Careerist in Qin Dynasty

Chapter 211 It’s really Xiaomeng
'Zhen' came to the Daliang City Capital Sword Hall and looked at the people coming and going inside, with a trace of envy flashing in his eyes.

She knew that this was where the most powerful swordsmen in the city gathered.

Every year, a different swordsman will get a famous sword from here and become famous in the world.

Although 'Zhen' is a girl, she also yearns for the unrestrained life of traveling to the end of the world with a sword.

Even though she is only eight years old, since she got a wooden sword from her father two years ago, the talented 'Zhen' has never been defeated in the way of swordsmanship: no matter whether the opponent is a naive child of the same age or a young man. grown-ups.

However, every time when she excitedly showed off to her father how many games she had won today, her father would always teach her to maintain a normal attitude by saying, "To win with a small crowd is to win a big victory."

This sentence seems to be said by the Taoist Zhuangzi.My father has always been fascinated by Taoism, and even the name "Zhen" given to her was taken from the sentence "Never be tired of Heaven, not neglect people, and the people will be almost as true" in "Zhuangzi Wai Pian Da Sheng".

If it weren't for the official position in Daliang City, Zhen had no doubt that his father would definitely go to Mount Taiyi, which he had whispered about countless times, to become a disciple.

It is said that Taoists do not look at age when recruiting disciples, but only look at talent, and when looking at talent, they also look at a person's understanding of the Tao.

My father believed that both father and daughter were talented people. He joked several times that if they joined Taoism together, they might even become brothers and sisters~

Recently, passers-by in Daliang City have been walking very fast. I really know that this is because of the Qin army outside the city.

She had heard the word "war" many times, and there were descriptions of it in the books, but she had never seen "war" with her own eyes, and she didn't understand why the word was so terrifyingly described in the books.

Swordsmanship is a competition between two people, and war is a competition between a group of people. What is there to be afraid of?
Putting aside the messy thoughts, 'Zhen' stood guard at the door of the sword hall, looking at a swordsman coming down from the second floor from a distance. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she stepped forward to block the road with the wooden sword in hand without hesitation:

"Hey, do you have the guts to compete with me in swordsmanship?"

There were only two wins today. There were fewer and fewer swordsmen in the sword hall due to the approaching war, but the swordsmen on the second floor of the sword hall were obviously no longer 'real' opponents.

However, it is said that the truly powerful swordsmen in the sword hall are underground. The deeper the underground level, the more representative the identity of the swordsman.

'Zhen' has never competed with an underground swordsman, but she knows that she will be able to enter the swordsmanship hall one day, as long as she is old enough!

Holding the wooden sword behind her back, the little girl returned home. Before she could enter the house, she heard the deep and bitter sound of a xun coming from inside.

It's a sentence that my father often plays: "Zhi'an"

The Taoist Zhuangzi divided sounds into sounds of nature, sounds of earth, and sounds of man, and the sound of the xun is considered by Taoists to be the musical instrument closest to the sounds of nature.

The pace couldn't help but slow down. Music can convey the mood of the player to the audience. From the sound of the xun, I really knew that my father was sad.

Gently pushing the wooden door open, the little girl walked in and saw her father sitting on a small chair with his back to her, immersed in his own world.

After a long time, the sound stopped. The father slowly put down the ancient pottery xun, turned around and looked at his daughter's unique long hair, which was gray and white mixed with some blue highlights, and said calmly:

"Zhen'er, did you win again today?"

This was the first time that his father took the initiative to ask about the victory or defeat in kendo. He was really surprised and only nodded slightly in his movements.

"Winning is a good thing. In this world, ordinary people should practice more swordsmanship."

The father approached his daughter, stroked her hair deeply, stayed for just a moment, then turned and walked into the house:

"I have official duties tomorrow and may have to be busy for several days before I can come back. Please don't go out these days. Stay at home and take care of yourself."

Half of my father's back was in the shadow under the eaves, and half was in the light of the setting sun. I don't know why, seeing this picture, I felt an inexplicable feeling of palpitations.
My father is just a minor official and is not very busy at ordinary times, so he has free time to study Taoist classics. Why should he be busy for several days at a time?
Early the next morning, when Zhen got up to practice swordplay, he found that his father had left, and a package was left on the table in the yard outside. When he opened it, he found some scattered gold, silver and coins inside.

It should be the living expenses her father gave her these days when he was not at home, but it was a bit too much: almost all the family's savings.

Sitting at the table, holding his chin with his hands and staring at these wealthy properties, his heart palpitations deepened a lot.

