The road is vague

Chapter 13 Life Ideals
the next day.

There was a rapid sound of gongs coming from Shanbei Village.

The villagers all stood at the foot of the steep cliff, surrounding the former land temple. At this moment, the place had been submerged by rolling boulders, and all seventeen people from the three households of the Zhao family were buried.

"This is retribution, retribution, the God of Land has appeared!"

"These guys from the Zhao family really deserve to die. They came to our house and wiped out the whole family, forcing Xiao Man and her daughter to live on the streets. Later, they treated them like servants. Now we are all citizens of the Daqian Kingdom, and they still use these tricks. Bah, they deserve to die!"

"Maybe Xiao Man has turned into a ghost and returned for revenge?"

"Don't talk nonsense, Xiao Man went to the River God Palace to enjoy a peaceful life..."

The death of 17 people from three households of the Zhao family in Beishan Village can only be regarded as a natural disaster. In Hua'an Town, which had just experienced a major flood in Tanhe River, it was not something worthy of attention and was quickly forgotten.

half a month later.

The brothers and sisters who have always been concerned about Li Mo's physical and mental health received the news that the security rectification in Quhe Town has come to an end.

So they immediately made a suggestion to Mr. Feng to temporarily transfer Li Mo to work at Jimin Hall in Quhe Town.

"Quhe Town?"

Mr. Feng looked thoughtful and finally nodded.

"That's good. This kid really needs to go out for a walk. A new environment might help him grow better. Alas."

a few days later.

News came from Jimin Hall in Hua'an Town that Jimin Hall in Quhe Town was in urgent need of staff, and Li Mo would go far away to practice medicine and would not be back in the short term.

Wang Pan said with a look of reluctance, "When you get there, if you find anything delicious, please bring me more. I haven't left the town yet. I heard the mountain roads are difficult to walk on, and there are mountain spirits and water monsters causing trouble. You must be careful on the road and try to stay on the main roads."

"must!"

After hugging them, Li Mo waved goodbye to his fellow brothers.

……

After the Holy Lord Qianyuan established the Great Qian Kingdom, he quickly unified the Qian Kingdom's weights and measures.

once.

All countries adopted the so-called Great Zhou ritual standard. One foot at that time was about two-thirds of the current length, which gave rise to the saying of a seven-foot man.

However, with the establishment of the Daqian Kingdom, the imperial court promulgated measurement standards, stipulating that ten inches equal one foot, and ten feet equal one zhang.

However, when describing living things such as humans and animals, the people are still accustomed to using the Zhouji scale, such as seven feet tall, eight feet tall, etc. When describing immovable inanimate objects, or objective heights and distances, they often use the Daqian law scale, and seven feet at this time becomes two-thirds of a zhang.

Some people also say that there is some conspiracy behind this, which seems to be related to the order of heaven and earth, the right to speak on human laws, etc., which sounds very mysterious.

The local administrative system of the Daqian Kingdom's court can be divided into three levels: states, counties, and counties.

Among the thirty-six counties in Jiuzhou, Muzhou has the largest area, the sparsest population, and is also the poorest state. However, it is an important border place in the war with Lu State.

There are four counties under the jurisdiction of Muzhou, namely Luquan, Anbei, Shangfeng and Zhanghe.

Bai'an County, where Li Mo is located, is located in Anbei County.

Bai'an County was originally just an unknown subordinate district under Anbei County, with four large border towns within its territory. However, with the incorporation of Hua'an, Quhe, and Tongchao towns a few years ago, its population and area increased dramatically. In accordance with Qian State's border naturalization policy, the Xiangyue Yamen, a secondary government office, was established. Its status in Anbei County quickly rose, and it became the top priority of Anbei County.

Li Mo has been walking for nearly half a month, but has not yet been able to leave Bai'an County.

This made him envy those who rode horses, as they were much faster. Unfortunately, a horse cost at least dozens of taels of silver. He really couldn't afford it, and he didn't know how to ride it, so he could only continue walking.

Muzhou is vast and sparsely populated.

For the vast majority of ordinary people living here, they often never leave the town in their entire lives.

It is said that the relatively wealthy inland states and counties are relatively smaller in area and have many cities built. Some say that a town in Muzhou is even larger than a county in Jingzhou.

