In the third year of the Cangwang of the Heavenly Wolf Country, there was a great drought in the sky, and the Heavenly Wolf Country was fertile for thousands of miles in several states, and there was no harvest of grains. For a time the people were starving, starvation was everywhere, and thieves were everywhere. Several counties in the northern part of Yunzhou in the Heavenly Wolf Country were all hit by disasters of different ways, and countless displaced people fled to the southwest.

Gushan Town is a small mountain town in the southwest border of Yunzhou in the Heavenly Wolf Country. Located at the foot of the small lonely mountain on the border between the Heavenly Wolf Kingdom and the Cai Kingdom, this town is remote and has abundant water, and it has not been hit by drought disasters this year.

Wu Yan's family of five is one of the many refugees. They left their homeland and fled all the way from Qingxian County, Yunzhou to the southwest. When they left Qingxian County, they followed a large number of displaced people and encountered a battle between the two gangs in the two counties. The two gangs of men and horses who fought each other couldn't hold back and killed many homeless people by mistake. In a panic, Wu Yan's family of five was separated on the border of the two counties.

Wu Yan, who was just 12 years old this year, wore a sackcloth with many holes, carried a broken bag for begging, and carried a dog-beating stick, and fled to Gushan Town in a panic, two days after being separated from his family.

He was tired, hungry, flustered, and worse, the little food left in his pocket had been eaten up this morning.

It's already dusk, and many families in the town are closed for dinner at home. Wu Yan was weak with a dog beating stick, holding a broken coarse porcelain bowl, and trying his luck from house to house.

After eating more than a dozen closed-door soups in succession, Wu Yan was already dizzy with hunger, and he didn't even have the strength to walk. He made his way to the gate of a house in the westernmost part of the town. The gate of the house was half open, and the wind lamp hanging from the door of the gate gave off a dim light. The sound of punching orders came from the courtyard. The thick aroma of wine and meat overflowed, making the hungry Wu Yan staggered towards the gate like a demon.

"Five leaders, six ingots, haha, big brother, if you lose, you will be fined three glasses of wine!" A loud laugh came from the courtyard, which sounded like he was not very old.

"Xiao Feng, you stinky boy. You're only thirteen this year, and you're better at guessing than your big brother. I am willing to lose the bet, and this wine brother has drunk. Dad, second brother, it's rare to be happy today, and you can also have a drink with me. The man who had been called the eldest brother by the young man who had spoken earlier let out a hearty laugh.

"Bai'er, don't just focus on drinking, what happened to the matter that Dad sent someone to bring a letter to you the day before yesterday?

"Dad, do you need to say this? Well, I am also one of the four swords and three masters of the young generation of the Iron Sword Alliance, and my master is the master of the deacon hall. Regarding the third brother's joining the Iron Sword Alliance, the master has already promised to help. Xiao Feng, you can pack up tonight, and go up the mountain with me early tomorrow morning. The man said proudly.

"That's good. Feng'er, after going to the Iron Sword Alliance, you have to study hard and don't get into trouble, understand?" the old voice said earnestly.

"Don't worry, Dad. I, Wang Feng, want to be a master of the rivers and lakes in my life, get ahead, and get to know the heroes of the world. Big brother, you helped me fulfill my wish, I toast you, come, cheers!" the flamboyant young man said in an old-fashioned manner......

From time to time, the sound of clinking glasses can be heard in the courtyard. Wu Yan swallowed his saliva with difficulty, and was about to walk to the gate to beg for food. I only heard the young man say: "Dad, eldest brother, second brother, you eat first, and I'll go to Blacksmith Zhang's house." I heard that Zhang Tao is also going to join the Iron Sword Alliance this year. Isn't his second uncle the hall master of the Law Enforcement Hall, I'll go and contact him first, and then I can ask him to help talk if I have something in the future. ”

"You kid, you haven't entered the Iron Sword League yet, you know that you have a relationship in advance?haha, what about teasing you, let's go!" the young man said with a smile, and several other people laughed along.

Wu Yan stumbled to the gate with a dog beating stick. Two people walked in front of the courtyard. At the head was a twelve or thirteen-year-old young man in brocade clothes, with oily hair and powdery face, with the smell of smoked wine. Next to the young man in brocade, a middle-aged man who looks like a family member is leading the way with a lantern.

