Chapter 574: Snake Village
After a while, a child of seven or eight years old came in.
The child was skinny, holding a broken bowl in his hand, and looked at Wei Qing with fear.
He remembered his grandfather's instructions and walked over to feed Wei Qing the water.
After feeding, he ran out of the door. After a while, his little head secretly popped out again and looked at Wei Qing curiously.
Wei Qing looked over and he quickly retracted his head.
Seeing the child, Wei Qing thought of Sanbao again. Thinking of Sanbao, he thought of his wife and frowned.
His wife must have been very worried when she knew he fell off the cliff.
He really wanted to get better quickly and go back to his wife.
However, he was completely exhausted now. He didn't know where he was, who the old man and the young boy were, or whether they had any ill intentions...
Wei Qing felt powerless. He wished he could tell his wife that he was fine through a dream.
Wei Qing's body was too weak and he fell asleep amidst his complicated thoughts.
When he woke up again, he felt a hand touching his chest. He grabbed the hand tightly and opened his eyes suddenly.
"Let go...let go...I'm helping you take care of your wound..."
The old man hissed, and Wei Qing quickly let him go.
The old man changed his dressing, but this time his movements were particularly rough. He even poked at his wound, causing Wei Qing to break out in a cold sweat due to the pain.
Wei Qing felt that the old man was taking revenge on him, but he had no evidence.
When Wei Qing woke up this time, he felt much better. After drinking some water, his voice became clearer.
After chatting with the old man for a while, he learned that the village he was in was called Snake Village. It was surrounded by mountains and was famous for the many snakes in the mountains.
The old man knew a little about medicine. When he met Wei Qing while out collecting herbs, he picked him up.
The old man did not live in the village, but in the mountains.
Wei Qing asked him why he lived in the mountains, but the old man didn't say anything.
"Old man, how many days have I been in a coma?" Wei Qing asked.
"Ten days." said the old man.
Wei Qing was suddenly shocked.
Ten days...
He fell off the cliff in early September, which means it is almost September 15th now!
His wife is already eight months pregnant and will probably give birth in a month or so...
He must rush back in time to accompany his wife!
Those who assassinated him might still be looking for him. I wonder if they'll find him here...
Wei Qing lay in bed anxiously for two days, and finally he was able to get up and walk, holding on to the wall and walking out of the room.
There are three rooms in this house, and they are all shabby.
Wei Qing sat down on the steps at the door and basked in the sun.
The child was squatting at the door pounding medicine. When he saw him come out, he looked up at him.
"Little boy, come here." Wei Qing called out.
The child was afraid of him but also a little curious, so he came over anyway.
"What's your name?"
"Dog boy."
"Gou Wa, do you and your grandfather live on this mountain? Where are the rest of your family members?" Wei Qing asked.
"My parents are dead." Gou Wa said in a low voice, "It costs a lot to live in the village, and Grandpa has no money..."
"How did your parents die?"
"Catching snakes..."
Wei Qing talked with Gou Wa for a while and then understood.
There are few fields in Snake Village, but the taxes are very heavy. The people have no choice but to go up the mountain to catch snakes and sell them to pay the taxes.
However, most common snakes have long been caught, leaving only some highly poisonous snakes. Villagers who catch snakes may be bitten to death if they are not careful.
Gou Wa's parents, the old man's son and daughter-in-law, were bitten to death by a poisonous snake.
After his son and daughter-in-law were bitten to death, the old man and his children were unable to pay taxes, so they hid in the mountains.
The taxes in the Great Zhou Dynasty were not actually that heavy. The reason why the taxes in Snake Village were so heavy was because Snake Village belonged to Wangxian County, which was the fiefdom of the eldest princess. The eldest princess had to use the money from the taxes to support her private soldiers and stockpile armor!
In order to fulfill her own ambitions, the princess imposed heavy taxes and levies, causing the people to suffer!
There are countless people in Snake Village who have lost their parents like this child, or lost their children like that old man!
There are so many places like Snake Village in the entire Wangxian County!
"When I grow up a little, I will catch snakes too. Then we can go back to the village to farm and eat rice!" Gou Wa said excitedly.
When his parents were alive, he could eat white rice, but after moving to the mountains, he could only eat things grown there.
This is what Wei Qing has been eating these days. It tastes bitter, is very hard, and a bit like a potato. It doesn't taste very good and can barely fill his stomach.
"What if you get bitten by a snake?" Wei Qing asked.
Gou Wa bit his lip, feeling very conflicted.
People in the mountains were often bitten by snakes and would be sent to Grandpa for treatment, but Grandpa was completely helpless and the victims died quickly. The faces of those bitten by snakes turned black and their bodies stiff, which was terrifying. He didn't want to be bitten to death, but he really wanted to eat white rice.
"How about letting you not have to catch snakes and still be able to eat white rice?" Wei Qing asked.
Gou Wa looked up at him with anticipation in his eyes: "But...can I?"
"Okay." Wei Qing touched his head and said.
"Are you very powerful?" asked Gou Wa.
He felt that the person in front of him was very different, different from those he had met before.
When he was a child and still lived in the village, there was an old man who often told them this story.
It tells the story of a village that was controlled by a bad guy. The villagers had to work for him and were starving. Then one day, an immortal came and drove the bad guy away, and the villagers lived a peaceful and happy life.
For the past few years, Gou Wa has been hoping for the appearance of an immortal. Could this person be the immortal? Will the immortal save them?
"Yeah, it's amazing." Wei Qing said.
He must overthrow the eldest princess and let these people live a peaceful life!
Gou Wa immediately looked at him with sparkling eyes and followed him closely.
In the evening, the old man came back from collecting herbs, and Gou Wa ran over happily.
"Grandpa, uncle said that we can have food to eat without having to catch snakes!"
The old man was not as naive as Gou Wa. He stared at Wei Qing for a long time and asked, "Who are you?"
When he saw the man floating on the water, he felt that this man was not an ordinary person. He was about to leave, but turned back halfway and dragged the man back.
"Imperial envoy." Wei Qing said.
The old man was surprised.
"Imperial...Imperial Envoy?"
The old man was old, so he naturally knew what an imperial envoy was.
The imperial envoy is a person who is more powerful than the county magistrate or the prefect, and can meet the emperor!
The old man suddenly thought of something and knelt down in front of Wei Qing: "Please save us, sir. We can't live like this anymore!"
Wei Qing helped the old man up, listened to him talk about the Snake Village, and then asked about the names of miscellaneous taxes. The two chatted until midnight before going to bed.
Because he knew Wei Qing's identity, the old man was much more polite to Wei Qing and was much gentler when changing the dressing.
Wei Qing also hoped that his health would recover quickly and he could return to Beijing soon...
His wife is still waiting for him to come back.
Five days passed in a flash, and Wei Qing's health improved considerably, and he could walk freely again. However, his wounds had not yet healed, and his martial arts skills were only 10% of what they used to be. If he encountered the assassins sent by the princess, he would be completely powerless to resist.
Calm down and wait a little longer.
His people must be looking for him too.
In the middle of the night, Wei Qing was lying in bed when he suddenly heard footsteps.
He suddenly woke up and didn't know whether the person making the footsteps was his man or someone coming to kill him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com