Chapter 2

A yellow ox, under the constant harassment of several children, suddenly became enraged and let out a roar, lowering its head to charge at the children. Over a dozen children scattered in all directions, but two who had been standing on the side watching the commotion were so frightened by the ox's sudden charge that they froze, unable to move, and could only watch helplessly as the enraged ox charged towards them.

"Shitou, run!" a child shouted loudly, but the two children did not respond.

The commotion by the stream also alarmed the group of knights. The lead knight immediately reined in his warhorse, took a black lacquered bow from his back, and was about to draw an arrow when he saw a figure dart across the mountain path, reaching the stream in the blink of an eye. The figure bent down, scooped up the two children, and rolled on the ground, narrowly avoiding the enraged ox.

Seeing its target disappear, the ox immediately stopped and turned around.

"Ashu, run!" the children who had already reached the mountain path shouted urgently.

However, by the time Yang Shouwen stood up, the ox had already turned and was charging at him fiercely.

A hint of determination flashed across Yang Shouwen's delicate face. He stood firm, and as the ox charged at him, he suddenly sidestepped, grabbed the ox's neck, and with a powerful thrust of his waist, roared and threw the ox to the ground by the stream.

Veins bulged on his forehead as he held the ox's neck, pressing it firmly to the ground, and continuously increased the strength in his arms.

The several-hundred-pound ox thrashed its limbs and struggled desperately, mooing loudly. However, no matter how it struggled, it could not break free from Yang Shouwen's grip. Its mooing gradually grew weaker, and its struggles slowly diminished...

Seeing the ox no longer struggling, Yang Shouwen slowly released his grip and stood up.

The ox lay on the ground for a moment, then suddenly sprang to its feet. Yang Shouwen instinctively took a step back, watching the ox warily. The ox shook its head, mooed twice, and then extended its large head to rub against Yang Shouwen's body, as if apologizing to him.

Yang Shouwen's face finally broke into a smile.

He patted the ox's large head and then glanced at the two frightened children behind him.

"It's getting late, go back quickly, so your parents don't worry."

With that, he whistled, and the ox by the stream slowly walked over to him. Yang Shouwen straddled the ox's back, patted its head, and the ox leisurely walked up the mountain path.

It wasn't until the two oxen had climbed the mountain path, their hooves treading on the fading sunlight and disappearing around the bend, that the two children, standing by the stream, burst into tears, their cries echoing through the valley.

"What a fierce young man, he looks so thin, yet he has such incredible strength?"

The incident had happened so suddenly, from Yang Shouwen rushing over to save the two children to subduing the ox and leaving, it all took no more than a dozen breaths. The knight had intended to shoot the ox but was surprised by the outcome, and couldn't help but marvel.

He suddenly dismounted, handed the reins to the knight behind him, and quickly walked to the roadside.

"Children, who was that young man?"

A few children standing by the road, still a bit frightened, turned to look and replied, "Who are you? Why should I tell you?"

Changping, bordering Juyong Pass, was a place where Han and Hu people lived together.

And Hu Valley Mountain was not far from Juyong Pass, so the children who grew up here had a natural wildness and were not afraid of the knight.

The knight smiled, but the black veil of his hood obscured his smile.

He didn't get angry, instead, he took a short sword from his leather pouch and handed it to the children.

"If you tell me, this short sword is yours."

The short sword was no more than a foot long, with a green sharkskin hilt and a beautiful brass guard.

A foot in the Tang Dynasty was about thirty-one centimeters in modern terms. Just by looking at the exquisite scabbard, one could tell that the short sword was quite valuable.

Children in the mountains, especially boys, loved such things.

The child's eyes lit up, thought for a moment, and snatched the short sword, "Do you mean Yang Achiz?"

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a pain in his leg.

It turned out that the child next to him, upon hearing his words, immediately kicked him in the leg, angrily shouting, "Don't call Ashu 'Yang Achiz'... Shangouzi, you used to brag so much, but you ran the fastest just now. If it weren't for Ashu, Xiaoshi and the others would have been dead! I'm telling you, if you dare call Ashu 'Yang Achiz' again, we won't play with you anymore. And no one is allowed to sing that song, got it?"

Children's thoughts are simple, with no ulterior motives.

Shangouzi, clearly afraid of the other child, quickly lowered his head and mumbled, "He is Achiz... My mother said he must have been a bad person in his past life, otherwise, how could a good person be struck by lightning?"

"Are you still saying that?"

"Alright, I won't say it anymore."

The child closed his mouth, and the other child snatched the short sword, looking at the knight with a wary expression.

"Why are you asking about Ashu?"

The knight didn't expect the situation to change so quickly.

He was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, "Don't worry, little one. I'm just curious about that young man's incredible strength, so I came to ask."

"Hmph, I'm telling you, don't you dare bully Ashu. His father is County Magistrate Yang, and if you bully him, I'll tell my father to inform County Magistrate Yang, and he'll have you arrested."

"Ah, so you're the son of the County Magistrate."

The knight feigned fear, which immediately relaxed the child's wariness.

"Ashu lives alone at the foot of the mountain. Although he's a bit silly, he's a good person. In the past, no matter how we bullied him, he never got angry and always played with us, giving us treats... But a few days ago, he was struck by lightning. Since then, he hasn't played with us much and has been mostly alone.

My parents don't let me play with him, but I know Ashu is a good person."

The knight nodded gently and then smiled, "Of course, he risked his life to save those children from the mad ox, which only a good person could do."

After chatting with the child for a while, the knight still gave the short sword to the children before leaving.

"General, how was it?"

He mounted his horse, and a knight behind him asked, "That young man has incredible strength and great courage, he's a remarkable person."

"Pity, he's a fool."

"Huh?"

"He's the son of the County Magistrate of Changping, but I don't know why he lives alone at the foot of Hu Valley Mountain.

Forget it, we have an important mission this time, so let's avoid causing a stir. If you're really interested, you can ask the County Magistrate after we're done... Alright, let's continue our journey. We must reach Changping before dark."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The sun set in the west.

Yang Shouwen rode the ox, slowly making his way through the twilight to the village at the foot of the mountain.

This was a small, unnamed village with a population of no more than a hundred. It was about ten miles from Changping County, near the main road. To the north, about forty or fifty miles away, was Juyong Pass; to the northwest, about fifty miles away, was a vassal state.

It was the first year of the Shengli era.

Empress Wu Zetian, the legendary female emperor, had been on the throne for seven years.

After countless bloody massacres, the political situation in the court was gradually stabilizing. However, the aging Empress, in her seventies, was showing signs of decline. She sat in the capital, controlling the empire, but could not quell the border conflicts.

There was no choice; to stabilize the court, she had to resort to mass killings.

Countless capable generals died under false charges, which brought stability to the court but also led to the neglect of military preparedness. The collapse of the equal-field system also caused the fubing system to crumble. With a series of military failures, the Empress became increasingly suspicious of the generals in the court.

Thus, the Empress could only rely on her Wu clan to strengthen the military, hoping to turn the tide one day.

However, all of this seemed distant to Yang Shouwen.

Changping, located on the border, was under the jurisdiction of Youzhou Prefecture. Youzhou had always been a harsh and cold place, far from the prosperous capital. Therefore, the changes in the court had little impact on him. For the common people, this era was not too bad, even if it was a dark time for the nobility.

The two hundred acres of land under Yang Chenglie's name were located around the small village.

When Yang Shouwen rode the ox into the village, he saw smoke rising from the chimneys, and the village exuded a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.

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