The sound froze him. His fists clenched loudly, and his breath caught in his throat.
He turned and looked towards the place where the sound came from - it was behind a bush and there was no one in sight. He immediately jumped off his horse, walked around to the bushes, and saw a woman sitting on a small rattan stool at the edge of the field.
She was wearing a lake green dress and an apricot yellow cloak. There were two maids behind him, one holding a small charcoal stove and the other holding a pot of tea.
At this time, she was leaning slightly and was greeting a farmer in the field not far away with a smile. The farmer had just walked to a tree beside the field path and used a coarse porcelain bowl to scoop water from a large earthen jar. .
Li Bochen stared at her face and felt his temples throbbing, which made his eyes sore.
It's Lin Qiao. This look, voice, and tone are all too familiar. what is she doing? Coming for an outing? Or come to watch her parents work in the fields? Why did she call that person with a smile like that? He couldn't help but think that Xiaoman often called me like this - Ah Chen.
Just now he told himself that it would be better not to see him, so he left just now. But at this moment, all those constraints and thoughts were thrown away. He wanted to walk over immediately, say a few words to her, see her appearance and listen to her voice.
He took a deep breath and took a step.
But then I heard Lin Qiao say: "Second brother, if you can work as diligently as you drink water, I don't have to come and watch you every day."
The two maids behind her covered their mouths and laughed. The farmer's face suddenly turned red. He put down the bowl and walked back to the field.
Li Bochen was stunned. After a while, he slowly took two steps back and got on the horse.
She is not Xiaoman.
…
On April 29, Li Boxen returned to Houcheng.
Twenty days have passed, and he feels that his heart no longer hurts as much as it did in the first few days. Many times I can taste the food and laugh. Only occasionally when I think of her, I feel depressed. But at this time, I quickly changed my mind and it was not heartbreaking.
In fact, he has been thinking about one thing these days - can he be considered normal during the more than twenty days he has been with Xiaoman?
Looking back, I always feel that I was a little confused at that time. It's not that I've become stupid, but I've become numb to many things that shouldn't feel right. He didn't want to think that it was the result of her Taisu magic, but when he thought about his reaction when she left that day, he always felt strange.
After being unable to find her for a while, I felt panicked. He thought, isn't this because in my subconscious, I have long felt that this life will not last long and that she will leave sooner or later?
Thinking about it this way, he didn't even know if his previous feelings for her were true. He thought, maybe if he waits... in another month or two, he will know the result.
He sighed, and when he saw that the car in front of him was finally allowed to pass, he led his horse to the sergeant guarding the city. In the past, when entering Houcheng, the sergeant only looked at his face and let him go if he thought there was nothing suspicious. But this time the soldier actually stretched out his hand and said: "Wen ultimatum."
Li Bochen was stunned. When he left Mengjiatun, he left in a hurry and did not take the document with him. Seeing his hesitation, the soldier frowned and repeated it again.
Li Bochen realized that something was wrong, thought about it, and said, "Master Jun, I don't have the document with me, so I'll go home and get it first."
Just as he was about to turn around and leave, the sergeant shouted: "Wait!"
After drinking like this, he actually put his hand on the handle of the knife.
Li Bochen was shocked and thought to himself, could this man recognize that he was the one who killed Sui Yilian and his son? But I also thought, if this was really the case, I should have been alert just now. Is that because of the ultimatum? When did Houcheng become so heavily guarded?
But no matter what, he didn't want to be tied up by these people. Just as he was about to jump on his horse and rush out of the crowd, he saw another sergeant walking through the doorway and said, "Let him in, I recognize him."
The man who pressed the knife breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Li Bochen again, and waved his hand: "Okay, let's go."
Li Bochen was stunned and looked at the sergeant who came out of the door - he didn't recognize him. While I was hesitating, I heard someone calling from inside the door: "Brother Chen!"
He followed the sound and saw that it was Yu Meng, the blacksmith in the village. Did he ask the sergeant to rescue him? Then he felt relieved and led his horse inside.
When he walked up to Yu Meng, he cupped his hands and said, "Brother Yu, thank you very much."
After saying this, I realized that Yu Meng was dressed differently today than usual. I saw him twice before, both wearing black cloth clothes. Today's clothes look the same as usual from a distance, but when I look closer, I find that although they are cloth clothes, the workmanship is very fine. Xiaoman had taken him to buy clothes in the city before, and he knew that such an outfit would cost at least a hundred dollars.
Did he come into town to visit some relatives today?
Yu Meng returned the gift with a smile and said, "I haven't seen you for a long time. Has your wife come back?"
