Anle grinned, crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow.
"You don't know yet, do you? Zhenmo is back, and that Master Meng came with him. He's been gone for three hours."
I told my mother that we could hitch a ride with Master Meng and his group out of the city. They said they'd wait for me at the town entrance and give us a ride, because it was dark before the city guards could sneak out, so we needed to get there by then. Wouldn't that work?
"And in that case, I can make up another reason, saying that I originally planned to have Dad take me there after dark, but since you've come along, I'll let you come with me so that Dad can stay home and take care of you. That would be convenient."
My mother contracted the plague, and although she's recovered now, she's still bedridden and needs someone to stay home. That's a perfect reason, don't you think?
Yu Rong glanced at An Le and nodded.
"They're quite adept at lying."
Anle rolled her eyes.
Are you praising me or insulting me?
**
Qiao Qiuniang was overjoyed to see Yu Rong again. She never expected to see Ah Hong's son again. With tears welling up in her eyes, Qiao Qiuniang grasped Yu Rong's arm and said with relief.
"If you want to stay, then stay. From now on, stay here and treat this place as your home. Don't go anywhere else."
"Mother, did you hear what I just told you?"
"Huh? Lewa, what did you say?"
Anle rubbed her forehead in exasperation. She knew that from the moment she saw the boy walk in, her mother was too excited to even glance at her. She didn't even look at him properly, so how could she listen to what Anle was saying?
Anle patiently recounted the story again to Qiao Qiuniang.
Qiao Qiuniang was a little surprised, "Can Master Meng really leave the city?"
Anning sat on the edge of the kang and muttered, "That's right, Master Meng in our village, he's really capable."
His house is frequented by wealthy young men from prominent families. Getting out of the city is a piece of cake for them; they have plenty of connections to help them.
However, leaving the city openly was definitely out of the question; they would have to hide and sneak out late at night.
Mother, didn't you hear my little sister say that we can't leave the city until dark?
Qiao Qiuniang nodded, believing it to be true.
"Then go if you want, but when will you be back from buying the medicinal herbs?"
"Well... I don't know. I've never left the city before, and we have to go to other cities to buy medicinal herbs. I have no idea how far those other cities are from there."
However, I definitely have to go there. As for the family, I'll leave Dad to look after things at home.
"Then go early and come back early."
"I definitely have to come back early. I need to get the medicine back and sell it before the pandemic is over, right?" Anle said earnestly, trying to fool people.
Anning, who was standing to the side, was a little tempted when she heard that they were going to leave the city.
"Hey, little sister, why don't you take me with you? I'd like to go out and see the world too."
Anle stared at Anning with a stern face and her hands on her hips.
"Fourth Sister, I'm going to take care of some important business, not to go out for fun."
If we want to travel, we'll have plenty of opportunities to go out and have fun when we have more time in the future.
This family needs someone too. You still have to stay here and take care of our younger brother and mother; it won't be enough for just Dad."
An Ning muttered to herself, "Aren't my eldest sister and second brother still here?"
"Alright, Lewa is going out to do business, so don't cause trouble." Qiao Qiuniang gave Anning a reproachful look.
Anning pouted and fell silent.
Anle grinned and lost her serious demeanor. "Fourth Sister, I brought you a gift when I came back."
An Ning's eyes lit up. "A gift?"
"Yes, even though you can't come with me, Fourth Sister, I can bring you back a gift."
"My little sister is still the best." An Ning smiled brightly, her eyes crinkling.
...
That night, Anle followed Yurong out of the city, not through the city gate, but across the mountains and along mountain paths.
“Although this mountain road is difficult to travel, it is the shortest route, and we can reach the capital in three days,” Yu Rong said, releasing a black eagle into the air.
Anle smiled, rested her chin on her hand, and tilted her head to ask curiously.
"Is this black hawk something you use specifically to deliver messages?"
"Yes, I raised this to deliver letters. It will be delivered to my companions soon. Once they see the letter, they will be waiting for us in the city with the medicinal herbs."
Anle looked up at the black eagle soaring high into the sky, which quickly turned into a tiny black dot and flew away. He couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"It's so nice to have an eagle to deliver messages for you." Transportation here is inconvenient, technology is underdeveloped, there are no airplanes or high-speed trains, and no mobile phones for communication, so everything is difficult.
"If you like, I'll tame one for you."
"Oh? Then there's no need. I don't have anyone I need to send letters to."
Yu Rong pursed her lips, looked at An Le, took a bite of roasted meat, and hesitantly asked the question that had been bothering her.
"You say you want the Kingdom of Islaile to accept Jincheng and gain ownership of Jincheng. You speak with such certainty, what means do you have to achieve this?"
Anle scratched his head and glanced at the surrounding towering mountains. They were pitch black, without any light, lights, or signs of human habitation.
Try it out here, it should be fine.
Although she had a lot of faith in her rural system, she hadn't yet tested how powerful it really was.
This is a perfect opportunity to test its power in this deserted place.
Thinking of this, Anle first gave Yu Rong a mysterious smile, her voice sounding somewhat unsteady and mysterious.
"Hey, let me ask you, do you believe in God?"
Yu Rong looked at An Le with a calm expression, but did not give her a satisfactory response.
Anle pouted, "What? How boring. Let me tell you, it was the gods who told me I could protect Jincheng. They gave me the power to destroy the world."
"You'll see if you don't believe me—" Anle stood up, looked up at the sky, and clasped his hands together as if in devout prayer.
"God, grant me boundless power. I need the power to split the heavens and the earth to protect Jincheng. Please grant my wish..."
Anle muttered in a pretentious manner.
Yu Rong's eyes were quite cold, and he didn't react to An Le's rambling.
Just as Anle finished speaking, a heavy object crashed to the ground. The sudden appearance of something inexplicably before his eyes caused Yu Rong's expression to change slightly. His face, which had been so calm and expressionless, finally cracked.
"...What's this?"
Could what she said be true?
No--
This is true.
It turns out they really weren't just fooling him!
A child could never hide something this big; it's not something you can just slip into your pocket and carry around like candy or snacks.
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