Early morning, imperial mausoleum.
Chu Tianhe slowly walked to Yan Mo, looked at Yan Fang who was beaten on the ground with a bruised nose and swollen face, and who was unconscious but still had a smile on his lips, and said with a smile, "I told you a long time ago, he took all my abilities Gone to study."
Yan Mo was silent for a long time, and finally turned and left.
"Bring him to my tent after he recovers from his injuries."
"Yes, General." Chu Tianhe watched Yan Mo's back with a smile on his face.
Chu Tianhe also knew in his heart that Yan Mo had fought in battles all his life. Outsiders only talked about his great military achievements and reputation, but no one mentioned the cruelty and bloodshed of the battlefield.
"It's not the person who chooses the fate, it's the fate that chooses the person." Chu Tianhe carried Yan Fang on his back and murmured, "Maybe this is called fate."
Coming out of Chang'an City, the road to the west becomes more and more desolate. Four hundred miles away is the Yumen Pass, and beyond the Yumen Pass is the yellow sand Gobi of the West Desert Country. On weekdays, except for some traders who sell goods between the Western Desert and Yumen Pass, few people go to that desolate and dangerous place.
It was dusk, and there was only a small inn as far as the eye could see on the road. Jiang Fengqing got out of the car at the urging of the government officials.
They were going to spend the night in this inn. This was the third day after leaving Chang'an, and the peace along the way did not make these government officials relax their vigilance.
They were all experts personally selected by He Shengbai, a group of six, led by Dali Shaoqing Qi Zixian, who was at the fifth level of cultivation, and the other five were all at the fourth level. It can be said that this group of people represents all the high-end strength of Dali Temple. This is understandable, after all, the one being escorted is the former eldest prince.
This small inn stood on the side of the road. The old wine flag at the entrance hissed in the wind, attracting customers from nowhere.
Qi Zixian straightened his Yunyan official uniform and led everyone slowly towards the inn.
The door was ajar, the threshold had been trampled, and the door was covered with dust and cobwebs. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned for a long time.
Qi Zixian looked up at the inn sign. The paint on the sign had almost fallen off and it was also covered with cobwebs. Qi Zixian squinted his eyes and tried to decipher the words on it.
Crunch. The door opened.
All the government officials put their hands on the swords at their waists and looked at the dilapidated door that seemed to be broken at any time.
Behind the dark door, a group of things slowly walked out of the darkness.
"This is Shunfeng Inn, welcome all distinguished guests."
An old man with a haggard face and thin body wearing linen clothes appeared in front of everyone. His hoarse voice sounded like he was scratching a bronze mirror with an iron sword, and his withered lips occasionally exposed the few remaining black teeth.
He stretched out his old bamboo-like hands and opened the door, and dust filled the sky.
Qi Zixian, who was walking at the front, quickly covered his mouth and nose with his sleeves and took a step back unconsciously. The people behind him also looked at the old man warily.
Surrounded by flying dust, the old man seemed to be fine. His pale cheeks moved, and he turned around and walked into the store. The straw sandals clicked on the somewhat tattered wooden boards.
Seeing this, Qi Zixian also followed in. In the dim inn, there was only an oil lamp lit on the counter to the right of the entrance. It seemed that because too many people had entered, the flame of the oil lamp kept swaying, as if it would go out the next moment.
On the counter were an abacus with a corner missing, and a book that looked like an account book. There was a bench inside the counter, and something was stained on the bench. Not only did it turn green, but it also exuded a foul odor.
The old man stood in front of a table, took out a fire folder from his arms, and lit an oil lamp on the table. He turned around and saw Qi Zixian staring at the counter in a daze, grinning.
quack quack
The harsh laughter made everyone frown, but the old man's yellow and thin smiling face made people feel even more uncomfortable under the dim light.
"Old man, why are you laughing!"
A younger-looking yamen servant said slightly angrily, glaring at the old man fiercely. He felt that the inn was weird from the moment he entered, and the old man kept pretending to be mysterious, which made him very unhappy.
