Chapter 63 A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
Lin Xiao put the refined-level sword that had three gaps cut by Wuer's Duzun Sword at home, took a new refined-level sword and the White Bird Sword with him, and carried a bag on his back with some dried meat in it.
, dry food such as pancakes, a change of underwear, robes, and the book "Shenting Volume 2" were also brought with me. I just thought the myths in it were quite interesting, and I also brought a water bag filled with water.
He was carrying some broken silver and several thousand taels of silver notes, with denominations of one thousand and one hundred.
Don’t worry about money and food both physically and mentally.
"Brother, you have to take care of yourself when you are out here alone." Zhou Zheng was reluctant to leave. This was Lin Xiao's first real trip. The journey was far away, more than a thousand miles, and it would take quite a while just to go back and forth.
, not to mention the return date has not yet been determined.
Maybe it's a month, maybe it's three months, maybe it's half a year, maybe it's longer.
"Without me pushing you all the time, you can't relax. You must study hard so that you can enter Dongzhou University in the future." Lin Xiao warned in a serious tone.
It must be said that the goal is becoming more and more ambitious.
At first, I just wanted Zhou Zheng to go to school on Wuli Street, Qingtong Township, and become a teacher in the future. He would have no worries about food and clothing, and have a certain status. At least he could live a stable life, and then he would gradually become rich.
Thinking of going to the academy in the county town, from the outer city to the academy in the inner city, at this time I can no longer just be a teacher, I have to have a greater ambition, which is to be an official.
They are not officials from the City Health Department, nor officials from the Zhenwu Division, but other civilian officials, who are not as hardworking as the City Health Department and not as dangerous as the Zhenwu Division.
Now, the goal is even higher. Dongzhou Academy is one of the top universities in the dynasty. If you can enter it, you must have rich knowledge. Everyone is an elite. Anyone who can successfully leave the academy can
Become a pillar of the country, no matter what industry you are in.
How bold the people are, how productive the land will be. Don't be afraid of not being able to do it, just be afraid of not being able to think of it.
"Don't worry, brother, I will definitely study hard and be admitted to Dongzhou University in the future." Zhou Zheng said impassionedly.
I rubbed Zhou Zheng’s head, because after a long time, I couldn’t do it anymore.
"Let's go, Master Nephew, I will leave Azheng to you." Lin Xiao smiled at Yuan Wu.
"Little Junior Uncle, you can go with peace of mind. As long as I'm here, Junior Brother will be fine." Yuan Wu's chest beat loudly like a drum.
"Say something nice. What does it mean to go with peace of mind?" Lin Xiao retorted.
"Then let's go in peace." Yuan Wu was startled and then changed his words. Lin Xiao suddenly waved his hand helplessly. Forget it, just say whatever you like.
gone.
Without riding a horse, this trip to Dongji County was not only to get back the Xingliu Sword from the Yijian Gate, but also to return the sword to Wen Jingxi. But, more than that, Lin Xiao remembered those words deeply.
If you are not sure about something, you can ask the sword. If you are not sure of the sword, you can ask your heart. If you are not sure of your heart, you can ask the way.
If you need a reason to draw a sword, then go out and travel through the mountains and rivers to find yourself a truth about how to draw a sword. Only in this way can the sword truly break free from the constraints and be unrestrained.
"I hope one day I can draw my sword without hesitation." Lin Xiao said silently.
At that time, there will be nothing that can restrain my sword. I wonder how fast it will be at that time? How strong will it be?
That kind of lack of restraint is different from Yuan Wu's not thinking so much. It is Lin Xiao's detachment after thinking about the experience again and again and finding the truth after settling.
As for now, it's still early days.
Lin Xiao didn't go too far. Some things don't just work by thinking about them, they also have to be done. Doing and thinking are combined to achieve results.
Measuring the earth with his feet, Lin Xiao left Lin'an County and walked to the East District, saying goodbye to Feng Yuan and others.
"I'm here to wish Brother Lin good luck in martial arts." Ma Guangyuan said solemnly.
"The good news from the gang leader." Lin Xiao smiled and immediately patted Feng Yuan on the shoulder: "Let's go. See you next time. I hope you have practiced internally."
"Perhaps I will already be a real martial artist by then." Feng Yuan said scornfully: "You should worry about yourself, don't let me catch up."
"It's a good thing to have this confidence, but you must also recognize the reality clearly." Lin Xiao said earnestly, Feng Yuan even rolled his eyes, and then Lin Xiao looked at the Scorpion Lady standing aside, well, she was still so plump: "Sister, let's go.
, see you next time.”
