"…Alas, this old man, I'm originally from Huzhou. My family used to be known for our scholarship. These past two years of the Fair Tax Party's rebellion, that area was originally under the High Heavenly King. Last winter, that damned Fair Tax King started a war instead of enjoying the good life, and Huzhou fell into chaos. My family packed up and headed south, but on the road, my son and daughter-in-law…they were gone…"

"Alas, Old Hu, who isn't suffering…That Fair Tax King is a bastard, I tell you, I heard that back in the day he…"

"Damn them all! It's my fault for being muddleheaded in my old age! I could have brought anything, but I brought a pile of these books. My son and daughter-in-law died to protect these books, their deaths were in vain…"

"Speaking of which, my elder brother and sister-in-law were righteous people, Old Hu. Although I don't particularly like books, I know they are good…"

"What good are they? Nobody wants them, nobody wants them. I'll have to sell them here, but nobody wants them…Right, two young masters, my surname is Xu…"

"What do you mean nobody wants them? Someone wants them. Listen, Old Hu, I'll trade you this dagger for one of your books. And, and anything else on my stall that catches your eye, you name it. We can trade with each other. It's not good for you to carry all those books, and they're too heavy, Old Hu…"

As the sun set behind Xianxia Pass, Ning Ji and Qu Longjun, who had not made much money from their stall, were chatting idly with the white-haired middle-aged man selling books next to them. At first, it was a one-sided conversation, but then they became friendly and chatted enthusiastically. Ning Ji found some nice and portable trinkets, and even added half a dried rabbit, in exchange for several ancient books. This middle-aged man, who called himself "old and decaying," was clearly a book lover. However, in these times, his family was all dead, and the books had become a burden. He spoke of the hardships he had endured along the way, and selected several books in good condition for Qu Longjun, whom he considered a connoisseur, to take care of. He had almost given his life for these books, but at this entrance to the pass, nobody wanted them. His emotions were chaotic. He was troubled by not being able to sell them, but he might not be able to accept it if he actually sold them.

"…There aren't any real connoisseurs here at Xianxia Pass…There are some who are looking for bargains, but even if they find one, they have to make it to Jian'ou…Young masters, you must be careful."

He had been at this campsite for several days, struggling to accept the death of his family, then struggling to accept the reality that he was still alive, and then struggling to face the future of having to sell his books. He was broken, and probably hadn't had a normal conversation with anyone for some time. Now that two young men were being so friendly, he looked around and whispered about his observations over the past few days.

The handsome young master Qu Longjun, who was dressed neatly, brightened up: "Mr. Xu, what do you mean?"

"…Seven mountains, two parts water, and one part farmland in the Min region. The journey south is all mountainous…Some of the people who have fled here with their families have good things, real things to sell, but they all want a high price. Not many people actually buy things here…In this place, many people are waiting for others to reveal their wealth. If they can't buy it, or someone else takes it off their hands, they'll just attack on the road…You two young masters should have heard about it when you entered the pass. The road is not safe…You have so many things, you must be careful."

The white-haired middle-aged man advised. Qu Longjun cupped his fist: "Thank you, Mr. Xu."

Ning Ji reached out and patted the other man on the shoulder: "Haha, Old Hu is righteous, we understand, we understand. Look at our brothers' attire. Jiangnan is in such a mess, but we fought our way through it. We're not afraid of those few little dogs in Fuzhou!" Then he generously gave the other man an extra half a rabbit as a thank you gift. Giving food was a real extravagance. The middle-aged man, who had received an extra half a rabbit, didn't know what to say to this reckless fool. Qu Longjun, on the other hand, had gathered more information, and walked aside to discuss it with Ning Ji: "It's the same as what that gentleman at the pass said. How can the orthodox court be so chaotic? Xiao Long, did you already know?"

