Traveling in the twelfth lunar month is truly arduous. There's heavy fog in the mornings, rain at night, and frost in the mornings, making the roads constantly slippery. Even if you want to travel quickly, you can't speed up.

On the third day, Li Laoshi bought charcoal and two drying baskets from the post station.

Jiang Zhi and Qin Shi each held one of them in their arms and wouldn't let go, otherwise they would have been shivering from the cold while sitting on the mule cart.

I don't know if it was because I was there, or because it was December and all the bandits and highwaymen had gone home for the New Year, but it was peaceful for several days in a row.

Nie Fantian shot a few pheasants and rabbits along the way and gave them to the post station as a treat, showing no signs of the protagonist leaving home and the Grim Reaper returning.

If it weren't for the bumpy roads that made Jiang Zhi's back ache and she dared not lie down, she would have been so bored that she would have slept every day.

Moreover, with Qin Shi and Li Laoshi by her side, Jiang Zhi didn't want to eat anything. She was so full of dog food that she didn't even want to open her eyes.

Finally, on the evening of the sixth day, the mule cart stopped, and Xiaoman came over to report: "Auntie, we will rest at the inn in Zhangjiaji for a day before crossing Huangshanling."

Zhangjiaji!

Jiang Zhi quickly lifted the car curtain and peered out. A majestic mountain range stretched across the sky ahead of the road—the Longquan Mountains.

Although the official road has always traveled through the mountains and along the water, it has been necessary to go around the mountains and ridges from time to time.

But this mountain is not that mountain. The Longquan Mountains stretch for four hundred miles, forming a boundary between hilly and mountainous areas like Xujia Village and plains.

Once you cross the mountains, you'll find yourself on a vast, flat plain, where Jincheng Prefecture, the most prosperous city in Ba County, is located.

The Longquan Mountains are the only way to enter and leave Jincheng Prefecture, and also the favorite place for outlaws to practice their skills.

Therefore, before crossing the mountains, both travelers and caravans would usually find a place to rest, allowing the people and livestock to recover their strength before making a final push to cross the high mountains.

As a place to rest, Zhangjiaji naturally has the most inns, one after another. Jiangzhi's mule cart is currently parked outside one of the inns.

Finally, she could rest. After being constantly on the road these past few days, Jiang Zhi felt her bones cracking with every movement.

Qin was still fast asleep on Li Laoshi's shoulder when Jiang Zhi slapped them both awake: "Wake up, get out of the car!"

She couldn't wait to get to Jincheng Prefecture, finish her business quickly, and rush home for the New Year.

Qin, still half asleep, asked, "Why is it time to eat again?"

"Eat, eat, all you ever think about is eating! We're at the inn!"

Jiang Zhi scolded her a couple of times, but her legs went numb from being pressed down by Qin Shi, who was sleeping sprawled out. She almost fell when she got out of the car, but Xiao Man helped her up: "Auntie, what happened to you?"

Jiang Zhi felt like half of her leg was completely numb, making her face twitch: "Ouch! Ouch! My leg is numb, quickly help me to sit over there for a while!"

Xiaoman quickly helped her walk towards the inn.

Nie Fantian and his companions had already instructed the servants to take the horses to the stables to feed them, and the mule carts at the post station were also to be returned.

At this moment, Nie Fantian stood to the side, watching Jiang Zhi limp over, being helped by Xiaoman.

"Brother Xiaotian, Auntie almost fell!" Xiaoman said.

Nie Fantian frowned: "Where are the two people she brought? How did they end up like this!"

Qin's legs were also numb, and she was sitting on the edge of the carriage having Li Laoshi massage them. As soon as she heard Nie Fantian mention her, she immediately said, "Hey, Nie boy, it's not a big deal that your aunt's legs are numb."

"If you're going to blame someone, blame yourself for finding such a dilapidated and small car, and for having to travel in this freezing winter. How can you blame me?"

Nie Fantian's face darkened, and he turned and entered the inn.