As the sun sets, it is the auspicious time again.

Li Mo, who was a little tired from traveling, first looked up at the sky. His pupils shrank slightly, and his body stiffened briefly before quickly recovering as if nothing had happened. Then he noticed a noodle shop on the roadside in the distance and decided to rest there for a while.

After finishing two bowls of plain noodles, he looked contented.

"Waiter, bring me four more pancakes and pay for them all at once."

"Here I am, sir. Eighteen coins in all."

Li Mo nodded, took out copper coins from his purse, counted them carefully and placed them on the table, then took the hot pancakes and put them in his arms, saving them as dry food for tomorrow.

at this time.

A person bumped into Li Mo, and the ground made a crisp sound.

"Boy, you don't have eyes when you walk. Now it's good. The statue of the God of Wealth of the Second Master is broken. If I don't make things clear today, you can't leave."

A few scoundrels surrounded him.

The leading man was bare-chested, revealing his thick chest hair and fat flesh. He pulled Li Mo's bamboo hat aside with his hands and laughed unbridledly, "You're so young, yet you're still trying to make your way in the martial arts world. Tell your parents to come and pay you back, at least three taels of silver!"

The diners around looked over.

Although Li Mo was a newcomer to the world of medicine, he had gained a lot of experience after following his fellow brothers from Jimintang in practicing medicine in various places for more than half a year. He knew that he had encountered a scammer. This kind of scoundrel also existed in Hua'an Town. They usually appeared in remote taverns and bullied outsiders.

I didn't expect that I was being targeted.

Li Mo was angry and drew the sword from his waist.

"Step aside!"

When Niu Er saw this, he was stunned at first, then he looked at a few ruffians and burst into laughter, as if he didn't take Li Mo seriously at all.

He actually took the initiative to step forward and stretched out his neck.

"Come on, come on, chop me, right here! If you dodge, you're not a hero!"

Seeing this man being such a scoundrel, Li Mo felt murderous.

Fortunately, he still had some rationality. He forced himself to suppress the anger in his heart and wanted to leave as soon as possible to avoid doing something irreparable. However, these scoundrels surrounded him again.

"Want to go?"

The man tried to stop her with a retching gesture, "You really don't take Uncle Niu Er seriously, do you? Why don't you ask about the crimes your Uncle Niu Er committed in Quhe Town? When he was your age, your grandfather Niu Er was already in jail in the county government. How dare you act like a scoundrel in front of me? If you don't leave me some money today, I'll break your legs!"

Li Mo pushed and shoved several times but failed to break free from these scoundrels.

As his anger grew, just as Li Mo's right hand gently grasped the hilt of the sword again, and his eyes gradually became indifferent, these rogues who were booing and pushing seemed to sense the danger and stopped their movements, their expressions becoming stiff. Niu Er took a step back even more abruptly, looking at Li Mo in shock, with a hint of fear in his eyes.

This is evil!

If you are contaminated by evil spirit, you will become a member of the world.

Niu Er is just a street thug who can only rely on his cheap life and the good security of Daqian Kingdom to bully honest people from other places. If he really meets a gangster who kills without blinking an eye, he will immediately become timid.

Fortunately, at this time, two constables passed by on horseback and noticed the situation here.

"Niu Er!"

A constable shouted, "Are you doing your rogue deeds again?"

Niu Er came to his senses and hurriedly greeted him with a smile.

"So it's Captain Wang. I've reformed myself. How dare you do that? I just had a misunderstanding with this young man and was just about to leave!"

The other scoundrels also put on smiling faces, speaking differently to different people.

"Hmph, you'd better behave yourself. Quhe Town is not a place where filth and dirt can hide."

After the constable finished his warning, another constable looked at Li Mo and said, "Little brother, are you okay?"

"fine."

Li Mo was also a little nervous. He almost couldn't help but take action just now.

If it were in the past, when he had not yet mastered martial arts and was just a traveling doctor, he would have no choice but to try to reason with others when encountering such a thing, and in the end he would most likely be defeated by these scoundrels. But now, when he saw these ruffians acting like scoundrels in front of him, he was easily enraged, and he kept having the idea of ​​drawing his sword and killing them.

