Chapter 97 Destination - Jingchuan
"By the way, what are you doing here?" After crying enough, Fan Xiaoxiao finally remembered this question. She sniffed slightly and asked with a thick nasal voice.
"It's Brother Miaomiao," Xiaobao sobbed as he announced Miaomiao's name.
Fan Xiaoxiao was slightly taken aback, not understanding how she had gotten involved with Xiao Miao again.
"It's like this..." Madam Fan wiped her eyes and explained the whole story to Fan Xiaoxiao.
It turned out that after Fan Xiaoxiao was taken away, they wanted to buy a boat from the ship's manager to chase the pirates. However, the ship's manager refused to sell to them no matter what, so they had no choice but to prepare to steal a small boat.
Just as they were about to make their move, they spotted Xiao Miao, who was also trying to steal the boat. After questioning her closely, they learned that Lady Ye had also been captured. So, at Xiao Bao's urging, Xiao Miao reluctantly took them with her.
At the end, Fan added a sentence.
"We had a lot of stuff before, so we left behind some fans and things, only keeping the essentials with us."
Hearing that some food had been left behind, Fan Xiaoxiao felt a pang of pain in her heart. Fortunately, the drought was still some time away, and as long as she stockpiled more food before then, it wouldn't be a big problem.
However, after this incident, she gained a new understanding of the turbulent Zhou Dynasty. At the same time, she also realized a very serious problem.
The distance between Guqu Town and Jingchuan wasn't very far, yet there were already tyrants and bandits like Huang Yuan and Tu Ban. The Tianshan Mountains and Yizhou were separated by thousands of miles; the journey would certainly not be as simple as she had initially imagined.
"Sigh..." As she thought about it, Fan Xiaoxiao felt the wound on her shoulder start to hurt again. She sighed and muttered to herself, "And we don't even have a doctor..."
Her voice was very soft, and Ms. Fan didn't hear it clearly.
"Sister, what did you say?"
"N-nothing...it's nothing." Fan Xiaoxiao shook her head slightly, a bitter feeling rising in her heart. What was she thinking? Forget about a doctor, none of the people on her side even knew martial arts. If they encountered a situation like this again on the road, they probably wouldn't have any chance of escape. If only Madam Ye and Xiao Miao could have gone to Tianshan with her...
As soon as the idea popped into her head, Fan Xiaoxiao immediately shook her head and dismissed it.
He must have gone mad from the fever, actually hoping that big shot would come with him to Tianshan?
Putting aside the fact that Ye Niangzi would surely laugh at him if he voiced this idea, just considering that Ye Niangzi and the others said they were going to Jingchuan County, how could they possibly go to Tianshan with him?
Otherwise, how about hiring a bodyguard? She remembered that such a profession existed in this era. However, the pay seemed quite high.
Fan Xiaoxiao quickly calculated all her family's assets in her mind. Even with the money Xiahou gave her, she only had about 170 taels of silver.
"I wonder if we can find someone really capable..."
Xiao Bao, with his sharp ears, overheard Fan Xiaoxiao's mutterings and scratched his head in confusion.
"Huh? What's so amazing? Auntie, what are you muttering to yourself about?"
Fan Xiaoxiao was slightly taken aback, only then realizing that she had actually spoken her thoughts aloud. She chuckled awkwardly, "Hehe, no, really nothing."
Madam Fan gave her a strange look, but didn't press the matter further.
Her gaze shifted to Master Lu, who was rowing at the stern, and Xiao Yu, who kept glancing their way. She then realized she hadn't yet asked their names. She'd only nodded in greeting when they came aboard. Realizing this, Madam Fan glanced at Fan Xiaoxiao somewhat awkwardly.
"Sister, you haven't introduced these two yet..."
"Oh! This is Master Lu, and this is his granddaughter, Xiaoyu. Thanks to them, we were able to escape Huilong Village." As she spoke, Fan Xiaoxiao glanced gratefully at Master Lu and Xiaoyu. Although the enemy's descending ladder had almost killed them, one thing is one thing, and another is another. If it weren't for their firecrackers, Fan Xiaoxiao's body would probably be cold by now.
