Chapter 43 The Evil Star
After leaving Canghai City, Yun Chen ran six horses unconscious and his body was covered with the smell of the stable after the horses sweated profusely.
As soon as the horses in the post station saw her and smelled her scent, they all hid away and no one dared to come forward.
She took a quick look, picked out a fast horse, jumped onto its back swiftly, threw down two grains of silver, said "thank you", and rode away.
Having wasted nine days at Xiangxiao Cliff, her return journey was in a hurry.
She estimated that she might not be able to make it to the New Year's Eve dinner, and she didn't know what would be served at the Huo family's New Year's Eve dinner, or whether Xun Xun would save some dumplings for her.
With all these in her mind, she flew all the way to a place a hundred miles away from Yancheng. When she passed a caravan, she glanced casually and seemed to catch a glimpse of a familiar face.
It was not until she had run two miles that she remembered who it was and quickly turned her horse around and ran back.
In this caravan, Xu Zhan, who was demoted to the lowest-ranking escort guard because his ironwood ship was destroyed during the charge, was walking on the road with a dozen other people, escorting the goods.
Suddenly I felt a gust of wind blowing past my face, and a madman on horseback rushed past, and in the blink of an eye he came back.
When the horse came to him, Xu Zhan saw the face of the man clearly amidst the violent jolts and swaying of the horse. His face suddenly changed drastically and he cried out in shock:
"You damn troublemaker, Little Tuopi! Be alert! Be alert!! The Huo Gang's people are coming!"
Although the other guards had never seen Yun Chen, they had all suffered at the hands of the "mad dogs of the Huo Gang". They knew that when the people of the Huo Gang saw the Yu family, they would rush up like wolves seeing meat. They immediately took out their weapons and prepared for a fight.
Yun Chen approached from afar, riding on his horse and shouting:
"Brother Xu Zhan! I've just learned some new sword techniques! Do you have time to try them out with me?"
Without even waiting for Xu Zhan to reply "I'm busy!" Yun Chen drew his sword and attacked, scaring the guards so much that they screamed and dodged.
After only two moves, Xu Zhan discovered that this guy's swordsmanship was even better than before.
When he was at the Yu Family Wharf in the past, he could still deal with it within three moves.
It has been several months since we last saw each other. Yun Chen's swordsmanship is full of murderous intent, sinister and terrifying. Look at the flash of blue light from the Hidden Moon Sword. The sword energy alone can break the wind and hurt people!
Xu Zhan rushed forward with gritted teeth, but was defeated in just half a move and fell to the ground gasping for breath.
Seeing that after only two moves, more than a dozen Yu family guards all fell to the ground, wailing, Yun Chen sheathed his sword with satisfaction and said happily:
"My master is so kind!"
Xu Zhan was too weak to curse and could only say helplessly:
"Because you destroyed the ship, I was beaten to the point of being on my last legs. It was only because of my years of hard work and merit that the master spared my life and demoted me to this level. Right now, we're just escorting a few carts of fireworks to the city."
After a pause, Xu Zhan showed a pleading look, "Ancestor Yun Chen, please let us go. These fireworks are just sent to the shops in the city to sell and for fun."
As soon as the words fell, seeing Yun Chen's eyes suddenly light up, Xu Zhan knew that he was in trouble! He said the wrong thing!
"Brother Xu Zhan, I want to buy a cart of fireworks!" Yun Chen said as she started to dismantle the cart. Dozens of carriages were connected together. She learned her lesson this time and only dismantled the front carriage and took it away.
The Yu family guards had no energy to stop him and could only watch Yun Chen happily ride away.
Xu Zhan repeatedly consoled himself:
"It's not a big deal, that guy only took one car this time. It's not a big deal!"
A guard, holding his leg and grimacing in pain, said:
"Didn't you say you wanted to buy a cart and leave? Where's the money? Who did you give it to?"
Xu Zhan was stunned for a moment, sighed heavily, and admitted his defeat: "Forget it! A cart of fireworks doesn't cost much, I'll make up for it!"
A cart of fireworks is not expensive, just as much as Xu Zhan's annual salary nowadays. He felt pain in his heart just thinking about it.
At this time, another guard interrupted and said quietly:
"That guy from the Huo Gang must have robbed the lead carriage... The four horses pulling the carriage were all on it..."
Only then did everyone realize that something terrible had happened.
