Chapter 65 Thrilling
The next morning, Su Wenzhen and Ye Wanning got up early, ate breakfast, and waited to set off.
The white-haired old man stood in front of the thatched hut, his beard bristling and eyes bulging with anger. He looked at Ye Wanning and hissed, "You want to go back so badly? Can't you stay a little longer?"
Ye Wanning smiled helplessly, "Wenzhen and I have been at the bottom of this cliff for several days now. The people in the manor must be very worried. It would be best to go back as soon as possible and let them know we are safe."
As she spoke, she walked up to the white-haired old man and gently took his hand. "Grandpa, don't worry, I will come back to see you. I will come to see you after I finish dealing with things at the manor in a few days, okay?"
"Hmph!" The white-haired old man snorted lightly, then waved his hand. "No need." As he spoke, he gave Su Wenzhen a meaningful look. "We'll meet again in the future!"
Upon hearing this, Su Wenzhen stiffened and his expression changed. He looked at the white-haired old man and frowned slightly. "Wan Ning, come here quickly, it's time to go!"
The white-haired old man didn't speak, but simply nudged Ye Wanning, "Little girl, hurry up and go! Your husband is getting impatient!"
Ye Wanning turned her head and glared at Su Wenzhen, "Okay, okay, I'll be right there!"
After a brief farewell, the three set off. Ye Wanning followed behind the Taoist-looking man and asked softly, "Hey, charlatan, what's your name?"
The man stumbled, turned around, and looked at Ye Wanning with a helpless expression. "Your Highness, could you please not call me a charlatan..."
"Then what should I call you?" Ye Wanning rolled her eyes at the person.
Su Wenzhen found it amusing and reached out to pat her head. "Wan Ning, stop fooling around."
"Your Highness is much easier to get along with." The man sighed and continued walking forward. "Your Highness and Princess, please just call me Xu Da!"
"Xu Da?" Ye Wanning said with a charming smile, "Could there be a Xu Er as well?"
Xu Da paused, glancing at Ye Wanning with a hint of resentment, "Your Highness...you really are..."
Seeing that she had made enough jokes, Ye Wanning waved her hand, pretending that nothing had happened, and then asked, "By the way, Xu Da, how long will it take to get out of here?"
“It’s not far,” Xu Da replied. “We’ll follow this path ahead and we’ll reach a village near Duyang City. It will only take us an hour or two to get back to Duyang City from there.”
Hearing this, Su Wenzhen looked at Xu Da and asked with some doubt, "I wonder how Brother Xu discovered this path?" The bottom of the cliff is so deep, and suddenly a straight path appears, which sounds rather strange.
"Your Highness, there's no need to be so polite..." Xu Da scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, then explained, "Actually, I can't really say that I found this path."
He paused, then said, "My master originally lived in Duyang City, but as he got older, he wanted to move to a quieter environment. Somehow, he ended up here, and he discovered this path by chance."
Xu laughed and said, "If it weren't for this path, how could Master have lived there? It's really rare to see people like you who fall off a cliff and survive.
Su Wenzhen stared at Xu Da's retreating figure, his expression somewhat puzzled. So, the old man really was a descendant of the He family? What about what he said yesterday? Su Wenzhen shook his head. He didn't believe it. Su Wenzhen's eyes suddenly darkened. Even the He family, renowned throughout the world, could make mistakes!
Xu Da inadvertently noticed Su Wenzhen's unusual expression and guessed that it must be because of what happened last night. He didn't say anything more, but turned to look at Ye Wanning, "I just don't know how the prince and princess fell down?"
"Didn't I tell you?" Ye Wanning sighed, "I fell off a cliff after being chased. I really didn't lie to you about that..."
Xu Da nodded and didn't ask anything more. The group of people, each with their own thoughts, walked silently down the road.
Several hours passed in the blink of an eye. Ye Wanning stood at the end of the path, panting, with her hands on her hips. She looked at Xu Da with a hint of resentment and said, "Didn't you say it wasn't far? How come it took so long?"
Xu Da smiled and said, "We've arrived, so Your Highness, please stop complaining. I've heard you complaining the whole way!"
