The boat floated on the water and the caterpillars gradually hid in the depths of the dense forest.

The girl leaned on the young man's shoulder and fell asleep unknowingly. The boatman stood up from the bow and was about to speak, but Xiao Jue shook her head at him imperceptibly. The boatman understood and did not wake her up, nor did he row the boat, letting the boat drift.

Xiao Jue just sat there, looking at the water. The water was calm, with ripples occasionally caused by the wind. He tilted his head and looked at the girl sleeping soundly on his shoulder. She was not like an ordinary girl who cared about beauty. She slept without any image. There seemed to be traces of crystal clear wetness on her lips, and she was even drooling.

He turned his head away with some disgust, then looked at the water in the distance. After a while, he lowered his head and smiled helplessly.

In the end, I didn't push her away.

…

He Yan had a rare good sleep and vaguely had a beautiful dream, but he forgot what the dream was when he woke up.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying on a soft couch on the boat, covered with a thin mattress. She sat up and saw Xiao Jue sitting at the bow, so she called out, "Young Master!"

He turned around and glanced at He Yan, and said, "Wash yourself up, it's time to go back."

He Yan was surprised for a moment, then realized that they had stayed in Luoying Spring for a whole night. The surrounding firefly boats had already dispersed, leaving only theirs. He Yan yawned while washing himself with the clean water on the boat. When combing his hair, he just tied it into a man's bun because Cuijiao and Hongqiao were not around.

After she washed up and walked out of the boat, she heard the boatman talking to Xiao Jue, "Young Master, go directly to the spring. A few dozen steps ahead, there is a post station. You can hire a carriage next to the post station. Young Master and Miss can take the carriage back. The canal does not allow fire boats to pass during the day."

Xiao Jue paid him the silver, walked toward the shore, and said to He Yan, "Let's go."

He Yan also thanked the boatman and quickly went ashore.

It was early morning, and the broad leaves of the grass and trees were covered with crystal dew, bringing with them a chill of morning dew. He Yan yawned again and asked Xiao Jue, "Commander-in-chief, I fell asleep last night? Why didn't you wake me up and stay here all night?"

Xiao Jue sneered, "I wonder who was snoring so loudly last night that I couldn't wake him up even if I called him."

"No way?" He Yan was a little suspicious, "Are you lying to me?"

"I'm not you."

As the two talked, they had not walked far when they saw a post station, just as the boatman had said. There was also a noodle shop next to the post station. The proprietress was cooking noodles in a large iron pot, and the aroma filled the air.

Having not eaten anything in the morning, He Yan had already felt hungry, so he said, "Let's eat something before we get on the carriage." Without waiting for Xiao Jue to answer, he took the lead in waving to the proprietress and said, "Two bowls of noodles and a bun."

She had a good appetite, and pulled Xiao Jue to sit at a table outside the straw shed. The steamed buns just out of the oven were emitting wisps of hot steam, and they were a little hot. He Yan held them in her hands, puffing out her cheeks to cool them down.

Xiao Jue was not as impatient as her. After the noodles came, he ate very slowly. Seeing He Yan eating with grease dripping from his mouth, he just found it funny.

"Don't look at me and smile," He Yan said, "as if I'm embarrassed."

The man replied calmly, "It's embarrassing already. Look around you. How many people eat as ugly as you do?"

He Yan looked around stealthily. It was too early now, and most of the people who came here to eat were in a hurry, or people who were taking a break on their way.

Sitting next to her was a grandmother and grandson. The old woman had gray hair and kind eyes. The little girl next to her was about eleven or twelve years old. She was wearing a dirty cloak with half of her face buried in the cloak. She lowered her head and ate silently.

The two of them were dressed very simply, probably because they were in a hurry and had not had time to clean up properly. When the old woman saw He Yan looking at her, she was startled for a moment and asked with a smile, "Girl?"

"It's okay." He Yan smiled.

Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows: "Even the little ghost eats more politely than you."

This is true. The little girl looks dirty, but she eats very elegantly. She doesn't look like an ordinary girl. He Yan asked herself, even if she was He Rufei or Xu's grandmother, she wouldn't do better than them. No wonder Xiao Jue laughed at her... But are all the people in Jiyang talented? This old woman doesn't have that feeling.

She turned around again, looked at the old woman and said with a smile: "Auntie, is this your granddaughter? She is so pretty."

