When Li Ran arrived in the Qinjian area, it had been more than a month since he left Qufu. This journey is not without danger. If it were not for Sun Wu and Chu Dang's protection, it is hard to say whether he would have reached Zheng Yi alive.
But even though they are here now, what to do next is still a problem for them.
In the state of Zheng, he didn't know many people. Apart from Ji Le, he only had the son of Dr. Qing.
But if he were to go looking for sacrifices now, wouldn't it mean that he was going directly for the soft rice? There is no way this can be done.
As heaven moves forward, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement. After all, just eating soft food cannot be considered a serious person.
As for Zichan, as he said himself, it was just a casual encounter with him, and there was not much of a friendship with him. As a refugee, what qualifications did he have to ask for asylum from the ruling minister of Zheng State?
After thinking about it, I couldn't think of a clue for a while, so why not find a place to have food and clothing first and then discuss it later.
People are like iron, and food is like steel. You can ignore everything except eating.
Li Ran had never had a decent meal during this journey westward. Although he had to pay a lot of money before going out, the journey was full of dangers and wanderings. Most of the money was taken away, and the rest should naturally be spent sparingly.
No, after finally arriving in Zhengyi, I finally had a good place to go for the rest of my travels. You should comfort your belly first.
The Chamber of Commerce in Zhengyi is particularly lively because merchants from all over the world gather here. Zheng's commerce is extremely developed, and the service industry derived from it is naturally extremely prosperous.
Moreover, because Zheng Guo itself was able to establish the country with the help of businessmen. Therefore, Zheng Guo has never been opposed to various commercial activities. Even at the beginning of the founding of the country, the government and the merchants made an oath to each other - you will not betray me, I will not force the merchants, and I will not seize it.
This modern foundation of the country naturally created a new atmosphere that was completely different from other vassal states.
After appreciating the scenery of Zheng Yi, he finally sat down in a wine shop. Li Ran was in a good mood, so he asked the shopkeeper to order a table of delicacies and served him half a liter of sake.
Just as he was about to set up a table, unexpectedly, a group of people in blue clothes suddenly came to the door of the wine shop. From a distance, they seemed to be customers of some shop. The leader, a middle-aged man, walked straight to Li Ran, bowed and said:
"My lord, please move forward, sir."
When Sun Wu saw this, he was extremely vigilant. He immediately called Chu Dang to his feet and protected him in front of Li Ran.
"Hey! Who is your master? Why do you want to invite sir?"
Before Sun Wu could speak, Chu Dang was already shouting and asking.
Li Ran was startled when he heard the sound. His mind moved and he guessed that most of these people were from the Jiyue Sect.
So he stood up quickly, bowed, and said with a smile:
"Can you please go back and tell your lord that Li Ran's appearance is really humiliating to the Mingtang. I will go and straighten things out, and then I will pay a visit."
Since he was going to visit the Ji family, he had to be dignified and neatly dressed. If he didn't clean up his dusty appearance, how could he meet the Ji family?
The man was stunned when he heard the sound, looked at Li Ran in surprise and asked:
"Sir, do you already know who my master is?"
Sun Wu and Chu Dang also turned around and looked at him curiously.
Li Ran nodded and said:
"Well, it's obvious to me now. Please go back, everyone. I'll come to visit you after I've tidied up."
He went to visit him in disheveled clothes, not to mention what other members of the Ji family would do when they saw him. Even if Ji Le saw this appearance, he, Li Ran, couldn't keep his face.
After hearing this, the man stopped insisting and immediately led the guests out. Li Ran then sat down again and ordered the store to serve food and wine.
Sun Wu and Chu Dang were still puzzled as to where the group of people just came from, so they asked immediately.
"Oh, who else could it be? We were not familiar with each other in Zheng Guo. Who else could we be treated with such courtesy?"
After Li Ran told them, Sun Wudun was suddenly enlightened and said hurriedly and excitedly:
"So, those warriors who helped us along the way were really entrusted by the sacrifice girl?"
Obviously, the only one who could know their whereabouts so clearly and be so concerned about them was Ji Le.
"I promised Ji Le before that I would definitely visit Zheng Guo when she comes. Even if she doesn't come to invite her, I will still pay her a visit."
"only…"
At this point, Li Ran suddenly paused.
Sun Wu asked hurriedly:
"Just what?"
Li Ran smiled and said:
"Girl Ji Bingxue is smart and knows that our journey to the west is extremely dangerous. Even if we enter the Kingdom of Zheng, we will definitely be more careful. So we deliberately sent people to invite us, but we did not reveal our identities."
"Do we still need to be so cautious in Zheng State? I'm sorry for my stupidity, but I sound a little confused..."
Sun Wu didn't react yet and seemed a little confused for a moment.
Just listen to Li Ran continue to explain:
"We have just arrived, and everything is very strange. If she comes in person, it does not match her identity. But if she invites guests to come, if her identity is named, it may put us in danger."
"Because besides her, there is actually someone else who is more interested in our itinerary."
"Oh? Who is it?"
Sun Wu immediately asked with great interest.
"Of course it's Ji Sun Yiru."
Li Ran raised his head and looked at the merchants and pedestrians coming and going outside, a cold look flashed on the tip of his eyebrows.
