Mu Xu untied the water pouch from his waist and handed it over, smiling, "Brother Wu, have some water."
The man surnamed Wu tried to grin, but pulled at the cracked corner of his mouth, making a hissing sound in pain. He didn't care about being polite, twisted open the copper spout of the water bag, carefully took two small sips, and then quickly handed it to Mu Xu.
"Thank you, Brother Mu. I'm a big eater, and I've already drunk all the water I brought this morning."
Mu Xu waved his hand, wiped the water bag, and tied it back around his waist.
Perhaps refreshed by the water, the man surnamed Wu perked up and nudged Mu Xu with his elbow, jokingly whispering, "Brother Mu, this water bag wasn't a gift from some girl, was it?"
Mu Xu laughed and replied, "Brother Wu is amazing, you could even tell that?"
The man surnamed Wu laughed heartily and said smugly, "Of course, I used to be a seasoned traveler in the martial world, and I have a sharp eye."
"But when the barbarians attacked our Tianwu, I protected my wife, children, and mother all the way south, and I lost all my ambition. After all, I couldn't just watch my mother, wife, and children be left without anyone to rely on."
"Otherwise, kid, I would be a renowned swordsman in the martial arts world by now!"
After saying that, he even grabbed the scabbard and twirled the blade a few times.
An old soldier walking beside him was nearly touched by his scabbard and couldn't help but laugh and scold, "Wu Dazui, don't try to fool the young man. With your pathetic skills, you'd be nothing but a feeding fetch for bandits and highwaymen!"
Wu Dazui was unconvinced and snorted coldly, "If you don't believe me, just wait and see who saves your lives when things get tough!"
After saying that, he turned to Mu Xu and asked, "Brother Mu, why did you come along to deliver grain this time? Are you short of money to get married?"
Mu Xu nodded and smiled, “Yes, Brother Wu is right. The girl I’m engaged to is the best in the world, so the betrothal gifts will have to be more. I’m making this trip to earn some money, and it will also allow me to check on her father. Her father is under the command of the Marquis, and she misses him a lot at home.”
"Hehe, good lad, you've come here to curry favor with your father-in-law!" Wu Dazui laughed heartily, patting Mu Xu's shoulder forcefully, and shouted, "When we get there, I'll go with you to see your father-in-law, have a good drink, and I guarantee I'll praise you to the skies, making your father-in-law wish he could marry his daughter to you right away."
Mu Xu smiled and thanked him, "Great! If Brother Wu can persuade my father-in-law, I'll support you with drinking for the rest of my life!"
"Hey, you've got quite the big talk, huh? Well, it's settled then!" Wu Dazui was about to say something more when the procession ahead suddenly became lively. He quickly ran to check, and when he came back, he was carrying a bucket of water, shouting, "Brothers, come and drink some water! There's a well at the village entrance ahead that hasn't dried up!"
The soldiers in both carts were delighted and crowded forward, filling their water bags and drinking heartily from the bamboo cups they carried, shouting how refreshing it was.
Mu Xu glanced around, his eyes flickering slightly.
There was indeed a small village not far ahead, but it was already noon, and not a single one of the dozen or so houses in the village was smoking. This was really strange.
At this moment, Wu Dazui was afraid that he would not be able to get any water, so he tore off his water bag and gulped down most of it for him.
Mu Xu took a sip, then, under the guise of wiping his mouth, spat it into his sleeve.
Bewitching herb; the water smells of bewitching herb.
This stuff is a key ingredient in the making of sleeping potions in the martial arts world. It has a bitter taste when sprinkled in water, so when thieves in the martial arts world want to plot against someone, they will put it in strong liquor to mask the bitterness with the spiciness of the liquor.
The bitterness of this water was very mild, and ordinary people could hardly taste it, which showed that the medicinal effect had been diluted a lot. It was estimated that the soldiers would faint for about half an hour after drinking it, but their lives would not be in danger.
Could it be that the person who poisoned the grain transport team didn't intend to kill them...?
Mu Xu pretended to drink a few sips of water, and while Wu Dazui was delivering the water bucket, he said to the soldier next to him, "I'm going to relieve myself."
The soldier, feeling hot, pulled up his sleeve to fan himself and casually replied, "Go ahead."
Mu Xu walked around the carriage and, seeing that no one was paying attention, crawled under it.
A short while later, Wu Dazui returned and asked, "Where's Brother Mu?"
The soldier was about to respond when he suddenly started shaking his head.
Wu Dazui was so frightened that he grabbed the person he was holding, and before he could speak, he himself felt the world spinning around him...
In the blink of an eye, the once energetic convoy collapsed with a series of crashes.
Someone knew something terrible was about to happen and tried to draw his sword, but he only managed to draw it halfway...
Mu Xu lay prone under the car, gripping the dashboard, holding his breath.
Sure enough, a short while later, three or four soldiers ran up to the front of the convoy and whispered these words.
"Have they all fainted?"
"They all fainted. I saw it with my own eyes, and they almost all drank water."
"That's good. Quickly send a signal so our family can come and take the grain away."
They discussed it for a few minutes and then lit a firecracker.
The cannon shot straight into the air and exploded with a loud bang, clearly audible for miles around.
Soon, the sound of horses' hooves thundered, which Mu Xu, hiding under the carriage, heard very clearly.
But as he listened, his eyes widened in surprise.
Why are there two groups of people coming?
There were about two or three hundred people coming from the west.
The other team arrived from the north, all on fast horses and heavy cavalry!
The dozen or so traitorous soldiers waiting outside were even more surprised than Mu Xu when they saw the dust billowing from both directions!
I didn't hear that the people to meet them were supposed to come from two directions!
Moments later, the cavalry from the north arrived first, their banners bearing the large characters for "Northern Expedition," causing the troops coming from the west to immediately turn tail and flee.
Four or five traitorous soldiers cursed loudly and were about to run away.
Mu Xu couldn't wait any longer. He crawled out from under the cart, kicked one soldier to the ground, and then rushed out to strangle another soldier.
The heavy cavalry coming from the north split into two groups: one group went to chase the western group, and the other group headed straight for the caravan.
Li Laosi took the lead, running from the front of the convoy to the back. Seeing that there was no trace of blood, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
He had a bad feeling when he heard the cannon fire.
If he had waited another 15 minutes, until the grain carts were hijacked, he could have captured even more people.
But the grain transport team has hundreds of lives at stake, and they can't afford to lose any more.
They were all born of his parents, family members he thought about every day. He absolutely did not want them to be lost if possible...
Just then, a soldier transporting grain shouted from not far away, "Fourth Master, hurry and help! I've caught two traitors! They poisoned the well water at the village entrance!"
Li Laosi was about to step forward when his personal guard stopped him. "General, you mustn't! The entire grain transport team has fallen, but this kid is the only one who hasn't been affected. It might be a trap."
Li Laosi smiled and waved his hand, instructing, "Don't worry, they're family! Help him tie up the two traitors, and I'll interrogate them later."
Having said that, he spurred his horse forward and asked, "Mu Xu, why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Xindu?"
Seeing that the two traitors had been restrained and tied up, Mu Xu raised his hand to remove the disguise from his face and replied, "Last time the military rations were destroyed, the Second Master and Mr. Wen both suspected that there were traitors involved, so they asked me to help General Li Yong investigate."
"I guessed that this grain delivery would be another trap, so I came to see what would happen, and I was right."
At this moment, several soldiers who were binding the traitor suddenly cried out in alarm.
Two updates today!
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