Chapter 62
When Fan Changyu woke up, he felt pain all over his body.
What she saw was a patched bed curtain. She half sat up, propped up her right arm, and looked around the small room. The low walls were made of loess, and the drafty places were nailed up with wooden boards. The only square table and two benches in the room were so old that they had worm holes in them.
She remembered that she was pushed into the water by the bandit leader before she lost consciousness. Was she rescued by someone?
Fan Changyu looked down at the clothes on her body. They were not her own. The wounds on her body had been bandaged and her dislocated hand had been reattached.
She stood up, holding on to the old bedpost, and her back and waist were strained, causing her to grimace in pain.
Fan Changyu thought to himself that his waist was not injured, so why did it hurt so much? Could it be that he had bumped into something during the fight and didn't notice it at the time?
After experiencing so many unexpected events, she instinctively looked for her boning knife for self-defense as soon as she got off the ground. When she found the knife and the pair of deerskin wrist guards that Yan Zheng had given her on the stool beside the bed, she heaved a sigh of relief.
Her fingertips brushed across the smooth and tough leather surface of the wristband. She lowered her eyes and was about to tie it around her right hand, when she suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside.
Fan Changyu's expression changed, and he immediately walked to the door, sticking to the wall, and looked out through the half-inch-wide gap in the shabby wooden door.
It looked like a small farmyard outside. Two soldiers in armor and carrying swords stood under the eaves. The one who strode into the yard was also a soldier.
Fan Changyu looked slightly relieved. It seemed that she was rescued by the officers and soldiers who were chasing the wooden boat on the shore that day.
I just don't know why I'm staying here.
"Marquis... Is the master here? The officers and soldiers from the Fuzhou Prefecture have been searching here and they can't hold on any longer..." the officer who entered the courtyard said in a low voice.
Fan Changyu's worries were lifted again. Aren't they soldiers from the Fuzhou Prefecture? Why did they want to stop their own people?
Another soldier guarding the courtyard said, "There's news from Yansong Mountain that the master has gone to question him. You take the people to guard the mountain pass first, and I'll report to the master when he comes back."
The soldier who came to deliver the message left quickly again.
Fan Changyu leaned against the door, and became alert.
I don't know who the master they are talking about is.
But they were dressed as military officers, and they seemed to be at odds with the government in Jizhou... Could it be that they were bandits in disguise?
This realization gave Fan Changyu a chill.
Just then, two soldiers outside the door were chatting, and one of them said, "We should not stay here for long. If we run into people from the Jizhou Prefecture, our master's identity will be exposed. When our master comes back, we should leave regardless of whether the woman inside is awake or not."
Another person exclaimed in astonishment: "I see that the master is very concerned about that woman. Last night, she had a convulsion and the master was afraid that she would bite her tongue, so he let her hold her finger in her mouth. There is a big bloody tooth mark on her index finger!"
Fan Changyu was still impressed by the nightmare he had last night. When he heard them say that he had bitten the master they were talking about, he couldn't help but frown.
She wanted to eavesdrop on some more information when she suddenly heard the sound of a bamboo stick tapping on the ground outside the door. She looked towards the crack in the door and saw a blind old woman with gray hair walking out from under the eaves.
The officer and soldier guarding the door asked, "What's wrong, old man?"
The old woman held a pile of clothes in her arms and said with a gentle smile, "I have dried the clothes that your young mistress fell into the water yesterday and I am going to give them to her."
When the soldier heard this, he seemed to be concerned about the difference between men and women and did not say that he would take it in for him. He stepped aside and said, "You can go in."
When the old woman staggered into the room tapping with a wooden stick to find her way, Fan Changyu had already quietly and quickly retreated to the bed, kicked off his shoes, lay down on the bed, and pretended not to wake up yet.
After the old woman entered the room, she groped her way to the bedside and put down her clothes. She tucked in the quilt for Fan Changyu, and then felt the temperature on her forehead. She said to herself, "My dear girl, you are finally no longer feverish. How come you and your husband encountered bandits on the boat? You suffered a lot. Fortunately, you have a considerate husband..."
After mumbling for a while, he fumbled to the brazier and added two pieces of firewood before closing the door and going out.
The officers and soldiers guarding outside glanced inside when the old woman entered the room, and saw a bulge on the bed. They thought that Fan Changyu had not woken up yet, so they looked away and continued to stand guard.
As soon as the door closed, Fan Changyu opened his eyes.
After hearing what the old woman said, she became more and more certain that these people were definitely not government soldiers. Since they were government soldiers who saved her, why would they pretend to have met bandits on the boat and pretend to be husband and wife with her?
As for the master mentioned by the two minions outside the house, Fan Changyu subconsciously thought of Sui Yuanqing.
That guy was originally a rebel against the king. After being injured by Yan Zheng, he fled to the river and was rescued by people from Qingfeng Village. Now he is leading this group of bandits and pretending to be soldiers. Who knows what bad things he is planning!