As soon as the young man in brocade walked to the door, he bumped into Wu Yan who was holding a dog stick, he was startled, and when he saw that it was a thin man named Huazi, he said angrily: "Where did the wild dog come from, scared the young master, get out!"

The young man in brocade didn't look at it, so he kicked at Wu Yan, and Wu Yan's frightened body shrank back. He had been hungry all day, and his feet were weak, and he stumbled and fell to the ground. The broken bowl in his hand, which was no longer colorless, also fell out, and smashed into countless pieces with a click.

The young man in brocade didn't look at Wu Yan, who fell, laughed, and walked straight east when he went out. Jia Ding glared at Wu Yan and shouted, "Xiao Huazi, hurry up, or I will throw you into the Wild Wolf Valley to feed the wild wolves!"

After scaring Wu Yan, Jia Ding trotted to follow.

Wu Yan staggered up, looked at the broken bowl that was broken into pieces, shook his head helplessly, left the gate of the last house in the town, and walked west. As he walked, he muttered, "Isn't it great? Hmph! Don't bully the poor boy." Tomorrow I will also participate in the selection of disciples of the Iron Sword Alliance. With such a big name as the Iron Sword Alliance, it doesn't matter where the disciples are recruited. It is said that heroes don't ask where they come from. When I become a master of the rivers and lakes, let's see if you guys dare to talk like this!"

It was getting dark. He specially inquired, and the west side of this Lonely Mountain Town was the entrance to Little Lonely Mountain. The Iron Sword Alliance, a big gang, is located in the small lonely mountain.

Wu Yan looked up and saw that on the top of a low hill not far away, there was a deserted mountain temple, which could be used as a shelter for the time being.

He finally climbed to the dirt mountain. Stretching out his hand to push open the dilapidated mountain gate, Wu Yan saw that the deserted mountain temple was dark and gloomy, and he muttered a little in his heart. After thinking about it, he still walked into the courtyard with a dog beating stick.

The entire yard was overgrown with wild grass, flooding the original path. Wu Yan carefully shook off the dog-beating stick and beat it rhythmically in the grass. The dog-beating stick is a yellowed old bamboo with a split at the front and a rhythmic snapping sound that slams on the ground.

This trick is called scaring the snake. But anyone who walks the rivers and lakes will have this hand. There are wild grasses everywhere, and there are usually poisonous snakes and poisonous insects in the grass. In this way, you can use the sound to scare away the poisonous snakes and insects, so as to avoid being accidentally injured by them.

Wu Yan walked into the decadent temple of the black hole and carefully looked inside the temple in the dim light. The statue of the clay mountain god directly opposite collapsed to the side, and the offering table was chopped by someone to be used as firewood, and there were still burned charcoal ashes in the same place.

Wu Yan walked over and found that there were still some leftover bone slags and dry food crumbs next to the ashes, and he was overjoyed. He pounced eagerly, pouted and fell to the ground, carefully gathered the bone residue and dry food scraps, held them in his hands, and devoured them without caring about the dirt.

After eating up the cold bone residue and dry food crumbs, and barely suppressing some of the hunger, Wu Yan felt a little more strength in his body. It's just that he was in too much of a hurry to eat, and he was choked and rolled his eyes.

Wu Yan put the broken bag on the ground and rummaged through the ruined temple. Finally, he found a rusty incense burner the size of a palm at the severed palm of the broken idol. Wu Yan opened the lid of the incense burner, knocked off the incense ash inside, and found a barren well in the courtyard with a dog-beating stick. He scooped up some water from a rusty incense burner and poured it into his belly.

A sweet sensation flowed down my throat and into my abdomen. After drinking three furnaces of well water in succession, Wu Yan burped, and then took the incense burner in his arms and walked back to the temple.

The sky is darker, the night is falling, and the insects chirp and make people drowsy. He lay down in the haystack next to the statue of the mountain god in his clothes, and then pulled out a piece of uncolored rag from his broken pocket, covered his body, and narrowed his eyes.

Somehow, he still felt hungry and cold in his stomach just now, but now he didn't feel hungry, and his whole body was warm and comfortable.

In the haze, he felt as if he was dreaming. In the dream, after arduous struggle, he finally became an enviable master of the rivers and lakes. With his strong skills, he earned a lot of money, found his lost relatives, and used the money to make them live a happy and happy life.