Chapter 724: Yunya Ancient Town (I)

"Bang, bang, bang!"

"It's dry and dry, be careful with the candles!"

Late the next night, most of the people in Yunya Town had fallen asleep. The nearby Qinling Mountains stood quietly under the blue night sky like a majestic beast. Accompanied by the bright moon and stars, it guarded this ancient village that had flourished for a hundred years day after day.

This place is far from the disputes and noise of the troubled times. There are no wolves and hawks blocking the way. I don't know that the civil and military are idle, and the rituals and music are broken. I don't hear that people's livelihood is declining and the country is getting worse.

Most of the people living here are common people, and from generation to generation they make a living by farming and weaving, or by chopping wood and hunting. They live a poor life, working from sunrise to sunset, leaving life and death to fate, and length of life to fate.

Although they are not rich, the people there are simple and honest, and the neighbors are harmonious, so they are happy and free.

Tonight, if the wedding procession had not passed by here, this place would probably still be as peaceful and tranquil as usual.

The closer they got to the Qinling Mountains, the more rugged and difficult the road became. The wedding procession was huge, with a huge amount of people, horses and baggage, so they were inevitably delayed for a long time along the way. As a result, they arrived at Yunya Town much later than expected.

The old night watchman had not encountered such a scene in decades. He was frightened by the sudden scene and trembled. The bamboo stick and gong in his hands fell to the ground with a clang, making a crisp sound that was particularly harsh in the silent Qinling foothills.

"who?"

Before the old man could turn around and flee, Tao Amu rode forward on his horse with a torch in hand, blocking the old man's way.

The old man's legs went limp and he fell to his knees with a thump. He kowtowed to Tao Amu and begged, "Please spare my life, sir! Please spare my life! I am just a night watchman and I don't have a penny..."

It turned out that the old man mistook the wedding procession for bandits.

"Is this Yunya Town?"

Tao Amu looked down on the old man with an arrogant attitude. He thrust the torch in his hand directly in front of the old man, frightening him so much that he stepped back repeatedly.

"We are in a remote and poor place. Most of the people in this town are old, weak, women and children, all poor people..." The old man shielded the firelight with his arms and said tremblingly, "I hope you guys can be merciful and spare us, or... go somewhere else to make money?"

"You are talking nonsense, you deserve a beating!"

Tao Amu glared at the old man, swung out the whip with his right hand, and hit him on the head mercilessly.

"stop!"

Just as Tao Amu whipped his whip, a loud shout suddenly came from the convoy.

Then, a black shadow flew up, stepped lightly on the horse's head with his right foot, and turned into a sharp ghost. In the blink of an eye, it flew in front of the old man, waved his arm, and grasped the whistling whip tightly in his palm.

"Liu Xunyi, what are you doing?"

After identifying the person, Tao Amu couldn't help but feel angry. He wanted to pull the whip back while questioning him, but no matter how hard he tried, the whip was like a brand on Liu Xunyi's palm, and it didn't move at all.

"Deputy General Tao, we are officials appointed by the imperial court, not bandits. We cannot abuse the common people with lynching!"

After saying that, Liu Xunyi suddenly raised his right hand, and the horsewhip immediately broke free from Tao Amu's hand and was thrown far into the darkness.

"Liu Xunyi, you..."

"shut up!"

Before the furious Tao Amu could argue with Liu Xunyi, Sui Zuo, Xu Guangsheng and others had already stepped forward. Facing Sui Zuo's harsh words, Tao Amu did not dare to act recklessly, and could only stare at Liu Xunyi, who had no expression on his face, but said no more.

Su He rushed over upon hearing the news. Seeing the scene before him, he guessed the whole story without asking any more questions. He quickly dismounted, helped the old man up, brushed off the dust on him, and apologized, "Our people were too reckless and disturbed the senior."

"Don't be afraid, old man. We are not robbers." Liu Xunyi comforted him. "We are passing by here to rest for one night and will leave early tomorrow morning. May I ask if this place is Yunya Town?"

"I remember now!" The old man squinted his eyes and looked back and forth at Liu Xunyi and the others, and suddenly realized, "Are you here to escort the bride? A few days ago, someone from the government office told us to give her a good reception and not to neglect her..."

At this point, the old man's face suddenly changed, and he knelt on the ground in fear and trepidation: "I am blind and have offended the majesty of you gentlemen. I really deserve to die..."

"Old man, please stand up quickly." Liu Xunyi lifted the old man up and asked, "So, this is Yunya Town, right?"

"That's right! That's right!" The old man nodded excitedly. "The three mansions and inns have been cleaned up. We dare not keep any guests these days, for fear of delaying the work of the masters."

"That's great!" Xu Guangsheng glanced at the sky, a hint of anxiety flashed in his eyes, and urged, "It's getting late, we should arrange for the princess and the King of Hexi to rest in the inn as soon as possible, because we have to travel early tomorrow morning."

"No need to go back and forth, just settle down as we agreed yesterday!" Sui Zuo pointed to a hotel not far away and ordered, "Tao Amu, you lead 400 people to stay in the East Street Hotel. Be smart and don't sleep like dead pigs!"

"Yes, sir!" Tao Amu bowed and accepted the order. He glared at Liu Xunyi again and then led his men away.

"General Xu, you..."

"I will take my men to the West Street store to guard it," Xu Guangsheng said, "As for the North Street store, I'll have to trouble General Sui!"

