Chapter 1: A Long Journey
Zhao Chun followed the woman without squinting his eyes.
The woman was in her early forties, with some white hair on her temples. Looking at her from the back, she was thin, but her back was straightened, making a proud posture.
"Have everything been put away before we leave tomorrow?"
Zhao Chun knew that he was talking to her and replied: "Everything is ready."
Then the woman stopped talking and the two of them walked into the house in silence. Seeing the tired look on the woman's face, Zhao Chun resigned and took three steps at a time back to his room.
The woman is her nominal mother, but not her biological mother. According to the parlance of this world, she should be called the legitimate mother. Zhao Shun is an ordinary person in the modern world. His salary is quite generous, and he can go home to accompany his parents and the elderly during holidays. I guess my life was going very smoothly. After I saved up for the down payment, I was diagnosed with leukemia. The condition deteriorated too quickly and I died before I could get a matching bone marrow.
Closing his eyes, Zhao Shun thought about going to the underworld to see if there really was a black and white impermanent bull-headed and horse-faced creature. However, the little devil, the King of Hell, did not see it. When he opened his eyes, he found that he had become a baby who could not speak. They called the woman who gave birth to her "Ms. Li". When she staggered to one year old, Mrs. Li died of a sudden illness, and Zhao Shun lived with the nanny again.
At first she thought she had traveled to ancient times, but then she felt something was wrong. Although the kingdoms here were divided, it was not the Spring and Autumn Period or the Five Dynasties. Those who were able to break mountains and rocks were called warriors.
It is quite a fantasy world, Zhao Chun thought.
When she got older, she had her own assessment of these warriors. They were stronger than ordinary people, but they had to learn how to wield swords and guns, otherwise it would be difficult to use their brute strength. However, in these troubled times, with constant disputes, the warriors were able to benefit from this, and were granted the title of marquis and prime minister along the way.
Zhao Shun's father, Zhao Jian, was born as a common man. With his military power, he became a doctor and governed a county. Zhao Jian, who has tasted the benefits, naturally hopes that his descendants can take the path of martial arts. He has been working hard for most of his life, and has many confidantes and many children. Among them, there are actually a few martial arts geniuses, who he took to teach him personally.
As for Zhao Shun, she is not a warrior. In fact, even in such a martial arts culture, there are only a few women who practice martial arts. There are so many half-sisters, but only one Zhao Nian can play with guns and clubs along with his brothers. This shows how rare women are in martial arts.
In ancient times, the status of women was low. Most men had three wives and four concubines. And because the world valued force, there were natural barriers between people. Zhao Jian had many wives and concubines, but they were not romantic and conscientious. Instead, they were overjoyed with success, impulsive and irritable. Among the ladies in the backyard, there were often those who did not like him and were beaten to death. Zhao Shun took this as a warning and did not dare to put his life in the hands of others. Even if he did not have the talent to practice martial arts, he forced himself to go to the martial arts training ground to learn martial arts all year round, non-stop every day for 365 days.
The sword was too heavy, the spear was too long, and she had no chance to learn any side weapons. There was a swordsman in the training ground, named Zheng. She escaped from the Lu State, and she happened to be a female swordsman. Zhao Shun saw her diligence and knew that the woman's life was difficult, so he was willing to teach her seriously. From the age of six to ten, Zhao Shun was cared for by Zheng Jiaoxi and was able to master several complete sets of swordsmanship. It's just that she doesn't have much strength, and her swordsmanship is not tangible, so it is difficult for her to reach the level of killing enemies in battle. She can only persist for a long time in the hope of protecting herself.
Last month, Wangcheng recruited children under the age of twelve and over eight from the counties under its jurisdiction for selection by the Lingzhen Taoist Temple in Chu State. Zhao Jian himself had children among them, and he was very angry after hearing the news.
"There may be many martial arts talents among my children. They were chosen by this Taoist temple. How can the Zhao family thrive?"
Mrs. Zhao advised him: "It's all the king's orders. , we have no choice but to do so. In recent years, there have been more and more Taoist priests walking in the city. How could it be that the king doesn’t value them? In the end, it’s just that they are getting older and have begun to seek immortality. "Her children have already grown up. Cheng, this recruitment has nothing to do with her.
"If you really want to live forever, everyone in the world will start cultivating Taoism. They talk about seeking transcendence, but aren't they here for wealth? Your Majesty is old and fatuous, but they have confused your mind." He only told Mrs. Zhao what he said and did not dare to spread it outside.
Among the children of the appropriate age in the Zhao family, there happened to be three boys and three girls, and Zhao Chun was among them. She did not resist the call. Surviving in troubled times was not easy. She practiced martial arts for self-protection and the ability to stand up. If you are selected to enter the Taoist temple, you will not get married. Even if you stay in the Taoist temple for the rest of your life, it is better than following the three obediences and the four virtues. You can finally decide your own destiny.
