Great Tang Idyll

Strumming softly, singing softly; the flowing water accompanies me. When leaving, the fallen leaves fluttered about; when returning, they were either green or yellow. At home, mother waited at the door, missing her son who was elsewhere. Strumming softly, singing softly; the flowing water accompanies me.

A team made up of children from ten to fifteen years old were walking in the endless and vast field. Among them was a child who perhaps had a different upbringing compared to others since he brought a pipa1 out with him and was playing and singing while he followed the group.

"Little Dark, can you stop singing? We're not even that far away from home. Hearing you sing makes it seem like we're not coming back for good. It's upsetting"

"Who did you call Little Dark, am I dark? I am most annoyed by people who blindly come up with nicknames for others. Cistern, can't you talk normally?" The boy called ‘Little Dark" stopped strumming and replied.

That kid was no longer happy. "Who did you call Cistern? I am a bit short and fat now, but that doesn't mean I will not grow anymore. Everyone calls you Little Dark. Who's to blame when you were the one who fell into the mud during summer? You didn't even go home to wash yourself up, and you continued playing with us."

"I'm not the only one that calls you by that nickname too. Everyone else calls you that. Who cares about what happens in the future. You are fat and short right now, so just accept it. You shouldn't even have come. I heard that this time will be different from the previous two times. I wonder how much you can even carry?"

Little Dark didn't want to let the person disturb his mood so easily, so he sarcastically mocked him.

"Then let's wait and see. Do you see how thin you are? The heavy weight will crush you." The one nicknamed Cistern did not give in.

The team passed through the field, and there was a small road ahead. No one knew where it led. At this time, Li Xun began to let people announce the rules for this time. He listened to Zhang Xiao'bao's and Wang Juan's words and prepared for a real survival experience.

The first change was removing the water stations. Regardless of whether it was day or night, there were no tents set up, unless someone wanted to withdraw. Only then would a tent be set up. People could bring their own tents, but they had to carry it themselves.

Not only that, but he also allowed people to bring as many things as possible, whether it's for eating or drinking. At the same time, he did not limit how far they travelled each day. They now only cared about who gets to the final destination first. It seems that the fastest journey time would be four or five days. During this process, adults were not allowed to give children things, and children were also not allowed to go to stores to buy things.

If they wanted to drink water, it was simple---- bring enough yourself, or drink from the nearby river. They can ask others to help them check if the water was safe to drink or not. It was the same when it came to eating too--- they will eat whatever they can find. If the person can't keep up anymore, then they can leave the team.

This time, not too many people participated; there were only 80. This was so that he can clearly record down this survival training experience and can show his father, and perhaps even send the report to his Imperial Uncle.

The team stopped temporarily on the road. Following the shouts of Li Xun's staff, these children began to prepare, wrapping their things up the same way Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan did. Their belongings were almost half of the size of their body; it was not small at all.

The adults were busy stuffing in things like dried meat, water, clothes, blankets, and all kinds of random items. Li Xun also packed his own items. He specifically consulted with Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan about these things, so he was relatively well prepared. Having a blanket was extremely important.

In addition to jerky and fried noodles, he also originally wanted to get some instant noodles made by Zhang Xiao'bao, but he felt that it took up too much space, so he had to give up the idea. He also brought two water pouches, a pair of replacement shoes, a small shovel, that special bowl set and a fire striker.

"Why didn't Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan come?" A person in the team muttered a question while his teeth were clenched. It was as if he had a deep hatred for Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan.

Li Xun heard this and turned his head to look at Han Yong'yao, who was the one that was talking. He knew that this conflict was caused by himself, so Li Xun found it to be quite funny. This kid didn't dare to seek revenge on Li Xun, so he directed his hatred towards two children. Even if they did come, would it be possible for Han Yong'yao to do anything to them?

Hitting? The two of them can gang up on him to hit him. After what happened in the desert, Li Xun inquired others about it, and came to understand the situation clearly: he was knocked to the ground. When it came to surviving in the wilderness, the limited skills that Han Yong'yao had could not even compare to the mastermind behind those two little children.

"If I see them again, I will definitely let them know how great I am. Humph, how dare they knock me over. I refuse to admit defeat." Han Yong'yao continued.

"There are too many things you won't admit defeat to. Don't mumble next to me, it's upsetting." Li Xun frowned and looked at Han Yong'yao, replying back with dissatisfaction. He had a good impression of Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan. Although they were just children, they spoke like adults and were just as knowledgeable as adults.

