"Settled in?"

"Yes, my lord, right next to us, in the small tent where we store food."

Si Niang is a very considerate woman. This time, she prepared a lot of delicious food and drinks for Zheng Fan to take on the road. No matter the circumstances, she always seeks a refined life whenever possible.

This is a woman who would even bother to paint her nails before her execution.

Zheng Fan nodded.

Si Niang knelt beside Zheng Fan.

They both remained silent, tacitly, because they were only a tent away, and that slovenly man could hear anything they said.

How awkward.

His surname is Shatuo.

And it just so happens that his current rank of Commandant was earned by beheading the leader of the Shatuo tribe.

In fact, when he heard the man's surname, Zheng Fan felt a sense of despair. He even thought it had come to the point of a bayonet charge.

Even if Zheng Fan said his name was "Fan Li" in the end, the entire camp called him Commandant Zheng…

Could he really keep it hidden?

Zheng Fan even suspected that the man already knew his identity and was aware that his hands were stained with the blood of the Shatuo tribe.

And was this guy really just trying to get a free meal and drink by joining the birthday tribute convoy?

The destination of this convoy is the Zhenbei (Pacifying the North) Marquis's manor.

Zheng Fan stared at the flickering candlelight in front of him.

At this moment,

even though he was escorting the birthday tribute,

he suddenly had the illusion that he was escorting a nuclear warhead.

"Rest,"

Zheng Fan finally said these three words.

Sleep.

Everything will be normal when you wake up.

…………

Of course, that was wishful thinking.

Because when he woke up, Zheng Fan saw the slovenly man already sitting in front of his bed.

Si Niang was rolling dough, and water was boiling in a pot.

Zheng Fan sat up. Seeing this, Si Niang planned to get up and serve Zheng Fan with his morning ablutions.

Zheng Fan shook his head, signaling Si Niang to continue preparing breakfast. He then picked up a basin, fetched water, walked out of the tent, and squatted at the entrance.

Brushing his teeth with green salt. When he first woke up in this world, he wasn't used to it, but gradually, his mouth seemed to have accepted the taste.

"Glug glug glug…"

"Hoo… spit!"

He soaked the towel in the cool water, wrung it out, and vigorously rubbed it on his face.

Two groups of patrolling soldiers in the camp passed by, and they specifically saluted Zheng Fan, who nodded in return.

In his heart, he was calculating that these people probably weren't enough to be used as cannon fodder, so he didn't say anything.

After washing up,

Zheng Fan returned to his tent.

The noodles were ready: Saozi noodles (noodles with a meat sauce topping), the noodles were chewy, and the Saozi was authentic.

While Zheng Fan ate one bowl, the slovenly man had already eaten five.

It seems that the living conditions of the barbarians are really bad. Even such an expert can't get enough to eat. Look how hungry this kid is; he's just a starving ghost reincarnated.

Zheng Fan thought to himself with this jesting tone; all he could do now was be a "strongman" on the inside.

After breakfast, the team began to move out again. The slovenly man cooperated with Zheng Fan's suggestion and stayed in a carriage with Zheng Fan's tent and other items. Moreover, Zheng Fan gave him a set of his own sweatshirts to wear, which he also put on.

After his hair and face were covered, he didn't look so slovenly anymore. And because the sweatshirts Si Niang made for Zheng Fan were all expensive in terms of style and stitching, there was no need to worry that the soldiers who searched yesterday under Zheng Fan's orders would suspect him.

After setting off again, Zheng Fan rode his horse at the front of the team, and Si Niang rode alongside him.

At this moment, Zheng Fan really had the thought of just galloping away, even if it meant losing everything, at least he could protect his own life.

But this idea wasn't too strong.

Even though Zheng Fan knew that once he prepared to run away, Si Niang would definitely follow him without a word and escape with him.

However, since he had come to this world, seen different scenery, encountered truly terrifying experts, and was about to meet the most powerful behemoth in the north of this world, the Zhenbei Marquis's manor,

he was a little reluctant to run away in such a dejected manner.

