Chapter 116: Leaving Home
The next day, just as the curtain of night lifted, at the County Office.
Pei Ye stood beside the stone table, watching Master Chang and Master Huang go through his meager belongings, all visible at a glance.
"How can you bring only two pieces of clothing? What if it rains?" Master Huang frowned. "You need another pair of straw sandals, too."
Chang Zhiyuan nodded. "And you need at least a bamboo hat-I'll get you one."
"Copper coins! Why have you only brought silver? Are you going to hand over a piece of silver just to drink a cup of tea on the road?"
"A dagger, flint. These are things you absolutely must have-you haven't brought those either?"
Master Huang glanced up and rolled his eyes at him, took the dagger off his own waist, slapped it onto the table, and turned toward the woodshed.
Pei Ye scratched his head, looking at the bundle that had already doubled in size in less than a quarter of an hour. When he looked up and saw Master Huang returning with a cold gleam in his hand, he exclaimed, "An axe? Surely I don't need an axe?"
"There are plenty of things you'll need to chop in the woods." Master Huang set the little axe beside the dagger.
Just then, Chang Zhiyuan returned carrying a bamboo hat. He patted Pei Ye and said, "All right, we'll get things ready here. Go round back and pick a horse."
Pei Ye's eyes lit up. This was precisely the part he had been looking forward to today.
"All right!"
Ever since learning to ride, Pei Ye had wanted a horse of his own. But for one thing, horses were too expensive: even in this little town, buying one cost nearly twenty taels, never