The horse's hooves splashed mud from a shallow puddle by the roadside, covering the old woman. Huan'er, seeing this, turned and angrily berated her, "Who is this person? Are they blind? Riding a horse so fast, aren't they afraid of hitting someone? Hey..."
As she shouted, she saw that the man and horse were getting further and further away, showing no intention of stopping to apologize. Huan'er angrily glanced sideways, then bent down to pick up a pebble from the roadside, glanced ahead briefly, and then threw it hard at the rump of a horse behind them.
On weekdays, her hard-working vegetable garden is often visited by some roaming chickens that like to wander around looking for insects, which has made her a skilled chicken hunter. Countless times, she has been able to send those proud and arrogant chickens limping and fleeing in panic with just a clod of dirt.
Sure enough, not long after the pebble flew out, the sound of horses neighing rang out in the night sky.
"Hahaha...hahaha...you blind beast who followed your blind master around recklessly, today I'll let you taste my pebble missiles." Huan'er covered her mouth and immediately bent over laughing.
The old woman took out a handkerchief and, using the moonlight, wiped the dirt off her clothes a couple of times. Then she hurried over and pulled Huan'er back, saying worriedly, "Huan'er, don't be naughty! Lately, many strangers have come to the village one after another, and there are probably more to come. It seems that something big is about to happen in the world. Perhaps it's time for us, mistress and servant, to leave!"
Upon hearing this, Huan'er's smile froze instantly. She stared blankly at the old woman's face, surprised and puzzled, and said, "Leave? We've been living here for the past eight years, haven't we been doing well? Why do we want to leave?"
The old woman glanced around, gazing at the magnificent and tranquil landscape under the night sky. She then said meaningfully, "Life has four inevitable aspects: coming is accidental, going is inevitable, do what is right, and go with the flow. With its clear breeze and bright moon, beautiful rivers and mountains, ten miles of peach blossoms, and seclusion from the world, this place truly is a place to wash away worldly cares, to see through the vicissitudes of life, and to forget the troubles of the world. Eight years have passed in the blink of an eye, and now I must leave, which is very difficult for me. But I cannot allow this land to be trampled by horses' hooves and innocent people to be constantly harassed because of us..."
Before the old woman could finish speaking, Huan'er interrupted her anxiously, saying, "Those strong men in red won't come back. The King of Qin is personally leading the charge, and this time he will definitely capture them all."
The old woman gazed into Huan'er's large, innocent, watery eyes, sighed, and gently stroked her hair, saying, "Silly child, even without the Xiaolong Society, there will be other societies, gangs, and factions in the future. As long as this continent remains ununified, more and more ambitious people in various countries will rise up in rebellion, and the people will forever live in constant fear and misery. Do you understand?"
Upon hearing this, Huan'er was speechless and silently lowered her head, looking thoughtful and solemn.
The old woman gently shook her head, took the bamboo basket off Huan'er's arm, and dragged Huan'er forward as she said, "Since we can't hide from the world, let's go back and face it. It's time to visit our old friends and settle the score from eight years ago!"
Huan'er followed the old woman's footsteps, pouting and muttering in confusion, "Madam, what are you saying? Huan'er doesn't understand?"
"Huan'er, don't you want to see the outside world?" the old woman asked Huan'er with a faint smile.
"I..." Huan'er seemed to have some unspoken concerns, perhaps she herself couldn't quite put her finger on it. Maybe it was because her parents' graves were here, at least she could go and confide in them whenever she was happy or sad; or perhaps she still wanted to wait for the handsome young man who had saved her from danger to return; or perhaps...
Seeing that Huan'er remained silent for a long time, the old woman deliberately probed, "You don't mean you want to stay here, do you? Very well, then I will entrust you to the care of the old clan chief..."
Upon hearing this, Huan'er suddenly came to her senses, rushed forward to block the old woman's path, and excitedly blurted out: "Huan'er's life was saved by the old lady. Wherever the old lady goes, Huan'er will go. Huan'er doesn't want to stay here. The old lady doesn't want to leave Huan'er alone."
The old woman immediately turned her head away, covering her mouth, a slight upturn at one corner of her lips, a secret joy in her heart. Then, she said to her seriously, "Huan'er, I know you can't bear to part with your parents. But they are dead. You should start making your own plans and living your own life again. Answer me honestly, are you still waiting for that Young Master Lu?"