The Scorpion Lady stretched out her hand and waved silently, but she was thinking that she should leave too.
"It's not an option to just escape. You have to face it after all."
...There are seven county towns under Kunning County, and Lin'an County is just one of them. Some county towns are closer to Kunning County, and some are farther away from Kunning County. For example, the town where Lin Xiao came across Qingtong Township is named
The distance between Xinshan County and Kunning County is the entire Lin'an County.
Therefore, it is even more difficult for ordinary people to go to the county town, and it often takes five or six hours to walk.
Xinshan County is more mountainous than Lin'an County, and its overall living conditions are not as good as Lin'an County.
Lin Xiao didn't plan to stay in Xinshan County any longer, but he also didn't plan to cross over and leave quickly. There had to be a process.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Ask the sword, ask the heart, ask the road, where is the road?
The road is at your feet.
If you walk in a hurry and rush to somewhere in a hurry, you will undoubtedly ignore many scenery along the way, whether good or bad.
Xinshan County is also divided into inner and outer cities. Lin Xiao walked on the streets of the inner city, looking at the pedestrians and the city guards patrolling the streets. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that the shops and streets in Xinshan County seemed inferior to those in Lin'an County.
One step ahead.
It's just a feeling, nothing more.
When Lin Xiao saw a young man in tattered clothes and a well-dressed man passing each other, they stumbled and bumped into each other. They bowed in fear: "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean it... I really didn't mean it."
…”
"Get away." The well-dressed man looked at the young man with torn clothes and stains on his face, said in disgust, and kicked him over.
The young man rolled on the spot and quickly stood up and glanced at the man angrily, but there was a surprise that was hard to hide in his eyes. He ran wildly, as if he was afraid of being caught up and beaten up.
However, Lin Xiao raised the corner of his mouth slightly and followed him slightly, because Lin Xiao clearly saw that the young man deliberately bumped into the well-dressed man, and skillfully took out the man's wallet that had not been touched yet.
its discovery.
Habitual thief!
A skilled and habitual thief.
So what is his purpose in stealing money?
Is it like what was written in the novels I have read in the past, where you still have to raise a group of homeless children?
Like a vigilante?
This is interesting.
But later Lin Xiao said that the content of the novel may not be true and can also be deceptive.
There was no such thing as a group of homeless children, not even one of them. The young man returned to his home, washed himself, put on clean clothes, and went to spend money with the stolen money.
That's right, he went to spend money. First he went to the largest restaurant in Xinshan County and ordered the most expensive food. After eating, he went to a brothel.
It simply refreshed Lin Xiao's outlook on life.
"The place you should go to is the City Health Department." Lin Xiao appeared in front of the young man and said slowly.
"Who are you? I don't know you? What does it have to do with you where I'm going?" The young man was startled at first, then looked at Lin Xiao with a fierce look on his face and asked three times in a row.
"Should you take the initiative to surrender to the City Health Department, or should I take you there?" Lin Xiao gave a choice between the two.
"I'll go by myself." The young man responded immediately with a roll of his eyes. Then he turned around and walked slowly forward for a few steps. Suddenly, he turned into the alley nimbly and started running at a speed that would be difficult for most people of the same age.
I was able to catch up, and I was secretly proud of myself while running wildly.
It's still too early for you to deal with me.
When he rushed out of the alley, he suddenly stopped, his eyes narrowed, he gritted his teeth, and immediately turned around. The moment he turned around, he saw Lin Xiao appearing in front of him again, looking like a ghost.
"What do you want..." The young man sat down and shouted with a cry: "I am just a poor orphan without a father and a mother, why do you all bully me..."
"Go to the City Health Department." Lin Xiao just looked at it calmly and said slowly, unmoved at all, because Lin Xiao had seen all the actions of this young man before, and maybe he didn't know enough about his past experiences.
, but just based on what he did in front of him, it was enough to go to the City Health Department to accept punishment.
Stealing is a crime. If it is an act of grand theft and the person being stolen has such a bad attitude without knowing it, Lin Xiao will not care so much. No one is perfect. Even if he is not talking about others, he has his own fault.
defects and shortcomings.
But there is no if.
"If you don't go, go to the City Health Department, they will beat me to death." The young man no longer pretended to cry, but instead roared angrily.
"I will go with you, and you will be judged as you want." Lin Xiao's tone was very firm and left no room for doubt.
No matter how the boy behaved and rolled around and resisted, it was all in vain. In the end, he was taken to the City Health Department by Lin Xiao. When the people from the City Health Department heard that it was theft, they slapped him in the face. The boy was just an ordinary person, and the City Health Department at least was
External forging, a slap of several hundred kilograms, either dead or disabled, was directly blocked by Lin Xiao.
