Liang Kingdom.
In the 455th year of the Han Emperor's reign, a meteor fell from the winter sky into Tianduan Mountain, shaking the Liang Kingdom!
「The 458th year of the Han Emperor's reign. Midsummer, at dusk.」
In the southern part of the Liang Kingdom, west of Xiangyang Prefecture, in Jade Peak County, Golden Bridge Village...
THUD...
A dull thud from a heavy object hitting the ground sounded at the entrance of an old house.
As dust swirled up, a few bean-sized beads of sweat dripped down, hitting the dirt path and kicking up more dust, forming several small muddy pits.
"Open the door!"
Cheng Guanghai, dressed in a gray cloth undershirt with a black sweat towel around his neck and straw sandals on his feet, yelled into the house. He then took off the old, blackened straw hat from his head, bent over to remove the carrying pole from his shoulder, and hung it on the basket ropes.
Inside the two large baskets on the ground were burlap sacks filled with goods.
Cheng Guanghai looked at the contents of the baskets and breathed a sigh of relief.
'Finally got them back safely.'
This was the grain he had borrowed from his younger brother in the county.
In these times of famine, this was life-saving grain, incredibly precious!
"Quick, quick, your father's back!"
Hearing the shout from outside, a woman's urgent voice called out from the courtyard:
"Second son, go open the door! Your father's back."
Soon, with a long, creaky "SCREEECH," the old, paint-chipped wooden door, weathered by years of wind and sun, was opened from the inside.
A scrawny little boy of about eleven or twelve, wearing a gray, patched tank top, walked out with bare, dusty feet.
The little boy looked at the man standing at the door fanning himself with his straw hat and shouted excitedly, "Dad!"
The man looked at his second son, Cheng Zongliang, smiled and nodded, then casually placed the straw hat on the boy's head. Bending down, he hoisted the carrying pole and baskets, struggled to walk inside, and asked,
"Where's your big brother?"
Cheng Zongliang, whose head was almost completely covered by the straw hat, quickly lifted it off and replied as he ran inside:
"Dad, Big Brother went into the mountains while you were in the county."
"Daddy, Daddy, have some water."
Just then, a tiny tot with a child-like voice emerged from the main hall, carefully carrying a ceramic bowl in her small hands and walking out one step at a time.
She tottered along, spilling much of the water from the bowl in her hands.
"Oh, my sweet girl, be careful now! Don't you fall!"
Cheng Guanghai's heart filled with joy when he saw his little daughter, her hair in two pigtails sticking straight up, and her thoughtful gesture.
He quickly set his things down, rushed over, and took the ceramic bowl from his daughter's hands, gulping down its contents. GULP, GULP. Even though she had spilled more than half the water in the dozen or so steps she took, there wasn't much left.
"So delicious. Yun'Er is so capable, you can even pour water for Daddy now."
Cheng Guanghai happily picked up the smiling Cheng Zongyun and kissed her on the cheek, making the little girl giggle with delight.
"Were you a good girl for your mother today?"
"Mhm, I played all by myself," Cheng Zongyun said, nodding her little head and grinning.
"Your second brother didn't play with you..."
Before Cheng Guanghai could finish, he turned to see Cheng Zongliang rummaging through the baskets.
"Hey, you little rascal! Weren't you supposed to be watching your sister?" When it came to his son, Cheng Guanghai didn't hold back, rapping him on the head.
Cheng Zongliang clutched his head and nodded quickly. "I did, I did! Mom went to the fields today, so I was the one watching Sister at home."
"All right, go wash up. We can eat dinner once Yang'Er gets back."
Just then, the children's mother, Zhou Xiao'e, came out of the kitchen.
"It's so hot today... Go help your mother with the fire."
Seeing his wife's hair stuck to her temples with sweat, Cheng Guanghai's heart ached for her as he yelled at his second son.
"Oh..." Cheng Zongliang replied and started toward the kitchen.
"Dad, you're back."
Just then, a teenager walked in from outside, carrying a burlap sack in one hand and a bow and arrows on his back.
