The sky was clear and cloudless, with no wind—a rare fine day in winter.
Xun Ye's mood, however, was like thunder erupting from flat ground.
He hadn't expected a passerby asking for directions to call him by his childhood name, much less claim to be his uncle.
Of his great-grandfather's eight sons, his grandfather was the eldest, and his grandfather's two children were also the oldest among their generation. Apart from his biological uncle who had vanished without a trace, all the male descendants from the other seven branches of the Xunshi Balong were his uncles.
He had memorized the family genealogy. All the uncles he could meet in person he had already met these past days. The ones he hadn't met were serving in posts elsewhere and had already sent word they wouldn't make a special trip. So who was this?
The village head's mood wasn't too pleasant either. Just a short while ago he had been joyfully offering sacrifices to Ji Zao Wangye at home, and now in the span of a brief moment he seemed to have aged several years.
Though the aging wasn't particularly visible on his face.
The villagers were simple folk. Normally they'd help a passerby asking for directions without a second thought, but lately many refugees from elsewhere had appeared in the mountains, and the young master from outside had just saved their entire village. Under such circumstances, hearing someone inquire about people naturally made them more cautious.
They had lived in this village for generations and still been targeted by bandit soldiers. The refugees hiding in the mountains were certainly in even greater danger—being cautious couldn't hurt.
Having just experienced bandit soldiers entering the village, the village head was jumpy as a startled bird. Only upon hearing that the newly arrived young gentleman and the young master who had saved their entire village were uncle and nephew did he slap his forehead and give directions anew. "Continue along the main road, sir, and after about five or six li you'll find a small path into the mountains. Silly me—the two of you can just head back together in a bit."
A life-saving favor couldn't be repaid with words alone. Though their village was poor, they still had a few chickens and ducks kept for the New Year that could be given to their benefactor.
He immediately had his family tie up the chickens and ducks and bring them over, planning to place them on the oxcart for their benefactor to take away.
"No, no, no—that's not necessary." Xun Ye tried to stop them, but the village head was just as deaf to reason as Xun Ye himself had been when he'd charged out to fight moments ago.
It wasn't just the village head's family going back to tie up chickens and ducks—the other women who had been gripping hoes also hurried home to see what they could offer as thanks.
In the span of a few sentences, only a handful of people remained at the village entrance.
Well, those standing were fewer than those lying on the ground.
Xun Ye stealthily glanced at the young scholar leaning against the oxcart, the conflict in his eyes clearly visible.
Knowing his childhood name meant the man probably wasn't trying to take advantage of him, but he had no memory of this uncle.
And also—did he even have an uncle this young?
—Godfather, save me?
The little simpleton pleaded with his eyes, truly unable to figure out which uncle this suddenly appeared man was.
Li Shimin was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. "He's your uncle, and you don't recognize him—how would I know who he is?"
The young scholar who called himself "uncle" remained perfectly composed. Seeming to sense something, he followed the little fool's gaze, found nothing there, furrowed his brow slightly, then continued waiting for his "nephew" to come forward and pay his respects.
Emperor Li Er immediately wiped the smile off his face and circled around to stand by the oxcart. Only after confirming that no one but the little simpleton could see him did he breathe a sigh of relief.
It wasn't that he was being paranoid—it was that the system malfunctioned from time to time, and he had to be careful.
Xun Ye didn't notice the silent confrontation between the man and the spirit. He truly couldn't guess who this self-proclaimed "uncle" was, and even if it was awkward, he had no choice but to steel himself and ask. "I have lived in seclusion in the countryside with my father since childhood. Might I ask who you are…"
"I am one surnamed Guo, given name Jia, from Yangdi, Yingchuan." The man shifted his posture and made a show of wiping away nonexistent tears. "That uncle and nephew should meet yet not recognize each other—your uncle is deeply grieved."
"Uncle… Uncle Guo?" Xun Ye's eyes slowly widened, barely stopping himself from blurting out the name directly.
Surnamed Guo, given name Jia, from Yingchuan—the Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao of "Alas, Fengxiao! How it pains me, Fengxiao! How I grieve for you, Fengxiao!"?
His handsome father kept to himself but certainly knew quite a few famous figures.
Just as expected of his father.
Guo Jia announced himself and, upon successfully hearing the words "Uncle Guo" from the little fool's mouth, quickly dropped his solemn act. He leaned askew against the carriage frame with a mischievous grin. "It's only been a few years, but how could A'niu have forgotten even your Uncle Guo?"
Xun Ye felt something was off about this tone—like the man's next line would be "I even held you when you were little."
Damn it. This fellow might actually be taking advantage of him.
Guo Jia cleared his throat, not giving the little simpleton a chance to dig deeper, and pointed at the "caterpillars" tied up on the ground. "What's this?"
