Grasswall village was said to be a small city, but it was actually just a large village called Grasswall village. Only those who lived in the mountainous region and natives with no knowledge of the outside world called the Grasswall village city.
The only reason Han Shen knew about this was that he had been informed by his Uncle Chang who had been working as a gatekeeper for more than ten years.
When Uncle Chang was young, he had attended school with the wealthy children in the city. As he was the only one in the village who knew how to read a few words,
Grasswall Village wasn't very large. It only had one main road, known as Grasswall Street, which spanned from the eastern to the western borders of the village. There was also only one tavern in the village, located on its western border. For any traveling merchant that didn't want to sleep outdoors, this tavern was the only option.
There was only one road for carriages in the western part of Grasswall Village. It ran from the gates of the village and the Grasswall Tavern all the way to the Spring Fragrance Restaurant, the only other place anyone would visit besides the tavern.
This April was neither extremely cold, nor scorching hot. Light winds caressed the land, passing the Qiang Di flutes of the Northern Reaches, and blowing over the lands of the Great Qiging. Under the twilight sky, it lifted the fog-like dust, then swirling, twisting, reached Grasswall Village in the State of Zhao. Then it fell onto a young boy who sat there on the mountaintop.
Physically, Han Shen was very ordinary. He was tan and matched the generic descriptions of a child born in a farming village. Deep in his heart, however, he had matured faster than others of the same age. Ever since he was young, he had yearned that one day, he would be able to leave his small village and explore the fertile lands of the outside world that Uncle Chang had always talked about.
Han Shen had never dared to speak of his dreams to anyone else in the village because they would be deeply shocked. After all, leaving this place was a notion that even adults didn't easily think about, let alone a small child. Children around his age only knew how to chase chickens and pet dogs. They had never entertained the strange notion of leaving the village.
"Failed again…" He sighed. when he saw the bird not falling for his trap.
His parents died three years ago and did not leave much behind in the way of assets. so he was almost completely broke.
"It's getting late, maybe this isn't the path for me after all." Filled with self-deprecation, he looked down at the last bait in his hand, his eyes bleak.
"My dream of becoming a hunter and getting rich just keeps getting farther and farther away. I might as well forget about trying" He laughed bitterly. Sitting there on the silent mountaintop, gazing at the bottle gourd in his hand, he looked increasingly lost. He began to feel fear. What would he do in the future? Where would he go?
Perhaps a high-ranking official would take an interest in him, or a beautiful young maiden. Or would he continue to learn hunting by himself, year after year?
There were no answers to the questions. He was but a young boy, and this feeling of being lost had devoured him like a giant invisible mouth. He truly felt afraid.
Hunting is a very prestigious job in Grasswall village and the neighboring villages, Not only do they provide the main source of meat and fur to the village, but they can also leave the village at any time.
"Even the hunters in town can only make a few pieces of silver. That's worse than Uncle Wang's carpenter shop. If I'd realized that earlier, I could have learned some carpentry skills from him. At least then I wouldn't be starving like I am now." He grew silent for a while.
"I don't have much food or money left at home. I owe Steward Wang three pieces of copper. What am I going to do?" He raised his head and looked up at the sky, blue and grand. It was so large you could not see its ends. Much similar to how he could not see his future.
After a while, Han Shen shook his head and took out the gourd bottle, then stood up and threw the gourd down the mountain.
At the bottom of the mountain was a wide river which never froze during the winter, and was said to flow all the way to the Great Qiging.
Han Shen stood on top of the mountain, watching the gourd bottle drift further and further along down the river. He stared unblinking. For a moment, he seemed to have glimpsed his mother, and the happiness of his childhood.
"Regardless of what I do, be it hunt or work, I will keep on living." This was his personality: intelligent and determined. If he wasn't this way, he would not have been able to survive after his parents died.
He raised his head toward the sky, the stubborn look in his eyes growing deeper. He was about to head down the mountain.
At that exact moment, he heard a weak voice coming from a nearby cliff. The sound seemed to be borne along by the wind. As it passed Han Shen's ears, it was almost too faint to notice.
"Help… help…"
Han Shen stopped for a moment, shocked, then listened carefully. As he concentrated, the sound of the voice calling for help grew stronger.
"Help…"
He walked a few steps forward until he had nearly reached the edge of the peak. When he peered over the edge, he saw a person, his body sticking out of a crevice halfway down the cliff. Pale face full of fear and desperation, he cried for help.
"You… you're from nearby village, right? Help me!" It was a teenager. As soon as he saw Han Shen, he expressed surprise and happiness, having suddenly found hope in a desperate situation.