Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 229 Falling out is faster than turning the page in a book

The goshawk had been circling in the sky above Chen Xuan's head without leaving, like a patient hunter, waiting for him to reveal a flaw so that he could rush down and deliver a fatal blow.

Ignore it and treat it as a stranger's companion. If you really want to deal with it, it's easy. A stone or even a piece of grass will do. Even Chen Xuan can soar into the sky and deal with it at close range, all depending on his mood.

Stepping onto a hill, Chen Xuan's eyes lit up. On the withered yellow grassland, he saw a clear river about ten meters wide winding into the distance. Under the rising sun, it looked like flowing gold.

The river is not deep, no more than half a meter, and you can clearly see the pebbles at the bottom of the river and the swimming fish.

It's a pity that there is no seasoning, otherwise Chen Xuan would like to light a fire and grill fish. Without anything, the fishy smell is too strong to swallow. The lack of firewood is not a big problem. He can make a fire "out of thin air", but the prerequisite is to have seasoning.

"Life depends on water. If we follow the river, we should be able to meet people and buy some seasonings to take with us, saving us the trouble of making a long trip back."

After taking a quick look at the river, Chen Xuan made up his mind and headed upstream, because the river flowed eastward, which was opposite to his destination.

Going up the river, there are many colorful and beautiful stones in the river, but unfortunately there are no gems or jade. Chen Xuan's idea of ​​"picking up money" and making a fortune was dashed.

Logically speaking, the news of Liu Zhenwei challenging Guo Jinglong caused a lot of buzz, and many people in the martial arts world should have flocked to the scene, but Chen Xuan didn't meet any of them. Could it be that he took the wrong route?
In fact, he didn't follow the normal route at all, but plunged directly into the grassland. It would be strange if he could see anyone.

He did not see the scene of cattle and sheep being seen in the grass blown low by the wind, but instead, there was an occasional breeze blowing up grass debris flying all over the sky.

From the moment he saw the river, he strolled four or five miles upstream. He saw nothing but a vast wasteland. He could not see anyone else. Instead, there were a few small dots on the distant grassland approaching him rapidly.

With his eyesight, he could see clearly that there were several people riding horses, five people and five horses.

As those people got closer, Chen Xuan could see more clearly. How to say it, they were dressed in a relatively barbaric manner, all wearing leather jackets, with half of their shoulders exposed in the sun, and almost all of them had primitive tattoos on their bodies.

Those men had scimitars hanging from their waists and were all equipped with bows and arrows, in addition to weapons such as chains, hammers, axes, and short spears.

They were all very strong, and they rode their horses together. The horses' hooves trampled the grass, sending up dust and causing the ground to shake slightly. It was hard not to notice that they had a rather fierce aura.

"Look at their attire. Could it be that I've gotten lucky and encountered some grassland bandits?" Chen Xuan thought to himself as he leaned on his stick and looked at the approaching people.

This grassland, including the desert to the west of the grassland, is still under the jurisdiction of Jing State within a thousand miles. Only through the desert is the territory of other countries. However, the land is vast and sparsely populated, and the emperor is far away, so it is inevitable that bandits will breed. They come and go like the wind, and it is difficult to eliminate them. Many successful scholars would rather leave their jobs empty than come to such a place to serve.

Hiss!

Five men came on horseback and stopped about twenty or thirty meters away from Chen Xuan. One of them, a man in his forties, frowned and said something in a gibberish while holding a horsewhip. Chen Xuan didn't understand.

It is normal to have different dialects and customs every ten miles these days. Judging from their appearance, although they are still citizens of Jingguo, they probably have not been exposed to much orthodox royal civilization.

Chen Xuan had not learned these minority languages ​​specifically, so he was unable to communicate for a moment and could only spread his hands and said, "What did you say? I don't understand."

The person who was talking to Chen Xuan was not the strongest among them, nor did he have the strongest aura, but he was the oldest and should be the leader among them.

Judging from their behavior and aura, they do have some martial arts skills. The most burly one among them is a bald man, about thirty years old, over two meters tall, with bronze muscles shining with oil. He must have practiced a horizontal external skill. A young man in his twenties with a braid has some crude internal strength.

Anyway, the only one among them who could feel the internal force was the young man with the whip, and he should be the strongest.

In Chen Xuan's eyes, it was just like that. He couldn't comment on it. After all, it was a bit discouraging. After all, in such a remote place, it was good enough to meet someone. How could he possibly meet a powerful character as soon as he arrived?
Hearing Chen Xuan's words, the person who spoke frowned even deeper and looked at the young man who was wielding the whip.

The young man rode forward and spoke in Jingguo Mandarin, which Chen Xuan could understand: "We, Guda, would like to ask you, guests from afar, what is your purpose in coming to our pasture? If you have malicious intentions, we will not welcome you. If you have good intentions, we will treat you with fine wine and meat. May I ask whether your intentions are good or bad?"

Was it so direct? And that simple sentence of his expressed so much?
It was Chen Xuan's first time to come into contact with such a group, and he found it somewhat fresh. Although he could not understand their local dialect, he knew what the word "Guda" meant.

