Travel through troubled times and escape famine with the system

Chapter 417 The Cold of the North

It was midnight, inside the Guan residence.

Lu You tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep no matter what she did.

Now she is safe, but she has suddenly lost her goal.

In just over two months since she transmigrated, Lu You has already traveled from Heyuan Village to Wudu.

She still remembers her conversation with Lu Yi when they first arrived in Jianhe County.

Lu You once said that her dream was to make a lot of money and move house with Lu Yi and Lu Ming.

Jianhe County, Qingzhou Prefecture, and even Wudu!

But now, he had arrived in Wudu.

But the people around me are either dead or lost.

After all the killing along the way, Lu You had become indifferent to life and death, but she still felt unwilling to accept it.

Her last obsession was Lu Yi's safety.

However, this is no longer something she can do alone.

Hopefully, the Third Prince can find Lu Yi!

Lu You knew just how powerful the system's methods were. The fact that the Second Prince and the Third Prince were ignoring her was simply because they each had their own reasons.

The Third Prince Wu Quanwen tied himself to his big ship through the battle of Qingzhou Prefecture.

The Second Prince must have captured Lu Yi as leverage, otherwise, given Wu Quanwen's power, there's no reason he wouldn't have been able to find Lu Yi and the others.

Chen Jiang stared at the roof beams, his mind racing.

With Lu Yi around, he dared not openly offer assistance to the Third Prince.

The Second Prince will use Lu Yi's life to intimidate me...

However, there are two things Wu Quanwen can do in order to get his help.

First, help myself rescue Lu Yi.

Second, he killed Lu Yi and framed the Second Prince!

Ultimately, Wu Quanwen's choice is beyond her control.

I am the fish on the chopping block...

This feeling was like a huge rock pressing down on Lu You's heart.

Lu You sat up, put on her boots, opened the door, and stood on the second-floor veranda.

[Negative emotions from Duanmu Rong +60, +60...]

Upon hearing the system notification, Lu You turned to look at the room being prepared for Duanmu Rong not far away.

"Since you're not asleep either, let's come out and chat."

[Negative emotions from Duanmu Rong +80, +80...]

Negative emotions were increasing, but there was still no movement in Duanmu Rong's room.

Lu You chuckled helplessly.

"Duanmu Rong, you're not secretly crouching by the door, holding your breath, peeking at me right now..."

Click...

The sound of the wooden door opening interrupted Lu You's words, and Duanmu Rong came out fully clothed.

"I've practiced stealth techniques for many years, and I didn't make a sound just now. How did you know I was watching you?"

Under the moonlight, Duanmu Rong looked at Lu You with a slightly flushed face.

The reasons he gave could be summed up in just four words.

Shut up! Have some shame!

Looking at Duanmu Rong, Lu You leaned on the railing and chuckled softly.

"Don't even mention that you're only at the Inner Strength Realm. Even if you've cultivated to the Celestial Realm, which is known as the Land Immortal Realm, you still can't sneak up on me."

Duanmu Rong didn't say anything: (→_→)!

"Hey! What kind of look is that? Are you doubting me?" Lu You asked, pointing at Duanmu Rong.

"No, I just have dry eyes." Duanmu Rong forced a smile.

Lu You didn't argue, but just looked up at the full moon and sighed softly.

"These are all divine methods; how could you mortals possibly understand them?"

The last time I looked up at the moon was on the fifteenth of August.

That night, Zuo Yunfeng got drunk and made a complete fool of himself by riding on a persimmon tree.

"Isn't it almost the fifteenth of October?" Lu You said abruptly.

"Two more days," Duanmu Rong said, looking at the moon. "Winter is almost here again."

Duanmu Rong's words carried a hint of inexplicable sadness, which made Lu You glance at her slightly.

Duanmu Rong, a secret guard, was ruthless and decisive, with a thousand faces, but her heart had long been hardened like a stone.

Of course, she must have her own feelings too.

But Lu You really couldn't understand what was so sad about winter.

"You don't like winter?"

Lu You looked at Duanmu Rong with curiosity.

Duanmu Rong looked at Lu You, and with just one glance, Lu You could see the pain hidden in Duanmu Rong's eyes.

Duanmu Rong looked up at the moon again, then took a deep breath before speaking again.

"dislike!"

"You could say it's hatred!"

"I hate every winter, I hate every withered blade of grass, I hate every fallen leaf, and I hate every snowflake!"

Duanmu Rong pressed her hands against the railing, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.

“We are in Wudu now, you were in Qingzhou before.”

"Traveling from west to east, it's a journey of nearly two thousand miles, but in these places, it gets cold very late."

Have you ever traveled north?

"North?" Lu You looked curiously towards the north.

This world does not have the Big Dipper, but it does have a bright star that resembles the North Star.

“Yes!” Duanmu Rong said softly, “If you go north from De’an Gate, which is north of Wudu, you will enter the territory of Liangzhou Prefecture.”

"Do you know why Liangzhou Prefecture is called Liangzhou? Because Liangzhou Prefecture is a dividing line."

"Compared to the area south of Wudu, even in the hottest part of summer, the temperature in Liangzhou Prefecture is very refreshing."

As she spoke, Duanmu Rong pointed north.

“If you go north after leaving Liangzhou Prefecture, you will reach Bingzhou Prefecture, Sizhou Prefecture, and Beian Prefecture. My family is from Beian Prefecture.”

"Look at this garden, it's already October and there are still flowers blooming."

"But in Beian Prefecture, the ground is already covered in frost by the end of September."

"By the end of October, the snow on the ground was so thick that it could stand still and not melt. At that time, when you stood on the mountain and looked into the distance, everything was covered in white."

"Do you know what's most important when living in a place like that?"

Lu You looked at Duanmu Rong, but unconsciously imagined the magnificent northern scenery where the world seemed to merge into one.

Winters are cold and long, making them unsuitable for crop growth.

"Food, food for the winter," Lu You said.

Duanmu Rong shook her head upon hearing this.

"It's not for food, it's firewood!"

"In Beian Prefecture, for about half the year, people are freezing cold."

“If there is no food, you can beg for it and you won’t die even if you go hungry for two or three days. But if there is no firewood, you will freeze to death overnight.”

firewood?

Lu You was somewhat taken aback.

Neither past nor present life has ever held any significance for her.

When Lu Ming first transmigrated, he did chop firewood to supplement his family's income, but that was to sell to wealthy families in the city.

Even after searching through all of her predecessor's memories, she couldn't find any story about a family not having firewood to burn during the winter.

Aren't all those hillsides outside the city covered with firewood?

Seeing Lu You's bewildered look, Duanmu Rong scoffed.

“You haven’t been to Beian Prefecture, so you wouldn’t understand.”

“Those wealthy and powerful lords would buy entire mountains and order people to watch over them.”

"Anyone who dares to secretly chop firewood inside will get a severe beating."

“My father had his arms and legs broken because he chopped someone else’s firewood.”

"My mother sold me to a wealthy man in the county town in order to raise money to save my father."

"That year, I was twelve."