"Yes." The old woman was surprised at first, then she smiled.

He Yan looked at the little girl again. The little girl didn't react to her at all. She just lowered her head to eat. The old woman explained, "Nini is shy. Don't mind it, little girl."

He Yan smiled and said, "Why would I care? She's just too cute. Are you going into the city?"

"No," the old woman said, "There was a death in my family, and I took Nini back to attend the funeral."

He Yan nodded, said his condolences, and turned around to eat. As he ate, he felt something was wrong. He couldn't figure it out for a while, but he always felt that he had overlooked something.

Looking at Xiao Jue again, he had also put down his chopsticks and was looking at the grandparents beside He Yan, as if thinking about something.

He Yan moved closer to him and whispered, "Commander-in-chief, I feel like something is wrong."

Xiao Jue glanced at her, suddenly stood up and walked over to the grandparents.

He Yan's question just now had already made the old woman look unhappy. She finished her meal in a hurry and wanted to take the little girl away. As soon as she stood up, she was blocked by someone.

The young handsome man stood in front of her, his posture straight and his expression calm. He looked at the little girl under the awning and said calmly, "Speak, little ghost."

The old woman took the little girl into her arms and asked, "What is this young man going to do?"

"I never knew that the kidnappers in Jiyang became so bold," Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows, "daring to kidnap people in broad daylight."

Kidnapper? He Yan was startled.

Yes, she said she always felt something was wrong. It was because there seemed to be a complete barrier between the little girl and the old woman. They didn't look like grandparents at all. From the beginning to the end, the old woman didn't ask the girl anything when she was eating. If it was really an ordinary grandparent-grandchild relationship, the grandmother would probably ask the granddaughter if the food was hot or if it suited her taste. Even if a girl is cold and aloof, the elders should be more tolerant and not let her fend for herself.

She looks kind, but what she does is not kind at all. She doesn't seem like a grandmother, but rather like a kidnapper who is eager to cover up his tracks.

"You...what are you talking about?" The old woman stared at Xiao Jue and said, "This is my granddaughter! Don't slander me!"

"Whether she is your granddaughter or not, we will know once we ask her." Xiao Jue said, "Speak, little ghost."

The little girl didn't move.

"you!"

The old woman was about to take the little girl away, but the next moment, the whip in He Yan's hand moved and rolled directly towards the opponent's cloak. However, in an instant, the cloak was lifted up by the whip and fell to the ground, revealing half of the little girl's face.

He Yan weighed the purple jade whip in her hand. This was what Xiao Jue had helped her win by "Seizing the Wind" before. Fortunately, she had been carrying it with her all the time. It was very useful.

The girl under the tent had a clean and pretty face, tears in her eyes, and her mouth opened silently. It turned out that she had been mute.

"It seems like you don't treat your granddaughter very well." Xiao Jue sneered.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the old woman shouted loudly: "Mind your own business!" A sharp and high-pitched whistle came out of her mouth, and several figures suddenly jumped out from the crowd of people feeding horses, eating breakfast, washing their faces, and resting in the surrounding post station, drew their swords, and stabbed at He Yan and Xiao Jue!

"There are assassins!" He Yan said. He couldn't hide his surprise. With so many people, they were definitely not kidnappers. Kidnappers were afraid of being discovered, so they had to keep a low profile. If they were discovered, their first reaction would be to run away quickly. This old woman not only didn't run away, but she also had so many accomplices. She was clearly fearless. Otherwise... She took a look at the little girl who was mute or drugged... Who was this little girl? Why did she have to use such a big fight?

When Xiao Jue came out, he was not carrying a sword. Seeing that the group of people were approaching, he used the tea bowls on the table as hidden weapons and knocked down the long swords that were stabbing at his face one by one.

He Yan threw the whip in his hand to him: "Use this!" He picked up an iron rod from the ground.

The proprietress of the noodle shop at the post station had long been scared and hid under the table. For a while, the sound of ping-pong was endless. As soon as He Yan fought with them, he knew that this group of people were definitely not ordinary kidnappers, otherwise how could they have such good skills and were so ruthless, clearly wanting to kill people and silence them. The little girl was still standing there. When the old woman saw that He Yan and Xiao Jue were being entangled by others, she rolled her eyes and grabbed the little girl directly, and climbed onto a horse at the entrance of the post station. She was so agile that she didn't look like an old person. She waved the whip and the horse galloped straight forward.

