As Takeda Mayumi fell rapidly, Changsheng's heart also fell to the bottom of the valley. The stone bridge was more than ten feet away from the water, and below was the cold and fast river. Even if Takeda Mayumi was not injured, the fall would be a disaster, and even more What's more, she was severely injured and vomited blood.
At the same time that the middle-aged man kicked Takeda Mayumi down, Chen Liqiu also rushed over, but what happened next would never be seen because the carriage had already turned into the woods.
Batulu kept shaking the reins and urging the horse, not knowing what happened behind him. Seeing Changsheng's face turned pale, he asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
"Fourth Senior Sister pushed the woman off the bridge and was kicked down herself." Chang Sheng said with a trembling voice.
Batulu's nose trembled when he heard Chang Sheng's words, but he didn't say anything more. He just shook the horse's reins and urged the horse frequently.
Changsheng was shocked and grieved, and sat in a daze on the carriage shaft. Although he experienced many dangers along the way, he was never afraid. Only then did he truly feel the blood and cruelty of the world. The master passed away, and the backbone was gone. What happens next? No matter what danger they encounter, they can only face it.
He didn't dare to imagine the final result of Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu intercepting the enemy, but he couldn't help but think about the aura of the two middle-aged men, judging from the fact that the middle-aged man could kick Takeda Mayumi to vomit blood with just one kick. Both of them have very high cultivation levels. Takeda Mayumi cannot withstand the opponent's attacks, and Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu will certainly not be able to withstand them either. It would be even harder for the two of them to escape unscathed than to reach the sky.
Fortunately, the enemy did not want to kill them immediately, but wanted to capture them and hand them over to the Taiping Inn. Since the other party had this intention, it was unlikely to kill them.
But you can’t say for sure. If you are really anxious, the opponent will still hit you hard. Takeda Mayumi is a lesson learned from the past. Even if the enemy does not kill them but captures them, they will surely suffer in the hands of the Taiping Inn. Although they were tortured to extract a confession, the two men would never give in and confess. In the end, life or death was uncertain.
I feel uneasy and can't help but have distracting thoughts. If it were me, how would I escape from this situation? Thinking about it carefully, there is only one way, and that is to jump off the bridge, but it is too high. Jumping from a ten-foot-high roof may break your leg, and jumping from a place more than ten feet high is even more dangerous.
However, there is water under the bridge. It is possible to survive if you jump into the water, but who knows if there are any rocks under the water? Even if there are no rocks, it will be difficult to float ashore after jumping into the cold and biting river water. The river is too fast and both sides are steep. The stone wall...
"Lao Wu, stop thinking blindly. They are both very smart. Even if they can't fight, they can always run away." Batulu interrupted Chang Sheng's random thoughts.
"Yeah." Changsheng responded in frustration.
"What should we do next?" Batulu asked.
Batulu is not a person with ideas, and Changsheng is also blind-eyed, so there is no way he can give him any advice.
But now only he and Batulu are left. Batulu is simple-minded and he can only make the decision.
After a brief pause, Changsheng asked, "Elder brother, how long will it take before we can leave the mountain?"
"There are mountains outside the mountains, but they are not as high as these mountains." Batulu replied.
"How far is the next fork in the road?" Changsheng asked in a different way.
Batulu thought for a while and replied, "It's about two hundred miles away."
Batulu didn't know what Changsheng was thinking. He asked and answered questions. He didn't say much. Changsheng could only continue to ask, "How many forked roads are there, and what directions do they lead to?"
"Three roads, the main road goes to the south, and the small roads to the west and east." Batulu answered.
"Are there any mountains on both sides of the road going south?" Changsheng asked again.
"It seems so." Batulu nodded.
"Are there any houses on the path going east to west?" Changsheng asked again.
"Yes, there are more people outside the mountains." Batulu replied.
Changsheng thought for a moment and then asked, "Which way should I take to go to Jizhou?"
"To the east." Batulu replied.
Chang Sheng did not ask any more questions, but was thinking anxiously in his heart. According to what Li Zhongyong said before, it was Batulu who sent him as far south as possible. The farther south he went, the more time he needed to rush to Yuzhou. the shorter the time.
But if he continues to go south, the target is too big, more and more soldiers will pursue him, and Batulu will become more and more dangerous. He does not want Batulu to risk his life to clear the way for him like Li Zhongyong and the other three. , Batulu is not as smart as Li Zhongyong and others, and cannot adapt to changes. When he really encounters an enemy, he can only fight to the end.
The words Chen Liqiu shouted from the bridge must have misled the enemy. The enemy would mistakenly think that they were rushing to Jizhou to see Doctor Xue. Therefore, in the enemy's imagination, the two of them should turn to the east branch after leaving the mountain.
After that, Chang Sheng didn't speak for a long time, his eyes were closed, and he thought about it. He needed to find a way to disturb the pursuers while also protecting himself and Batulu.
After a long time, Chang Sheng had something in his mind. He opened his eyes and turned around, only to see that one of the horses that Li Zhongyong and the others had abandoned had left the team, and two more were following the carriage.
Seeing this, Changsheng hurriedly asked Batulu to stop the car, jumped out of the carriage and tied the two horses to the left and right shafts.
After tying the horse, Changsheng jumped back into the carriage, "Elder brother, how far can our horse run?"
"I should be able to run another three hundred miles," Batulu said.
