Chapter 249 Bayberry

The journey back to Kyoto was long and boring. The weather was hot and the carriage was like a steamer, making people sweat all over.

Wan Chen was driving in the front, looking at Yan Shijiu who was reading a letter in the car, and said:

"Master, your wounds haven't healed yet. Come out and get some fresh air. Be careful not to sweat and heat the wounds, or they might fester."

Yan Shijiu read the letter attentively, without even looking up, and spoke in a casual tone:

"Nothing serious, just some scary-looking flesh wounds. I know you're careful with your blows."

Wan Chen stopped talking.

Yan Shijiu then rolled the letter in his hand into a thin piece and lit it with a fire stick.

The letter paper burned to ashes, with only two fragments left.

On the larger piece, you can vaguely see the words "destroy the will, but fail", and on the smaller piece, it seems to be the word "cloud".

Yan Shijiu arranged a thick stack of unopened letters and used them as a pillow. He lay down and placed the small piece of letter paper on the tip of his tongue, moistening it a little bit and rolling it into his mouth.

Taste, crush, and swallow.

His mouth was filled with a bitter and pungent taste, and he spoke expressionlessly:

"When she asked, did you say everything I taught you?"

"Master, don't worry. I've said it all. Thirty-five words in total, not a single one left out." Wan Chen replied.

The master said that if it were you, you would definitely do the same as him. You both have the same feelings. He said that fortunately, he was the one who suffered.

Wan Chen memorized these thirty-five words in the dungeon for half a year. He would never forget them even in his dreams and would definitely not say them wrong.

Fortunately, every word is useful, enough to move a person to the point of feeling deeply guilty.

"Thank you for your hard work. You stayed with me in the death row for half a year." Yan Shijiu said as he pulled out a letter from under his head and opened it, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Tell Atai that the horses are almost here, get ready to rest."

Wan Chen quickly thanked him, not daring to complain about the hard work. He understood Yan Shijiu's personality, and he would always do things perfectly, and sometimes they would even pretend to be so real that they almost took it seriously.

Only in this way can it be enough to deceive many eyes in this world.

Wan Chen remembered that when Yun Chen broke the door to rescue them in the death row, he did not immediately notice Wan Chen lying on the ground pretending to be unconscious, but Wan Chen saw him clearly in secret.

Although Yun Chen's purpose was to save people, he kept looking around as he walked, and had already carefully looked inside and out the death row.

She was not a suspicious person like Yan Shijiu, but she was just instinctively cautious and serious in her actions.

She took a quick look at the walls of the death cell, the worn locks, the moss on the stone steps that had not been trampled on for a long time, the toilet in the cell... everything.

She took a look at everything, including the lamp covered with thick lamp oil.

Wan Chen once thought that his master was too cautious. Living in the death row was enough for him. There was no need to put on such a big show, even turning on the lights to the dimmest and not even reading the many letters that had accumulated over the past six months.

It turned out that Yan Shijiu was right.

A thousand-mile dam can be breached by a single ant's blood. Any detail can determine the success or failure of everything.

Wan Chen asked, "Master, have all the spies outside been withdrawn?"

Yan Shijiu looked at the letter, his brows growing darker. "Withdraw it. We already know her background, so there's no need to bother investigating."

After becoming interested in Yun Chen, Yan Shijiu sent nearly a hundred people to investigate her background.

He originally just wanted to get to know her, but he didn't expect Huo Gannian to get to know her first.

Unexpectedly, Yun Chen came from the famous Youzhou Yun family.

Although there is no solid evidence to prove this at the moment, Yan Shijiu knows that unless Yun Zhongjun is out of his mind, it is impossible for him to lend 100,000 war horses to the Lion Army without saying anything.

"It seems her background will have to be kept secret for a while. Perhaps she wants to win a great victory, then use her merits to offset her mistakes and reveal her identity as a woman." Yan Shijiu began to ponder carefully. "I heard that the Yun Mansion in Youzhou received over a thousand yuan in gifts. It seems that this was Huo Gannian's money for buying horses."

It wasn't a big gift, but a red silk box and a peacock. It looked like a marriage proposal. Wan Chen didn't dare to say this.

Their spies were spread across every city, and they reported matters very carefully. It was impossible that Yan Shijiu had not read the letter carefully, he just didn't want to admit it.

Wan Chen didn't want to offend Yan Shijiu. He only knew that everything was going according to plan and the situation was very good. They were finally getting closer and closer to the Kyoto Imperial Palace with a legitimate reason.

Thinking of this, Wan Chen became more excited and more cautious. He drove the carriage quickly and steadily and rushed forward.

When overtaking a carriage and passing by side by side, a black shadow suddenly flew out of the other carriage window, passed through the window, and landed on Yan Shijiu.

Wan Chen was startled and shouted, quickly reining in his horse to stop. The moment he turned his head to look, the knife had already been pulled out.

The other carriage was obviously frightened as well. The horses neighed and stopped.

Seeing that the driver was a soldier of the Lion Power Army in military uniform, Yan Shijiu and Wan Chen looked at each other and immediately realized that the person in the car should be the former Lion Power Army military advisor who set out half a day earlier than them, the woman named Zhiluo.

Zhiluo did not get off the carriage because it was against etiquette and unsafe to go into the wilderness.

She apologized through the window: "I'm so sorry, I just wanted to throw something, and I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that I threw it into your car window. I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

Yan Shijiu picked up a waxberry that had become a little rotten from being kept warm. He narrowed his eyes and looked sharply at the car window opposite.

The curtain of the car window was not closed, and Yan Shijiu could clearly see that Zhi Luo's face was pale and gloomy, with traces of tears on his cheeks.

With the corners of his mouth slightly curved, Yan Shijiu showed his signature sunny smile and said:

"Miss, you're joking. I was just thinking about the hot weather and the lack of any fruit to cool me down, and then bayberries fell from the sky. Thank you for the fruit."

Zhi Luo looked at the bayberries in his hand that he had not yet thrown away. He had not had time to give them away, and no one cared about the intention.

"If you don't mind, I have some bayberries here. I'll give them to you as well."

"Thank you, young lady. Plum soup is good for relieving summer heat and quenching thirst. I don't have a stove to make soup right now, but you can also make tea. I drank some with General Yun yesterday. It was delicious."

Just as Yan Shijiu guessed, just hearing the three words "General Yun" made Zhi Luo couldn't help crying again.

Although she tried to lean back, Yan Shijiu could still see everything clearly.