Chapter 151 Encountering a Wolf
After dinner, Grandpa asked Jinsui and Jinan to go to bed first, saying that he had already had a nap and was not sleepy. He made a pot of strong tea and drank it with those who were also not going to sleep, chatting in low voices.
Jinsui knew that her grandfather had to keep watch all night, so she had to be on guard against others. She took the time to get some sleep so that she could take over from her grandfather.
Jinan also understood and said quickly, "Sister, just go to sleep. I'll get up in the middle of the night to watch over the carriage."
Jin Sui flicked his forehead and said, "Look at the carriage. What if you and the carriage are taken away together? Go to sleep! Children will not grow tall if they don't sleep well."
All the things in the carriage were packed into a corner and the quilt could barely be spread out, so there was still enough space for the brother and sister to lie down on it. Jin'an began to feel a little embarrassed and stayed away from her sister as much as possible.
But my sister is a girl, I can’t sleep next to her.
As a result, Jin Sui hugged him around the waist and said, "Aren't you cold? It's warmer if we hug each other."
Jin'an curled up motionless, smelling the fragrance of his sister and thinking of his mother involuntarily. It had been a long time since he had been held like this while sleeping.
His eyes were a little wet, and he was afraid that his sister would find out and laugh at him. He was too tired from traveling during the day, and the little guy fell asleep in a short while.
Jinsui listened to the even breathing of his brother in his arms, and then concentrated on the sound of his grandfather drinking tea outside. His mind was racing with thoughts of all kinds.
Border Town, Gu Changxiao, Jiangnan, Ling's father's case, what the future holds, and so on were all mixed up in a tangled mess, making her head ache and swelling. She just couldn't fall asleep, always half asleep and half awake, with a feeling of not knowing where she was.
Suddenly, she clearly heard a low roar, and a string in her head suddenly tightened. She sat up abruptly, and Jin'an in her arms rolled to the side and fell into a deep sleep.
Jin Sui hurriedly covered his brother with a blanket, took a crossbow loaded with an anesthetic needle and a fish oil firearm, and jumped off the carriage.
I saw that the grandfather and a group of men were all holding weapons, but unfortunately the weapons were not decent, some were sticks and some were stones.
The people who were originally sleeping woke up one after another, the children had their mouths covered by their mothers, and they all retreated to Jinsui's carriage.
People's instinctive reaction when encountering danger is to find shelter, and the only shelter in this forest is the carriage.
"Grandpa, what is it?"
Grandpa Ling straightened his hat and stared at the darkness outside the woods. "The wolves are really cunning. I felt something was there when I was drinking tea, but they waited until the dead of night to come out."
One person said with lingering fear: "We were sleeping outside the forest and were almost dragged away. Fortunately, my father-in-law reacted quickly and woke us up."
The growls of wolves could be heard intermittently. The humans and wolves were confronting each other, and everyone was adding firewood to the campfire, hoping that the fire would be bigger and scare away the wolves.
The wolves had been wandering outside the forest and didn't dare to rush in.
No one knew how much time had passed, but everyone's breathing was almost frozen by the cold night wind, and Jin Sui's arm holding the crossbow was numb. Now was not the time for her to show off her bravery.
She couldn't go and fight the wolves, and it wasn't safe to leave Grandpa and Jin'an behind either. It just depended on who would give up first, the human or the wolf.
At this moment, the woods outside suddenly became very quiet, so quiet that it was eerie, and the cold wind made people's hair and skin numb.
Then there was the painful groan of a wolf, the faint smell of blood was blown by the wind, the wolf king howled, and the sound of wolves running came from outside the woods, running into the distance.
The tense atmosphere in the woods disappeared, and the sounds of flying birds and small animals were heard. Jin Sui held up a torch and said, "The wolves have left. Come with me to take a look."
Grandpa Ling climbed onto the carriage tacitly to guard Jin'an. Jinsui, holding a torch in one hand and a crossbow in the other, led a dozen young men holding wooden sticks into the depths of the woods.
A wolf was covered in blood, with a branch stuck in its neck, piercing its aorta and almost draining all its blood.
Jinsui ordered his men to carry the wolf's body into the woods. Others couldn't explain why, but they couldn't help but listen to the words of the young man in front of them.
She and her grandfather seemed to have a natural convincing temperament.
"The wolves have already fled."
She was guessing the cause of the wolf's death, but everyone came to their own conclusion: "Thank God for the blessing! The wolf actually stabbed itself to death on a branch!"
Jinsui: ...What kind of branch can pierce through a wolf's skin by itself and happen to hit the aorta?
She glanced at her grandfather and saw him shaking his head slightly at her, so she didn't say anything else.
Everyone discussed cooking wolf meat. On such a cold night, boiling a pot of broth would not only drive away the cold, but also dispel the fear just now.
What's funny is that they can also blame King Li for this kind of thing: "No wonder everyone says Border Town is a good place. Look, the wolves in Border Town don't dare to eat people anymore!"
"It must be the shock of the Li King."
"Haha, I haven't tasted meat for half a year, and here I am eating wolf meat before I even reach the border town!"