"Can you let these horses pull the carriage and run along the road?" Changsheng asked.
Batulu didn't know why and asked doubtfully, "What do you want to do?"
"Answer me first, if there is no one driving the car, can the horse pull the car forward?" Chang Sheng urged.
"It is possible, but there is no one driving the horse, so the horse may not run along the road." Batulu said.
"How far can it run?" Changsheng asked.
"It's hard to say. It depends on the strength of the horses' legs. If they can't run anymore, they won't run." Batulu shook his head and said.
"Okay, listen to me carefully," Chang Sheng straightened his thoughts and said, "After you come out of the mountain, you try to get the horse to pull the carriage and run east. The two horses carry you and the iron rod to the south. I will Get off at the intersection."
"That's not what the second brother said. He asked me to send you south." Batulu said.
Naturally, Chang Sheng would not tell Batulu that he did this to protect him, and could only casually say, "The situation has changed, and that road will not work."
"What about you? Where did you go after getting off the car?" Batulu asked.
Worried that Batulu was outspoken and would spill the beans in the future, Changsheng would not tell the truth, "Not necessarily, I haven't thought about it yet."
"What about me, how far south should I go?" Batulu asked for advice.
"You go south for dozens of miles, then take the horses into the mountains, stay in the mountains for a few days, then turn around and head north," Changsheng said, "Don't take the big road, try to take the small road, keep going north..."
Before Changsheng could finish speaking, Batulu interrupted him doubtfully, "Why do you want me to turn around and go back? If I keep going north, I will go back to the grassland."
Changsheng explained, "They would never expect that you would turn around and go back, so it is safest for you to go north. The wind is too strong now, so you might as well go back to the grassland and hide for a while."
"There is no one in my hometown." Batulu didn't want to go back.
"You go to the grassland, but don't go home," Changsheng said. "Come back to us after you have perfected your skills."
It was obvious that Batulu didn't want to go back, but he had no idea himself and could only listen to Chang Sheng.
Changsheng took out the money bag that Li Zhongyong and others gave him, took out a bamboo basket from the car and poured out all the money in it. Among the three, Li Zhongyong had the most savings, and there were not only dozens of taels of silver in the money bag. , and a piece of gold the size of a fingernail. Chen Liqiu and Takeda Mayumi also had dozens of taels of silver in their wallets.
Changsheng picked up the piece of gold and weighed it briefly. The weight should be about five taels. After pondering, he kept the gold and put all the remaining silver taels back into the purse and handed it to Batulu, "You keep these silver taels."
"I don't want it, that's the expense they gave you." Batulu shook his head repeatedly.
"Take it, I'll keep that piece of gold, which is enough to pay for the trip." Changsheng said.
There is a difference between being ignorant and stupid. Although Batulu is confused, he is not stupid. "I really don't want it. If you don't give it to me, you can keep it all."
Changsheng explained eagerly, "I really can't keep it. Carrying too much money can easily reveal your identity. This piece of gold is very small and easy to hide. If I bring so much silver, where do you want me to hide it?"
"Okay," Batulu took the money bag, "I am the senior brother, you can't lie to me."
"I'm not going to lie to you." Chang Sheng turned around and returned to the carriage. There was still some dry food left in the carriage. "I will bring more of these dry food and leave less for you."
"It's okay if you don't stay, I won't be hungry." Batulu said.
Chang Sheng didn't answer, so he divided the dry food into three or seven pieces, took seven of them for himself, and wrapped the rest and stuffed it into Batulu's baggage.
There were also beddings used by everyone sleeping in the car. Changsheng rolled up a set and pressed it down to tie it up. "I will take away one set of bedding and tie it up for you. Remember my words, walk a few dozen miles south, and then put them together." Take the horse into the woods and stay in the woods for three days before walking north from the woods. You must never let the horse loose on the road. If you let the horse loose and they find it, they will know that we have no Go away."
Batulu did not answer, but muttered and repeated what Changsheng said.
Just after tying up the bedding, Changsheng changed his mind and untied the tied bedding again, "Forget it, let's not bring any bedding, otherwise they might guess that we are going to stay in the mountains when they find out that we are missing two sets."
"How can you be as virtuous as the second and third child?" Batulu frowned and curled his lips, "You are so suspicious all the time, how come you are so thoughtful."
Changsheng didn't refute. He didn't know if he was thinking too much, but his life was at stake. He didn't dare to be careless. He had to be careful and guard against anything he could think of.
At midnight, the carriage came to the intersection outside the mountain. There was no one around. Batulu untied the two horses from the carriage, drove the carriage to the east fork, then cut a wooden thorn and inserted it into the front legs of the four horses. The four horses suffered from pain. , galloped hard with several horses, and dragged the carriage eastward.
Batulu watched the carriage go away, "When it gets tired of running, it should be able to bite off the wooden stick."
"Come on, Senior Brother," Chang Sheng looked around nervously, "You must remember my words."
Batulu also knew that he couldn't afford to delay, so he got on his horse and said, "You are so smart, I don't worry about you much. We have agreed that when I have finished practicing my skills, I will come back to you."
"Okay, let's go quickly." Changsheng urged again.
Batulu didn't hesitate, shook his reins and urged his horse, and headed south.
After Batulu left, Changsheng looked around again, and after confirming that no one was around, he ran into the woods to the west carrying dry food on his back...