The last time I was studying the word "Shou" with Xiao Gao, I saw a transliteration introduction in a book in a minority language. Guda is a symbol of status, similar to a team captain or the leader of a small group of people. In slang, it can be translated into "boss", which sounds better than the big brother respected by everyone.

That's roughly what he meant. Chen Xuan could just assume he was the leader of the group; the five of them could be considered a squad. Coming to their pasture, was that trespassing? Or were they a nomadic tribe?
"Young man, have you learned Mandarin? I was worried about how to communicate. I just happened to pass by here and have no ill intentions," Chen Xuan said with a smile, bowing and performing a martial arts salute.

The young man then tilted his head and mumbled a few words to the captain. They seemed to relax their guard a little, then looked back at him and smiled, "I have traded with the elders and caravans many times, and I have also been to Mo City for a while, so I learned the official language. Guests from afar, since you have no ill intentions, then you have good intentions. Would you like to visit our tribe? We will treat you to good wine and good food. If you do not wish, please leave our pasture."

What a rough distinction, either malicious or well-intentioned. Translated, either a friend or an enemy. Their tribe is a bit xenophobic.

Just as he was about to say something, Chen Xuan warned him, "Be careful!"

At this moment, the goshawk that had been circling in the sky suddenly swooped down and headed straight towards those people. With the momentum of the goshawk's dive, it could even lift someone's skull off with a single blow.

They saw it, of course, but instead of taking any defensive stance, they smiled.

Then the bald man, who was the biggest among them, stretched out a leather-covered arm. The swooping goshawk flapped its wings to slow down, and landed steadily on his arm in the strong wind. Like a mountain eagle, it tilted its head to look at Chen Xuan.

The goshawk retracted its wings and its body was not much smaller than the bald man. The horse it sat on was steady and obviously a good horse.

It seems that the goshawk is raised by them. No wonder it has been circling above. It is probably stalking them. No wonder they came so quickly.

As the bald man pulled a piece of fresh flesh from his bag to feed the goshawk, the young man with pigtails said with a smile, "Thank you for the reminder, sir. The croaking croak won't hurt us. But you, on the other hand, are completely unmoved. Aren't you afraid it might hurt you?"

Chen Xuan also knew what it meant. The terms in their minority language translated as friends, partners, and family, which is roughly the same meaning.

There is no harm in reading more books, as they can be useful at critical moments.

As for fear, Chen Xuan thought to himself, what is there to be afraid of? In my eyes, it is just a dish. Such offensive words cannot be said. He just smiled and said, "I don't feel any danger, so naturally there is nothing to be afraid of."

"Are you from the underworld? A martial artist?" The young man with the whip raised his eyebrows. He said this suddenly, probably because in his opinion, only martial artists would not be afraid of such a bird of prey.

Looking down at himself, Chen Xuan wondered if his Jianghu identity wasn't obvious enough, and raised his head and said, "Yes."

They looked at each other in bewilderment, and then the young man with the braid said with a hint of hostility, "Recently, two powerful, godlike beings are about to start a war in the desert. Many people in the martial arts world are going to watch. I heard that many people from other countries have also gone. This land has been very chaotic recently. Our tribe doesn't want to cause trouble, so we deliberately stay away from people. I never thought we would encounter people like you. You are not welcome. Go away."

Why do we turn against each other over just one thing? Do I look like a bad person?

But it is also human nature. No group welcomes strangers, especially a nomadic tribe like theirs. They just want to live a peaceful and stable life of grazing, and it is normal that they don't want to provoke people in the underworld.

However, from their words, Chen Xuan analyzed that their tribe should not be large.

After finally meeting someone, Chen Xuan thought for a moment and said, "I have no ill intentions. I just happened to come to your pasture, and there's no village or shop nearby. I can't even get any delicious food by myself, so can I buy some seasonings from you? Simple salt, sauce, and vinegar will do. I'll pay for them."

After hearing this, they discussed it again, and it was the young man with the braid who negotiated: "Guest from afar, as long as you have no ill intentions, we allow you to enter the tribe to trade. As long as it is fair, we are happy to make friends with you. But if you have evil intentions, our scimitars will also teach you a lesson."

Good man, the ones who can bring you benefits are your friends, but you should not receive those who are just passing by. This is too straightforward.

"Of course, I come here with good intentions and will never take advantage of you like those profiteers."

Chen Xuan was stunned when he said this. He just wanted to trade some simple seasonings, but it seemed like a large-scale transaction was going on. Did they misunderstand something?
After hearing Chen Xuan's words, the young man with braids translated them to the others. They all looked at Chen Xuan and grinned, as if to say, "How dare you take advantage of us?"
"Come with us, our tribe is just over 20 miles ahead, and the area within a hundred miles is our pasture," said the young man with braids as he dismounted.

The others also dismounted, taking care that Chen Xuan had no mount. During the process, the bald man released a goshawk, which quickly circled high in the sky.

Then they took Chen Xuan upstream.

"I just want to buy some seasoning. Never mind, I'll just treat it as an exotic experience. It doesn't matter. It won't waste my time anyway..."

(End of this chapter)