After doing all this, Han Yiyi felt that her clothes were also soaked with sweat.
Han Yiyi struggled to her feet, glanced at the person with their back to her not far away, her eyes flickered, and then she spoke.
"Yun Xiao, I'm all better now. You must be tired too. Let's rest for a bit, have something to eat, and then continue our journey..."
Upon hearing Han Yiyi's voice, Yun Xiao quickly turned around, stepped forward, picked her up, and placed her on a flat rock to the side.
Meanwhile, the group of people hiding in the shadows hesitated as they looked at the two people by the stream. One of them spoke up.
"Boss, the old lady ordered us to capture the young master and bring him back to the capital, but it seems the young master is heading straight for the capital. Should we still make a move?"
Those standing nearby, upon hearing their companion's words, couldn't help but curse.
"Are you an idiot? He went back on his own. Do we still need to make a move? Besides, if we make a move and he suddenly doesn't go back, aren't we just making trouble for ourselves...?" After saying that, he didn't forget to show off his achievements and glanced at the people next to him.
"Boss, don't you think so...?"
"Shut up, everyone. Just follow along. Send a letter to the old lady and tell her that the person is safe and sound and on their way back to the capital..."
“Then, that woman beside him…”
"Don't worry about it. The old lady only told us to look for the eldest young master. We don't need to worry about anything else..."
The people speaking were the ones sent by Old Madam Yun to find Yun Xiao, and she ordered them to bring him back to the capital by any means necessary.
Seeing that Yun Xiao was returning to the capital without their help, the others didn't bother to intervene and simply followed quietly behind.
Fortunately, these people weren't sent by the old lady to kill Han Yiyi; otherwise, the two of them would have faced even more trouble on their journey.
After resting for only half an hour, the two resumed their journey. This time, however, Yun Xiao did not let Han Yiyi ride on horseback, but instead carefully carried her in his arms.
Just as Han Yiyi was about to refuse, she heard Yun Xiao speak.
“Do you want to get to Kyoto sooner? Your legs are already blistered, and we still have at least three days' journey ahead. It will only get worse. Do you want to collapse before you even see the two children? How will you save them then…”
Hearing Yun Xiao's words and thinking about her own leg, she realized that it was indeed as he said, so she stopped refusing and only said one sentence, the emotion in her words was obviously different from before.
"Yun Xiao, thank you..."
Upon hearing Han Yiyi's words, Yun Xiao couldn't help but smirk again. He could tell that Han Yiyi's "thank you" felt different from before, so he quickly replied softly.
"You're welcome, I'd be happy to..."
The two on this side continued on their way, while Nangong Yuan stared at the empty doorway, his back teeth practically grinding to powder.
Having no other option, he had to ride a mule to town to buy a new horse.
The horses in town were no match for his fine steed; they were either old, weak, sick, or disabled. But he had no choice but to buy a decent horse first, and then buy another one when he got to the prefectural city. As a result, it only took him five days to get there, but almost seven days to get back, and he still hadn't reached the capital.
As Yun Xiao and Han Yiyi approached Kyoto, their hearts sank deeper. More and more refugees appeared on both sides of the road. Most of these refugees were emaciated and ragged, their eyes revealing despair and helplessness. Some even collapsed to the ground while walking.
Not only that, Han Yiyi also discovered that some of these refugees were vomiting from time to time, and there were also excrements on the roadside with flies buzzing around them.
Upon seeing this, Han Yiyi's brows furrowed deeply. She had a premonition that the two children's illnesses might be related to the recent floods and refugees.
Upon hearing this, Han Yiyi's heart sank. Back in Zhushan Village, she had only thought about how to keep everyone from starving, forgetting that plagues are most likely to break out after a flood.
Suddenly, she remembered that the village chief had told everyone to gather up and burn all the dead livestock and poultry, and had also told everyone not to drink raw water. Because she was used to boiling the water before drinking it, and because she had nothing else in her house except a mule, she hadn't taken it to heart at the time. Now that she thought about it, she realized that the village chief had considered the plague long ago.
When the two arrived near the city gate, they discovered that there were even more refugees gathered there, but the city gate was tightly closed and they were not required to enter.
In the eyes of these people, only the area under the imperial city was the safest place, so when disaster struck, they all rushed to the capital.
Because there were too many refugees outside the city, the plague was now spreading into the city. In order to avoid causing panic in the city, the city gates were closed and guarded by the Imperial Guards. People were only allowed to leave, not enter.
Although the Yun family is based in the capital and is considered one of the top families due to their large business, they do not hold official positions. Moreover, the city is now guarded by the Imperial Guards, and without a token, they cannot enter.
Just as the two were at their wits' end, a slightly hoarse voice came from behind them.
“I’ll take you inside…”
The two turned around and saw Nangong Yuan, who was covered in dust and looked disheveled. Fortunately, his clothes had been cut open by some sharp weapon.
However, Nangong Yuan was still very grateful to the bandits who tore his clothes. If it weren't for them, Nangong Yuan probably wouldn't have been able to catch up with the two of them so quickly.
Seeing the two turn around, Nangong Yuan couldn't help but give Yun Xiao a cold, disdainful look, his eyes seeming to say something.
You think you're so great? Then why don't you go in there...?
It turned out to be Nangong Yuan, who wanted to catch up with the two as soon as possible, so he took the back roads all the way, which is why he encountered the bandits who were robbing them.
Seeing that Nangong Yuan was alone, and although he was disheveled, he was still dressed in fine clothes, the bandits thought that his clothes could be sold for some money, so they decided to rob him. However, not only did they fail to rob him, but their own horse was also robbed.
At this moment, Yun Xiao, seeing the look that Nangong Yuan glanced at him, shrugged indifferently and said...
"Then I'll trouble General Nangong to lead me and Yi Yi into the city..."
At this moment, Nangong Yuan was worried about the two children's condition, so he didn't have time to sit here and agree to Yun Xiao's banter. Instead, he took out his token and waved it at the people on the city gate.
The people on the city gate, seeing that it was Nangong Yuan, dared not delay and hurriedly ordered the city gate to be opened to welcome him into the city.
When the people outside the city saw the city gate open, they hurriedly got up and tried to squeeze in, but when they saw the gleaming broadsword blocking their way, they had to stop in their tracks.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com