On a country road at sunset, the setting sun cast two shadows as they walked along the lines of light and shadow cutting through the wheat field, traversing the shifting interplay of light and shadow.
The girl led him by the hand, the wind blowing her hair, carrying a faint fragrance to the boy's nose.
She ran her fingers through her hair with her other hand, but refused to let go of his hand.
Li Mo suddenly felt that the scene before him was familiar yet somewhat unreal.
It felt like I'd seen it in a dream, but forgot it after waking up. Only when I encountered a similar scene did it feel like something I'd experienced before.
He was reminded of Monet's "Woman with a Parasol," but a sunset version...
Li Mo was immediately taken aback.
"Fairy sister, is this the way back to the village? Why does it seem like the further we go, the more desolate the trees become..."
Ying Bing was taken aback, looked around, and frowned, saying, "This isn't the way back to Li Mo Village? It certainly doesn't seem so..."
Li Mo: "??"
"Fairy sister, are you directionally challenged?"
"How could that be? I was just thinking about something."
"Too."
The fairy sister must have come specifically to save him that day.
Although the reason is unknown, how could someone with a terrible sense of direction possibly find themselves accurately?
It's impossible... it's impossible... maybe...
Half an hour later, Li Mo looked at a group of pheasants not far away with a serious expression. They were staring at him fiercely, their claws scratching the ground.
These pheasants are extremely protective of their territory, and they can even fly; even tigers that enter their territory suffer losses.
Since we're already here...
On the way back, Li Mo carried several pieces of frozen pheasant ice sculptures on his back.
"So, fairy sister, you initially wanted to eat wild pheasant meat?"
"That's right, that's exactly it."
The fairy-like woman had a cool and aloof expression, making it impossible to associate her with being directionally challenged. She then said:
"Alright, let's go back quickly, it's getting dark."
Then she followed closely behind Li Mo.
Li Mo: "..."
As they returned home, the last rays of dusk were just fading away.
The blacksmith's furnace was lit, but it emitted only cooking smoke. The bones of the wild pheasant were stewed into soup, the meat was shredded and made into hand-shredded chicken, and the scraps were stir-fried into spicy and sour chicken giblets. One chicken, three ways, all arranged perfectly.
Ying Bing twirled a needle formed of ice crystals between her fingertips, threading it by the light of the fire.
"I wish things could stay like this forever."
Li Mo thought so.
And that is indeed the case.
The Map of Mountains and Rivers seems to have been fast-forwarded.
For the next ten years or so, they lived this life of men farming and women weaving. During this time, Little Li the Blacksmith became Li the Blacksmith, and the children in the village grew up.
The old village chief also passed away. When he died, he handed the key to the village Ancestral Hall to Li Mo, asking him to personally carry his memorial tablet into the Ancestral Hall, which meant that he had become the new clan chief.
Of course, during this period, the area and population of Dawang Village doubled, and the Thousand Forms Art provided the village with more abundant productivity.
Moreover, over the past ten years, demons have become increasingly unable to pose any threat to the village. In the past, if people were unlucky, only a handful of people from the entire village might survive.
These days, the few that are around are just large, ferocious beasts.
This unique martial art spread to several neighboring villages, and more and more people learned it.
Everyone says that this is a fairy goddess from the celestial realm spreading the Dharma.
"I'd love to watch some rural romance stories!"
"What am I supposed to see if I fast-forward through everything?"
"I'd be happy to watch all of the past ten years or so; such a short time can pass in the blink of an eye."
Of course, only a small number of people are dissatisfied with the timeline jump in the Map of Mountains and Rivers.
After all, each round of natural disasters occurs every fifty years.
Shang Qinqing was dissatisfied mainly because she was still in her rebellious phase even at several thousand years old.
"It seems that the Earth City has already submitted to the rule of the Heavenly City?"
"The difference between the people of Heavenly City and Earthly City is just like the difference between Earthly City and Human City..."
"Oh right, there are three people participating in the Celestial Person Trial this time."
"Jiang Yu's idea is good. If the three cities can become a unified whole, the chances of overcoming difficulties together will be much greater. After all, the people of the Human City can't even fight back against natural disasters."
"Why does this sound so familiar? Inner City, outside the Central Divine Province..."
Many martial arts practitioners who came to the Imperial Capital from other places looked at each other in bewilderment.
I was laughing and laughing, but suddenly I couldn't laugh anymore.
"Well, if things continue like this, the top prize in this trial will probably go to His Highness the Crown Prince?"
"After all, every decision he makes can affect the entire Heavenly Human City. Young Hero Li and Cold Fairy have been enjoying agritourism all along."
Moreover, although Young Hero Li has practiced the Thousand Forms Art for many years, he was essentially born in the City of Men.
His lifespan will end at most after the first natural disaster.
However, no one knows whether Cold Fairy will return to Tiancheng, so it's too early to say.
At this time.
In the Map of Mountains and Rivers, Jiang Yu's decrees have already begun to radiate outwards from the underground city.
In the remote ancestral Ancestral Hall of Dawang Village, two men and one woman sat beneath the ancestral tablets.
They wore exquisite and luxurious clothes, and their every move exuded the majesty of superiors. Although they were not as naturally divine as the Celestials, they were still clearly distinguishable from the villagers surrounding the Ancestral Hall.
Who is the village chief?
The middle-aged man at the head of the group took a sip of tea, frowned, and spat it back out.
"That is me."
Li Mo walked out without looking to the side and sat down squarely opposite him.
The three envoys from the underground city exchanged glances, all finding this Great King Village rather strange. Ordinary villagers would either tremble with fear or fawn over them.
What's going on with the people from Dawang Village and the surrounding villages?
"We have come here today to carry out the decree of the Heavenly City Clan, and our request is very simple."
"From now on, you will replace all the ancestral tablets in the Ancestral Hall with those of the Heavenly Clan Lords. From now on, the annual grain harvest will be divided between the Earth City and the Heavenly City on a 30/70 basis."
After saying that, he calmly wiped his mouth.
The villagers in the Ancestral Hall looked at each other in bewilderment.
"How can the ancestral tablets be changed?"
"We've worked so hard all year, how come we're only at 70%?"
"Seventy percent of it belongs to someone else!"
Ignoring the noisy villagers, the middle-aged man from the city, who was at the head of the group, turned his gaze to Li Mo:
"Village chief, what do you think? No matter how much money is spent, nothing is more important than the safety of future generations."
"As far as I know, the people of Tiancheng don't need to eat unless they're craving something. What would they need so much food for?"
Li Mo neither agreed nor refused, but instead raised a question.
The three people. "?"
How did he know that the Celestials didn't need to eat, except for being greedy?
The young man from the dungeon wasn't so composed, and said impatiently, "Of course, it's what we want."
"But isn't it the Celestial Clan who are protecting us?"
"First are us, then the Heavenly Clan. Those we cannot handle are the ones who are given offerings and respects. The food is for us."
Li Mo stared at him. "Even in a bumper year, with only 30% of the harvest, we can barely have enough thin porridge to fill our stomachs. If that's the case, aren't we just like livestock, living a life of aimless ignorance?"
"What's wrong with living a wretched life if you can survive? If it weren't for the size of your Great King Village, countless people would want to be beasts but wouldn't even have the chance."
Snap--
A sickle was slammed onto the table.
Li Mo then asked, "Can this one survive?"
"To live is to be fit to be an animal."
Snap--
Another forging hammer was slammed onto the table.
"Can this one survive?"
"They might survive, but not many will."
The hammer was picked up and placed on the sickle, the two stacked together.
"With this added, can everyone live with dignity?"