Ji's pursuit lasted more than ten times, with thousands of followers, and he was really persistent.
But how did Ji Sunyiru know clearly about Li Ran's journey to the west? Could it be that he has clairvoyance and ears for the wind? Can you understand all this in advance, and can you continue to send people to hunt down with extreme accuracy?
The only explanation is that his itinerary was leaked when Shu Sunbao informed Ji Le, and it was always under their control.
Therefore, it is certain that they arrived in Zhengyi this time. In addition to Ji Le's knowledge, Ji Sun Yiru was probably also aware of it. It's just that because this is the capital of the Zheng Kingdom, the warriors in the dark dare not take action in a big way.
The clever thing about Ji Le is that she probably thought of this, so when she sent someone to invite Li Ran, she deliberately concealed her identity and was polite. Li Ran made a guess when he saw this, and he was able to make an accurate guess.
What's more important is that if this happens, when Ji's eyes and ears see it, they will also be wary of him. No matter how brave those warriors were, they would not attack Zheng Yi in broad daylight.
In fact, Ji Le's actions actually had another meaning, but Li Ran didn't tell Sun Wu.
That is, Ji Le is a girl after all. Although she has a heroic temperament and acts informally, this is Zheng Yi after all. After all, it's inappropriate to show up in such a public place, and Jishi's face must be taken into consideration after all.
Li Ran guessed that this might also be the meaning of offering sacrifices to ancestors.
He could even guess that Ji Le must have begged his father to send someone to help him, but Ji Xian refused, so Ji Le had to mess around and act coquettishly, and then Ji Xian agreed and sent his disciples to test him first.
Therefore, he only said "invite you" but did not tell Li Ran his name. Ji Xian naturally had the intention of thinking about his daughter's reputation.
"Hey, let's stop talking and let's eat! After eating, let's find a place to have a good rest before we go to worship the family."
After Li Ran figured out all this, he immediately had no worries and started directly with Sun Wu and Chu Dang.
After traveling westward for several months, I have never had such a stable meal. Besides, knowing that the next meal is planned, what use can I do if I keep this little money? The three of them all devoured their food immediately, and the delicacies on the table were instantly swept away by the wind and became empty.
Then, the three of them found a pavilion, took a bath, changed clothes, and tidied up. Then they came out and asked a passerby where the sacrificer's house was.
On the way, Sun Wu seemed a little excited and jumped up and down while walking.
Li Ran saw it and didn't say much, just asking him to be more cautious. After all, Ji's eyes and ears were probably around them.
Arriving at Ji's house, after Li Ran informed him of his intention, the servant in front of the door immediately went in to report.
But before the man could come out, a figure jumped out from the door, as light as a butterfly and as nimble as a rabbit.
"Brother Ziming!"
It is the festival music.
Ji Le came out of the door, rushed in front of Li Ran, and grabbed Li Ran's arm. His beautiful face was full of joy, which was beyond words.
"Lord, be careful!"
Before Li Ran could say anything, Chu Dang, who was beside him, suddenly stood in front of Li Ran. His tall body was like a wall, blocking the petite Ji Le in an instant.
"Ah this..."
Li Ran suddenly felt a flock of crows flying over his forehead.
"Chu Dang, please don't be rude. This is the girl Ji Le Ji, please get out of the way."
When he said this, Chu Dang knew that he was being reckless and immediately got out of the way.
Ji Le had never seen Chu Dang before. He was a little distracted when he drank like this. When he saw him move away, he slowly stepped forward and took a sneak peek at Chu Dang and asked Li Ran:
"Eh? Brother Ziming, who is this person? Why does he look so fierce?"
Fierce is used to describe beasts.
Li Ran immediately told Chu Dang's origins, and by the way, Sun Wu also had the opportunity to meet Ji Le.
"My Majesty Sun Wu, I have seen the sacrifice girl."
"Ah, so you're here too? I've heard that you are leading the coalition forces in Juhu this time so powerfully. Thanks to your help, otherwise the situation on the Lu side would not be so easy this time... ..."
"fun!"
Before Ji Le finished speaking, Ji Xian's voice came from the door.
Li Ran turned around and saw Ji Xian standing at the door, and there was another person beside him. He was about thirty years old, with a handsome face, and his eyebrows gave Li Ran a vague feeling of familiarity.
"Father......."
"Mr. Ziming, please come inside."
Ji Le was about to say something, but Ji Xian did not give her a chance and invited Li Ran directly.
The man beside him looked Li Ran up and down, with a hint of fear in his eyes.
"I'm sorry to bother you."
Li Ran bowed and saluted, and then followed Ji Xian into the Ji family's house.
He could vaguely feel that Ji Xian did not welcome his arrival, maybe it was just because of Ji Le's rude request.
Of course, he also knew that with his current status, visiting the priest's family would undoubtedly cause trouble for the priest's family. There are no benefits at all, but there are a lot of troubles. It is reasonable for Ji Xian not to welcome him.
However, when he walked past Ji Xian, he suddenly felt the hostility towards him from the man who had been standing next to Ji Xian.
From the corner of his eye, he even caught a glimpse of the murderous intent in that man's eyes!
This made him startled, and he became even more vigilant about his trip to pay homage to his family.
