In a small dilapidated village, Ah Lian was washing clothes gently.
The occasional rain delayed their progress, but it also helped them get rid of the pursuing troops in the capital.
In order to avoid interrogation, they traveled along country roads and deliberately avoided crowded places.
They are now in an abandoned village. The villagers moved to higher ground after suffering floods a few years ago, and the place gradually became deserted.
There was only a blanket spread on the kang, and lying on it was a graceful woman, who was Huan Ci, another person on this trip.
After running around outside for three days, she started to have a fever since last night, and now it is even worse than last night.
This place is remote, but it is the best resting place for them in the past three days.
Ah Lian wanted to find a doctor, but Huan Ci stopped him.
After she changed into a pair of clean clothes belonging to Ah Lian, she climbed onto the kang and went to sleep. If she would inevitably expose her whereabouts when meeting other people, it would be better to rest here for a while and rest her mind.
After she fell asleep, Ah Lian fed the horse something, washed the clothes they had changed, and then closed his eyes to rest in another room.
The two of them had barely dared to close their eyes in the past few days. Now they finally had a chance and fell asleep in a short while.
At this time, in a town close to the village, a short man panted and ran towards the guarding officers and soldiers, looking nervous and proud.
It started to drizzle again outside, and the cool wind blew in through the window, waking up the man lying on the kang from the cold.
Ah Lian shrank his neck, crossed his arms and walked inside.
"Dad." The woman on the kang murmured in her sleep.
He walked forward and tucked the blanket for the woman, looked at the tears on her face and sighed silently.
Suddenly, a slight movement outside the house aroused his alert.
He clenched the short knife in his hand and moved it slowly away from the wall.
When he was about to reach the door, an arrow suddenly flew past his eyes, barely grazing the tip of his nose.
The arrow knocked down the porcelain bowl on the cabinet, and the sound of something breaking woke Huan Ci up.
She suddenly sat up from the bed and heard Ah Lian's voice.
"Don't come out, stay away from the window, we've been discovered."
Huan Ci hurriedly slid down from the kang and hid behind a large water tank.
"How many people are outside?" she asked softly.
"I can only see a few carriages from here." Ah Lian leaned against the wall and looked outside, his face a little gloomier, "They are carriages reserved for officials."
Huan Ci frowned depressedly. She was really flattered that these people were so vigorous in order to catch her.
"Can we get out?"
Ah Lian shook his head gently.
"How about I go out to attract them first, and you go around from behind when no one is paying attention." Huan Ci said, covering the tiger talisman on his chest.
"No." Ah Lian turned back and glared at her, "I must take you back."
"The person they want to arrest is me. You should go back to Bingzhou to find my uncle as soon as possible." Huan Ci angrily scolded.
"Take the tiger charm with you." She tried to take out the things from her arms, but a whistling arrow stopped her movement.
"People inside, come out." Suddenly, other people's shouts came from not far away.
Seeing the arrows so close, Huan Ci gritted his teeth bitterly and moved along the wall to the side of A Lian's legs.
"Let's go together." She grabbed Ah Lian's sleeve and said.
Ah Lian looked at her and immediately put his arms around her waist.
After a while, the two people appeared behind the house.
It turned out that Ah Lian hugged her out of the broken window and rolled from the side of the house to here.
After taking a quick look at the surrounding environment, Huan Ci discovered that there was a lake behind him. No wonder the group of people didn't guard the place.
The horse they were taking was resting by the tree. Ah Lian stepped forward and untied the rope.
The people in front had already noticed the abnormality and shot several arrows here one after another.
Huan Ci hurriedly climbed onto the horse, sat behind Ah Lian, and grabbed his clothes tightly.
Seeing that she had mounted her horse, Ah Lian immediately turned his horse's head and ran to the east. The guards there were much fewer than before, and they didn't bring bows and arrows.
The officials who came to control the area really did not expect this place and hurriedly ordered the soldiers to chase them.
"What's going on?" A man came out of the carriage behind him.
The official was so panicked that he broke into a cold sweat and said anxiously: "Sir, those two people ran away from the east. I have sent people to chase them."
"Go over and take a look." Fu Shen said coldly.
He raised his eyelids and looked at the steep slope not far away, with a faint smile appearing on the corner of his lips.
At the other end, Ah Lian galloped along on his horse, while Huan Ci used his horse's bow and arrow to attack the officers and soldiers in front.
Someone was shooting arrows from behind, and one of them was inserted into Ah Lian's waist. Huan Ci supported him from behind, dodging other arrows along the way.
Suddenly, an arrow hit her calf, and the strong force caused her to fall back suddenly.
Before Huan Ci could scream in surprise, he had already fallen off the horse and rolled down the steep slope in front of him.
