Chapter 1: Young Blade-Wielder

The sky was faintly bright, and the morning mist hung light.

It had just passed the "Grain Full" solar term. A proverb says, "Grain Full, Grain Full, wheat kernels gradually fill." North of the Yangtze River, winter wheat begins to fill with grain, gradually becoming plump, though not yet fully ripe—this is called "Grain Full."

On the Guanzhong Plain, a thousand years of wind, frost, blood, and fire, of war drums and clamor, had long since vanished into the loess gullies. At this moment, only the morning breeze blew through the wheat waves, shaking off dew and emitting a soft, rustling sound.

Bai Bai Lu Yuan, Li Family Fort.

In the farmland outside the village, two youths were walking slowly.

The one following behind was lean and capable, dressed in coarse black cloth short-garments with leg wraps, carrying a long spear with a wooden shaft on his shoulder.

The youth had dark skin, and a slight smile revealed a mouthful of large, white teeth.

This was the mark of year-round labor in the fields.

Farm children follow their elders into the fields from a young age, braving the wind and rain, sweating buckets under the sun; being a bit dark-skinned was only natural.

The one walking in front was clearly a head taller, his waist straight, his skin fair, his features delicate, his hair tied up in a casual bun.

Dressed in the same black cloth garments with leg wraps, he carried a bow on his back and a blade at his waist.

This youth could not be called handsome, but his features were refined, and a pair of eyes made him particularly striking.

The corners of his eyes were long and narrow—standard phoenix eyes—but his black pupils were like suspended pearls. If one met his gaze, they would feel a chilling light that burned, hiding a sense of authority.

This was called "Dragon Pupils," also known as "Dragon Eyes." The *Classic of Observing People* says: "Dragon pupils possess a spirit unlike the world's; their light is motionless like mysterious pearls. They are like the still, cold water of an autumn pool, truly a wonder of the human world."

Phoenix eyes with dragon pupils were a rare eye-type indeed.

The youth was named Li Yan, and he was not a person of this world.

Walking between the ridges, he couldn't help but gently stroke the wheat ears, feeling the plumpness of each grain. His eyes narrowed slightly, the chilling light hidden away, and a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

The wheat before him had all been planted by his own hands.

Since arriving in this world, Li Yan had initially felt some discomfort, but as the brilliant lights of his past life gradually faded from his memory, he had grown accustomed to this kind of life.

The earth can contain all things.

Working at sunrise and resting at sunset, the restlessness and agitation of his past life had long been buried by this loess earth, washed away by the joy of each harvest.

"Brother Yan."

The dark, thin youth behind him interrupted his thoughts, looking left and right as he spoke: "'Blind Old San' might have run off long ago; let's head back."

Li Yan turned his head and cast a glance. "You coward, don't you want to avenge Er Niu?"

"What kind of talk is that!"

The dark, thin youth looked as if he'd had his tail stepped on; his face flushed red, and he twisted his neck, saying, "Er Niu is my little sister. If I don't avenge this, I, Hei Dan, will pluck out my own hair and strangle myself!"

"It's just that 'wolves eat children when chickens roost, and wolves rejoice when the sun is at its peak.' We don't go out at night, we don't roam at noon; how are we supposed to find it this early in the morning?"

"You've got a whole set of fancy words—are you trying to pass the imperial exam?"

Li Yan scolded him, then looked toward the distant mountains and shook his head. "'Blind Old San' is no ordinary wolf..."

Wolf plagues in Guanzhong had been incessant since ancient times.

Especially in the last two years, something had happened in the Qin Ling Mountains, and vicious wolves often emerged, coming down the mountains to wreak havoc on the various plains.

These wolves were larger and more ferocious and cunning than those of the past.

They didn't just harm livestock; they preferred eating children.

"Chickens roosting" refers to dusk; "sun at its peak" refers to high noon.

"Wolves eat children when chickens roost, and wolves rejoice when the sun is at its peak" describes the times wolves most liked to emerge.

