On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Pan Long and Han Feng played in Wugong Town all day.

This year, it is a coincidence that the first day of the New Year is the beginning of spring, and the New Year and the Spring Festival are the same day, so it is particularly lively. Competitions, markets, and sacrifices are all held one after another. Han Feng dragged Pan Long to run around and rushed everywhere.

They got into the sacrificial team outside the field, and then they were sprinkled with willow branches and everyone laughed.

They went around the market and bought a lot of food, but Pan Long could hardly hold it with both hands - he didn't eat much snacks, which were eaten by Han Feng, who claimed that "my ancestors must have the blood of Taotie."

They watched the competition and watched the shirtless men carrying statues of gods on cold weather, shouting "Government and peace and prosperity", while walking around the streets and cheering with everyone.

This day was really lively.

But no matter how much fun the more, they will eventually pass. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, they set off with the caravan and headed towards the south.

The caravans in Wugong Town are not large, only fourteen or five people. Their means of transportation are donkeys and horses and wheelbarrows. Needless to mention donkeys and horses, the wheelbarrows are poor in that they can adapt to the rugged and narrow terrain than ordinary vehicles and can be used to cross the plank roads in Zhongnan Mountain.

Of course, with such transportation conditions, they naturally could not walk very fast, and they stopped and stopped all the way until the evening, and only walked twenty-five or six miles.

"This is too slow!" When camping at night, Han Feng said to Pan Long privately, "I can't even walk thirty miles a day, and now it's still a flat road. When I'm about to reach the plank road, aren't they crawling like turtles!"

Pan Long also felt that these merchants were walking a little slow. Before, they had to walk forty miles a day when they followed the Chang'an caravan.

The two discussed and said goodbye to the caravan leader.

The team leader did not stop him. On the contrary, he was quite happy to separate from these two young men.

When you go out, you should pay attention to harmony and make money. If you can tolerate it, you should tolerate it. But these two young people carry arches and swords, with agile movements and sharp eyes. You can tell at a glance that they are young warriors who are exploring the world. Such people are young and energetic, and they cannot suffer any loss or swallow their breath. If you are with them, you will cause trouble even if you don’t have any trouble!

He had not rejected Pan Long and Han Feng's request to join before, but he was just a habit of "not causing trouble". Now the two of them have offered to leave, and he was too happy.

Early in the morning of the third day of the Chinese New Year, Pan Long and Han Feng had breakfast and set off.

They rode two slow horses bought in Wugong Town and walked leisurely on the road. The slow horses naturally couldn't walk fast, but they were much faster than the caravan. Soon, they left the caravan far behind.

At the end of the day, compared with the milestones on the roadside, they had already walked thirty-five or six miles, which was much faster than the caravan.

It’s a pity that when we were resting at night, the two slow horses looked exhausted and obviously we could not travel like this anymore.

"This horse is so bad!" Looking at their listless appearance, Han Feng said unhappily, "It's far from the horses we used to do!"

But there is nothing we can do about it. Their previous horses have been sold with the carriage. In Wugong Town, there is no special good horse.

Although good horses come from the northwest, good horses have naturally been monopolized by the large mule and horse chambers of commerce and transported them to the Central Plains in groups. If you want to buy good horses in a small place like Wugong Town... it is not bad, but the price is too unreasonable.

During the days when Han Feng was drunk and sleeping, Pan Long had already visited all the shops in Wugong Town, and naturally asked about the price of the horses. He originally planned to buy two good horses, but after thinking about it, he decided to change it to a slow horse.

"If you can't run, you can't run. We'll walk tomorrow and just lead the horse." After hearing Han Feng's complaint, he said easily, "Or we can walk for a long time and ride for a long time... Anyway, the things are thrown in the bag, and you don't have to carry a load, so you can walk very easily."

Han Feng thought about it for a while and thought it seemed to be OK, so he stopped complaining.

In the next few days, they walked a long way and rode a long way. The two alternated, and the speed was indeed not slow.

The slow horses cannot run fast and cannot carry heavy objects. However, walking normally without weight is effortless for them, but they can recover some strength. In this way, they are not tired. Pan Long and Han Feng can also take a break from time to time, making the trip easier.

But when they walked through Shanbei Town at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain and began to embark on the mountaineering road, the situation finally became different.

Zhongnan Mountain is not a particularly steep mountain, and its mountain roads are not particularly rugged. At least compared with the Guimen Mountain that Pan Long and the others walked before, this famous mountain is much more friendly.

Not only that, the road to cross Zhongnan Mountain was also built quite wisely.

This mountain road, which is said to have been planned by Emperor Jiazi in the past, is winding and walking as far as possible in a relatively low terrain. Although the road is long, the mountain is relatively not that high.

If the mountains are not high, the climate will naturally not be too cold and the air will not be too thin. For those who want to cross mountains and ridges, it is completely worthwhile to take a longer road to exchange for this benefit.

Of course, if a martial arts master is in a hurry, he can naturally walk along the old mountain road before the establishment of the Daxia Dynasty. In that case, he may be able to cross Zhongnan Mountain in just two or three days.

Just like the caravans of the Chang'an Chamber of Commerce crossed Guimen Mountain, it was a bit difficult, but it was indeed fast enough.

