Chapter 606 Father! (Third Update)

Even after leaving the tea stall, Marquis Xuanping was still marveling at how hospitable the villagers were, offering tea without charging a penny.

The tea stall owner has been running his stall here for seven or eight years, and this is the first time he's seen such a stingy customer!

This is incredible!

The torrential rain showed no signs of abating, making travel in such weather extremely dangerous and inconvenient.

Of course, that's someone else. Marquis Xuanping is a military general who has experienced even worse weather on the battlefield. He won't be easily stopped halfway.

Marquis Xuanping wore a thick raincoat and a bamboo hat, riding his tall steed.

He patted the horse's head and looked at the torrential rain, saying, "That old thing is about to die. We can't let him die peacefully, understand?"

The horse seemed to sense its master's determination and murderous intent. It neighed, reared up, and charged headlong into the downpour.

On the other side, after a long day's journey, Xiao Heng finally arrived at the teahouse that Marquis Xuanping had once led.

The tea stall was supposed to close at night, but the rain was too heavy, so the customers couldn't leave and the owner of the tea stall couldn't go home either.

The tea stall was packed with people, and the prices of tea and food skyrocketed. A steamed bun that used to cost two coins suddenly became ten coins.

The carriage sped through the rain. Liu Quan, wearing a raincoat and barely able to open his eyes, said, "Sixth Brother, there's a teahouse over there. Want to rest for a while?"

Xiao Heng gazed intently and said, "Uncle Liu, thank you for your trouble to continue on your way."

Liu Quan tightened his grip on the reins and said, "I'm fine, I'm worried about you! We've been traveling all day, how's your injury?"

Xiao Heng said, "I'm fine, let's continue on our way."

"Eh."

"Wait a minute," Xiao Heng suddenly said. "Stop for a moment."

Liu Quan stopped the carriage: "What's wrong?"

Xiao Heng glanced at the map in his hand, then looked at the fork in the road ahead: "There are two roads ahead, I wonder which one he took."

Both routes lead to the official road near Xishui Village, but the road conditions are different, and the time spent on the road will also differ.

Xiao Heng knew these details because he had thoroughly studied the geography of Zhao State, while Marquis Xuanping had not been to the Liang King's fiefdom much and might not know which route was shorter.

“Let’s go ask at the tea stall,” Xiao Heng said.

"Okay!"

Liu Quan drove the carriage to the tea stall.

The teahouse owner was boiling water when he saw a carriage stop beside him. Without thinking, he said, "It's full, there's no room left. You'd better keep going. There's a post station ten miles to the east."

Xiao Heng lifted the curtain and looked through the thick rain toward the teahouse owner: "Excuse me, I'd like to ask you about someone. Has a tall, handsome man, around thirty years old, come here today?"

Marquis Xuanping is not in his early thirties, but he looks too young; even in his early thirties, he still exudes a mature air.

The teahouse owner added some firewood to the stove and casually replied, "Several have come. Which one are you talking about?"

Xiao Heng wanted to say the most beautiful one, but as a grown man, he found it hard to say it; handsome appearance was the limit he could talk about.

Xiao Heng thought for a moment, then his eyes darted around before he asked, "The one who's particularly stingy?"

"Ah! You mean him!" The tea stall owner instantly perked up, unleashing a torrent of complaints like the Yellow River!

"I've run a tea stall my whole life and I've never seen anyone so stingy! One copper coin! One copper coin, can you believe it!"

"Even that beggar gave us some!"

"..."

Xiao Heng endured a barrage of criticism that was far beyond what someone his age should be subjected to.

"Where did he go?" Xiao Heng asked.

"there!"

The tea stall owner angrily shook his head and pointed.

"Thank you." Xiao Heng lowered the curtain, bent down and unfolded the map. "Uncle Liu, let's go."

Even the tea stall owner was captivated.

No, so you were just asking for information for nothing?

You should at least buy two steamed buns before you leave!

"Stop!" the teahouse owner called out to Xiao Heng's carriage.

Xiao Heng lifted the curtain: "Is there anything else?"

The tea stall owner grabbed two steamed buns and handed them to him, then flipped them over with his palm.

Two fives together mean ten.

Xiao Heng wasn't in the mood to eat and didn't really want anything, but the shopkeeper insisted on giving it to him, so he had no choice but to accept it reluctantly.

He took the steamed bun and waved to the tea stall owner, saying, "Thank you, goodbye."

Then he left.

The tea stall owner exclaimed again: "...!!"

He looked at his hand, frozen in mid-air, and then at the steamed bun that had been taken away.

Is that what I meant?!

...

The rain was so heavy that the horses couldn't run at all and could only move slowly.

“Uncle Liu, if it had continued to rain this heavily, he should have only just arrived here by now.” Xiao Heng pointed to a small village on the map, “Yangliu Village.”

Liu Quan didn't understand this; he had never been to Ping Le Prefecture before, and Xiao Heng had been giving him directions the whole way.

He asked, "Was he far from the scene? If he was too far away, he might not have been caught in the landslide."

Xiao Heng said, "Anyone else taking this route would definitely not be able to catch up."

But he was the Marquis of Xuanping.