The officers and soldiers from the Jizhou Prefecture were nearby, so she had to find a way to kill them and report the news.
Fan Changyu didn't know how many bandits were outside, so she didn't dare to act rashly. After thinking for a while, she flattened her wrist guard and put it in her pocket like a breastplate. She also tied the boning knife to her leg and covered it with her skirt. Then she got out of bed and kicked over a bench in the room, pretending that she had fallen.
The person guarding the door pushed it open in an instant. Inside the room, Fan Changyu was holding the table with one hand, looking like he was about to fall down. He said with a pale face, "I'm going to the toilet."
One of the officers and soldiers said casually: "There is a night pot in the corner of the room..."
His companion elbowed him, and he realized that there was a girl in the room after all, and that she was the favorite of their Lord. His words were a bit vulgar, so he shut up immediately.
Fan Changyu pretended to be in pain and anxious: "Master Jun, my stomach hurts."
This problem could not be solved in the house. The two soldiers did not care why Fan Changyu suddenly had a stomachache when she woke up. She was also the one favored by their own marquis, so they did not dare to step forward to help her. They could only call the old woman and ask her to help support Fan Changyu to the toilet.
The old woman's thatched hut was built behind the house. Fan Changyu was supported by her to take a walk outside, just to find out how many bandits were in and outside the yard, but he unexpectedly found that there were only two at the door.
This is much easier.
When Fan Changyu was supported by the old woman and was returning to his room, he passed by the eaves and punched the soldier on his right without any warning. The soldier was stunned on the spot. With two streams of blood hanging from his nose, he looked at Fan Changyu blankly, and the next moment he fell to the ground and couldn't get up.
The soldier on the left was stunned and didn't have time to say a word. There was an old woman between him and Fan Changyu. Fearing that he would hurt the old woman, Fan Changyu directly snatched the bamboo stick from the old woman's hand and swept it hard against the soldier's neck, breaking the bamboo stick into two pieces. The soldier also fainted.
The old woman stood there blankly, looking confused: "What's wrong?"
Fan Changyu didn't know when Sui Yuanqing and the other bandits would come back. Although she did everything quickly, her palms were still sweating. She half-knelt in front of the old woman and said, "These people are bad guys, and the man who brought me here is not my husband. Mother-in-law, please lie on my back and I will take you away."
The old woman was so frightened that she was a little worried when she lay on Fan Changyu's back: "Young lady, one of your hands is dislocated. How can you carry my old bones?"
The old woman was very thin, so Fan Changyu had no problem carrying her on his back with one hand. After she left the house, he quickly took a look at the terrain and said, "Just hold on to my shoulders."
The snow on the road had not melted yet, and it wasn't snowing anymore, so it was difficult to cover up the traces left on the snow.
In order to avoid being caught, he had to find someone from the Jizhou government before the bandits caught up.
Fan Changyu remembered that the officers and soldiers had talked about guarding the mountain pass, so he thought the officers and soldiers from Fuzhou Prefecture were there.
She asked the old woman, "Grandma, which is the shortest way to the mountain pass?"
Fortunately, although the old woman was blind, she was very familiar with the roads near her home. She said, "Go west along the road in front of the door, and take the middle road when you reach the fork in the road."
Fan Changyu knew the way and almost jogged along with the old woman on his back.
-
The scouts came to report the suppression of bandits in Yansong Mountain. To avoid unnecessary complications, Xie Zheng took them out to discuss the matter in the courtyard of the old woman's house.
When he came back, he saw that the two bodyguards guarding the yard were knocked unconscious. His face changed, and when he opened the door and found that the room was empty, he thought that Fan Changyu had been kidnapped by someone, and his eyes instantly turned cold.
A personal guard who followed Xie Zheng out saw that there was no blood on the ground, so he squatted down to feel the breathing of his two companions, and hurriedly reported to Xie Zheng: "Master, they are still breathing!"
As he spoke, he pressed hard on the philtrum of one of his companions.
The bodyguard named Fan Changyu, who was knocked unconscious by the stick, woke up slowly. When he saw Xie Zheng standing in front of him with a gloomy face, he was so scared that he knelt down immediately and said, "My Lord, I deserve to die!"
Xie Zheng looked at the broken bamboo stick on the steps, and his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of frost.
No one has ever dared to rob anyone under his nose.
All the main roads leading here were blocked by his men, so in order not to disturb the old woman, he only brought three bodyguards with him.
Who on earth had the ability to sneak in without being seen by the cavalry at the mountain pass?
There was a hint of anger in his eyes: "Who kidnapped her?"
The bodyguard said miserably: "It was that girl who knocked us out."
Xie Zheng was startled, his handsome eyebrows wrinkled, and he asked in a strange way: "Why did she knock you out?"
