Time flies by on Wudang Mountain, and a year flies by in the blink of an eye.
At this time, four years had passed since the "100th Birthday Banquet" that made Meng Xiuyuan famous all over the world.
And Meng Xiuyuan was finally going down the mountain again.
"Master, are you really not going to take me with you?" Zhou Zhiruo asked naggingly while helping Meng Xiuyuan pack the package.
"No." Meng Xiuyuan sat aside and drank tea leisurely, his face was indifferent, but his tone was slightly decisive.
"Then why bring Brother Wuji with you?" Zhou Zhiruo still refused to give up.
"My trip this time is to find the 'Butterfly Valley Medical Immortal' Hu Qingniu.
Wuji had been taken care of by him for more than two years. Since he saved his life and was considered his half-disciple, he was naturally grateful for his kindness and wanted to follow him to meet him.
What about you, Zhou Nuxia, do you have some history with that Hu Medical Fairy?"
Meng Xiuyuan glanced at Zhou Zhiruo with a smile and said to her in a joking tone.
Zhou Zhiruo pursed his lips when he heard the words. He was choked by his master's words and couldn't answer. He had no choice but to stop talking and suppress the original excitement in his heart. From time to time, a slight "hum" sound came from his mouth.
, obviously dissatisfied with Meng Xiuyuan's partial behavior.
Seeing her like this, Meng Xiuyuan shook his head helplessly, secretly thinking that this child might have entered puberty.
Helpless, as he was his disciple after all, he had to explain things clearly. Meng Xiuyuan had no choice but to pick up a brush on the table, dipped in ink into the inkstone that had not yet dried up, and suddenly said to Zhou Zhiruo:
"Be careful, I'm going to attack your Shangguan point."
"Huh?!" Zhou Zhiruo was startled when he heard this, but he did not panic. He quickly dropped the clothes in his hands and moved quickly sideways to avoid Meng Xiuyuan's attack.
Obviously, this was not the first time that Meng Xiuyuan and Zhou Zhiruo, master and disciple, had done such a sudden attack training.
However, Zhou Zhiruo's kung fu was still shallow after all, so before she even took a step back, she saw Meng Xiuyuan standing in front of her. A cold look on her face made her know that Meng Xiuyuan had hit her.
Although Zhou Zhiruo was a bit petty, he never dared to be careless when it came to practicing martial arts. He was not discouraged when Meng Xiuyuan succeeded in the attack. He just focused his attention to be prepared for Meng Xiuyuan's next moves.
"Qingming point." Meng Xiu smiled slightly at the sight and said again.
This time, Zhou Zhiruo knew he couldn't dodge, so he raised his hands and used the defensive posture of "Cotton Palm", but was deflected by Meng Xiuyuan's pen with a light touch. He almost lost his center of gravity and fell down, and at the same time, his face felt cold again.
"Daying, Dicang, Sibai, Cuanzhu, Tongziliao..."
Meng Xiuyuan showed no courtesy to Zhou Zhiruo. He named several more acupuncture points on his face, and with a flash of his hand, he attacked Zhou Zhiruo.
During this period, although Zhou Zhiruo tried his best to resist, and even had some good skills in martial arts, his cultivation was ultimately too weak. Faced with Meng Xiuyuan who only used one power, his defense was quickly broken, until the final situation was in chaos.
In a moment, Zhou Zhiruo's fair little face was covered with ink marks, and then with a wash of sweat and a touch of his hand, it turned into a little Zhang Fei.
At this point, Meng Xiuyuan stopped and said:
"What now? Do you still want me to take you down the mountain?
I use pen and ink to deal with you, but others may use a knife."
Zhou Zhiruo had a clear mind, and after this "big defeat", he also understood Meng Xiuyuan's meaning, bowed his head in silence, and listened carefully to the teachings.
Seeing the situation, Meng Xiu smiled slightly, took a clean cloth and dipped it in some water, wiped Zhou Zhiruo's face, said nothing, picked up his baggage and turned around to go out.
At this time, Meng Xiuyuan actually understood the rules in the ancient tomb more and more.
