Ci Jinzhi

Chapter 278 Caravan

 In the end, Qianfeng and Ping An gave up their plan to sleep with Xin You due to Xin You’s tough attitude.

Xinyou closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

 In the past, it was convenient for women to dress up as men, but I had never experienced anything like this.

 There was no talking all night, and the next morning the group freshened up and ate, and then the group continued on their way on horseback.

 Horse riding can be regarded as the fastest way to travel, but it is also the most laborious.

Although He Qingxiao knew that Xin You had the skills and could endure hardships, he still couldn't help but cast a look of deep concern.

 “Would you like to take a rest?” He rode closer.

Hearing this, Xin You shook his head: "I'm fine. Master He, do you want to take a rest?"

Looking at her hair that was damp with sweat, He Qingxiao was silent and nodded: "Well, I want to take a rest."

Xin You immediately pulled the reins and dismounted.

 “Let’s all take a rest.” The Jinlin Guard calling was Huang Cheng, the leader of the ten people. Taking into account the complicated travel arrangements, He Qingxiao specially selected an intelligent and articulate person from several outstanding confidants.

There are large trees with lush branches on the roadside. Tie up your horse, which is perfect for resting in the hot summer.

　　Everyone’s clothes were soaked with sweat, and they drank heavily as soon as they got off the horse.

He Qingxiao handed over a skin bag: "I asked the postman to fill it with salt water. Mr. Xin drank some...the water bag is new."

Seeing his special explanation, Xin You couldn't help but laugh: "It doesn't matter if it's not new. It's not so particular when you go out."

 She said, taking the water bag and drinking a gulp of water.

 It was an ordinary scene, but He Qingxiao's face heated up inexplicably, thinking of what she just said: It's not a new one... doesn't it matter?

The sound of horse hoofbeats was heard. He Qingxiao calmed down his thoughts and looked over, and saw a convoy approaching.

It was a caravan, with several carriages filled with goods and dozens of people walking beside the carriages.

They looked like they were about to stop and rest. They looked over and saw a dozen young people on Xinyou's side. Each of them was paired with a horse. They didn't look like someone to be trifled with. They were far away before stopping to rest.

The person in charge among the twenty or thirty people was a slightly fat middle-aged man, wearing a long robe, with a kind face. As soon as he sat down, he started talking to a young man. The boy was about seventeen or eighteen years old, somewhat similar to a middle-aged man. He was either a father and son, or an uncle or nephew or other blood relative.

Xin You stared at the group of people without blinking.

 “What’s wrong?” He Qingxiao’s voice rang in his ears.

 She looked away, looked at He Qingxiao and whispered: "These people's halls are darkened, and their death is imminent."

Especially the pair of people who look like a father and son. In the picture, the middle-aged man is protecting the young man under his body, and he is slashing at the back with a knife. The young man uses all his strength to turn over and bear the **** long knife. The father and son both wanted to protect each other, but in the end neither of them survived.

 This caravan must have been attacked by bandits.

Xinyou recalled what he saw.

It is a slightly narrow road with high mountain walls and lush trees on both sides. When someone passes by, they only need to hide on the high place and push the big rocks to roll down, and they will be killed or injured.

There were about ten bandits ambushing there, and they had the advantage of the terrain. It was easy to rob and kill this team of twenty or thirty people.

“With so many people in danger at the same time, and the caravan on the road, I guess they encountered robbers.”

Having personally experienced the effectiveness of Xin You’s physiognomy, He Qingxiao had no doubts about her words. She looked at those people and asked in a low voice: “Are they all dead?”

 “Well, they’re all dead.”

 The two of them said shocking words with expressionless expressions on their faces. The young man in the caravan glanced this way, and gently tugged on the middle-aged man's clothes: "Dad, the people over there are always looking at us, they don't want to take advantage of our goods, right?"

"Those people look like they are on their way." The middle-aged man analyzed it based on his experience, and ordered him to continue, "We will wait until those people ride away on horseback before setting off."

He Qingxiao has a good ear. When he heard this, he said to Xin You: "They are father and son. The young man is still worried that we will rob the caravan."

Xin You was silent for a while and then made a decision: "Since we have encountered him, let's save him."

He Qingxiao did not agree immediately: "I will send someone to the front to explore the situation first."

He doesn't mind helping her without her, but his mission when he leaves Beijing this time is to keep her safe. Publicly or privately, he would only put her safety first.

 She is his mission and his sweetheart. If something happened to her, if she neglected her duty and lost her love, he would have no shame in living.

Xin You couldn't clearly explain the number of bandits, not to mention that the picture didn't represent everything, so he agreed with He Qingxiao's caution.

She really wanted to save others, but she didn't want to involve her own people.

He Qingxiao quickly arranged for a Jinlin Guard who was good at investigation to go first, and the rest rested for another two-quarters of an hour before preparing to leave.

At this time, the middle-aged man came over and raised his hands to He Qingxiao: "Little brother, just now I saw that a noble man left first. Is there anything wrong?"

The most afraid of businessmen, a businessman who often running outside, is to meet the robbers.

He Qingxiao wanted to save people, so he said: "We originally took another official road, but the water blocked it, so we changed to this road. Since we were not familiar with it, we asked the attendant to explore the road first."

Seeing He Qingxiao's kind attitude, the middle-aged man relaxed a lot and sighed: "We also changed our path because of this. If my little brother's attendants find anything, can you tell me something?"

 He Qingxiao nodded slightly.

His lukewarm attitude actually made the middle-aged man feel more at ease. He turned around and went back, carrying an oil paper bag: "The dried meat made by my mother-in-law is very durable. If you don't mind, my little brother can eat it to relieve his boredom."

 “Thank you.” He Qingxiao took it and handed it to his subordinates.

He Qingxiao's act of accepting the gift made the middle-aged man smile and stopped talking.

Not long after, the sound of horse hoofbeats came urgently, and the Jinlin guard who was exploring the road rode back.

“Young Master, there is a fork in the road ahead. The road on the left is wider and filled with water, making it difficult for carriages and horses to travel. The road on the right is narrower, but it can be flown smoothly..."

Hearing the situation of the Jinlin Guards' visit, Xin You frowned and thought deeply.

The father and son in the picture did not die under the rocks, but died on the way to escape. The front of their sight seemed to be a fork in the road - that is to say, the banditry was right in front of them.

 After coming to this conclusion, Xin You immediately went to see his group.

　From He Qingxiao until he saw Qian Feng, no one seemed unusual.

If we go with the caravan, will the bandits give up this operation?

The tragic sight of rocks falling from a high place in the picture made Xin You deny this speculation. The most likely possibility is that the bandits saw that his group was traveling lightly and did not take action.

When the middle-aged man heard that the mountain road was narrow, he felt a little uneasy, and his tone was pleading: "Little brother, the mountain road ahead is difficult, can we go together for a while?"

"I'm afraid this is inconvenient." Xin You spoke before He Qingxiao could answer.

 (End of this chapter)