It was 4164 in the Great Lunar Calendar, at the end of October 1531 in the Laman New Calendar. The group continued southward and came to a small village that was not originally part of the planned location.
This place is located between another mountain in the mountainous Moon Country. The steep terrain often makes people feel dizzy during the climb, so it is not a tourist attraction.
Even the national highway and auxiliary road system are insulated here. The roads here are more like natural ones caused by people walking all year round. Just like animal paths, only the middle place where feet have stepped is bare mud and the two sides are completely It's weed.
Unless you have experience in the wilderness or know what you are looking for, finding your way in is difficult.
After winding up through the dense forest, there is an old suspension bridge in the canyon. The mottled wood and hemp rope show that it has been repaired many times, but it is only a small-scale act, and it cannot be said to be completely renovated. The weathered wood looked so unsettling that the group had to unload the cargo from the carriage and move it manually to avoid damage due to excessive load.
Even so, the carriages could only reach the foot of the mountain.
The rest of the road consists of a trestle bridge that is so narrow that you have to press your belly against the mountain wall and equally narrow steps carved into the mountain wall. It can be said that even if you know the road, the process of getting to this small village is still very difficult.
But it is this natural danger that makes it a safe haven, and this is why local residents chose this place as their settlement.
——This is an area within the territory of a directly governed state, but it is conceptualized as a vassal territory.
Although the residents live a simple life, they all have the dark blue hair color of the nobles.
They are the descendants of the nobles and even the Chinese who were defeated in the struggle between the government and the opposition. Most of them fled here because of their poor family fortunes. These people who were tired of the world and tired of the government found this paradise and developed in it for hundreds of years. After that, it became the size of the small village it is today. Although they still need to go to the outside world for trade occasionally, in general because of the terrain, it is almost the same as the village. Isolated from mainstream society.
This is also a supply point that the witches occasionally go to when carrying out activities in the Crescent Continent. Because of its secrecy, it is now one of the few reliable resting places when other intelligence networks are exposed.
At the end of the hundreds of narrow and steep stairs, there is a broad mountaintop flatland that makes people feel suddenly enlightened.
The fertile sediments brought by past volcanic eruptions have been developed and utilized for many generations to cultivate lush orchards and farmland. Although the rice favored by the gentry class cannot be cultivated for various reasons, they can cultivate more valuable crops such as tea trees and fruit trees. Crops and then making preserves can be exchanged for some through trade.
Compared with the Hayato tribe that I had encountered before and also lived a secluded life, because many of them had rich knowledge, these down-and-out nobles were far more comfortable than them even if they lived the same life.
Although he is already in decline, as a noble in Kazuto society, the resources he once possessed, the collection of books at home, and the inheritance of experience are still not comparable to those of common people.
Due to their limited vision, when civilians look at powerful families, they often only pay attention to obvious things such as their wealth and power.
But no matter how much wealth is spent excessively, it will be consumed, and if the overwhelming power is lost in the struggle, it will collapse like a building in an instant.
The really important thing that has allowed noble families to always come back has always been people, and connections.
For example, the nobles who still live here and the Hayabusa tribe that the group encountered before-the former cultivated and baked tea products and made candied fruits can be sold through the connections of the noble tribes in the past, and there may even be someone based on some kind of noble tribe. The weird idea of seeking something more precious at a high price. In contrast, as a minority other than Kazuto, the medicinal herbs grown by the Hayato tribe are often belittled as heretical and considered to be poisonous and problematic.
Even if people of noble blood are objectively in decline, their social resources actually still far exceed those of ordinary people.
The so-called "declined nobles are worse than dogs" actually mainly comes from the impression given by those rural people who have not developed to a large scale because they are unemployed and have become ronin.
However, the gap between rural scholars and peasants is actually not very big. Many sergeants and other nobles with a longer history often refer to them as "Ashigaru-gutou" and do not regard them as fellow nobles.
– But let’s get back to where we started.
A down-and-out noble will still not become a commoner. This is a truth that is common in both Rigar and Crescent Continent. They just no longer have the glory of the past, but they still don't need to live a hand-to-mouth life like ordinary people.
Nobles can still easily obtain some job opportunities that commoners covet through social interaction and old connections. People with connections to large chambers of commerce can easily squeeze them in and work as part-time jobs. Civilians may need to work hard for thirty to fifty years before they are rewarded and appointed to the same position.
In fact, this place will become one of the alternative places for the witches to rest, and it is precisely because of this dark relationship.
Although not directly, the shrine maidens are also the swords of Xinjing, a force that represents an extension of the central will of the current dynasty. Such a troop would be welcomed by everyone in any state they went to, and they would choose this place as a place to rest and recuperate. It was precisely because of these unexplained connections.
As a place to recuperate and recuperate, dormitories and a series of supporting facilities have been built here specifically for witches to live in over hundreds of years. Even though they don't come here often, there are still people cleaning the place to make sure it's clean.
