When Xing'er and Luo Sitang saw each other, they quickly drew their swords and followed them. Xu Zhitang is their senior brother, so the two of them cannot let him be in danger alone. The other guards did not dare to hesitate and followed Xing'er and the others in. Xu Zhitang is now the commander of the guards, so he is naturally the immediate boss of these guards. Xu Zhitang was kind to them. Not only did he not bully them, he also took care of them in every aspect.
If something happens to Xu Zhitang, who is his boss, but they, as subordinates, are safe and sound, they will definitely be punished when they return. But Xu Zhitang and others kicked open the firewood door and walked in cautiously, only to find that there was no one inside.
Xu Zhitang was so surprised that he hurriedly ordered the guards to go in and conduct a thorough search of the inn. The guards quickly completed the search and came over to report, but found no clues. At this time, Li Xian came to the door of the inn with his troops.
Xu Zhitang hurried over and reported the situation to Li Xian. Li Xian was also shocked and asked Luo Chuan: "Captain Luo, it seems they got the news and escaped early. How should we deal with it?"
Luo Chuan thought for a while and said: "Your Highness, after all, this inn is next to the avenue and not far from the capital. It is not surprising to get some news. There are not many gangsters here, so it is easy to escape. But their lair But it's different. There are so many people there, and there must be a lot of supplies. Even if they get the news, it won't be that easy to escape."
Xu Zhitang listened and continued: "Your Highness, I think Master Luo is right. How about this. Just in case, we gathered the mounted guards and officers together, led by the three of us, and rushed to Lotus Villa quickly. . If you find any signs of them escaping, attack immediately. As long as we can hold on for an hour, your army behind will arrive."
After listening, Li Xian nodded and asked Xu Zhitang: "Among these three thousand people, how many are riding horses?"
Xu Zhitang thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, there are two hundred people."
Li Xian immediately said: "Then I order these two hundred cavalry to be under your command now. In addition to the fifty knights in the guard, you take them to Lianhua Villa first to prevent the bandits from escaping." Xu Zhitang obeyed the order.
Xu Zhitang set off first with 250 cavalrymen and headed straight for Lotus Villa. At this time, the bright moon was in the sky, and Xu Zhitang had no intention of admiring the bright and clear moonlight. Taking advantage of the moonlight, he urged his horse to move quickly while looking at the map drawn by Tianxiang.
About an hour later, Xu Zhitang led his cavalry to the vicinity of Lotus Villa. He reined in the reins and looked forward, but saw that Lotus Villa was completely dark with no lights at all.
Xu Zhitang was greatly surprised. He had clearly heard Feiyun say that the village was full of people and very lively. Did they withdraw so cleanly so quickly?
Xing'er said from the side: "Elder brother, I see that the villa in front seems empty. Do we still want to go there and take a look?"
Xu Zhitang said: "Now that you've come, let's make peace with it. No matter what, you have to go in and check it out." After saying that, he patted his horse and rushed over. The rest of the people had no choice but to urge their horses to follow.
Xu Zhitang led everyone to the door of the villa, only to see that the door was open and there was no one at the door. Xu Zhitang dismounted first and rushed in quickly. Worried that something had happened, everyone hurriedly dismounted and followed Xu Zhitang and ran in. There was no one inside, and the surroundings were silent.
Xu Zhitang frowned and said to Xing'er and others: "You order all the brothers to light the torches and conduct a thorough search. If you find anyone or something, bring them all." The guards bowed to accept the order and immediately ordered the guards and soldiers to light the torches. , searched carefully everywhere.
Everyone lit torches, illuminating the villa like daylight. The guards and soldiers searched vigorously, turning the inside and outside of the village upside down, but did not find any valuable clues. Xu Zhitang felt disappointed. He had spent a lot of effort and finally got an opportunity to make meritorious deeds, but he got such a result. He really couldn't accept it.
At this time, Li Xian also arrived with his troops. Xu Zhitang had no choice but to step forward and report the result. When Li Xian heard this, he was immediately shocked and asked: "Everyone, are we looking for the wrong place?"
Luo Chuan said quickly: "No, Feiyun and Tianxiang had fought with each other here during the day, so they would not have mistaken the place. Brother Xu followed Tianxiang's map and found this place. It seems that they got the news in advance and moved in advance Yes. Have you checked their warehouse?"