Her mother died early, and the maids at home were dismissed a few years ago, leaving Zhen and her father alone.

She didn't have much of an impression of money itself: it had always been enough, but it couldn't support abuse.

Unable to go out, 'Zhen' could only practice his sword for a while, but soon he had to retreat indoors due to the sudden heavy rain and had nothing to do.

As he said, his father didn't come back all day.

The next day, when the rain continued, 'Zhen' found a few Taoist classics at home that he had read briefly before, and read them again out of boredom.

In the evening, another day was coming to an end, but my father still didn't come back.

Zhen's heart suddenly became more panicked, but she couldn't do anything. She could only try to completely immerse herself in "Zhuangzi" to divert her attention.

The rain seems to be getting heavier, and the water has flooded the house
"Water" Sitting in the room, Zhen didn't wake up from the book until his shoes were soaked.

She looked in shock at the brown water that flooded into her home and was still rising. She hurriedly stepped on the water and ran out of the house, but the water flow was even greater in the yard!

Feeling overwhelmed, she climbed up to the roof of her house. With a heavy heart, she found that everywhere she looked was floods of water and the panicked cries of her neighbors.
"What's going on?" the little girl murmured to herself. She finally felt what war was.
The flood did not recede for several days, and my father still did not come back.After eating the remaining food that had not been soaked, Zhen had no choice but to carry his wooden sword, take the bag of belongings, and follow the large crowd to the high point of the city.

At this moment, she didn't have the heroic spirit that she imagined in her heart: she was only dirty all over, and her hair was wet and draped over her shoulders. Due to the cold weather, she needed thick clothes to wrap herself up as tightly as possible.

The entire Daliang City was in chaos, and people affected by the flood were mixed. The little girl knew that she was temporarily separated from her father.

But fortunately, my father is an official after all, so there should be no accidents.She only needs to protect herself and survive until the Wei army defeats the Qin army and the flood subsides, then she can go home.

Following the crowd, 'Zhen' recalled the Taoist classics and sentences in his mind, and he could take the initiative to comfort himself. Even now when he sees water, he can still think of a sentence in "Zhuangzi":
"There is no water in the world greater than the sea. All the rivers flow back to it, and I don't know when it will stop." "Is Daliang City considered a sea now?"

An optimistic attitude can be maintained for a while, but if the time is extended to three months, anyone exposed to humid air for such a long time will have their eyes glazed over.
Moreover, as the weather gets warmer and the temperature rises, various diseases will inevitably spread in the city along with the floods.
Under this situation, the King of Wei pretended to be tolerant and was willing to open the high areas of the palace to the common people to avoid water, and also provided the people with food in the city as much as possible.

But it should be taken as a matter of course and even reasonable: the farther down the food distribution reaches, the smaller the quantity and the worse the quality.
'True' is the worst level.

Just hunger and cold made this little girl, who had never seen war, understand for the first time that words were far from being able to describe the real tragedy.
At this moment, she had nothing but the clothes on her body and the wooden sword, and all her belongings had been spent on buying extra food.

During this period, there were still victims who wanted to rob the 'real' food, and my father's wooden sword came into play during the crisis.

"How long will this kind of life last?"

Sitting on the tiled roof, hugging her knees, the little girl who used to have no worries about food and clothing had her eyes red, and she just wanted to cry without caring.

And God suddenly seemed to hear her voice and responded: Such a day will not last long, because the Qin army outside the city has already entered along the soaked city wall!
------

Run, run fast.

'Zhen' took off the thick clothes that were swollen by blisters, leaving only the innermost layer of flexible skirt that she once wore when walking and sword fighting in Daliang City.

The Qin army entered the city, and the people of Daliang, who had been tortured by floods, completely rioted.

'Zhen' still followed the army in a panic, and miraculously escaped from the beam.The Qin army didn't pay much attention to these refugees at all. Their greater military achievements were all in the palace in the inner city!

King Wei pretended to know that nothing could be done, and chose to surrender before the Qin army invaded the inner city with force.

The state of Wei died.

Of course she didn't know the 'reality' of all this. Her mind was blank and she followed the crowd as they fled eastward, jumping into a small town that had not yet been affected by the war.

The residents of the town kindly set aside a rest area for them: although there was no food, everyone could always stay warm when huddled together in the house.

At night, there were still warmer flames. Those were the rockets fired by the Qin army after conquering the Wei capital and continuing to attack other areas.
The refugees, who were tired, hungry and most of them suffering from diseases, no longer had the strength to escape.They looked at the lit wooden house like they were dying, feeling the last warmth after three months of damp life, and a relieved smile appeared on their faces.
At least you don't have to die in that cold sewage.

