0p0 Chapter 180: He wrapped his arm around Huangfu's waist, not forgetting to tease him.
Chapter 180: He wrapped his arm around Huangfu's waist, not forgetting to tease him.
With Lin Chengzhi crippled, Old Master Lin decided to try and bring Lin Fengzhi back, as he couldn't bear to see the Lin family decline under his leadership.
Previously, not only did Old Master Lin abandon Lin Fengzhi, but he also had his hands crippled, causing Lin Fengzhi to fall into an abyss of suffering. How could he possibly agree to that?
Lin Fengzhi chose to follow Jiang Chi and leave with him.
The city gate of Anning Prefecture, facing the direction of the capital city—
Old Master Lin watched as Lin Fengzhi followed Jiang Chi, mounted his horse, and left!
Old Master Lin clutched his aching chest, his breathing quickened, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. His eyes widened as if they were about to pop out, staring at Lin Fengzhi's departing figure. He wanted to shout, but no words came out. Regret overwhelmed Old Master Lin completely.
"If...if..."
After watching Lin Fengzhi's figure completely disappear, Old Master Lin murmured absentmindedly.
He thought to himself: If only there were a way to undo regrets!
But in this world... there's no going back!
* * *
Xia Mo and Huangfu Qian were disguised as Lin Fengzhi's medicine apprentices, so naturally they had to leave with Lin Fengzhi and the others.
"Should we leave the group?" Huangfu Qian asked Xia Mo from his tall horse.
Xia Mo thought for a moment and said, "What's ahead? I want to go and see. How long will it take?"
“It takes half a day to get from Anning Prefecture to Duofu County, a day and a half to Duoshou Town, and about another day to Lingzhou Prefecture. If we go directly to Lingzhou Prefecture, it will take about thirty-seven hours by fast horse,” Huangfu Qianhui said.
Jiang Chi, who was in the lead, pricked up his ears to listen to Huangfu Qian and Xia Mo, who were still wearing their disguises, talking behind him.
Why didn't the master just tell him how many miles it was? Why give a different answer? Is there some kind of secret code involved?
"The next stop is Lingzhou Prefecture City?" Xia Mo immediately understood Huangfu Qian's meaning and asked directly.
Huangfu Qian nodded.
"Well, for me, it's only half a day. I want to go home first. I've been away from home for three months, and I miss home," Xia Mo said, shrugging.
Huangfu Qian nodded and said, "I'll show you the way first, then you can come by yourself when the time comes."
“Okay,” Xia Mo nodded.
The two men stopped the horses and dismounted.
Jiang Chi, Lin Fengzhi, and their accompanying guards couldn't understand it at all. Weren't they supposed to go and take a look? Why did they stop instead?
Huangfu Qian took the reins from Xia Mo and tossed the horse to Jiang Chi for safekeeping.
Jiang Chi looked confused, but didn't ask any further questions.
You should obey your master's orders, whether you know the reason or not.
“You two continue on your way, we will catch up with you soon,” Huangfu Qian said.
Xia Mo waved to Jiang Chi.
Jiang Chi put in a lot of effort to reclaim the luck from Lin Chengzhi's live streaming system this time.
Huangfu Qian led Xia Mo into the woods beside the official road.
Huangfu Qian didn't look up, but whispered, "You need to be careful."
"Hmm, it's time to take care of this."
Xia Mo walked behind Huangfu Qian, pretending to follow him, but in reality, her divine sense extended more than a thousand meters into the sky.
She used her divine sense to envelop the fake fly that was tracking Huangfu Qian, and then a wisp of her divine sense entered the fake fly's body...
"boom--"
The sudden roar startled all the birds and beasts in the nearby woods, causing them to scatter in all directions.
Jiang Chi and his men on the official road were also startled and immediately drew their swords, becoming wary of their surroundings.
"what happened?"
"Look at the sky! What a huge mushroom cloud!"
"..."
In the woods—
Xia Mo winked playfully at Huangfu Qian and said, "Okay."
"Let's go," Xia Mo said, stretching out a hand to wrap around Huangfu Qian's waist, not forgetting to tease him, "You're strong!"
Huangfu Qian naturally bent his knees.
"You too, are you getting more and more skilled at me carrying you?" Xia Mo teased, and before Huangfu Qian could react, she led him quickly in the direction he indicated.
* * *
Two hours later—
Outside the city of Lingzhou Prefecture—
Outside the city of Lingzhou, many people gathered and spontaneously formed stalls, selling mainly farm-fresh vegetables and poultry.
The vendors all stayed away from the official road so as not to affect it.
The garrison outside the city of Lingzhou acted as if they didn't see the people setting up stalls and did not drive them away.
Xia Mo and Huangfu Qian, still disguised, appeared among the common people, inconspicuous at all.
Huangfu Qian, disguised, led Xia Mo, who was also disguised, directly through the main gate.
Huangfu Qian presented a wooden identity token, which the guards glanced at before allowing Huangfu Qian and Xia Mo to enter the city, even though they hadn't presented any travel permits or household registration certificates.
The prefectural capital was much larger and had a larger population than the capital of Anning Prefecture.
“There is a large dock next to Lingzhou Prefecture,” Huangfu Qian led Xia Mo to the dock first.
On the dock, there were cargo ships moored, with dockworkers already waiting on the side, and behind the cargo ships, there were large ships approaching.
The dock is lined with bustling restaurants, teahouses, hotels, jewelry stores, and more.
The population is diverse, and if someone rushes into the crowd, they will disappear in just a few breaths.
"The Grand Canal runs alongside, and a boat trip of more than ten days can take you directly to the capital," Huangfu Qian explained simply.
“That ship,” Huangfu Qian pointed to the largest cargo ship among the cargo ships.
Xia Mo nodded, quickly scanning the ship with her divine sense, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Do you recognize that symbol?" Huangfu Qian asked.
“Cao’s freight,” Xia Mo replied.
She knew that it was she who had used her divine sense to gather information from the surrounding area beforehand.
"The young master of the Cao family was very intelligent before the age of ten, but suddenly went mad after the age of ten. There was a famous young man in a collateral branch of the Cao family who showed great skill after the young master of the Cao family went mad." Huangfu Qian was not actually sure whether the young master of the Cao family was someone whose luck was taken away, but many of the young master's situations were very similar to the situation described by Xia Mo.
“Let’s go take a look outside the Cao family’s house,” Xia Mo said.
"Ah."
Fifteen minutes later—
The two, who didn't need to speed up, could only quicken their pace and it took them half an hour to stand by the street outside the Cao family mansion.
Xia Mo used his divine sense to scan the Cao family mansion, taking in the entire situation inside.
Xia Mo looked up at Huangfu Qian in disbelief.
Huangfu Qian asked in a low voice, "Was I wrong?"
"It's not wrong, but... it's different from what you guessed," Xia Mo skipped ahead.
Since she's already in Lingzhou Prefecture, she might as well buy some things to take home.
"Oh?" Huangfu Qian followed behind Xia Mo and watched as Xia Mo picked up the items. He naturally took out some silver to pay for them, without feeling that there was anything wrong with his behavior.
He was waiting for Xia Mo's next commentary.
Xia Mo looked at Huangfu Qian, who was covered in things, and was satisfied. She deliberately stopped and wanted Huangfu Qian, who was carrying a lot of things, to bump into her.