Despite their young age, they were much better than the current Han Yong'yao. If the two little children lived in the palace since they were young, then this would be explainable, but they grew up on a manor. This only meant that they were taught well by a master. Li Cheng still has not returned after running to that manor. He had no idea how things had progressed with that mastermind and Li Cheng.

He recently heard that the mastermind has been giving Li Cheng some interesting questions. It appeared simple, but it was very difficult to complete. He hoped that when Li Cheng came back, Li Cheng could give him a surprise.

When Han Yong'yao heard that he was interrupted by someone, he was about to refute, but he suddenly realized that it was the emperor's nephew, and immediately shut his mouth tightly. Although he feared that he would cause trouble, he felt even more uncomfortable in his heart, and hated Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan even more.

He didn't dare to provoke the emperor's nephew, so he walked slower and waited for others to pass before he began to mumble again.

"Don't think I don't know. That piece of land they took was nearly 6,000 mu, but they were only granted 4,000 mu. They claimed more, didn't they? When I get home, I'll settle the account with them. It's not that easy to make me give up. You want to earn money? Then I will make sure that you won't have the life to spend the money."

"Who else could it be other than the little kids at the Zhang and Wang manors who stole the land that my family wanted to get. Last time when we were in the desert, they kicked me over when I wasn't paying attention. Both of them were afraid that I would hit them, and they ran off so quickly. They were gone in a blink of an eye. I can't suppress this anger."

Han Yong'yao glanced at the person next to him. He recognized him. They saw each other often, and his manor was near Han Yong'yao's manor, and was much larger. Thus, he slightly changed the story a bit when he told him about it.

"Ah? The two of them kicked you over? I heard that the two of them were less than three years old. How did they do that? In the desert? When?" Hearing this, the boy was curious, and didn't care whether this question would sadden Han Yong'yao or not.

"Yes, it was the two of them, a boy and a girl. We were surviving in the desert. They joined the five year old group. Although they are young, they are not that small in size and their minds are full of evil thoughts. I was knocked down by the two of them because I was being careless. Don't you know? I can beat them without any effort. Have a look, they didn't even come this time. They're scared."

Han Yong'yao found an excuse for himself, and then motioned this person to look around. Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan were indeed nowhere in sight.

"You're right, they really are scared." This person didn't know what to say for a while, so he could only go along with Han Yong'yao's words.

The other person next to Han Yong'yao didn't think highly of Han Yongyao, and interjected, "Who is afraid? You should be happy that you didn't meet them today. Did you not see the two of them jumping onto the horse when we were in the grassland? They scared you to death. Are you even as tall as a horse?

Two of them cooperated with each other, and they changed their movements midair. If you encounter them, they will work together to jump up to kick you. Do you think they are that easy to bully? During the two rounds of wild survival training, were they not always running in the front? In the desert, while you were crying, they were jogging. "

At that moment he was really convinced. He remembered that when the two of them passed by, there were chanting ‘one, two, one, two'. They moved at the same pace and swung their arms at the same rhythm for the entire trek to the tent. Their voices still echoed in his ears. He thought about the astonishing way they mounted a horse. He would not even try to compare himself to them even if he was lent the courage.

Han Yong'yao obviously didn't like to hear others praise Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan, and turned his head, "I'm talking to you. Brother Xing'yi, I'll explain it to you."

"Okay, tell me." The person called Xing'yi nodded. It was the first time he participated in this event, so he really didn't know what happened before.

"Help me think about how to teach those two a lesson, okay? Let me tell you, their family occupied more land. They were only granted 4,000 mu, but they took up nearly 6,000 mu instead. I must let them know how powerful I am."

Han Yong'yao had his anger bottled up and hoped that others could help him, since he really couldn't think of any good ideas.

"Oh, that's what happened. I also heard about the situation there. I don't think we should talk about the land first. You need to show how powerful you are using a different approach. I thought of a way. Hear me out..."

This person thought for a while, then he put his mouth next to Han Yongyao's ear and whispered his idea.

"Will this work? If you ask me to do that, and if the government finds out, my family will be in trouble. It's not easy to put in poison." Han Yong'yao hesitated after hearing this person's words.

"How can it be hard? You two are next to each other. Just send two people over at night." This person continued to reinforce the idea.

"Well, I'll listen to you this time." Han Yong'yao finally agreed.

Translator's Notes

1. Pipa 琵琶

A Chinese plucked string instrument