Chapter 2: Moving Towards the Outside World

However, when our protagonist descended the mountain, not only was there no so-called "wheel," but even his shoes had worn out, and he was also so hungry that he felt dizzy.

Before the age of eight, he called him "Old Dad"; after turning eight, he referred to him as "Old Guy". As for the townspeople, they called the old man names like "Old Drunkard" and "Old Bastard".

Is it really so

However, the second sentence is the true reason for the old man's anger

The old man is buried here; may his soul rest in peace

Without his accustomed weapon, the axe, Shaya Leiming retrieved the dark, charred fire poker from the hearth, secured it to his belt, donned the wolf skin robe that had several holes, and wore the straw sandals whose soles were nearly worn through. With hope in his heart, he descended the mountain

Despite his stomach growling with hunger and his hands and feet feeling cold, Shaya Leiming was still filled with lofty aspirations.

On that occasion, when Shaya Leiming carried the wolf into the town, many people showed great interest in inquiring about the price. However, upon seeing the damaged wolf pelt, no one was interested anymore

So it turns out... I have become this impressive already

Go to the town and look for a job, even if it is just doing odd jobs at a car dealership. Perhaps, with my strength, I might catch the attention of that mercenary group and become a low-ranking retainer.

The old man was very irresponsible regarding the cultural education of Xia Ya Le Ming. At a basic level, he only allowed Xia Ya Le Ming to barely recognize eighty percent of the characters while flipping through some of the old, yellowed books left behind by the old man, and the portion that he could understand was no more than half.

At the very least, Shaya Leiming understood that a general would absolutely never be unable to afford even a drink. Yet the old man could only afford the cheapest rye beer, which was not only spicy but also had a sour taste. Moreover, this little bit of money for alcohol was scraped together from the gaps between his teeth

Three copper coins for a bottle of wine is undoubtedly the most "high-end" wine that Shaya Leiming has purchased over the years

They buried him behind their shabby, drafty house, in a hollow on the hillside, digging a pit and filling it with some soil and stones. However, when it came time to erect a tombstone, Xia Yaleming encountered a problem—absurdly, after all these years, he did not even know the old man's name

A gentle axe

However ... ? ... Regarding the evaluation of his own axe skills, is the old man praising himself or criticizing himself?

From this perspective, the old man is a person of great individuality; even the manner of his death is utterly distinctive. This is because the old man was unaware that the bottle of wine on the cabinet had long been empty—there wasn't a single drop of wine left.

Well, old man, you have left. Now I am all alone.

According to the legendary tales recounted by those bards and in those books, it should be referred to as "the wheels of history beginning to turn"

Much of the content in the book consists of terms such as "cavalry," "turning movement," "flanking maneuver," and "encirclement," as well as various operational plans, details on the transportation of supplies, different troop deployment methods in various terrains, riverbank operations, battles on plains, ambushes in canyons, and so forth

The wolf pelt was never sold until the end, so Shaya Leiming simply made himself a fur coat, and he and the old man ate the wolf meat for several days

This is the first step that Shaya Leiming takes towards the outside world

Well, according to the ramblings of this old fellow, he not only "once" was a renowned swordsman on the mainland, but he even "once" was a general who led troops

***

However, even so, the old man still forbade Shaya Leiming from looking through his collection of books, and for this, Shaya Leiming often faced the old man's wrath. It was only when the old man was drunk and fell into a deep sleep that Shaya Leiming would sneakily take a look for a while.

Fortunately, he no longer has to worry about it

You fool, do you not understand that if you chop off the wolf's head, the wolf's pelt will lose its value! Originally, this wolf pelt could be exchanged for two silver coins, enough for us to drink for three months. Now it can fetch at most less than one-tenth of that price

He ran to the town and sold the most valuable item in his home—the illustrated book—and exchanged it for three copper coins, which he then used to buy a bottle of wine

At the beginning, Shaya Leiming was troubled for a long time by this evaluation from the old man

At the beginning, Shaya Leiming thought these were war stories, just like the legendary battle tales told by the down-and-out bards in the town. However, he later discerned some differences. At the very least, the content in the old man's collection was certainly not as captivating as the stories recounted by the bards; one could even say it was quite dull and uninteresting

However, that time, Shar Aileming only used an axe to sever the wolf's head

Although the flesh of the bloodthirsty wolf is difficult to eat and has a sour and foul odor, for Shaya Leiming, who has been hungry for a day and a night and is now frozen stiff, it remains an unbearable torment

The old fellow is not wrong

At the very least, in his view, finding a job as a laborer in town is far better than staying in the mountains and living a life of helplessness like that old man.

Shaya Leiming buried the old man

When Shaya Leiming returned from chopping wood, he saw the old man lying on the ground, already lifeless. He had died on the way—crawling down from the bed, he made his way toward the cabinet where the wine bottles were kept. Unfortunately, he was too old and frail; halfway there, he breathed his last, his hand still reaching toward the direction of the wine cabinet.

Xia Ya Le Ming once had the audacity to ask the old librarian twice. The first time, the old man directly knocked his head swollen with a stick for three days. The second time, the old man was drunk and did not hit his head, but instead kicked him and glared, cursing something like, "Back in the day when I led troops, if I encountered a disobedient brat like you, I would have chopped you down long ago..."

At the age of thirteen, he went up the mountain alone to chop firewood and killed a hungry bloodthirsty wolf with the broken axe in his hand—this type of wolf is a low-level magical beast that lives on the Wildfire Plain. When in an aggressive state, its fur can become harder than a turtle's shell, its teeth can bite through a hunter's spear, and it moves with agility

Faced with this scene, he took quite a while to regain his composure, and then he was filled with excitement

Uh ... ... I can no longer think about wolf meat

The first issue to be addressed is to satisfy hunger

Given his relatively poor cultural level, he only knows that "creative" seems to be a commendatory term, while "dying with eyes wide open" appears to be a rather negative expression

Young people always have many fantasies; they want to venture out and explore

After he carried the wolf's corpse back, when he excitedly told the old man about it, the old man was still quite displeased. There were two reasons for his displeasure. The first was: "After practicing for so long, if you can't even kill a little wolf, you might as well find a block of tofu to throw yourself against and die."

Because the old man died a day after saying this.

In the old man's own words, he died in a very "creative" manner

However, he poured the bottle of wine onto the old man's grave, watching as the wine flowed into the soil, yet he did not take a single sip himself

At that time, the thirteen-year-old Xia Yaleming was so frightened that he was almost about to wet his pants. When the wolf lunged at him, he nearly lost consciousness, instinctively swinging the axe in his hand in the posture he had practiced thousands of times before.

If he is a general, then I am the emperor of the empire.

Sitting by the grave for an entire night, Shaya Leiming sighed, split a piece of wood, and awkwardly carved a line of words on it

However, Shaya Leiming still decided not to go hunting in the mountains

Although he can be considered a professional hunter, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he is one of the finest hunters within a radius of several hundred miles.

Then ... he felt a warm splash of blood on his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw a snarling wolf's head on the ground in front of him, severed at the neck, with the wolf's body right behind him.

He does not want to be a hunter

When dawn arrived, the frostbitten Shaya Leiming finally stood up. He stood before the grave, gazing at the wooden plaque, his eyes reflecting an indescribable emotion.