'Zhen' held the wooden sword in his arms, barely opened his eyelids, and once again thought of "Zhuangzi" in his mind:
"Is there such a thing as bliss in the world? There is no one who can live. Is ridicule now the basis of ridicule? Is ridicule a place to avoid ridicule? Ridicule is ridiculed and gone? Is ridicule of joy and ridicule of evil?"

"I can't die yet! I want to live! I don't want to be so weak! I want to join Taoism and become strong!" The little girl's tenacious desire to survive made her look at the roof that was about to collapse, and she reluctantly crawled to the corner, but before she could catch her breath, There was a loud bang and the house collapsed completely
But 'truth' is no longer among the fallen ruins.

A gentle inner energy slowly flowed into her slightly hot body. This spring-like softness made the little girl regain some strength. When she opened her eyes again, she only saw herself being held in the arms of a man in brocade clothes.

The surrounding environment. Are you flying at the moment?
The man also saw the awake 'Zhen'. When he lowered his head and looked at each other, 'Zhen''s eyes suddenly went dark and he passed out again.

When she woke up again, the time changed to daytime.

Looking carefully, he found that the nearby environment was a small forest. The breeze here was blowing gently, which was not as uncomfortable as when soaking in the water in Daliang City. On the contrary, it was somewhat cool and comfortable.

Bang, a water bag and a piece of big cake were thrown next to Zhen. He looked towards the direction where they were thrown: it was the strange man who rescued him from the collapsed house. He was only wearing a suit and a robe. On myself.

"Thank you."

Holding the green robe with both hands, he really stared at the piece of cake and swallowed subconsciously because of hunger, but he could still maintain etiquette and thanked the man first.

The man didn't respond, but she could tell at a glance that the sword on his waist was not ordinary.

"This sword is called Tunhai, and your sword is here."

The man noticed the little girl's gaze and took off the sword from his waist to let her see clearly. At the same time, he picked up a wooden sword from the ground and threw it to Zhen.

'Zhen' first held his sword, then picked up the piece of cake and ate it in small bites.
After filling her hungry belly, she regained a little more strength. Just as she was about to stand up and thank her again, she saw the man take out a set of girl's clothes from behind and threw it to her from a distance.

Holding the moon-white silk clothes at a loss, she really opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

"There is a stream over there. Go and change into clean clothes."

It wasn't until the man finished speaking that she noticed the mess all over her body: she had been soaked in Daliang City for three months and had no chance to take a bath during this period. Soaked in dirty water and covered with thick clothes for a long time, you can imagine how it tasted. And know
When we were with the refugees, no one could notice anything. Now when compared with such a handsome and clear savior, the little girl looked like a beggar.
"Yes, I'll go right away!" blushing in shame, 'Zhen' raised his hand to move the clean clothes away from his dirty clothes, and trotted to the direction the man pointed.

After a long time, 'Zhen' came back after putting on clean clothes.

She clasped her hands behind her back, looking very embarrassed.

The man didn't care so much. He was holding a packed package in his hand and threw it to Zhen again: "You kept shouting that you wanted to join Taoism while in coma."

"There is some money and food here. From here, walk upstream along the creek you just used, and you will enter the territory of Qin. There, you can ask about the location of Taiyi Mountain, the Taoist residence."

"Uh, me." 'Zhen' has been receiving a lot of information since she was rescued, and her physical weakness does not allow her to think about anything else. But at this moment, 'Zhen' still hopes to ask the man's name: "In the future, I I will definitely repay this life-saving kindness, okay?"

But before she could finish her words, the man shook his head, took a step back, and disappeared without saying a word.
This scene shocked the little girl instantly. She opened her mouth and shook her head from side to side.

After confirming that he was not dreaming and feeling the weight of the salute in his arms, 'Zhen' pursed his lips and picked up his wooden sword, thinking about walking alone in the direction the man said.

"I know that the name of his sword is Swallowing Sea Sword. I will have a chance in the future."

Muttering softly, she accidentally raised her sleeves and sniffed again to confirm that she no longer smelled.
It is difficult and dangerous for a little girl to go to Taiyi Mountain alone to become a disciple, but after experiencing those three months in Daliang City, she is confident that she can endure any hardship now!
Three months later, the top leaders of various schools of thought learned the news: Bei Mingzi, the Taoist Tiansect who had not accepted a disciple for 50 years, suddenly accepted a little girl as a closed disciple.

The girl’s nickname: Xiao Meng!
(End of this chapter)