Before she fainted, she saw several fierce arrows pierce the necks of the officers and soldiers on the steep slope, and Alian quickly disappeared from sight without their obstruction.
A strange man suddenly appeared not far away, walking quickly in front of her like a ghost. Huan Ci opened his mouth, but before he could make a sound, his heavy eyelids closed uncontrollably.
At this time, on the hillside, the official and his men were galloping up on horseback.
"What's going on? Where are the people?" He looked at everything in front of him in disbelief, and his face suddenly lost color.
"Sir, the guards over there have been killed. I think someone is there to rescue them." An officer and soldier pointed to the steep slope farther away.
"Search quickly, otherwise how can I explain to His Majesty?" he shouted angrily.
Behind him, Fu Shen walked over slowly.
"He ran away?" The man's thin lips opened slightly, and his voice was extremely cold.
"I'm going to send someone to search." The official nodded hurriedly and bowed.
Huan Ci sneered: "Master Zhang is really incompetent."
Zhang Miao immediately felt angry, but there was nothing he could do.
Today's matter was indeed assigned to him by the superiors, but Fu Shen happened to be here to supervise the flood control, so he came to take a look. Now that an accident has occurred, he can only bear the responsibility. After all, everyone else is listening.
Things he directs.
He has been in this small town for many years, and he thought that today would be his chance to get promoted, but he unexpectedly got an uninvited guest.
Fu Shen ignored his panic expression and looked at the hillside opposite with his hands lowered, his face a little gloomy.
Sao Ye, who was far away at the bottom of the slope, walked up slowly, passed Zhang Miao and went straight to Fu Shen.
Fu Shen looked at him and then looked away. If anyone looked at him carefully at this time, they would definitely notice the faint smile on the corner of his mouth.
*
Huan Ci woke up on a bed surrounded by tents.
The medicinal fragrance that filled the room penetrated her nose, gradually awakening her consciousness.
She slowly opened her eyes, glanced around the dim bed curtain, and wanted to lift the curtain to take a look.
But as soon as she moved her body, the severe pain made her cry out.
The next moment, the bed curtain was lifted from the outside, and a fourteen-year-old woman glanced at her lightly.
Huan Ci wanted to speak out, but he was unable to do so. He couldn't use any strength at all.
She stared at the person in front of her silently. The woman just looked at her and then put down the curtain.
Huan Ci was lying on the bed, listening to the footsteps getting farther and farther away, and the "squeak" of the door that soon sounded, and he was very confused.
A moment later, the wooden door rang again, and then hurried footsteps rushed towards her.
Huan Ci stared at the tent warily until a familiar face appeared in his eyes.
The person who came was actually a doctor.
He looked at Huan Ci, grabbed her arm, and then concentrated on feeling her pulse.
Huan Ci stared at this man dumbfounded. No wonder this man looked very familiar. He was the doctor he had met at Fu Shen's mansion that night. How could he appear here now?
She turned her head and looked away, looking at the furnishings in the room.
This should be a three-bay house, and all the appliances are quite satisfactory, but it is definitely not a place where ordinary people live.
"Where is this?" After a long while, Huan Ci finally spoke.
The doctor gave her a cold look, then turned to the woman next to him and said, "It's nothing serious for now, just take the medicine on time."
The woman nodded and followed him out step by step.
Actually just ignored her words?
Huan Ci curled his lips and struggled to sit up.
She lifted up her clothes and looked around. It turned out that her body was covered with small scratches, and only her legs were covered with strips of cloth.
The delicate and smooth feeling came from her hands, and Huan Ci was shocked to realize that she had changed her clothes.
She hurriedly looked for the half piece of tiger talisman, but it was still well hidden in her arms.
Huan Ci breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed the bedrail and tried to sit up, when the woman suddenly returned to the room.
She stared at Huan Ci, walked over quickly and held her down.
"Where is this?" Huan Ci raised his head and looked at her.
The woman shook her head and looked away.
"I want to go out." Huan Ci emphasized his voice.
The woman shook her head again and gave her a warning look.
Although Huan Ci was confused, she couldn't do it at the moment, so she had to slowly move back to the bed.
The woman looked at her with satisfaction and brought her a glass of water.
Huan Ci was not at ease and shook her head to show that she was not thirsty, although her throat was very uncomfortable at this time.
The sun slowly set, the room became darker and darker, and the woman kept coming and going without knowing what she was doing.
When it was almost completely dark, she ran in again and lit a candle, looking hurried.
"Wait a minute." Huan Ci shouted.
The woman raised her eyelids and looked at her, then closed the door and went out.
Huan Ci opened his mouth and swallowed all the words he didn't ask.
Lying down was really boring, and she once again thought of going outside to take a look.
