Chapter 684 The peddler has arrived. He will take you away from this mountain and to Jinguan City.
Shi Xiaoniu seemed to wake up a little. He rubbed his eyes and blinked in the darkness. "My father said it's not good outside the mountain."
"Is it bad, or is it impossible?" Lin Jiayou asked, "Does he... have enemies outside?"
"Enemy?" Shi Xiaoniu repeated the word, seeming a little puzzled.
He shook his head. "I don't know. I've been in this village since I was born, and my father never took me out. I only heard about the outside world from the peddlers at the village entrance."
He thought for a moment and added, "My father also doesn't allow me to talk too much with those peddlers. He said that people outside are cunning."
After saying that, he yawned loudly, turned over, turned his back to Lin Jiayou, and mumbled something incoherently.
"Brother, don't think about it. Go to sleep. I'll take you to get bird eggs tomorrow."
Soon, Shi Xiaoniu's breathing became steady and long again.
The room fell silent again, with only the chirping of unknown insects outside the window.
Lin Jiayou couldn't sleep anymore.
enemy.
He thought of his mother, his grandfather's house, and the complicated things in the capital that he couldn't understand...
Could it be that this one-armed hunter who saved him was also avoiding someone like himself?
It's not that he doesn't want to leave, but he can't.
Once this thought arises, it can never be dispelled.
He suddenly felt that there seemed to be an inexplicable connection between him and this taciturn man.
They are all trapped people.
The days go by.
Lin Jiayou has even accepted the reality that he might stay here for a long time.
Just when he could already distinguish the calls of several different birds in the forest, Shi Yong suddenly walked in from outside early that morning.
The man's tall figure blocked the light from the door. He looked at Lin Jiayou who was sitting on a small bench in a daze, and his voice was as dull as ever.
"Get up and go."
Lin Jiayou raised his head suddenly, "Where are you going?"
Shi Yong pointed his chin toward the village entrance.
"The peddler is here. He will take you away from this mountain and to Jinguan City."
For a moment, Lin Jiayou stood there in a daze.
It turned out that the man's previous refusal and warning about the dangers outside the mountain were not meant to trap him here.
He was waiting, waiting for the most appropriate time.
This silent hunter with one arm missing did not want to keep him, but was protecting him in his own way.
Only then did Lin Jiayou realize that he was really a good person.
At the entrance of the village, a dark-skinned, thin peddler was loading several bundles of mountain products onto an ox cart.
Shi Yong led Lin Jiayou forward and gave him a few concise instructions.
Shi Xiaoniu followed behind, his little face flushed red. He grabbed the corner of Lin Jiayou's clothes tightly, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Brother, are you really leaving? Can't you stay and play with me?"
Lin Jiayou's throat tightened. Looking at Shi Xiaoniu's face that was about to cry, he really wanted to promise him that he would find a way to come back and pick him up after he settled down.
But when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.
He glanced at Shi Yong's profile beside him and knew in his heart that this man would not leave the mountain.
A promise that cannot be fulfilled will only cause deeper hurt.
The peddler packed up his things quickly and waved to Lin Jiayou.
Lin Jiayou took a deep breath, took out the purse that was warmed by his body temperature from his arms, and handed it to Shi Yong with both hands.
"Uncle, I can never repay you for saving my life. You must accept these."
Shi Yong didn't even look at him. He took Shi Xiaoniu's hand, turned around, and walked away.
"Let's go."
His back was resolute, without a trace of nostalgia.
Lin Jiayou's heart sank suddenly. He sat on the bumpy ox cart and couldn't help but look back.
Shi Yong led Shi Xiaoniu and walked step by step back to the small courtyard where smoke was curling up.
The man never looked back, but Shi Xiaoniu beside him stubbornly turned back again and again.
He waved his hands vigorously in the direction of Lin Jiayou, his figure became smaller and smaller, and finally disappeared at the corner of the mountain road.
The ox cart was shaking and the rugged mountain road was shaking Lin Jiayou's bones so much that they almost broke.
Only then did he understand what it meant that climbing up the mountain was not easy, and going down the mountain was even harder.
The winding road seemed to have no end. Every time he turned a corner, he couldn't help but look back, but all he could see were endless green mountains.
"Hold on tight, boy."
The peddler driving the cart looked back at him, a row of white teeth showing on his dark face.
"Brother Shi is a real man. He asked me to look after you on the way. Are you hungry? Here's a dry biscuit."
As the peddler spoke, he took out a piece of hard cake wrapped in oil paper from his pocket and handed it over.
Lin Jiayou took it and whispered a thank you. He knew that this must have been arranged by Uncle Shi Yong.
The silent man paved the last section of the road for him in his own way.
Two days passed quietly amid the swaying of the ox cart.
When the outline of a city appeared in the distance, the peddler breathed a sigh of relief.
"See? That's Jinguan City."
In the evening, the ox cart finally stopped outside the city gate.
Lin Jiayou jumped out of the car. The moment his feet touched the solid ground, he felt a piercing pain from the soles of his feet. He staggered for a while before he stood firm.
Looking down, I saw that the pair of ill-fitting straw sandals on my feet had been worn out and were bleeding.
He raised his head and looked at the prosperous ancient city in front of him.
The tall and thick city walls cast long shadows in the afterglow of the setting sun, and people and carriages and horses were coming and going at the city gate.
All of this made him feel an unprecedented sense of strangeness and excitement.
"Brother, I'll take you here." The peddler jumped off the cart swiftly and patted him on the shoulder. "Now that you're in the city, be careful about everything."
"Thank you, uncle." Lin Jiayou bowed deeply to the peddler.
The peddler waved his hand, shouted, and drove the ox cart into another road, soon disappearing in the crowd.
Lin Jiayou stood alone beside the official road, took a deep breath, suppressed the confusion in his heart, and stopped a passerby who was in a hurry.
"Excuse me, how do I get to the prefectural government office?"
The man looked at him strangely for a few seconds, but still pointed in a direction.
"Just walk along this main street until you see the largest stone lion. Turn left and you'll be there."
"Thank you very much."
Lin Jiayou thanked him and limped towards the prefectural government office.
The excitement in his heart had long been replaced by uneasiness.
Will Gu Lu welcome his arrival?
Or will they regard him as a nuisance like those people in Prince Yong's Mansion?
The evening breeze blew, bringing a hint of coolness. Lin Jiayou couldn't help but hug his arms tightly and quicken his pace.
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