Chapter 1 The Debauched Boy
In the third year of King Cang of the Sirius Kingdom, there was a severe drought. Several states in the Sirius Kingdom were fertile and fertile, and there was no harvest. For a time, there were many hungry people, people died of hunger everywhere, and thieves and robbers were everywhere. Several counties in the northern part of Yunzhou in the Sirius Kingdom were hit by disasters of varying degrees, and countless refugees fled to the southwest.
Gushan Town is a small mountain town on the southwest border of Yunzhou, the Sirius Kingdom. This small town is located at the foot of Xiaogu Mountain on the border between Tianlang Kingdom and Cai Kingdom. It is in a remote location and has abundant water resources. It has not been hit by drought this year.
Wu Yan's family of five is one of the many refugees who have fled. They left their homes and fled to the southwest from Qing County, Yunzhou. When they left Qing County, they followed a large number of refugees and encountered a struggle between two major gangs in the two counties. The two fighting gangs could not hold back their momentum and accidentally killed many refugees. In panic, Wu Yan's family of five became separated at the border between the two counties.
Wu Yan, who was just twelve years old this year, was wearing a sackcloth with many holes, carrying a torn bag for begging, and leaning on a dog-beating stick. When he fled to Gushan Town in a panic, he was already with his family. It's been two days since we were separated.
He was tired, hungry, and flustered, and to make matters worse, the little remnants of food he had in his pockets were gone this morning.
It is already dusk, and many people in the town have closed their doors and are enjoying dinner at home. Wu Yan weakly held a dog beating stick and a broken coarse porcelain bowl, trying his luck from house to house.
After being rejected by more than a dozen restaurants, Wu Yan was so hungry that he felt dizzy and barely had the strength to walk. He walked with difficulty to the gate of a house in the westernmost part of the town. The gate of the house was half open, and the wind lantern hanging above the gate gave off a dim light. The sound of fists and orders came from the courtyard. The strong aroma of wine and meat overflowed, making the hungry Wu Yan stumble towards the door as if possessed.
"Five leaders, six yuanbao, haha, brother, you lose, you will be fined three drinks!" A loud laugh came from the courtyard, and he sounded young.
"Xiao Feng, you stinky boy. You are only thirteen this year, but you are already better at guessing than your elder brother. I am willing to admit defeat, and my elder brother drank this wine. Dad, second brother, I am rarely happy today, so you should also have a drink with me." The man whom the young man called eldest brother who spoke earlier let out a hearty laugh.
"Bai'er, don't just focus on drinking. What happened to the matter that dad sent a message to you the day before yesterday? Has Hall Master Zhao agreed?" A slightly older voice asked in a somewhat anxious tone.
"Dad, do you need to say this? After all, I am now one of the four swordsmen and the three masters of the Iron Sword League's young generation. My master is the head of the Deacon Hall, and he keeps his word. The master has promised to help my third brother join the Iron Sword League. "Xiao Feng, you can pack up tonight and go up the mountain with me tomorrow morning." The man said proudly.
"That's good. Feng'er, after you go to the Iron Sword League, you have to study hard and don't get into trouble, do you understand?" the old voice said seriously.
"Don't worry, dad. I, Wang Feng, have always wanted to be a master of martial arts, stand out, and get to know the world's heroes. Big brother, you have helped me fulfill my wish. I'd like to toast you. Come on, cheers!" said the flamboyant young man in an old-fashioned way. With. .
From time to time, the sound of clinking glasses can be heard in the courtyard. Wu Yan swallowed hard and was about to walk to the gate to beg for food. Just listen to the young man saying: "Dad, eldest brother, second brother, you eat first, I will go to Zhang Blacksmith's house. I heard that Zhang Tao will also join the Iron Sword League this year. Isn't his second uncle the leader of the Law Enforcement Hall? I’ll contact him first so that I can talk to him for help in the future.”
"You kid, you know how to build relationships before you even join the Iron Sword Alliance? Haha, I'm kidding you, go ahead!" The young man said with a smile, and several others also laughed with him.
Wu Yan, leaning on the dog-beating stick, finally staggered to the gate. Two people walked towards the courtyard. In the head is a 12 or 13-year-old boy in brocade clothes, with oily hair and pink noodles, smelling of alcohol. Next to the young man in brocade clothes, a middle-aged man who looked like a servant was holding a lantern to guide the way.
