rustling, and pedestrians are carrying bows and arrows.