Perhaps, deep down, he was still restless.

Not to the point of "if I hear the Dao in the morning, I can die in the evening," but with the petty-bourgeois sentiment of "the world is so big, I want to see it."

Lunch was dry rations. The team didn't stop to eat. In this era, most families were still used to having two meals a day. Of course, families with good conditions definitely had three, four, or even more meals.

Therefore, the team only stopped to set up camp in the evening, and everyone cooked their meals.

Zheng Fan returned to his tent again. The slovenly man, wearing a sweatshirt, was already waiting there, almost drooling and waiting for food.

Dinner was a stew. The scouts had hunted some game outside while traveling during the day, and Zheng Fan was naturally given the best piece of meat.

Add a little hot pot seasoning, vermicelli, and pickles. Although the dishes weren't plentiful, it was considered very good given the current environment.

The three of them sat around the pot in silence, eating with their heads down.

Zheng Fan finished eating first, walked out of the tent, and went straight to the carriage where the snow wolves were kept.

After hesitating for a moment, Zheng Fan opened the carriage door and bent down to enter.

Xu Wenzu was gnawing on venison and only smiled when he saw Zheng Fan enter.

Because of his obvious physique, Xu Wenzu had been staying in the carriage for the past two days. This must not have been easy.

The red snow wolf was still lying there listlessly, half-dead, but it should be able to hold on until the gift was handed over tomorrow.

"We should arrive by tomorrow afternoon. Please bear with it a little longer, my lord."

Originally, if they were traveling at full speed, it would only take a day to get from Huto City to the Zhenbei Marquis's manor. However, because they were escorting the birthday tribute, the team's speed was naturally slow.

Moreover, the Zhenbei Marquis's manor wasn't in Tuman City; it wasn't even in any city.

It was in the wild, it… was in the desert.

During the years when the Yan Kingdom fought with the desert barbarians a century ago, Tuman City was the front line for the Yan Kingdom's resistance against the barbarians.

But when the first Zhenbei Marquis was enfeoffed to guard the north, he chose to build the Marquis's manor on an oasis far away from Tuman City.

At the foot of Yin Mountain, adjacent to the Heng River, he established his government!

For the next hundred years, the Zhenbei Marquis's lineage was equivalent to turning itself into a knife, constantly stabbing the desert barbarians in the kidney.

"Mm."

Xu Wenzu responded, put down the venison in his hand, wiped his mouth, and said,

"Will this official be able to see Miss tomorrow night?"

He was asking Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan shook his head and said,

"Please forgive this humble one for being presumptuous, but after arriving at the Marquis's manor tomorrow, this humble one will go to see Miss. If Miss is busy tomorrow, it's possible…"

"Mm, it's fine. It's the Madam's birthday, Miss must have many things to do. This official isn't in a hurry."

Xu Wenzu was quite open-minded.

Zheng Fan nodded and continued, "Sir, please bear with it for another day. After entering the Marquis's manor tomorrow, you won't have to be inconvenienced here anymore."

"Hehe, this official is doing quite well here. During the day, I can talk to this beast, and it's not lonely.

Ah, when we get to the Marquis's manor, this official wants to have another drink with your father, Zheng Chenggong!"

"My father will definitely be overjoyed."

"That's for sure, hahaha…"

After chatting aimlessly for a few more sentences, Zheng Fan got out of the carriage. He looked up at the bright moon in the sky while gently stroking the wine bag on his waist.

Inside the wine bag was wine, which Si Niang had poisoned. The poison was still prepared by Xue San when he was at home, and he usually used it on his dagger.

This wine still hadn't been sent out.

Last night, Xu Wenzu ate roasted chicken, hot and steaming.

Tonight, he ate roasted venison, which was game hunted by the scouts today.

This shows that, in this team, in addition to himself, there was someone else taking care of Xu Wenzu, and the person who could distribute venison wouldn't have a low status.

