The Earth God Temple was in the countryside west of the city. The group walked for about half an hour before reaching it.
The temple had clearly been abandoned for a long time. When they pushed open the door, a cloud of dust burst out. Even Zhu Mingyue, who was standing at the back of the group, coughed from the dust.
Everyone put their bags near the entrance and started cleaning away the dust and spider webs. Zhu Mingyue grabbed a spider web that had landed on his face and stepped forward to help.
Before he could enter, a young man stretched out his arm and blocked his path.
Zhu Mingyue tilted his head and looked at him in confusion.
The young man smiled kindly and explained, “There is too much dust inside. My mother said you are still recovering, so you should rest outside. You can come in after we finish cleaning.”
Although the man looked gentle, his tone left no room for argument.
Without thinking, Zhu Mingyue nodded.
“May I ask who your mother is?” he asked carefully.
The man looked toward the river nearby.
Following his gaze, Zhu Mingyue saw the aunt in the colorful clothes washing rags by the water.
He immediately understood.
No wonder this man was taking care of him. He was the aunt’s son.
Looking at the young man again, Zhu Mingyue felt both grateful and embarrassed. After all, he was still wearing the man’s clothes.
“The aunt lent me your clothes,” Zhu Mingyue said softly.
“It’s fine. Just wear them,” the man replied casually. “My name is Cui Jian. If you need help in the future, feel free to find me.”
Cui Jian…
Zhu Mingyue silently repeated the name.
The more he looked at him, the stranger things felt.
Although Cui Jian wore simple clothes, he was clearly different from the other refugees. His appearance, manners, and way of speaking were all refined. Especially his commanding tone—it was not something an ordinary family could teach.
Zhu Mingyue glanced at the aunt again.
Now that he looked carefully, she also seemed different from the others. Compared to the starving refugees, she looked healthier and better fed, almost like someone from a wealthy household.
Even stranger, although they called each other mother and son, they looked nothing alike.
Cui Jian was handsome and elegant, with a calm but distant air.
The aunt looked warm, kind, and approachable.
Everything about them suggested they might not really be mother and son.
Zhu Mingyue was simple-minded at times, but he was not stupid.
After only a few conversations, he had already guessed there was probably more to their relationship.
Still, he had no intention of exposing their secret.
If people who once lived comfortably were hiding among refugees, they must have their reasons.
Besides, they had treated him very kindly.
No matter what, he owed them his gratitude.
Pushing the matter aside, he introduced himself.
“My name is Zhu Mingyue. The ‘Yue’ in my name means ‘pleasant and delightful,’ not the ‘moon’ character.”
A faint smile appeared on Cui Jian’s face.
It suited him well. Zhu Mingyue truly was pleasant to look at.
…
After the temple was cleaned, the others immediately asked Cui Jian to inspect it, treating him like the leader of the group.
Cui Jian nodded to Zhu Mingyue and entered the temple.
Zhu Mingyue sat beneath a tree with his knees pulled to his chest. He watched everyone carry their belongings inside.
When the work was nearly finished, he finally entered.
He had arrived with nothing except the clothes on his back.
The refugees did not have enough blankets for everyone, so they spread a thick layer of dry leaves and straw across the floor.
Zhu Mingyue decided he would sleep in the straw along with everyone else.
The temple was small.
The altar divided the room into two sections.
The women stayed behind the altar, while the men slept near the entrance.
As darkness fell, people yawned and picked places to sleep.
Zhu Mingyue chose a spot near the wall and covered himself with a thin layer of straw.
Unfortunately, the straw did almost nothing against the cold.
He shivered uncontrollably.
A line of mucus ran down his nose.
He had no tissues, so he wiped it away with the back of his hand.
Not wanting to wipe it on his clothes, he awkwardly rubbed it against the wall.
After doing all this, his eyes grew hot with emotion.
Yesterday he had been thirsty and overheated.
Today he was hungry and freezing.
What had he done to deserve such suffering?
He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.
Just sleep. Once I’m asleep, I won’t feel cold anymore.
But the harder he tried, the more awake he became.
The sound of people talking echoed through the small temple like buzzing flies.
“Not asleep yet?”
Although no name was mentioned, Zhu Mingyue somehow felt the question was directed at him.
He opened his eyes.
By the weak candlelight, he saw Cui Jian standing beside him holding a blanket.
“Mm. I’m not sleepy yet.”
Since Cui Jian showed no sign of leaving, Zhu Mingyue quickly moved aside and made room for him.
Cui Jian spread the blanket over the straw and lay down beside him.
“Are you cold?” Cui Jian asked.
“Not really. I’m fine.”
Even Zhu Mingyue knew that was a lie.
His mouth seemed even stiffer than his frozen feet.
A low chuckle came from the darkness.
Cui Jian was clearly laughing at him.
Embarrassed, Zhu Mingyue closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
A moment later, he heard rustling.
The straw covering him was pushed aside.
Before he could react, a thick blanket settled over his body.
It still carried some warmth.
