Chapter 1012 Why are you looking for Zuo Gong's Suspicious Tomb?
Shang Ruyi turned around and saw the pale faces of several Turkic soldiers behind her.
As before, the guards she brought were arranged in the same way, with half leading the way and the other half following behind to protect them, thus isolating the Turks from them. Ashina Zhuxie and his men walked behind. It wasn't that they were "useless," but rather that the Turks grew up on the grasslands and, let alone climbing mountains, some of them might never have seen such high mountains in their entire lives. So, although they were impressive on horseback, climbing mountains was a real chore for them.
They had just rounded a somewhat dangerous bend, and Shang Ruyi, Lüxiao, and the others were all fine. However, a few Turkic soldiers glanced down and saw the bottomless abyss, and immediately cried out in fright.
Ashina Zhuxie was also struggling, and his face was not good. At this moment, he sternly scolded, "What are you shouting for!"
After he said that, the group immediately shut their mouths.
Although they dared not speak, they were still somewhat apprehensive. Moreover, the higher they climbed, the steeper the path became. Shang Ruyi and the others had prepared wooden clogs for climbing, but the Turks only had soft leather boots. Walking on the grass was fine, but stepping on the hard rocks was not a pleasant experience. At first, they only felt pain in their feet, but gradually they felt as if their bones were about to break. Every step was extremely painful.
They were all sweating profusely and panting heavily.
After walking for most of the day, we finally reached a relatively flat area, which turned out to be the fork of the two peaks. Because of the sunny location, this area was covered with grass and various miscellaneous trees. On the lush grass, we could barely see two whitish paths that led to the two peaks respectively.
The road leading to the low peak is slightly flatter.
Ashina Zhuxie was already covered in sweat from exhaustion. He asked, panting heavily, "Which road should we take?"
Shang Ruyi looked around, then pointed to the flatter road: "Let's go this way first."
Seeing her like this, Ashina Zhuxie raised his eyebrows slightly, a strange expression on his face. Wang Shaoqiu behind him sneered and said, "Is the Princess Consort of Qin so certain because she already knew that Zuo Gong's suspected tomb was there, or is she intentionally trying to lead us somewhere?"
He was already frail and sickly, and climbing the mountain for half a day had left him breathless, his face as pale as paper, and his lips bloodless.
Even so, his eyes remained cunning and shrewd, and his sharp words made people very uncomfortable.
Upon hearing him speak, Lüxiao instinctively turned her face to the side, while Shang Ruyi also looked at him—this was the first time the two had faced each other on this journey. They had previously been locked in a life-or-death struggle in Taiyuan and at the foot of Water God Mountain, and although they hadn't actually fought each other yet, everyone knew it was just a temporary measure. Hearing him speak first, Shang Ruyi's eyes immediately turned cold, and she said indifferently, "If you don't want to go, you don't have to."
Ashina Zhuxie's expression changed, and Shang Ruyi added, "I brought you here, not forced you to come."
"..."
"Since it's called the 'Doubtful Tomb' of Lord Zuo, naturally no one can be sure where it is. I'm just guessing based on some rumors. Besides, if I pointed to another path, wouldn't you doubt me?"
Hearing her say that, Ashina Zhuxie and Wang Shaoqiu looked at each other, speechless.
Lei Yu stepped forward and asked, "So, how did you guess that we should go this way?"
Shang Ruyi looked up and said, "The mountain over there is too steep. It would take half a life just to climb it, let alone build a mausoleum on it and transport the coffin and Xiao Shan Gong's burial goods in. It's really not easy. That's why I think the suspected tomb is more likely to be on this side."
"..."
"Of course, this is just my guess. If it's really not here, we can take that other road later."
Lei Yu nodded, then looked back at Ashina Zhuxie. He and Wang Shaoqiu both fell silent.
Shang Ruyi's guess was reasonable, and her arrangement was indeed more logical.
So Ashina Zhuxie said, "Let's rest for a while before we go."
Shang Ruyi nodded and told the accompanying guards to rest on the spot. She then gave a few instructions to Wo Xue, who nodded and went downstairs. A little while later, she came back with several thin wooden sticks and handed them to Shang Ruyi and Lü Xiao, and also gave one to Lei Yu.
There's one left.
Ashina Zhuxie asked, "What is this for?"
Shang Ruyi said, "The path up the mountain here is shady and overgrown with weeds, and there are many snakes, insects and rodents. I specially had some sticks prepared. When you go up the mountain, use the sticks in your hands to knock down the grass around your feet to avoid being bitten by snakes."
As she spoke, she glanced at the stick that had suddenly appeared in Wo Xue's hand: "Does the Khan need it?"
Ashina Zhuxie said, "Of course."
Shang Ruyi then raised her chin at Wo Xue, gesturing for her to hand over the stick, but Ashina Zhuxie did not take it. Instead, she looked at the stick in Shang Ruyi's hand and said, "This Khan wants yours."
Shang Ruyi raised an eyebrow and glanced at the wooden stick in her hand, then said, "Does the Khan think I would try to cheat with this?"
Ashina Zhuxie said, "If you want to think that way, that's fine too."
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and didn't say much. She handed the stick in her hand to Wo Xue and asked her to give it to Ashina Zhuxie. She then took the stick that had been rejected and said nothing more.
So the group rested in the valley.
Wo Xue immediately brought water and dry food. Shang Ruyi was starving after climbing the mountain for half a day. Although the dry biscuits didn't look appetizing, she still swallowed most of one with water. Lü Xiao couldn't eat anything, only drank a couple of sips of water, and then sat down next to Shang Ruyi. She said in a very soft and low voice, "Are you really here to find Zuo Gong's tomb?"
Shang Ruyi was leaning against a large rock to cool off when she heard this and turned to look at her: "What do you mean?"
“You’re familiar with this terrain, and you even know that this road is shady and has many snakes. It’s as if you were prepared in advance.”
"How can you do something like this without being prepared?"
"So, you're not just trying to lure them here to relieve the siege of Xia Prefecture, but you really want to find the suspected tomb of Zuo Gong?"
Shang Ruyi slightly curled the corners of her lips and said, "What, do you think my trip here is just to resolve the crisis in Xia Prefecture? Now that I'm here, how can I leave empty-handed after entering a treasure mountain?"
Green Silk could hardly believe her ears: "Why?"
"Why what?"
Why are you looking for Zuo Gong's suspected tomb?
"..."
Upon hearing her question, Shang Ruyi chuckled and said, "Do you perhaps think I'm someone who treats money like dirt?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com