This was an ancient city. The traffic on the Tongji Canal was surprisingly sparse, especially on the section of the river towards Jiangdu. There were only a few fishing boats coming and going. It was unknown whether it was affected by the war, but passenger and cargo ships did not dare to go there.
The dock was only a thousand steps away from the city gate, and there were more than ten ships of various sizes docked there. Compared to the prosperity of the docks of any other city, it paled in comparison.
There were a few food and tea stalls by the roadside leading to the city gate, but no one patronized them. It felt a little deserted.
A strong wind blew across the desolate street, stirring up a cloud of sand and dust. A damaged paper lantern was blown far away by the wind.
There were two figures strolling on this deserted street.
One of them was tall and sturdy, with a long sword on his back. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, a high nose, and thick lips. He gave off a sense of power without being angry.
One of them had a graceful figure, fair skin, a handsome face, and a pair of deep eyes that faintly emitted endless sorrow.
These two people were about seventeen or eighteen years old. They were Xu Aotian and Fang Ziyu, who had just entered the secular world.
Xu Aotian and Fang Ziyu strolled along the long street. They still didn't know which force controlled this city.
In other cities, unless they were in an emergency period of attack or defense, they were willing to allow merchants to enter and exit. They could collect customs duties and maintain trade.
However, this important town in this section of the Tongji Canal was like an undefended city. Not only did it not have the flag that should show its sovereignty, but there was not even a single guard guarding the gate. Even in this era of war, such a situation was very rare.
The two of them entered the city in a daze.
The main streets in the city were made of stone slabs with four crisscrossed doors. The alleys formed a grid network that led to the main streets. Most of the houses were made of brick and wood, simple and tidy. It should have been a comfortable and peaceful living environment, but now it was empty. Most of the shops were closed, as if a disaster was about to happen. Some of the shops had even been robbed.
Along the way, there were no other pedestrians besides the two of them. It was like a dead city.
The two of them stopped and stood in the middle of the street.
Xu Aotian sighed." War is really harmful to people. A prosperous city has actually become like this."”
"What did you find out?" Fang Ziyu asked lightly.”
Xu Aotian said in a deep voice," It's really hard to explain in a few words. I heard from the refugees that if we had come a few days earlier, we would have seen tens of millions of people crowding the road. Their cries shook the sky as they fled in all directions.”
"Which power originally owned this city?" Fang Ziyu asked. Who wants to attack the city?"
Xu Aotian replied," This city has been attacked several times. I heard that the last one was Xu Yuanlang. However, the good times did not last long. Because Dou Jiande led his army across the river to attack Xu Yuanlang's base city, Xu Yuanlang hurriedly transferred the troops here to reinforce, causing the defense of this city to be weak. In the end, even the hundreds of defenders escaped, causing this city to become a city that no one cares about.”
"Then why are the commoners running?" Fang Ziyu asked in confusion.”
Xu Aotian sighed,"Even the city guards are gone. How can the people not run away?" Putting aside the fact that other factions might attack the city at any time, just the few groups of bandits in the vicinity were enough to make them live in fear.”Pausing for a moment, Xu Aotian patted Fang Ziyu's shoulder and said,""Come, let's find something to eat first."
Fang Ziyu was stunned for a moment, but then he remembered that Xu Aotian had yet to reach the fasting stage, so he nodded and said nothing.
The two of them came to the door of a restaurant. Xu Aotian opened the wooden board of the restaurant and said,"Master Fang, please find a table and sit down. I'll immediately start the stove and make a few authentic dishes for you.”
Fang Ziyu couldn't help but smile as he found a large round table in the middle and sat down.
As the owner had only left for a few days, there was only a little dust on the tables and chairs.
After a while, Xu Aotian came out from the kitchen with two big jars. He put them on the table and said with a bitter face,"The things are already moldy and inedible. I only got these two jars of wine.”
He slapped open the soil seal, and immediately, the fragrance of wine assailed his nose. Xu Aotian picked up a jar and drank it in big mouthfuls.
Fang Ziyu was very interested, he also took another jar and opened the lid. All of a sudden, he spat out all of them with a puff. He raised his hand and fanned his mouth as he shouted,"So spicy, so spicy."
Seeing Xu Aotian laughing non-stop, Fang Ziyu couldn't help but say,"What's so funny?"
"This is the first time I've seen someone choke on alcohol." Xu Aotian laughed.”
"It's normal to choke on your first drink." Fang Ziyu said angrily.”
"You haven't drunk before?" Xu Aotian asked curiously.”
"No one's ever given me a drink before," Fang Ziyu said unhappily.”
Xu Aotian thought about it and agreed. Back then, the two of them could not even eat when they begged, so how could they have the money to buy wine? After that, Fang Ziyu stayed in the Hollow Jade Temple. There was no alcohol there. The last time he drank, the old beggar who adopted him was still alive. At that time, the old beggar finally managed to get some wine and kept it as a treasure all day long. Xu Aotian also accidentally discovered it and tasted it out of curiosity. From then on, he fell in love with this cup. Xu Aotian couldn't help but laugh when he thought of the first time he choked on the pungent smell of alcohol.
"What are you laughing at?" Fang Ziyu asked.”
Xu Aotian came back to his senses and saw Fang Ziyu looking at him strangely. He shook his head and smiled,"Nothing, I was just thinking about some fun things in the past.”He turned around and looked at the cold street under the setting sun through the open door. He shook his head and sighed."A prosperous city that lives and works in peace and contentment is about to suffer a calamity in the blink of an eye. What a pity!”
Fang Ziyu took another sip of the wine and found that it was spicy in his mouth. As soon as it entered his stomach, it felt warm and comfortable. "What do you plan to do now?" he asked, fiddling with the wine jar.”
Xu Aotian shook his head and sighed.”
Fang Ziyu put down his wine jar and asked,"How?"
"I don't know," Xu Aotian said with a bitter smile,"I'll take it one step at a time." What about you?"
"I want to improve my cultivation first." Fang Ziyu said.”
"For revenge?" Xu Aotian asked.”
Fang Ziyu's eyes were filled with killing intent as he said in a deep voice,"One day, I will make them regret what they did.”
Xu Aotian sighed." Ziyu, you should pay for destroying your family, but don't kill the innocent."”
"I know my limits," Fang Ziyu replied softly.”
Xu Aotian raised his wine jar and said,"Come, let's toast to your future ability to kill your enemies!"”
"Boom!"
The two wine jars collided and both of them took a big gulp. However, Fang Ziyu couldn't help but cough after drinking it.
"Looks like you still have a lot to learn." Xu Aotian laughed.”
After calming himself down, Fang Ziyu smiled and said,""Good wine!"
The two of them looked at each other and then burst into laughter.
Xu Aotian wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes and smiled."I've never seen you laugh so heartily before.”
Fang Ziyu's smile disappeared and he said softly,"I will only smile at you."
Feeling Fang Ziyu's sincere affection, Xu Aotian couldn't help but feel touched."Ziyu, it's good to meet you."
Fang Ziyu leaned back comfortably and let out a long sigh."Meeting you is my luck."
Xu Aotian shook his head and laughed,"Why are we acting like little girls?"”He lifted the wine jar and said loudly,"Come, finish it, and then we'll go wander the Jianghu."”
"Boom!" The two wine jars collided again.
Friendship is like wine, the longer it lasts, the stronger it gets.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]