The guard said, "I don't know. The girl said she had a stomachache when she woke up. I saw she was weak, so I asked the old woman to take her to the toilet. But when she came back, she suddenly punched Anzi and knocked him unconscious. She also grabbed the bamboo stick from the old woman and knocked me unconscious."
The guard who followed Xie Zheng out checked several rooms and came out and said, "The old woman is gone too."
After a moment's thought, Xie Zheng realized that Fan Changyu must have misunderstood something and mistook them for bad guys, which was why he took the old woman with him and ran away.
He asked, "What happened in the yard while I was away?"
The guard who was knocked unconscious by Fan Changyu thought for a moment and said, "The scouts at the mountain pass came to report that the soldiers from the Jizhou Prefecture were trying to search the mountain again, but you were out at the time, so I took the initiative to let them continue to guard the mountain and not let the soldiers from the Jizhou Prefecture enter the mountain."
Xie Zheng lowered his eyes and whispered, "So that's how it is."
She must have woken up at that time and found that the people in the yard were wearing military uniforms, but they were not from the same faction as the officers and soldiers of Fuzhou Prefecture, so she mistakenly thought they were bandits.
At this moment, another scout came riding up the path, rolled off his horse, half-knelt on the ground, clasped his fists and said, "Sir, the girl you rescued yesterday is carrying an old woman down the mountain. Do you want to stop her?"
Xie Zheng raised his eyes and looked at the snow-covered mountains without saying a word.
In order to wipe out the remnants of the bandits who fled to Yansong Mountain, most of the 100 light cavalry he brought were sent to Yansong Mountain.
He had rushed back this time because he thought she was in danger. Now she is safe, the war on the front line is urgent, and Li Huaian, a pair of clear-minded eyes, has appeared in Luzhou. He really shouldn't stay any longer.
He said, "Withdraw the troops guarding the mountain pass and return to Lucheng."
The scout received the order and mounted his horse to deliver the message.
Several guards in the courtyard rested for a while, and then went to the pine forest not far away to lead a few war horses.
When Xie Zheng climbed onto his horse, he glanced in the direction of the mountain, feeling somewhat unwilling. He put on a half-skin mask that he had prepared when he led the troops to the source, and said to several guards, "You guys retreat first, I'll be back soon."
Yan Ji had already pulled the reins and ran down the mountain, leaving several bodyguards looking at each other in bewilderment.
-
Fan Changyu was walking on the road with the old woman on his back when he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the mountain. He didn't know whether it was bandits pretending to be soldiers or real soldiers from the Jizhou Prefecture. After weighing the pros and cons, he temporarily hid in the pine forest beside the road with the old woman on his back.
To be on the safe side, Fan Changyu said to the old woman, "Grandma, please hide in this forest and don't make any noise. I'll go out and take a look. If it's really someone from the government, I'll come back to pick you up."
The old woman grabbed Fan Changyu's hand and repeatedly told her to be careful.
Fan Changyu took the branch and retreated out of the woods, brushing away the footprints she left behind. When she reached the main road and was about to check whether there were any soldiers at the mountain pass ahead, she suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves behind her.
This time the sound of horse hooves was very monotonous, sounding like only one horse, but it came incredibly fast.
Just as Fan Changyu was about to charge into the pine forest, the man and the horse appeared in his sight.
Fan Changyu was afraid that if he led this man into the pine forest to look for him, he would accidentally find the old woman. He thought that since there was only one person, he might be able to subdue him if he tried his best. So he gritted his teeth and continued to run forward.
The official road along the mountain is rugged and you can even see the foot of the mountain from halfway up the mountain.
When Fan Changyu discovered that there was indeed a group of soldiers with the flag of the Northern Wei Dynasty coming up the mountain on the official road at the foot of the mountain, he was almost overjoyed and shouted as he ran, "Help!"
The soldiers from Jizhou at the foot of the mountain heard the sound and looked up the mountainside. Soon someone responded to her: "Don't be afraid, girl. I'm here to bring people to rescue you!"
Only then did Fan Changyu see that among the large group of officers and soldiers, there was a man in a sky-blue Confucian robe. He was the young man who had kindly given him a ride that day.
This scene of two people looking at each other from a distance was really jarring to Xie Zheng who was riding over.
He had a scarred leather mask on his face, covering one eye, so even familiar people would have difficulty recognizing him.
Although he was only a few feet away from Fan Changyu, he bit the horse's belly hard. When the warhorse rushed over, he reached out to lift the man onto the horse's back.
Fan Changyu reacted very quickly. After dodging his grabbing hand, he did not take the main road and slid directly down the steep slope on the side of the Panshan official road.
The next section of the winding mountain road is at the bottom of this steep slope, which is faster than riding a horse around in a circle.
But she never expected that the fake soldier chasing her would actually abandon his horse and slide down with her.
The author has something to say:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
