Seeing Beihu soldiers and horses chasing after him, Gu Shengchao retreated instead of advancing. He deliberately fell behind and shouted loudly: "You guys leave quickly, I will break up the rear."
He stepped forward, and several others followed the mission.
At the critical moment, without any regard for politeness, the remaining members of the mission galloped as fast as they could.
Gradually, the Beihu officers and soldiers behind him got closer and closer, and one person in front of him could clearly see that it was Xian Yutie whom the ancient sage missed so much but had no chance to meet and reminisce about the past.
Xian Yutie's whole body was covered with armor, and his heroic figure was shining under the sunlight. The unique majesty of a man was clearly visible.
The people he leads are also heavily armored cavalry. Once they catch up, they can trample their opponents into pieces without using their horses.
When the distance was close, Xian Yu iron bent his bow and nocked an arrow, and shot an arrow.
"Whoosh!"
The sound of arrows piercing the air made people tremble with fear.
The force of the sharp arrow was just right. When it flew next to Gu Shengchao, its speed was exactly in sync with him. He didn't have to stretch out his hand to grab the arrow shaft.
It was as easy and natural as if two people were passing each other face to face.
With this hand alone, Xian Yutie's archery skills are amazing.
There was something strange about Gu Shengchao's grip on the arrow shaft. There was a note wrapped around the arrow shaft. He unfolded it in his hand, and two words were crookedly written on it:
"Run quickly."
The handwriting was exactly the same as the one someone had given him a few days ago.
It's clearly right in front of you, and you can run away without urging.
Gu Shengchao suddenly realized that Xian Yutie was protecting himself. As long as they didn't stop, they might never be able to catch up.
Thinking of this, Gu Shengchao shouted to the front: "Don't stop, just keep running towards the boundary of our Dawu Dynasty."
Dong E also shouted loudly after hearing this: "Come on, if you hold on a little longer, we will leave Beihu in more than an hour."
Everyone was already exhausted, but seeing that hope was right in front of them, they rushed on desperately.
The pursuers gradually fell behind, and Xian Yutie complained: "Whose bad idea was this? We have to heavily equip our cavalry to catch up. How can we catch up now that the horses are too tired to carry us?"
He looked at the embarrassed appearance of the envoy team in front and ordered: "The light cavalry listen to the order. You divide your troops into two groups and surround them from both sides, trying to encircle them in front."
The order was passed on, and two groups of light cavalry separated from the large group of people and ran wildly in both directions.
Gu Shengchao was a little worried at first, but felt relieved when he saw them chasing after them.
They were not in an encirclement situation, it was almost like running away. They were getting farther and farther away from Gu Shengchao and the others, and the distance between them became wider and wider.
Gu Shengchao was grateful and thanked Xian Yutie for his efforts in covering their escape.
He began to worry again about whether Qi Xian Yu Tie would be punished for such blatant fraud when he returned.
When things come to an end, there is no room for overthinking. The only thing to do is to get through this disaster first.
Ahead is a low ridge.
Dong E was ecstatic: "Everyone, work harder. After crossing the mountain ridge, we will reach the Dawu Dynasty."
Everyone was as excited as if they had been given a shot of chicken blood, scrambling to rush up.
One man was exhausted and fell from his horse, almost being stepped on by the horse behind him.
Ancient Sage Chao rode his horse forward and leaned down to lift the man up. The BMW Zhui Feng under his crotch was full of energy, carrying the two of them at a speed that did not slow down.
The envoy team finally crossed the mountain ridge, which was the temporary boundary between the two countries.
Behind them, the Beihu pursuers stood on the beam and watched them. No one crossed the border to pursue them.
Xian Yutie shot another arrow. This time the sharp arrow was firmly nailed to a tree and pierced deeply.
Pulling out the feather arrow with force, Gu Shengchao saw that it was still wrapped with a note, and unfolded were four similarly twisted words:
"See you later."
Gu Shengchao looked up and watched. The Beihu officers and soldiers on the mountain ridge gradually withdrew, leaving only the howling north wind.
Everyone in the envoy was extremely exhausted. They dismounted and lay down on the gravel to rest. They felt extremely comfortable and did not feel the impact of the stones at all.
"Who is this person and why is he helping us?"
Lu Shouwen lay on the side and asked weakly.
Gu Shengchao also lay down on the spot and said softly: "He is Xian Yutie, known as the best warrior in Beihu. He secretly helped us a lot during the confrontation with the old eunuch Wen Zhe in the capital."
Sighing, Lu Shouwen said helplessly: "It's hard to repay a debt of gratitude. What you owe today will eventually have to be repaid in the future."
Looking at the blue sky, Gu Shengchao also sighed with emotion: "I didn't meet Brother Tie in the royal court. I thought he had forgotten us. It turns out there was a reason. He must be protecting us secretly, but we didn't know it."
"Yes, I will definitely report to the Holy One after I return. It is time to thank them deeply. They saved the lives of all the people in our mission." Lu Shouwen felt deeply.
After everyone repaired for half an hour, a deputy envoy came to ask: "Master Lu, should we go to the county government to stay first? The county magistrate took good care of us when we came here. We will have a good rest for a few days before returning to the capital."
"No need."
Lu Shouwen directly refused: "I'm going to pass the order and all the county towns on the way back to the capital must be detoured, and local people must not be harassed."
"Your order." The deputy envoy left reluctantly.
Gu Shengchao joked: "Brother Lu really doesn't understand the style. If you can drink flower wine in the county town, why not do it."