As soon as the young man in golden clothes walked to the door, he ran into Wu Yan who was holding a dog beating stick. He was startled and saw that he was a thin beggar. He said angrily: "Where did the wild dog come from? It scared the young master, get away!"
The young man in brocade clothes kicked Wu Yan without looking, and Wu Yan shrank back in fear. He had been hungry for a whole day, and his feet were weak. He stumbled and fell to the ground. The colorless broken bowl in his hand also fell out and shattered into countless pieces.
The young man in brocade didn't even look at the fallen Wu Yan, laughed loudly, walked out of the door and walked straight east. The servant glared at Wu Yan and shouted: "Little beggar, get out of here, or we will throw you into the Wild Wolf Valley to feed the wild wolves!"
After scaring Wu Yan, the servant trotted after him.
Wu Yan staggered up, looked at the broken bowl that had been smashed into pieces, shook his head helplessly, left the gate of the last house in the town, and walked to the west. As he walked, he muttered: "Isn't that great? Huh! Don't bully young people into poverty. Tomorrow I will also participate in the Iron Sword League's disciple selection. The Iron Sword League has such a big name, and they recruit disciples regardless of their origins. They say A hero doesn't care about his origin. When I become a master of martial arts, let's see if you guys still dare to talk like this!"
The sky gradually darkened. He specifically inquired that the entrance to Xiaogushan is to the west of Gushan Town. The Iron Sword Alliance, a large gang, is located in Xiaogushan.
Wu Yan looked up and saw a ruined mountain temple on the top of a low mountain not far away, which could be used as a temporary shelter.
He finally climbed up the dirt hill. Reaching out and pushing open the dilapidated mountain gate, Wu Yan saw that the dilapidated mountain temple was dark and he was a little worried. After thinking about it, he still walked into the yard with the dog-beating stick.
The whole yard was overgrown with weeds, covering the original path. Wu Yan carefully shook out the dog-beating stick and beat it rhythmically in the grass. This dog-beating stick is a yellow old bamboo with a fork at the front end. It beats on the ground with a rhythmic snapping sound.
This move is called stirring up the grass to startle the snake. Anyone who travels around the world knows this. There are weeds everywhere here, and there are usually poisonous snakes and insects in the grass. Doing this can scare away those poisonous snakes and insects with sound to avoid being accidentally injured by them.
Wu Yan walked into the dark and dilapidated temple and carefully looked around the temple in the dim light. The clay statue of the mountain god opposite collapsed to the side, and the altar was chopped up by someone and used as firewood, leaving burnt charcoal ashes on the spot.
Wu Yan walked over and found some remaining bone slag and dry food crumbs next to the ashes, and was overjoyed. He rushed over eagerly, bent his butt and lay on the ground, carefully collected the bone slag and dry food crumbs together, held them in his hands, and ate them up without caring about the dirt.
After eating up the dry and cold bone slag and dry food crumbs, Wu Yan barely suppressed some of his hunger and felt that he had regained some strength. But he ate too quickly and choked and rolled his eyes.
Wu Yan put the torn bag on the ground and began to search in the dilapidated temple. Finally, he found a palm-sized rusty incense burner at the broken palm of the broken statue. Wu Yan opened the lid of the incense burner, knocked out the incense ash inside, and found a deserted well in the yard with a dog-beating stick. He scooped up some water with a rusty incense burner and poured it into his stomach.
A sweet and sharp feeling flowed down his throat into his stomach. After drinking three furnaces of well water in succession, Wu Yan burped, then put the incense burner in his arms and walked back to the temple.
The sky became darker, the night fell, and the chirping of insects made people drowsy. He lay in the haystack next to the mountain god statue with his clothes on, then took out a piece of rags of color from his torn pocket, covered himself with it, and squinted his eyes.
Somehow, he felt hungry and cold just now, but now he no longer felt hungry, and his whole body was warm and comfortable.
In the haze, he felt like he was dreaming. In the dream, after arduous struggles, he finally became an enviable martial arts master. With his strong skills, he made a lot of money, found his lost relatives, and used the money to let them live a happy life.