Huan'er, who thought she had always carefully treasured her girlish secrets, was suddenly exposed like this. Completely flustered and unsure how to respond, she lowered her head, blushing, and stammered, "Madam, I..."
The old woman gently took Huan'er's pair of jade-like hands, examined them for a moment, and said, "You were raised by me, how could I not know your thoughts? In two years, it will indeed be time for you to get married, and I still want to find you a good home. Don't worry, you will definitely see him again. But... I hope you won't be disappointed then. Sometimes, what we see is not necessarily the truth. This is probably true for people and things."
Hearing this, Huan'er immediately perked up, quickly took the bamboo basket from the old woman's arm, and said with a joyful expression, "Let Huan'er do it. Huan'er doesn't ask for anything, as long as I can see that young master again, Huan'er will be content!"
The old woman pursed her lips and gave a helpless, faint smile to the girl's face, which had instantly transformed from a wilted cucumber to its original chattering magpie-like expression. As she continued to walk with the girl's support, she instructed her, "But there's something I must make clear to you. Outside, the relationships between people are not as simple as they are here. There are many wolves and tigers out there who will devour people, leaving not even bones behind. If you don't control your impetuous nature and cause trouble, I will really send you back here, and you will never be allowed to step out of this village again."
Huan'er innocently shook her head and said in a coquettish tone, "With the old lady here, Huan'er will listen to everything the old lady says and will definitely restrain her sharpness, just like when she faced the King of Qin's questioning today. She will never say anything she shouldn't say, even if it means death!"
Finally, the old woman made her decision: "Alright, let's decide on this then. There's still some time, so you should prepare yourself. Gather all my medical books and other useful items and give them to the old clan chief. Ask him to find some diligent and promising young men in the village to take over, so they can help more villagers in the future. After Ruoxi returns from the Xiaolong Society, we'll go to the City God Temple together to see Master Xuankong, and then we'll set off back to the capital."
"Back to the capital? Does the old woman mean we'll soon see the magnificent, glittering palace?" Huan'er's eyes lit up with surprise.
The old woman nodded to him, her face clearly lacking Huan'er's anticipation and joy, instead filled with a deep and unfathomable melancholy. As she slowly strolled along, she looked up and saw the dim light in front of her house. She truly wished she could live out her remaining years here peacefully and carefree, oblivious to the world's troubles. Unfortunately, life's events are always so unsatisfactory, coming and going so quickly and unexpectedly.
So she sighed deeply and urged Huan'er, who was already full of anticipation and excitement and had unknowingly fallen far behind and started to make plans in her heart, "Go back quickly, it's getting late!"
"Yes, Huan'er is coming!" Huan'er, carrying the bamboo basket, finally snapped out of her daze, took a couple of steps forward, and happily skipped after the old woman back home...
Meanwhile, Long En, along with Yi Sanshao and Mei Zhixuan, galloped away on horseback under the moonlight, already outside the southern suburbs of the city. They were getting closer and closer to Peach Blossom Village.
For some reason, Long En felt uneasy the whole way.
Is it because this huge sum of ill-gotten gains came too suddenly and seems unreal? Or is it because something is about to happen within the Snapdragon organization?
But he knew very well that the two people chasing him closely behind were definitely not easy to deal with.
On the way, he tried many ways to get rid of these two stubborn leeches, but he couldn't get rid of them at all, so he became even more frustrated and anxious.
"Hey, how far is it from Peach Blossom Village? Are you trying to pull some trick on us again under the cover of darkness?" This was the umpteenth time that Young Master Yi had warned him from behind.
It's true what they say, "The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is." Of all the people on this journey, he talked the most. Long En couldn't wait for him to disappear from his sight, so he yelled at him in a bad mood, "We're almost there, what's the rush? You know, 'haste makes waste,' right?"
"You'd better behave yourself and not try anything funny. Otherwise, I'll make sure you suffer a terrible fate," Young Master Yi said, his tone revealing extreme impatience, arrogance, and provocation.
"Whoa!" No sooner had he finished speaking than Long En suddenly reined in his horse and stopped it by the roadside.
Young Master Yi and Mei Zhixuan exchanged a surprised glance, then shouted at Long En ahead, "What are you doing? Why did you stop here?"
As Long En slowly dismounted, he said angrily, "I've tolerated you for a long time. If you continue to nag like this, this deal is off. You can go find yourselves in the village!"
"you……"
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