Magomet Timov - The Path of Li

Too many different, sometimes even contradictory fellows have gathered on this patch of the great Empire. You can expect an explosion at any moment… Yes, yes, my young friend… The weather is not going to change, the winter roads will remain impassable forever, and I suggest we have a good rest in our room today, sleep well, and continue our journey tomorrow. After all, you are heading…" "North," Zicheng said quickly, sitting down on a bench, "to a small village in Shaanxi province. It's time to visit my nephew and help him with the housework. It's sowing time soon; someone needs to plough the land. After all, we are not a military settlement, and we have to not only cultivate someone else's land for a quitrent but also pay taxes. I used to tend sheep and plough the land, but my father could not support his family, so I had to get a job at the post office. Travelling across the vastness of the Celestial Empire, I managed to see a lot and change my mind. I was recruited into the army of a Gansu lord." Yang shook his head.

"A short but worthy journey, young Man… When are you going to return to the service?" Li sighed heavily and thought… "I don't know," he admitted honestly. "I haven't thought about it yet. I'd rather get home first, and then…" "Then, I propose a solution that will undoubtedly suit both of us." "I am listening, sir…" "Not again!" "Excuse me, my… Excuse me, Master Luo. What is your solution?" "We will go to the North together," Luo Yang nodded, full of himself.

Li Zicheng jumped up in enthusiasm: "It'll be an honour!" Yang got outright angry. "Did I say something wrong, or were you not listening? Sit down, to begin with", and, after waiting for the young man to take his place, he continued. "I'm not doing you a favour, it's just that our paths coincide for a while, and we can be useful to each other. My wisdom and age, combined with your military talents, will be the key to the successful completion of our journey. It is from this point of view that I see our cooperation. Is that clear?" "Yes, Master Luo." "Great!" The wise man rubbed his hands.

"Hey, innkeeper, bring me and my friend more of your wonderful wine! The travellers are tired of the journey and want to get their throats wet… You want to get your throat wet, don't you?" He leaned over to Li. The young man chuckled. "Even during your long life, It is unlikely that you, Master Luo, have met many people who would refuse wine at someone else's expense." The old man chuckled.

"Actually, I thought that it was you who would pay… But if things are heading this way… I'm ready. Then you will pay for the room." The warrior laughed: "Deal. But your wisdom has failed you this time. Or you're cunning. Or your power of prediction." "In what?" The old man squinted. Zicheng threw up his hands. "There is a fixed fee for the rent, but I can drink indefinitely," the young man explained his thought. The elder shook his head. "You will not take more liquids than the volume of your stomach, and knowing old Tang, I can assure you that you will need even less wine – it will knock you off your feet. Plus, you don't sound like a drunkard. So we are quits," he threw up his hands.

Meanwhile, the owner brought more jugs, so there was no time for empty talks anymore. It was on the third day when they finally managed to set off on the road. The disgusting weather was partly to blame for this. It rained and snowed all the time. The mud that was freezing overnight was turning into an impenetrable mess in the morning, making not only the wheels of the carts but also the hooves of horses stuck, not to mention the travellers, who were mostly barefoot.

There were, however, a few daredevils who decided to continue their journey in these disgusting conditions, but almost all of them returned back after half a day, and those who did not return probably perished in this half-snow-half-rain. On the third day, the sky became clearer; the sun came out and managed to dry the road slightly. The roadside got covered with ice, which was much nicer than having to travel the muddy roads. Li Zicheng walked fast but had a hard time trying to keep pace with his elderly companion. To his surprise, Luo Yang was almost as good as him in stamina and speed, thanks to many years of hiking and amazing health, which the old man retained thanks to a healthy lifestyle and regular tai chi exercises, which he repeated with amazing persistence every morning, as soon as the sun rose above the horizon. Throughout the first moon, they walked slowly, stopping at rare inns or installing a shed in the open field that the prudent Luo Yang always carried with him. The provisions they bought in small villages were usually enough for long journeys, and when it ran out, Li Zincheng took out his magic bow and went hunting. While the old man was cooking rice or millet, the warrior already returned with a pheasant or guinea fowl, a rabbit or a black grouse, which he immediately baked in clay or roasted on a spit. In general, the travellers did not starve, and if we also take into account the fact that their daily afternoon or evening dialogues often developed into philosophical disputes, the journey could even be called a walk of two bosom friends. Everything changed as soon as they crossed the border of Shaanxi province…

It looked like the same old hills and small woods, rivers and lakes, but a kind of wary silence hung over everything. At first, Li Zicheng convinced himself that it was just his excitement before seeing a home he had not seen for several years… How would his family react to his appearance? After all, last time, he practically escaped… But gradually, as they were passing several villages and found only boarded up doors of inns and taverns, they understood it was serious. Lonely passers-by, barely seeing the two travellers, one of whom had a changdao thrown over a sipu and a large bow gleaming with a dull metallic sheen in his hands, immediately rushed to get out of their way. Master Luo tried a couple of times to knock on other people's fanzas, but the answer was only silence: if the owners were inside, they always tried to carefully hide this fact, as well as the fact of their existence in general. The reason for this became clear only on the second day of travel through the province, when the travellers, entering a small village, stumbled upon a woman sobbing, stained with blood, sitting on the porch of a burnt house. She madly looked at two strangers emerging from the forest. The woman was hugged by a girl of five or six years old, wrapped in some incredibly dirty piece of cloth.

A huge shaggy dog sprawled at their feet. It threw out its hot tongue and looked at the newcomers with a calm look, which, however, could not deceive sophisticated travellers: the dog was mortally dangerous and just as devoted to its owner. Luo Yang stopped at a respectful distance and slowed down Li Zicheng with a movement of his hand. Taking a deep breath, he quietly called out to the woman: "Honorable mistress, will I be allowed to know what happened in your village? Where is everyone?" At the sound of his voice, a moment of understanding flashed in the eyes of the woman. However, it was instantly replaced by the former madness. The dog twitched its ears, listening. Letting go of her mother's neck for a moment, the child rustled in a thin voice:

"People, many people… They came and killed my friends, their dads and mothers… Then they burned everything here… My mother and I sat in the cellar and heard them screaming… They were screaming… Then everything burned… And it started to rain. The rain put out the fire, so we got out of the pit… And then Thunder came running from the forest… It was probably hiding from those with spears…" "Spears?" Li Zicheng asked incredulously. The girl nodded. "Yes, long bamboo spears with dark tips…" "Black iron," Luo Yang muttered. "This is not an imperial army." "And not the princely squads – those have excellent equipment, no worse than the regular army," Li added thoughtfully. "Robbers? But since when do they rob common people?" The old man, meanwhile, leaned towards the girl who let him in.