Liyang County.

Smoke slowly rose from each courtyard and slowly dissipated into the air.

Some people started to go out, and the quiet road became lively.

The man went out. He carried the big bamboo basket, bent down, and stroked his sunken abdomen. He turned his head and looked into the house.

Two and a half-year-old children were lying on the mat, and a woman sat beside them worriedly. She was frighteningly thin, wearing a headscarf and a simple cloth. There was no trace of flesh on her face, and her skin was stuck to her skin.

Bones, she leaned her back against the wall and gently wiped the child's face with the water-soaked cloth in her hand. The child was red all over and made strange noises from time to time. The woman raised her head and looked at the man with dull and desperate eyes.

The man looked at his courtyard.

Empty and dilapidated courtyard.

The ground was full of potholes and there were not even any weeds to be found.

The man turned around, held the handle of his bamboo basket tightly, and strode out of his home.

After walking out for a moment, the woman's sobs were heard from behind. The man just frowned and pretended he didn't hear anything.

All the way to the city gate, there were two groups of officials sitting on both sides of the city gate. They were facing each other. The people were still more willing to pass by these new arrivals.

The man heard that the new guy was a county official, he had a good attitude towards people and he didn't bully people very much.

The other party checked the "certificate" and looked at the man in front of him.

"Collecting herbs in the wild?"

"Yes."

"There are many bandits in the wild, so be careful."

"Thank you, sir."

The man recorded it and let the man leave the city.

The man carried the bamboo basket and moved forward. Outside Liyang City, unlike Cheng'an, there were no dense forests or too many high slopes. There was almost an endless plain. Standing on the city wall, you could clearly see the distant scenery around the city.

Chu.

The cultivated land on both sides is very fertile, but the people working on it are exhausted.

Those people were like skeletons, waving the hoes in their hands numbly, showing no reaction even if someone walked by.

The man walked for who knows how long. Finally, he came to a tall willow tree. This willow tree had an unknown age and its trunk was extremely thick. Even if a man came there, he would not be able to surround it even with his hands. Although the tree was tall, it could not be surrounded by it.

There was a crack in it, and it was completely dark, as if it was about to die.

The man placed the bamboo basket next to the big willow tree, tore open the tarpaulin and took out an ax from it. He looked around and then sat under the shade of the tree.

After walking only a short distance, he seemed extremely tired, he was panting and his forehead was covered with sweat.

It was quiet all around, but it was not silent. The man could always hear vague noises and rustling, but there were clearly no woods around. There were swarms of small insects on the ground, carrying food.

, struggled to stuff it into the cave, and the little ants dragged and dragged it, using all their methods. Several more ants came to help, and they succeeded.

The man looked fascinated and suddenly smiled.

The sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance. The man stood up quickly and walked to the roadside in panic. A carriage was driving towards the city.

In front of the carriage, there were several great monks holding knives and leading the way. They were yelling and cursing harshly. When they saw someone suddenly coming out, the monks were also stunned.

They looked at the man in front of them, "What do you do?"

"Chop wood."

The great monks ignored him, lowered their voices, continued to say something, and left slowly.

The man watched them leave, pursed his lips, and sat under the shade of the tree again.

After sitting down again, the noise and rustling disappeared inexplicably, and the ants disappeared. There was another noise from the opposite side, and the man stuck his head out to take a look.

It was a man wearing a rough linen jacket. He was pushing a wheelbarrow with his head lowered, panting, and headed straight for the big willow tree.

The man's hand holding the ax started to tremble. When the opponent came closer, he suddenly jumped out and raised the ax. As expected, the opponent was frightened and retreated hastily.

"I want food!! Hand over all the food!!"

The hawker looked at him in horror, "Brother! Have mercy on me! I still have a mother to support at home."

The man's eyes were red, "Hurry up!! Bring me all the food! Bring it!!"

"I don't have anything to eat here. Even this cart of horn combs is not worth much. Brother, please forgive me!"

