Chapter 219 Dare to Touch My Woman
"Reporting to the general, these are patients who have contracted the disease in the city. They are about to be taken out of the city to be burned. Please do not get close to them, or you may be infected."
Xie Qi frowned and turned to look at the departing carriage again.
A plague outbreak recently occurred in the city, killing many people. He ordered that the sick be isolated and treated, and those who could not be cured should be taken out of the city and cremated.
Indeed, quite a few people have been pulled out over this period of time.
However, he also received messages from Lu Yuan's messengers.
This news filled him with both immense joy and deep worry.
Jiang Zhi did not die, but was kidnapped by the Di people in Xuzhou. Lu Yuan asked him to conduct a thorough search in Yaocheng and not let them take Jiang Zhi away.
I was patrolling outside the city just now, looking for any trace of Jiang Zhi.
Only then did they hear the voice coming from the carriage.
Although she was a woman, her voice was completely different from Jiang Zhi's.
Was it just his imagination?
"General, the people in the manor are still waiting for you to return for a meeting," a guard beside him reminded him.
Xie Qi nodded and looked away. "Let's go."
However, as soon as the horse started moving, Xie Qi pulled on the reins, turned the horse around, and spurred it towards the outside of the city.
"You guys go back first, I'll be right back."
Regardless, he still wanted to go and check to make sure before he felt at ease.
The scenery outside the city was completely different from that inside.
Just a few steps away, you can see bodies lying on the roadside, including elderly people and children.
Drought, plague, and the frequent looting and killing by the Northern Barbarians.
Outside Yao City, a scene of utter devastation unfolded.
Xie Qi quickly caught up with the carriage and, ignoring the people's advice, kicked open the door.
Inside lay a thin, frail woman.
His hair was disheveled, his eyes were sunken, and his face was flushed; he looked like he was on the verge of death.
Xie Qi glanced at her twice and then confirmed that she was not Jiang Zhi.
"Cremate him properly." He closed his eyes and left.
Is it really just my imagination?
Where exactly is Jiang Zhi?
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhi was still tied to the Di people and riding a fast horse on her way.
Leaving Yaocheng and crossing the Black Ridge, you enter a vast, desolate Gobi Desert.
The burly Di man hurried along at full speed, while the woman tied behind him remained completely silent.
Just as he was wondering what was going on, he suddenly heard a dry heave, followed by a heavy slam of his head against his back.
He immediately reined in his horse and ordered everyone to stop.
After untying Jiang Zhi from the horse, they found her face flushed and her eyes unfocused. They put their knuckles under her nose to check and found that she barely had any breath left.
His heart sank.
Those nearby were also worried. "Judging from this, could it be... the plague?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the people around him instinctively dispersed.
The burly Di man frowned deeply.
This woman is far more useful alive than dead.
It is said that Han women are delicate and frail. They have been traveling for so many days and have been hungry. I'm afraid her body can't take it.
He might really have been infected with the plague in Yaocheng.
If they die on the way, all their efforts will have been in vain.
Thinking of this, he immediately ordered his men, "You two go back to Yaocheng and buy some medicine. The rest of you come back to Black Ridge with me to rest."
We still have several days' journey to reach the Helan tribe. If we continue on our way, this woman might really die. We should try to cure her plague first.
It had gotten completely dark.
They found a spot on the leeward side of Black Ridge and lit a fire to rest.
Fearing that they might be infected by Jiang Zhi, these people kept several feet away from her. After feeding her the medicine they had bought from Yaocheng, they did not tie her to the tree as usual, but only bound her hands and feet and left her aside.
He dared not let her go hungry any longer, so he gave her a flatbread to fill her stomach, and then went to the side to drink wine, warm himself up, and eat dry food.
Therefore, they did not notice that Jiang Zhi, who was sitting by the sea buckthorn bushes, was silently rubbing the rope binding her hands with the sharp thorns on the sea buckthorn bushes.
His eyes were clear and his movements were careful; there was no trace of the critically ill and dying look he had just had.
Night deepened.
The Di people were exhausted from their long journey. Perhaps because they had finally left the territory of Qi Dynasty, they relaxed, drank some wine, and fell into a deep sleep, their snores rising and falling.
Jiang Zhi finally broke free of her restraints and, without thinking twice, swallowed the pancake next to her in a few bites. Only then did the tormenting hunger subside, and she regained some strength.
He then secretly took the wine jug they had thrown aside, and without caring whether anyone had drunk from it, tilted his head back and gulped down a large mouthful.
The strong liquor went down her throat and immediately dispelled the chill from her body, making her feel as if she had come back to life.
Knowing his own alcohol tolerance, he didn't dare drink too much.
After doing all this, she glanced at the seven people who were still fast asleep, and tiptoed to untie all the horse ropes tied not far away.
These horses, which Jiang Zhi noticed they had changed several times along the way, were not the usual mounts used by these Di people.
So once the reins were untied, they all ran off, trembling.
Jiang Zhi left one horse behind, mounted it, and spurred it hard. The horse then carried her towards Yao City, the direction from which they had come down the hillside!
Jiang Zhi didn't know how long she rode on horseback; she was almost falling apart. Just as they were about to reach Yao City, the Di people finally caught up with them.
"Stop! If you dare to go any further, I'll shoot an arrow." The leading Di man chased after her on horseback, already aiming his bow and arrow at her back.
He gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury.
This cunning woman, who had been obedient and compliant throughout the journey, had managed to lower their guard, yet dared to trick them into escaping at the last moment.
Jiang Zhi only turned around and glanced at it before whipping her horse and heading towards Yao City again.
She's gambling.
She was betting that those Di people wouldn't dare to actually shoot her.
With a whoosh, an arrow flew through the air, grazing her ear, and her entire earlobe began to burn with pain.
"The next arrow is aimed at your head." The voice of the Di man behind me was like a leech.
Jiang Zhi felt the hairs on her back stand on end and her scalp tingle.
She gripped the reins tightly, forcing herself not to turn back, her gaze fixed on the tightly closed city gate so close at hand.
It'll be here soon, it'll be here soon.
With another soft "whoosh," another sound was heard.
A half-bunch of hair near her cheek was cut off, fluttering in the darkness before falling silently.
"The city gates are closed; you can't go back." The cruel voice of the Di people grew closer.
Jiang Zhi finally arrived at the city gate.
But the city gates were tightly shut, appearing like the gaping maw of a giant beast in the darkness, silently and coldly facing her.
There were sentries patrolling the city wall. Just as Jiang Zhi was about to speak and identify herself to ask them to open the city gate, the Di people had already surrounded her.
The leader leaped onto the horse behind her and tightly covered her lips, silencing her completely.
"What a pity, just a little bit short." He chuckled.
Jiang Zhi forced a desperate smile.
Yes, she was so close to going back.
The leader of the Di people was about to knock her unconscious with a single blow, but his raised hand hesitated to fall.
Jiang Zhi only felt a warm, damp sensation on her back.
Turn your head to look.
But then the Di person suddenly fell off his horse.
A long sword was stuck in his back.
"Ha, you dare to touch my woman? You're asking for trouble."
Xie Qi's silver armor gleamed coldly in the moonlight. His tall and imposing figure obscured his face, with only his cloak fluttering in the night wind, carrying an lingering aura of menace.
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