Leaving the Village

Back home, the firewood in the stove had long since burned out.

With a few bites of pickles, he wolfed down a large bowl of cold rice porridge. Lin Qing then began tidying up the house.

Though he had no plans to return, this was still the place where his former self had lived for more than a decade. Every blade of grass and every tree carried the original owner's memories of growing up. Before leaving, he still needed to set the home in order.

He put the scattered odds and ends back in their places, swept away the dust, straightened the battered table and chairs, then gently laid the broken hunting knife his father had left behind on the table, as a farewell to his former self's past.

After busying himself for most of the day, Lin Qing looked at the house, now decent and orderly, and the last thread binding his heart slowly loosened.

After all that fuss, hunger struck again. Lin Qing simply made himself a rare feast.

He dug out the family's last piece of cured meat and two eggs, carefully washed and cut them, tossed them into the wok for a simple stir-fry, then cooked a full pot of dry, fluffy white rice.

These foods were inconvenient to carry over a long journey and would spoil easily. Finishing them before leaving would neither waste what his father had left behind nor give his frail body a proper boost, letting him gather some strength for the road ahead.

As the sky darkened, twilight shrouded all of Nameless Village, and faint lamplight flickered on in every household.

Sitting inside the house, Lin Qing felt a vague unease rise in his heart. Lin Hu's family's insatiably greedy expressions from the daytime surfaced in his mind.

He guessed that after taking two mu of good farmland, they might not be easily satisfied. There was a strong chance they would set their sights on the three taels of silver he had received from selling the land.

After considering it again and again, Lin Qing decided not to risk staying in the house.

He carefully wrapped the dozen or so taels of loose silver and hid them inside his clothes. He packed a change of clothes into a small bundle, then slipped out of the yard under cover of night.

Not far from the house were the fields, where a huge haystack stood, concealed and safe.

He hunched over and crawled into a gap in the haystack, planning to make do there for the night. The haystack offered some insulation, enough for him to rest properly, while also allowing him to avoid a possible nighttime raid by Lin Hu.

As the night deepened, Lin Qing hid in the haystack and watched the direction of his courtyard through a crack.

Sure enough, just after the hour of Xu, a dark figure crept into his small yard. One or two lamps still shone in the distance of the village. Though he could not make out the intruder's face, that person's build was highly recognizable in the village.

It had to be Lin Hu!

Perhaps realizing that there was neither lamplight nor the sound of breathing inside, Lin Hu stopped deliberately concealing his movements. He forcefully shoved open the dilapidated door and began searching through the house.

The sounds of rummaging through chests and overturning cabinets were especially piercing. Even from some distance away, Lin Qing, hiding in the haystack, could hear them clearly.

He remained motionless in the haystack, watching everything Lin Hu did, and his heart gradually turned icy cold.

He had only just arrived in this world and stood alone, weak and unsupported. A large part of why he had been willing to sell the land at a loss during the day was because he did not want to stir up further trouble.

Yet Lin Hu had pushed his luck inch by inch. Taking the fields had not satisfied him; he had actually come sneaking into Lin Qing's home under cover of night. If Lin Qing had not been cautious, who knew what might have happened tonight.

Fury churned in his heart, but Lin Qing clenched his fists tightly and did not make the slightest sound.

His body was frail now. He was no match for Lin Hu at all. Rushing out rashly would be no different from throwing his life away.

The clattering inside continued for most of an hour. Lin Hu turned the house upside down, leaving it in complete disarray, yet found nothing. In the end, he spat unwillingly, cursed under his breath, and left the yard, soon vanishing into the depths of the night.

Only after Lin Hu had gone completely and silence returned to the surroundings did Lin Qing let out a soft breath. Even so, he had no intention of returning to the house.

The night chill grew heavier. Curled up in the haystack, he listened as insects began chirping around him. A wave of exhaustion washed over him, and he soon fell asleep.

The next day, when the horizon had only just turned the pale white of a fish belly, the entire village was still shrouded in white morning mist.

Lin Qing slowly woke. He climbed up, brushed the bits of straw from his body, slung the bundle he had prepared long ago over his shoulder, and gave the small courtyard where he had lived for more than a decade one deep look. Then he turned and walked straight toward the village entrance.

At the village entrance, he waited beneath an old locust tree. Before long, he heard the clop-clop of horse hooves coming from within the village.

Turning to look, he saw a group making its way out from the depths of the village.

It was a herb-gathering team. They had emerged from Azure Sun Mountain only the previous evening. As it had grown late and travel was inconvenient, they had stayed the night at the village chief's home.

The village chief's home had plenty of guest rooms and offered passing hunters and merchants a place to rest all year round. It could be considered a small inn.

The group was neatly arranged. At the front were two apothecaries dressed in plain-colored cloth robes. Their bearing was steady, and at a glance, one could tell they were experts who had spent years gathering and identifying medicinal herbs.

Behind the apothecaries followed four apprentices around Lin Qing's age. They carried small medicine baskets on their backs and little shovels at their waists, the childishness between their brows not yet fully faded.

In the middle of the group were three old horses, their backs laden with tightly bound baskets of medicinal herbs. The baskets were filled with fresh herbs wrapped in coarse cloth.

The four men on either side of the group were broad and powerfully built, ordinary strongmen trained in brute strength. They were responsible for guarding the packhorses and handling miscellaneous tasks.

At the very rear was the group's only martial guard. He wore dark fitted clothes, carried a short saber at his waist, and had sharp eyes that gave off a faint sense of oppression.

A group like this could swagger through the outskirts of Azure Sun Mountain. They could handle ordinary tigers, leopards, and wolves; only ferocious beasts that had wandered out from the depths of Azure Sun Mountain required caution.

Seeing the group, Lin Qing immediately straightened his clothes and hurried forward, bowing to the apothecaries at the front.

"Esteemed seniors, this junior is Lin Qing. I intend to travel to Azure Sun County. May I ask whether I might accompany you? This junior will certainly behave himself along the way and never cause trouble for you. In addition, this junior is willing to pay a small sum of silver as travel expenses."

The leading apothecary stopped and examined the thin youth before him.

Seeing that Lin Qing was courteous and clear-eyed, and considering that he was still young and traveling alone was indeed dangerous, he exchanged glances with the apothecary and guard beside him before speaking gently to Lin Qing.

"If you can keep up, then travel with us. Spring Renewal Hall will not take money from a half-grown boy like you over such a trifling matter."

"Thank you, esteemed senior!"

Lin Qing quickly thanked him and consciously took his place in the group, following behind the apprentices.

The apothecary apprentices occasionally spoke quietly, discussing such trifles as identifying herbs and sorting medicine baskets. Lin Qing listened in silence and did not interrupt much.

The martial guard swept his gaze over the surroundings from time to time, while the four strongmen spread out along both sides of the group. The procession moved steadily and orderly.

Following the group, Lin Qing looked back at the village where he had lived for more than a decade. Recalling last night's humiliation, a resolute light flashed in his eyes.

He had to step onto the path of martial arts. He would never again allow others to bully him at will.