Chapter 83
Perhaps something had happened in the capital, but the inspections for entry and exit were stricter today than usual. Bei Qiao walked a long way from the city gate, and when he looked back, he could still see a long convoy of cars lined up outside the gate in the distance.
The convoys entering the city were somewhat anxious, asking those leaving the city what had happened. However, those leaving the city were also confused and had no idea what was going on. Bei Qiao, one of the people leaving the city, was stopped several times and said the same thing countless times: "No, I don't know... I don't think anything happened, I haven't heard of it... Even if something did happen, it probably has nothing to do with us..."
After finally leaving the encirclement of the convoy entering the city, there was no need for Bei Qiao to pull the reins to urge them. The impatient Huihui and Honghong took the initiative to spread out their hooves and run as fast as possible, fearing that they would be stopped again if they were a step slower.
The place where Bei Qiao planned to stay tonight was called Qingtian City. Historically, this place had produced a world-renowned official known as the "Integrity Judge." In his memory, the city was renamed Qingtian.
"It is said that even if all the officials in this city were not honest, they were at least not extremely evil, because the feng shui of this place is quite magical, and treacherous officials would break their legs outside the city not long after taking office..." Bei Qiao had learned about the rumors about this city before setting off. Although he didn't know whether they were true or not, the reputation of this city in the forum was really good, and it was a suitable place to settle down.
As we headed west, the weather along the road seemed to gradually become drier, and leaves fluttered down from the roadside, covering the ground in a poetic scene. However, sometimes it wasn't leaves that fell from the trees, but bandits, and sometimes the leaves didn't cover the road, but traps.
"Kill! This road... Damn! Despicable!" The bandit, who had just jumped off the tree branch, was swung away by an iron hammer. He only had time to yell before he turned into a cannonball and flew back the same way, knocking his accomplices away in the process.
"You're just a highwayman, and you call me a mean guy?" Bei Qiao wiped the sweat from his forehead, leaped up with his shovel, and unceremoniously struck several bandits on the shoulders. Finally, he found the right spot to knock them unconscious. Huihui, pulling the cart with Honghong, strolled around the trap, stopping by the roadside to nibble on some grass.
"It's my first time using a hammer to hit this spot, and I'm not very skilled. You're unlucky..." After making sure that the bandits were really fainted and not pretending, Bei Qiao dug two pits on the side of the road, one to bury the bandits and the other to bury the weapons in their hands.
Time was running out, and Bei Qiao couldn't be sure when the next group of bandits would emerge, so he simply buried the bandits and drove away. These bandits were not buried very deep, and their heads were all exposed. After waking up, they would probably struggle for more than ten minutes to break free.
Bei Qiao: I really want to know who carries the ropes in martial arts TV dramas. There are so many bandits that the ropes are not enough, so they can only dig holes on the spot to bury people.
Qingtian City is quite far away from the capital. On this road where there is no village in front and no shop behind, all the lone carriages are running very fast, for fear that if they are slow they will be stopped by bandits who appear from nowhere.
From the woods along the roadside, the clash of swords and blades could be heard, occasionally accompanied by grim laughter and cries for help. Faced with all this, Bei Qiao chose to hurry and leave, confident in her own strength. Besides, this might not be another trap.
"Help! Help! What's going on? Business is so bad today! It's been almost the whole morning, and we've only made one order?" The female bandit leader, waiting in the woods with a machete in hand, stepped on the unfortunate, soft-hearted man who had just been captured. She took a sip from the wine bag at her waist, moistening her throat from its choking rage. "The world is going downhill, and people's hearts are no longer what they used to be! How could no one come to save me?"
The person she stepped on lay on the ground, trembling and coughing up blood, gritting his teeth and saying nothing.
"Hey, are you mute? Oh, you look down on me, don't you? Yes, you people of noble birth have always looked down on us peasants, but so what?" Seeing that the man under his feet was lying on the ground with his back straight, the bandit leader, who felt inexplicably mocked, could not help but stomped on the man again: "Now you are still lying at my feet like a dead dog!"
"Boss!"
"What are you doing? Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Boss, there's a wolf, there's a wolf!" The bandit's younger brother who went outside to explore the way shouted, and crawled to the bandit leader and hugged her legs, his whole body shaking like a sieve.
"What?! How is this possible? How could there be wolves at this hour?" The bandit leader kicked the younger brother clinging to his legs aside and turned to look at where the younger brother had run out: "Damn! You idiot actually attracted wolves!"
The grass parted, and wolves scurried out, baring their teeth as they charged towards the bandits. Seeing this, the bandit leader kicked away his troublesome younger brother, who was about to pounce on him and cling to his thighs. He took out a tinder, lit a wine bag, and threw it at the wolves. When a few wolves dodged, he drew his broadsword from his waist, leaped over the flames, and slashed through the gap.
