The old man smiled and said: "Master, since you are sick, you need to eat something light. Besides, it seems that some of you are going north. It will take at least three hours to go to the next small county. If you don't eat something, Master, I’m afraid I’ll be hungry on the way.”
Song Wenzhou didn't appreciate it.
It’s not like I’ve never been there before, who needs you to remind me?
He didn't speak here, but Lu Ling's voice reached his ears: "Thank you for reminding me, sir."
The old man limped over and said, "You're welcome, young lady."
Lu Ling spoke to him with a smile: "Are there few people here?"
“There used to be quite a lot of them, but this year there have been fewer pedestrians.”
"Why is this?" Lu Ling tilted his head and asked.
The old man smiled bitterly and said: "It's just because the road ahead passes through a cliff. The cliff is so steep that a carriage accidentally rolled down the cliff the year before last.
"Later, passers-by said that the place was unlucky. Later, a tiger came from nowhere and wandered in the dense forest on the edge of the cliff. From time to time it would come out to bite people.
"Everyone is afraid. Last year, a road was rebuilt in the state capital. Although it is farther, everyone would rather take a long way to another county."
A newly built road? He was not well-informed in the past, how could Song Wenzhou not know?
He often runs outside. Could it be that he doesn't know the condition of this road? Do you know that this road is infested with tigers?
Lu Ling would not believe that he took a shortcut with him because he wanted to return to the Lu family quickly.
So, he knew that there was a tiger in the mountain, but didn't remind himself? What are you worried about?
Isn't he afraid that if he really encounters a tiger, he will be implicated as well?
Lu Ling was about to get deeply suspicious.
Haitang exclaimed: "There is a tiger? What should I do, miss? Will we encounter a tiger?"
Lu Ling frowned. She couldn't tell for sure. The old man quickly comforted him: "Don't worry, the tiger doesn't come out every day. My old man hasn't heard of it for more than half a year."
Lu Ling thought to himself, maybe he has moved his position.
The old man added: "Unless some of you are unlucky, you won't encounter a tiger so easily."
Haitang quickly clasped her hands and prayed: "Bodhisattva protects the lady from bad luck!"
Lu Ling couldn't laugh or cry: "You have to beg for yourself."
Haitang bared her teeth and said, "Miss's safety is the most important thing in everything."
Lu Ling felt warm in his heart when he saw this.
The original owner was so pitiful, but fortunately he had a loyal girl like Haitang by his side.
At this time, Song Wenzhou at the table next to him sniffed and said in a thick nasal voice: "I have never heard of a tiger biting a human."
When the old man heard this, he quickly said: "Master, don't believe it. My old man's leg was bitten by the tiger last year."
Hearing this, Song Wenzhou looked at the old man's leg and frowned: "If you are bitten by a tiger, can your leg be saved?"
He clearly didn't believe it.
"This is what happened to me, old man. I was leading the cow over there to collect firewood, and the tiger suddenly jumped out and bit my cow to death.
"It originally wanted to eat me, but maybe it thought my old man was dry and had no meat, so it bit my leg and was busy eating beef. The bones of my leg were only broken by the bite, so it was saved. .”
Song Wenzhou frowned and looked at the old man's deformed legs, raised the corners of his mouth symbolically, then turned to Lu Ling and said: "Ling'er, don't worry, we will definitely not encounter a tiger. Even if we do, I will Will protect you."
Lu Ling turned his head and glanced at Song Wenzhou with suspicion. He said nothing and thought to himself: You are pretending again.
Haitang rolled her eyes.
The old man looked at the young couple and guessed that they were probably having an argument.
He didn't say much, just reminded: "You guys should move faster and cross the steep cliff road before dark, just in case."
After saying that, he turned back to the house and found a torch and handed it to Lu Ling.
Before Lu Ling left, he gave the old man a lot of reward money.
The old man accepted it generously, watched Lu Ling and Song Wenzhou get into the carriage, and watched them leave.
The carriage began to rock and jolt again.
Song Wenzhou felt very uncomfortable and kept pressing his temple with his right hand.
Lu Ling couldn't stand it any longer, so he said, "If you are really uncomfortable, ask the servant to take you back."
Song Wenzhou raised his head, his eyes a little more energetic. He shook his head: "What did Ling'er say? This minor illness is nothing."
Lu Ling raised his eyebrows and said, "But I don't think you're good at it."
Song Wenzhou frowned when he heard this.
What nonsense is this woman talking about?
Questioning yourself?
No, we can’t be underestimated by her!
So he straightened his back and pretended to be in high spirits.
Lu Ling rolled his eyes in his heart.
The carriage rocked back and forth, and Lu Ling soon felt sleepy, so he stuffed a soft pillow into his back and gently closed his eyes to fall asleep.
The sound of the carriage churning forward lingered in my ears.
She didn't know how long she had been walking, but Lu Ling felt the carriage lurch suddenly, and she instinctively reached out and grabbed the guardrail next to her.
Opening her eyes, she frowned and saw Song Wenzhou's somewhat annoyed gaze.
"What's going on?" He lifted the curtain and looked outside.
The carriage is still tilted, and the body sitting in the carriage is also tilted.
"Master, Madam, the wheel is stuck in the crack of the stone!" the boy said loudly outside the car.
Lu Ling's heart thumped as he followed Song Wenzhou out of the carriage.
Then I looked up at the sky - it was probably You hour, that is to say, it would be dark in less than an hour.
Lu Ling turned to look at Haitang. Haitang had a faint look of worry on his face, but he held her arm and said nothing.
Several people looked at the wheel that was stuck in the crack of the stone, and they all had an idea in their hearts: It seems that they are not very lucky today...
But no one said anything.
The coachman pretended to be relaxed and said: "Master, Madam, we have to pry this stone away before the wheels can move."
Song Wenzhou turned around and looked around, but saw that the two or three miles ahead gradually turned uphill, and the highest point was obviously next to the cliff...
He told the boy: "Go and find some sticks."
The boy didn't dare to be careless and hurriedly got up and looked around. Song Wenzhou and the coachman had already begun to try to pull the horse to see if they could pull out the carriage's wheels.
The result is, it's useless.
The boy ran back quickly, holding two dry branches as thick as his wrists.
He handed one to the coachman's hand, took one himself, and then began to tilt the big stone that was stuck on the wheel.
The stone is half a person tall and two arms in diameter, so its weight is naturally astonishing.
Lu Ling watched from the side as the three men exhausted their energy. Song Wenzhou was very sick, and the stone didn't move for a long time.
She picked up a stick as thick as a finger, rolled up her sleeves, squatted in front of the stone, and began to dig the soil under the big stone.
The three men were stunned for a moment, but they quickly came to their senses.
Haitang also quickly came up to help dig the soil.
Lu Ling couldn't figure it out. How could the car suddenly get stuck in a rock crevice when it was running smoothly?
Maybe, I am just unlucky today.
Haitang and Lu Ling dug the soil for a long time, and the big rocks showed signs of loosening slightly.
Lu Ling felt happy and said quickly: "You can use your strength now!"
When the coachman and the boy heard this, they inserted the two branches into the cracks in the rocks, and then they worked together.
Finally, after more than a dozen loud shouts, the big stone was lifted up and rolled to the side.
The horse struggled hard, and the wheel finally got on the right track.
Several people wiped the sweat from their foreheads and felt a little relieved.
Lu Ling got into the car, and Song Wenzhou also got in. Then he ignored his discomfort and ordered the coachman: "Speed up."
The carriage tilted forward suddenly and then started to move quickly.
