Si Luo had no choice but to give up her seat.
Wen Nongnong rowed the boat far away with one stroke of the oar. She carefully avoided other boats and soon reached the shore.
When she reached the shore, she put down the oars, craned her neck to look around, and realized that she hadn't noticed before, but now, smelling the aroma of food in the air, she immediately felt ravenously hungry.
She hadn't eaten for two meals and was starving. The aroma of food wafting through the air made her stomach rumble even louder.
Seeing that the Si siblings were still sitting there, she urged, "Don't sit, let's go up and find some food." With that, she jumped ashore and reached out her hand to Si Lan, "Come here quickly, let me help you."
Si Lan had spent the night sitting on the boat, feeling exhausted and sleepy, with little energy. Seeing Si Lan looking so energetic now, she was quite envious.
She mustered her strength, got up, walked over, and placed her hand in hers.
Wen Nongnong grasped her hand and pulled her up with a slight effort. Then she turned to look at Si Luo, raised an eyebrow and said, "You don't need me to help you up. Come up by yourself."
A smile flickered in Si Luo's eyes. "Don't worry, I wouldn't dare let you help me." With that, he bent down and tied the boat up before going ashore.
After landing, the three walked a short distance and asked some roadside vendors for information. They learned that this place was actually a small town called Rongshi under the jurisdiction of Cizhou. Because it was near the dock, there were many merchant ships coming and going, which made the town so lively.
Upon hearing this, Wen Nongnong was both excited and delighted. "Xiangzhou is just beyond Cizhou, so let's hurry up and go."
After saying that, seeing that the two of them were standing still, she calmed down a little and said sincerely, "This time, I was able to escape thanks to you. If you don't want to go to Xiangzhou, then I can walk the rest of the way by myself."
After a night, Si Lan's mood had improved considerably. Although she still looked down, after hearing what she said, she couldn't help but say, "Since you know we helped you, how can you just walk away like this? Isn't that too heartless and ungrateful?"
Wen Nongnong knew she had a sharp tongue but a soft heart, so she didn't take it to heart. Instead, she smiled and said, "If you don't mind, you can come with me to Xiangzhou. I will definitely treat you to good food and drink then."
"It's as if we're only doing this for the food," Si Lan muttered.
Wen Nongnong smiled and looked at Si Luo.
When Si Luo saw her looking at him, a smile appeared on his lips, and he said gently, "Weren't you just saying you were hungry? Now that you know this place is close to Xiangzhou, there's no need to rush. Let's have breakfast first. You'll have the energy to travel if you're full."
"Alright." Wen Nongnong nodded. When she heard that this was Cizhou, she really wanted to rush back to Xiangzhou immediately. She had completely forgotten about being hungry.
Only after he reminded her did she remember, pressing her flat stomach, "Then let's go eat quickly."
So the three of them found a place to have breakfast first.
After finishing the meal, Wen Nongnong noticed that Si Luo's expression was a bit off, and a bad feeling immediately arose in her heart. She asked in a low voice, "Could it be that you didn't bring any money with you?" Wouldn't it be too exciting to dine and dash?
When she asked this question, she turned to look at the stall owner guiltily.
Si Lan also looked at her brother nervously.
Last night's events happened suddenly, and they left in a hurry. In that situation, there was no time to pack her valuables, and all her valuables were left on the ship.
Si Luo took out a silver note from his pocket, placed it on the table, and said helplessly, "What are you thinking? I have a silver note on me, but I don't have any loose change. This stall owner probably can't make change. I'll go to the money exchange first. You sit here and wait for me."
Wen Nongnong and Si Lan both breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, "It's good that we don't have to dine and dash."
"Wait for me," Si Luo said with a smile, asked the stall owner for directions to the money exchange, and then left.
Even so, the stall owner still looked at the two of them with some hostility.
They were afraid that Si Luo was trying to take the opportunity to abandon the two girls and run away.
These two girls look delicate and pretty, but they're useless to him. They can't do any work, they can't earn money, and he'd have to support them.
Wen Nongnong noticed the stall owner's wary gaze and immediately felt embarrassed.
She had never experienced being penniless before, and because the Empress Dowager had passed away, she was dressed entirely in mourning clothes, and had long since removed her headdress and ornaments, so she couldn't find anything of value on her body, to the point that she couldn't even afford a breakfast costing a few dozen coins.
As the two anxiously awaited Si Luo's return, a somewhat familiar figure walked over from the dock.
After Wen Nongnong saw it clearly, her expression changed, and she quickly lowered her head.
What a twist of fate! She ran into the Taoist priest Lingyin, who had been trying to take her life, right here.
She just hoped the other party hadn't noticed her, otherwise it would be another problem. She was in a hurry to get back to Xiangzhou and didn't want any more trouble.
However, what she feared came to pass.
The Taoist priest from Lingyin Temple also walked up to the stall, intending to have a bowl of noodles.
Si Lan noticed that Wen Nongnong suddenly lowered her head. At this moment, she saw an old Taoist priest walking over. She vaguely understood something and subtly turned to the side to block Wen Nongnong.
When Wen Nongnong saw that Master Lingyin hadn't seen her, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She was just about to slip away with Si Lan when she realized that they hadn't paid for their meal yet. If they slipped away like this, they would definitely alert the stall owner. If the stall owner shouted, wouldn't Master Lingyin find her?
With that thought in mind, she could only sit up straight again and patiently wait for Si Luo to return.
Fortunately, she was in a disheveled state, so the Taoist priest Lingyin didn't notice her. In addition, the stall owner quickly brought him his noodles, so he lowered his head and ate them.
Not long after, Si Luo returned, paid the stall owner, and then led the two of them toward the town.
Wen Nongnong urged in a low voice, "Let's go quickly."
Si Luo was somewhat puzzled, but she still quickened her pace.
However, at that moment, Master Lingyin suddenly raised his head and glanced at Wen Nongnong's back. He felt that she was somewhat familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
He thought for a moment, then finally remembered, and without finishing his noodles, he quickly got up to chase after them.
Upon seeing this, the stall owner's face turned ugly, and he quickly stopped him, saying, "Taoist priest, you haven't paid yet."
The Taoist priest Lingyin impatiently tossed him a few copper coins and then quickly chased after Wen Nongnong and the others who had gone.
Wen Nongnong was unaware that the Taoist priest Lingyin had already seen her.
The three of them had already left the dock.
Seeing that her expression was off, Si Luo couldn't help but ask, "What happened just now?"
"I've run into an enemy," Wen Nongnong said helplessly.
Both Si Luo and Si Lan were somewhat surprised, "An enemy?"
"This is a long story. Let's buy some horses and hurry back to Xiangzhou," Wen Nongnong said anxiously.
She wasn't afraid of Master Lingyin, but she was in a hurry to get back and didn't want to waste time here.
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