Chapter 4, The Chancellor of Emperor Qin Shi Huang

It is simply too small, having shrunk a full circle compared to his previous arm size

Outside the stone house, there is a basket woven from tree vines, suspended high above the ground between two enormous pine trees. The pines extend outward at an angle, and below them lies a deep ravine, through which a modest stream rushes down from the mountain gorge.

As he walked into that beam of sunlight, Yun Lang saw his face clearly for the first time

His voice is unpleasant, resembling someone speaking with their throat being squeezed. If he could speak a little slower, Yun Lang might be able to understand, but unfortunately, he speaks too quickly for Yun Lang to comprehend anything

Fortunately, there seems to be a significant range of motion in the neck, allowing his head to turn slightly to the left or right, which greatly expands his field of vision compared to yesterday

This arm, when viewed alone, is a flawless beauty, with skin that appears almost transparent, and the bluish veins pulsating beneath the delicate surface. Exposed to the daylight for just a moment, it transforms from white to pink.

Yunlang understood that the closer the era was to later generations, the more their language resembled that of the future, and it sounded less obstructive.

After finishing the conversation, he followed the tiger out of the stone house

It is an ancient legend that the tiger is the巡山 beast of the mountain god.

Or rather, this fellow is still a person who speaks in ancient language

The Mountain God also seemed to have noticed this issue, so he deliberately slowed down his speech and asked word by word

After Grandpa Dazai returned and saw this arm, he laughed so hard that his eyes were nearly closed. He kicked the tiger, which had also poked its head over to take a look, aside. This frightened the sika deer, which had never dared to stray more than two steps away from Yunlang as long as the tiger was present, and it hurriedly moved closer to Yunlang.

Huns

A delicate and dazzling little arm appeared before Yunlang

Yunlang now spends most of his time in this covered pouch, which makes him feel incredibly relaxed. Here, he can freely complete all the necessary processes of digestion and excretion without burdening the Mountain God.

Dazai did not know what he remembered, he pried open Yunlang's mouth and stuffed his dirty fingers inside, the calloused fingers stirring back and forth in his throat, and when he took them out, there was unexpectedly a lump of bluish-gray flesh on his fingers

This made Yunlang feel anxious, as he suddenly realized that his proud knowledge seemed to hold no advantage here

That deer was actually alive; it was simply stunned by the tiger. When it was dropped from the tiger's back by the mountain god, whether it was the grandfather or grandmother, it was so frightened that its legs went weak. It lay on the ground, bleating, yet did not dare to rise and flee

On the tenth day at the stone house, Yunlang's hoarse voice was able to produce some simple sounds. Although it was very raspy, it brought him great joy. As for the fellow who had been upgraded from Tiger's grandmother to Mountain God grandfather, he also seemed very excited

He looked at this arm with appetite, let alone someone like Grandpa Dazai, who has been eating undercooked meat for years

Seeing the obvious disdain in the eyes of the Mountain God, Yun Lang shook his head again; he was unwilling to play the role of someone at the very bottom of society

Seeing Yunlang greedily drinking milk, the face of the mountain god, which lacked any distinct male or female features, finally revealed a hint of a smile

Initially narrow, it only allows passage for one person. After walking several dozen steps, it suddenly opens up. The land is flat and expansive, with houses standing in order, and there are fertile fields, beautiful ponds, and mulberry and bamboo groves. Paths intersect, and the sounds of chickens and dogs can be heard. The people coming and going, both men and women, are dressed just like outsiders. The elderly and the young are all enjoying themselves. Upon seeing a fisherman, they are greatly surprised and inquire about his origin. He provides a detailed answer. They then invite him to return home, preparing wine and slaughtering chickens for a meal. When the villagers hear of this person, they all come to inquire. He states that his ancestors fled the chaos during the Qin dynasty, leading their wives, children, and fellow villagers to this remote place, never to return, thus becoming isolated from outsiders. Upon seeing the fisherman, they are greatly surprised and inquire about his origin. He provides a detailed answer. They then invite him to return home, preparing wine and slaughtering chickens for a meal. When the villagers hear of this person, they all come to inquire. He states that his ancestors fled the chaos during the Qin dynasty, leading their wives, children, and fellow villagers to this remote place, never to return, thus becoming isolated from outsiders. They ask what era it is now, and he does not know of the Han dynasty, let alone the Wei and Jin dynasties.

As for the content, the characters that resemble patterns are truly too unfamiliar; after staring for a long time, he found that there was not a single character on the bamboo slips that he could recognize

This discovery left Yunlang both amused and perplexed. What kind of place is this, and how could it have fallen behind to such an extent, or rather, how could it be so primitive

The Mountain God took a large gray pottery bowl from the stone table, overturned the deer, and began to knead under its belly.

Only those before Cai Lun used bamboo slips and wooden tablets

The tiger always approached him for no particular reason, and its actions of sniffing the aroma of roasted meat with its large nose put him under considerable pressure

He felt Yunlang's gaze and turned his head, speaking in a strange tone: "Don't die, if you die, you'll become tiger food"

Every time he saw something, his heart sank a little more, until a bronze vessel that could only possibly be found in a museum was carelessly discarded at the entrance, he had already begun to feel a sense of despair

It was only after the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang that the Grand Minister became a household servant, specifically responsible for the daily needs of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, which was an unparalleled honor

These bamboo slips are not very old, and some of them can be considered brand new, indicating that the people here are still extensively using bamboo slips and wooden tablets

Even if his limbs became uneven in size, he accepted it; it was remarkable enough to spend a lifetime in this deep mountain forest with Grandpa Dazai

In a person's life, there are many thresholds to cross, and often, the one before us is the most important

The milk has a slight milky odor, but warm milk flowing down the throat feels like a spring rain nourishing the parched earth

Due to the cold kindness expressed by the Tiger Grandmother, Yun Lang prefers to refer to her as the Mountain God rather than the evil Tiger Grandmother

If one overlooks his thin lips, his forehead is still quite full, and his pair of slender phoenix eyes is actually quite pleasing to the eye. Of course, if they did not appear so sinister, they would be considered beautiful eyes.

Yunlang saw the hand of the mountain god gradually tightening its grip on the sword hilt and quickly shook his head with difficulty

Yunlang can feel his body separating from the shell, and his skin is itching intensely This is a very good phenomenon, proving that his body is in the process of healing

On the back of the tiger rests a large wooden bow, along with a quiver filled with arrows

A person from a respectable family

Yunlang always felt that this was his own mishearing, or perhaps that Grandpa Dazai did not express himself clearly. It should be the 40th generation, right? Even if it is the 40th generation, a generation should appropriately span over 50 years.

The Peach Blossom Spring is merely a secluded and remote place, while the family of the First Emperor spans only four generations... it is merely during the mid-Western Han Dynasty...

The reason he affirmed that Grandma Hu was speaking in ancient language was purely because he saw a pile of bamboo slips

Transforming from a lump of coke into the appearance of this person represents a qualitative leap

He could probably recognize some of the characters on the new wooden tablets in the upper layer

White milk splashed out, quickly filling half a bowl. The mountain god grandpa dropped the deer and once again pried open Yunlang's mouth, pouring half a bowl of deer milk into it

However, he soon cast this doubt aside; one of his arms had fallen off

The Mountain God, upon seeing Yunlang's confirmation, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and his demeanor became increasingly gentle, unlike the earlier roughness.

The script on the bamboo slips is known as Yunlang, which is the renowned Small Seal script, perfectly aligning with the identity of the wooden tablets