Luo Sitang replied from the side: "There are several warehouses, but they are all empty, without anything."
Luo Chuan sighed and said, "It seems that all the hard work tonight was in vain. These people must have received the news in advance. After we return, we must investigate this matter thoroughly."
Li Xian said: "We will discuss this matter tomorrow. Since there is nothing here, we can only withdraw our troops and return!"
Luo Chuan nodded and said, "That's all we have to do." Although Xu Zhitang was unwilling to give in, he didn't know what to do.
Li Xian then said to Xu Zhitang: "Since the gangsters have escaped, we have no direction to pursue for the moment. Please take your people back to the military camp first, and I will break up with Luo Chuan and the others."
Xu Zhitang said immediately: "These gangsters are quick to see an opportunity! It's a pity that they escaped. Your Highness, I will take my leave." After Xu Zhitang bowed and saluted, he, Xing'er and Luo Sidang returned first with the officers and soldiers.
Li Xian saw that Luo Chuan was depressed and his face was gloomy, so he came over to comfort him. Luo Chuan originally wanted to show off his skills in front of Li Xian, but he didn't expect it to happen, so he was naturally very depressed.
Tianying said: "Your Majesty, this matter is fishy. I suspect there is a spy inside. We must investigate this matter clearly."
Luo Chuan continued: "Don't worry, we have destroyed two of their dens. Compared with knowing nothing about them before, we have gained a lot."
Li Xian also said: "We have not achieved full success today, so don't lose confidence. We will be able to destroy them sooner or later. Don't think too much, get on your horse and return quickly. After returning, everyone has a good rest." Everyone had to jump on their horses and follow Walk slowly behind the officers and soldiers. Surrounded by the guards, Li Xian quickly returned to the palace.
When Xu Zhitang and the others first entered Lotus Villa, Feiyun and Tianxiang also rushed to the vicinity of the Villa. Feiyun and the others did not ride horses, so they had to use Qinggong to catch up with Xu Zhitang and his party. Fortunately, Xu Zhitang wanted to read the map while walking, so he didn't move quickly.
Feiyun and the others were able to catch up with Xu Zhitang and others, so they followed them quietly. Xu Zhitang led people in to search, while Feiyun and Tianxiang hid themselves and watched the action from the sidelines.
After they all left, Feiyun said to Tianxiang: "Sister, let's go take a look now."
Tianxiang said: "It seems that there is an empty villa inside, and the people have fled long ago. What is the use of us going in? Why go all the way in vain?"
Feiyun said: "If there is really something good in it, it will naturally not be our turn. We may be able to find some clues in it."
Tianxiang smiled slightly and said, "Brother, are you bragging?"
Feiyun said: "How dare I deceive Miss Ximen. Have you forgotten Xia Feng? Whether it is Xia Feng or Qingxiang, they have been with us for a long time, you know this very well. I think they must be in the village They left a mark, and as long as we find the mark, we will be able to track them down."
Feiyun then turned to look at the villa and said to himself: "I hope the marks left by Xia Feng and the others were not destroyed by Xu Zhitang, otherwise we will be in trouble."
Upon hearing this, Tianxiang said anxiously: "Why don't you go quickly?" Feiyun quickly responded: "Yes, Miss!"
Feiyun said no more and stepped into the villa. Tianxiang was about to look for the marks of Xia Feng and others. Feiyun shook his head and said, "It's night now. Although there is moonlight, it's hard to see carefully. We'd better rest one night and search again tomorrow morning." Tianxiang could only nod in agreement. The two were worried that Huang Yuxian's people were ambushing them secretly, so they did not dare to stay in the room and climbed up on the roof.
Under the moonlight, Feiyun and Tianxiang sat quietly on the roof. Feiyun looked at Tianxiang silently. Under the moonlight, Tianxiang's beautiful face looked even more charming. The breeze blew, and Tianxiang couldn't help but shiver slightly.
Feiyun hurriedly reached out and took Tianxiang into his arms. Tianxiang's face turned red, but she did not push Feiyun away, but leaned on his shoulder. The two didn't speak, just cuddled together and rested for the night.
Early the next morning, the two woke up and ate some food they had brought with them. Tianxiang asked: "Brother, can we check the marks they left now?"
Feiyun nodded and walked out of the villa first. The two came outside the village and carefully looked at the footprints on the ground. After searching for a long time, Feiyun pointed to a footprint and said, "Sister, I found it!"