The bandit's younger brother followed the bandit leader, slashing with his sword while rushing out in a chaotic manner, cursing to give himself courage. As for the unfortunate guy still lying on the ground, no one cared about him anymore.
The unfortunate man, left behind, crouched in the grass, his drooping hair obscuring the sneer on his lips. He swatted a wolf that tried to attack him with a rock, then pretended to struggle for his life, half-climbing, half-walking out of the bandits' sight. Then he climbed a tree, treading on branches as he scurried out. Sensing his superficial weakness, several wolves on the periphery followed, howling and relentlessly pursuing him.
"Wolf howling?" Bei Qiao turned his head to look at the roadside: "Go! Run!" He hoped that the wolves were far enough away from him.
Huihui and Honghong had a strong survival instinct. After hearing the wolf's howl, they began to speed up frantically before Beiqiao urged them. As a result, they almost collided with an oncoming carriage when turning at the intersection.
Bei Qiao quickly grabbed the reins and barely stopped the carriage before the two vehicles collided. The carriage on the opposite side also braked suddenly, and the two horses running side by side neighed, raised their hooves and fell, splashing dust on the ground.
Almost getting kicked in the neck by the opposing horse, Hui Hui was a bit upset, stiffening his neck and huffing as he tried to charge forward. Just then, a stranger darted out from the nearby woods, pressed his wound, and landed not far from Hui Hui, frowning and coughing twice. Seeing two carriages parked before him, the man froze for a moment, his expression instantly becoming alert, and he leaned sideways in a defensive stance.
Before Bei Qiao could figure out why he had turned sideways to face the carriage, he saw two wolves emerge from the bushes behind the man. They howled and rushed over, ready to attack, but upon seeing two more carriages in front of them, they quickly stopped, bared their teeth, and slowly retreated, putting some distance between them and the carriages.
Wolf: Humans are really cunning, there is an ambush here!
For a moment, no one moved as the four sides stood in a standoff. Bei Qiao was anxious to get on with her journey, but showing her fear and running away from the wolf would be a mistake. She could only wait patiently to see if anyone else would make a move.
The first two wolves to retreat were the first. Although they were the best hunters in the pack, they were outnumbered. Not to mention the leader, who had noticed them leaving, kept howling at them from a distance, urging them to rejoin. They had already been a bit reckless in this separate hunt; if they were caught off guard, it would be a complete disgrace to the wolves.
After the two wolves left, the only person present without a carriage slowly turned around to face the two carriages head-on. A standoff ensued between the three parties, with no one speaking first. If this scene were to appear in a television series, it would at least deserve background music and a few close-ups.
Bei Qiao tried to drive forward, but the person standing next to Hui Hui was too vigilant. When he saw the carriage approaching, he immediately put on a posture as if he was ready to resist at any time, which made Bei Qiao suspect that he was a villain who took advantage of others' misfortune.
"Hey, brother, you're blocking the way. Please move aside." Bei Qiao had no interest in the love and hate that had happened to this person. She just wanted to run away, as far away from the wolves as possible. Of course, one had to be on guard. What if the other party's defensiveness was also part of a trap?
"I'm so impressed! How long are you going to keep stuck in traffic?" Seeing that the people on the roadside still didn't move, a veiled girl emerged from the carriage opposite and said, "Get in! Don't you recognize your own carriage?"
"It's my second sister..." The man raised his sleeve and wiped his face, but the more he wiped, the dirtier it became. He had just rolled on the ground, and his body was already covered in dust, and there was no clean spot on his sleeve.
"You recognized me, but you still didn't get in the car? Are you planning on waiting for the wolves to arrive?" The girl jumped out of the car, walked over, and dragged the man into the car. "You've made such a mess again. Why would you use yourself as bait when fishing? Has your brain been squeezed by muscles?"
"Well, maybe mom and dad gave you all the brains and left me with only muscles." The unlucky guy who was carried by the girl to climb onto the carriage was a twin boy and girl with the girl. They were born only a quarter of an hour apart, but their personalities were very different. The elder sister was good at literature and was used to thinking three steps ahead before doing things, while the younger brother was martial and his response when encountering problems was just one word: reckless.
"Did you think I was just talking about you taking yourself fishing?"
"What else?"
"You've learned to play dumb, huh? Fine, go explain it to your parents yourself when you get back."
"No, sister, I was wrong..."
After driving her troublesome brother into the carriage, the girl urged the coachman to continue on his journey while she continued to chatter to her brother.
Bei Qiao didn't want to listen to other people's gossip. After seeing the other party make way, he immediately urged Huihui and Honghong to set off, running as fast as possible.
Judging from the direction of the sound, the wolves weren't far away. The most urgent thing now was to leave. Gossip and such were not as important as life.
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