Five days later.

The Western Regions of the Han Dynasty, near Qingshan County.

Amid the howling cold wind, a caravan moved slowly forward on the hard frozen ground. A man wrapped in thick clothes squinted his eyes and looked into the distance. Under the dim setting sun, the outline of a city was getting closer and closer.

"This damn weather...it's so freezing." The man couldn't help cursing as he held a heater in his arms.

"Hold on a little longer! Qingshan County is just ahead!"

"After this trip, everyone can enjoy a few days of peace and quiet. There are beauties, fine wines and delicious food. Qingshan County has everything!"

The man shouted as he quickened his pace towards the city-state. At this moment, a voice came from beside him:

"Brother, is there someone lying in the snow over there?"

The man was stunned and looked in the direction his finger pointed. He saw a vague figure in the snow not far away. He didn't know whether the figure was dead or unconscious, and he didn't know whether he was dead or unconscious.

"Where did this beggar come from? It's so cold, and he dares to beg outside wearing so little. He must be frozen to death." The man snorted coldly, "You guys go and check whether he is alive or dead. If he is still breathing, take him into the city with you. It will be considered a good deed."

Several figures ran quickly into the snow. One of them took a breath, then carried him on his back and hurried over here.

"Brother, she's still alive, and she's a girl."

"She's lucky. Throw her on the cargo wagon."

Several people immediately threw the figure onto the carriage, and as the caravan bumped along, they entered Qingshan County together.

The caravan walked through the streets with ease, found someone to take over and unload the goods. Soon the carriage was empty, leaving only the figure lying alone on the wooden board, as if dead.

"Brother, what should I do with her?"

The man sighed, walked up to her with the heater in his arms, and looked at her carefully.

The woman was wearing a tattered blue dress, with wounds that had frozen into scabs all over her body. Her bloodstained black hair was scattered messily on her face, and her features could not be seen at all. If it were not for the wisps of white air wafting out of her nose, she would have looked like a corpse in the wild.

The man reached out his hand with some disgust and patted her cheek. Her eyelashes covered with ice and snow trembled slightly and opened a gap weakly.

"Hey, can you still move? If you can, just walk away." The man took out a few pieces of silver from his pocket and stuffed them into her hands. "We have done everything we can. If we have to die, we must not die here. It is not easy for us to be merchants outside. Please don't bring bad luck to us."

The woman supported herself on the wooden board with both hands, staggered to her feet, and glanced around blankly:

"Where is this?"

"Qingshan County."

"Qingshan County..." She murmured the name, and a hint of clarity emerged in her cloudy eyes, "City-state? You brought me into the city?"

"Yes, you fainted in the snow outside the city. If it weren't for my brother's kindness, you would have been frozen to death!" said a figure.

She frowned immediately, gritted her teeth and dragged herself towards the city gate. A few pieces of silver fell from her arms to the ground, making a crisp sound. Even so, she never looked down.

"Hiss, are you sick? My brother gave you the money out of pity for you, why are you so ungrateful?"

The man was about to chase after her, but the man stopped him with his hand, shook his head and said, "This woman is a lunatic, let her be... Come on, brothers! I'll treat you to a drink in the market!"

"Okay!"

The crowd walked away in cheers. After they were completely gone, the woman lowered her head and took out a white alchemy pot from her arms. She took a look inside and her expression relaxed.

She looked at the sky again, gritted her teeth, held on to the wall, and walked towards the city gate without looking back.

As she approached the city gate, several figures ran in from the gate, speaking in surprise as they ran:

"The Champion Marquis is here! The Champion Marquis is here from Chang'an!"

The voices of these people immediately attracted the attention of many people on the street. They immediately gathered on both sides of the street and turned to look in the direction of the city gate, as if they all wanted to see what the legendary Champion Marquis looked like.

"Champion Marquis..." the woman muttered to herself.

She grabbed the old lady passing by and asked in confusion, "Auntie... who is this Champion Marquis?"

"Oh, don't you know about Guanjun Hou?" The old woman said with her hands dancing while holding the vegetable basket. "I heard that Guanjun Hou is the reincarnation of a star general, with the power of miracles. In his early years, he led his army to defeat the Xiongnu. I heard that he showed his divine power in Chang'an a few days ago, killed many evil spirits, and even created a chasm in the sky...

In short, he is the most powerful god in the world today!"

Hearing this, the woman's eyes lit up slightly, and then quickly dimmed...

"No... that thing also exists in the world... Who knows if it is real?" After hesitating for a moment, the woman sighed.

Just as she turned around and was about to leave, two carriages drove into the street from outside the city gate. The words "Marquis' Mansion" were printed on the carriages. The moment the people on both sides of the street saw the two carriages, they cheered.

But the two carriages didn't seem to have any intention of stopping. The cold wind blew the woman's tattered clothes and whistled past her.

She turned her head to look at the shadows of the two carriages leaving, shook her head, and continued walking out of the city.

"Hey, girl!" The old woman held her hand and asked with concern, "Looking at you, you haven't eaten for several days, right?"

"……Um."

"You look pitiful...why don't you come with me? I have some food at home and I can share some with you."

The woman stopped and touched her shriveled belly, seeming to be a little moved.

"Forget it, Auntie. I have to get out of town quickly..."

"It's just a bite to eat. It won't take you too long... From the looks of you, you're going to hurry on, right? How can you stay here without eating?"

"Well, all right then."

At the old woman's cordial invitation, the woman followed her and turned back to walk towards the city.

"Girl, what brings you to Qingshan County?"

"It's okay... I was picked up and brought to the city."

"Do you have any relatives or friends in this county?"

"No……"

The old woman nodded. "By the way, I haven't asked you yet, what's your name?"

The woman lowered her head, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke:

"Galan."

…

"After traveling dozens of miles, we finally arrived at Qingshan County before sunset."

Inside the carriage, Yan Zhong pulled up the curtain beside the carriage and breathed a sigh of relief, "This damn weather... If we can't find replacement horses and food supplies, we'll have to ride the Marquis' flying carriage again."

"If we fly in this weather, even the carriage will be frozen into ice chips and fall down." Chloe held a ball of fire in her hands, and the warm firelight illuminated the carriage. She glanced at Lin Qiye beside her and asked in confusion, "What are you thinking about?"

"...Nothing." Lin Qiye, who was sitting in the middle, shook his head, "It's just that since entering this city, my causal line seems to have been trembling...I don't know what's going on."

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