Kazuto pays attention to implicit etiquette, even though these people have retired, they have not lost it, or to some extent these
continue reading! Page 1 / Total 2 The person is the being that most fits the image of a perfect nobleman that the group has encountered so far.
After they met with the great witch and confirmed that they were her companions, they did not have any discussion or curiosity about the strange team. Everyone just went about their own business with peace of mind.
Because the ancestors of many people here were once famous Chinese people in a certain place, everyone has some kind of past and glory. It is better to focus on the present than to indulge in these pasts and other people's experiences. They have chosen a secluded life and indeed have many things to do every day.
This is an interesting philosophy, and it is also the unique precipitation of this country that has lasted for thousands of years.
The long stairs made most people breathless. Except for a few people who stayed at the bottom of the hillside to guard the horses, even people including missionaries followed them up this section of stairs that made people's legs weak just by looking down. journey.
The terrain here is extremely easy to defend and difficult to attack. If viewed from above, it looks like an isolated hilltop surrounded by mountains.
Except for the old suspension bridge, there is no direct way to reach this lonely mountain. Below the suspension bridge is a cliff of ten thousand feet. The steep mountain wall of Xinyuezhou is as sharp as a knife, making it almost impossible to climb from the bottom. Even if you cross the suspension bridge, you still need to walk along the narrow trestle along the mountain wall for some distance before you can step onto the wider land, and then climb hundreds of very steep steps to reach the top of the mountain. A paradise.
It is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and difficult to reach if you enter - but it will never be a strategic location.
Because the inconvenience of this kind of movement is the same for both the enemy and ourselves, the army cannot be stationed in such a place and then attack and mobilize in time. This is a safe retreat with no other functions.
It took hundreds of years and generations of hard work to make this place largely self-sufficient, but many things still had to be obtained through occasional foreign trade.
The limited land on the mountain top means that the population that can be supported is also limited - and this may be one of the reasons why the people here are more indifferent to worldly things than other people.
They just hide here and wait to die.
There is no development, no future, no future here. They are already losers in the competition with mainstream society. They do not consider the future or expansion of the scale. They just want to take care of this small box garden and live their own small life quietly in it.
His face, clothes and conversation can still show some of his former glory, but he is old and no longer has the strength to fight.
Our Luoan girl, who comes from the vibrant small country of Rigar, suddenly felt a heart-wrenching feeling for some reason when she saw these people.
But this is not her business, nor is it her business.
They come here just to rest and relax. The news that Xingjing and the feudal territory were preparing to hold peace talks had been heard on the road. Unlike many people who thought the war was over and started celebrating, the sage immediately judged the intensity of the feudal territory's subsequent encirclement and suppression of their team. It's bigger, but because of this, they have to take a break and make some personnel adjustments and changes.
It has entered the end of October and leaves are falling all over the land of Crescent Continent. Looking out from the end of the stairs of this unknown paradise, you can see the unobstructed view of the mountains from the commanding heights. The mountains are mottled in color. There is a clear dividing line between the evergreen coniferous forest and the maple trees that have turned to yellow. When the cold autumn wind blows, the floral fragrance of cold-resistant tree species reaches people across the valleys in the mountains.
Looking down, the dark canyons are filled with mist. The dark shadows and mist mix to form a slightly gray background color, which makes the old suspension bridge that looks as thick as chopsticks stand out even more against the green mountains. Standing alone between the dark canyon.
The view here is very good, and if there are pursuers, you can spot them immediately.
The only problem is that there is only an old bridge in and out. Without wings, it will be difficult to escape even if you find the pursuers.
But they have no choice.
The miko dormitory where the group stayed temporarily was a simple, symmetrical one-story structure, with a corridor in the middle and sliding door-style compartments with doors facing each other on both sides. In addition to the inner door, the outer door can also be opened, making it easier for followers to deliver refreshments, meals, and changes of clothing.
Kazuto's corridor-style buildings always have a small walkway and eaves. On rainy days, you can open the outer door to enjoy the rain scene and have a drink.
They haven't had this kind of leisurely elegance for a long time.
He kept on the run, fighting against monsters and believers in darkness beyond his ability to understand, and was caught between Xinjing and the feudal land.
This is a feeling mixed with powerlessness and almost death.
Although having fun is not worthy of praise, without a moment of relaxation, people will find life increasingly boring.
The hot springs that are very common thanks to the rich geological activities of Crescent Continent are a very valuable part of this.
Hollow out the bamboo, cut out the tenons, and then seal the gaps with rosin mixed with coke. By building pillars of different heights on the ground, they were able to introduce nearby hot springs into almost every household through these pipes.
The temperature of the hot springs here is quite high, making it unbearable for many people to soak directly. However, in this way, it is slightly cooled during the conduction process. Soaking at home in autumn is the most comfortable.
If it's cold winter, you'll have to spend more firewood to reheat it. Therefore, in winter, people generally go to bathhouses closer to hot springs to maximize the use of the warmth.
The total number of residents does not exceed a hundred households. In fact, if you want to walk, you can walk around this paradise in half an hour.
Small in scale, but self-sufficient.
