The red-bearded old horse's cloudy eyes were filled with tears for the rest of his life. The long horse face rubs Ye Wumian enthusiastically to express gratitude.
It was well versed in human nature and knew that Ye Wumian had rescued him. The original owner was watching, but he turned a blind eye and left them to dry.
Ye Wumian touched its old face and said, "Don't thank me. The road to Changsha is long and the mountains are far away. In the days to come, I will need the strength of your legs and feet!"
The old horse hissed excitedly, as if he understood what he said. Not only was he not unhappy, he was also happy to have found a new owner.
Ye Wumian patted its horse's back with satisfaction.
Regardless of his age, this horse is still a good horse. Most of the horses in the south are shorter. The red-bearded old horse is five feet tall on its back alone, and its high head is at least eight feet above the ground. It is considered a rare tall horse. In addition, his performance just now was somewhat quick-witted and understanding, so Ye Wumian was certainly very satisfied.
A quarter of an hour later, with the help of Ye Wumian, Luo Xiangzhu mounted the red-bearded old horse.
She was quite scared when she rode a horse for the first time. I was afraid that if I lost my balance, I would fall off the horse.
But remembering that his father's revenge has not been avenged, he will probably be involved in the world in the future. If you don't even dare to ride a horse, how can you talk about revenge?
After some inner struggle, he gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on the reins, stepped on the stirrups, and suppressed the fear in his heart.
Fortunately, the red-bearded old horse loved Wujiwu, and his gratitude for Ye Wumian was transferred to her, and he allowed her to ride on him without any impatience or resistance, and he was very cooperative. Only Luo Xiangzhu could learn to ride a horse very smoothly.
Ye Wumian led the red-bearded old horse and walked in front, looking back at the Luoxiang bamboo on the horse's back from time to time. Seeing her nervous expression, he comforted her: "Miss, don't be afraid, I'm right here."
Luo Xiangzhu held the reins tightly and defended: "I, I am not afraid, I, I am very relaxed."
As he spoke, he showed a comfortable expression, intending to be seen by Ye Wumian. But with a bump in the road, her beauty turned pale, she let out a soft sigh, and returned to her nervous look. He quickly kept silent and rode the horse carefully.
The three men of the caravan were walking in front carrying the leopard carcass, and the leader followed beside Ye Wumian and said with a smile: "Woman, this old horse is following you, it is a blessing! When it was working for the caravan, it had to carry at least two hundred The kilograms of tea leaves draped around him and the bamboo basket backpacks rubbed his skin, which made him feel uncomfortable. Now that he is carrying your lady on his back, it is much easier for him!"
Just after he finished speaking, the red-bearded old horse seemed to understand. He turned his head and came close to him. He snorted suddenly. His face was sprayed with horse saliva and snot, and yellow mucus stuck to his eyebrows and swayed. Yes, very disgusting.
"Haha." Although Luo Xiangzhu was riding hard, he couldn't help covering his mouth and snickering when he saw this funny scene. He suddenly remembered that he was still in the period of observing filial piety, and he couldn't be so wild and laugh again. Choked.
I couldn't help but smile even though I had no sleep at night. The leader of the caravan didn't care about the horse power, he was proud of it, bragging in front of the horse, and finally incurred this small worldly retribution.
The leader of the caravan wiped his face carelessly, glared at the old horse, pointed at it and said "Hey", and was about to scold him. Seeing Ye Wumian's expressionless face, he did not dare to say anything, so he could only complain a few times.
He didn't sleep all night and didn't pay any attention to it.
After walking for a while, I saw that the field of vision gradually broadened and the figures in front were scattered. Ye Wumian was on alert when the leader of the caravan hurriedly said: "Nvxia, this is our caravan team. This is where we were attacked by the leopard just now."
Walking into the crowd, it turned out that as the caravan leader said, this was the caravan team.
There were four young and strong men in the team, all of them looked shabby and exhausted. There are also about a dozen old and weak women and children, obviously family members of these men, who are taking care of the six or seven horses in the team.
