Wen Chaosheng's last few words pierced like a sharp sword into one's chest. A Shui pursed her lips and was lost in thought for a long time. Later, she no longer met Wen Chaosheng's gaze, turning her head to look at the wind and snow outside. Her pupils reflected countless snowflakes swirling in the strong winds as she said, "Ku Hai County is prosperous, yet as a local official, County Magistrate Liu Jinshi cannot tolerate a single refugee in his eyes. He is indeed hateful."
Wen Chaosheng picked up two dry branches from the ground, used them to pick up a perfectly cooked frog, and slowly began to eat it.
The frog meat was tender, and although there were no seasonings, it became the most delicious food on this snowy night.
"This is... the first time I've heard... that Ku Hai County... is prosperous..."
His voice was muffled.
"The truly prosperous one... is probably only County Magistrate Liu Jinshi alone."
"As for the common people, many are so poor they can barely survive. Zhang Hunter, who used to live in the west of the city, was the most renowned hunter in Ku Hai County more than ten years ago. He single-handedly captured a tiger. Ha, what a glorious sight! Many people wouldn't dare to do it, or even think about it, in their entire lives... Yet now, such a glorious person has fallen to the point of eating frogs from the mud, just like me."
A faint, almost imperceptible gleam flashed in the depths of A Shui's eyes, and her tone carried a hint of urgency: "That's not right. Ku Hai County clearly has favorable weather, stable public order, and the people live in peace and contentment. How could it be..."
Wen Chaosheng meticulously chewed and swallowed the frog bones.
"Where did you get that information?"
A Shui opened her mouth, but then suddenly paused. After a moment of silence, she only said, "A friend."
Wen Chaosheng laughed, and after he finished, he said, "Then you should stay away from that friend in the future."
"He's full of lies; you wouldn't even know if he sold you out one day."
A Shui's face was expressionless; she didn't know what she was thinking. After Wen Chaosheng finished the two frogs in the pot, he stood up and walked out of the dilapidated temple, washing his hands with the snow piled on the steps.
"I left one for your soup. I'm heading back first."
A Shui thought of something and casually asked, "Did you make the tattered clothes on that black dog?"
Wen Chaosheng didn't turn his head, and his voice gradually faded into the distance: "Dog Master brought me here back then. He saved my life, and I couldn't watch him freeze to death in this snow."
"Counting this fate, you were also saved by Dog Master."
A Shui watched Wen Chaosheng's black silhouette pass through the vast falling snow, disappearing into the depths of the night. She stood in a daze for a while, then served herself a bowl of soup and slowly drank it...
...
The next day, the snow continued to fall. Wen Chaosheng endured another night, relying on the bedding left by the old hunter. He left the treehouse early, preparing to try his luck by the ditch again.
When he passed the small stone bridge again today, Wen Chaosheng saw a dark figure there. As he approached, he realized it was the old hunter.
The old hunter was covered in white frost, looking as if he had been waiting on the stone bridge for a while, and he carried some common digging tools.
When their eyes met, Wen Chaosheng spoke, "Auntie Mi didn't have any adverse reactions after eating last night, did she?"
The old hunter vaguely grunted, looking at Wen Chaosheng, seemingly wanting to say something. His lips moved, but he couldn't speak.
The latter understood everything upon seeing the old hunter's demeanor.
The old hunter intended to go dig for frogs with him, but he simply couldn't bring himself to say it, feeling ashamed.
Zhang Hunter was considered top-tier among his peers in Ku Hai County. He had been glorious for most of his life, with outstanding achievements. Many younger peers regarded him as a goal and a role model. Yet now, he had fallen to the point of having to ask a refugee for advice on how to catch frogs to eat.
This kind of behavior was no different from discarding the pride and dignity he had built over several decades.
Zhang Hunter was a strong-willed person; Wen Chaosheng never doubted that.
The only thing that could make him compromise was his wife, who had accompanied him for most of his life.
"It's snowing today, so don't have too much hope. This stuff isn't as easy to find as you might imagine."
"I used to go two or three days in a row without finding frogs to eat, but if there are two of us, the situation might be better."
Wen Chaosheng led the silent Zhang Hunter to search for frogs and explained to him the experience and essence of finding them.
The other party was not an ordinary person, but a hunter with keen senses.
Although he was old, some things ingrained in his bones would not be easily lost.
With the help of the old hunter, their search area today directly expanded threefold, and efficiency improved. They also managed to dig out Twelve frogs.
Although their luck was not as good as yesterday, their harvest was greater.
