That year, the region of Pingzhou, in Zhuqi County, suffered a terrible drought, leading to widespread banditry.

Ye Qin knelt on the ground, clutching a shard of broken tile he'd found somewhere, desperately digging at the base of a solitary, withered old tree, using every ounce of strength he possessed to unearth the roots for consumption. The tile wasn't sharp, but hours of frantic digging had already worn his palms raw.

The sun in the sky was viciously hot, blindingly bright. The sparse, dry branches of the old tree offered meager shelter from the scorching heat.

After digging for a while, Ye Qin felt exhaustion creep in. He hadn't eaten anything all morning; the gnawing hunger in his belly and the dryness in his throat sapped the strength from his slender little hands, making it nearly impossible to continue scratching at the earth.

On the other side of the old tree, a farm boy lay collapsed in the dirt, starved into unconsciousness. It was Cheng Da Niu, a child from his own village, his hair a tangled mess like dry grass, covered only by a piece of ragged hemp cloth. Half-fainting, he muttered indistinct nonsense.

Ye Qin glanced at Cheng Da Niu, licked his cracked lips, and bit down, forcing himself to dig on.

He was originally the son of a hunter from a small village deep in the mountains hundreds of miles away. Years of devastating war, raids by brigands, and heavy taxation had choked the life out of the rural folk. The drought that began early this year had caused nearly total crop failure, and the game in the forests had dwindled, leading to mass starvation.

If the adults could barely survive, what hope was there for the children? As the eldest in his family, eleven-year-old Ye Qin had bid farewell to his parents, leaving home to search for food, hoping to lessen the burden of rations on his mother and father, ensuring his younger siblings would have enough sustenance to live. According to the customs of his village, once one left their parents and departed home, it signified striking out on one's own, never again relying on parents or clan.

Ye Qin couldn't exactly claim to have "established himself," but he was certainly out wandering alone now.

Fortunately, four or five other children, aged between eight and ten, had set out with him to find food. Since Ye Qin was the oldest and seemed to have the most experience, he led the group.

For the past six months, they had wandered through the villages and fields around Zhuqi County. Due to lack of sufficient food and attacks by wild dogs and jackals, three or four of the children had already died on the road. Only Ye Qin and Cheng Da Niu remained alive.

Da Niu was a year younger than him.

The previous night, just before dawn, they had been sleeping in an open shed in the wilderness when a starving, maddened old dog crept in and savagely bit Da Niu’s lower leg. Had Ye Qin not woken up in time and brutally beaten the dog away with stones and a wooden club, Da Niu would have surely perished. No matter what, neither he nor Da Niu could afford to die now; being completely alone would make survival in this world even harder.

Ye Qin ignored the pain in his hands and dug on, thinking. He was already a foot deep, but still hadn't unearthed any edible root.

The old tree was completely withered. No one knew if its roots were edible, but they had to try. There were almost no other roots or bark nearby that they could consume. Six months of drought had nearly baked every blade of grass and leaf to death.

Finally, a section of root was exposed. It looked fresh, still retaining some moisture.

“Ah!” With a cry of excitement, Ye Qin furiously jabbed at the root with the dull shard of tile. After much effort, he managed to pry loose a small section. He bit off a small piece of the moist bark, crawled over to Cheng Da Niu, shook him awake, and fed him the piece.

Smelling the moisture from the bark, Cheng Da Niu opened his eyes hazily. He managed to wake from his near-faint and tentatively chewed a little, but lacked the strength to swallow.

Ye Qin quickly chewed the bark into a pulp and shoved it into Da Niu's mouth.

If he didn't eat, he would die.

After consuming a bit of the bark, Cheng Da Niu finally caught his breath, regained a little spirit, and became more lucid.

This single piece of root bought Ye Qin and Cheng Da Niu another half-day of life.

Although eating bark caused their stomachs to ache, it was better than starving to death. The two rested in the shade of the old tree's base for half the day. When the sun finally began to sink and its heat lessened, Ye Qin helped the limping Da Niu walk eastward.

It would soon be dark, and the desolate wilderness was full of ravenous wild dogs and jackals; it wasn't safe. They needed to reach a place where people stayed.

