Chapter 286 Traveling together
The scent of blood mixed with smoke and dust wafted from ahead, strangely familiar.
Mu Xi immediately became alert: "Have we encountered bandits?"
Almost the instant the words were spoken, a shrill whistle suddenly came from the bend in the mountain road ahead, followed by shouts of battle.
Dozens of ragged men, armed with weapons, rushed out from the forests on both sides, shouting in an unintelligible local language, and charged straight at Mu Xi's group.
"Protect the young master!" Dai Xin shouted sharply, drawing his sword and spurring his horse to block Mu Xi's carriage.
Having experienced the previous battle and being well-prepared for this trip, Mu Xi remained calm and composed. He gestured to Cao Pan'er beside him to lift the carriage curtain and quickly scan the area ahead.
These bandits who rushed out seemed chaotic and disorganized, their fighting lacking any strategy.
Under Dai Xin's orders, elite soldiers disguised as guards engaged the bandits directly in battle, the sound of clashing swords ringing out.
Without Dai Xin even lifting a finger, the bandits were scattered in an instant.
Just then, a rapid, chaotic sound of horses' hooves suddenly rang out on the road ahead.
A group of about thirty or forty people appeared, and their attire suggested they were a merchant caravan.
The caravan fought and fled, with no fewer than a hundred bandits pursuing them.
The caravan and Mu Xi's convoy were coming from opposite directions when they were suddenly attacked from both sides by the bandits who had just been scattered by Dai Xin's men, causing chaos.
In the center of the caravan, an elderly man, about fifty years old, with a refined face and seemingly ordinary silk clothes, yet revealing extraordinary details, was being surrounded by people on a horse, his expression showing some panic.
Fortunately, the old man's guards were all skilled and well-trained, so the bandits couldn't do anything to them for the time being.
But even a mighty tiger can't withstand a pack of wolves; behind the old man, there were still a dozen or so carriages and people fighting fiercely.
Mu Xi also hated the mountain bandits and outlaws to the core, and immediately ordered Dai Xin: "Go and help them, and try your best to kill the mountain bandits."
"Yes." Dai Xin received the order and waved his hand.
The well-trained guards immediately rushed forward, and the situation suddenly turned into the bandits being surrounded and thrown into chaos.
The guards the old man brought were also quite skilled. Taking advantage of the situation, the two groups quickly joined forces and scattered most of the bandits. The remaining bandits, seeing that the situation was not good, fled into the depths of the mountains in a sorry state.
Dai Xin did not want to pursue, so he ordered his elite troops to retreat. The old man's men, on the other hand, took advantage of the victory and went back to reclaim the carriage and its valuables, which had already been mostly stolen.
The old man also clasped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Mu Xi from his horse, then dismounted and went to check something behind him.
Mu Xi was not in a hurry to advance, while Dai Xin remained vigilant and waited for the scouts ahead to report back.
After a while, the scouts reported that the scattered bandits had disappeared without a trace, and the road ahead was no longer an obstacle.
Just as Dai Xin was about to ask Mu Xi whether they should continue, the old man returned from his messy caravan, carrying an exquisite brocade box. He arrived in front of Mu Xi's caravan, escorted by two guards.
His voice carried an air of composure: "Thank you for your help, young master. This is just a small token of my gratitude; please accept it."
"No need. I helped someone in need, no need for thanks." Mu Xi didn't mind, but gestured for the old man to come closer.
The old man, holding a brocade box, approached Mu Xi's carriage. He glanced at Mu Xi's face, his eyes widening in surprise before he quickly looked away. He then said again, "On my journey, I was ambushed by bandits using poisonous smoke and ropes, and nearly lost my life. I am deeply grateful for your help, young master. I should repay your life-saving grace, but unfortunately, I am on my way and don't have much to offer. Therefore, I offer this as a token of my gratitude."
Mu Xi intuitively felt that the old man had seen through her at a glance, but she remained silent and instead looked at the brocade box.
The brocade box wasn't large, and it didn't seem like it could hold anything valuable, but he spoke of it so solemnly that I was curious and gestured for Cao Pan'er to take it.
Cao Pan'er took the brocade box and handed it to Mu Xi.
Mu Xi opened the brocade box, inside which was only a crystal-clear emerald green jade pendant: "This is..."
No matter how valuable the jade pendant was, she wasn't interested.
The old man said, "I am Qi Qingyuan. This is the token of the Minister of the Qi family of Xiangnan. If you have this, young master, when you go to the 'He, Zhen, Xiang' business under the Qi family of Xiangnan, whatever your request, the people in the business will do their best to meet it."
Qi Qingyuan?
Upon hearing the name, Mu Xi was startled. She then took out the jade pendant and examined it closely. One side of the jade pendant was engraved with the character "Qi," and the other side was engraved with the characters "Shang Qing."
"You are actually the renowned patriarch of the Qi family of Xiangnan, Elder Qi Qingyuan?" Mu Xi was moved, but in this desolate wilderness, with a wealthy merchant suddenly appearing before her, she still preferred to be cautious and couldn't help but scrutinize him carefully.
Unfortunately, Qi Yingyu did not accompany them on this trip, as she was busy plundering money from the forces left behind by Zhu Mingjun.
Otherwise, she could have easily identified the old man right now.
Upon hearing the old man's introduction, Dai Xin immediately dismounted and stepped forward to examine him closely. He then bowed respectfully and said, "Grandpa Qi, it really is you. I have not seen you for many years and I did not recognize you."
"This young general is..." This time, it was Qi Qingyuan's turn to not recognize Dai Xin.
Dai Xin said, "Uncle Qi might not recognize his grand-nephew. My maternal family name is Bai, and my maternal grandfather is Bai Ren. One summer, my maternal grandfather saw you visit. At that time, you gave each of us younger generation a 'Nine-Bend Exquisite Pearl' toy from Jiuyou. I still keep it to this day."
“Oh… the young general is a descendant of General Bai Ren, so he must be a descendant of General Bai Su…” Qi Qingyuan clearly still didn’t recognize Dai Xin, but remembered his grandfather. He suddenly realized something, turned to Mu Xi, and said, “Then this person couldn’t possibly be…”
Mu Xi readily admitted, "That is exactly what Elder Qi was thinking. Since Elder Qi has recognized me, could you do me a favor? I have some questions to ask you."
Qi Qingyuan hadn't recovered from the shock when, as if remembering something, he hesitated, "This...this old man..."
"Elder Qi, there's no need to worry." Mu Xi knew what Qi Qingyuan might be concerned about, so she reassured him first. "In this world, where can one find peace? Judging from the direction Elder Qi was heading, you should also be heading towards Qinzhou City, right? Although we are now close to Qinzhou, it will still take two days to reach Qinzhou City. The road ahead may still be treacherous. If you don't mind, you can travel with me for a while, so we can look after each other. During the journey, Elder Qi only needs to answer a few questions for me."
Upon hearing this, Qi Qingyuan pondered for a moment, knowing that refusing was useless, and could only agree: "Since I can be protected by Your Excellency and travel with you, I am extremely fortunate."
"Very well, then please." Mu Xi also accepted Qi Qingyuan's Shangqing token.
The two groups then merged and continued on their way.
As evening fell, the team set up camp in a relatively flat river valley.
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