After sending off his siblings, Zhang Feng went alone to the place sixteen years ago.

  In the scorching summer, what travelers need most is a bowl of tea to quench their thirst and alleviate fatigue. Zhang Feng walked for an entire morning under the sun, even with his light kung fu skills, he was still somewhat exhausted.

  "A big bowl of tea, please sit down and rest your feet, travelers! A big bowl of tea for just one cent!" The small second at the roadside teahouse was enthusiastically shouting. Travelers on the road couldn't bear the scorching heat of midsummer either, and they flocked into the teahouse to order a bowl of tea to quench their thirst.

  Zhang Feng was no exception, after rushing for so long with a dry mouth and tongue, drinking a bowl of tea at this time is not beautiful. Although the teahouse is small, there are many guests, gathered in twos and threes to drink tea and chat.

  "These days are getting harder and harder, it's not easy to earn some extra money even during the slack season." said a thin man.

  "What's wrong, Zhang Laoliu? You went to town again and still can't find a suitable job?"

  "What about him? Lazy and idle, yet unwilling to work hard. Which master would want such an apprentice?" The people sipping tea nearby burst out laughing at him.

  "You young folks are still not satisfied, living a peaceful and happy life is the greatest blessing, being ordinary and simple is true, thinking back to ten years ago when wars were raging everywhere just being alive was good enough." At this time an old man with a slightly hunched back walked into the teahouse.

  The old man wore an old-fashioned long gown, with a black cloth square scarf on his head, dressed as a scholar.

  "Mr. Sun has arrived, come on in and take a seat. Are you going to the city?" The small child at the tea house hurriedly greeted him, "This is freshly brewed tea, please have a taste."

  Other guests who were drinking tea also greeted Mr. Sun, it turned out that Mr. Sun was a Xiucai of the previous dynasty, had been a western-style teacher in a large family in Xiangcheng for several years, and was one of the few literate people in this area, now he still runs a small private school at home to teach children, so everyone is very respectful of Mr. Sun.

  "Hey, Mr. Sun, why don't you tell us some stories from the old days? It's a nice day today and nobody is in a hurry to rush off." Zhang Liushi quickly changed the subject.

  "Right, right, old sir, you said that back then we didn't know what was going on and had no impression." The people around also echoed in agreement.

  "All right, I'll say something." Mr. Sun said with a sip of tea.

  "In the late years of the previous dynasty, that is, during the eleventh year of Zhizheng, uprisings were taking place everywhere. At that time, the Red Turban Army had also captured Xiangyang City, with Zhang Shicheng as its leader. Xiangyang was a strategic location that was repeatedly contested by the Mongols and the Red Turbans, changing hands several times. Later, Zhang Shicheng fled and Chen Youliang took over, but Chen Youliang was soon defeated by the current emperor. At that time, Xiangzhou was divided between the Ming and the Yuan, with the Ming army occupying the area south of Xiangyang City and the Yuan army in the north."

  Maple couldn't help but ask: "Old sir, since you've lived in Xiangyang for a long time, do you know what happened to the territory occupied by the previous dynasty?"

  Mr. Sun heard Zhang Feng's question and thought for a moment before saying, "Although I lived in Xiangyang City at that time, I didn't know much about the affairs of the previous dynasty either. I only vaguely remember that at that time, the Yuan army was disguised as bandits, plundering the common people everywhere to make up for military expenses."

  "Do you know which families were kidnapped? Is anyone else still alive?" Zhang Feng asked anxiously.

  "This... I'm not very clear about it either. It was chaotic back then and everyone was in danger. I don't know specifically who were robbed, but..."

  "But what?"

  Sun Xiuzai saw Zhang Feng's anxious expression and shook his head, saying: "I think you're so impatient because you had relatives living there back then."

  Zhang Feng nodded and shook his head, Sun Xiuzai said: "Although I don't know the specifics of the matter, I do know that families who have been looted are basically all annihilated, with no survivors. It's said that after occupying the entire Xiangzhou Prefecture, there were hardly any living people left on that side. Alas, it's truly a tragedy."

  "Yes, our village was forcibly relocated by the government later on. The elderly in the village even opposed it at that time, saying that place is a haunted area." The tea customers next to them also echoed in agreement.

