Yan State, northern part, Hongshi Town. Despite its name, Hongshi Town is actually just a small village of thirty or forty households. Its former location on the border, where the imperial court had stationed post stations and barracks, made it prosperous for a time. Later, the defense line outside the Great Wall was withdrawn over three hundred miles, and the place immediately fell into decline.
Hongshi Town is located on the east side of Dacang Mountain. It is a cold and harsh land that is not suitable for farming. However, this red soil is quite suitable for making ceramics. Therefore, the villagers have two ways of making a living, either as potters or as hunters.
It was the depths of winter, the north wind howling, goose-feather snowflakes drifting across the sky, the world a vast expanse. At dawn, the snow had not yet stopped, and while most people were wrapped in blankets and fast asleep by the fire, along the path outside Red Rock Town came a boy of twelve or thirteen, wrapped in an old goat-skin coat and carrying a bamboo basket on his back.
The young man was not wearing a hat, his face was slightly dark, his nose was straight and his mouth was square. Snowflakes fell on his face, but he seemed not to notice.
There is a small river outside Hongshi Town. The river is not wide, but it never dries up all year round. The government built a barracks in Hongshi Town because of this water source.
By this time, the river had already frozen over. The young man put down his bamboo basket and walked back and forth along the riverbank for a while. He chose a spot, took out an axe from the basket, and scratched a large circle on the ice. Then he took out his iron chisel and, measuring the circle with his hand, dug a hole for every palm's width. His movements were so practiced that in a short while he had made more than twenty holes. He then picked up the axe again, turned it upside down, and pressed lightly and heavily along the holes. After a moment, with a crack, the ice had fallen away in a circle, revealing the river water beneath.
The boy found a piece of torn leather felt and sat down. He set up the rod and line and started fishing in the ice cave. After a while, he had caught three or four big fish. The fish meat was especially delicious after the winter, and the boy couldn't help but show his joy.
The wind and snow grew stronger, soon enveloping him completely. At that moment, a large head suddenly poked out from behind a snow-covered bush on the hill behind the riverbank. It turned out to be a large blue wolf. The blue wolf was obviously extremely hungry. It stared at the young man, drooling at the corner of its mouth.
Seeing the boy's back turned, completely unaware, the blue wolf crouched and tiptoed, slowly approaching the boy. Soon, he was only four or five feet away. The boy was completely wrapped in the wind and snow, holding the pole in both hands, completely unaware, and just staring at the water surface of the ice cave.
The blue wolf did not attack at all. It lay motionless behind a big tree on the river bank. In a moment, the snow covered its entire body. Even if you walked close to it, you would not be able to find it without careful observation.
After another cup of tea, the float trembled. A fish had taken the bait. The young man was overjoyed. He stood up, gripped the rod with both hands, and pulled the line tight. Just as he was pulling, the wolf shook off the snowflakes and leaped out like lightning, its bloody mouth biting the boy's neck.
It turned out that the blue wolf was quite intelligent among animals and was known for its cunning in catching prey. It was lying behind the tree waiting for this moment. It guessed that the young man's mind was all on the fish that was about to be caught, and he was holding the fishing rod tightly with both hands. Coupled with the howling north wind, it was impossible for him to avoid its lightning attack.
The young man seemed unaware, his eyes fixed on the water. When the blue wolf flew into the air and approached the young man's back, the young man suddenly flipped his right hand, revealing an iron axe. Without even turning his head, he swung the back of the axe at the blue wolf's nose.
The blue wolf had charged forward with all its might, its force immense. The broad axe blade struck the blue wolf right on its most vulnerable nose. The blue wolf howled in pain and landed heavily on the ice, its nose fractured and its face covered in blood. Without hesitation, the young man dropped his fishing rod and struck the blue wolf's neck with the axe blade, sending another shower of blood splattering.
The blue wolf suffered heavy blows one after another. Although it was ferocious, it had completely lost its fighting spirit. It rolled over and got up, turned around and fled straight into the woods.
The boy had already thrown down his fishing rod and was chasing after the wolf with an axe. The blue wolf was extremely fast and had run more than ten feet away in the blink of an eye. While chasing, the boy bent down and picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground. With a wave of his hand, the stone hit the blue wolf's head.
The green wolf was already so hungry that it had little strength left, so it ran down the mountain to the village to look for food. It had been seriously injured by the two axes before, and it was bleeding profusely while running. It was hit by a stone and fell to the ground in the snow. The young man had already caught up with it, stepped on the green wolf's head with one foot, and chopped the green wolf to death with two axes.
The young man loosened his feet and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the blue wolf was dead. Although the fight had not lasted long, it had consumed most of his strength. After all, he was only a thirteen-year-old boy.
The boy dragged the wolf by its tail to the riverside, then took out a sharp boning knife and carefully fiddled with the wolf. The wolf only had injuries on its nose and side neck, but the fur on its body was intact. The boy was overjoyed. He thought that this wolf skin could be sold at a good price, and the wolf meat could be eaten by the whole family. Together with the four or five river fish he caught, today's harvest was really good.
The young man looked up and saw that the snowflakes had softened. It was almost noon. He had been planning to spend the day fishing by the river, but he had unexpectedly shot a blue wolf. He didn't want to delay any longer. He packed up his things, tied the blue wolf by its tail with a rope, and headed back to the village.
This small river is three miles away from Hongshi Town. It has been snowing for two days, and the snow on the road has been crushed into solid ice, making it quite difficult to walk.
The young man was carrying a large load on his back, the blue wolf alone weighing at least 40 to 50 kilograms. After a meal's worth of walking, he finally reached the village entrance. In the distance, he could see fine feathers flying in the sky, and smoke curling from several chimneys in the village. The young man finally breathed a sigh of relief. Wild animals abounded in the Da Cang Mountains, and blue wolves often moved in packs, with a keen sense of smell. The young man was extremely worried that the scent of the dead wolf would attract other wolves.
The young man stepped onto the bluestone road at the entrance of the village, finally feeling very happy. He calculated how much silver he could sell the wolf skin for and what he could buy for his poor family.
At this time, he had walked to the first house at the entrance of the village. This was not a residence of anyone, but a land temple. The temple naturally enshrined the land god, but there was no temple priest. Usually, no one took care of it. Only during the New Year festival would the villagers come to burn incense and pray.
The young man walked slowly past the land temple and took a quick look. He saw a Taoist priest sitting in front of the temple. His facial features were regular, except for a long and thin scar on his left cheek and three long strands of beard under his chin. He was leaning against the earth wall. There was originally a rough silk notice on the wall. It had been worn out by wind and sun and could be vaguely seen on it: "...It is my wish to find wise men to share the country..."
What was strange was that in the middle of winter, the Taoist priest was only wearing a thin green robe and his face was pale, and it was unclear whether he was hungry or cold.
The young man was startled. He had taken this same route this morning, passing the Earth God Temple, and he didn't remember seeing the man at the temple entrance. He looked around again, but there were no footprints either. However, it was snowing, so it was not uncommon for the man's traces to be covered by the snow.