Qin Shi has been harassing him a lot these past few days. Jiang Zhi even suspects that if it weren't for his own good luck charm, Qin Shi would have been killed eight hundred times over.

I'm just a little confused. We've been staying at inns all along the way, so why are we staying at a guesthouse this time?

Xiaoman explained, "Brother Tian said that there was no choice but to stay at the inn, so staying at the guesthouse is quite comfortable. We can soak our feet and have something to eat."

The post stations were government-run guesthouses, which in principle only served officials. Ordinary people could stay there, but they certainly couldn't be comfortable.

Nie Fantian has been in the army for less than three years. Although he is now a junior general in the Tianteng Army, he is only well-known in the army. Only Jiang Zhi knows that he has a bright future.

It's not time to truly make a name for ourselves yet; these lowly postmen along the official road might not be interested.

Of course, if it were in another book, it would definitely be a story of constant fighting and killing.

With Jiang Zhi present, her aunt advised them to avoid trouble and focus on their journey, so Nie Fantian chose to be tolerant rather than get angry.

Now that we've arrived at the market, we should immediately check into a better inn and cancel our stay at that dilapidated and cramped post station carriage.

Nie Fantian was holding back his anger, but Jiang Zhi was afraid that Qin Shi would provoke him further, so she quickly told her to shut up: "Qin Ling, didn't you want to rest for a day? You can sleep all day tomorrow, I won't rush you."

After checking into the inn, Jiang Zhi asked for a room for herself and refused to listen to Qin Shi's nagging at night.

During the meal, Nie Fantian came over and said, "Aunt, let's rest in town tomorrow, and we'll cross the mountain early the day after tomorrow."

Jiang Zhi was busy eating and nodded casually: "Go ahead and decide!"

Nie Fantian hesitated for a moment, then left!

Seeing that he had left, Jiang Zhi put down her chopsticks and sighed inwardly.

In fact, only Nie Fantian himself knew about killing the original owner of the body; even Nie Fantian himself was unaware of it.

After all, they separated before that thing even happened after I arrived.

But for Jiang Zhi, there was still a shadow in her heart, and she only hoped that she could get through this safely.

To meet the needs of travelers, Zhangjiaji has a night market.

After dinner, Xiaoman went out for a stroll with Nie Fantian and the others. Qin Shi persuaded Jiang Zhi to go out for a walk, and Li Laoshi was also eager to try.

The innkeeper told me that the night market often sells rare goods from all over the country, but it's hard to tell if they're genuine or fake; you have to rely entirely on your own eyesight.

Jiang Zhi was also tempted. Such a ghost market was a rare sight, so there was no harm in taking a look.

The night market consists of stalls set up along the road. During the day, it is still an official road, and at this time, lanterns are hung up and cloth curtains are drawn to do business.

The items are also very diverse, including everyday necessities sold like in ordinary shops, from large furniture to small needles and thread, as well as ceramic vases.

However, some stalls sold strange items, such as broken knives, half-worn stirrups, truck axle covers, old clothes of various sizes, and all kinds of jewelry. They didn't bargain; you could just take whatever you liked.

Li Laoshi took a fancy to a woman's headscarf inside. It was made of cashmere, with exquisite craftsmanship, and the price was not expensive, five hundred coins.

If you go to another place, you can't buy it for less than two taels of silver.

But now that Old Li is acting like a sycophant, and his pockets have already been emptied by Qin Shi, he shamelessly asks Jiang Zhi for a loan: "Sister Jiang, could you lend me a tael of silver? I'll deduct it from my salary next month."

Jiang Zhi glanced at Qin Shi: "Are you going to let Li Laoshi spend money like this? Will we not be able to make a living in the future?"

It's one thing for two people to have a good relationship after being married for a few months, but they can't just live for today and not care about tomorrow.

That cashmere headscarf is nice, but five hundred coins is Li Laoshi's monthly salary. Is it appropriate for Qin Shi, a peasant woman, to carry it to the fields?

These two have been inseparable for so long, they're not teenagers anymore, they need to wake up!