  Zhang Feng's face turned pale, and he sat down weakly. Although he had already guessed something, hearing others confirm it still made his heart ache terribly. He had thought there was a glimmer of hope to find his relatives, but reality brutally shattered his illusions.

  "Yesterday, the Mongols and Yuans were of different tribes." Zhang Feng muttered with a gloomy face. He didn't have the heart to continue listening to Sun Xiucan's account of past events, so he casually tossed down two copper coins and walked out of the teahouse.

  Zhang Feng walked slowly on the road, his expression heavy. He wandered aimlessly forward, when suddenly a leaf floated down in front of him. Zhang Feng's lifeless eyes slowly came back to life, and he lowered his head to look at it - it was a maple leaf. His master had said that he was picked up in a maple forest, which is why he was named Zhang Feng.

  Zhang Feng touched the jade pendant hanging from his neck, which was not very delicate but also not something that ordinary farmers could own. The front of the pendant was engraved with "My family's Qilin, long life and good fortune", and the back had a single character "Zhang". The pendant was small, obviously made for children as an amulet.

  Zhang Feng crouched down and picked up the maple leaf, which was not intact, with a hole as big as a thumb on it. Zhang Feng held up the maple leaf and looked up at the sky through the hole. The sunlight shone down from the hole and illuminated Zhang Feng's face. Zhang Feng silently gazed at the maple leaf, while his other hand gently stroked the jade pendant...

  At night, on the willow branch, in a guest house in Xiangyang City, Zhang Feng lay on the bed, holding the white maple leaf in his left hand and his own jade pendant in his right hand, just lying quietly like that.

  "My master taught me to distinguish between the weight of family and country. Wudang Mountain is my home, and the place sixteen years ago was also my home, but it has forever disappeared. Sixteen years ago, I couldn't stop the tragedy that befell my family; sixteen years later, I must protect my new home. The ones who destroyed my family back then were the Mongols, a foreign tribe, and now the enemies of the Ming dynasty are those barbarians beyond the passes. Master, you taught me to distinguish between the two, but now it seems that they are not different after all - the words 'family' and 'country' have no distinction in weight. Now it seems I should head to the border, to see the foreign tribe that slaughtered my family, and choose my future path."

  Zhang Feng silently put the jade pendant back around his neck and walked out of the inn towards the escort agency.

  Zheng Wugang Bureau's main hall, Zhang Feng and a middle-aged man sat opposite each other. The man had calluses on the tiger mouth of his hands, and there was a long scar on the left side of his face, obviously a practitioner.

  "What brings Zhang Shaohuai here this time? Isn't it because he's worried about the two siblings who were sent away the other day?" asked Wang Hu, the middle-aged man who was also the leader of the Zhengwu Escort Agency.

  It is said that Wang Hu was a hundred households under the Tianwan Kingdom of the Red Turban Army. After Zhang Shicheng surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty, he led his brothers to become bandits in the vicinity of Xiangyang. Later, when Xiangyang was attacked by the Ming army, they used their accumulated wealth from killing rich merchants over the years to open this Zhengwu Escort Agency in Xiangyang City. Wang Hu's subordinates were all veteran soldiers who had seen bloodshed, so Zhengwu Escort Agency quickly made a name for itself in Xiangyang Prefecture and formally whitewashed its identity.

  Zhang Feng took a sip of tea and said: "This time I came to ask when Wang Biao will have a business trip to the north, Zhang wants to join him on his journey."

  "I'll take care of this matter, three days later before Chen time, please ask Zhang Shaoxia to wait at the North Gate, and then we can set off with our merchant caravan." Wang Hu heard Zhang Feng's words and patted his chest in agreement.

  "Then I'll thank Wang Bao first, and Zhang will definitely arrive on time three days later."

  Zhang Feng bid farewell to Wang Hu and returned to the inn. As soon as Zhang Feng walked out, Wang Hu's younger brother, Wang Bao, came out from behind and said: "Big brother, why do we need to bring that little boy? Even if we bring us, we should collect a few taels of silver from him."

  Wang Hu put down his teacup and said, "You don't understand, this young master has an uncommon temperament, and he's from Wudang Mountain. We escorts often travel on the rivers and lakes, and having many friends can be beneficial."

  Wang Bao didn't think much of it after hearing it, and Wang Hu saw that his younger brother wasn't explaining anything...

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