What the driver said was true. After the team stopped and walked for three days, the official road turned into a dense forest.
At noon, the sun pours into the forest where the branches and leaves are intertwined, casting bright golden light spots on the ground. But if it is early or late, the light will be weak and cannot penetrate the interlaced forest layer above the road.
The team marched in a dim environment, as if they were walking at night. Considering that bandits were causing trouble nearby, the guard warriors did not dare to let the children get off the car to rest. Two drivers in each cart took turns driving the carts, and they walked for four or five days until the animals foamed at the top of their lungs before they entered the outer area of the royal city.
Almost as soon as we came out of the forest, our field of vision suddenly broadened.
Zhao Shun could only sigh that it was worthy of being the capital of a country. The city wall stretched for thousands of miles, like a barrier rising from the ground, and it fit perfectly with the flat surface. The main city gate goes straight into the sky, casting a shadow that completely covers the team of nearly two thousand people.
At this time, the city gate was wide open, with Xuanjia troops standing in formation on both sides, looking solemn and not squinting.
Pingyang and Hedong counties are almost the farthest cities from the royal city. After Zhao Chun and the others entered the city, they realized that they were the latest to arrive.
"Now that everyone has arrived, I will go back and resume my duties. The selection of good boys at Lingzhen Taoist Temple is a major event in our Chu country. You all have a rest for two days. When the conference is about to begin, someone will pass the order." It was the man in purple robe. Zhao Shun didn't know his name, but he only heard Pang Zhen call him "Master Zhuang".
Master Zhuang was friendly and kind, and he always smiled when he occasionally talked to children like them. Zhao Yue didn't know the reason. She really thought that the martial arts master had a soft personality. Not to mention Zhao Chun and the Wang sisters, even Zhao Mian noticed that he was too polite, as if he was afraid of something.
Zhao Mian and Zhao Shun were confused, but the Wang sisters seemed more confident about a certain idea.
Pang Zhen sent Master Zhuang out of the courtyard, then waved his hand to ask someone to tidy up his apartment.
Therefore, the royal city is vast, and there are at least tens of thousands of children in this recruitment. Pang Zhen and the leaders of the Wang family are also worried about where to live. When we arrived in the city, we realized that everything had been arranged and we were just waiting for people to pack their bags and move in.
The two families of Zhao and Wang lived next to each other, separated only by a courtyard wall. As soon as they were settled, they heard Wang Yijiao's voice at the door.
"Both of your sisters don't want to choose, what about you, do you want to go?" She is the same age as Zhao Chun, and she also loves to read. They have common interests and can chat better than others.
It's just that this little girl dislikes Zhao Chun's lack of status, but also feels that Zhao Chun has extensive knowledge and knowledge, so there is always some awkwardness in the relationship between the two.
Zhao Shun packed up the clothes and put them in the cabinet. When he looked back, he saw that Wang Yijiao had slumped on the armchair comfortably. She sighed, she was still a little girl after all.
"Think about it, since I can't practice martial arts, entering a Taoist temple is also a way out."
"That's a bit difficult. My mother said that many people are here to go through the motions this time. If you are really selected, you will be blessed so much!" She put her hands around her head, forming a big picture. The circle represents how great this blessing is.
Zhao Shun pricked up his ears. The two sisters, half-hidden on the way, revealed something, letting the Zhao family know that the current governor of Hedong County had married a prince in the royal city. That was a family rooted at the feet of the Emperor, and they might really know some secrets.
"What blessing is greater than becoming a master of martial arts? My brothers and sisters are all looking forward to returning home if they are not selected, so they can make up for the missed lessons as soon as possible."
Wang Yijiao made a sound and picked up a bunch of grapes on the table to eat: "It's different. My mother also said -" Her voice suddenly lowered and she leaned forward. Zhao Chun knew what she meant and put his ear to it. When it came to her mouth, the next moment she felt thunder exploding in her ears:
"The chosen one can cultivate Taoism and become an immortal."
When she was four years old, Zhao Chun heard someone say that a certain brother was successful in martial arts and was throwing a huge cauldron for fun. She laughed at the ancients' exaggerated words and did not know what they meant. Later, in the martial arts training ground, I saw with my own eyes that Coach Zheng twisted the large bronze vase into a spiral shape with his hands. Only then did he realize what it meant to be ignorant.