"Just sentence theft as you want, don't lynching." Lin Xiao said unhurriedly, his sharp eyes making the city guards feel great oppression.
"This is the City Health Department. What kind of place do you think it is? Can you just point your finger at it?" A team leader said angrily.
"Lin Wuming, the imperial envoy of the Lin'an County Zhenwu Division." Lin Xiao took out the Zhenwu sticker and said unhurriedly: "Perhaps you can say that the Lin'an County Zhenwu Division has nothing to do with your Xinshan County, but since I want to intervene, then I have to
Thinking about the consequences, it’s just me spending more time.”
"Don't worry, Ambassador Lin, we will strictly abide by the law regarding the punishment for the crime of theft," said the leader of the city's health department.
There were originally twenty taels of silver in the money bag that the young man stole, but he spent five taels. According to the law, the remaining fifteen taels of silver should be handed over first. The City Health Department will post an announcement to let you lose the twenty taels of silver.
The young man came to claim it himself, and then came the punishment for the young man. First, the young man must pay five taels of silver himself and be imprisoned for three days, which means he will have to eat prison food for three days. Second, the young man will not return the silver, but must send it to the training center.
Going to undergo reform, that is, reform through labor, lasts for five months, which is equivalent to one tael of silver per month.
Lin Xiao had some knowledge of the so-called labor reform, which meant doing some rough and heavy work.
"I don't want to go to a labor camp." The young man seemed to understand him, his expression changed drastically, and he immediately looked at Lin Xiao and knelt down and kowtowed: "Sir, please help me, lend me five taels of silver, and I will write an IOU.
Sign and pledge, and I will return you ten taels later."
"Are you sure?" Lin Xiao asked sternly: "I tell you clearly, once you owe me money, if you don't return it by then, the consequences will be very serious. Even if you want to escape, you can't escape, because I can go through the Zhenwu Division
The intelligence will find you, even if you escape from this county, unless you can escape from Dongzhou."
"I will definitely return it...I will definitely return it..." the young man begged again and again.
In the end, Lin Xiao lent the boy five taels of silver and stayed in Xinshan County for three days until the boy came out of the cell without any trace of being beaten.
Write down the IOU, sign it, and pledge it. The time limit is one year. If you pass through Xinshan County within one year, you must return ten taels of silver to yourself. If you do not pass through it within one year, then you must send the ten taels of silver to the Zhou Mansion in the inner city of Lin'an County.
"Perhaps you won't listen, but I still have to say something." Lin Xiao folded the IOU and put it away, staring at the young man and speaking slowly: "If you want to eat, drink and have fun, that's okay, but you have to make money based on your own ability."
"Stealing is also my ability..." the young man muttered in a low voice, and when he saw Lin Xiao frowning, he immediately shrank his neck.
"I'm talking about legitimate and legitimate abilities, not deception, abduction, theft and robbery."
"Spend as much as you earn, and spend as much as you want, then work hard to make money and get rich. I am not your parents, nor your relatives. I can't control you that much. I can only give you this advice. As for whether you listen to it or not, that's
Regarding your matter, if the same thing happens next time, you may not encounter the same way I handle it, and you may be maimed or even killed."
Lin Xiao is not being alarmist. Many people think that handling it like this is a waste of time and stupid, but it doesn't matter, he can just feel at ease.
Lin Xiao's words also caused the young man to think.
Yes, if it happens again next time, I will probably be beaten to death.
"That's all I've said, so you can take care of yourself." After Lin Xiao finished speaking, he walked past the young man. After staying here for three days, it was time to leave.
"Master, please bow to me, my disciple." The young man turned around in an instant and was about to kneel down, but Lin Xiao's scabbard held his knees, making him unable to kneel down.
"If you accept this thought, I will not accept you as my disciple, and I don't have the time or thought." Lin Xiao said unhurriedly, no longer paying attention to the young man, his body flashed, turned into a wisp of white shadow, and flew away quickly.
.
As for the fate of this young man in the future, he can't control it that far. Even Zhou Zheng and Lin Xiao know that they can't control him forever. After all, they have to follow their own path, so from now on, will this young man take the right path or go off the wrong path?
Lin Xiao didn't know that the further he went, it was gratifying to be on the right path, but it would be a pity to go further down the crooked road.
"What a strange person." The young man looked at Lin Xiao's retreating figure and couldn't help but murmur to himself. He immediately began to think about what he should do in the future. He was very distressed. It seemed that he had no other abilities except for his proficient stealing skills.