UCTOOT CH70.1

In the spring of the eleventh year of the Taikang era, Great Sheng Prefecture suffered the calamity of war. Senzhou, Chuituo Prefecture, and Yong’an Prefecture were implicated, and a large number of refugees fled south, filling the roads in an endless stream. A full-scale war had begun, and the flames of conflict spread across the land.

The sky was clear and blue, the trees provided green shade, and pedestrians with their families walked along.

Shi Shu supported himself with a bamboo staff. Du Zihan, who was ahead, saw the guard post at the road junction and turned back. “By the way, Shi Shu, I’ve been worried sick recently. Do you think your ex-boyfriend will go crazy, search for you everywhere, and imprison you?”

Shi Shu raised an eye. “Ex-boyfriend? Imprison?”

Du Zihan said, “You know, lock you up tightly, and then force you into a relationship, forceful seizure, have you heard of it?”

Shi Shu’s world collapsed. “No way, are gay men that ridiculous?”

The guard post was checking travel permits, but there were too many refugees in these chaotic times, so they had to turn a blind eye, waving them through indifferently.

Du Zihan said, “It’s like that joke. A guy was approached by a boss who offered him fifty thousand a month in spending money to be his sugar baby. But the guy said, ‘I’m straight.’ The boss said, ‘Then a hundred thousand a month, you can bend.’ Isn’t your relationship with Brother Xie pretty much the same?”

Shi Shu said, “It’s not like that at all, you’re scaring me to death.”

Shi Shu was walking on a grassy hillside. He threw his bamboo staff aside, flopped onto the grass, and rolled from the green hilltop all the way down the slope. The warm sun shone on him, and the blades of grass tickled his skin. The soft green grass covered the entire slope. Shi Shu kept rolling and rolling in the grass, with Laifu running alongside him, until he couldn’t roll anymore.

Shi Shu squinted at the glaring sun. Ex-boyfriend? If not for the occasional prodding, the name Xie Wuchi, now a part of his past life, would sometimes be almost forgotten. But as soon as he thought of him, the memories would resurface.

Had he been in a relationship with Xie Wuchi? The scene of their departure flooded his memory again: Xie Wuchi’s wrist dripping with blood, his face pale as he said that word. Shi Shu had always wanted to hear it, to adjust his relationship with him, but he never expected it would be at their parting. I love you, I like you.

How was Xie Wuchi now? Was his hand okay? Shi Shu closed his eyes, thinking that this long winter was finally over.

When he opened his eyes again, Du Zihan was running down the hill with his bamboo staff and luggage, shouting, “Is this the water from the Cha River? It’s all melted, watering the entire grassland. Soon there will be herds of cattle and sheep.”

Shi Shu sat up and walked into the gurgling riverbed. The warm current slid over his feet. “Indeed, the Cha River has thawed. Does that mean Beimin’s revenge is about to begin…?”

In winter, grain transportation was inconvenient, the weather was freezing, and moving troops was difficult. Now that it was spring, a season of renewal and hope, Beimin, having had their city captured, would reassemble their forces and likely begin a campaign of conquest and slaughter. In the future, this northern land would probably become a chaotic war zone, a place where heroes vie for supremacy.

Shi Shu took out his water flask, filled it with sweet snowmelt, and walked forward, shaking off his thoughts. “Are we about to leave the territory of Taiyin Prefecture?”

Du Zihan was daydreaming. “Probably.”

Shi Shu picked up his bamboo staff and strode forward through the river. “Then let’s hurry.”

“By the way, what did Brother Xie say to you when you left?”

“He values his privacy, so let’s not talk about it.”

“Then did you say anything to him?”

Shi Shu waded forward. Only now did he finally recall the words he had wanted to say to him: Xie Wuchi, take care, look after yourself, and don’t randomly take off your clothes for people to see. Someone will be good to you. Thinking about it now, his departure had been very heartless.

“Forget it, I forgot.” Shi Shu looked up. “Let’s go.”

This war of annihilation between Great Jing and Beimin, brought forward by Xie Wuchi, had plunged the world into misery and suffering. Peace was gone, and what followed would be endless war and the glint of swords. Calamity had arisen on the border.

The two walked downstream along the river. On the road behind them were carts and wagons, and the land was filled with refugees, people displaced by the fires of war, who filled the entire road, bringing their families with them. In the billowing dust, they moved forward as a group, trying to find a place for the common people to live and settle in this dynasty on the brink of disaster.

Following the groups of refugees, they traveled south. Shi Shu carefully planned their route. “Should we find a righteous army and join them? Or find other transmigrators and form a team?”

Du Zihan held back a laugh. “Seeking justice.”

Shi Shu raised his bamboo staff, his figure looking elegant from behind. “Seeking justice!”

“Brother Justice, how much money do you have left? We should have taken more from Brother Xie when we escaped.”