Now when she was ten years old, someone told her that there was a way to achieve enlightenment and immortality. She thought it was ridiculous, but she couldn't help but believe it. To her own surprise, she did not yearn for immortality as much as she imagined.
"How can this be taken seriously? Even the great master of martial arts has never heard of anyone who can become an immortal."
"Believe it or not, my brother was brought to the Royal City last year and was with the Guanzhu. They thought he was too old.
"Actually, he was only fifteen years old. He was almost at the third level of martial arts when he left. He may surpass his father in the future, but the family still let him go."
After hearing this, Zhao Chun already believed it, but he didn't show it on his face and said with a smile: "Then there should be a better way out."
Wang Yijiao half-closed her eyes, not very happy: "It's his way out whether it's good or not, what does it have to do with me?"
"He's not good to you?"
"It's not bad, it's just that I feel like something is missing." She rested her chin on the table, and the flesh on her cheeks trembled slightly as she spoke. The sunset outside the window rushed into the small room, giving her a layer of dejection like the setting sun.
Zhao Shun didn't know how to comfort people. He kept a few words in his mouth and couldn't spit them out.
"Zhao Chun."
"Um?"
She saw Wang Yijiao tilt her cheek against the bright table and ask, "Do you think my sister and I have a good relationship?"
Zhao Shun sat next to her and whispered: "Compared to my family, you are already very good."
They are sisters who have grown up together since childhood, so they are much closer than their relationship where their names may not even match their faces.
Zhao Shun was an only child in his previous life and didn't know how to get along with his brothers and sisters. Even after coming here, he was still very alienated from the rest of the Zhao family. She missed her parents, but found that their faces had gradually faded and become distorted, and this had only been ten years.
One day, the things from her previous life will be stripped away from her mind and reconstructed into another "Zhao Chun", who will no longer be her.
Zhao Chun's eyes suddenly became clear, and the barriers that had shrouded her since birth suddenly dissipated. Nothing changed, but she did feel that her existence became more real.
The two of them said nothing again, and the dusk grew quietly in the house.
After Wang Yijiao left on the excuse that it was getting late, Zhao Chunku was left sitting in a daze.
The night wind shook the leaves outside the room, and Zhao Chun trembled suddenly. She woke up and vaguely understood something. It turned out that she had been deliberately avoiding the world, and only regarded the ten years of her life as a big dream.
Whether it’s practicing martial arts or seeking the Tao. The reason why she always wanted to live peacefully in her heart was to return to her original world. So she deliberately didn't get close to anyone and didn't let anything become a possibility of nostalgia.
What prevents her from fully integrating into this world is herself. When the inner barrier was broken, she truly lived as Zhao Chun.
Lying on his back on the bed, Zhao Shun felt calmer than ever before. But beneath the calmness, there was a vague sense of panic.
There is no hiding place for any luck. She must face this bizarre world head-on. If the road ahead deviates from the established track, all she has to do is step on it.
This might be considered a kind of heroism, she thought.
Most of the children recruited were still young, and even though the royal city was heavily guarded, the people in charge did not dare to let them go out at will.
Zhao Shun stayed in the house for two days. When he was really bored, he ran to the yard to do two sets of boxing to stretch his body. Pang Zhen looked at it and was surprised, but she was weak in punching and her lower body was unstable. She was not a martial artist. Pang Zhen shook his head and thought she was doing it to keep fit.
On the third day, just after five o'clock, someone came to the door with an order.
It was said to be a conference, so Lingzhen Taoist Temple gave it the elegant name of "Eternal Life Banquet" and set up a dojo in the royal city that could accommodate nearly 100,000 people.
Zhao Shun followed the team into the venue. Twenty children were sitting at a big banquet. After everyone was seated, it didn't seem crowded at all.
Looking down from the high platform, Wu Yangyang's heads were shaking from side to side, and there was a lot of people's voices.
Zhao Shun's ears were numb and he was feeling very uncomfortable when a loud and majestic voice came from the high platform:
"quiet!"
The noise was stopped almost instantly, and the children looked at the source, wondering what happened.
The people in the royal city still looked calm, but the outside warriors turned pale in shock. You must know that this is a grand scene with tens of thousands of people together. The high platform is nearly two miles away from the crowd. To convey such a distance purely by human power can almost be said to be the work of gods.
Coming, Zhao Chun secretly thought, this world where warriors are respected is about to be turned upside down.
