Mo Shanshan glanced at him. She was confused and even a little flustered. Obviously, she was not good at it even though she was the world-famous Calligraphy Addict.
Ning Que held back his laughter, glanced at the dried meat in his hand, and began to chat with the Desolate woman.
He was very good at chatting. Since he was a child, he could survive in such a dangerous environment. In addition to being ruthless, the most important characteristic of him was to please others. Generals of the City of Wei, His Majesty, Master Yan Se, and Senior Sister Professor by the east window liked him. Who didn't like him?
Therefore, it didn't take long for the Desolate woman to start chatting with him warmly. Although her accent was a little weird, there was no problem communicating when they slowed down the speed of their conversation.
"There are a lot of fish in the Hot Sea, all kinds of fish."
The Desolate woman grabbed a handful of hay and wiped off the blood on her hands. She spread her arms and said, "My man has seen such a long fish. But speaking of delicious, every year during the Rite to Light, the tribe leader will send warriors to dive into the sea to catch the female fish. That kind of fish is really delicious."
Ning Que put the dried meat in his hand aside and asked curiously, "Female fish?"
"Well, because the fish eggs are very big, we call them female fish."
The Desolate woman stretched out her fingers and gestured exaggeratedly. Then she shook her head and said, "After coming to the south, there are more sheep than before. But it's not so convenient to eat fish."
From the conversation, Ning Que learned that the Desolate Men went down from the Hot Sea in the Cold Region in spring and robbed a large grassland of the palace. Before winter, they had stored enough food and even kept a lot of sheep. But probably based on tradition, the tribe still sent the Desolate Men to hunt everywhere.
The cold wind hit the tent with snowflakes. Because of the strange paint on the outside, it made a dull sound. Ning Que thought of what he had seen along the way and was puzzled. He asked, "Even if it's hunting, it doesn't make sense to come to such a remote place. It's not safe to be too far from the tribe."
He had been hunting in Min Mountain since he was a child, so he was very clear about the hidden dangers of hunting far from the tribe.
The Desolate woman said, "This is the rule of the tribe. During the winter ceremony, you have to live alone for the whole winter."
Ning Que asked curiously, "What is the winter ceremony?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his eyebrows. Mo Shanshan, who had been sitting quietly beside him, also looked at the door.
The heavy curtain was lifted, and a short figure rushed in, shouting joyfully, "I'm back."
It was a skinny little boy carrying a fat badger on his shoulder. His face was full of joy and pride, but when he saw Ning Que and Mo Shanshan, he suddenly became vigilant.
"It's a guest." The Desolate woman stepped forward and took the prey on his shoulder. She gently pulled it with her fingertips and quickly blocked the cold badger's bleeding wound. She smiled and patted the little boy's head.
Ning Que looked at the little boy, who was definitely no more than twelve years old. He could not help but feel shocked that he could hunt such a big winter badger in such cold weather. Then he thought of his life in Min Mountain when he was younger than the boy many years ago, and could not help but feel a little emotional.
"This is my son."
The Desolate woman looked at the surprised expressions of the two people from the Central Plains and laughed heartily. She said, "The winter ceremony you mentioned just now is his winter ceremony. According to the tribe rule, in the winter of the year when he is twelve years old, parents will accompany the child to the mountains to hunt. Before the North Hot Sea thaws, the child will be considered an adult if he can hunt half a cart of prey."
She looked at the little boy sternly, but could not hide the tenderness in her eyes. She said, "Next year, he will become a warrior and then have his own family. So the winter ceremony is the last time we accompany him."
The Desolate would become a warrior at the age of twelve? Ning Que had not yet gotten rid of the shock. Then he thought of the previous sentence about having a family and could not help but say enviously, "We Tangs can't get married so early."
Hearing the word "Tangs", the Desolate boy, who was already a little vigilant, suddenly became more nervous. He subconsciously wanted to hide behind his mother, but thinking that he was going to become a warrior of the tribe during the winter ceremony, he forcibly plucked up his courage to stand in front of his mother and stared at Ning Que fiercely.
The Desolate woman slapped him hard on the back of the head and scolded him sternly, "What's the big deal about having a fat badger? The winter ceremony needs half a cart of prey. It's okay if it's a small cart like the one in my hometown. But didn't you see the cart pushed by a man in autumn? The cart used by those barbarians is so big. It's not so easy to fill half a cart. "
The little Desolate boy was driven out of the tent by his mother with sticks and intimidation. He carried a wooden bow and arrows on his back and once again began the difficult hunting activities that he needed to become a Desolate warrior. Ning Que listened to the Desolate woman's previous judgment about the small cart in his hometown and the big cart of the barbarians. He could not help but laugh happily.
The Desolate woman lowered her head and continued her work. She took a smooth piece of wood and kept rolling the fur under her feet. From time to time, she raised her arm to wipe the sweat on her forehead. Ning Que thought of the prey covered by snow outside the tent and thought that this kind of work was really hard. He asked, "Sister, where is the child's father?"