Upon hearing this, Su Wenzhen burst into laughter. He looked at Ye Wanning and said softly, "There's a teahouse up ahead. Let's go over and rest for a bit."
"I can't walk anymore!" Seeing the two laughing at her, Ye Wanning simply threw a tantrum, "I'm not going!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly found herself lifted into the air, and Su Wenzhen scooped her up in a princess carry, gently kissing her forehead. "Then I'll carry you on my back."
Seeing the loving scene between the two, Xu Da felt a warmth in his heart and smiled. Although the Princess of Jin had a difficult life, she was fortunate to have the love of the prince and others. He wondered if today's long journey could be considered a tribulation in her life.
Just as he was thinking about it, a sense of unease suddenly welled up in his heart. He tried to calculate with his fingers, but it seemed that because it involved himself, he couldn't figure anything out. Xu Da looked up at the sky. It seemed that there was no sun today!
The three of them sat down in the teahouse. Xu Da noticed a blush on Ye Wanning's cheeks and guessed that she was shy because of what had just happened. He jokingly asked, "Your Highness, did you walk for too long and get flustered? Why is your face so red? It seems we need to get some rest!"
Ye Wanning was embarrassed and glared angrily at Su Wenzhen. She gave him a fierce look and said, "It's all your fault!"
Su Wenzhen smiled helplessly. He reached out and poured Ye Wanning a cup of tea. Just as he was about to hand the teacup over, his expression suddenly changed, and he threw the teacup aside.
"You..." Before Ye Wanning could react, just as she was about to say something, she heard a "clink" sound. It was as if the teacup had collided with some sharp object. When Ye Wanning looked up again, she found that the teacup had suddenly shattered into two pieces, spilling water all over her face.
A piercing cry rang out from inside the teahouse: "Help! Help! The bandits are here!"
Su Wenzhen reached out and pulled Ye Wanning to his side, then shouted at Xu, "Run!"
Just as the three were about to escape in the chaos, they were blocked by someone. The teahouse was surrounded on all four sides by the band of mountain bandits. Su Wenzhen looked around and frowned. These did not seem to be the people who had chased them before. Could they really be mountain bandits?
"Hahaha!" A burst of laughter suddenly rang out. A man who looked like a bandit leader dismounted and walked to the front of the crowd with his hands behind his back. The teahouse seemed to be located on a main road. There were a dozen or twenty people in the teahouse, and judging from their attire, there were both commoners and merchants.
The bandit leader raised an eyebrow and shouted in a gruff voice, "Hand over your valuables, and we'll spare your lives!"
Just then, another bandit handed the broken cup that Su Wenzhen had just thrown to the bandit leader, whispered a few words in his ear, and the bandit leader's expression changed. He immediately shouted at the crowd, "Who threw this cup!"
The incident happened so suddenly that no one saw who threw it. Ye Wanning squatted on the ground, looking at Su Wenzhen with some worry. Su Wenzhen secretly gave her a look, indicating that everything was alright.
Seeing that no one spoke, the bandit leader wasn't in a hurry. He walked to the table and sat down. "Nobody's going to talk?" He knocked on the table. "Who's the boss? Come out here!"
As soon as the words were spoken, a middle-aged man was brought up. The man was clearly frightened, kneeling on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably, as if he were about to lose his footing.
The bandit leader glanced at the man and asked softly, "Did you see who threw this cup?"
The man replied in a trembling voice, "I...I...I don't know!"
"Don't know?" The bandit leader snorted and slapped the shopkeeper across the face. He glared at him fiercely and said, "Say you don't know again, and I'll chop you up!"
"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me!" Upon hearing this, the man repeatedly kowtowed and begged for mercy, "I'm just a small-time businessman! How would I know anything about these things..."
Before he could finish speaking, a muffled thud was heard, and the man fell straight down, seemingly lifeless. The bandit leader took out a white cloth and wiped the blood from the tip of his knife. He glanced at the people kneeling in front of him with a hint of amusement. "I hate it when people don't listen to me."
As he spoke, he straightened up. "Since you won't talk, then..." He glanced at his men beside him and said sternly, "Kill the men, and execute the women on the spot!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Wanning's breath hitched. She looked at Su Wenzhen in a panic. What should she do?
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