Cloud of the Qing Dynasty

Before the founding of the Dachen Dynasty, people had experienced more than a hundred years of divisions and endless wars. The people were displaced, precarious, and miserable. During this period, countless short-lived dynasties and forces rose and died, until the current Emperor Dachen settled down in one fell swoop. The Central Plains established the first dynasty in more than a hundred years that unified most of the north and south of the Yangtze River.

But at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, before some remnants of the mainland were cleaned up, the barbarians in the northwest couldn't sit still, and wanted to take advantage of the country's unstable foothold to invade on a large scale, break the gradually stable situation, and plunge the Central Plains into war again. Sit back and reap the benefits of the fisherman.

On the northwest border, it was the "Iron Wolf Army" known for its strict military discipline and fearless style of death that blocked their fangs and beat them back to their hometowns. The cavalry unit called "Iron Wolf Cavalry" is an existence that makes the Tartars who grew up on horseback tremble.

Compared with them, the good and bad armies in other places in Dachen are very serious. There are imperial guards who have followed the emperor Dachen for many years and are now stationed in Chang'an. There are also troops who surrendered to the court after other forces were destroyed. Some local troops were filled with refugees and criminals, and there were even bandits recruited by the court.

So in today's Dachen, when it comes to people in the army, ordinary people's reactions are generally to look sideways and avoid, but if the people in the army are the Iron Wolf Army stationed in the northwest, people will not only not look sideways, but will look at them differently.

Zhang Chi recovered from his short-term nostalgia for his military career, and smiled: "...Of course I have seen it."

"I really envy you. If I hadn't been injured by Liu Ya back then, I might be a member of the Iron Wolf Cavalry now." The blacksmith looked Zhang Chi up and down, "I heard that the Iron Wolf Cavalry selects new recruits from the Iron Wolf Army every year. With your stature and strength, it's a pity that you didn't join the Iron Wolf Cavalry."

Zhang Chi smiled helplessly: "I think so too, but the Tartars sued for peace the year before last, and the Northwest Army disarmed last year, so I had no choice but to come out and run around."

"Tsk, it's a pity, but having said that, it's better not to fight if you can." The blacksmith said, "Those Tartars are itchy, and they will go to the Central Plains to plunder whenever they get a chance. It's the thief who doesn't change, and this time it hurts, so at least I can live in peace for more than ten years."

"Isn't it?" Zhang Chi agreed, "This bow is cheap."

"This bow is too hard, many people can't open it, and it can't be sold. If you want it, I will give it to you as a gift."

"What's so funny..."

"Since you are a member of the Iron Wolf Army, why are you embarrassed?"

Mu Liuyun silently watched the two of them over there with each other giving way, a little surprised that he never thought of asking Zhang Chi's origin.

His master Xuan Yichang has never cared about the affairs outside the mountains, so he has no knowledge of the current situation. He just thinks that it is unlikely that a person who has fought bloody battles and defended his family and country will use such indecent means to poison Others, unless there is any special purpose.

Although it was still uncertain, Mu Liuyun's suspicion of Zhang Chi was much less at this time.

***

Zhang Chi could also clearly feel that during the subsequent journey, Mu Liuyun's words gradually increased, and he was no longer as fierce or cold to him as before.

When sleeping in the suburbs the next day, he unknowingly walked a long way to collect firewood, and he didn't see Mu Liuyun chasing him to arrest him, so he couldn't help being secretly happy, it seemed that Mu Liuyun was already relieved of him.

At this time, Mu Liuyun was meditating and adjusting his breath. He heard the sound of Zhang Chi running in the forest in the distance, and a little distraction came to his mind, wondering if he would take the opportunity to escape because of guilty conscience and fear of the conspiracy being revealed. Woolen cloth?

Of course Zhang Chi did not escape. After a while, he not only picked up the firewood, but also brought back a pheasant and some wild fruits, and said like offering treasures, "Look what I hunted? You don't need to eat cakes tonight!"

Mu Liuyun glanced at it indifferently: "In this wilderness, there are no pots or bowls, how do you cook it?"

"I have my own way. Have you heard of 'beggar chicken'?" Zhang Chi said, and he took out his dagger and began to cut the chicken at Wang Xiaoshanquan.

"It doesn't sound like a good thing." Mu Liuyun said so, but he was really aroused a little interest, watching Zhang Chi open a mouth from the chicken's buttocks to clean out the chicken's internal organs, and put The washed fruit was stuffed in, and he explained to him: "This kind of wild fruit, if eaten raw, can sour a person's teeth, but it tastes good after being roasted."

Mu Liuyun was still looking forward to it at first, but seeing that Zhang Chi didn't even pull out the chicken feathers, he directly dug up the soil from the spring and smeared it on the chicken. After applying a thick layer, he immediately lost his appetite and frowned, "It's so dirty. How can you eat it when it's muddy? Enjoy it yourself."

"Don't look at how dirty it is now, it will be the best food after it's baked."

Mu Liuyun shook his head, not believing it at all: "I heard that poor people eat Guanyin soil to satisfy their hunger when they are extremely hungry. It is a last resort. Is there really anyone who can eat soil as a delicacy? It is simply unimaginable."