After all, young people yearn for the outside world, but this world is not peaceful. Without top-notch kung fu, traveling around the world is like gambling with your life. You may encounter a situation that is difficult to escape one day.
As an elder, I naturally hope that my disciples and younger generations will practice kung fu well and go out before it is too late.
…
When Meng Xiuyuan took Zhang Wuji down the mountain this time, he was indeed heading towards Hu Qingniu.
It was said to be a visit, but in fact it was more because Meng Xiuyuan wanted to save his life.
After all, it was almost time for Granny Jinhua to seek revenge on Hu Qingniu after her husband died. The two elders of Huashan who were guarding Hu Qingniu might not be that woman's opponent.
Originally, Meng Xiuyuan wanted to send a message to Hu Qingniu, asking him to come to Wudang Mountain to take refuge on the pretext of asking for medical advice. However, a plague suddenly broke out in Lunan, and Hu Qingniu couldn't escape there, so Meng Xiuyuan had to go down the mountain to find him.
Meng Xiuyuan didn't feel any inconvenience in this regard. After all, Hu Qingniu had traveled all over the world for more than a year and saved more people than he did.
Such a great doctor was worthy of Meng Xiuyuan's trip for him.
And looking at Zhang Wuji, who looked "simple and ignorant" next to him, Meng Xiuyuan felt that even if it wasn't for Hu Qingniu, it would be a good thing to go down the mountain.
This child's fate took a turn due to the appearance of Meng Xiuyuan. He has much less hardship experience than in the original timeline, and he also lacks a lot of knowledge that he should have.
For a person who is going to do great things in the future, this is not acceptable.
This time down the mountain, I had to make up for him somewhat.
Therefore, Meng Xiuyuan and Zhang Wuji did not take the overland route, but hired a small boat to go down the Han River just like they did when they went to Butterfly Valley. When they arrived at Hankou, they changed to a Yangtze River boat and did not disembark until they entered the Anhui border.
"Uncle, why do you feel that this place is so different from the last time we left?
And the boatman uncle, I think the way he looks at us is wrong, it always feels weird..."
As soon as he landed on the shore, Zhang Wuji looked at the sparsely populated and slightly desolate ferry, and felt a little uneasy in his heart.
When Meng Xiuyuan heard this, he didn't explain anything to him. He just shook his head and walked out:
"Don't think too much. Let's get on the road quickly. Your Mr. Hu is still waiting for us."
When Zhang Wuji heard what Meng Xiuyuan said, he stopped asking any more questions and hurriedly caught up with Meng Xiuyuan.
In this way, the two of them went all the way north, straight on the official road, and headed towards Nalu.
But along the way, Zhang Wuji increasingly realized that something was wrong.
On the way, they passed a small town, and Zhang Wuji wanted to buy some hot food. Unexpectedly, every house in the town was empty. Zhang Wuji walked around for a long time, but there was not even a soul in sight.
Helpless, the two had no choice but to continue on their way, but saw that the rice fields along the way were all cracked, and the fields were covered with thorns and grass, making it desolate.
After walking for another half day, I saw several corpses lying on the roadside. Their bellies were shriveled and their cheeks were sunken. It was obvious at first sight that they had died of starvation.
Zhang Wuji was startled by the corpse and turned around quickly to ask Meng Xiuyuan what was going on. However, he saw that Meng Xiuyuan's expression was unusually serious and terrifying, which made him afraid to open his mouth.
Helpless, Zhang Wuji could only comfort himself in his heart, saying that it was just a coincidence and it got better after walking over.
But who would have thought that the further we walked, the more people would die of hunger.
What I saw was shocking.
"Uncle Master, what on earth is going on?" Zhang Wuji couldn't bear it anymore.
"Famine." Meng Xiuyuan was silent for a long time and only uttered these two words.
Zhang Wuji felt very depressed when he heard this, but when he saw that Meng Xiuyuan was not in a good mood, he didn't ask any more questions and just continued to move forward.
It wasn't until evening, when they entered the border of Fengyang County and passed through a forest that they discovered the presence of people in it.
I saw a few men in ragged clothes gathered around a pot of steaming soup, and two women were adding firewood to the bottom of the pot to add fuel to the fire. Although they all seemed to be in low spirits, they were better than those who starved to death on the road.