"These fellows tried to raid the village. Fortunately, not a single one of them could fight, or the whole village would have been in danger." Xun Ye's attention was indeed diverted. Anyway, calling someone "uncle" wouldn't cost him a pound of flesh, and since the man was here, they might as well worry together. "The problem now is what to do with these fellows."
Kill them—he didn't dare do it himself, and having the villagers do it risked future repercussions.
Send them to the authorities—he was afraid the county officials were cowards who would just turn around and release them. He wasn't afraid of revenge, but the village was.
The best solution was to find a general with strict military discipline to handle the matter. Soldiers looting civilians was a capital offense. Normally one could turn a blind eye and pretend not to see, but if pursued, they would certainly make an example of them to enforce military discipline.
Since they wouldn't have to kill anyone themselves, and it would also prevent these beasts from ever causing harm again.
So the question was, where could they find a commander willing to stand up for them? Was there any officer near Luoyang who strictly disciplined his soldiers?
Guo Jia pulled his collar together and asked with a smile, "Why not take them to ask your father or uncle?"
The Xun clan members were all taking refuge in the mountains, and there was still an elder in the capital who held the rank of Sangong. Wouldn't it be easy to find an upright officer?
Even if they couldn't find an officer to champion their cause, the Xun clan was hardly incapable of dealing with a few soldiers who plundered the common folk.
What had he said before? You can't raise a child in isolation. The little fool wasn't smart to begin with, and now that he'd finally recovered, he needed even more contact with the outside world. You couldn't just take the child into seclusion with you because you couldn't bear to let him out of your sight.
"The clan is taking refuge in the mountains—how could we bring these people there?" Xun Ye was uneasy. They had entered the mountains precisely to escape the chaos of war; there was no logic in voluntarily bringing soldiers into the mountains, even if these soldiers posed no threat. "Uncle, wait a moment. I'll find some more rope to tie them to the trees, then take you into the mountains to see my father."
There were trees all around the village entrance—one tree per person. They could also have the village head find a villager to stand guard, which was far safer than letting them roll around on the ground.
Waiting around wasn't a solution. Since they couldn't come to a decision anyway, going back to the mountains for a while and then coming out again would still leave time. If they dawdled any longer, it would be dark before the problem was resolved.
"Don't worry, foster father. Today's mission will definitely be accomplished."
Li Shimin wasn't anxious. The bandit soldiers could no longer enter the village to plunder. In his view, the mission was already complete—it was just this lad's courage that still needed work.
The rope was found quickly, and the villagers who had gone to prepare thank-you gifts gradually returned. Guo Jia gestured for the driver to tie the men on the ground to the trees, so his foolish nephew could focus on dealing with the enthusiastic villagers.
It had been years since they'd last met. He was curious about how the little fool was doing now.
In his letters, Brother Zhongyu had said that after the boy regained his senses, he recovered quickly—not only was he full of energy, but he had boundless strength like an ox.
Although he hadn't seen how the lad had subdued the enemies, he could tell how the wounds on their bodies had been inflicted.
If the villagers had done it, the scene wouldn't have been this clean. A Huanshoudao or Changji could take a life easily, but a rake or hoe would leave a hole when it struck.
The villagers who hadn't fought stood trembling with their farming tools, not knowing what to do. But those who had been at death's door didn't care about such things—in their fury, they might well have beaten the bandit soldiers into pulp.
Of course, given the gap in fighting ability, the more likely outcome was that the villagers would have been slaughtered to the last while the bandit soldiers suffered only minor injuries.
In the past half year, he had traveled from Yuzhou to Jizhou and then to Sili, seeing too many ruined villages along the way. There wasn't a single place in the great Dahan that was whole. Local officials recruited soldiers and claimed to protect the people, but in reality, who knew how many were consumed by lust for power?
Guo Jia glanced at the bandit soldiers tied to the trees, then casually looked away.
Being strong, loving to hunt, and enjoying farming was one thing; subduing five armed soldiers was another. Brother Zhongyu had never mentioned that the family's child had become a martial arts prodigy after regaining his senses.
Nearby, Xun Ye simply couldn't refuse the enthusiastic village head, so he could only hang chickens and ducks all over himself and head back to the mountains with his newly arrived Uncle Guo.
Since they hadn't known how long they'd need to take refuge, they had brought at least half a year's worth of grain when they moved—barring any accidents, they should have more than the village's stores.
He'd bring some other things back later, just as a normal exchange between neighbors.
Chickens and ducks earned through one's own skill—how was that not "game"?
Xun Agu had gone out "hunting" and returned loaded with spoils, not only covered in chickens and ducks but also bringing along a Guo Fengxiao who claimed to be his uncle.
