Chapter 33

Words : 1338 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

"Amin, are you home?"In front of a mud house, Lu Qing called out. "Who's that? Who's calling me?" A tall figure ran out of the house, and upon seeing Lu Qing, he was pleasantly surprised. "It's you, Lu Qing. What brings you here?" "Amin, who is it?" Before Lu Qing could answer, an elderly voice came from inside, and an old man with a bamboo pipe also stepped out of the house. "Grandpa, it's Lu Qing!" Wang Da'an called out directly. "Grandpa Wang." Lu Qing greeted the old man. "Oh, it's Lu Qing. Come in, come in, have a seat inside." Seeing Lu Qing, the old man was also delighted and tried to pull him inside for a drink. "No need, Grandpa Wang. I have something to discuss with Amin, so I won't disturb you inside." Lu Qing quickly declined. "By the way, what brings you here?" Wang Da'an asked. "I want to go to the big market. Last time you said if I wanted to go, I should come to you first because there are some rules I need to know." "You want to go to the big market?" Wang Da'an was taken aback, then he reacted, "Oh, today is market day." The big market is held once every five days, and today is exactly the fifth day since the last market. "Lu Qing, what do you want to do at the big market, sell fish?" Wang Da'an asked. "I'm not in a hurry to sell fish. I want to check out the market first, understand the situation, and maybe buy some things." "I see, I don't have a problem with that. It's just that Grandpa was just asking me to go collect pigweed." Wang Da'an scratched his head. Grandpa Wang took two puffs of his pipe and said, "In that case, Da'an, you take Lu Qing along. He is now the head of his household and should know the rules for going out." "Alright, Grandpa, don't worry. I'll make sure to teach Lu Qing!" Wang Da'an said happily. He was quite pleased not to have to collect pigweed, which was a boring task. "Let's go, Lu Qing, we can talk on the way." Wang Da'an pulled Lu Qing and started walking out. At the village entrance, Wang Da'an pointed to a big tree. "Lu Qing, the first rule for going out is right here." "Here?" Lu Qing looked at the tree, a bit puzzled. He knew this tree well. It wasn't very tall, but it was thick, with lush branches and leaves. The trunk was so wide that it took several people to encircle it. It looked somewhat like a banyan tree from his previous life. And this tree seemed to be quite important. Not only did people often burn incense at its base, but the village children were also warned from a young age to stay away from it and not to climb it. If anyone violated this rule and was caught, they would get a severe beating at the least and could end up kneeling in the ancestral hall without food. So the village children always kept their distance from this tree, preferring to play in other places. However, he couldn't find any real use for this tree in his memories and thought it was just for praying for peace. Now hearing Wang Da'an, it seemed to have another purpose. "That's right, this tree is our village's sacred tree and signal tree. Anyone going out, whether to the big market or the city, must leave a mark here to indicate their destination." "In this way, if someone doesn't return in time, the village can trace their whereabouts based on the mark." "This tree has such a use?" Lu Qing was surprised. He never thought the tree he feared in his memories had such a history. "How do you leave a mark on it?" Lu Qing asked. "Here." Wang Da'an walked forward and lifted a stone slab at the base of the tree. When he came back, he had two red strings in his hand. Wang Da'an handed one red string to Lu Qing and pointed at the tree: "Do you see those old branches on the tree? The left side represents the big market, the middle represents the city, and the right side represents other distant places." "In the future, when you go out, tie a red string on the corresponding branch, so the village will know someone has gone out." "When you come back, just take the red string off." "Is that all?" Lu Qing was stunned. He thought it would be more complicated, but it turned out to be so simple. "That's all. What else would you expect?" Wang Da'an was puzzled. "Don't we need to hang a tag or some other sign? Otherwise, how would people know who went out?" Lu Qing asked. "A tag for what?" Wang Da'an was even more confused. "We could write names on the tags..." As Lu Qing said this, he suddenly realized. He forgot that most people in the village were illiterate. Sure enough, Wang Da'an grinned at his words. "You think we're all like you, Lu Qing, knowing so many characters. Who would write their name?" "Besides, it's unnecessary. The village is small. If a red string is left, just asking around will reveal who hasn't returned." Lu Qing thought about it and agreed. His mind was stuck in the past, thinking this place was like his previous life where people could easily travel. In reality, in such an ancient world, villagers were very cautious about going out. They wouldn't leave the village unless necessary. Some villagers might never go far in their entire life. Children were strictly forbidden to run outside. In such a situation, there weren't many people leaving the village, so it wasn't too troublesome. This also made Lu Qing understand why people often burned incense under this tree. Besides worshipping gods, villagers were mostly praying for the safety of those who went out. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ N0vᴇlFire(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality. "Here, let me tie it for you." Wang Da'an tied two red strings on the left branch. "Another rule in the village is that the big market is close. If you want to go, you can go alone, just tie the red string here." "But if you go to the city or farther, at least two people must go together to look out for each other." "If no one in our village wants to go to the city, you can ask in the neighboring village. See if anyone wants to go together. Our villages have similar rules for going out." "Going to the city is different from going to the market. More people can take care of each other." "Amin, is the road to the city very dangerous?" Lu Qing asked upon hearing these rules. Wang Da'an paused and then said, "Not really dangerous. It's been peaceful these years, but my grandpa said that bandits used to appear on the road. Someone from the neighboring village was captured and only escaped after several years." "We all thought he had died outside. When he escaped back, we found out he had been captured by bandits." "But later, the county lord sent people to exterminate those bandits, so the road became peaceful again." "Since then, our villages established these rules for going out." Bandits! Lu Qing was shocked. Indeed, this world was not as peaceful as he thought. The term "county lord" also caught his attention. But Lu Qing didn't ask more. There would be time to learn later. After explaining the village rules and tying the red strings, Wang Da'an finally led Lu Qing towards the direction of the big market.

Chapter 33

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