159. A Bloody Battle

By the afternoon of the second day, Old Man Tong and the others, following the markers left by Zhang Xuan, managed to catch up with Zhang Xuan's group. Neither Zhang Xuan nor anyone else inquired further about the status of the children who had been sent away. Afterwards, the group resumed their original pace, heading toward their destination—the sect where Old Man Tong resided. Along the way, Zhang Xuan and the others treated the children to Zhang Xuan's signature roasted game, as well as things the children had never seen, let aside tasted. Throughout the journey, Yang Zaixing, Yuwen Chengdu, Zhang Xuan, and the others acted like caring older neighborhood brothers. Despite their young ages, they looked after the score of children attentively.

After walking for some time, Zhang Xuan and his companions came across a stone tablet inscribed with the characters for Wanyang Town. Although it was just a simple village town, utterly ordinary in every way—one of many similar settlements Zhang Xuan's group had passed along the road—Old Man Tong noted that this Wanyang Town was the very last place where supplies could be purchased before reaching their destination. Beyond this point, there were no more places with such a comprehensive variety of goods available for purchase.

Zhang Xuan had bought a scattering of daily necessities in the villages along the way, but those supplies were nearly exhausted. Now, at the mere thought of living deep in the mountains with these score of children for the next several years, Zhang Xuan began rubbing his hands in eager anticipation, preparing for a massive shopping spree at this final supply outpost.

"First Brother, Second Brother, and Brother Hu, are the ammunition supplies ready and counted? Make sure not to leave anything out!" Yang Zaixing, Yuwen Chengdu, and Yang Hu pulled out the wooden boxes they had previously seized from the stronghold and shouted back to Zhang Xuan, "Little Xuan, counted and verified! Ammunition is plentiful, ready to commence the shopping spree at any moment!" Actually, the three of them had no idea why Zhang Xuan insisted on calling this money "ammunition," but Zhang Xuan always had plenty of bizarre ideas. Besides, they were not Zhao Ding, so they didn't dwell too much on the peculiar terminology.

"Nie Rong, Nie Zheng, Shi Qian, how are the personnel deployments? Can you support this upcoming shopping operation?"

"The personnel are fully prepared and ready to depart at a moment's notice. Mission to shop guaranteed!"

Old Man Tong, Uncle Yang, Yan Yu, and the others watched this self-directed spectacle put on by Zhang Xuan. Every time they reached a village where Zhang Xuan needed to buy something, he would trot out this exact routine. They couldn't help thinking that this would finally be the last time they had to listen to these lines. Where on earth did Zhang Xuan learn all these strange habits, and why were so many people willing to play along with him? It was truly beyond comprehension.

"Old Man Tong, Uncle Yang, are you all ready? We are just waiting for your command."

"Go on, go on, go buy your things properly. You can manage to make such a grand production out of a simple shopping trip. Tell me, Little Xuan, why don't you go into theater? I am certain the Emperor would love watching plays put on by you. Have you ever considered it?" Old Man Tong remarked, thinking that this might not be a bad career path for Zhang Xuan after all.

Paying no mind to Old Man Tong's teasing, Zhang Xuan continued giving out orders: "First Brother, take a few people to buy clothing fabric, wheat, millet, beans, and other daily necessities and food. Especially winter clothes—buy plenty of them. Deep in the mountains and forests, there's no telling how cold it might get. As for grain, stock up on extra; you can never go wrong having too much, especially with so many mouths to feed! Uncle Yang and Second Brother, take some men and buy some chicks, piglets, calves, and lamb kids. You can buy older ones too, but make sure the females are capable of bearing offspring; otherwise, don't bother. Understood? Also, buy various seeds—as long as the plants yield edible food, anything goes. We aren't picky about seeds. Brother Hu, take some people and look for a blacksmith shop. Buy some sickles, firewood axes, and hoes, and see if anyone is selling a gong—buy one if you find it. As for other sundries, use your own discretion. Oh, right, and you Yan family guard brothers, you should join in as well and help me supervise, making sure they don't spend money on useless things. Aside from the items just mentioned, buy whatever else you see fit. Just keep one rule in mind: we are going to live deep in the mountains again, relying entirely on self-sufficiency. Every single item we purchase must serve that purpose. Don't buy any useless junk. If you aren't sure during the purchasing process, send someone to ask Old Man Tong, since he has experience living in the deep mountains."

"Little Xuan, you've assigned tasks to all of us, but what about yourself? What are you going to buy?"

"Old Man Tong and I are heading back to the apothecary. If any of you are uncertain about something while buying, you can come find Old Man Tong at the apothecary."

"What are you going to the apothecary for?"

"To buy medicine, of course! What else, to dig a latrine? Big Brother, that is a truly uninspired question. It makes people want to raise a middle finger in contempt." As soon as Zhang Xuan finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.

"All right, everyone move out! Even though it's a shopping spree, we must still spend every coin where it counts most! Go! Go! Go!" Yang Zaixing, Yuwen Chengdu, and Yang Hu each took several children under their charge, as arranged by Zhang Xuan, and walked into the town to procure supplies. Zhang Xuan and Old Man Tong also made their way to the town apothecary to purchase the medicines Zhang Xuan needed. Once inside, Zhang Xuan discovered that the town's inventory was remarkably well-stocked. He even briefly suspected that the local residents had known in advance that he would come to Wanyang Town for a shopping spree, otherwise, how could they have prepared the goods so thoroughly? Some items were things he hadn't even seen in the previous towns they had visited.

After several hours of a relentless shopping spree, when Zhang Xuan and his group finally emerged from Wanyang Town, everyone's hands were filled to the brim with purchased goods. Even the townspeople of Wanyang Town came out to bid farewell to Zhang Xuan's entourage, a testament to the resounding success of this shopping expedition.