Zhang Chi could only laugh, knowing that Mu Liuyun would not believe anything he said before the dishes were finished, so he stopped talking, wrapped the chicken into a ball of mud and buried it halfway in the ground, washed his hands in the mountain spring, took out the fire Zhezi fiddled three times and two times like a magic trick, and a fire was lit on the mud ball, and a small pot was put on the shelf to boil the tea soup as usual.

Mu Liuyun just closed his eyes and meditated, and originally planned to eat some dry food with tea soup as before, but after Zhang Chi finished cooking the soup, he removed the fire, dug out the completely dried mud ball, and put it in a small As soon as the stone was hit, the mud ball split in two, and the chicken feathers wrapped in the yellow mud came off completely, revealing the tender and attractive chicken.

The aroma hit his face, Mu Liuyun opened his eyes involuntarily, looked at the chicken wrapped in mud, hesitated.

Zhang Chi also went to the mountain spring to wash his hands again. Holding the chicken paw in one hand, he carefully cut off a whole chicken leg with a dagger, and handed it to Mu Liuyun, saying, "Don't worry, the skin of the chicken is peeled off, and even a little bit of dirt is fine." If you don't get it on, give it a try."

Mu Liuyun hesitated again, but finally took it and took a bite.

Zhang Chi grinned happily and showed his white teeth. He tore another banana leaf, rinsed it in the spring water with special care, cut off a few whole pieces of meat and wrapped it, and picked a few fruits and gave them to Mu Liuyun. Picking up the remaining chicken rack, he gnawed on the tea soup with relish.

Perhaps it was because of eating a few dry meals, Mu Liuyun only felt that the chicken was full of aroma and chewy, and also had a faint aroma of wild fruit. The chicken without seasoning would inevitably have a bland taste, but the fruit overflowed. The sour juice just acts as a seasoning, and the sour taste is completely absorbed into the fruit, leaving only the soft and sticky flesh, which also has a special flavor.

"How is it? How does it taste?" Zhang Chi asked with credit.

"It's really good." Mu Liuyun praised sincerely.

Zhang Chi, who was praised, was as happy as if he had picked up money: "This is my specialty, but it's a pity that it's a pheasant. If it's a chicken with fatter meat and my exclusive special sauce, it will be delicious. It’s a must, I’ll make it for you to try some other day.”

"Okay, I'll wait." Mu Liuyun smiled faintly, but Zhang Chi was too busy nibbling on the neck of the chicken to pay attention.

Zhang Chi ate some dry food again, watched Mu Liuyun eat up all the portion given to him, and felt happier than he had eaten the delicious delicacies, and when he was happy, he started to owe again: "You eat so reassuringly, Are you not afraid that I will be poisoned?"

Mu Liuyun was startled, and quickly held his breath, only to feel that there was nothing unusual about his body, so he opened his eyes and looked at Zhang Chi puzzled.

"I'm just joking, if I really want to poison you, will I tell you?" Zhang Chi shook his head, "You, you have no experience in the world, so easy to trust others, no matter how good your martial arts are, you will be killed if you don't pay attention. "

Mu Liuyun looked at him: "You mean... how much should I be on guard against you?

Zhang Chi slapped his head, regretful: "That's right, before the suspicion is cleared, why should I tell you this? I'm so stupid, I'll forget it."

Seeing that, Mu Liuyun wanted to laugh again, but finally held back.

***

Fog Valley Village, as the name suggests, the terrain is a typical valley trend, surrounded by fog every morning and evening.

The more Mu Liuyun and Zhang Chi walked in the direction of Wugu Village, the more they felt that the trees were covering the sky, the apes were jumping freely among the branches and leaves, all kinds of colorful big bugs, spiders, butterflies could be seen everywhere, poisonous snakes and leeches There were so many that it made Mu Liuyun's skin crawl. He couldn't see these things the most.

After finally coming to the vicinity of the village, there were gradually some traces of human cultivation around. When approaching the entrance of the village, a Miao man came over and asked them what they were doing here in Chinese with a strong accent.

"I'm here to buy things. I heard that you have a strange poison called Duanhun Ji." The other party's figure and dress look like a native Miao, so Zhang Chi didn't say a word of polite nonsense, and expressed it directly. own intention.

The Miao man also nodded honestly: "Yes, but we don't sell them to the Han people, so go away."

"I brought a lot of money." Zhang Chi opened the one-size-larger money bag, revealing the white silver ingots inside, "Don't rush to say whether to sell it, let me discuss it with your leaders before making a decision."

The Miao man stared straight at Yin Zi, silently calculating how much salt and how much rice noodle cloth he could buy in his mind, but finally shook his head and said, "Our leader is not here."

"Oh, where did your leader go?"

"You can't tell the Han people."

"Then when will he come back?"

"You can't tell the Han people either."

Zhang Chi saw that his mouth was tight, but his eyes were fixed on the purse, and he hesitated in his words. He didn't chase him away immediately, knowing that the other party was already greedy, so he said smoothly, "In this case, can you Let us wait for him in the stockade for a few days. If your leader comes back, I will discuss it with him. If the transaction is successful, the money will be yours. I will live in vain, how about a penny every day?"

You can live in the best inn in the bustling part of the capital for a penny, but the Miao man hesitated again and again, but he couldn't help but agree to the temptation.