Ye Qin guided Da Niu toward the shed where they had slept the previous day, located a few miles east, near the official road on a desolate slope.

Merchants and horses often traveled the official road, stopping there for water when thirsty. During the day, a local tavern owner from a nearby town would set up shop there, selling tea, wine, and cooked meat to passersby.

However, to avoid trouble with bandits, the tavern owner packed up every evening, leaving the shed empty for them to use, sheltering them from the wild beasts. Furthermore, they could usually scavenge tiny scraps of leftover food the patrons discarded for their evening meal.

For the past fortnight, Ye Qin and Da Niu had been sleeping there every night.

As the evening approached and the sky turned rosy with the sunset.

Ye Qin helped Da Niu arrive at the side of the shed and squatted down near a patch of weeds to rest. The shed was a rudimentary bamboo structure with an open-air canopy supported by poles. Under the canopy were more than a dozen tea tables and stools.

The tavern owner hadn't left yet. The old man and a young waiter were busy attending to more than a dozen burly men wearing identical blue robes, all armed with knives. This group was loudly chattering, drinking, and eating meat within the shelter, creating a lively scene.

Ye Qin inhaled the scent of wine and cooked meat wafting from the canopy, making him terribly hungry. But after just one quick glance, he fearfully recoiled, daring not to look again. These lean, wiry men were all dressed in the uniforms of county constables from Zhuqi.

When he had first left the mountains searching for food, he had almost mistaken these constables in their yamen uniforms for good people. But after half a year of begging in the county seat and several villages, having witnessed too much wickedness, he was now deeply terrified of them.

If they were merely bandits, it would be less dangerous; without money, bandits wouldn't necessarily kill. These constables were far crueler than bandits. If one took a dislike to someone, they would beat them senseless. If the victim died, their head would be cut off and presented to the county office, counted as a bandit's trophy to claim a reward.

Ye Qin was so poor he only owned a scrap of torn hemp cloth to cover himself; he would rather face bandits than the constables.

Cheng Da Niu was growing confused from hunger and hadn't clearly registered that the men were constables. He tried to crawl over and beg for scraps.

Alarmed, Ye Qin swiftly yanked him back, pinning Da Niu’s arm. Da Niu struggled with surprising strength, trying to cry out something. Ye Qin frantically clapped a hand over his mouth, frantically gesturing with his eyes—Don't go over there and invite death.

Da Niu was younger than him to begin with and injured. After a brief struggle, he couldn't break free and soon ran out of strength, settling for lying down dazedly to rest.

The two huddled together in the hidden spot beside the shed, trying their best not to attract any attention from the constables.

Ye Qin checked the sky; the sun was nearly set. Once this group of constables finished their meal and drink, they surely wouldn't linger long in the wilderness. Perhaps after they left, he could find something they had left behind.

He sighed inwardly. He wondered when this life of digging for roots to survive would ever end.

From beneath the canopy came the loud, boisterous laughter of the men.

Surrounded by the group, a thin, sallow-faced middle-aged constable spoke with an air of authority; he was clearly their leader.

The middle-aged constable gulped down a mouthful of wine, wiped the residue from his beard, and declared loudly, "Damn this rotten luck. Those bandits are fast runners, fleeing scores of miles from Zhuqi County all the way to this godforsaken hole. They almost worked us brothers to death. Brothers, drink up, eat your fill. We have to travel under the cover of darkness tonight to catch those rogues before dawn."

Ye Qin, hidden in the weeds beside the shed, was separated from the constables by more than ten paces, yet every word they spoke reached his ears clearly.

The constables all began flattering the middle-aged official.

"It’s all thanks to Master Li's personal intervention this time; otherwise, those bandits would have vanished long ago. It's no matter if we work hard, but we absolutely cannot let those robbers escape, lest Master Li’s hard effort be wasted."

"Exactly! As long as we catch those bandits and bring their heads back for reward, Master Li is sure to receive a handsome bonus. We brothers will benefit too!"

"Master Li is truly the top constable in our county. He never fails in a pursuit. This time, we all owe our fortune to Master Li!"