Tea is popular in Anhua area, but the mountain roads are difficult to travel, so caravans are popular. The men from the caravan often take their relatives and family with them for a trip that can last for a few months or a year and a half, so that they can take care of each other more easily and relieve the pain of loneliness and lovesickness.
Seeing the leader of the caravan coming back, a relatively energetic young man came up to him and said happily: "Uncle Zhong, have you driven away the leopard and rescued our horse?"
Uncle Zhong, the leader of the caravan, quickly explained that Ye Wumian saved the horse, and now it has been bought by him and belongs to him.
The women and children in the caravan didn't say much. When they found the old red-bearded horse and fled for their lives, the tea baskets, tea boxes, and packages thrown off by it were packed on the backs of other horses.
The four young adults were miserable. The three companions took their shoulders to carry the leopard body.
After everyone returned safely, everyone in the caravan finally breathed a sigh of relief, packed up, and continued walking forward.
Uncle Zhong walked closer cautiously, looked at Ye Wumian and said: "Xia Xia, if we walk another ten miles on the mountain road, we will reach our hometown, Dongshi Old Street. Do you want to go together? There are restaurants and inns there, yes It’s a place where people and people can communicate with each other, so you can rest there for a few days before starting your journey.”
Ye Wumian looked at the tea baskets and tea boxes on each horseback, and saw that they were all empty, but the packages were full. I think this caravan must have just finished a business trip out of town and headed home.
He nodded and said, "That's good. Having you on our journey will save us the trouble of finding the way."
It seems that wandering around in the Meishan Mountains a few days ago without a map or guide is not a long-term solution. It is more appropriate to follow the local people.
Old man Zhong shouted and led the strongest horse. He took the lead, followed by two dark men, and the caravan started on their way.
"Meishan man, you are so naked, pick a camellia flower and give it to my sister Tuo. The sun is about to set, and you want to be my guest..."
I don’t know who took the lead, but a folk song in Anhua dialect spread among the team.
When people are sleepy and horses are exhausted, the songs are like a stream of clear water pouring into them. The weak sounds have a different flavor.
Old Man Zhong yelled a few words with his hoarse and rough voice. After getting addicted to singing, he turned to look at Ye Wumian behind him and laughed in a low voice: "Xia Xia, I have a suggestion, will you listen?"
Ye Wumian held the horse with one hand and grabbed a pancake to eat with the other. He said casually: "What's your suggestion?"
Uncle Zhong glanced at Luo Xiangzhu, and when his eyes met, he quickly lowered his head and said: "Your young lady is very beautiful and charming, and our ugly woman can't compare with her. But she is good-looking when she walks in the world. It is also a source of trouble, easily attracting attention and causing trouble.
Heroine, you have great martial arts skills, so you can protect yourself, but you also need to prevent villains from doing evil things to your young lady. It's better to let the lady change her clothes and pretend to be a man before going to the cave market. This way, we can avoid unnecessary disaster. "
Ye Wumian was startled, and the movement of eating the cake slowed down. He raised his head and looked at Luo Xiangzhu, who was sitting on the tall horse, and saw that her bright moon-like eyes were also looking at him.
From this angle, the young lady is still extremely beautiful. Her slightly messy hair and pale face add a bit of pity to her.
He thought in his heart: "Old man Zhong is right. When he was in Anhua City, in full view of everyone, Luo Fanjiang even boasted that he wanted to dedicate the young lady to the county magistrate, let alone being trapped in this world now?
If you are just a bastard who is just greedy for the beauty of the lady, I can handle it easily. But if he is a local gentry like the county magistrate, or a martial arts expert, then even if I die, I may not be able to protect my lady. "
He thought Old Man Zhong's idea was good, so he asked Luo Xiangzhu for his opinion.
Although Luo Xiangzhu didn't know the dangers of Jianghu, but since Ye Wumian could ask her, he must have agreed with Old Man Zhong's suggestion. What he recognized was what he recognized, and he agreed without thinking.