"I saw it as soon as we came in," Ning Ji said, sitting there with a soft laugh. "Look at that big idiot at the street corner, those people coming over, those kids playing in the mud on the straw mats, and those two people in the innermost tea stall…They all have people behind them. It's okay to look, just look openly. If they dare to glare at you, glare back. We have weapons hanging on our bodies, so we have to have the aura of experts, or else people will really bully us…These people are all spotters. Whoever really has any treasure, as long as it hasn't been sent to those two pawnshops, will be followed on the road. Before we get to Fuzhou, I'm afraid it won't be clear who the treasure belongs to, huh…"

Qu Longjun's eyes swept across the various places in the street calmly and coldly. When he lowered his head, he sighed, "That's true…Actually, when the Jurchens drove everyone to Lin'an, there were many things like this, but I was too young then…"

"That's why reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles." The two men's current attire was that Qu Longjun was learned and arrogant, while Ning Ji was reckless and uncultured. But in fact, in their private interactions, Ning Ji, the cold little military doctor, had always been in charge. Now, after saying a simple and philosophical sentence that made Qu Longjun admire him, Ning Ji jumped up from the ground and waved his hands into noodles in the setting sun: "Treasure—" He shouted loudly.

"Treasure from Jiangnan! Everyone, folks! Uncles, aunties, big sisters, big moms, come and take a look! Cash transactions, or barter. Don't miss it if you pass by. What you find is what you earn—"

This shouting made many people in the camp unable to help but look sideways, wondering where this fool came from, looking so lively and innocent. But looking at the two knives on his back, it seemed like he wasn't someone to be trifled with. The crowd suppressed their doubts and glances deep in their eyes. After a while, Qu Longjun had no choice but to shout as well: "Selling things! Selling things…"

-----------------

That day, they sold mostly needles, threads, scraps of cloth. As the sun set and torches gradually lit up in the camp, large bonfires were lit in several crowded streets. Ning Ji and Qu Longjun found an open space nearby, set up a small tent, and started a fire to cook. After eating and washing the pots and bowls, Qu Longjun sat on the ground and calculated the day's earnings with Ning Ji. Then, he drew a map of the road south on the ground, hesitantly planning how to get to Jian'ou or Fuzhou. In Qu Longjun's original studies, the Xianxia Ancient Road stretched for hundreds of miles, with continuous mountains. There were many places that could be seen, but if this place was also not peaceful, the entire travel plan would have to be modified to a certain extent. Ning Ji wasn't in a hurry, saying they could explore for a couple of days.

The opportunity to explore didn't have to wait too long. That night, someone snuck towards their tent. Ning Ji's publicity during the day had attracted a lot of attention. The first person to sneak over at midnight was a tall man who had been spotting them on the street earlier. He lifted the curtain of the tent, saw two sleeping figures inside, and then bent down to rummage through the large package placed next to them. Just as his body was halfway down, a hand grabbed his mouth and nose from behind, pulling his entire upper body backwards and pressing him firmly and silently onto the ground. Then, a small knife was stabbed into his side. The tall man tried to struggle, but the hand on his mouth and nose was as hard as steel, almost crushing his skull. The young man's cold eyes were watching him: "Don't move. It's nothing yet. If you dare to move again, I'll turn the knife around."

The small knife, stabbed in from the side, hadn't damaged his internal organs, but if it was turned, he would basically be on the verge of death. This tall man was strong and had been a tough guy in the past, but at this moment, he knew he had met a real hardliner. He gave up struggling, and the other man slowly removed his hand from his face. The handsome scholar, who had seemed colder during the day, came out of the tent with a sword. He had the demeanor of a mastermind.

[In view of the current environment, "This…killing is not allowed in this camp…" the tall man said tentatively.]

The young man who had pinned him to the ground slapped him a small backhand slap. "That depends on who it is. My brother's skills can chop you into eighteen pieces. I guarantee nobody will find out who did it." He stretched out his hand. "Alright, let's chat. Explain the situation on this Xianxia Road in detail…"

