Yan Daoxin scratched his head in confusion and asked Lu Qing, "To your knowledge, is Fan Country the kind of place where strict Confucian customs dictate that won must remain unseen and confined to the inner quarters?"
Lu Qing looked at him with a slight smile, "Have you ever heard of a place with such strict customs being deeply devoted to witch doctors and witchcraft?"
"Oh, that’s true..." Yan Daoxin suddenly realized, "That indeed doesn’t make sense."
"Fan Country people are supposed to be inscrutable, leaving others guessing at their true thoughts. But once we entered the city, everyone we saw seed terribly tense, unwilling to say much. It feels like they’re trying to appear calm on the surface, while in reality, they’re very fearful.
Moreover, you can’t see any young won here, and even goods favored by won aren’t openly sold... I just don’t know if there’s sothing wrong in this area, or if it’s odd throughout the entire Fan Country." Zhu Yu concluded.
"This is just a small county town we passed after the border checkpoint. It’s not very large and certainly not prosperous, so what we’ve observed really isn’t conclusive." Lu Qing didn’t rush to a judgnt and thought for a mont, "Let’s rest here today, and head for the capital tomorrow.
On the way to the capital, we can figure out what’s really going on."
None of them disagreed, understanding that being new to the area made judging the situation difficult. So, they didn’t eat out for dinner and just had so plain noodles at the inn before going to bed.
A night passed at the modest inn which, although not in great condition and quite simple, was peaceful.
Zhu Yu slept soundly that night and felt refreshed in the morning, but that good mood barely lasted until they went downstairs for breakfast.
The inn’s breakfast consisted only of so dark, coarse, very dry cakes mixed with unidentifiable black specks.
Besides that, there was just "clear to the bottom" thin porridge—a bowl of clear rice soup with a few grains of rice floating on top.
"This..." Zhu Yu, surprised, looked at Lu Qing.
Though she didn’t say it openly, her eyes clearly conveyed confusion.
Given that Fan Country so brazenly annexed neighboring Lan Country’s land, it should, in so way, indicate a strong national power.
Even for a border county far from the capital, not being prosperous could be understandable, but why does the food resemble famine conditions?
The plain noodles from the night before were truly plain, not made from pure white flour. Zhu Yu didn’t think much of it then, assuming it was characteristic of Bhutan; perhaps noodles in this area were naturally like that. But this morning’s breakfast was even more absurd.
"Server." Lu Qing gestured for a nearby lad to co over, "Is there nothing else to eat at the inn?"
"No," the lad nodded straightforwardly, "Esteed guests, this is all we have. Even if you went out to find a stall, you’d find the sa sort of thing.
Also, it’s only the out-of-town guests who bother to eat breakfast. Local folks don’t even have breakfast."
"Why is that?" Zhu Yu quickly inquired, puzzled.
"Not enough grain, since a lot of land has been requisitioned for dicinal crops. So the grain has to be rationed." The lad, only about sixteen or seventeen, didn’t seem as worried as others. His natural deanor made it clear the scarcity of grain was no new issue to him.
It looks like the grain shortage in Fan Country isn’t a recent problem but has persisted for a long ti. Zhu Yu pondered this quietly.
Realizing further discussion was futile, they forced down the rough, throat-scratching cakes soaked in the rice soup, and went out to explore, only to find the situation outside was indeed as the lad described. The entire county seed lifeless; though there were people on the streets, everyone seed reluctant to speak, giving the town nothing of a bustling, lively atmosphere.
The five of them promptly decided to move on, packed up their things at the inn, and continued their journey.
Fan Country’s landscape is quite unlike any other place. If Jin Country were central with stable plains and rivers, Jie Country a vast open plain, Shuo Country steep mountains, and Lan Country with lakes and marshes, then Fan Country’s terrain is far more enigmatic.
Half of the area here is humid and hot, not lacking in water, but unlike neighboring Bhutan, there are many swamps and the humidity breeds miasma.
It is in these miasma-filled forested swamps that many strange plants and herbs are found, which have given rise to Fan Country’s witch doctors and witchcraft dicine.
On the other half of Fan Country, it is a completely different scene—filled with strange peaks and dangerous ravines, where towering cliffs stand alongside bottomless gorges.
In this region, two majestic mountains act as a natural barrier on the border between Fan and Jie Countries. Because of these mountains, Fan people rarely cross into Jie, and Jie has never invaded Fan in any form.
The two locations have maintained their non-interference with each other for many years.
Lu Qing and Zhu Yu traveled towards the capital, needing to detour around certain dangerous areas, thus always taking official roads, which extended the journey. However, the towns and villages they passed through were quite similar in situation to that of the border county town.
In fact, saying they are similar might even be imprecise. Rather, as they moved closer to the capital, the atmosphere of lifelessness and widespread fear beca more apparent. By the ti they were just two or three days from the capital, even Yan Daoxin, who rarely felt nervous, was noticeably tense, no longer as relaxed as usual.
"On this entire journey, not a single young woman or bride has been seen." Walking on the nearly deserted official road, he remarked to Lu Qing and Zhu Yu, "If soone unaware of the situation heard , they might think I was a bandit looking to capture a bride as a mountain wife!
But since Zhu Yu ntioned this matter back in that county town, I’ve been paying attention along the way, and it’s the sa everywhere. No sight of won traveling or of those selling costics and jewelry.
Have all the won of Fan Country... sohow violated the laws of heaven?!"
User Comments
0 comments from readers