Some might be curious: night is one thing, but how do wolves dare to enter villages to harm people in broad daylight?

They don't know that common folk work from dawn till dusk, avoiding the hottest part of the day at noon, which is exactly when the wolves emerge.

They are exceptionally cunning, taking advantage of when adults are fast asleep at noon to secretly snatch away children sandwiched between them, a practice called "pulling garlic bolts."

They even hide in the wheat fields, whimpering to mimic the sound of a baby crying; if children are curious and crawl into the wheat, they get snatched away.

"Blind Old San" was one such wolf that had come down from the Qin Ling Mountains.

It was a full circle thicker than other wolves.

For the past two years, villages on Bai Bai Lu Yuan had set traps to prevent wolf attacks. "Blind Old San," upon arriving, fell into a trap and had one eye shot out, harboring a grudge and targeting Li Family Fort for havoc.

Time and again, they tried to surround and kill it, but it always escaped.

From then on, the name "Blind Old San" began to spread.

Some said this "Blind Old San" was different from other wolves; it had grown up on Mount Zhongnan, obtained the spiritual energy of the mountains, and gained cultivation.

Others were fearful and even wanted to build a temple to worship it so it would stop coming to the village to cause trouble, but this was fortunately stopped by the Li family patriarch.

In any case, "Blind Old San" had become a kind of terror for Li Family Fort.

The time around the summer harvest each year was when the wolf plague was at its worst.

Er Niu was Hei Dan's little sister, just turned two. When her parents went to the fields, fearing it wasn't safe to leave the child at home, they carried her on their backs.

Halfway through their work, because it was inconvenient, they placed her at the edge of the field.

The edge of the field was near the official road, and many villagers passed by, so they thought it was relatively safe.

Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, "Blind Old San" darted out, snatched Er Niu, and ran.

The people of Li Family Fort chased for several miles with sickles and hoes, but when they found her, only a circle of tattered, bloody rags remained.

Hei Dan's mother cried until she was half-dead, and his father, having a fiery temper, dragged his clansmen to search the mountains and plains for days and nights, but unfortunately, they found nothing.

Later, someone advised them that, after all, she was just a girl, and with the busy farming season, the search was called off.

But Hei Dan couldn't forget, so he asked Li Yan for help.

Li Yan also had the heart to eliminate this scourge, so he pondered it for a while.

He guessed that "Blind Old San" was truly cunning, perhaps like a military ambush, not emerging at night or noon, but appearing when the sky was not yet bright and people were fast asleep. Thus, for the past few days, he had brought Hei Dan to search two hours early. However, for several consecutive days, they hadn't even found a wolf hair.

This made Li Yan begin to doubt his own judgment.

Just as the two were talking, the horizon in the distance already showed a fish-belly white, reflecting the winding mountains in pitch black, and cooking smoke began to rise from Li Family Fort.

"Let's go."

Li Yan pressed the hilt of his blade and shook his head. "We'll continue tomorrow."

Although Hei Dan was disappointed, he nodded.

Guanzhong children have a stubborn streak; he had already made up his mind that this matter wouldn't be over until "Blind Old San" was dead.

The two didn't take the main road but followed the hillside back toward the village.

Hei Dan had come out secretly; he had to climb back into his home over the village's back wall before his parents discovered him, otherwise, if this were found out, he wouldn't be able to come out again.

The closer they got to the village, the more dejected Hei Dan became, not saying a word.

!.

Li Yan cast a glance. "What's wrong?"

Hei Dan muttered, "In a few days, Dad is taking me to work as a wheat reaper."

Li Yan frowned upon hearing this. "Your own fields aren't harvested yet; why go outside?"

Hei Dan said, "I heard my dad say that last year, many factories opened in Tianjin and Jiangnan, and many young people ran off to earn money, so now there aren't enough hands on any of the plains."

"This year, several big proprietors have already put out the word that the wages are good. My dad wants to take me for a round to save up some money for me to get a wife."