Shi Shu calmed down. As he walked, he said, “I didn’t take any of his. I only brought the money I saved myself. I saved a little from helping out at the prince’s mansion’s pharmacy, and later scraped some together here and there. So what if I have no money? Can’t I live without him? I’m nineteen.”

Shi Shu and Du Zihan were walking through a deep, old forest. The green canopy reached for the sky, the vegetation was lush, and birds and beasts circled in the woods. Unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, a burly man with a knife suddenly jumped out of the grass, shouting, “If you want to pass this road, leave your toll money!” Shi Shu screamed “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh” and quickly handed over the wallet from his pocket. After the man left, the two looked at each other. Shi Shu pulled out the last few pieces of silver from his sleeve. “Luckily, I still had a few tucked in my sleeve.”

Du Zihan said, “You’re pretty smart.”

Shi Shu said, “Hahaha, I guess so.”

“…”

The life of a wanderer unfolded before them unexpectedly. Shi Shu had long guessed it wouldn’t be easy. In the beginning, Shi Shu mostly mixed in with the southward-fleeing refugee groups. Some prefectures were friendlier to refugees and would distribute congee outside the city gates. Shi Shu and Du Zihan initially followed these groups.

However, most of the refugees were in poor health and lacked nutrition, and people dying of illness were a common sight. Shi Shu worked for a few days, saved up money to buy medicinal herbs, and became an itinerant doctor, setting his prices very low for high volume and small profits. However, Shi Shu could only treat minor ailments and didn’t dare to treat serious ones. He would only prescribe some general cold and fever medicine, but in the harsh environment of the refugees, that was already very good. But he also encountered some difficulties, such as patients being too poor to afford the medical fees. Shi Shu, being soft-hearted, would give it away for free, only to find himself penniless a few days later and having to go back to work. In short, although there were ups and downs, after resolving them, he could maintain a stable life.

Before long, the government began to organize the refugees. Some were conscripted for labor, others were taken to military reclamation areas for service. Shi Shu asked Du Zihan, “Should we stop?”

Du Zihan said, “Let’s go, shall we? We haven’t found our righteous man yet. When we’re tired of walking, we can settle down.”

Shi Shu said, “I think so too. The scenery of Great Jing is beautiful. Wandering around is like a road trip.”

But, a righteous man. What counted as a righteous man? At least someone benevolent and righteous, a wise ruler like Liu Bei in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Then he and Du Zihan could go and join him, and establish a dynasty for the people. Or, were there any rebel armies that had risen up? Composed of the common people, fighting for themselves.

Shi Shu also felt these ideas were a bit naive. After the new policy reforms, there were probably few people in the world whose reputation surpassed Xie Wuchi’s, yet benevolence was sometimes just a disguise.

Shi Shu and Du Zihan walked on this strange continent, often with nowhere to sleep at night, staying in abandoned temples. But fortunately, the weather was turning warmer and it was no longer cold. Without Xie Wuchi’s official documents, they could no longer stay at post stations and could only seek lodging or find a wild graveyard.

Occasionally, they would be chased for a hundred meters by a big goose at the village entrance. Shi Shu’s miserable screams would drift distortedly into the sky. He didn’t dare to hit the goose; if he injured it, he would have to pay compensation. After running far away, he and Du Zihan would look at each other and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Geese were one thing. When they encountered ill-tempered packs of dogs, even Laifu’s legs would tremble. Shi Shu had summed up a method for intimidating dogs, which was to squat down and pretend to grab a stone. Every time they met a dog, he and Du Zihan would squat down in unison. Sometimes they were accidentally chased by oxen, head-butted by sheep, fell into the river while fishing, got their hands pinched while catching crabs, and got covered in mud while catching eels, all while running, laughing, and shouting.

At first, Shi Shu was not used to the life of eating in the wind and sleeping in the open. He often had no bed to sleep in at night and felt a sense of vigilance and loneliness in the deep of the night. But on the road, Shi Shu also met some hunters, traveling merchants, and peddlers. Ordinary people traveling from north to south, strong people all lived this kind of life. They endured hunger and cold, and had to bow their heads, be silent, and temper themselves.

The chaotic era had arrived. The roads were filled with people fleeing with them. To find stability, they could only go to the civilian reclamation settlements, or find a large household to work for, or even sell themselves into slavery. Shi Shu and Du Zihan did not want to stop for the time being.

They wanted to keep moving forward. Reading can reveal the depth of the world, and traveling can reveal its breadth. Shi Shu had not yet reached the end of the world.

Once he got used to this life, he got used to being drenched like a dog by sudden downpours, sleeping in the woodsheds of inns, sitting on graves at midnight telling ghost stories, climbing trees to escape wild dogs, often walking at night, listening to Du Zihan sing as they walked. After a few days, he realized it was the same song, and Du Zihan was off-key every day.