The young man bustled about setting down the chickens and ducks, went into the house to gulp down water until he was full, and only then picked through his words to tell his handsome father what had happened. "Father, you must never go out alone in the future. It's dangerous out there."
Xun Yue scrambled to his feet, nearly scared to death by his foolish son. "You fought all five of them by yourself? Were you hurt?"
"Of course not." Xun Ye struck a handsome pose and showed off with a shake of his head. "Those fellows were weak—no match for me at all."
Li Shimin drifted in slowly. "I wonder who was so scared at first that he insisted on going into the village to fetch help."
Xun Ye pretended he hadn't heard anything and continued talking to his father. "Father, Uncle Guo is right behind me. Go meet him first."
Xun Yue frowned deeply, only relaxing once he confirmed the foolish boy had not a single scratch on him. "Don't be so reckless next time."
Since he'd spotted the bandit soldiers not long after leaving, coming back to report wouldn't have taken much time—wasn't that safer than secretly following behind them?
A newborn calf fears no tiger. He truly was audacious beyond measure.
Xun Ye gave his handsome father an ingratiating smile and endured the scolding while urging him to go receive the guest.
His foster father said he was timid; his real father said he was bold. Why not have the two of them argue it out first?
Never mind—his handsome father had a gentle temper. Arguments were better left to his son, who had a silver tongue.
Guo Jia had the ox-cart stop at the entrance, carefully straightened his robes, and made sure he looked every bit as dashing and carefree as usual. Only then did he stroll in with a smile, "Zhongyu, long time no see."
Xun Yue had already learned from his son that a certain "uncle" surnamed Guo had come calling. Turning around to see him in person, his surprise was tinged with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "A-jiao is an honest lad—why did you bully him?"
Guo Jia blinked innocently. "Jia and Wenruo are deeply close. Since Zhongyu is Wenruo's elder brother, what harm is there in having A-jiao call me uncle?"
Though he was only three or five years older than the little fool, the families of Yingchuan had always kept their generational standings separate. Calculating seniority based on his close friend was perfectly reasonable.
Xun Yue let out a light chuckle. "Why not mention that I've associated with your father as a peer?"
Guo Jia shrugged. "That's between you two—nothing to do with me."
Xun Ye secretly curled his lip. What had he said? This fellow was indeed taking advantage of him.
Catching up could wait. Those five bandits were still tied up at the village entrance—first, let's teach him how to properly handle this.
Xun Yue looked at his naive, impulsive fool of a son and told him to go find Xun Yu next door. "Go tell your uncle—he'll take care of it."
"Got it." Xun Ye acknowledged, then, taking the chickens and ducks from the yard with him, he charged off again in a whirlwind.
Xun Yue shook his head with a smile, watching the fool boy leave before inviting Guo Jia inside. "How was your trip to Jizhou?"
Guo Jia found a seat on his own, propping his elbow on the low table and resting his chin on his hand, looking listless. "Jizhou is still stable, but that Yuan Benchu wishes to emulate the Duke of Zhou yet is indecisive and misses the point entirely—truly not someone worth plotting with."
Xin Ping, Guo Tu, and the others had praised Yuan Shao—Yuan Benchu, who had denounced Dong Zhuo and called for the elimination of the eunuchs—to the heavens. The more he had looked forward to going, the more disappointed he was upon returning.
If all the heroes under heaven were like Yuan Benchu, finding a scenic, secluded place to retire might not be such a bad idea.
"By the way, on my way here I came across a military camp not far from Jiluoshan, with over a thousand soldiers inside." After lamenting his disappointing trip to Jizhou, Guo Jia perked up and continued, "I went to scout out the situation. The commander in the camp is named Zhang Liao, a man of Bingzhou. He was first summoned as an attendant by Zhijinwu Ding Yuan, then recommended to serve under General He. General He sent him to Hebei to recruit troops, but by the time he returned to the capital, the situation had completely changed—so he ended up muddled and submitted to Dong Zhuo."
Xun Yue took a deep breath. "Scout? How did you scout?"
Even their A-jiao knew that military camps and bandit camps were hard to tell apart. Guo Fengxiao was a grown man—surely he hadn't just charged straight for the camp upon seeing soldiers.
"How I scouted isn't important. What matters is that that General Zhang's hometown is often raided by barbarians, so he has a deep hatred for those who plunder the people." At this, the man in question rose nimbly, showing no trace of his earlier listlessness. "Handing the bandits over to that General Zhang for disposal is the most fitting course. Zhongyu, don't fret—Jia will go find Wenruo at once."
Slipping away like oil on a pan—quick escape.
Xun Yue: ??
He really did charge straight for the camp?
One should be cautious when out and about—how is it that each one of them is more reckless than the last?