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Chapter 33: Rules for Leaving the Village
Chapter 33: Rules for Leaving the Village
"Big An, are you home, Big An?" Lu Qing called out in front of a mud hut.
A tall figure rushed out of the house and, upon seeing Lu Qing, exclaimed with delight, "It's you, Qing! What brings you here? Is there something you need?"
"Who is it, An?" A frail voice called out before Lu Qing could respond. An elderly man with a bamboo smoking pipe in hand emerged from the house.
"Grandpa Wang, it's Brother Qing!" Wang Da'an exclaimed.
"Grandpa Wang," Lu Qing greeted the elderly man.
"Oh, it's you, Qing! Come, come, come in and have a seat," Grandpa Wang said, clearly delighted to see Lu Qing. He motioned for Lu Qing to enter the house for a drink.
"No need, Grandpa Wang. I have something to discuss with Big An, so I won't disturb you," Lu Qing politely declined.
"Oh yes, what did you need?" Wang Da'an asked.
"I want to go to the grand market. Didn't you say last time that if I wanted to go, I should come find you first and learn about the rules?" Lu Qing explained.
"You want to go to the grand market?" Wang Da'an paused, then realized, "Oh yes, today is market day."
The grand market was held once every five days, and today marked the fifth day since the last market.
"Qing, what do you want to do at the market? Are you going to sell fish?" Wang Da'an inquired.
"I don't plan to sell the fish just yet. I want to explore the market, understand how it works, and buy a few things," Lu Qing replied.
"That's fine with me, but Grandpa just asked me to gather pig grass," Wang Da'an said, scratching his head.
Grandpa Wang took a couple of puffs from his pipe and said, "In that case, Da'an, take Qing with you. As the head of his household now, he should learn the rules for leaving the village."
"Don't worry, Grandpa. I'll definitely teach Qing!" Wang Da'an replied happily. He was more than glad to be excused from the tedious task of gathering pig grass.
"Let's go, Qing. We can talk on the way," Wang Da'an said, leading Lu Qing out of the village.
As they reached the village entrance, Wang Da'an pointed to a large tree. "Qing, the first rule for leaving the village is right here."
"Here?" Lu Qing looked at the tree, puzzled.
He was, of course, familiar with this tree. It wasn't exceptionally tall, but it was robust, with lush branches and a thick trunk that would take several people to encircle. It resembled a banyan tree from his past life.
This tree seemed to hold significant importance. Villagers would offer incense, and children were strictly forbidden from playing nearby, let alone climbing it. Anyone who disobeyed this rule would be severely punished, ranging from a beating to being made to kneel in the ancestral hall on an empty stomach.
As a result, the children of the village steered clear of the tree, preferring to play with mud elsewhere rather than risk incurring the adults' wrath.
However, in his recollection, Lu Qing couldn't find any practical use for this tree and assumed it was solely for worship and seeking blessings.
Now, from Big An's words, it seemed there was more to it.
"Indeed, this tree is our village's sacred tree and wishing tree. Anyone leaving the village, whether for the grand market or the city, must leave a mark here to indicate their destination," Wang Da'an explained.
"That way, if someone doesn't return in time, the village can use the mark they left to trace their whereabouts," he added.
"This tree has such a purpose?" Lu Qing was astonished.
He had never imagined that the tree, which the previous owner of his body had somewhat feared, held such significance.
"How do we leave a mark on it?" Lu Qing asked.
"Right here," Wang Da'an said, walking up to the tree. He lifted a stone slab at its base and returned with two red strings in his hand.
Chapter 33: Rules for Leaving the Village
Wang Da'an handed one of the red strings to Lu Qing and pointed to the tree.
"Do you see those old branches on the divine tree? The one on the left represents the grand market, the middle one the city, and the right one symbolizes traveling to distant places."
"From now on, whenever you want to go out, just tie a red string on it to indicate your destination. That way, the village will know that someone has left."
"When you return, simply remove the red string."
"That's it?" Lu Qing was a little surprised.
He had expected something more complicated, but it turned out to be quite simple.
"Yes, that's it. What else could there be?" Wang Da'an was a bit perplexed.
"Don't we need to hang a sign or some other marker? How will people know who has left the village?" Lu Qing asked.
"Why would we need a sign?" Wang Da'an was even more confused.
"You could write your name on the sign..." Lu Qing trailed off as he realized something.
He had forgotten that most people in the village were illiterate.
As expected, Wang Da'an smiled at his suggestion. "You think everyone is like you, Ah Qing, able to recognize and write so many characters. Who can write their own name?"
"And it's not necessary to make things so complicated. The village is small, and if someone sees that a red string hasn't been removed, they can just ask around and easily find out who hasn't returned."
Lu Qing nodded in agreement. He realized that he had been overthinking it, assuming that leaving the village would be as simple as it was in his previous life.
In this ancient world, however, villagers were much more cautious about traveling. If there was no need, they wouldn't venture out. Some villagers might even spend their entire lives without ever leaving their village. Children, in particular, were strictly forbidden from wandering outside alone.
Under such circumstances, it made sense that not many people from the village traveled frequently, so a complex system of markings wasn't necessary.
However, this explanation also helped Lu Qing understand why the villagers often offered incense under the tree. Aside from worshipping the gods, they were also praying for the safety of those who had ventured out.
"Here, let me help you with that." Wang Da'an tied the two red strings to the left branch.
"Also, there's another rule in the village. The grand market isn't far from here, so if you want to go there, you can go alone. Just tie a red string here, and that's enough."
"But if you're going to the city or somewhere farther, you should have at least two people with you so that you can look out for each other."
"If no one from our village is planning to go to the city, you can call out to the neighboring villages to see if anyone wants to join you. Our villages have similar rules for leaving."
"Traveling to the city is different from going to the grand market. It's better to have more people with you so you can watch out for each other."
"Big Brother Da'an, is the road to the city dangerous?" Lu Qing asked, intrigued by these rules.
Wang Da'an paused for a moment before replying, "Not necessarily dangerous. It's been peaceful these past few years, but my grandfather used to tell me that there were mountain bandits on the road in the past. Someone from the neighboring village was captured by them and only escaped after a few years."
"Everyone thought he had died out there, but when he returned, he told us about his capture."
"Fortunately, the band of mountain bandits was eventually wiped out by the troops sent by the County Lord. Since then, the roads have been peaceful again."
"It was also around that time that our villages established the current rules for leaving."
Mountain bandits! Lu Qing's heart skipped a beat.
So, as he had suspected, this world wasn't as peaceful as it seemed.
The term "County Lord" also piqued his interest, but he didn't ask further questions. He would have plenty of time to learn more about this world in the days to come.
After explaining the rules for leaving the village and tying the red strings, Wang Da'an finally led Lu Qing toward the grand market.
(End of Chapter)
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