Chapter 8 Dangshan

The falling snow stopped for a while, but the sky and the earth were still shrouded in thick fog.

The snow on the field was cleared away, revealing the slightly muddy land underneath. At the same time, clods of mud were constantly blown up and hit the snow on both sides.

Finally, Xiao Yan jumped out of the pit holding a long sword covered in mud.

In his hand, there was a hoe that was made from scratch. It was called a hoe, but in reality it was just a piece of wood with some rusty iron wrapped around the front, and the handle was made of a random wooden stick.

The soil in deep winter was as hard as stone. If it weren't for the long sword, it would have been impossible to dig this pit with just the rotten hoe.

Xiao Yan rubbed the sword in the snow, but the mud on it was difficult to rub off, so he could only shamelessly hand it back to Ji Ruxue.

"Thank you for lending me your sword."

The girl bit her lower lip and just looked at the old man's body covered by a hooded robe beside her, without saying a word.

She only stayed outside the house for a while, and when she went back in, the old man had already died.

Taking the sword, she whispered, "How dare you do that..."

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yan also heard this.

He picked up the old man's body and placed it safely in the pit, saying, "For him, this is the only way to be relieved."

"Hopeless."

The girl turned her head away and said coldly: "Everything must be tried. If you don't try, how do you know there is no hope?"

Xiao Yan remained silent. He used the broken hoe to cover the soil on both sides and then compacted it heavily.

He narrowed his eyes, took the stick off, stuck it in front of the mound, and said softly: "From now on, I will choose another precious place for you, Uncle Lin."

Ji Ruxue wiped the sword clean with her sleeve, with a cold face and said nothing.

Xiao Yan clapped his hands and said to her, "In this case, let's say goodbye now."

"Where are you going? Yanzhou?"

"It has nothing to do with you, and now you know that I am indeed not Li Yu."

"I brought you out, so I should take you back!"

Ji Ruxue bit her lip tightly, her almond eyes full of stubbornness. She knew she was no match for Xiao Yan, but she still said stubbornly: "You should keep your word. Even if this place is not in Caozhou City, you have to come with me."

"This place is not close to Caozhou. After coming out of the tunnel, I dragged you south for nearly ten miles. Otherwise, given your condition, you would have been captured by the pursuers long ago."

Xiao Yan was not angry with the girl, but left a last word: "I will give you back your life, and we will be even. And you already know so many secrets, you can report back to the two ladies. That's all I have to say, see you again in the rivers and lakes."

After saying this, he strode towards the east.

Ji Ruxue was anxious but still weak. She could only watch Xiao Yan's figure disappear into the fog.

But immediately, she seemed to remember something and turned around and ran towards the dilapidated hut.

When she returned to the hut, she drank the medicine that had already frozen into thin ice without stopping.

Then, she rushed out of the door holding a sword, and staggered in the snow and fog, following the footprints.

----

The footprints and bloodstains completely disappeared two miles south of the city.

Xuan Jingtian squatted in the snow with a longbow slung over his shoulder, his eyes filled with deep thought.

Two maids who were also quite capable followed behind her, keeping an eye on the movements around them.

"Alas, I finally made a big mistake."

After a long time, Xuan Jingtian stood up in frustration and said angrily: "This plan is already very dangerous, but there are so many accidents!"

The two maids had no answer to this. In Zuiyin Tower, except for the two saints, everyone else was just an executor.

Even if it was Ji Ruxue, even though she was the empress's close attendant, she had to obey Miao Chengtian's instructions.

But one of the maids still asked, "We have lost both the target and Miss Xue'er. Should we try to get back to Caozhou first?"

"There's no rush yet."

Xuan Jingtian's eyes were filled with contemplation, and he took out a silver token from his bosom and handed it to the two of them, saying, "You two take my Holy Princess Order and go to Songzhou in the south. Ask the Songzhou branch to activate the secret agents in various places. First of all, we must find their traces."

"How about you, Shengji?" "I'll use a carrier pigeon to tell you everything first, and then..." Xuan Jingtian pondered for a moment, and finally made up his mind and said, "I'll go to the east and try to find them. Then, you can come to Huizhou to meet me."

"Follow the order."

----

In the suburbs of Dangshan County, the long-lost sunset pierced through the clouds and shone on the lake formed by the gathering of rivers.