Dozens of fireworks carts were parked quietly, without horses pulling them, waiting for them to pull them with their bare hands...
Xu Zhan finally couldn't help himself and burst into a shrill roar:
"Yun Chen!! You are such a wicked evildoer!!!"
At the same time, in the Huo Mansion in Yancheng, a hundred miles away.
Over the past year, Huo Gannian's face has become much less gloomy, and he even smiles more often.
Everyone in the Huo family went from being terrified at first to gradually getting used to it and starting to feel relaxed.
Now, with the support of Princess Nan Lijun, the Huo Gang's power is growing. In just half a year, they have added 80 new branches in the territory of Nan Kingdom and opened up overseas trade routes between Dongyan and Zhao Kingdom.
Immense wealth poured into the Huo Clan from all directions, while the Yu Clan could only retreat step by step, looking on with envy.
In addition, with the addition of Yun Chen this year, the Huo Gang has won more battles than they have lost, and the casualties among the guards have been greatly reduced compared to before, so this year's New Year's Festival is very lively.
The whole mansion started busying itself early in the morning on New Year's Eve. The whole Huo Mansion was hung with golden red silk and red lanterns. Every courtyard was cutting window decorations, pasting up couplets, and affixing Chinese characters for "Fu".
The big kitchen was bustling with activity. Not to mention the food and drinks, they were making more than 20,000 dumplings alone.
All the guards were given new uniforms in navy blue with silver embroidery. Although the servants did not change their uniforms, they also received new clothes.
There were thousands of people in the Huo family, and everyone was dressed brightly and decently.
Huo Gannian sat in the Beining Hall for a whole day, issuing eighteen rounds of annual awards and saying similar words of praise. He was so tired that his mouth was dry and his arms ached.
He sat there until the sun set in the west and the night deepened. The New Year's Eve banquet had already been set up in the front hall, but Huo Gannian still didn't wait for the person he missed.
During every New Year's holiday, there is always a banquet in the front hall. All the doors of the mansion are opened to welcome wealth.
Huo Gannian didn't know how many times he had feasted in this front hall, but this was the first time he noticed that there were six doors from the main gate to the front hall.
Each door is decorated with a different auspicious animal, such as Qilin, Pixiu, Xiezhi...
Sitting in one of the main seats in the front hall, he could see at a glance that the main gate of the Huo Mansion was wide open, and a huge relief lion was facing inward with its majestic canine fangs exposed.
The area in front of the gate was vast and empty, and from afar one could see people crossing each other on the long street.
Sitting in the other main seat, Old Master Huo dozed lazily and said slowly:
"The east wind doesn't blow away sorrow, but spring days can only make hatred last."
Huo Gannian raised his eyebrows, "Dad, what nonsense are you talking about again?"
Old Master Huo yawned loudly and sighed, "Nothing, I'm just hungry."
Since Old Master Huo said he was hungry, the New Year's Eve banquet naturally started early.
Old Master Huo, Huo Gannian, Huo Luyu, and various other masters of the Huo family, all sat at the table chatting and laughing, clinking glasses, and enjoying the meal.
Ye Yan and Buyan guarded from the side and were forced to tie festive red belts around their waists.
On the other side, Runhe was holding a red belt and chasing Hua Jue everywhere, swearing not to stop until he tied the belt on Hua Jue.
Hua Jue ran as fast as he could and refused three times in a row: "Runhe, don't come over here! If you come over again, I'll call for help! Don't bring that ugly thing near me!"
The other guards, stewards, servants and maids were also sitting around the small square table, eating, drinking and chatting.
The entire Huo Mansion was filled with joy and excitement.
Suddenly, not far away, a cluster of huge fireworks made a humming sound and exploded into the sky.
The maids shouted excitedly, "Are they setting off fireworks in the city? Why are they setting them off so early this year?"
The fireworks illuminated everyone's faces. Huo Gannian looked at the fleeting splendor, his eyes slightly moved.
Everyone was busy admiring the beauty of the night fireworks, but Ye Yan suddenly narrowed his eyes, tilted his ear to listen, and slightly stretched his head to look at the long street outside the gate, muttering:
"It doesn't seem like the kind of fireworks we see in the city every year... What's all this noise? Could it be..."
As the sound of galloping horses roared towards them, a familiar figure appeared in his sight. Ye Yan was stunned:
"Could it be Yun Chen?"
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