A wheat reaper is an ancient profession.

Due to climate differences on the Guanzhong land, wheat generally ripens sequentially from south to north and west to east.

The saying goes, "Three wheat harvests aren't as long as one autumn, three autumns aren't as busy as one wheat harvest." Whenever the "Grain in Ear" solar term arrives and the summer wheat harvest begins, it's no less intense than a battle.

Although at this time, drought, heat, and lack of rain are the norm for the Guanzhong climate, the Dragon King might sneeze at any moment.

Wheat fears rain the most; once it gets wet, it easily sprouts or mildews.

There is a folk proverb: "Harvesting wheat is like fighting a fire; snatch the grain from the dragon's mouth."

So, whenever this time arrives on the Guanzhong land, there are people everywhere helping others harvest wheat to earn a living; these are called wheat reapers.

In the past, they couldn't earn much money. If the proprietor was kind-hearted and treated them with white flour steamed buns, the reapers were already grateful.

In bad years, they couldn't even get many coarse grain cakes, let alone wages.

Even so, the stream of wheat reapers was endless.

The reason was simple: by eating someone else's food, they saved their own grain.

Life is hard; what does selling a bit of strength matter?

Li Yan knew that Hei Dan wasn't afraid of being tired; he was afraid that after the summer harvest was over, "Blind Old San" would run off elsewhere or burrow into the Qin Ling Mountains, and the matter would be left unsettled.

Thinking of this, he patted Hei Dan on the shoulder and said solemnly, "Don't worry. I ate one of your chickens, so consider it a deposit. I will definitely handle 'Blind Old San'!"

"Brother Yan, I believe you!"

Hei Dan nodded earnestly.

The eight-hundred-mile Qin River in Guanzhong has had a rich tradition of chivalry since ancient times.

Nowadays, there are still Guanzhong blade-wielders whose word is worth a thousand gold.

Li Yan's father was once a blade-wielder who made a name for himself in Guanzhong.

Many people in the village believed that Li Yan would follow in his father's footsteps in the future.

Seemingly setting aside his worries, Hei Dan looked toward the distant mountains, a glimmer of longing in his eyes. "I heard that the young men who went out to be apprentices last year all sent money home before the new year..."

"Brother Yan, what do you think it's like on the other side of the mountains?"

Li Yan scoffed, "What could it be? In the end, it's still mountains, still people."

Before he finished speaking, his expression shifted slightly. He pressed down on Hei Dan, sniffed the air, and lowered his voice. "Hei Dan, did you smell anything?"

Hei Dan also sniffed and asked suspiciously, "No."

Li Yan didn't say much, his expression growing increasingly solemn.

In the fields and at the edges of the land, some stories are told in mysterious ways, such as "ghost-covered eyes," "spirit-collision," or "Tiger Auntie."

There was no entertainment in the village, only when there were festivals or temple fairs would the clan invite a theater troupe from Chang'an City, and then people from ten miles around would gather.

But on ordinary days, under the old trees at dusk, the stories told by the village elders became the pastime for children, passed down from generation to generation.

Those stories included kings, nobles, generals, and ministers, but more were absurd and bizarre.

Some believed them implicitly, swearing that such things had happened in which village, but they had never seen it with their own eyes.

Others scoffed, thinking them jokes.

But Li Yan vaguely felt that some things might truly exist.

The reason was simple: a year ago, his sense of smell began to change, not only becoming exceptionally sensitive but also able to smell scents others couldn't.

For example, at the village entrance's Earth Temple, even without incense burning, he could smell a faint scent of burning incense...

For example, at Widow Wang's house in the village, every time he passed by, he could smell a scent of incense, but it carried a fishy, foul odor...

Now, he smelled another scent.

Fishy, foul, cold, and carrying a certain scent of blood.

And this fishy, foul odor was something he had smelled when he found Er Niu's remains...

New book is out, seeking collections, monthly votes, and sharp reviews. 【114】 (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 2 =====

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