There are pear trees on both sides of the lake, but because it is now the middle of winter, all you can see is bare ground.

Along the way, the closer we got to Dangshan, the more people there were.

As the saying goes, "people in power have always chosen places to glorify their hometowns." The hometown of Zhu Wen, the current emperor of Daliang, is Dangshan. In the second year of Guanghua, Zhu Wen, then the governor of Xuanwu, submitted a petition to Emperor Zhaozong, requesting the establishment of Huizhou in Dangshan, which was equivalent to raising his hometown to a higher level in terms of administration.

That is why, looking at Dangshan County alone, one can feel a scene of peace and prosperity.

Walking from Caozhou is equivalent to walking a hundred miles in a day. Even though Xiao Yan has internal strength to support him, he still feels exhausted at this time.

Behind him, Ji Ruxue followed from a distance holding a sword, looking even more miserable.

There is an embarrassing fact for both of them.

They don't have any money...

The girl was so hungry that her mouth was drooling and her ankles were a little sore.

Even if you are a warrior, you have to ride a horse to travel such a long distance!
Until now, she no longer knew why she wanted to follow Xiao Yan. The only thing left in her mind was to follow him...

On the side of the road, an old man who looked like a farmer stopped his car and called out in the unique Henan dialect: "Girl, hurry up and get on the car. I see you and the boy in front have been walking for a long time. It's getting dark soon. I'll give you a ride."

Ji Ruxue was stunned for a moment and subconsciously gripped the hilt of the sword tightly, but when she looked over, she saw the old farmer had a kind face, as if he was not surprised at all by the sword in her hand.

Yes, Dangshan is close to Qi and Lu, where the culture of practicing martial arts is very strong, so I am afraid that they would not violate the law by using force.

Pursing her lips, Ji Ruxue thanked him, "Thank you, father-in-law."

"Don't be polite to me. My grandson is almost as old as you." The old farmer was very talkative. He also asked the girl, "Do you want to take the young man in front?"

"Take..." Ji Ruxue paused, snorted, and then said angrily: "Don't take him!"

The old farmer laughed and slowly drove the mule cart to catch up.

In front, although still far away from them, Xiao Yan also heard the conversation between the two.

He was calm and continued walking with his head down.

If we return to Caozhou at this time, we will immediately fall into danger. If we want to take the initiative, we need to know more information.

Just as he was thinking, the mule cart stopped steadily beside him.

"Young man, don't be angry with this young lady. We are good men in the world, how can we care so much about a little girl? Come on, get in my car and I will take you to the county town."

Xiao Yan was slightly surprised and said, "Father, she and I..."

"Oh my, don't talk too much, young man. You two are having a quarrel. Do you really think I can't see it? Hurry up, it's getting dark."

These words made both people in and out of the car silent.

Ji Ruxue's ears turned slightly red. She wanted to explain, but she didn't know how.

Xiao Yan thought for a moment, sighed, climbed onto the mule cart loaded with firewood, and thanked the old farmer with a smile: "I'm sorry to have made you laugh."

"For most of my life, I have been looking for clarity. It's okay for a couple to have a quarrel, but if they can't get along in the end, wouldn't it be a waste of the kindness of the two elders? From what I see, the young man should be from a wealthy family, right? How come he and this young lady are in such a bad state?"

"Thank you for your concern, father-in-law. I and..." Xiao Yan paused, then smiled and said, "My wife and I were supposed to go east from Bianliang to Yanzhou with the elders in our family. We encountered bandits on the way and were separated from our family. We had no choice but to rush all the way to the county town."

At the side, Ji Ruxue held the sword, tilted her head and rested her chin on her knees. Although it was a bit unnatural, she did not refute.

In the heartland of Zhu Liang, the two of them had no passes and their identities were unknown, so it was very easy for them to be treated as spies from an enemy country.

"Oh, we must report it to the authorities immediately! This daring bandit is so close to the emperor's hometown that he can even appear there! God can see that your majesty is so benevolent. Compared with ten years ago, the present age is truly a prosperous one..."

Xiao Yan nodded and said gently, "Of course it is so."

"You don't have a place to stay at night, right? If you don't mind, why don't you come to my house? My son and grandson are all in Yanzhou, so my house isn't too crowded."

"Thank you very much, old man..."

(End of this chapter)