"Yes, there is also free money, who wouldn't love it. Let's go, there are still many things to do when we return to the capital, so don't delay."
Lu Shouwen gave the order and the team continued to move forward.
On the way back, as Lu Shouwen said, he saw that all the county towns were detoured.
In ordinary towns and markets, everyone can buy the supplies they need, so there is no need to disturb the people in the city.
For the convenience of traveling, Dong E and Wan Yanxi both bought ordinary girls' dresses and wore them.
If you go out wearing Beihu robes, you will definitely attract attention, but it will be inconvenient.
In their free time, everyone was busy practicing their martial arts. Dong E made rapid progress and had just begun to master the magical iron arm skill. Except for the fact that the armor has not been condensed on the surface of her skin, the muscles on her body are so hard that it is extremely difficult for ordinary swords to hurt her.
However, Gu Shengchao was depressed. There was something wrong with the meridians in his body, his breath was always sluggish, and he could never use the Five Soul Array, let alone the sword control skills he learned after breaking through in the desert, which he could no longer use.
It was late autumn at this time, and it was raining heavily. The road ahead was damaged and impassable. Their small and crowded town could not accommodate a team of hundreds of people.
In desperation, he had to go to the county town to find an inn to stay, and waited patiently for the road to be open to normal traffic.
Lu Shouwen issued an order for everyone to live separately and not make it public, so as not to let the county magistrate know about it and entertain them, which would be self-defeating and waste money.
After resting for a few days, the weather finally cleared up.
Dong E couldn't bear the loneliness and insisted on taking Wanyanxi shopping so that she could see the prosperity of the Central Plains.
Gu Shengchao was worried about them and followed them.
Dong E held Wanyan Xi's hand, and the two sisters were happy, talking and laughing.
Suddenly, Dong E said in surprise: "Brother Gu, this Wanyan girl has only been working for a few days, and the skin on her hands has become smooth, not as rough as when she first came here."
Seeing that Gu Shengchao didn't believe it, she took Wan Yanxi's hand and said, "If you don't believe it, just touch it, it's much smoother."
"Just say so." Gu Shengchao turned his face to one side.
There were originally a lot of people on the street, but finally the weather was nice and more people came out to go shopping.
Dong E made a fuss, and many people looked at them in surprise, making Gu Shengchao feel uncomfortable.
There are two main streets in the county, where shops and merchants are concentrated.
They bought Dong E and others the rouge that girls like, and the three of them walked back slowly.
Passing by the county government office, I saw many people gathered in front of the government office. An old lady knelt at the government office door and cried sadly: "My son is unjust, my son is unjust, he can't kill someone."
"Get out quickly, the case couldn't be clearer. He has signed a bond and will be beheaded in three days. If you, old lady, dare to cause trouble again, I will kill you too." The yamen officer pushed, picked up the old lady and threw her into the street.
"The sky has no eyes. It is impossible for my child to kill someone. He was wronged." The old lady could not afford to kneel down.
Seeing that there were many people watching, the yamen officer pulled out his sword and threatened: "Get out of the way. If you see anything interesting, if you dare to stay again, you will be treated as your comrades."
The onlookers were frightened and left one after another.
Gu Shengchao stepped forward to help the old man: "Old man, we can't solve the problem here unless we go back and discuss it in advance."
"You don't have to worry about me. If my son dies, I don't want to live anymore." The old lady was determined not to leave.
When the government officials saw that most of the people had dispersed and that the few remaining people could not make waves, they ignored Gu Shengchao and returned to the county government office.
Gu Shengchao helped the old man up and whispered: "I am an official from the capital. I may be able to help you."
"Really?" The old man didn't believe it.
Quietly showing his tooth tag, Gu Shengchao comforted the old man: "You also know that no one can help you here. Why don't you go home and tell us the details first, maybe you can clear your son's innocence."
Seeing that Gu Shengchao didn't seem to be lying, the old man led them back to his dilapidated hut.
After careful questioning, the old man told the whole process intermittently.
The old man's son was named A Niu, and he worked in a local silk and satin shop. Two days ago, the proprietress of the silk shop died suddenly, and someone framed A Niu as the cause.
A Niu spent a day in the county government office, and then he admitted that he was coveting the beauty of the landlady and wanted to do something wrong when she refused, so he had evil intentions to kill her.
However, the old man knew the child well and insisted that someone had framed her up. The county government had closed the case and ignored the old man. She had no choice but to go to the county government to file a complaint. However, she found no way to complain and no one paid any attention to her.
Gu Shengchao inquired about the location of the silk and satin shop, and immediately went to check the situation with Dong E and Wan Yanxi.
The three of them came there, and a funeral shed was set up in the courtyard. Two children knelt in front of the coffin and cried, expressing endless sorrow.
Back at the inn, Gu Shengchao consulted Wanyan Xi and asked her if she had a better way.
"I only know that the child is really crying. It shows that the mother takes good care of them on weekdays. I don't know anything else."
In the evening, Gu Shengchao took advantage of the darkness to come to the yard again, wanting to find out.
The night wind was blowing the spiritual flags, which was a little scary. There was only a solitary coffin, and no one was guarding it.
He sneaked into the backyard and saw a room lit with candlelight. Gu Shengchao quietly walked over and heard someone in the room threatening:
"Dead people cannot be resurrected. As long as you hand over the 'Feng Wu Qiu Huang Sword Technique', I will ensure that your career is prosperous and you are safe and sound."