It looks a little plumper, and obviously there is still something to eat.
[To be honest, I have been using Yeguo to read and catch up on books recently. I can switch sources and read aloud with many sounds. www. Android and Apple are available.]
When this group of people saw Meng Xiuyuan approaching, their faces showed overjoyed expressions. At the same time, they jumped up and surrounded Meng Xiuyuan:
"You two gentlemen, two uncles, please have mercy on us and give us something to eat.
All of us are almost starving to death, and even my newborn baby cannot survive..."
While talking, one of the men hugged Zhang Wuji's leg. Obviously they could see that this half-grown boy looked easier to talk to.
When Zhang Wuji saw this, the emotions he had accumulated along the way were instantly aroused. He immediately opened his bag and took out most of the noodles contained in it, leaving only two or three for himself as rations, and gave the rest to the man.
:
"I only have these, you guys eat them quickly, eat them quickly."
Everyone was overjoyed when they saw this, and hurriedly grabbed the noodles one by one and stuffed them into their mouths. Even if they choked, they just hammered their chests twice and continued to swallow them.
Only the man who was holding Zhang Wuji's thigh just now, after eating a few mouthfuls of noodles, said with a flattering look:
"Thank you so much for saving my life. I will never forget this great kindness.
My benefactor, it seems that you have come a long way, and I think you are thirsty.
Although we have nothing to eat, we have boiled a pot of hot water to satisfy our hunger. If you don’t dislike us, why don’t you take a few sips?”
Hearing this, Zhang Wuji didn't say how thirsty he was, but because he was too shy to refuse, he could only forcefully smiled, nodded, and followed the man to the cauldron.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked to the pot, stretched his head and took a look inside, he was so frightened that his liver and gallbladder split, "Ah!
"The ground shouted loudly.
What is being boiled in this pot is not just hot water.
Then, before he could react, he felt a heavy blow on his head. He reluctantly turned around and saw that it was the man who just kept calling his benefactor, who had hit him hard on the head with a piece of wood.
Meng Xiuyuan in the distance had been watching all this indifferently. He had already noticed that something was wrong with this family, but he still remained silent, wanting to let Zhang Wuji deal with it on his own.
After all, although Zhang Wuji didn't say he was very powerful in martial arts at this time, he at least had a good foundation. With Jiuyang Zhenqi protecting his body, he couldn't cause big trouble when facing such a few people who didn't have any martial arts skills.
Sure enough, Zhang Wuji, who had been hit on the head with a stick, was so weak that he fell to the ground, but he still managed to stay awake for the time being and immediately passed out.
"You... how dare you eat...
Why, didn’t I give you some bread? Why are you still attacking me..."
Zhang Wuji, who was in a daze, reluctantly raised his finger and pointed at the man in front of him in confusion.
"Huh, my head is quite hard.
Nonsense, those two noodles of yours are not enough for anyone.
Only with you two fat sheep can I fill my stomach."
The man didn't hesitate when he spoke. He took out a long knife from his bag not far away and walked towards Zhang Wuji, obviously ready to take action.
The remaining few people did not stand still. They each took out their weapons and surrounded Meng Xiuyuan, obviously not wanting to let him go.
At this time, Zhang Wuji only felt annoyed and resentful in his heart, but he could not exert any strength at all. Instead, his emotions surged, his head became more and more dizzy, and he lay down on the ground uncontrollably.
…
When Zhang Wuji opened his eyes again, he found that the sky was completely dark, the stars were twinkling, and he was being carried forward quickly by Meng Xiuyuan.
"Uncle Junior..." Zhang Wuji reluctantly said.
"Stop talking, take a rest first." Meng Xiuyuan's words, mixed with the whistling wind, clearly reached Zhang Wuji's ears.
In this way, for more than half an hour, the two of them passed by a small temple that was enough to protect them from the wind and rain. Only then did Meng Xiuyuan stop and choose to spend the night there.
At this time, Zhang Wuji's Nine Yang True Qi was flowing in his body, and his groggy feeling had almost healed, so he walked in without letting Meng Xiuyuan carry him on his back.
