Li Xi smiled slightly, raised her glass, and drank it all in one gulp.
After a few rounds of drinks, Li Xi's steps began to become unsteady, and her body swayed slightly.
Seeing this, Wu Yong quickly stepped forward to help him up and said with concern, "General, you've had too much to drink. Why don't you go to the back dormitory to rest? The place is simple, but please don't mind."
Li Xi waved her hand, wanting to say something, but found that her tongue seemed to be out of her control, and the words she was about to say were swallowed back.
Seeing that he was so drunk, Wu Yong didn't say anything more and hurriedly asked someone to help him into the dormitory.
It was nearly midnight when Li Xi was helped into her dormitory, still half asleep, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Captain Wu Yong stood outside the door, silently gazing at the tightly closed door, his eyes revealing an inscrutable expression...
In the stillness of the night, only the occasional footsteps of patrolling soldiers and the sound of the wind in the distance broke the silence.
The carriage stopped in front of Qingque Gate, and the old woman jumped down from it.
She stood tall and moved nimbly, her agile movements a stark contrast to the unsteady gait of an ordinary old woman.
"Sigh... So many years have passed, I never thought I would have to leave this place again." The old woman tilted her head slightly and murmured to herself, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.
Then, she said to the person inside the carriage, "Yun Chao, get down quickly. We need to hurry, we can't delay any longer."
The city gates were always strictly guarded, and they had no chance to leave the city during the day. Wanted posters about them were posted everywhere, as if an invisible net was tightly enveloping them.
Moreover, they didn't have a travel permit, which meant they couldn't legally leave the city, putting them in a real predicament.
The department that used to handle the paperwork is now guarded by the Jingwei Army, and even the eldest son can't get them a fake paperwork.
Jiang Yunchao packed some essential items and got off the carriage.
The carriage then departed. Just then, Wu Yong appeared out of nowhere.
A hint of nervousness flickered in his eyes as he kept glancing around, as if afraid of being discovered.
"Hurry up and follow me," he urged the two beside him in a low voice. In truth, he was very reluctant to do these things.
However, considering that they were distant relatives of his mentor, he didn't know why the two of them would leave Kyoto in the middle of the night.
However, judging from their behavior and speech, they did not seem like vicious and wicked people.
He thought to himself that his mentor must have encountered some insurmountable difficulty, which was why they had to flee overnight. So he gritted his teeth and agreed.
"Sir, why are these two..." Before the city guard could finish speaking, Wu Yong quickly pulled out a silver ingot from his pocket.
She placed them in his arms and whispered in his ear, "These two are my distant relatives. They have urgent business to attend to and need to leave. Please do us a favor and don't stop them."
The city guard was taken aback, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, but seeing Wu Yong's resolute expression and the silver in his hand, he finally nodded, silently stepped aside, and said nothing more.
Wu Yong led them hurriedly through the empty city gate.
The night was as dark as ink, with only a few dim lanterns swaying in the wind, casting dappled shadows.
Their footsteps echoed on the stone path. "Hurry up, we can't stay here any longer," Wu Yong urged in a low voice.
After seeing the two off at the city gate, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to turn back, he bumped into a figure. He was about to get angry, but when he saw who it was, he was terrified: "General... you... you woke up so quickly?"
Li Xi stared blankly at him, then chuckled softly: "So that's why you were pouring me so much alcohol; it turns out you were secretly releasing a wanted criminal!"
"What? A wanted criminal?" Wu Yong stammered, "General, those two are distant relatives of mine. They had some urgent business to attend to, so..."
"So you abused your power and disregarded the law?" Li Xi's voice was soft, but her tone was extremely cold.
Wu Yong's legs went weak and he almost knelt down, but he was supported by the stone wall next to him and managed to stand up.
His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he said repeatedly, "General, I know I was wrong. I was just confused for a moment."
Li Xi snorted coldly, interrupting his pleas for mercy: "Now go back to your post, do what you're supposed to do, and pretend you didn't hear anything you heard outside."
After saying that, Wu Yong nodded repeatedly, like a chicken pecking at rice, and said in agreement, "Yes, yes, I will obey."
After Jiang Yun and his companion left the city gate, they boarded the carriage that had been prepared in advance.
Outside the carriage, the night was as dark as ink, and the sound of horses' hooves echoed in the silent streets, gradually fading into the distance.
They didn't notice that Li Xi had already followed behind.
Dressed in night clothes, she nimbly leaped onto the roof of the carriage. The bumpy road kept them completely unaware of the uninvited guest on the roof.
The people inside the car seemed to be talking, their voices coming in fits and starts.
"Yun Chao, did you take all the things you left at the academy?" the old woman asked him in a low voice.
"Don't worry, everything is with your son. Mother, you should go to sleep. The journey is long and it will probably be quite bumpy."
Li Xi sneered, jumped down, and killed the coachman with a single sword strike. The coachman was actually his attendant; his scream shattered the night's tranquility like the sudden cracking of ice in a cold wind, sending chills down one's spine.
The conversation inside the car abruptly stopped, followed by a flurry of rustling clothes and the soft creaking of a heavy object being moved.
Li Xi moved nimbly, using the moonlight to her advantage, and quickly moved to the side of the carriage. With a light touch of her sword tip, she deftly lifted a corner of the carriage curtain.
Inside the car, an elderly woman and a middle-aged man sat facing each other. The woman looked terrified and clenched her hands tightly.
"What, Master Luo, leaving the capital so late at night? Is there something urgent?" Li Xi's voice was cold.
The middle-aged man was taken aback, then bowed respectfully, "Indeed, General Li, why did you kill my attendant?" He suppressed his anger.
Li Xi scoffed, "You're actually quite good at pretending."
She looked at the old woman behind the man and said, "You can leave, but you'll have to leave something behind in exchange."
Li Xi's gaze lingered between the two.
The middle-aged man's expression changed slightly, but he forced himself to remain calm and said, "General Li, what do you mean by this? We are just ordinary travelers. What could we possibly have that would be worth your coveting?"
Li Xi smiled knowingly and said slowly, "An ordinary traveler? Luo Yun, ah, no, I should respectfully address you as 'Master'!"
Upon hearing this, the old woman trembled even more violently, her eyes filled with terror and helplessness.
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