Generally speaking, roads like the Old Mountain Road in Zhongnan Mountain and Guimen Mountain Road are common sense. Roads like the Old Mountain Plank Road in Zhongnan Mountain are relatively rare.

If the plank road is built for a long time, it will be difficult to build and maintain it. This practice is not consistent with people's long-standing habits.

If it weren't for Emperor Jiazi's outstanding prestige and everyone obeyed his command, it would be impossible for such a long plank road that would be built.

It was not until the plank road was repaired and it became easy and safe to pass through Zhongnan Mountain along the plank road, that people realized how far-sighted and wise Di Jiazi was.

Unfortunately, as time goes by, the court's maintenance of this plank road has gradually decreased. This once safe "Zhongnan Tan Road" is no longer as smooth as it used to be.

"小村" The slow horse, which was stepping on the air because the wooden board broke, was neighing, but could not hold its body in a stable position. It directly tilted out of the plank road, and then neighed and fell down, falling into the woods not far below. In an instant, only the sound of collision was left, and no more horse sound could be heard.

Pan Long and Han Feng looked at each other, and their foreheads were covered with cold sweat.

They originally planned to be very skilled in martial arts, but they were just walking with horses. They were not carrying weights, and they were completely lightweight, so they should be safer. Who knew that they had encountered this situation after walking less than half a day.

"Just... I actually wanted to pull it." After a long time, Han Feng calmed down and said tremblingly, "If I pulled it just now... I'm afraid I'd fallen down, right?"

Pan Long nodded seriously: "A horse is not light, you can't hold it. And even if you hold it, God knows whether the wooden board under your feet can hold it... On this road, we are afraid that we can't take the horse with us. When this plank road is finished, we will release it into the mountains and forests, so as not to ruin its life in vain."

The two of them walked forward with fear and tentative attitude. In just over five or six miles, they walked for most of the day. It was not until the sunset that they had finished walking the plank road.

Along the way, they encountered three or four more times when the wooden boards were rotten and broken. Fortunately, they were prepared to avoid the danger.

Walking like this will naturally cause great energy to your spirit. As soon as they left the plank road, they couldn't help but breathe heavily, as if they were going to spit out all the thrills that came from the day so that they could calm themselves down.

This section of mountain road between the plank roads is built on a relatively flat hillside. Not to mention the wide road, there are several open spaces made of stones, which can be seen as being used for the passers-by to rest. On the open space, there are even a few wooden houses that look almost the same, which are enough to shelter from the wind and rain.

Pan Long and Han Feng released the lucky horse. Seeing it taking off its harness and happily walked into the mountains and forests, they put away their things and chose a wooden house to go in.

This wooden house is much stronger than they expected, and it looks obvious that there are many signs of repair. It may be that passers-by are maintaining it, or the mountain people who go into the mountains to collect herbs and hunt are maintaining its condition in good condition.

They even saw some chopped dry wood, soft grass, and ready-made squirrels and turtle next to the stove.

"This is the so-called 'hunter', right?" When the fire broke out, Han Feng sat next to the stove and roasted the fire, saying happily, "Every passerby can stay here. As a price, you have to help replenish firewood before leaving... I just heard people mention it before, but I didn't expect to see it today!"

The north is bitter and cold, and the wilderness is full of dangers. It is impossible to live for a long time, so naturally there is no "hunter's hut". Zhongnan Mountain may not be safe, but it is already close to the hinterland of Jiuzhou, and there are many people going to the mountains to hunt and hunt treasures. After all, this place is still close to the outside world, and it is not surprising that there is a properly maintained hunter's hut.

The two of them closed the doors and windows, tightened the locks, took turns to sleep, and spent the night peacefully. At night, they could only hear the howling mountain wind, and the snarling sound of wild beasts roaring, which made people feel a little uneasy.

When changing shifts, Han Feng suddenly said, "Brother Long, will the horse we let go... be eaten by some beast?"

Judging from his somewhat melancholy appearance, I was afraid that it was a few hours of night to think about this.

Pan Long was stunned for a moment and replied: "It can only be considered unlucky if you are eaten. Besides, it may not be eaten. Anyway, it is better than following us and then falling to death like the previous horse."

Han Feng thought about it, smiled with peace of mind, and then went to sleep loudly, snoring as loud as a drum beat.

"This kid looks heartless, but in fact he is quite delicate." Looking at him sleeping soundly, thinking of his frowning and worried look just now, Pan Long couldn't help laughing, "After all, he is still a child. Even if he is a horse, he will have feelings after spending so many days together."

He looked at the flames in the furnace, listened to the mountain wind and beasts outside, but couldn't help but remember the two worlds he had experienced in the fragments of the Shanhai Sutra.

(When I was not here, did those two worlds really not exist?)

(What changes will happen if they continue to exist?)

(Fragments of Shanhai Jing, Jiuzhou Ding, Emperor Jiazi, my ancestors... What kind of stories do they have?)

As he thought about it, he suddenly laughed.

Life is like this full of unknowns, and it is interesting to have enough secrets waiting for you to explore!

Isn’t this life full of dangers but also full of opportunities? Isn’t it what I always wanted to pursue when I lived in a peaceful world?

(It's really good to be able to travel to such a world and have such an opportunity!)
Chapter completed!