The comfort made him almost sigh with relief.
Compared to straw, the blanket felt wonderful.
In his previous life, he often took warm bedding for granted.
Only now did he realize what a blessing it was.
As warmth slowly returned to his body, he wanted nothing more than to sleep peacefully.
Still, he knew the blanket belonged to Cui Jian.
If he used half of it, Cui Jian would have less.
After struggling with his conscience, Zhu Mingyue pushed the blanket back.
“Thank you, Brother Cui. I’m really not that cold. You should keep it.”
For a long time, Cui Jian said nothing.
Thinking the matter was settled, Zhu Mingyue wrapped himself in his clothes and prepared to sleep again.
Then the blanket was placed back over him.
This time Cui Jian interrupted before he could refuse.
“Two people sleeping together stay warmer. If you’re not cold, then consider it a favor to me. Help keep me warm.”
Zhu Mingyue almost choked at being called “Brother Zhu.”
After thinking about it, though, it made sense.
He was not yet eighteen years old and was younger than Cui Jian.
Calling each other “Brother” was normal.
“Then thank you, Brother Cui.”
At this point, refusing again would only seem rude.
Besides, he did not really want to refuse.
Giving back the blanket once had already taken all his willpower.
There was no way he could do it twice.
The blanket was wonderfully warm.
Cui Jian felt like a giant heater, constantly giving off warmth.
Shamelessly, Zhu Mingyue moved a little closer.
If possible, he would have attached himself directly to Cui Jian to steal more heat.
As sleepiness took over, he mumbled things like:
“So warm…”
“Brother Cui, you’re really kind…”
Soon he fell into a deep sleep.
The night wind howled outside.
A cold draft slipped through the cracks in the door and extinguished the last candle flame.
The quiet conversations stopped.
The temple became completely silent.
…
Zhu Mingyue slept peacefully through the night.
When he woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
Cui Jian had left.
Before leaving, he had even tucked the blanket securely around Zhu Mingyue.
Yawning, Zhu Mingyue quickly got up.
He carefully folded the blanket into a neat square, tied it with a rope, and hid it behind a pile of straw so nobody would steal it.
Outside the temple, a large pot sat over a fire.
The firewood had already burned away, but the pot was still warm.
A middle-aged woman stood nearby.
When she saw him, she filled a bowl with vegetable porridge and handed it to him.
Zhu Mingyue thanked her.
She waved dismissively.
“No need to thank me. Thank Fu Yuexiang and her son instead. You’re lucky to meet such kind people during a refugee journey. They were even willing to share their food with you.”
Without asking, Zhu Mingyue knew she meant the colorful-clothed aunt and Cui Jian.
He sighed quietly.
In only one day, he already owed them so much.
At this rate, he would never be able to repay them.
The porridge contained mostly vegetables and only a few grains of rice.
It was plain and had little flavor, but it filled his stomach.
After eating, he washed the bowl by the river and returned it.
At the same time, he asked where everyone else had gone.
“They all went into town,” the woman replied. “Everyone’s food is running out. During the escape, we had no choice. But now that we’re in the city, nobody can afford to sit around. We need work before we starve.”
“My two sons went early this morning. I’m going to check on them too.”
“I’ll go with you, Auntie,” Zhu Mingyue quickly said.
She studied his face for a long moment.
Finally she sighed.
“Fine. If you don’t find work soon, you’ll starve sooner or later.”
Zhu Mingyue agreed completely.
He could not depend on other people’s charity forever.
…
Half an hour later, Zhu Mingyue stood alone in the center of Shangyang County.
During the walk, he had carefully gathered information.
He learned that this dynasty had never existed in the history he knew.
It was called the Can Dynasty.
He was currently in Shangyang County, located in the southern part of Kangyang Commandery, which belonged to Ganzhou Province.
Kangyang was famous for its abundant water, rich resources, and thriving river trade.
It was one of the wealthiest regions in the north, second only to the capital.
However, from what Zhu Mingyue observed, this wealth mostly belonged to nobles and merchants.
Ordinary farmers might harvest more crops, but they also paid higher taxes.
Besides national taxes, they had to pay local taxes as well.
After all that, their lives were only slightly better than those in poorer regions.
…
Zhu Mingyue spent most of the day visiting shops.
The owners were polite.
But after hearing that he wanted work, they all said the same thing:
“We aren’t hiring.”
After many rejections, his confidence began to fade.
He heard that workers were needed to repair a river channel in the south of the city.
The work would be hard labor.
Honestly, he had little confidence in his weak body.
Still, he decided to try.
Maybe they happened to need one more worker.
It was already noon.
The smell of food drifted from nearby restaurants.
He took several deep breaths and quickened his pace.
Suddenly—
“Ouch! Are you blind? Watch where you’re going!”
Someone slammed heavily into his shoulder from behind.
The impact hurt so much that tears nearly came to his eyes.
Before he could react, the other person started blaming him.
Confused, Zhu Mingyue turned around.
Then he froze.
It was the same unpleasant man he had met yesterday.