As summer approached, there were evening glows when he looked up at dusk.

Occasionally, they could eat a meal at a farmer’s house. Once, a wealthy family was particularly enthusiastic towards Shi Shu, treating him to good wine and food every day. Later, he found out they had taken a liking to him as a live-in son-in-law, which scared him into running away overnight. Debts of affection were truly hard to clear.

But Shi Shu usually ran to temples, where he could generally get by for a day or two, but not for long. On the road, they often encountered village markets. Shi Shu would set up a stall to sell medicine, and Du Zihan would study metaphysics and tell fortunes, earning some income. But one day Shi Shu said, “Wait, how have we become more and more like quacks traveling the jianghu?”

Du Zihan said, “…………”

But, Shi Xiaoshu doesn’t sell fake medicine! Shi Shu defended himself, “Many of my prescriptions are the unique skills of Lin Yangchun, he was the chief imperial physician of the Imperial Medical Academy. Everyone passing by, come and see, Godly Doctor Lin’s superb golden wound medicine, reduces swelling, stops pain, removes bruises, treats rheumatism and bone pain—why does it sound more and more like it the more I say it?”

“Hahahahahahaha!” Du Zihan’s wild laughter shook the market.

There were also times when they stole business and were sought out by local ruffians. In the past, Shi Shu would have fought them, but now he just packed his bag and ran.

Walking during the day, idle at night. For a time, Shi Shu thought about whether to keep a diary, but as soon as he picked up a pen, he would think of a certain old acquaintance, so he simply gave up the decision and just kept accounts every day.

The journey was not too bad, but not too good either. There was never enough money, but they ran around enthusiastically every day. Having no destination was also good; it meant complete freedom.

At first, Shi Shu tried to find other transmigrators or inquire about any righteous armies, but so far he had not received any good news. Du Zihan wrote a lonely √3 on his clothes with ink. “With this pattern, as we travel north and south, any transmigrator will recognize it at a glance.”

Shi Shu asked, “Aren’t you afraid of attracting another one like Xie Wuchi?”

Du Zihan replied, “Someone like him is probably one in ten thousand.”

Yes, he reached the pinnacle of power, while I walked a completely different path.

A great man should roam the blue sea in the morning and rest in the Cangwu mountains at dusk.

He had experienced a lot with Xie Wuchi, whether at Xiangnan Temple, Liushui Nunnery, Shoukang Prefecture, Qian’an Prefecture, or the three-thousand-li journey through Taiyin Prefecture… Although every step of the past was fraught with thorns and hardships, and at the end, the joys and sorrows had settled, it didn’t mean that a part of him had ended.

The journey of life had just begun! From now on, Shi Shu would keep walking and walking… His steps would not stop.

Shi Shu and Du Zihan traveled together. In August, Du Zihan unexpectedly contracted dysentery, vomiting and having diarrhea every day, his face turning sallow. Shi Shu stopped with him in a small county town called Chencai. Every day, he went out to set up a stall to sell medicine to earn money, and used the money to buy medicine to brew for Du Zihan.

Du Zihan was weak and not suitable for long-distance travel for the time being, so the two stayed in this small city. They hadn’t traveled for about half a month.

Chencai was a small city in Shoukang Prefecture, rich in fuling. Every July and August, people would go into the mountains to dig it, which required digging up the roots of pine trees to get the complete rhizome. Many people made a living from this. Shi Shu and Du Zihan went to the barren mountains and wild ridges together, carrying small baskets.

What met Shi Shu’s eyes was a wild mountain, with deep and beautiful trees, ancient and vast, the mountain ranges stretching endlessly. When Shi Shu reached the foot of the mountain with his basket, he saw many cages and traps for hunting wild beasts, and crowds of people gathered together.

Just as Shi Shu was about to go up, he was called back. “Wait! Young man, don’t be in a hurry. Wait for more people before going up the mountain together!”

Shi Shu turned his head and asked, “What’s wrong?”

The man said, “There are fierce tigers in this mountain. It’s best to travel in a group. You might be eaten by a tiger! In previous years, people who went up the mountain alone to dig for fuling were eaten by tigers.”

A chill ran down Shi Shu’s back, and he turned to run. “There are fierce tigers, and you still go up the mountain? Ahhhhhhh, why aren’t you running?”

The man smiled and said, “Chencai is rich in fuling. This is all for selling! Even if we get eaten by a tiger, we still have to go up the mountain. Otherwise, how can we common people live? If you’re scared, you can go back.”

Seeing so many people going up the mountain, and thinking of the bedridden Du Zihan, Shi Shu said, “Take me with you, take me with you! I’ll go with you!”

“That’s more like it. A young man with so little courage?”