Was it one of the five centurions, Wang Duan, or… someone else?

Zheng Fan reached out and tapped his forehead. They would be arriving at the Marquis's manor tomorrow afternoon, and it would be difficult to maintain his lies and fabricated identity.

"If you want to kill someone, just kill them."

The slovenly man's voice sounded from behind Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan immediately shuddered, and black light immediately emanated from his body, but the slovenly man's hand pressed down on Zheng Fan's shoulder. In the next moment, the light on Zheng Fan's body was instantly suppressed.

It was very frustrating. Clearly, he had just entered the ranks. According to the normal routine, there should be a constant stream of non-ranked or half-step ninth-rank small fries running over to tease Si Niang or mock him, and then he would slap them in the face, while passersby would constantly exclaim in surprise.

His dreams were very full, but reality was so bone-dry.

But this slovenly man was treating him like a glutinous rice ball, kneading him back and forth at will.

However, when he thought that Mo Wan and Si Niang had no room to display their abilities in front of this slovenly man, Zheng Fan felt a lot more at peace.

Perhaps it was because the difference in strength between the two sides was too great, or perhaps it was the tacit understanding that had developed after a few meals.

Zheng Fan shook his head and said,

"It's not convenient."

It wasn't that he didn't want to kill, but if he acted rashly without complete certainty, there might be trouble.

"Hehe."

The slovenly man smiled without commenting.

Zheng Fan saw that he was carrying something on his shoulder and asked curiously,

"Are you, preparing to leave?"

The slovenly man nodded, "Yes."

"Should I see you off?"

"Okay."

"…" Zheng Fan.

I was just being polite.

Zheng Fan and the slovenly man walked out of the camp together. Because Zheng Fan was there, the patrolling soldiers and the soldiers at the camp gate didn't stop them.

After leaving the camp and walking to a slope, the slovenly man stopped.

Zheng Fan also breathed a sigh of relief. He was really worried that the man would abduct him.

The slovenly man sat down on the ground and opened his package, which contained wine cups, food, and some candles.

Seeing this, Zheng Fan followed suit and sat down.

The slovenly man first lit three candles,

and said,

"Barbarian sacrifices have three parts:

First, reverence for the barbarian gods;

Second, reverence for totems;

Third, reverence for the yellow sands."

As he spoke, the slovenly man grabbed a handful of yellow sand and sprinkled it next to the candles.

Who was he sacrificing to?

Some food was placed on top.

Immediately afterward,

the slovenly man faced the candles, stretched out his hands, spread them out to the sides, and then knelt down, his forehead touching the yellow sand that had just been sprinkled on the ground.

Seeing this, Zheng Fan

took a breath,

and also knelt down, kowtowing to the three candles.

Over there, the slovenly man had already gotten up. Seeing that Zheng Fan was actually kowtowing as well, the expression on his face was somewhat obscure.

He asked,

"What are you kowtowing for?"

Zheng Fan didn't think there was anything wrong with it and replied,

"It's a custom in our place. When we see a prayer mat or an offering table, no matter what god or Buddha it is, whether we know them or not, we kowtow as a formality. It's just moving our heads, it's not a loss anyway."

It's very common for tourists in later generations to go to a church to pray in the morning, burn incense at a temple in the afternoon, and ask for fortunes at a Taoist temple in the evening.

The slovenly man smiled, nodded, and said, "It's not a loss."

Immediately afterward,

the slovenly man reached out, picked up the food he had just placed there, and began to eat it.

"Hey, are you very hungry?"

Clearly, they had just eaten dinner not long ago.

The slovenly man nodded.

"Even if you're hungry, you should wait before eating the offerings. We should eat after the person you're offering to has had their fill."

The slovenly man didn't stop his actions and continued to eat happily. After a piece of jerky was swallowed, he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his sweatshirt

and said,

"He won't mind."

"If he doesn't mind, then who are you sacrificing to?"

"Myself."
Chapter 1 The Beginning
作者：chun jie di xiao long