The teenager was also dressed in a patched gray cloth undershirt and trousers, with a pair of straw sandals on his feet. He was about five-foot-five.
Unlike the others in his family, the teenager had a slightly sturdier build, and faint muscle lines were visible on his exposed arms.
But the one who reacted fastest to the newcomer was the little girl in Cheng Guanghai's arms.
"B-Big Brother...!"
Her speech still unclear, she immediately struggled to get down from her father's arms and ran toward the door on her short, stumbling legs.
This scene made Cheng Guanghai a little jealous.
'This girl is still closest to her big brother.'
"Big Brother, Big Brother, I missed you."
The little girl shouted as she ran, the two pigtails on top of her head bobbing up and down.
"Haha."
Cheng Zongyang chuckled, tossed the burlap sack aside, and picked up the little girl.
Meanwhile, Cheng Zongliang stared at the bulging burlap sack and hurried over to open it and take a look.
Cheng Guanghai paid them no mind and walked to the well. After some effort, he managed to draw up less than half a bucket of water.
At this sight, his brow furrowed.
'The water level has dropped again!'
"Big Brother, you got less today. Was it harder to hunt?"
Cheng Zongliang's voice rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly and gestured behind him.
Seeing this, Cheng Zongliang went and closed the door.
"I covered a lot of ground in the Outer Mountain today but only came across a snake that came out of the ground and a wild pheasant."
"That's normal," Cheng Guanghai said, his expression grave as he stared at the turbid well water that filled less than a third of the bucket.
"The drought these past two years has nearly dried up the outer rivers, and the grain harvest has been almost nonexistent. Now, even the well water is dwindling.
I heard from Li Ming that everyone wanted to risk going into the Inner Mountain to divert water, but the river at the border of the Inner and Outer Mountains has also long since dried up. Several people were even poisoned to death by venomous insects there.
Now, just to survive and pay taxes, those with connections are running to the county to borrow what they can. Those without connections—not just in our village, but in all the nearby villages—are all foraging for food in the mountains.
It's only going to get harder. I don't know when this disaster will end.
Also, when I went to the county today, your Second Uncle mentioned that it's about the same situation throughout Xiangyang Prefecture. There are more and more beggars in the city, likely refugees wandering in from other places.
Even in the neighboring Luoyang Prefecture, it hasn't rained for half a year since the start of the year. I'm afraid things will get even worse. I wonder how things are over in Linchuan and Beiding Prefectures. If that day ever truly comes, we won't even know where to flee."
At this, Cheng Guanghai sighed.
His family, too, was scraping a living from the fields and the mountains.
Fortunately, every household could still draw some water from their wells. Thanks to the savings he and his eldest son had earned from hunting diligently these past few years, plus what he could borrow from his brother in the county, their family was relatively stable and not short on grain.
But the quality of their food had certainly declined.
"It's okay. Things will get better."
Cheng Zongyang smiled, set his little sister down, and pinched her still-chubby cheeks, saying, "I'm going to prepare these two animals first. You go play by yourself."
"I want to watch Big Brother kill the chicken," the three-year-old girl said, lifting her little face without a trace of fear.
Seeing this, Cheng Guanghai shook his head and went to wash up.
Ever since she was born, the eldest had doted on this girl, always giving her the best food. Naturally, they were close.
Cheng Zongliang also followed his big brother, watching him prepare the wild pheasant and the snake, completely forgetting about starting the fire.
Watching the wild pheasant gradually become bare, the little girl squatting beside them swallowed and asked her big brother in a low voice:
"Big Brother, are we eating chicken tonight?"
Hearing this, Cheng Zongyang smiled. "Mhm, we are. I'll save a drumstick for you. We'll steam it to save oil."
"Hee hee, thank you, Big Brother." The girl squatted contentedly to the side, continuing to watch quietly.
Cheng Zongliang opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Cheng Zongyang noticed this and smiled to himself, but the next second, he sent him off to start the fire.
"Huh? What's this?"
Suddenly, while gutting the gopher snake, he felt something hard and solid in its stomach.
It was about the size of an adult's thumb—a Stone Ring.