There was only one road into the mountains, flanked by tall, continuous mountain ranges on both sides.
Zhao Nuan frowned as she surveyed the terrain before her, then looked at the road blackened with charcoal dust. “Is this the only road for entering and exiting the mountains?”
Shen Mingqing, who was driving the cart, grinned. “You guessed right.”
“Zheming Mountain is part of the Shiwan Mountains. This road stretches eighty li into the mountains, with nothing but peaks along the way.”
He raised his horsewhip and pointed toward the northeast. “It’s only sixty li straight to Yunzhou, but there are five mountains in between. Those who stubbornly try to take shortcuts never return.”
“With such high mountains and deep forests, there must be abundant natural resources.”
“Abundant indeed!”
Duan Zheng, overhearing their conversation, chimed in. “But not something ordinary people can enjoy. We won’t even mention the tigers, black bears, and venomous snakes that aren’t commonly seen.”
At this point, Duan Zheng gestured with both hands above his head. “There are deer as big as calves, with three-chi-long antlers like tree branches that can gore you through the stomach in one strike.”
“But the most dangerous are those mushrooms—they’re downright sinister.”
Yan’er asked curiously, “Grandpa Duan, how are mushrooms sinister?”
“They’re transformed by mountain spirits. If you eat them, not only will you foam at the mouth, but you’ll have to take a trip to hell and witness all the evil deeds from your past life before you’re allowed to die.”
Yan’er hugged her arms and shuddered. “That’s too scary. Mother, we must never eat mushrooms.”
“There are two or three edible varieties, but they can’t fill your stomach anyway.”
Listening to Yan’er opening up and chatting with Duan Zheng, Zhao Nuan silently pondered.
Most poisonous mushrooms have hallucinogenic side effects, just like how people in Yunnan see little people when eating undercooked Jianshouqing.
In modern times, with advanced medical care, it’s not fatal.
When ancient people saw these hallucinations, they typically associated them with ghosts and deities. Without corresponding medical treatment, the mortality rate was certainly high.
Additionally, ancient transportation and communication were primitive, relying mostly on word of mouth, so information was very limited.
Just like how in Zhao Nuan’s former hometown, shepherd’s purse was considered a weed, until she went online and discovered it was a widely consumed wild vegetable in the north.
As for wild beasts, while dangerous, looking on the bright side, it also indicated abundant meat ingredients.
This journey took another five days before they reached Suizhou.
Fortunately, there were no heavy snows blocking the mountains now, otherwise the travel would have been even more difficult.
Suizhou City was very small. Standing in the city, one was surrounded by vast, wild mountains.
The sun wouldn’t reach the city until nearly noon, and in the afternoon it would be blocked early by the mountains.
The mountains relatively close to the city, and the lower ones, had already been completely deforested.
According to Shen Mingqing, one needed either connections or money to secure such mountain areas.
Zhao Nuan asked Shen Mingqing, “Did you come here back then? Where do you live now?”
“We’re heading to where I live right now.”
The carriage passed through dark streets, as if charcoal dust floated in the air.
The houses along the street were low and small. In the city center stood a three-story wooden tower that overlooked the entire city.
Near the tower were black-tiled, gray-walled structures, with faintly visible gardens containing trees with yellow leaves—that was the Suizhou City Lord’s residence.
“See that empty space over there?”
As the carriage turned a corner, the empty space Shen Mingqing mentioned appeared before Zhao Nuan’s eyes.
This empty space occupied almost one-fifth of Suizhou City, filled entirely with baskets and piles of black charcoal.
At the foot of the distant mountain, a long queue stretched out. From afar, Zhao Nuan almost mistook it for Africa.
These people were emaciated, their loose, tattered clothes hanging loosely on their frames. Their bodies were pitch black, with baskets of charcoal placed at their feet.
“No, no! Too much broken charcoal. The weight is halved.”
“Sir, sir. Please have mercy. My son is seriously ill. This charcoal was hard for me to produce and carry down the mountain.”
