This... Is it already considered prosperity?

Xiu felt a little incredible.

Xiu was born in Caslana Castle, somewhere in the mountains of San Marino. Although he had never been out of the castle, he had heard many knights tell him what the town should be: its low stone walls, the traders who came and went, the endless stream of wagons and wagons, and the occasional camel bell of an Arab caravan.

It was a quiet place where people came and went, and at night, the church bells would ring, and the farmers who were working in the fields outside the town would gather their tools and return home to wait for their wives' dinner, and the people of the town would gather in the church to listen to the priest's teachings.

In the warm Mediterranean Sea, people's lives sound so good, so Xiu is curious about the towns in other places.

This was a normal situation in the Holy Roman Empire.

But...

Is this a small town in a foreign land?

Xiu couldn't help but be a little disappointed, but...

I don't feel a little sad.

"Here, is there a war?" Xiu asked in a whisper.

"No..."Changguang shook his head, "There is no war here, there are... Just survive. She said in a quiet voice.

"Survival?"

"Hmm. The people here are too closed. Everyone is reluctant to communicate with people from the outside world, but they live with their own people... It looks peaceful, doesn't it. ”

Xiu nodded.

"But to live, man must eat. When there are more people, there is more to eat. More land is needed for cultivation and more land for animals. But..."

"Land is limited. One day, when there is not enough land, there will be not enough food. If there is not enough bright silk, you will starve, and you will die. Then there will be a snatch of food, and then there will be mutual aggression and fighting. ”

"The people here are very closed, and they don't want to submit to anyone, so they set up themselves as a country. A few people, dozens of people is a small country, and if there is a piece of land, it is a territory. Everyone beats me every day, and I beat you, just to survive. Those who win live on the food of those who lose. Those who lose can only starve to death. ”

"This..."Xiu's voice was a little excited, "Isn't this war?" ”

"No, it's not war. Just to live... That's all. Changguang's eyes revealed a little complicated, but more of an indifference, a kind of seeing... Calm.

"Everyone is so closed in order to survive... Because, if there is no food, everyone has it. Once natural and man-made disasters and grain harvests fail, then it must be robbed... The food has been snatched back, and everyone can survive the winter. I can't get the food back... Those who steal food will die outside. In this way, there is also a ration left for everyone. In this way, the children still have a chance to grow up. ”

"It's unimaginable...," Xiu muttered to himself, "this... It's so—" He was a little speechless.

"It's... Why is it such a dilapidated village, but I say that he is a small town. You see, the men of this village still have the energy to guard the village gate, which means that they still have surplus food to support them to do such a luxurious thing. ”

Goalkeeper... Is it also a luxury?

Xiu unconsciously grabbed his cloak.

Knock knock.

Behind Xiu, there was a soft knock on the door. The woman leading the way opened the sliding door.

She sat down on her knees, brought a tray in front of her into the room, and closed the door.

Xiu looked at the tray beside him, which contained two bowls of white porridge, two round breads, and two yellow plates, one by one, I don't know what they were, but they looked crystal clear, and they were pretty good.

He brought the tray to the small table in the room.

"Is this the food you eat... You also drink porridge. ”

"Porridge is the best way to save food. Of course we drink porridge. "I hope you enjoy the food here, and you can't waste it." She picked up the bowl and the two small wooden sticks on the side of the tray.

Her fingers nimbly controlled the two small sticks to pick up a crystal clear flake, put it in her mouth, chewed it with a crisp sound, and then took a sip of white porridge.

Is that a gang of cutlery?

Xiuya followed her example and picked up the little stick, and...

As a matter of course, it dropped.

"It's called chopsticks, and it's our cutlery. If you're not used to it, you can use it like this—" she poked the chopsticks like a fork, "so you can eat the carrots too." ”

"Chopsticks, radish?" Xiu read these words in his mouth, and then poked a piece of radish.

But the choking sour smell made him almost throw up.

He frowned and swallowed the discomfort, and drank a large mouthful of porridge before he could barely swallow it.

"Yellow radish is a pickled food, which is used to serve rice and porridge. The taste will be strong, but... As long as you get used to it, you will love it. Changguang took another bite of the radish.

Xiu frowned, and instead of eating the yellow radish, he took a bite of the white bread.

But the bread was very thick, as thick as a dough cake, and it was very dry, and he could not help but take a sip of the porridge. But when the porridge and bread were mixed together, the sourness of the wheat rose in his mouth, making it difficult for him to swallow.

He suddenly missed the food in the training camp, which was so delicious compared to the food here.

