Zhao Xiu wandered in Xizhou City for five days and finally received news from Beiting. Guo Yuanzhen's people asked him to meet at Liuhe Temple in the north of Jiaohe County tonight.
A group of people squatted together and studied the map of Xizhou. Xizhou was founded because of Jiaohe River. Most of the county governments and towns in the state were located along Jiaohe River. Outside Jiaohe River, there was desert.
Liuxie Temple was built on the old trade road on the northern edge of the desert.
The old trade routes traverse the desert, a treacherous and dangerous place. Without a guide who knows the roads well, no one dares to set out on them. Furthermore, with the opening of new trade routes over the years, the old routes have become increasingly deserted. Coupled with the desert's unpredictable climate, many roads have become vulnerable to change or have been covered by sand.
Most intruders never return, so few people set foot there again.
There are some, but they do exist, such as the spies from Beiting.
This old trade route connects Xizhou and Beiting. Guo Yuanzhen's men chose this place as the meeting place. Even if they are discovered, they can escape from the trade route.
A Yan Lianshan put away the map of Xizhou and asked Zhao Xiu, "Who are you going to ask to attend the meeting in your place?"
He had been going into the city quite often these days to gather information. Zhao Xiu was right. Xizhou's wanted notice for Zhao Xiu was indeed tight on the outside but loose on the inside. As long as Zhao Xiu didn't commit any crimes in public, he wouldn't be arrested even if someone reported his whereabouts to the officers and soldiers.
He was the one who reported it.
It seemed that Wei Chifei really wanted to get hold of Guo Yuanzhen. Well, let them fight each other for now. If they could get hold of Guo Yuanzhen, not only would the Fourth Prince have a chance of ascending the throne, but the three prefectures of Beiting, Anxi, and Hexi would sooner or later become part of their Turkic territory.
Zhao Xiu stared at the map for a few more seconds. The map marked all the counties, checkpoints, and garrisons in Xizhou in great detail.
He couldn't help but think: These Turkic barbarians are indeed ambitious.
He squinted at Ayan Lianshan and said, "You guys are the only people I know in Xizhou. Who else can I turn to? You have to figure this out."
Ayan Lianshan sneered, then stood up, walked behind him and kicked him, knocking him to the ground.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft!" Zhao Xiu spat out sand and wiped his mouth, angrily saying, "What's wrong with you?"
"I just kicked you back." A Yan Lianshan felt relieved and then ordered his subordinates, "Strip his clothes."
After looking at each other, the spies rushed towards Zhao Xiu. Zhao Xiu struggled to run, but he was no match for these well-trained men. After a while, he was pinned to the ground and stripped down to his inner clothes.
A Yanlianshan looked at Zhao Xiu with a murderous gaze and said to the spies, "Compare his figure to mine. Find a Central Plains man, dress up like him, and go to Liuxi Temple to deliver the letter."
"Yes." The Turkic spy took the order and left.
Zhao Xiu got up, shook off the sand on his body, and cursed: "You look big and rough, but your mind is as small as a sesame seed."
This Turkic barbarian clearly stripped him naked before taking revenge on him.
A Yan Lianshan scowled at him, crossing her arms. "You're so mean that you even left two rags for you? Ha, you should just go back naked."
Zhao Xiu rolled his eyes, put on a sullen face, and floated back to the Buddhist cave like a piece of white grass with its hair blown away.
Ayan Lianshan followed behind him and endured it again and again before he kicked him again.
————The unlucky dividing line————
Stars fall on the ancient road, and the moon is dim in the deserted building.
A wretched figure sneaked into Liuhe Temple, looked around cautiously, and after seeing that there were no monks guarding the temple, he headed towards the abandoned Buddhist building in the north.
"Boss, boss, you have really screwed me, Mei Er." Mei Er put Zhao Xiu in smelly clothes and hung Zhao Xiu up and whipped him with a rebellious heart.
He was arrested in Yangguan and separated from Zhao Xiu, and was taken to Xizhou with the army. He had been under custody, but today the officials suddenly released him and drove him out into the street.
He was in a daze when two Turks came to him and said they would give him money and asked him to deliver a letter. He was penniless and needed money at that time. Thinking that it was just a letter, he agreed.
But when he heard the Turks ask him to call himself Zhao Xiu, he was suddenly hit by a camel falling from the sky and was stunned for a long time.
When he understood what was going on, he asked the Turks for one hundred taels of silver. The Turks readily agreed and delivered the silver in the evening.
Mei Er looked at the familiar purse and became even more certain that his bastard boss had also come to Xizhou. Then, thinking about the officials' intention of sending him out to lure out the Turks, he knew he couldn't escape this matter, so he had no choice but to accept his fate and deliver the letter for his bastard boss.
Who would have thought that the bastard boss and the Turkic barbarians had been digging a hole for each other for so long, and finally joined forces to kick him into the bottom of the hole. Who can he turn to for justice?
He came to the Buddhist temple, but there were no lights on. The usually compassionate Buddha statue was hidden in the dark night, revealing a bit of evil, which made his feet tremble and his back cold.
He stood outside the door, not daring to go in. Remembering the code the Turks had given him, he imitated a few crow calls. His voice was dry, but it was somewhat similar, three long and one short, unpleasant and terrifying, making people shudder.
But he shouted until his voice was hoarse, but no one gave the signal, and then he muttered, "Could it be that he didn't come?"
He thought to himself: If he shouts a few more times and no one comes, he will just retreat?
He called a few more times, but still no one answered.
"No, no one is here, I'm leaving." It's better that there is no one, as it will save him from disaster.
Go, go!
He was about to run away when a few crows, even more irritating than his own, began to call from behind the Buddha statue. He froze and quickly hid beside a lotus stem not far away.
The sound was long and short, as if he was about to die.
Mei Er responded a few times, and then saw a lamp lit in front of the Buddha statue.
"Come out," shouted the lamplighter.
Mei Er thought, if I go out and meet someone who knows Zhao Xiu, wouldn’t that be the end of me?
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