After listening to Fan Xiaoxiao's words, Madam Fan solemnly bowed in the direction of Master Lu and the others.
"Thank you so much for saving my sister!"
Master Lu slightly turned his body to avoid the bow.
“Get up. It’s her own fate, it has nothing to do with us. Besides, she saved my granddaughter, so we’re even.”
Madam Fan didn't speak; she simply bowed again, stubbornly. As she stood up, she caught a glimpse of something in the basket beside her and paused slightly in surprise.
Fan Xiaoxiao followed her gaze and saw the crossbow.
"Sister?" Could it be that my sister has taken a fancy to this? This is something people use for self-defense!
Fortunately, Madam Fan only glanced at it a few more times before looking away.
Xiaoyu pursed her lips, as if she had something to say. She opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked the question again.
"You...you're really called Ma Yatou?"
Hearing that name again, Fan Xiaoxiao felt a little embarrassed. When she looked up, she saw that Fan Shi and Xiao Bao were indeed looking at her with some questions.
"Uh... this is a pseudonym. My surname is Fan... and my name is Fan... Fan Er Ya." Fan Xiaoxiao said the name Er Ya with some discomfort, and after thinking for a moment, she added another sentence.
"At Huilong Village, the situation was somewhat urgent, so..."
"What about the blind woman?"
Fan Xiaoxiao was slightly taken aback, realizing that Xiaoyu was referring to Lady Ye. She smiled helplessly. To be honest, she herself didn't know whether the other person's name was real or fake, after all, they had only known each other for three days.
Just as he was about to say he didn't know, Xiao Bao, whose voice was hoarse from crying, spoke up while hiccuping.
"Hiccup, Miss, hiccup, pretty sister is called Lady Ye. Can't call her kind sister, hiccup, blind woman."
Looking at Xiao Bao's face, which looked like a clown's, Xiao Yu frowned in disgust.
"Crybaby."
Xiao Bao hiccuped again. He could tell that the girl with the unpleasant voice was disgusted with him. He pouted sadly and then lay down next to Fan Xiaoxiao without saying a word.
"Oh, right, this is your stuff." Xiaoyu suddenly remembered something that had fallen out of Fan Xiaoxiao's arms when she was bandaging her wounds. She found a delicate purse and handed it to Fan Xiaoxiao.
"It fell out when I was applying the medicine, so I'm giving it back to you now. Take a look, see if anything is missing." After saying that, Xiaoyu resumed her cold demeanor and sat back down next to Master Lu.
Fan Xiaoxiao was slightly taken aback when she received the money bag. She subconsciously touched her own pocket and found it was indeed empty.
"Thank you..." Fan Xiaoxiao said, opening her money pouch. Inside was the hundred-tael silver note given by Madam Ye, and the fifty-tael silver that Xiahou had given her earlier.
After confirming that nothing was missing, she thought for a moment, then took out the silver and stuffed it into Xiao Bao and Fan Shidi's pockets respectively.
“Keep it to yourself. I almost got searched this time. From now on, we’ll keep our things in three separate containers.” Fan Xiaoxiao pressed down on Fan Shi’s hand, which was refusing.
Hearing her say that, the latter had no choice but to obediently put away his things.
Just as Fan Xiaoxiao was about to put away the money bag, Xiao Miao's voice came from the bow of the boat.
"Mr. Lu, follow the small boat for a while. We should be able to reach our destination in about three days." The little Miao man said as he came over. He immediately noticed Fan Xiaoxiao and the money bag in her hand.
"Okay, I understand." Master Lu nodded irritably and replied.
Fan Xiaoxiao didn't notice the other person's gaze, but instead suddenly asked Xiao Miao with some curiosity, "By the way, Young Master Miao, what are you going to Jingchuan County for?"
Xiao Miao didn't stop walking back. He went back to the other small boat and left behind only two words.
"Looking for someone."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