"He died in the battle with those barbarians in spring."
The Desolate woman did not raise her head. Her tone did not change. It was still flat and stiff, as if she was telling a story that had happened a long time ago and had nothing to do with her. It was even a story that was about to fade away.
Suddenly, she raised her head and stared at Ning Que. She asked, "You … will the Tangs come and fight us?"
"Probably not?" Ning Que looked at the expression on the woman's face and said in a serious tone, "Definitely not."
Whether the Tang Empire would send an army to fight against the Desolate was a decision that could only be made by the emperor and the ministers in the court. How could he know whether they would or not? But no matter whether they would or not, he could only say no in front of the Desolate. And he had to say it firmly and decisively.
Mo Shanshan did not say anything and just glanced at him again.
The Desolate woman was stunned after hearing his answer. She showed a rare smile and said, "That's good."
Mo Shanshan looked at her quietly and suddenly asked, "Even if the Tangs don't come, there are many other countries in the Central Plains, especially the Divine Hall. Aren't you worried?"
The Desolate woman leaned forward and put her weight on the piece of wood. She pressed hard on the animal skin and murmured, "As long as the Tangs don't come, what's there to worry about?"
As night fell, the wind and snow outside the tent stopped. The little Desolate boy came back. But this time he looked a little ashamed because his hands and shoulders were empty. The Desolate woman did not say anything. She boiled a pot of hot soup and stewed a leg of lamb from somewhere under the snow. She added some spicy seasoning and the four of them ate in silence.
"You can only stay here for one night."
The Desolate woman put away the boning knife and looked at Ning Que. She added, "Because this is the rule of the winter ceremony."
Ning Que expressed his gratitude and walked out of the tent with Mo Shanshan.
The two walked toward a snow slope not far away.
At this time, the snow outside the tent had stopped and the clouds had dispersed. The high dark night sky was dotted with countless stars. The starlight sprinkled on the snow covering the Wilderness and hills, reflecting a faint blue light.
"From Chang 'an to the Wilderness, I heard some stories about the Desolate Men from the Academy on the way."
Ning Que breathed the cold and fresh air outside the tent and looked at the faint silhouette of the withered trees in the distance. He said, "Do you know why the Wilderness is called the Wilderness?"
Mo Shanshan had lived in the southern Great River Kingdom for a long time and was very unfamiliar with this territory. She could not help frowning slightly when she heard his question. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Isn't it because this Wilderness is very desolate?"
"There are endless green grasslands and all kinds of beautiful lakes. There are evergreen forests in the majestic Tianqi Mountain and countless beasts live here. How can this place be considered desolate?"
Ning Que looked at her profile and said with a smile, "The Wilderness is not desolate. The reason why it is called the Wilderness is that this beautiful Wilderness belongs to the Desolate Men."
Mo Shanshan looked at his eyes and asked, "What do you want to say?"
"Nothing."
Ning Que said, "Just now in the tent, you looked at me a lot. What did you want to say at that time?"
Mo Shanshan looked at him and said seriously, "I want to remind you that these people are the Desolate Men and are our enemies. You are trying to find out the enemy's situation and deliberately befriend them, but be careful not to forget your position."
Ning Que laughed. After a pause, he looked at her and said, "What position should I stand on?"
Mo Shanshan said expressionlessly, "The remnants of the Devil's Doctrine are of course the enemy."
Ning Que looked at her and asked in confusion, "I have always wanted to know why the Devil's Doctrine is the enemy."
Without waiting for Mo Shanshan to answer, he continued, "I have thought about it. The Devil's Doctrine is only different from Haotian Taoism in terms of cultivation. It is at most a branch of the Divine Hall. How can it become the embodiment of evil?"
Mo Shanshan frowned in silence and stared at his eyes as if she had seen something very strange. She said with sadness and sympathy, "Don't let others hear you talk like this in the future, and don't … let me hear it."
Ning Que found that the girl's expression did not seem to be joking, and he could not help but be slightly stunned.
After a long time, he stepped on a withered branch into the snow with the sole of his shoe and said calmly, "In the past, you have been meditating by the Ink Lake and have not experienced much of the world. Now that you have seen so many ugly things and the performance of the people of the Divine Hall on the meadow, do you still have a heart of reverence for the Divine Hall?"
Mo Shanshan looked at the night sky above her head and blinked her eyes. She had difficulty focusing her eyes and looked a little lost. After a while, she said softly, "Even if I don't respect the Divine Hall, I still have to respect Haotian."
Ning Que followed her gaze and shook his head. He said, "Reverence is really meaningless."
Mo Shanshan looked back at him and said seriously, "But the evil deeds of the Devil's Doctrine are always true."
…
…
(Yesterday's activity was more tiring than writing ten thousand words. My cervical vertebra was seriously injured. I wrote this late yesterday and posted it on time. Today I will go out for personal affairs. I hope it will be smooth and fast, and I will go home soon.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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