"Not good!" He Yan said: "She wants to run away!"

She turned to look at Xiao Jue and saw that he was surrounded by people. He was a man with excellent skills. For a moment, everyone ignored He Yan. He Yan said, "Master, hold them back. I'll go after them!"

The thing that the post station had the most was horses, so He Yan climbed onto a horse and chased after the old woman in the direction she fled.

The road out of the city was a main road, but the old woman did not take the main road, but chose a bumpy path. As He Yan chased her, he thought to himself, the fight just now was very intense, but the little girl did not move at all, it seemed that she was either drugged or had her acupuncture points pressed. Even if they had to hold Xiao Jue back, they had to take the little girl away, it seemed that the little girl was very important to this group of people.

She was already an excellent horseman. Even though the old woman had taken advantage of her lack of knowledge of the route, she still couldn't shake off He Yan who was following her all the way. She got anxious for a moment and cursed, "You little bitch, don't try to get yourself killed!"

"Put him down, and I can still spare your life," He Yan said fearlessly. But you, don't refuse a toast and drink a penalty wine!"

The old woman snorted and whipped the horse hard, causing the horse to gallop. Seeing this, He Yan stepped on the horse's back and slapped its butt hard. The horse jumped forward, almost trying to drive in parallel with the old woman's horse. He Yan was quick-witted and used the whip in his hand to wrap around the old woman's horse's head. The two horses were already at a very close distance, and the horse was startled and kicked its hooves on the spot. He Yan took the opportunity to jump off the horse, snatched the girl from the old woman's hand, and the two rolled on the ground together.

As soon as he settled down, He Yan realized that this girl had indeed been fed drugs and could only do very slight movements. No wonder she had no reaction no matter what he said in the noodle shop just now.

He Yan only had time to untie her dumb hole, and before he could ask the girl's name or where she was from, the woman smiled coldly, pulled out a soft sword from her waist, and said coldly: "Mind your own business!" and stabbed He Yan.

He Yan pushed the little girl away and rushed forward. She was unarmed and had lost the iron rod in the chaos. She could only rely on her agile body to dodge the opponent's sword.

"Who are you?" He Yan asked while dodging, secretly amazed at the woman's skills, "and why did you capture this little girl?"

The woman smiled but didn't really smile, and came over with her sword in hand, "Such nonsense! Go to hell and ask Prince Yan for the answer!"

He Yan raised her eyebrows: "You think you can send me to hell after just such a short time? That's a bit too arrogant." She suddenly flipped up from the ground, ducked to avoid the long sword above her head, and moved behind the woman. She punched her in the back and snatched the sword from her hand.

"Damn it!" the woman said angrily.

Now that she had the sword in her hand, even though it was not as good as Qing Lang's, it could still be used. There was no one else around at the moment, and He Yan's greatest skill, besides deploying troops, was swordsmanship. But in a short while, the woman was defeated step by step, and it was obvious that she was doomed.

He Yan said: "If you surrender now, you still have a chance of survival."

"You're blinding me!" the woman yelled, and suddenly pulled out a silver hairpin from her bun. The hairpin had some mechanism inside it, and it grew three inches in the wind, turning into a dagger. She did not use the dagger to fight He Yan, but met He Yan's sword head-on, and threw the dagger accurately at the maid on the ground.

The little girl had been drugged and was unable to move. She watched helplessly as the dagger was about to pierce her chest. It was too late for He Yan to put away his sword to save her!

There was a bang.

The dagger was just about to pierce the girl's heart, but something hit the dagger, knocking the handle aside. The dagger instantly lost its fierce power and slowly rolled to the ground.

The long sword in He Yan's hand pierced through the old woman's chest at the same time. The old woman widened her eyes, as if she couldn't believe that someone had knocked her dagger off target. She spat out a mouthful of dirty blood and died.

Someone walked out from the deep forest. He was a thin man, about forty years old, but extremely elegant. He was dressed in white, with long hair tied up with white silk. He looked like a swordsman or a zither player. His eyebrows were bright, and his long beard did not make him look slovenly, but rather added a bit of the unrestrained and unrestrained air of a man of the world.

When He Yan saw this person, he was stunned. The man in white came closer, helped the shivering little girl up, and then looked at He Yan.

He Yan murmured, "...Master."

There was no surprise on his face, just some surprise: "Ah He?"