"Eat something, you haven't eaten all day..." Meng Xiuyuan took out the dried meat and noodles from his bag and handed them to Zhang Wuji.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Zhang Wuji took the dried meat and took a look at it, he vomited it out with a "vomit" sound. He didn't feel better for a long time, and in the end he almost vomited out the bile.
Meng Xiu saw the situation, understood in his heart, and didn't say anything. He just gave him water to rinse his mouth when he was almost done vomiting.
After a long time, he stopped. Sitting weakly at the door of the hall, Zhang Wuji lowered his head. After a long time, he finally asked:
"Uncle Junior, how are those people doing?"
"What else can I do? Just kill him." Meng Xiuyuan replied calmly while eating.
"But, maybe they are also very hungry, that's why..." Zhang Wuji, who was filled with the heart of the Holy Mother, did not forget to put himself in someone else's shoes and think about it.
"Maybe... but no matter what, they are cannibals and want to eat us both, so naturally we can't let them go." Meng Xiuyuan continued.
When Zhang Wuji heard this, he had mixed feelings in his heart and fell into silence.
Then, he suddenly turned around, looked at Meng Xiuyuan and asked:
"Uncle Master, have you ever seen such a scene when you went down the mountain before?"
Meng Xiuyuan shook his head when he heard this, and his expression turned ugly:
"I've seen similar ones, but never such a serious one."
In fact, Meng Xiuyuan had already contributed to the horrific famine in front of him.
Not to mention that he was familiar with the plot in his previous life, about two or three months ago, when Master Nabu wrote to him, he mentioned the disaster situation in Fengyang Mansion this year.
Since the two of them met, they have exchanged letters and information from time to time, which is one of the more meaningful things.
Knowing the power of this famine and the tragedy it would cause, Meng Xiuyuan naturally couldn't help but take action.
He asked Song Qingshu to take out part of the property left behind by Hongmei Villa, buy a lot of cheap grain in Jiangnan, transport it to Fengyang Mansion, sell it at very low prices, and even distribute it to the victims.
And he himself secretly went down the mountain and robbed several wealthy businessmen and corrupt officials who had committed unforgivable crimes, collected their belongings, and handed them all to Master Shubu, so that they, members of the Ming Cult, could take the opportunity to provide disaster relief and win over the people.
But these are just a drop in the bucket for Fengyang Mansion, which is thousands of miles away.
When I saw it with my own eyes today, it was indeed a human tragedy.
Zhang Wuji felt sour in his heart when he heard this, and couldn't help but ask again:
"Uncle Junior, why is this happening? Is there no other way?"
Meng Xiuyuan shook his head when he heard this:
"This is a natural disaster and a man-made disaster.
Mortals cannot interfere with natural disasters, they can only prevent them.
As for man-made disasters, that is the key point.
The food in the world, even if there is a disaster and the production is reduced, is actually almost enough for the people of the world to eat. Even if it is more difficult, so many people will not die after all.
It's just that some people, for their own selfish interests, don't care about the life and death of the poor, make money by using other people's lives, and are extravagant and wasteful.
This kind of thing has happened throughout the ages and has been banned repeatedly. It's just that this bastard in the Yuan Dynasty exploited people from top to bottom and went too far.
Perhaps only by driving away the dog Tatars and getting a clear and powerful court can some of the problems be solved."
Fourteen-year-old Zhang Wuji was not yet mature, so he couldn't help but ask a slightly childish question:
"Then, little uncle, tell me, when can we drive away those Tatars?"
When Meng Xiuyuan heard this, he didn't deal with him. Instead, he pursed his lips and thought about it carefully, and said seriously:
"Ten years. I believe that as long as we work hard, we should be able to do it in ten years."
At this moment, a man dressed as a monk suddenly appeared outside the main hall and walked in with applause.
"Okay, you two made a good point!"
But I saw that the man had a strong build, but his appearance was ordinary. He was neither ugly nor handsome, he just looked like an ordinary country boy.
Only his bright eyes made him stand out.
"My surname is Zhu Ming Yuanzhang. I have met two young heroes."