At this moment he suddenly woke up and realized that he was affected by evil spirits and it was impossible for him to return to his previous peaceful life.

This is what is meant by "Once you enter the world, you have no choice."

Once you take that step, there's no going back.

According to Brother Zhang Qin, the constable seemed to be able to sense this evil spirit, which made Li Mo a little nervous.

Upon hearing this, the constable pointed behind him.

"It's about thirty miles ahead to reach Quhe Town."

"Thank you."

Li Mo clasped his fists and left in a hurry.

The two constables warned Niu Er and others again before riding away again. On the way, the taller and broad-faced constable felt more and more that something was wrong.

"Do you feel the evil spirit from him?"

Evil spirit is a kind of aura that can affect one's temperament. People who practice martial arts will often be infected with evil spirit after experiencing vendettas in the martial arts world and will become extremely irritable. It is difficult for ordinary people to sense this thing, but rogues and constables who have been dealing with people in the martial arts world for a long time can vaguely perceive it.

The other person was stunned when he heard this.

Then he was shocked and said, "It seems to be true. When Niu Er angered him just now, he was indeed a little strange."

The two men looked at each other, stopped their horses at the same time, and turned around to chase in the direction Li Mo left.

However, Li Mo did not continue to take the main road to the so-called Quhe Town.

In a moment of thought, he left the main road and walked into the path leading to Eighteen Mountains!

"Since the people in Hua'an Town don't know how to become a cultivator, then the people in Quhe Town probably don't know either. Why not try your luck in the Eighteen Mountains? Those bandits are more well-informed and will definitely know something!"

Li Mo's steps became more and more firm.

"Compared to the itinerant doctors who practice medicine and save lives, becoming an inspector and saving the world through chivalry is what truly makes the world a better place!"

Although there are Eighteen Mountains here, it does not mean only eighteen mountains, but a general geographical concept.

When he followed Ding Jie to practice medicine, he heard many stories about the underworld. He knew that because of the complex terrain, sparse population, and the fact that it was an important waterway, there were many underworld gangs here. It was a gathering place for bandits who made a living by robbing passing merchant ships.

Although the government launches a campaign of encirclement and suppression every few years, the bandits will gather again once the storm has passed.

The mountain road is full of thorns and is rugged and difficult to walk on.

Fortunately, because of the cold weather, mosquitoes were dormant. Li Mo found a flat place, lit a bonfire with a tinder, and rested there.

Looking at the flickering flames in front of him, all the distracting thoughts in Li Mo's mind flashed away, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Standing on the endless desolate land, with dark clouds rolling in the sky, Li Mo knew that he had entered a dream again.

He looked at his hands, which were still in shadow form.

But he's used to it now.

So next, Li Mo habitually practiced the three "Three-in-One Sword Techniques" to strengthen his body, namely, leaping, moving backward, and swinging left and right, as a reference for the correct breathing and force generation methods in real training in the future. Then he began to practice various combination sword moves in order to achieve the state of being able to do whatever he wants and be flexible.

I do not know how long it has been.

Li Mo felt a little tired.

He stopped and sat down to rest on the ancient desolate land in the ethereal dream. He looked up at the dark clouds rolling in the sky, and occasionally a huge shadow passed by.

"What are those shadows on the clouds?"

Li Mo was a little curious, but unfortunately he couldn't fly, so he couldn't go and take a look.

After a long time.

Li Mo shook his head and secretly swore that no matter what danger the "Piaomiao Box" would bring him, he would not choose to give up like the crazy hunter.

If he gave up the "Piaomiao Box", he might find peace, but on the other hand, he would return to ordinary life.

If Xiaoman were still there, he might choose to give up.

But now he is fearless, not even death.

As Li Mo withdrew his gaze, he suddenly discovered that wisps of clouds had appeared on the ground around him. They were milky white in color, but a little lighter than the sky. This made him stunned.

Li Mo tried to pick up the clouds with his hands, but found that the clouds were like invisible running water, quickly dissipating from his palms.

There were some more strange scenes in the dream.

Li Mo didn't know whether it was good or bad, but his compatibility with the Piaomiao Box seemed to have deepened.

(End of this chapter)