Under the howling wind and snow, even Xu Mu did not expect that Yuan Tao would move so fast. As soon as he walked out of the Hou Mansion, he was met by Lu Zizhong who was being grabbed.
Four heroes in black threw Lu Zizhong on the snow and immediately used Qinggong to disappear.
"My brother is Master Qian!" Lu Zizhong looked up on the snow. When he saw Xu Mu, he was so shocked that he uttered this sentence in a hurry.
"Brother Gu, who is Qian Dashu?"
Gu Ying, who accompanied him out of the Hou Mansion, thought for a moment.
"I remember that he was a dispatching officer from the Ministry of Household Affairs. He hid in Changyang City, presumably to seek refuge with Mr. Qian."
"High official?"
"Seventh grade." Gu Ying shook his head, "I heard that he has some relationship with the court... But you don't need to worry about these relationships. Since the master has spoken, he can protect you no matter how big the trap is."
Xu Mu silently clasped his fists.
He felt a little complicated about the young Marquis. But no matter what, he should be regarded as an old friend.
"Little boss, I'll go back to the house and look at the master." Gu Ying turned around, his steps heavy, "As soon as the matter is over, you go back and prepare."
"I entered the inner city two thousand miles from the border, reached for food, and led the people of the village to beg for their lives. Although I, Gu Ying, am a reckless man, I also know how difficult your journey will be."
"My master told me that when my little boss Wolong comes out of the pond, it will definitely stir up a lot of trouble in order to meet the vision of transforming into a dragon."
"Tsk, please, little boss."
Xu Mu held the dead willow branch and stood silently in the wind and snow.
Si Hu and others who were behind also took their horses and began to gather behind him.
On the snow, Lu Zizhong's wailing voice of accusation was still chattering endlessly.
"Xu, Brother Xu! This round is not my fault! When you entered Tangjiang City, I told the four old ghosts that I would share a cup of food with you——"
With a cold face, Xu Mu raised a dead willow branch and pulled it straight towards Lu Zizhong's body.
He remembered that when he entered Tangjiang, he was just an unknown small business owner, and he was driven out and killed by the four major families. How many times, if it were not for desperate survival, he and the villagers would have died long ago.
"Don't slap me in the face!"
"Little boss, if you kill me, you will definitely cause trouble!"
"If not, I'll buy my life with silver. How about ten thousand, ten thousand taels!"
Xu Mu's face was cold, and he turned a deaf ear. He raised his hand and slapped her several times until Lu Zizhong lay on the snow with his head in his hands, screaming miserably.
"Little boss, don't hit me, don't hit me, I know my mistake, I'm kneeling down, you, don't hit me!"
"I didn't want to be a blood licker at first. I just wanted to live. But you guys, you guys, all want to force me to death and kill my villagers."
"Just a few steps away, I will be forced to climb up the mountain!"
Xu Mu gritted his teeth and angrily pulled out the dead willow branch again.
Crossing the border, he saw too many lives and deaths, rich people and dog officials, forcing him like a lost dog.
"Little boss, you have remembered the wrong person. There is no place like Liangshan in the inner city. You, please stop hitting me. My waist is broken."
Click.
A dead willow branch was broken from it.
Lu Zizhong raised his face covered with blood, with a hint of surprise in his frightened eyes.
"Si Hu, break eight more willow branches."
Lu Zizhong was stunned, and the screams rang out again. This time, he was really scared. In a hurry, he crawled in front of Xu Mu and kept kowtowing.
"Mr. Lu, please stop knocking." Xu Mu took a breath, and an anger that could not be vented was still rolling in his chest.
"My little boss, these words, these words! Why don't you spare me this time!"
"Let's talk about it in the next life."
Xu Mu raised his head, letting the wind and snow scratch his face, feeling an indescribable feeling of comfort.
Being cautious all the way does not mean that he is born to be a carefree person. As Yuan Tao said, he is hiding his clumsiness. A poor little stickman, even the two taels of silver he started from scratch, is still the suffering of his little servant wife
How to break the situation with money?
Even after entering the inner city, Yuan Tao taught him to save the country, but Chang Silang taught him to rebel.
As everyone knows, in this chaotic dynasty, the greatest ability for ordinary people to survive is. No matter what you do in the future, the first step is to survive. After you survive, you can talk about your ideals.
"Brother Mu, I broke too many pieces. I broke eighteen pieces."
Xu Mu didn't answer. He grabbed a bundle of willow branches in his hand and stared silently at the snow in the distance.
Lu Zizhong was still lying on the ground howling, probably understanding his fate.
Xu Mu closed his eyes and raised the dead willow branch in his hand coldly.
…
In the Hou Mansion.
Yuan Tao, who was baking on the stove, also closed his eyes slightly.
"Master, my little boss was beaten to death."
"know."
Yuan Tao retracted his hand and retracted it into the sleeves of his robe. There was a hint of complexity on his face.
"Gu Ying, what will happen if my little boss continues to make wine?"
"You should be able to protect Zhuangzi. In a few years, you will become a rich man."
"This sentence is correct."
Yuan Tao coughed twice and lowered his head.
"But have you ever thought that Xiaodongjia is someone who can rival the famous general Li Poshan? His riding skills in rushing into formations, his layout of blocking two cities... I have read through the records for a long time, but there is no precedent for these things.
"
"What do you mean, Master?"
"The young master is a strange man. It would be a waste to just be a brewer all his life."
"I don't have time anymore."
Yuan Tao stood up, hunched over, and walked to the door. He raised his head slightly and looked at the snow-colored rivers and mountains in the distance.
"Every day when I fall asleep, I dream of the late emperor standing in front of me, pointing at me and scolding me for not being able to protect the country."
"It's not the master's fault. That year, the master led troops out of Changyang to quell the rebellion. He was so treacherous that he killed three ministers who cared about his life, took control of the government, and gathered the masters of the world——"
"Gu Ying, these things don't make sense."
Yuan Tao hugged his sleeves and leaned against the door.
"Let me ask you, can you tell what my little boss is thinking?"
"Master, I don't see it. But the young master should be someone who cares about the common people. At least, he is not willing to conspire with Chang Shiro."
"Gu Ying, I can't tell either."
It was undoubtedly a tug-of-war, but Gu Ying did not dare to have any dissatisfaction. Looking at his master's back, his nose felt a little sore for a moment.
He remembered it from afar.
That year, in the sunshine and spring breeze, my master, dressed in snow-white clothes, rode out of Changyang with an army of 200,000 to suppress the rebellion. Many rich and common people in Changyang City knelt down to see him off.
Even the traitor Xiao Yuanlu pretended to chase him for half a mile and cried for several rounds.
"Snow falls in thirty states across the country, and paints my pale head all night long."
In the snowy wind, Yuan Tao's frosty hair suddenly started to flutter.
…
Outside the Hou Mansion.
Xu Mu silently abandoned the blood-stained willow branch on the ground.
"Brother Mu, if you don't go into the Marquis' Mansion and change your clothes, your robe will be stained with blood."
"No change." Xu Mu's voice was steady.
"I'm going out of Changyang like this. If anyone stops me, I'll use the knife."
Xu Mu got on his horse coldly.
The twenty people from Qizhuang behind, including Si Hu, felt that Xu Mu in front of them seemed to have changed vaguely.