On the fifth day of riding, Owen, who had been riding ahead, easily found the traces of Robert, Ed and his party.
After all, such a large group of people walking on the King's Road left too many traces.
The three of Theon and Bloodwind followed at a distance, waiting for them to go to the Crossroads Inn to rest.
Without the influence of unexpected forces, the power of fate is so irresistible.
The playful Arya followed the butcher's apprentice and played sword fighting with branches on a branch of the Trident River.
After being taught by Cersei, Joffrey returned to being a sunny blond boy and walked along the riverside with Sansa who was obsessed with him.
Secretly following Arya with Nymeria, Theon, who was wearing a hooded cloak and a turban, Little Jon and Bloodwind were hiding aside.
Things developed quickly, and when Arya sadly wanted to drive Nymeria away, Theon knew that the opportunity had come.
He stretched out his hand and patted Xue Feng's head, which was barely covered by the bushes even though he was lying down.
Of course the clever Bloodwind understood the meaning. After it stood up, it silently headed towards Nymeria with a predatory bowing posture.
After a while, Bloodwind brought Nymeria, who was tamed very well by it, to Xion's side.
"The mission is half done, go meet Owen!"
Theon wanted to imitate Robb and scratch Bloodwind's chin as a reward, but Bloodwind avoided him with a disgusted look in his eyes.
Without any embarrassment, he immediately turned to Little Jon and said.
Owen has been responsible for keeping an eye on the lady who stayed obediently at the Crossroads Inn.
But it didn't run around at all, giving Owen no chance to enter the hotel guarded by golden lions and crowned stag soldiers.
When Xion and the others came to join them, they continued to wait for the opportunity.
Night slowly fell, and torches were lit at the Cross Inn.
Suddenly there was a commotion from the direction of the inn. As an archer, Theon had an excellent eye and saw Arya being escorted to the inn by Lannister soldiers.
When they entered the inn, many knights and guards rushed into the inn, wanting to see how the king would handle this incident.
Seeing that most of the soldiers' eyes were attracted, Theon nodded to Owen, patted Bloodwind's head, and walked towards the back of the hotel, where the lady was tied to the stable.
In fact, Theon and Owen can handle this matter perfectly. With Bloodwind, they are afraid that they will not be able to control the lady. Even though it has always been docile, it is a direwolf after all.
The lady was tied to a pillar next to the stable with a thick iron chain. Her innocent eyes had no idea what was about to happen.
In order to express his attitude, Eddard brought out all the northern soldiers to search for Arya, leaving only Jory in the inn to report news to him at any time.
Therefore, as a matter of course, the lady was guarded by two Lannister soldiers wearing golden lion armor.
Snap!
A pebble fell on the stable post and made a crisp sound.
The two Lannister guards subconsciously turned their heads to check.
Tear!
Uh, uh...
Two pairs of black hands holding short-handled daggers stretched out from the darkness, covered their mouths, and lightly cut their unprotected necks.
Only when the struggling guards, whose mouths were covered, did not move, did Theon and Owen let go of their hands and began to search for the keys to the iron chains on their bodies.
Tap tap tap!
There was a sound of hurried footsteps. Seeing Arya being escorted to the king, Jory was anxious and prepared to ride on horseback to inform Eddard.
But who could have imagined that as soon as they walked around the corner behind the inn, they saw two masked men searching for the Lannister soldiers who fell on the ground.
Clang!
Qiao Li subconsciously drew his sword and shouted a warning.
"Bloodwind!"
Before he could get up, Xion secretly screamed "Oops" and immediately called for support in a low voice.
call!
A gray shadow flashed in front of Xion, and Qiao Li's right hand holding the sword was instantly bitten by the bloody wind, and he fell heavily to the ground.
Perhaps because Qiao Li was a person it was relatively familiar with, Xue Feng did not attack his neck directly and showed mercy.
Otherwise, Jory will either be killed instantly, or become a one-armed swordsman like James in the future.
"Ahem! Xue Feng?"
Qiao Li, who was choked and coughing after shouting, immediately recognized the iconic Blood Wind.
"Captain Jory, I don't want to kill you. Let me take the lady away, that's what Robb wants!"
Seeing that his whereabouts were exposed, Theon tore off the scarf covering his face and whispered to Jory, who was suppressed by the bloody wind.
"Robb is awake? Is your target a lady? Well, let the blood flow first!"
Qiao Li turned his head and saw Xion's appearance. He breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he was feeling a little uncomfortable due to the bloody wind. He coughed and spoke.
"Okay, Bloodwind."
After getting along for many years, Theon believed that Jory would never sell them to the Lannister, so he called out Bloodwind.
"I don't have time to say more. Seeing Bloodwind here, I believe this is Robb's order.
You should take the lady away now! Then let Xue Feng inject a bite on the necks of the two guards."
As soon as he got up, Qiao Li covered his bleeding right hand and spoke to Jon.
"By the way, let the bloody wind take another bite on my leg. This will make my excuse of not being able to pursue you become a reality."
Xion didn't say much, and nodded to Xue Feng, who then lowered his head and bit Qiao Li's thigh.
"hiss!"
Qiao Li bit his lip tightly and sucked in a breath of cold air from the pain. When Xue Feng let go, he fell to the ground and said to Theon,
"You guys hurry up, I'm going to call someone!"
Owen, who had found the key, had already untied the lady's chain. Hearing this, Theon nodded to Jory, put his scarf back on, and led them quickly into the darkness.
Qiao Li, who was covered in cold sweat, saw them disappearing and finally lost control and shouted: "Ah! Someone is coming quickly!"
What happened next was basically the same.
Cersei, who just saw that both direwolves were missing, had nowhere to vent. She buried her resentment against the Stark family deeply in her heart, waiting for the final explosion in the future.
"Qory, don't follow them to King's Landing tomorrow. Find a caravan heading to Winterfell and follow them back to recover from your injuries!"
In the inn, Jory was lying on the bed after his wound had been bandaged by a Chinese medicine practitioner from King's Landing. Eddard stood next to him and said to him.
"Yes, Lord Ed!"
Qiao Li nodded and replied.
Ed suddenly opened the door and glanced outside. After confirming that no one was there, he came to Qiao Li's bedside and said softly: "They may not be able to tell because the blood stains cover the wounds.
I am certain that the wounds on your body and those of the two Lannister soldiers could never have been bitten by a lady or Nymeria.
Is it bloody wind?"
"Yes! Robb has awakened, and Theon has been ordered to bring back Lady and Nymeria!"
Of course, Qiao Li would not hide the truth from Ed. He wanted to find an opportunity to tell Ed, but Ed immediately saw through his lie.
"Well, thank you for your hard work. You can go back and recuperate!"
Ed looked thoughtfully at Qiao Li, then turned and walked out of the room.
When Eddard returned to his room, Arya was sitting on the bed with a sad look, waiting for him.
"Father, I want to go home! You said...are Robb and Bran awake?"
Arya, who had experienced too much today and was very sad, immediately threw herself into Ed's arms and said.
"Robb is awake. I believe Bran will be fine under his care!"
Ed stroked his daughter's silky hair, looked at the north, and said firmly.
What happened today made him wonder whether Robb's arrangement was a coincidence or whether he had foreseen an unexpected situation in advance.
But no matter what, for his son Robb, Eddard firmly believed in his heart that he would protect the Stark family.