nycdaug Chapter 226 Rushing
Chapter 226 Rushing
I was stunned and asked him: "Hao Ling?"
He nodded. "Yes, this is the only unusual thing today, except for the large number of patrols. That's why I told you to go south. Look at these ruts on the ground. They were made by them. Was your young master carried away in them?"
I nodded as well, and in the dim light of dawn I looked at the ground, thinking.
Seeing that I didn't say anything, he continued, "This place is not safe yet. I defeated the first wave of people, but I don't know how many waves they have. Those big carriages left the house this afternoon. They are all tall and strong horses, fat and strong, and they run very fast. If you want to chase them, I'm afraid we have to set off now."
I looked at him steadily and said, "Let me tell you first, your third uncle is also involved in this. If you don't want to get involved in this mess, you can retreat now."
He smiled helplessly: "Since I'm here, I must be here to help you. In your eyes, am I so afraid of my elders?"
I was a little grateful, but still replied seriously: "Thank you. But if you help me, and he blames you later, and if he prevents you from becoming the clan leader, I can't bear it, so I'm reminding you in advance."
He raised his lips and said, "When the time comes, there will be a way out. You have so many ideas, just help me think of a few. Besides, I don't have to be the clan leader."
I bowed and said, "I don't need to thank you for your kindness. If you help me today, I will go through fire and water for you in the future."
The corners of his mouth curled up a little higher: "Not really."
I turned my horse around and said, "Let's talk about it when we meet. Just put it on your account. Now, let's go to Xiyan first."
He was shocked: "Xi Yan?!"
I pointed at the wheel tracks on the ground and said, "Young Master is good at tracking and has taught me a thing or two. Look at this wheel track on the ground. It's much deeper than the others, and the tracks are messy and have opposite patterns. I think it was caused by a second rolling. I guess a carriage secretly turned around and headed north while the moon was dark and the wind was strong."
He looked at my hand carefully and sighed, "He...he is really smart. You are so amazing after being taught by him."
I pursed my lips, even thinking about him made me feel heartbroken.
We rode our horses at full speed, and took a short detour to avoid the pursuers from the Tushan family. By the time we finally set foot on the road to Xiyan, the sun was already high in the sky.
In July, the sun was scorching, and I was sweating profusely. I ran more than 80 miles with him in one breath. I felt so hot that I felt like I was being steamed inside and out by a steamer, but my heart seemed to be fried in oil, so I didn't feel anything at all.
All I know is that I have to hurry on and not look back.
Suddenly Gui Fangduan turned around and pulled my reins. My horse stood up and neighed loudly, and I held on to the saddle tightly to avoid being thrown off.
"What's wrong?" I asked him.
"I need to take a break," he replied.
"I'm not tired yet." I looked at him pleadingly.
"You are not tired, but the horse needs to rest." He pointed at my horse. I looked down and saw that the horse was panting and some white foam was coming out of its mouth.
I had no choice but to get off the horse and follow him to the river beside the road. I tied the horse to a tree and let it graze, while Gui Fang and I sat in the shade to rest.
He took out two water bags from the bag on his horse's back and handed one to me. He didn't drink it immediately, but just took a sip to moisten his throat.
I followed suit, and I felt thirsty as soon as I drank the water. My lips were dry and cracked, and they hurt when they touched the water. Unfortunately, I had been running for so long under the scorching sun, so I didn't dare to drink too much all at once. I asked him to divert his attention, "How long does it take to get from here to Xiyan City?"
He looked at me and said, "According to the speed of our horses, if everything goes well, it will take about twenty days."
I asked again, "You are going to Xiyan with me. It takes so long on the road. Will your family get suspicious and look for you?"
He took a sip of water, raised his hand to wipe his mouth and said, "Before I came out, I asked someone to help me make up a mission. It won't be a problem to be out for a month or so. When I go back, I will say that the mission failed, return the money to the buyer, and settle the account."
I also took a sip of water and asked, "Can you borrow some power from your family, such as some sacred birds or sacred beasts, to help me move forward?"
He shook his head: "Since Third Uncle has intervened in this matter, I dare not move. If he finds out, we might have extra trouble. It is better to hurry on this way, so that we will be a smaller target."
I sighed, then I can only chase after her.
He seemed to have misunderstood me, his face slightly red, and he whispered to me: "I'm sorry, I'm not strong enough."
I shook my head seriously. "No way. If you hadn't saved me, I might have been executed right now. It's easy to add icing on the cake, but it's hard to help someone in need. You're very brave and strong enough to accompany me through this journey without fear of danger."
His face turned even redder, and he murmured, "You are also very powerful..."
I didn't answer, just nodded to him.
I felt his emotions, but I couldn't and didn't have time to respond.
After resting for a while, he checked the horse's condition. Seeing that the horse seemed to have recovered, he patted the horse's back and turned to me and said, "You can go now."
I stood up, jumped on the horse, and set off again with him.
After three days of rapid travel, we arrived at a wide and long river. The wheel tracks meandered towards the dock and finally disappeared.
Gui Fangduan rode his horse back and forth along the river bank, craned his neck to look again and again, and said to me: "It seems that they have changed boats. What should we do? Should we also change boats and go downstream to chase them?"
I thought about it and replied, "No, we just cross the river and continue to head towards Xiyan City."
He hesitated a little: "What if... they are not going to transport him to Xiyan City? What if he was not in this carriage from the beginning, and it was just a bait to divert attention?"
I said firmly, "Then I can only gamble. I gamble on my intuition and also gamble that the thing they went to so much trouble to transport here is the real one."
He stood in the backlight of the setting sun, holding the reins. I couldn't see the expression on his face clearly. He just whispered to me, "Okay," and turned to go back to the dock.
He found a boat. The boatman initially wanted to wait for the passengers and gather a group of people before setting off. He took out his money and chartered the boat directly.
When the boatman saw the money, he smiled happily and invited us on board. He also gave water to the horses for us and called his wife to prepare dinner for us.
I quickly ate a couple of bites with them and then put down my chopsticks, thinking that if we didn't eat, they would finish earlier and could go back to rowing.
Gui Fangduan was caught by the boatman and asked to drink with him. I saw that he couldn't refuse, so I guessed they would be gone for a while. I also felt that the night wind on the boat was a bit cold, so I said I was sleepy and wanted to go back to the cabin to sleep.
After returning to the cabin, I tossed and turned, feeling inexplicably panicked. I was a little worried about Gui Fangduan, so I lifted the curtain and wanted to go back to the deck.
In the moonlight, I saw Gui Fangduan stepping on the boatman with one foot, holding the tablecloth against his chest with his left hand, and stabbing his heart with a long sword in his right hand.