"I can't eat it, can I." Changguang took a sip of porridge lightly, "Your status should not be low, these foods are indeed not on the table." But it keeps them alive. They're fighting to the death for these things. ”

"Well, I know that, so even if I don't get used to it, I'll eat it."

Xiu poked another piece of radish, "Also, you should be a little misunderstood, although I don't seem to have a low status, but I'm not a weak noble child." I am a knight, a knight of destiny! ”

Changguang's eyes kept looking at the stubborn words spoken by the little child, and after a while, she withdrew her gaze and continued to eat.

When they had eaten quietly, they would leave their things outside the door, and in a moment they would come back to a woman to make their rounds, and then they would take them back.

"Do you want to take a shower?" Changguang asked.

"If I could, I would like to. By the way, can my horse take a bath? ”

"Will someone take care of you, feed it grass, brush it."

"Oh..."

So they went to take a shower again.

The bathing place was a small closed room, and Changguang pushed Xiu in and waited for him to finish washing and took him back to the room, and then went to wash himself.

"We are here for a day off. We'll leave tomorrow morning. Changguang said.

She pulled open a paper-covered door from somewhere on the wall, pulled out several large balls of quilts, one on the floor, and then covered the rest. Xiu also followed her example and made herself a simple bed.

After getting into the quilt, Xiu couldn't help but turn sideways and look at Changguang and asked, "Are you all sleeping on the ground?" ”

"Hmm."

"Your way of life is really peculiar."

"For us, it's your way of life that is peculiar. The distance between our two places is too far enough to make all lives very different. ”

"When did you ever go to my hometown?" Xiu's interest is even greater.

Changguang was silent.

After a long time, she said vaguely, "A long time ago." ”

"That must have been decades ago." Xiu turned his mind and exhaled, "Perhaps, you can know my hometown better than me!" ”

"That's your hometown, I'm just a passerby. How can it be better than you. ”

"Because I barely left the house. The only time I went out was when I went to the training camp to be trained as a knight... Oh, more than once. Another time it was this time. This time, in pursuit of pirates, it seems that we have crossed two countries! Xiu said that he was a little excited, and then a little gloomy, "But almost all of us walked along the way, and I didn't see what my hometown was like when I crossed the mountains in a hurry, except for the mountains along the way, it was water." Except for the trees, it's the dirt. I couldn't see anything else. Even when I arrived at the harbor town, I didn't have a chance to take a good look, so I hurriedly got on the ship and went to sea. I didn't even have a chance to take a good look at the sea... Because of seasickness, I was tormented for almost two weeks. ”

Xiu kept complaining.

"In your own home, why don't you go out and have a look." Changguang turned around, "I've been staying in a cage, don't you feel bored." ”

"Cage? That said... It seems to be quite appropriate, huh..."Xiu scratched his head, "but my father won't let me." He said... He said..."Xiu's mood suddenly became obviously darker.

"No, I can't be the only one, I want to hear your story too."

Changguang smiled lightly, "What if I don't tell you." ”

"No, I've told you everything, and you have to tell you about yours too." Xiu felt a little cheated and at a loss.

"What if I didn't say it."

"That—" Xiu instantly raised his voice, then paused here. The voice lowered again, "Then I can't do anything." You saved me, and it's nothing if you don't say it. Xiu looked a little lost.

Changguang smiled faintly.

"Actually, my story is very simple, I'm just a knifesmith. I've learned to fight knives for as long as I can remember. When I was a child, I didn't have the strength to hold a hammer, so I kept learning from other cutlers and then honing my strength. When I grew up and had strength, I began to contact the knife myself. Until now, I've been fighting knives. ”

"Is it that simple?" The cultivator was skeptical.

"Well, it's as simple as that. Later, in order to hone my skills, I left the house and visited the swordsmiths. It's been a long walk. Later, when I came back, I found that I didn't know anyone in my family... It turns out that during the time I was out, a lot of people died. ”

"Is it because of the war..."

“... Perhaps. Anyway, I didn't think there was any point in staying in the family I didn't know, so I left the family and wandered alone. ”

When she finished speaking, she paused quietly.

"That, a wanderer... Won't it be lonely? ”

"As long as you get used to it, it doesn't matter." Changguang sighed deeply, "I think, I'm used to it." ”

Xiu lay on the quilt and buried his breath in the pillow, "Can you teach me how to say your words?" ”

"Do you want to learn?"

"Hmm. You can't even be silent. ”

"Okay. You're going to have to be patient..."

(End of chapter)