Facing Xu Guangsheng's greeting, Sui Zuo did not respond. Instead, he pulled the old man in front of him and said in an unquestionable tone: "Take us to the North Street store!"

"Feng Tianba!" After half a month of contact, Xu Guangsheng had some understanding of Sui Zuo's temperament, so he was not angry. He turned to Feng Tianba and said, "Tonight, all arrangements for the North Street store are decided by General Sui. You are not allowed to disobey."

Feng Tianba stared at Xu Guangsheng with complicated eyes, and hesitated several times before finally sighing and uttering three words unwillingly: "Got it."

After letting Feng Tianba go, Xu Guangsheng whispered a few words to Ding Qinghong, and then watched Zhao Xin's carriage slowly drive away amid heavy guards. "General Xu, you have worked hard. Have a good rest tonight. We will see you tomorrow..."

"and many more!"

Before Liu Xunyi led the horse north, Xu Guangsheng suddenly waved his hand to block his way and said calmly: "Tonight, Master Liu will stay with me in the West Street Inn."

"Why?" Liu Xunyi was stunned, as if he didn't understand what Xu Guangsheng meant. "Our previous plan was..."

"There were some flaws in the previous plan. Last night, I thought about it again and again and decided not to let Lord Liu and the princess live in the same residence. It would be more appropriate to live separately." Xu Guangsheng said seriously, "I am also thinking about the reputation of the princess and Lord Liu. I hope Lord Liu will understand."

"What do you mean?" Liu Xunyi was dissatisfied. "The princess and I have been staying in the same inn for the past few days. Why didn't General Xu stop us?"

"Because I was staying in the same inn with you guys at that time." Xu Guangsheng said perfunctorily, "Yunya Town is different from other places, so I had to ask Master Liu to stay with me temporarily."

"you……"

"Lord Liu is a martial arts master. I feel much more at ease with you accompanying me to guard the West Street store." Xu Guangsheng did not give Liu Xunyi a chance to refute and interrupted, "Only when the West Street store is worry-free can the North Street store be worry-free. Lord Liu must understand what I mean. I think... you will not insist on living in the same store with the princess, right?"

Having said this, Xu Guangsheng glanced around meaningfully, as if reminding Liu Xunyi of the surrounding environment.

Liu Xunyi subconsciously looked around and saw that many soldiers were listening with their ears perked up, looking curious. He couldn't help but feel nervous, and the rebuttal that was about to come out of his mouth was swallowed back into his stomach.

"Master Liu, please!"

At this moment, if Liu Xunyi insisted on doing it, it would inevitably arouse the suspicion of the surrounding soldiers. If rumors spread, it would certainly be very disadvantageous to Zhao Xin.

Besides, it's just for one night.

With this in mind, Liu Xunyi no longer insisted, jumped on his horse, and rode away, heading straight for West Street.

Yunya Town was only a few miles in radius, and the three inns were not far apart. Within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the three groups of people had settled down one after another.

Liu Xunyi was forced to come to the West Street store, and was arranged by Xu Guangsheng to rest in the guest room next to his.

After days of running around and traveling by boat and car, even if a martial artist has much more physical strength than an ordinary person, he or she will inevitably feel physically tired and mentally exhausted.

The Didian is different from an inn. There are no waiters serving you here, so you have to fetch water and cook by yourself.

As it was getting late, the soldiers hurriedly ate a few bites of the dry food they carried with them, and then couldn't wait to go to bed.

Before we know it, midnight is approaching.

Snoring sounds gradually came from the dim West Street store. It seemed that the soldiers were exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

At this time, Liu Xunyi was sitting on the bed soaking his feet to relieve his fatigue. The steaming hot footbath water made him feel comfortable all over, and the day's fatigue was gradually relieved.

His body leaned lazily against the quilt, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was quietly enjoying the leisurely moment.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, there was a burst of hurried and chaotic footsteps outside the door, accompanied by a figure swaying back and forth. Liu Xunyi was shocked and asked, "Who is outside?"

"Master Liu, the general ordered us to patrol the night!"

"Oh!"

Liu Xunyi was familiar with the voices outside the door. He knew that they were Xu Guangsheng's subordinates, so he didn't think much about it.

However, just when Liu Xunyi was trying to collect his thoughts and close his eyes to take a nap, a sound as thin as a mosquito's silk breaking through the air suddenly sounded from outside the window.

"Whoosh!"

At the same time, a sharp arrow, like a black lightning, pierced through the paper window at lightning speed and shot directly into Liu Xunyi's face.

Liu Xunyi reacted incredibly quickly. He grabbed the sharp arrow in a flash, and at the same time, he flipped his body backwards and pressed tightly against the wall to prevent any sneak attacks.

After waiting for a while, there was dead silence outside the window, as if nothing had happened.

If it weren't for the cold arrow in his hand and the hole left in the window, Liu Xunyi would have really thought that the hidden arrow just now was just an illusion.

"Ok?"

With an unintentional glance, Liu Xunyi suddenly discovered that there was a note tied to the arrow.

"This is……"

With a heart full of trepidation and suspicion, Liu Xunyi carefully took the note and slowly unfolded it in front of his eyes. A line of scribbled small words immediately appeared.

"Something happens late at night, be careful of blood!"

……

(End of this chapter)