The more they talked, the happier they became. The children no longer felt sleepy and were looking forward to sharing the meat.
They peeled off the wolf skin and two wolf teeth and insisted on giving them to Grandpa Ling. Grandpa Ling laughed and said that he did nothing and he did not kill the wolf, so he could not take them.
It would be better to take it to the border town and sell it, and then we can share the money.
Those sleeping on the periphery hurriedly said, "If it weren't for the father-in-law calling us, we would have been taken away by the wolf. We have nothing to repay you with, so we must keep this wolf skin!"
Grandpa Ling had no choice but to roll up the wolfskin and put it on the roof of the carriage, ready to nitrate it when he had time.
The pot had been set up to cook the wolf meat. Jin Sui quietly took a bag of salt and gave it to Grandpa Ling, asking him to add it to the broth. He then returned to the carriage and continued to sleep.
She recalled the death of the wolf and had a vague guess in her mind.
For a moment, he didn't know whether to say whether he was angry or heartbroken, and then he laughed at himself: "You've been driven out of the border town, do you still think he will remember the old friendship? Anything can happen, don't panic, Jin'an and Grandpa still need your protection!"
Jin Sui kept her eyes open and stared at the roof of the car until dawn, and a plan formed in her mind.
It was light enough to continue the journey, so Grandpa Ling got in the car and went to sleep, while Jinsui drove further south. With the friendship of the night of hunting wolves, everyone who woke up waved goodbye to them.
The big pot of stewed wolf meat was still emitting smoke. The morning mist was rising, and the vision was limited. The carriage soon disappeared on the official road, as if it had driven into a canvas.
The strangers who met overnight each embarked on their own journey, heading towards the paradise chosen by fate.
Jinan woke up and got up carefully without disturbing Grandpa. She put on thick clothes, a crooked hat and crawled to Jinsui's side, apologetically saying, "Sister, I overslept."
Jin Sui laughed: "Fortunately you didn't wake up, otherwise I would have been so scared that I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night."
After hearing Jinsui's story about encountering a wolf last night, Jinan regretted not waking up and told Jinsui to wake him up if such a thing happened again next time.
When the mist gradually dissipated and the view became clear, Jinsui stopped the carriage and went to the woods to relieve herself, taking the mat that her grandfather had specially prepared for her.
Grandpa Ling was very considerate and worried that his granddaughter would have trouble on the road, so he put two ropes in front of an old mat. As long as he rolled it between two trees and tied the ropes, it would become a temporary toilet.
Jinsui tied the rope and entered the space. He washed up, changed his underwear, boiled water to make two bowls of cereal, cooked a few eggs, and took a few energy bars. It was a simple breakfast.
Carrying the mat and breakfast back to the car, Jinan didn't ask anything and ate whatever was given.
This is what Grandpa had repeatedly told him. When your sister takes food on the road, don't ask where it comes from. Just eat it! Brother Heihu also told him not to ask, because if he asked, the prince would not give it to him.
Grandpa slept until almost noon, stopped the car and cooked a pot of stewed soup with noodles. After the three of them ate, Grandpa asked Jinsui to go to sleep and he continued driving.
They ran like this for three days and finally ran out of Yanzhou.
Neither the Zheng family nor the Yan family sent anyone to chase them. The three of them were relieved. The journey ahead was still very hurried. Only when they completely left Yandi could they walk slowly.
After finishing the stew, they happened to pass by a small town, and Grandpa Ling suggested going into the town to buy some fresh vegetables and meat. He continued to stew a pot of stew for later use.
Jin Sui readily agreed, as the town was very busy and the streets were too narrow for the carriage to pass through.
Jinsui stayed in the carriage to look after the luggage, while Grandpa took Jinan into the town to buy things.
About half an hour later, a peasant girl wearing thick cotton clothes approached the carriage and asked Jinsui for directions with a smile.
Suddenly she twisted her foot and fell in front of the carriage, covering her face and crying.
Jinsui hurriedly got out of the car and helped her back in. After applying some simple medicine, the woman limped away.
Soon Grandpa Ling came back with Jin'an, and Taoist Little Ji, wearing a strange eye mask, a large wide-brimmed hat and a scarf, came out of the car and continued driving south.
It was another two peaceful days, but for some reason, Taoist Master Xiao Ji was either driving or resting in the carriage and rarely showed up.
We were lucky that night as we passed by a land temple. It was quite large, with three main rooms and a very wide porch that could accommodate carriages and horses.
The three of them went into the temple to light a fire, cook and rest. In the darkness where no one was noticing, a young man folded his arms, yawned and stared at the dilapidated temple.
The boy didn't notice anything unusual.
However, they didn't know that at an inn about ten miles away from the ruined temple, a young girl wearing an old farmer's coat and a wide-brimmed animal skin hat, covering her face, asked for a large bunk bed for ten cents, which was also the cheapest bed in the inn.
The girl did not attract any attention at all. She was just like the other passers-by, low-key, poor, and timid. She did not dare to speak to the postman. She huddled on the long bunk with her head lowered, holding her simple bag.