Li Bochen was stunned, he also knew about this! ? But I also thought that that day, I and Zhu Hou returned to the village in a lively manner, and then galloped wildly, which must have attracted a lot of people's attention. Maybe everyone in the village knew about Xiaoman's running away.
He sighed and said, "No. Let's talk about it later."
Not wanting Yu Meng to ask about this again, he said, "Brother Yu, are you coming to the city to visit relatives?"
Yu Meng smiled, walked side by side with him, and said, "That's right. Brother Chen, what are you doing in the city today?"
The first two times I talked to this man, he seemed a little cold, but today he was very easy-going. Li Bochen didn't know if he was taking care of his own emotions, so he said: "Looking at a friend. I promised him something and brought him something."
Yu Meng said: "Oh? Who is it? Maybe I recognize it too."
Is he deliberately chatting with me, trying to find some answers? Li Bochen really wasn't interested in talking, but he couldn't brush him off, so he said: "Zheng Zhao, a storyteller in the city. I exchanged stories from him for money. I was out for so many days and wrote some stories."
Yu Meng snorted, seeming a little disappointed with this answer. Li Boxen said: "By the way, Brother Yu, what's going on in the city? In the past, no written ultimatum was required."
Yu Meng turned to look at him: "You really don't know?"
"what do you know?"
"Zhu Hou is dead."
Li Bochen subconsciously stopped and stared: "Dead? When? How did you die?"
At this time, the two of them walked to an alley, and Yu Meng pointed there and said, "Let's go in and talk."
When Li Bochen led his horse and followed him into the alley, Yu Meng stood down and said, "It was the day you left. It was only that night that I heard from the people on the mountain that Zhu Hou was dead - Brother Chen, you did this Of?"
This news made Li Bochen's head buzz. Not because of the fact that Zhu Hou died, but... who did it?
He thinks he knows. The last thing Xiaoman asked before leaving was whether he would kill Zhu Hou, to which he replied not yet.
Zhu Hou...was she killed? Killed for yourself! ?
He originally felt that his mood had calmed down and there would be no more disturbances. But now that I know this, I suddenly feel my nose is sore and my eyes are hot - she really cares about me...she really did this for me.
She left home that day and should have escaped immediately. But he actually took the risk to go to Jinghu Mountain to get rid of Zhu Hou for himself?
Li Bochen suddenly gritted his teeth and clenched his fists - but what was I doing at that time! ?
While I was riding my horse in the street and feeling sorry for myself on the road, Xiaoman was assassinating Zhu Hou for me! For the inheritance I promised her!
In the past, people always talked about his mother-in-law and mother-in-law. He was used to hearing it and didn't take it seriously. But at this moment, he really hated himself a little.
When Yu Meng saw him like this, he took a step back and said, "Brother Chen, is it really you who did this?"
Only then did Li Bochen come back to his senses and said: "No..."
But after saying this word, I finally realized something was wrong. The look on Yu Meng's face was strange, a little wary and a little disappointed. Li Bochen felt a chill in his heart. He raised his hand and touched Yaohou. He calmly dispersed the Yin soldiers and said, "Brother Yu, why do you think I did it?"
The Yin soldiers rushed out nearby, and Li Bochen immediately noticed four people around the alley. Of course, he couldn't know the appearance of those people, but he could sense through the Yin soldiers that the energy in those people was particularly strong. Even if they were not practitioners, they were still good warriors.
Then he said in a deep voice: "Who are you?"
But Yu Meng didn't answer him. Instead, he asked again: "Knowing that Zhu Hou is dead, do you still want to go back to Mengjiatun?"
Is he from Zhu Hou? Looking for the murderer? But why is it called "Zhu Hou" instead of "General Zhu" or "General Zhu"?
Li Bochen couldn't guess his identity for a while, so he said, "I bought a house there, so of course I want to go back."
Yu Meng suddenly smiled: "Oh. It's a pity, then I have to keep you."
After he said this, he spread his hands and suddenly rushed forward. Fortunately, Li Boxen was on guard and took a step back before drawing his sword. But Yu Meng raised his foot again and kicked the head of his knife, and he missed the point.
This move of his was very strange. He seemed to be floating in mid-air, with no need to use any force to move his hands and feet. Li Bochen knew he was facing a tough challenge, so he simply waved his hand that was about to draw the sword and slashed it out. Just as they were meeting Yu Meng's right fist, they heard a snap and the two of them took a step back at the same time.
He was shocked - he originally planned to swing his right hand away from Yu Meng's fist, but his left hand hit his heart. But after this move, he discovered that Yu Meng's strength was astonishingly great, and was actually on par with him. The wrist that blocked his punch was still slightly numb at this moment. I wonder if Yu Meng poured the thunder method into his body - he is also a practitioner!