The man looked at the wheelbarrow. He gritted his teeth and stretched out his hand to grab the wheelbarrow. The vendor immediately rushed forward and pressed the wheelbarrow with his body, "I can't give you the car! I can't give it to you!!"

The man wanted to tear the hawker away, but the hawker was holding on tightly. He raised his ax and tried to chop it down several times, but he did not dare to kill the hawker in front of him.

Suddenly, the man started crying and knelt down in front of the other person.

"I beg you. I really have no food at home and my children are going to starve to death. I lent you the lunch box! Please!"

He shouted and kowtowed to the opponent over and over again.

The vendor held on to the car tightly and cried: "Just kill me. Kill me. I can't give you this car. My whole family depends on this car to survive."

The man gritted his teeth, and rushed forward, throwing the vendor to the ground. He groped in the car, grabbed the horn comb, and stuffed it into his arms. The vendor rushed forward, and they fought each other. The man became violent.

, the hawker couldn't stop him, so he brought the things he grabbed back to the bamboo basket, poured them all in, and then picked up the bamboo basket. Hearing the crying behind him, he didn't dare to look back and just ran away.

The vendor hugged his car and cried loudly.

The man returned to the city gate out of breath. He frowned and decided to bypass this gate and came to the west gate. For some unknown reason, he did not dare to pass in front of the county official again. He walked quickly

Arrive at the county magistrate's side.

The county official stared fiercely at the county official opposite. Facing this little man, he really couldn't think of anything. He just looked around casually, then waved his hand to drive him into the city.

The man walked very fast. After entering the city, he ran towards the West Market.

The county official at the city gate narrowed his eyes, looked at the direction in which the man was leaving, called someone over, and gave some instructions in a low voice.

A moment later, the man walked out of the West Market holding a small package, but even the bamboo basket disappeared.

The man hugged the small package tightly in his arms and ran numbly towards his home.

When he arrived at the door, he knocked quickly.

After knocking for a long time, no one opened the door.

The man became furious and pushed open the door, staggering to steady his body. The courtyard was empty, with nothing blocking his view.

On the steps of the inner room, the woman was lying on the ground, maintaining a crawling posture.

The two children were nestled next to their mother, motionless at this moment.

The man froze in place. He wanted to say something, "Uh, um."

He opened his mouth, but what came out of his mouth was not words, but the whimpers of a wounded animal.

He just whimpered, his hands lost strength, and the package fell to the ground.

Millet was spilled all over the ground.

"This is it!"

The cavalry officer looked at the documents in his hand and then cursed: "These county officials, except for bad things, do not do anything serious!!"

Yao Xiong stood behind him, and on the other side was the sobbing vendor.

The cavalryman looked at the dilapidated house in front of him, then stepped forward and started knocking on the door.

"Cao Zhuang!! Open the door!!"

"Open the door!!"

He slapped the wooden door hard, but after beating for a long time, no one made any sound inside.

The cavalryman looked at Yao Xiong, and Yao Xiong nodded. The cavalryman slammed into it, and the wooden door was knocked open. The cavalryman pulled out his sword and walked into the courtyard cautiously.

The courtyard was empty except for some millet scattered on the ground.

The cavalryman looked around and walked into the house.

"Yao Gong!!"

The cavalryman exclaimed, and Yao Xiong quickly walked into the house.

The man just hung on the beam, his body swinging back and forth in front of everyone.

On the side, a woman and two children were lying neatly on the bed.

The cavalry officer looked at this scene in astonishment, and hurriedly stepped forward to put the man down, sniffed, and then sniffed the breaths of the two men.

Yao Xiong raised his head and looked at the man hanging in front of him. Unknowingly, his fists clenched, his veins popped out, and his eyes became particularly scary.

The vendor was also looking at this scene blankly at this moment, "I don't know."

"Yao Gong!! This child is still breathing!!"

The cavalryman suddenly shouted.

In the whole room, there was only one child who was still breathing. Yao Xiong was stunned and said, "Take the child to Chu Jiande and let him do his best to treat it!"

"only!!"

The cavalryman picked up the child and left.
To be continued...