The two temporarily left the caravan and went to a secluded place. Luo Xiangzhu hid behind a big camphor tree. After a while, he changed into the man's clothes and then came out.
She was wearing the clothes of a man from the caravan. The clothes were rough in workmanship, old-fashioned in style, and had a few patches, but they could not hide her beautiful face and graceful figure.
Ye Wumian told her not to move, so he dipped some tree mud on the camphor tree and applied it to her, which made her face slightly darker.
"How's it going, Miss...well, let's call you Young Master now. Do you think you are wearing these clothes?" Ye Wumian couldn't help but chuckle.
Luo Xiangzhu's face turned dark, and Xiao Qiong's nose sniffed, saying, "It's not good! It's very unpleasant, and there's a vague smell of sweat!"
Ye Wumian comforted her and said: "The men in the caravan are walking outside all year round. It is normal for the clothes to be washed infrequently and the smell of sweat. When we arrive at the old street of Nadong City in a while, I will buy some nice new clothes for the young master... .”
Luo Xiangzhu allowed him to do everything he could. Without saying anything, he nodded and agreed: "Okay, you must buy me the most beautiful new clothes."
The two walked back to the caravan, and Ye Wumian helped her get on the horse, and continued on their way to the old street of Nadong City accompanied by the folk songs of the caravan.
The journey since then, although bumpy, has been surprisingly smooth. This road is called the "Ancient Tea-Horse Road". It is a road opened by horse gangs specifically for selling tea to the outside world.
Due to the mountainous terrain, the road is very narrow, but as long as people and horses don't walk side by side, there is no pressure. Just follow the road and keep heading east, and you will reach Dongshi Old Street before sunset.
At dusk, the twilight soaked the mountains and forests, the breeze blew, and the mid-autumn chill gradually climbed onto their clothes. Everyone in the caravan wrapped up their clothes tightly.
In the distance, lights were dimly lit, people were silhouetted, and the noise gradually became louder. Uncle Zhong pointed excitedly ahead and said: "Here we are, here we are, the Dongshi Old Street is ahead!"
The entire caravan quickly changed from a depressed atmosphere to a lively one:
The men's sluggish bodies regained strength and were able to carry the leopard meat tremblingly; the women discussed how long they would stay at home this time and how many clothes they would cut; a few elderly people lamented the passage of time. Furthermore, next time I go on a business trip, I will definitely not follow him, but go to a coffin shop in the town to buy a coffin for the funeral.
As for the children, they clamored to eat yellow duck (author's note: a kind of fish, also known as yellow-bone fish, is tender and delicious, and is abundant in Hunan today).
The Ancient Tea Horse Road gradually opened up, and there were more pedestrians on the road, many of whom were men of martial arts carrying swords on their backs.
When they looked at the caravan, they saw that it was no different from an ordinary caravan, so they didn't pay much attention.
There was just one man, wearing a green cloth, a scholar's crown on his head, dressed like a scholar, and a long sword with a dragon scale iron sheath on his waist. When he saw Ye Wumian's beauty, his eyes showed a bit of greed.
Ye Wumian ignored him and responded with a cold face. This person didn't know his background, but he didn't dare to make any mistakes.
A scratched stone tablet appeared on the side of the road, with eight characters written on it. Under the new lights, the writing was clear, "Tea Horse Road, Dongshi Old Street."
There are several lines of small characters on the side, which are vaguely visible, "Huang Ming Chenghua Xinchou Dong Anhua County Magistrate Xiao Ta Pingbo title. From the Tang and Song Dynasties, barbarians gradually came to China. The Yi admired the Chinese style and liked to eat tea. So he exchanged his horse for it, because there is a way of trading tea and horse..."
I couldn't read the text at the back carefully. He did a simple calculation and found that this was an ancient monument forty years ago. No wonder it left traces of so many years.
Uncle Zhong led the caravan to say goodbye to him: "Xia Xia, since we have arrived at the old street of Dongshi, we will go ahead."
Ye Wumian also clasped his fists in greeting and watched the caravan and his entourage leave.