No matter how many obstacles lie ahead, he will surely find a way to reach the Liang Prince's Mansion.

Liu Quan sensed Xiao Heng's worry. He pressed his head, sighed, and asked, "Can we catch up with him?"

It's difficult.

This is the possibility that Xiao Heng came up with after analyzing every road on the map.

“Let’s take another route,” Xiao Heng said.

"Alright." Liu Quan drove the carriage onto the opposite path.

This route appears to be longer than the one chosen by Marquis Xuanping, but it is smoother and in better condition.

Even so, the journey that would normally take two hours took them a whole night.

Fortunately, Xiao Heng had Liu Quan change into the strongest warhorse in the Imperial Guard beforehand; otherwise, while they would be fine now, the horses would have died of exhaustion.

As dawn broke, a torrential downpour plunged the entire city of Pingluo into darkness.

Xiao Heng frowned: "We haven't arrived at Yangliu Village yet."

Marquis Xuanping is faster than them; at this rate, they won't arrive at the scene until after midnight.

Xiao Heng lifted the curtain and said to Liu Quan, "Uncle Liu, we can go through the woods to the north and reach the vicinity of Xishui Village directly."

Liu Quan was taken aback: "Go through the woods? That won't work, the carriage can't go!"

Xiao Heng said, "We don't need the carriage anymore, we'll ride horses."

Liu Quan disagreed, saying, "Can you ride a horse with your injury?"

Xiao Heng took out a raincoat from under the car and put it on, then took a bamboo hat and put it on: "I only have superficial injuries, they haven't affected my bones or muscles, it's nothing serious."

Even minor injuries shouldn't be exposed to rain!

Besides, even if you hurt yourself, would you stop?

Liu Quan couldn't persuade him otherwise, so he had no choice but to abandon the carriage by the roadside. Fortunately, the carriage had two horses, so the two of them each rode one and headed into the woods.

Marquis Xuanping's journey was not smooth. He had chosen a shortcut according to the map, but encountered many problems.

Looking at the wooden bridge that had been washed away by the torrential rain, Marquis Xuanping suddenly felt a toothache.

What lies below is not a shallow stream, but a mighty river surging like a torrent.

Marquis Xuanping stroked his horse's head, his expression resolute as he gazed at the broken bridge. He turned back, and after about fifty paces, he stopped, turned around again, and his eyes sharpened: "Giddy up!"

The horse reared up and galloped away. As it approached the broken bridge, Marquis Xuanping squeezed the horse's belly with his legs and pulled hard on the reins!

Faced with the surging torrent, the horse did not retreat, but obeyed its master's command and leaped across the broken bridge!

"Well done." After landing, Marquis Xuanping patted it. "Let's go!"

After passing the village ahead, you'll reach the official road leading directly to the Liang Prince's Mansion.

Old King Liang, your time to die has come.

"Liu Lang! Slow down!"

After falling countless times, Liu Quan was almost out of strength. They were now in such a state that even the horses refused to walk, and they could only lead them forward with difficulty.

"Look! We've arrived!"

Xiao Heng pointed to the village shrouded in the torrential rain, "That's Xishui Village!"

"Is there?"

It was too dark, and the rain was too heavy; Liu Quan's oil lamp could barely illuminate a wide area.

They had been walking since morning, and he had no idea what time it was; he only knew that he was too exhausted to walk any further.

"It should be almost midnight," Xiao Heng said breathlessly. "Don't go over there, just wait for me here."

“No, no…” Liu Quan sat on the ground.

Xiao Heng took the oil lamp from his hand, and without leading the horse, walked towards the village.

"Six...Sixth Brother..." Liu Quan didn't even have the strength to call out.

The villagers had already been evacuated, and they had taken away any poultry they could. The village was deserted, with only his lonely figure remaining.

He walked through the village, and when he reached the village entrance, he heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching from afar on the official road.

It's him!

It is Marquis Xuanping!

Xiao Heng was too far from the official road; by the time he had run there, his horse had already gone far away.

He had no choice but to keep walking in the rain, shouting, "Stop! Stop!"

The sound of the torrential rain blocked out all other sounds, even the sound of horses' hooves beneath them became weaker, let alone a distant human voice.

However, Marquis Xuanping still vaguely heard a little bit of it, but not very clearly.

Is someone talking?

Is someone calling him?

It sounded like... his son's voice.

Marquis Xuanping then laughed. His son was in the capital; how could he possibly come here?

I must have misheard.

"drive!"

He shouted sternly.

Xiao Heng watched helplessly as a person and a horse drove past him on the official road.

He felt as if he could not breathe.

Marquis Xuanping saw the oil lamp in his hand, but he did not stop. He would not stop for a stranger on the roadside.

Xiao Heng gazed at the crumbling mountain, where rocks were already sliding down in a rustling sound. He could almost hear the sounds of collapses and faults within the mountain.

He gazed at the tall figure rushing headlong towards the mountains, and a voice in his heart broke through the heavy shackles.

"Father--"

I dreamt that I gave you the midnight watch. After waking up, I thought about it and realized that the dream of getting rich overnight can't come true, but the dream of giving you the midnight watch is still acceptable.

(End of this chapter)