Liu Yijin's middle route army only had a few hundred people, five hundred black-armored iron guards, and twenty outstanding young men from Jianghu sects who had submitted to the Supervision Department.
Among them are many Shaolin and martial arts masters.
These people have strong inner strength and are good at finding out information, so the journey has been smooth.
On the way from the Imperial Capital to Border Pass, you must pass through Beifeng County, Hanliang County and Qingfeng County.
"According to legend, the name of Hanliang County comes from a fierce general beside the late emperor. This man followed the late emperor to quell the rebellion within the empire and did not serve in the court. Instead, he directly retired. This incident caused quite a stir at that time. It caused quite a stir.”
"Is this old gentleman dead?" Liu Yijin asked.
"He is older than the late emperor and has died long ago. However, the Hanliang family has the final say in this county."
Liu Yijin hummed. He had seen a lot about this kind of thing in later generations.
After becoming famous, he chose to live in seclusion, and he seemed to be much more powerful than a county guard.
Besides, this is a serious achievement. Who would offend such a person without being discerning?
Liu Yijin did not wear armor or military uniform during this journey. The five hundred iron guards, under Liu Yijin's instruction, rushed past Hanliang County and went directly to Qingfeng County to wait for everyone.
As night fell, a group of more than 20 people settled directly in a small town in Hanliang County.
The town is called Jiming. It is a very ordinary village. The only place to stay is a newly opened small hotel in the center of the town.
More than twenty people rode their horses and parked in front of the hotel. The owner was a man who looked to be in his forties, accompanied by a thin young man and a fat girl with freckles on her face.
The man rubbed his hands nervously: "Are you guys going to eat or stay in a hotel?"
Liu Yijin jumped off the horse with a smile: "It's so late, of course we have to stay in a hotel. It would be better if there is bath water."
After saying that, Liu Yijin threw over ten taels of silver: "Twenty people, try to arrange it as well as possible, we will stay for one night, and the extra money will be considered as a tip for you."
The man excitedly directed the boy and girl beside him: "You two, why are you still standing there? Why don't you quickly lead the horse to the stable and give it the best fodder?"
The boy and girl hurriedly stepped forward to lead the horse.
I don't know why, but a horse suddenly became startled and restless.
This shocked everyone.
"Yuan Peng, go and comfort your horse."
But before Yuan Peng stepped forward, the girl suddenly walked up to the horse and gently flicked the horse's ears. The horse immediately became obedient and settled down.
This hand directly shocked everyone.
Liu Yijin couldn't help but be extremely surprised: "Shopkeeper, I didn't expect that your small shop has hidden dragons and crouching tigers."
The store owner smiled honestly: "I've made you laugh, this is my daughter, but she can't speak, but she is very diligent. The last time someone from the world rode by, the horse was also startled. At that time, I was so scared. My daughter is incredible."
"It was the old man who suddenly flicked the horse's ears, and the horse settled down."
"My daughter thought it was so fun, so she begged the old man to teach her a few tricks."
After the man finished speaking, he turned and looked at his daughter: "Isn't that right, Xiaocui?"
Xiaocui nodded, with a shy expression on his face.
Liu Yijin yawned: "The masters are among the people." He walked toward the second floor: "Store, prepare food first. Then boil the bath water. There are many of us. If you are too busy, just let us know. Our people just need to help.”
The man hurriedly said yes.
Everyone walked into the hotel, but Qingluan stood outside, looking at the two of them with interest: "Are you brothers and sisters?"
The boy nodded: "Yes, I am the brother and she is the sister, but my sister can't speak, otherwise she would not be able to say hello to you."
Qingluan hummed: "He is a pitiful person."
"By the way, what does the old man you saw last time look like?"
The young man scratched his head and said, "I just kept a big white beard and looked in good spirits. As for the rest, I have forgotten about it."
Qingluan smiled faintly and watched the two of them lead the horses to the stables skillfully: "Are there people from the world of martial arts often coming and going in this small town?"
"It's not too much, but it's been a lot in the past two days."
The girl stood aside and said nothing, but sometimes there was caution and scrutiny in her eyes.
After everyone had eaten, the bath water was boiled. Mengyao and Lan Yuer were two girls, so they were naturally given priority.
Liu Yijin asked the two of them to wash up first, while he chatted and spanked with others in the yard.
"Sir, do you feel anything is wrong?"
Liu Yijin looked at Qingluan's face suspiciously: "No, I think everything is normal."
“Everything that’s normal is the most abnormal thing.”
Qingluan looked at the three busy people in front of him: "Although that man was reserved, when we first came in, his eyes changed from shock to joy, and then became solemn."
"The boy may be his biological child, but the girl definitely has nothing to do with the shop owner."
Yuan Peng, who was sitting next to Qingluan, also nodded: "Sir, this is indeed the case. The girl here is quick and decisive, and her positioning is perfect. This is not something that a novice can do."
Liu Yijin was suspicious: "Are you a little too sensitive? Maybe the little girl has practiced a lot, so she can grasp the key to the problem well."
"Besides, this is Hanliang County, what can happen? You are really making a fuss out of a molehill."
Seeing Liu Yijin's disbelief, Qingluan wanted to say something else, but suddenly his expression changed slightly and his figure swept towards the backyard.
At the same time, twenty heroes from the Jianghu army divided into two groups. One group followed Qingluan and drove out, while the other group directly protected Liu Yijin in the middle of the ground with cold eyes.
"Oh, help!"
There were shouts from the front hall, and Liu Yijin looked over and saw shrill cries, like ghosts, coming from outside the door. The store owner stumbled in, his face extremely pale.
"Sir, save me!"
The store owner knelt down in front of Liu Yijin and said, "Sir, ghost, ghost!"
Liu Yijin looked at the dark night outside and asked doubtfully: "Shopkeeper, what are you doing?"
"Sir, that female ghost is here. She is outside, right outside."
As he was speaking, the shopkeeper's face suddenly turned extremely pale, and then he was shaking all over. A pair of hands tightly clamped his neck, and his face was instantly shrouded in a layer of gray.
This scene directly shocked Liu Yijin and others.
Yuan Peng, who was guarding Liu Yijin, changed his expression slightly, kicked the store owner away, and then slashed out with the long sword in his hand.
"Don't kill him!"
Liu Yijin made a sound to stop him, and Yuan Peng forcibly changed his moves with the long sword in his hand, slashing the opponent's chest with one sword.
Looking at the seriously injured shopkeeper, Liu Yijin hurriedly stepped forward and pressed the shopkeeper's chest firmly: "Tell me, what is outside?"
The grayness on the shopkeeper's face became heavier and heavier, covering his entire face in an instant.
Looking at the shop without interest, Liu Yijin's eyes showed a cold light.
There was the sound of gnawing bones and screams from outside. From this sound, he could tell that it was the scream of the store owner's son.
"Yuan Peng, you guys go out and take a look!"
Yuan Peng led four young men and chased them out, but what frightened Liu Yijin was that Yuan Peng and the five of them seemed to have disappeared into the sea, without any movement.
The deathly silence made everyone suddenly tense. Several people below him gathered around Liu Yijin, looking wary.
"Where's Qingluan?"
"Where are Mengyao and Lan Yu'er? Why haven't they come over yet?"