The other man explained in detail. After a long time, the other man pressed his wound under his ribs and walked away with difficulty into the darkness. The publicity during the day had not been in vain. That night, two more friends came to volunteer information. After a rough check, Ning Ji and Qu Longjun had a clear understanding of the situation on the Xianxia Ancient Road, and even had a general understanding of the situation in the entire Fujian Road. Since ancient times, roads in the mountains have been mostly dangerous. Even in the peaceful and prosperous times before the Jurchens, this Xianxia Ancient Road couldn't be said to be completely peaceful. Some bandit villages were distributed along the road, occasionally coming out to plunder. Occasionally, they were征剿 by the government. On the other hand, there were many large clans gathered in Fujian. Some villages and clans based in the mountains set up checkpoints to enrich themselves in peacetime, and occasionally moonlighted as bandits to do a big job. These were all things that had happened in the past. Now that Jiangnan had fallen and refugees were moving further south, entering Fujian Road, various forces smelled the benefits and sent people to keep an eye on them. This was originally a script that had been repeated in Jiangnan more than a decade ago. However, Fujian was geographically unique. There were only two roads leading into Min from the north. On the Xianxia Ancient Road side, in order to clear the commercial routes and the refugees' passageway, the small emperor sent Han Shizhong's Zhenhai Army to clear the Fu'ou Road and the Xianxia Road. In theory, Yue Fei and Han Shizhong in the southeast both had strong troops and horses. It should have been easy to specifically guard these mountain roads and suppress the bandits. But for some reason, after interrogating the three men, and then thinking back, Ning Ji always felt that there were many vague points in the middle.

Among the two traveling together, Qu Longjun was well-read and had experienced many worldly affairs, but after all, he had not undergone professional military and political training, so he was not so sensitive to some things. Although Ning Ji was unlearned, he had been exposed to the ideas of the high-level officials in the Chinese army, and had long been trained in various interrogations to pick out details. This morning, before dawn, the two men were sitting in the tent discussing, and he frowned seriously.

"…In theory…According to our Southwest's saying, if the world wants strong troops and horses today, the several forces that are more likely to succeed are mobilizing the masses. The small court in the Southeast is doing something strange called "Respecting the King and Expelling the Barbarians," which is actually supporting new people to fight old people, and supporting young forces to fight decaying forces. According to the news from Jiangning last year and the beginning of this year, the small emperor seized power before, and took action against several large clans, big households, and large maritime merchants, and the situation was not bad. He should have regained some power. But this time, why is the resistance on this Xianxia Road even stronger? These bandits are calling the government people "yellow dogs," and are almost saying that they are righteous people. What's going on? The masses haven't been mobilized, and the bandits haven't been suppressed. They're all swaggering around here. Is Han Shizhong just a showpiece…"

The previous interrogation of the three men mainly asked about the regional division of bandit villages and road robbers on the Xianxia Ancient Road. Qu Longjun didn't expect "Little Dragon Bro" to think of such big things from the details he had casually touched upon. He admired him in his heart, and then frowned and thought about it. "I've always heard that the clan forces in Min are many and stable. Many places are conservative and closed off. Maybe even if we want to mobilize the masses, it's not that simple in these places. This…His Majesty, to take power downwards, the big households on the surface may not be able to withstand his troops, but if they really show their cards and secretly make trouble, I'm afraid there are many. Could it be that General Han didn't not fight, but really can't beat them…"

"Hoh." In the darkness, Ning Ji thought about it, sat there and blinked his eyes. "That would be interesting…"

-----------------

The speculation and imagination about the situation in Fujian can only be regarded as thinking in leisure. For the two of them, the most realistic problem was still the arrangement of the route south to Fuzhou. The two stayed in the camp for two more days, and on March 15th, they left Xianxia Pass with a large team escorted by a small group of Zhenhai Army troops, and headed south along the mountain road. However, after traveling together for half a day, they left the team again and went to explore the secluded mountains around them. The purpose of the two men's journey south was to travel around. After crossing Xianxia Ridge, the mountains of Fujian were vast and magnificent, with many scenic spots recorded in books. Ning Ji had also received various wilderness survival training early on. The two men led Zao Hua horse and traveled along the hidden mountain roads in the mountains. It was late spring at this time, the trees in the mountains were lush, the wildflowers were blooming, and the clouds in the sky gathered and dispersed, which was also unpredictable. In the spring, there was occasional rain. The two men held hands and walked together. Sometimes they hid in the depressions under the cliffs, set up tents, and lit a fire. Ning Ji hunted some wild game and grilled it on the fire, with a fragrant smell. There were also times when they had to take off their clothes and dry them by the fire. Qu Longjun wore close-fitting small clothes and a coat, looking handsome and moving. Sometimes the place they chose had a small stream flowing by. Qu Longjun sat by the water and soaked his white feet in the stream. The two men laughed and talked, and occasionally Qu Longjun sang softly. Although the road was difficult, both men's hearts were filled with warmth and freedom. In this way, by the end of March, the two men encountered other green forest people in the mountains beside the Xianxia Ancient Road.