Could it be the dragon-tiger realm? ?
Yu Menggai was also surprised and said in a deep voice: "Brother Chen, you can't tell."
Li Bochen drew his sword, retreated to the white horse, and said, "Who are you? Zhu Hou's death has nothing to do with me."
Yu Meng smiled: "Since you are so skilled, we can't ask you to go back regardless of whether it has anything to do with it or not. Brother Chen, why don't you go back to the camp with me. If you really don't want to be a coward, and you are clean, how can you still be here? Serving in the military.”
Li Bochen was stunned. Is he from the Sui army?
Did he work as a craftsman in the village before?
Seeing him like this, Yu Meng took another step forward and said, "Zhu Hou is dead. There is a pile of scattered sand on Jinghu Mountain. Our army is planning to clear it out."
He glanced at his horse again and said: "Ordinary people don't know this yet, but the city is already tight on the inside and loose on the outside. If you want to use this horse to rush out of the city, I'm afraid it will be difficult. Even if you get out, There is a military stronghold more than twenty miles outside the city, and you can't go back."
After hearing his words, Li Bochen felt a wave of regret in his heart again - what a great opportunity! Xiaoman gave it to him, but he wasted more than twenty days on the road outside!
If he hadn't been so willful that day... After knowing the news of Zhu Hou's death, and thinking clearly about what Xiaoman wanted him to do, I'm afraid that now that he had taken over Jinghu Mountain with the help of the Chang family, the officers and soldiers in Houcheng would not be able to do so. I will make up my mind to suppress it!
But the matter has come to this... I made a mistake once, and I must never let her down again!
Li Bochen looked around and sensed that the four people outside had not gathered yet, so he gritted his teeth, planning to subdue Yu Meng first and then try to sneak out of the city.
Seeing him like this, Yu Meng immediately said: "Hey, Brother Chen has a fierce look in his eyes, are you planning to fight for his life? To be honest, it's useless to kill me - can you still fight your way out of Houcheng?"
He raised his arms again, only to hear a jingling sound, and there was a row of iron rings on his wrists, and said: "Besides, when we fight, we can't say who will win."
This is true. If this person is really in the realm of dragon and tiger, it will be difficult to subdue him. If he wants to take his life, he may not be able to do it for a while.
Li Bochen thought for a moment and said, "Why are you embarrassing me? My home is in the village, and there are my wife's things there. I just want to go back and take a look."
Yu Meng said: "When we destroy the mirror——"
As soon as he said this, Li Boxen shouted: "Go!"
The Yin soldiers have just been recalled. At this time, after giving an order, the Yin soldiers immediately pounced on Yu Meng. Hearing his shout, Yu Meng reacted quickly, but he thought there was an ambush around him, so he took two steps back and leaned against the wall to keep watch.
The next moment, his body swayed and his eyes froze. Li Bochen knew that this was because the Yin soldiers had attacked him, and he felt dizzy and out of breath for a moment. He immediately raised his knife and slashed at his face.
By the time Yu Meng reacted, he was unable to dodge, so he could only cross his arms and use the iron rings on his wrists to block it. But his iron ring was like a wooden ring in front of the magic knife. It was cut off immediately and fell to the ground with a clang. Yu Meng gritted his teeth and puffed his cheeks, but Li Bochen's knife only stopped against his wrist and said: "Yu Meng, don't force me!"
Yu Meng was stunned for a moment, wondering whether he was surprised why the knife was so sharp or why Li Bochen didn't cut off his hands. But the next moment, his body dwarfed, and he suddenly hit Li Boxen's chest again. The lightning flashed between his fingers, causing dust on the ground between the two to fly, and with a thud, it hit his chest.
Li Bochen was hit by him and hit the wall on the other side. There was a crisp sound behind him, which cracked the green bricks. At this time, it was inconvenient for him to use a long knife, but Yu Meng took out a short blade from his waist and stabbed him in the ribs.
Li Bochen shouted again: "Go!"
The Yin soldiers rushed towards him again, and Yu Meng paused again. Li Bochen took the opportunity to raise his leg to kick him away, but Yu Meng was as strong as him and did not kick him away. Fortunately, there was a slight gap between the two of them, so he slapped his left hand on Yao Hou's waist - and Yu Meng's short blade was cut off instantly.
Li Bochen then retracted his arms and put the magic knife against his neck. Yaohou pressed it against his waist and said in a deep voice: "Yu Meng, don't blame me for being rude if you attack again!"