Tianxiang hurried over, looked at the ground, and said, "I don't see anything strange!"
Feiyun smiled slightly, pointed to a footprint and said: "Look at this footprint, it only has the first half, and it is buried much deeper than the other footprints. At the same time, similar footprints alternate between inner and outer characters. This is what I and I The special mark promised by Xia Feng.”
Tianxiang stared at the footprints, thought for a while, and suddenly realized: "If you make a mark like this, others will never think of it. At the same time, no one will notice it. Who will pay attention to this. But in this way, if you want to leave such a mark along the way, Marking requires a lot of internal energy to make. Besides, not all places can make such deep marks. If you cross the river, there is no way!"
Feiyun said: "There will be no problem. In fact, you only need to leave a few at the beginning, and then when you encounter the intersection, you can leave a few more. You don't have to do it all the way. Of course, when you encounter a river, you only need to Just leave some traces before and after crossing the river. It just takes a little more effort to find them. We can follow the footprints quietly and we will definitely find where they stayed."
Tianxiang nodded slightly and said: "That's true. Then let's follow these footprints." The two of them walked forward slowly while checking the footprints on the ground. The two walked for a long time and came to the foot of a mountain by the river. Feiyun looked forward and saw a large forest not far away, with smoke rising from the sky above the forest.
Feiyun said to Tianxiang: "It seems that the bandit's nest is in front. We are wearing night clothes, which can easily attract the discovery of their spies in the surrounding areas. Many of them know us, and we cannot show our faces publicly to avoid alerting the snake. We go to a nearby farmhouse. Buy some old clothes to wear and dress up." Tianxiang nodded in agreement.
Feiyun jumped onto a big tree by the road and looked around carefully, but saw a small mountain village in the valley not far to the right. Feiyun was overjoyed and said to Tianxiang: "Sister, there seems to be a village not far to the right. Let's go there!" After saying that, he flew to the ground. Feiyun pulled Tianxiang's jade hand and walked towards the small mountain village.
The two quickly arrived at the edge of the village and saw that the village was not big, with only ten or twenty households. The surrounding scenery is quite pleasant, with green trees bordering the village and green mountains sloping outside. The two came to a farmhouse at the head of the village, but saw the firewood door wide open, and inside there was a sixty-year-old man in ordinary clothes feeding chickens.
Feiyun knocked on the firewood door and called out: "Old man, we were passing by here and were thirsty. Can we ask for a bowl of water?"
The old man looked up and saw two young people, and said, "No problem, please come in quickly."
Feiyun and Tianxiang walked up to the old man, bowed their hands and said, "Thank you, old man!"
The old man smiled and said: "It's just a little effort, it's not worth mentioning. Please sit down, I will make tea."
Feiyun said quickly: "Old man, there is no need to go to such trouble. We don't drink tea, a bowl of boiled water will do." The old man said, "It doesn't matter." As he spoke, he walked into the house.
After a while, the old man walked over slowly carrying a teapot and tea sets. He came to Feiyun and Tianxiang, gently placed the teapot on the table, and then poured a cup for Feiyun and Tianxiang himself. The three of them started chatting while drinking.
Feiyun asked: "Boy Lin Feiyun, this is my fiancée Ximen Tianxiang. What is the old man's name? He must have lived here for a long time."
The old man said: "My surname is Gao, and I have lived here since my grandfather's generation. Few people come here, why are you here so early in the morning?"
Feiyun said: "Old man, we are from the capital city. I just heard that the scenery here is beautiful, so I came here to take a look. My fiancée has an impatient personality and will come over just after daybreak. Therefore, she came out very early. , but we just saw that there seemed to be people living in the woods!"
The old man said: "Yes. That was originally part of our village. But a few young girls came here two years ago. They said they wanted to buy the land and were willing to pay a high price."
Feiyun asked: "Did they say why they wanted to buy the land?"
The old man said: "They said they were originally doing business in the south. Since they recently wanted to start some business in the capital, they were looking for a suitable place in the suburbs of the capital, the best place to store items. People in the village saw that they were doing things cheerfully, The price was quite good and it was reasonable, so I agreed to it. After they bought it, they started building the house, and it wasn't until last winter that it was completely completed."
Feiyun asked: "In that case, you should be very familiar with them?"
The old man told Feiyun that these people basically did not interact with them, and asked them not to get close to the village.