As the sun set in the west, a rare sense of vigor appeared on Zhang Hunter's weathered, dark face, which was full of wrinkles. He carefully counted the frogs in the snakeskin bag, over and over, three times in a row. Finally, he took out half of them for Wen Chaosheng, but the latter only took four.
Actually, he had only found three today; the rest were all dug up by Zhang Hunter.
Wen Chaosheng wondered if this was like fishing, with some kind of beginner's protection mechanism, or if Zhang Hunter, indeed worthy of being a decades-long veteran hunter, truly had techniques and eyesight that he couldn't compare to. In the end, he did not accept the two frogs Zhang Hunter strongly pushed on him, only instructing Zhang Hunter to eat sparingly, because they might not be able to dig them up every day. He also reminded him that frogs not eaten should be buried in the snow; once they warm up, they will awaken from hibernation.
After parting ways, Wen Chaosheng returned to the dilapidated temple.
A Shui was not there today. He didn't know if she had left or gone to the county town. After she left, the ruined temple once again returned to its usual deserted state. Wen Chaosheng sighed in relief and, as usual, boiled a pot of soup with frogs.
During this time, he went to check a corner of the dilapidated temple; the well-sharpened firewood knife was still stored there.
After eating the frogs, Wen Chaosheng counted the days on his fingers and muttered to himself, facing the falling snow outside the temple, "The New Year is coming soon."
A thousand years ago, this world originally had only one dynasty. After Chunqiu Yuandi's death, the empire split into Four Kingdoms: Southern Qi, Northern Yan, Eastern Zhao, and Western Chen.
In pursuit of unification, the Four Kingdoms waged continuous wars, each refusing to submit to the others.
It wasn't until more than five hundred years ago that Cultivators of the Heavenly Human Realm from various countries united to finally quell the wars. The kings of the Four Kingdoms signed an alliance, jointly establishing the reign title "Eternal Peace."
Thus, the wars finally ceased.
However, Wen Chaosheng sometimes felt that perhaps he would have lived with more dignity in times of war and chaos than he did now.
After eating, he returned to the treehouse.
For the next four days, he did not see A Shui.
Wen Chaosheng thought this was a good thing. It proved that either A Shui had found her parents, or she had left this place. In short, she was gone, and the trouble was also gone. He also wouldn't have to share his only precious food with this dangerous woman of unknown origin.
On New Year's Eve, the wind and snow were exceptionally heavy and cold. Wen Chaosheng only lingered outside the county town to listen to the firecrackers celebrating the New Year, and he nearly froze to death on the way back.
When he returned to the dilapidated temple to make a fire, his legs were uncontrollably trembling. It took three bowls of hot soup for him to finally recover.
Once warmed, Wen Chaosheng leaned against the stone statue to rest, his mind beginning to rehearse how he would deal with County Magistrate Liu Jinshi next month when he went to claim his identity, if the magistrate refused. How would he strike with the knife—horizontally or vertically? Two cuts or three? Neck or belly? These were all things he had to plan in advance. Although Wen Chaosheng had never killed anyone, he knew that life and death were instantaneous. County Magistrate Liu Jinshi would certainly not lack fawning lackeys by his side, and if he hesitated even for a moment, the opportunity might be lost.
He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the increasingly clear footsteps in the wind and snow behind him.
It wasn't until a crisp female voice sounded that he was finally pulled back to reality.
"Chaosheng, are you here?"
Wen Chaosheng turned around and saw a small girl, dressed in red fur and wrapped in a sheepskin blanket, standing at the temple entrance. She pursed her lips, her delicate face pale from the strong wind and snow. Upon seeing Wen Chaosheng, the girl's eyes lit up, and then she grinned, immediately scurrying to sit by the fire behind the stone statue.
When she spread out the sheepskin blanket, snowflakes fell all over the ground, but they quickly melted into nothingness in the reflection of the firelight.
"It's New Year's today. What are you doing here?" Wen Chaosheng asked, staring at the girl across the fire.
The girl placed a food basket in front of Wen Chaosheng, rubbed her cold little hands, and with a timid and shy expression on her face, she whispered, "Yes, it's New Year's Day today. Mama let everyone rest and even paid for me and my sisters to eat braised pork. I secretly packed some..."
She looked at Wen Chaosheng's eyes, which flickered with the firelight, and suddenly became very nervous, forgetting what she was going to say next. A blush appeared on her small face from holding it in. Finally, she took a deep breath, glanced to the side, and spread out her fair, tender hands, gesturing towards the food basket, she said, "Anyway... it's for you to eat."