"Zhuifeng, calm down." A middle-aged government servant with a kind face patted him on the shoulder and advised him.
"Wu He, please accompany Zhui Feng outside to watch our carriage."
Qi Zixian warned as he approached the old man. Wu He also walked out of the door holding Zhui Feng's shoulders.
The old man didn't seem to hear what Zhui Feng said, and he still had that charming smile on his face.
"Old man, is there anything to eat here?"
Qi Zixian looked at the old man with a smile on his face.
"Yes, don't worry, I'll go to the kitchen to make food for you." The old man showed that weird smile, his cloudy eyes swept across the faces of the five people in the room one by one, and then slowly turned around to look at a little person in the room. Go to the door.
Jiang Fengqing swallowed, the old man's eyes made him very uncomfortable, and when the old man turned around, he seemed to see the old man's eyes glowing with a faint green light. When I looked at the government servants beside me, their brows were all furrowed.
The old man's footsteps gradually disappeared into the darkness of the small door. Qi Zixian didn't mind it. He picked up the black and smelly rag from the counter and wiped the stool before sitting down. Other government officials also followed suit and sat down. The oil lamp on the table next to him was also lit, and Qi Zixian winked at the other three government officials. So, several people quietly stood up.
A yamen servant touched the small door as if to see if the old man had come back. The remaining two government officials stared at Jiang Fengqing, who was rubbing her calf.
Qi Zixian took out a fire stick from his arms, lit it, and started spinning it around the room with the light of the fire.
The inn is very small, with just a few logs above the head and a simple roof made of planks tied together with thick hemp ropes. There are only three tables in the entire inn. In addition to the two they sat at, there is another one placed in the far left corner of the door.
Qi Zixian took the fire certificate and approached the table. The table was covered with dust, and there was a handful of bamboo chopsticks in the chopstick bottle. Like the ones on the other tables, these bamboo chopsticks were moldy and turned black. Qi Zixian walked around the table twice, and touched the bottom of the table twice with his right hand seemingly casually. Then he looked down at his right hand, with a trace of surprise in his eyes.
Ahem.
The yamen servant next to the small door coughed twice. Qi Zixian immediately put out the Huozhezi, stuffed it into his arms, and returned to his seat.
Not long after, the old man came over carrying seven bowls of hot noodles on a tray.
The old man walked to the table and placed bowls of noodles on the table tremblingly. Under the oil lamp, his long, black nails stood out.
After placing the noodles, the old man carried the tray to the table in the corner and sat down. He murmured, "A bowl of Yangchun noodles costs three cents, which is fifteen cents for five people."
Qi Zixian trembled when he heard this, and turned to the old man and said, "Old man, where do you have water here? These bamboo chopsticks need to be washed."
The old man stared at Qi Zixian for a long time before replying, "There is a well in the backyard, and there is water in it."
Qi Zixian picked up a pair of bamboo chopsticks on the table and walked towards the small door. Jiang Fengqing glanced at the old man sitting in the corner. Under the dim oil lamp, he couldn't see clearly the expression on the old man's face. He could only catch a glimpse of a fleeting green light.
Jiang Fengqing looked at the bowl of Yangchun noodles in front of her again. The broth was fragrant, a clove of garlic was white and flawless, and a pinch of green onions adorned the white noodles.
He swallowed unconsciously. He had not had a good meal since leaving Chang'an. Because after all, his stomach is used to eating delicacies from the mountains and the sea. Even when the Red Guards were fighting, he had a cook with him to cook a small stove for him. Therefore, he couldn't eat anything along the way. His body really couldn't bear the bumpy ride.
After looking around at the government officials who were watching their noses and mouths, he was so hungry that he finally resisted the urge to eat directly with his hands.
Qi Zixian walked slowly down the corridor and entered the small door. This was the long corridor. Two rows of rooms and a wall surrounded a small courtyard. There was a huge tree planted in the middle of the small courtyard. There are poplar trees, and a well can be vaguely seen under the poplar trees.