She is a modern person, and her thoughts are very different from those of the native-born locals. The two half-sisters who were recruited together did not think so. Most of the Taoist priests are poor, and they are alone after their worldly fate is over. They are usually in groups of slaves, and they are used to opening their mouths when they have nothing to do but food and clothing. They can't stand the life of asceticism, so they all hope to be defeated and come back. As for the older brother and the two younger brothers, they were determined to pursue martial arts. There were six people in the group, and the only one who wanted to be chosen was Zhao Chun. On the night before leaving, Zhao Shun suffered from insomnia for the first time in a long time. Her status in the Zhao family was not high, and she would probably be hastily dismissed as a marriage tool in the future. Entering a Taoist temple to practice is almost the best way currently available. If not, Once you are selected, you will have to make other plans.
She is only ten years old, and her life has just begun. Zhao Shun turned over and faced the wall. The moonlight poured in from the window, and it was completely white. A few flying insects could be seen dancing up and down. One step at a time, Zhao Chun shrank into the quilt and forced himself to clear his head. There were still many things to do tomorrow, so he had to be energetic.
As soon as the orange-gold clouds appeared on the horizon, and the mountains in the distance were still shrouded in night, Zhao Shun was called out. Her luggage had been packed and placed on the shelf next to the bed. It wasn't that no one was around to serve her, but Zhao Chun felt uncomfortable and never let servants into the house. She did her own daily grooming and dressing.
Pingyang County, where the Zhao family is located, is not big. Although it has a population of only tens of thousands, there are more than 800 children of the right age. Respectable people ride in four-wheeled carriages, and those who can afford it rent a mule to pull it. Cars, as for ordinary people, they can only ride on the ox carts arranged by the government. At this time, Zhao Shun was lucky to be born in a county government house and did not have to squeeze into a bullock cart with more than ten people per car.
After being in this world for so long, this was her first time traveling far away. Not long after she got into the carriage, she couldn't help but lift the curtain and look outside. As the convoy moved forward at a steady speed, the tall city gate of Pingyang County continued to shrink, and the continuous city wall resembled a black snake, and finally turned into a thin black line. The Zhao family's carriage was at the front, followed by mules, carts and oxen. There were people inside, like Zhao Chun, looking outside, and a few green faces were exposed by the window sill.
In the car with her were two sisters, Zhao Yue and Zhao Mian, who were just over eleven years old. Like Zhao Chun, they were both born to young ladies, but they were much luckier. In this world, there are people who love you.
Zhao Chun started learning martial arts at the age of six. He is taller than his peers. His skin is very white, but not delicate. It is a bit rougher than the girls who were raised in the backyard. She is adaptable and full of curiosity, so she naturally doesn’t feel tired while sitting in the car. As for Zhao Yue and Zhao Mian, they were looking gloomy. They had already complained of chest tightness and dizziness as soon as they left the city gate.
"I have never ridden in such a simple car. The roads in the city are all paved, unlike outside, they are all rotten." Zhao Yue leaned on the pillow with a small face. Turned white.
Zhao Shun didn't answer her words. Zhao Mian was better than her. Although he felt uncomfortable, he was still energetic. He hugged his luggage and said, "Where are we now? I heard that good horses have to run day and night to the royal city." Three days, at our pace, it will probably take less than half a month.”
Zhao Yue fell back after hearing the bad news, moved her lips and stopped talking.
The car was quiet for a while. Zhao Chun had already prepared and took out a copy of "Hundred Interpretations of Strange Stories from Jin and Chu" from his baggage, reading it with gusto. The written language in this world is similar to ancient Chinese. She studied writing in her previous life, and she made rapid progress in learning these things.
"Your name is Zhao Mian?" Zhao Mian is just an eleven-year-old child. He can't calm down. He plays with the things in the bag inside and out. There is nothing to play with, so he starts talking to people. .
Zhao Chun was finishing reading a story about ghosts and ghosts, and replied casually: "Yeah." Zhao Jian had so many children, and she didn't know everyone. They all looked familiar, but she couldn't even pronounce these people's names.
The same goes for Zhao Mian. She only found out who Zhao Shun was yesterday. This sister never attends the gatherings of the Zhao family's daughters. Among the sisters, she is a transparent person.
"What book are you reading?"
"Here" Zhao Chun closed the book and showed her the cover, then opened it and turned it back to the original place, and continued reading. The journey is so long, and a girl of this age will pester you all the time after you talk to her once. Zhao Chun didn't want to cause trouble, so he simply set up a brand of being autistic and taciturn, and kept others away from him thousands of miles away.
After being rejected, Zhao Mian couldn't bear to put his hot face on his cold buttocks, so he sat aside in anger.
(End of this chapter)