In the unknown darkness, the girl opened her eyes. Anyone who had been to the border town and looked at her with a flashlight would be surprised to find that this girl looked so much like the King of Li!
That’s right, the girl lying in the post station at this moment is the real Jinsui.
This was her and Grandpa Ling's plan. That day in the town, Grandpa Ling took Jin'an to buy things, but in fact he was looking for a man with a similar body shape to her to impersonate her.
The man just needs to know how to drive, and the other thing he needs to do is dress up as a woman and get close to the carriage.
As long as the money offered is enough, the young men in the town are very willing to take the job.
Grandpa Ling didn't have time to choose carefully, so he chose the coachman's son and gave him a deposit of three taels of silver. The other seven taels of silver would be returned to the coachman's son after the matter was settled.
It was agreed that he would only be hired for three days and would be paid ten taels of silver, which was equivalent to a rickshaw driver's annual income. The father and son immediately agreed.
Tonight is the third night. Tomorrow the coachman’s son will show up. Those who follow them secretly will see that he is not the fake King Li at all.
Either he will choose to ask in person or investigate secretly. No matter which one he chooses, Grandpa Ling has a way to deal with it.
The real Jinsui changed back into women's clothes and quietly followed Grandpa Ling. No one would believe that the King of Li was a woman.
Once Jinsui buys another carriage and lets Grandpa Ling abandon the old one, they will be able to completely get rid of the people following them.
This plan was very rough, but Jin Sui had to think of this on a whim.
When Jinsui saw the gray wolf's corpse that night, he was sure that someone was following them secretly.
She didn't think deeply about whether this person came to protect them and help them leave Yan area safely, or planned to silence them, or keep a close eye on their whereabouts.
No matter which one it is, I don't need it if it's for protection, I can't stand it if it's for controlling whereabouts. If it's to kill me, haha, then we'll fight with swords, who's afraid of who! She can't follow too closely, otherwise she will be discovered. She can't be too far away, otherwise it's easy to fall behind.
After reconfirming the itinerary with Grandpa Ling, tonight was just as they had expected. She would stay at the post station while Grandpa Ling would stay at the land temple not far away.
Tomorrow morning, when Taoist Xiao Ji shows up, the people who have been following him secretly will surely be shocked.
In the darkness, Jinsui smiled.
But Jin'an and Grandpa can’t have her special breakfast these two days. I wonder if they miss her?
As she gradually fell asleep, she had no idea that things were going to be more complicated than she had expected.
In the land temple, cold wind poured in through the shabby windows. Grandpa Ling was afraid that the wind would blow towards Jin'an, so he used an old mat from the car to block it.
He took down the animal skin blanket and made it into a bed for Jin'an. The driver's son looked at him with envy: "Master Ji, you are so kind to your grandson."
Grandpa Ling said with a smile: "After traveling around for most of my life, I only have this one grandson and one granddaughter left. How can I not treat them well?"
The young man was very curious and bold, and could not help but say, "You asked me to dress up as a girl and get on the bus to replace your granddaughter. Fortunately, I covered my face, otherwise I would be embarrassed."
Grandpa Ling was surprised: "What do you mean?"
The driver's son slapped his thigh and said, "Your granddaughter is so pretty! I have never seen such a pretty girl in Yandi!
I'm ugly when I dress up as a girl, how can I change it? If anyone takes one more look at me, I'll be exposed."
Grandpa Ling laughed. His granddaughter had been playing the role of the ruthless king for so long, and he called her all kinds of names, such as a scoundrel, a reincarnated monkey, and barbaric and rude...
Every time he heard it, he would think, "My granddaughter is so beautiful!" What do you vulgar people know? Now that he heard the driver's son's generous praise, Grandpa Ling was naturally happy.
"Mr. Ji, when will your granddaughter catch up with us? Do you want to hire me as a coachman? I will take you to Jiangnan."
Grandpa Ling glanced at him and said, "Boy, your heart is written all over your face! Don't you just want to take this opportunity to talk to my Sui Sui? You wish!"
Grandpa Ling handed him the baked bun and tried to shut him up: "As agreed, you will walk out of this temple and go home directly after daybreak."
"Your father is still waiting for you to bring back the silver! I don't need you as a coachman anymore."
After saying that, Grandpa Ling gave another warning: "Don't forget our agreement..."
The driver's son hurriedly said, "I know, I know. You can't tell anyone about this. If anyone asks, just say I was a hitchhiker and I don't know where your eldest grandson went."
"Master Ji, you have said it eight hundred times. My father and I remember it clearly."
Grandpa Ling sighed softly: "This is also for your own good." Alas, I hope things go as smoothly as planned.
Looking at the young man chewing steamed bun with big mouthfuls, Grandpa Ling felt sorry for him. He had no idea what incident he was involved in. He just felt very happy and proud that he had earned ten taels of silver in three days.
"I haven't asked yet, what's your full name?"
The driver's son laughed, his rough skin looking dark red under the firelight:
"My name is Lu Ming, Master Ji, just call me Xiao Lu."
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