There are a total of seven rooms along this corridor, all of which seem to be guest rooms. The doors are all locked with large copper locks. When the copper lock was touched, it was covered with patina.
Qi Zixian then walked forward and turned left along the corridor. Next to it was a large room with lights on.
Pushing open the ajar door, the room was very bright.
This seems to be the back kitchen of the inn. There are a few green onion sprouts scattered on the cutting board, and the noodle soup in the pot is still steaming. There was a pile of tattered dishes in the cupboard that was blackened by smoke.
Qi Zixian gently closed the door and began to walk around the room.
There were still a few sparks in the stove. There was another large pot on the stove that seemed to be used for cooking. There were still a few grains of rice floating in the water that had been there for an unknown period of time.
There is a small bundle of firewood behind the stove, a small bench with a missing leg on the ground, and a large water tank in the corner.
Bang.
There was a sound that seemed like a heavy object falling. Qi Zixian quickly came to the door and looked through the crack of the door. There seemed to be something lying on the wall.
After a long time, the thing remained motionless. Qi Zixian really couldn't see what it was.
He opened the door and walked out slowly.
When he came to the well, Qi Zixian stuffed the bamboo chopsticks into his waist and lit the fire dumplings with one hand.
The dark well was bottomless, and the wellhead was built with stone bricks, with a piece missing here and a corner missing there.
A wooden barrel was thrown down from the wellhead. The handle of the pulley rotated rapidly, and the rope continued to extend downwards, but it seemed that it could not reach the bottom. The crunching sound was particularly harsh in the silence.
A gust of wind blew, and the green leaves on the poplar branches behind Qi Zixian began to rustle.
"Why hasn't Master Shaoqing come back yet?"
"I don't know either."
"And why haven't Zhui Feng and Wu He come back?"
"How about I go outside and take a look?"
Jiang Fengqing listened to the yamen servants around her muttering, and she also had a bad feeling in her heart.
It was already dark outside, and the noodles on the table were getting cold. Most of the old man's body in the corner melted into the darkness, and only a pair of straw sandals on his feet could be seen in the darkness.
Tick tock.
A sound of dripping water came from the small door, getting closer and closer.
The government officials were all shocked. Two of them leaned on Jiang Fengqing's side, while the remaining one looked at the old man in the darkness.
The faint light of two oil lamps flickered.
"The water in this well is really cold."
Qi Zixian smiled and shook the wet bamboo chopsticks in his hand, and his chest and trouser legs were already wet.
The yamen servants took the washed bamboo chopsticks from Qi Zixian's hands, all smiled and took a bowl of noodles and sat down to eat.
Two government officials, one on the left and one on the right, sat at the same table with Jiang Fengqing, talking loudly about the family affairs.
A government official approached Qi Zixian and said in a low voice, "Sir, we have checked this side and there is nothing wrong with it."
Qi Zixian nodded when he heard this, and then said, "Aren't Zhui Feng and Wu He back yet?"
The yamen servant shook his head and said, "We don't dare to wander around until you come back."
Qi Zixian's heart moved. He Shengbai told him before coming that this mission was very dangerous and something would happen on the way. Now it was confirmed.
"One more thing, although we didn't take this road, I always feel that there is something wrong with this inn." The Yamen servant continued, "This inn is so old, but it is still open, and we really want to know the details of this old man. Not sure."
"I'll go look for them outside. You guys wait here."
Qi Zixian stood up and walked towards the door. Just as he was about to go out, he looked back and saw two oil lamps dimly illuminating the outlines of the four of them.
"It's dark, close the door."
The old man's hoarse voice came from the corner. The government officials all trembled. Qi Zixian looked at the corner. The old man had completely disappeared into the darkness and could not see his figure clearly.
The door creaked shut, Jiang Fengqing was still engrossed in eating noodles, and even pulled the two untouched bowls of noodles in front of her.
The moon is very white tonight.