Zhao Nuan realized from the voice that it was an old woman pleading with the official. She hunched over, begging incessantly.
The official sternly said, “If I make an exception for you, what about the others behind?”
“My son hasn’t eaten for a day. I beg you, sir. Later… when he recovers, we’ll come back to make up for it, alright?”
“Get lost!” The official, likely impatient, swung his whip and struck the old woman.
The others behind watched with numb expressions.
Shen Mingqing was observing Zhao Nuan’s expression. She frowned and asked him, “Are you going to save her?”
“Ah? No…”
“Oh, I thought you stopped because you couldn’t bear it.”
Shen Mingqing…
I was going to teach you a lesson, but ended up being taught one instead.
Duan Zheng, seeing Shen Mingqing embarrassed, sighed and said, “You can save one, but not all. In this place, you can’t afford to be soft-hearted.”
“Among those exiled here, there are certainly some who were wronged, but there are also real criminals. Even the Zhou Family is merely reaping what they sowed. Throughout history, such examples abound. If you enjoy the rewards of supporting the emperor, with centuries of wealth, then you must also endure being discarded like a tool once the hunt is over.”
“But I don’t like Uncle Duan’s phrase ‘soft-hearted like a woman’.” Zhao Nuan, after her long speech, turned to look at Duan Zheng. “Women are soft-hearted because of their innate maternal nature. Without this maternal instinct, where would the men of the world come from?”
“This…” Duan Zheng blinked, momentarily speechless.
Shen Mingqing grinned mischievously—he didn’t want to be the only one embarrassed.
“I’m not without ‘soft-heartedness like a woman’,” Zhao Nuan said, looking down at the sleeping Yan’er and Zhou Ningyu, a gentle smile appearing on her face. “All my soft-heartedness is reserved for them.”
Shen Mingqing lived in a shack at the corner of the city wall, with a crooked fence haphazardly erected around it.
Zhao Nuan surveyed the surroundings—shacks were everywhere. A gust of wind blew, sending thatch flying from the shacks, but not a single person was in sight.
“Is this… the place of the indigenous people?”
“Yes, and no. Most of them, if you trace back three generations, were exiles. Those who survived put down roots here. When Da Hong first discovered this place after its founding, the indigenous people in the mountains were still in a state of living like primitive beings.”
Zhao Nuan tilted her head to look at Shen Mingqing. “Are they still here?”
Shen Mingqing lowered his head and kicked away a stone, saying nothing.
This woman is too sharp!
This was precisely the place discovered by the Shen Family ancestors. After clearing the path into the mountains… the fate of the indigenous people was predictable.
Zhao Nuan’s heart sank. From the phrase “living like primitive beings,” she knew the indigenous people had been slaughtered completely.
“How do these people survive here?”
“Making baskets, driving carts, carrying goods… they do whatever it takes to survive.”
As they were talking, several grimy young boys jumped out. “Da Ge, you’re finally back.”
Compared to these skinny boys, whose teeth and the whites of their eyes were the only visible features, Zhao Nuan realized Shen Mingqing wasn’t that unkempt after all.
“Have any of you caused trouble lately?”
“No.”
“No, no.”
“Is this sister-in-law? Wow, Da Ge, it’s only been about a month and you already have a child?”
“Pfft.” Zhao Nuan couldn’t hold back.
Shen Mingqing flushed: “Go on, get out of here. I’m not the Child-Sending Goddess, able to return after a month away with a baby in my arms.”
The youths giggled and crowded around Zhao Nuan and Yan’er.
As for Duan Zheng, the youths were clearly somewhat afraid and didn’t dare approach.
“Alright, alright.” Shen Mingqing waved his hand. “Everyone head back now. Don’t cause any trouble while I’m away.”
The youths linked arms and left noisily.
Duan Zheng chuckled: “Not bad, you’ve got your own people now.”
“Uncle Duan, you’re teasing me. These are all orphaned children. When I first arrived, some of them weren’t even as old as Ning Yu.”