Shi Shu said, “…”

The hunters and common folk were very friendly. After Shi Shu went up the mountain with them, the dense shade of the forest blocked out the sun. It was the dry season, but from top to bottom, it instantly became icy cold. The vegetation was very chilly. As the saying goes, clouds follow the dragon, wind follows the tiger. The cold wind carried a faint smell of blood, making one’s ankles feel cold.

The people quickly took out their hoes to dig for fuling. Tigers wouldn’t dare to appear when there were many people. Shi Shu quickly dug, pushing aside the base of the pine tree to dig out the fuling, shaking off the dirt, and putting it in his small bamboo basket.

As Shi Shu was digging, he didn’t notice someone walking past him and asking, “Brother, has the fuling under that pine forest over there been dug yet?”

Shi Shu looked up. It was a young man, plainly dressed, with a thin face, also a poor commoner. Shi Shu looked back at the people scattered in the forest and said, “No one has dug over there yet. Don’t go too far! There are tigers that eat people.”

The man smiled and said, “Thanks.”

After speaking, the man walked away. Shi Shu didn’t pay too much attention to him, making sure not to separate from the hunters. But because he didn’t dare to go too far, he didn’t dig much fuling, and his basket was empty.

Gradually, some people in the crowd grew restless. “We haven’t seen any tigers. Are we just scaring ourselves?”

“Yeah, let’s not stay here. There’s a big pine forest up there. My friend from the village brought back a whole basket yesterday and sold it for a lot of money. How can this day’s harvest be enough?”

“Should we go up further? To dig a little more.”

The few hunters snorted coldly. “If you’re not afraid of death, then go up. Truly, good advice cannot persuade a damned ghost.”

Shi Shu was hesitating. If he didn’t go, he would have no income. If he went, he was afraid of death. After much thought, he decided to forget it. Making money wasn’t that urgent. He sat on a pile of grass fanning himself, watching some of the bolder ones shout as they walked into the deep forest. Among them was the thin-faced man he had spoken to.

Shi Shu continued to dig at the pine roots. As the day grew later, the hunters urged everyone down the mountain. “Let’s go! It’s getting cooler now, the tigers will be out hunting! Come back tomorrow, be careful not to get eaten!”

Some people had gone too far and couldn’t hear the hunters’ voices. Shi Shu, being warm-hearted, ran forward and shouted to them, “Time to go down the mountain! It’s time! The tigers will be out soon!”

The people straggled back. Shi Shu was also a bit anxious. “Don’t say it, this feeling is terrifying. It’s like ghosts coming out at midnight.”

Shi Shu watched from the side. Everyone had returned, but the thin-faced man was still missing.

Shi Shu asked, “Is there anyone who hasn’t come back?”

Someone said, “There’s one more. He’s very fast at digging fuling. I saw him go into the valley.”

Shi Shu didn’t want to bother, but this was a living person. Standing on the mountaintop and looking down, the valley was lush with vegetation, the forest almost swallowing people whole. A river was extremely still, gloomy and cold. Although it was a hot summer day, the mountain forest gave off a dark and gloomy feeling.

Shi Shu shouted, “Hey! Is there anyone else? Let’s go!”

The people behind him didn’t wait and went down the mountain one after another. Shi Shu was left alone, and the cold feeling intensified. Shi Shu swallowed lightly and decided to walk to the rock up ahead, shout three more times, and if the person still couldn’t hear, he would leave.

Shi Shu’s back felt cold. He had never been so scared. He walked down the slope towards the valley step by step. For a moment, he wanted to ignore this person, but then he thought that maybe with one more shout, the person would come back.

Shi Shu slowly descended. There was clearly nothing there, but his legs began to feel weak. Gradually, Shi Shu smelled a scent of blood. Cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. Then, he heard a weak shout, “Help… save me… help…”

Shi Shu’s mind was shaken. He turned his head. The person who had left late was lying in a stone hollow, torn apart by a beast, covered in blood. The damage to his body was too gruesome to look at. The first time Shi Shu saw him, he knew this person wouldn’t live.

Shi Shu’s body temperature dropped. He looked around. The attacking beast was gone. On the mountaintop, the hunters had also rushed over, cursing, “Have you found the person? Why aren’t you down the mountain yet? We’ve been counting for half a day and the numbers are still off! Are you waiting to be eaten by a tiger! Fuck! I told you not to listen, I hate people like you who don’t follow the rules!”

Shi Shu said, “There’s someone here…”

Shi Shu pressed one hand on the man’s wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but it was all in vain. He forced himself to hold him up and shouted to the hunters, “Quick, save him!…”

Inadvertently, Shi Shu heard the voice from his arms. “Can I go home now?”

Shi Shu’s ears went cold. He heard, “Thank you.”

Shi Shu looked at him. “You…”

The person said, “My, my back hurts so much. Look on my body, there’s something you need to take out. It’s my painkiller.”

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