After several twists and turns, the convoy finally broke free from the narrow valley and rough road, and Guanzhong was already close at hand. The artemisia grass all over the field seems to have sensed that the autumn is approaching, and grasps the last time to frantically expand its vitality, dressing up the wilderness on both sides of the ancient road into a turbulent ocean.

The clouds were long gone, leaving only the extreme blue overlooking the rolling world. Occasionally, a few groups of southward geese crossed overhead, dotting the slightly monotonous sky, leaving a few mournful screams along the way.

The three-way road unsurprisingly appeared in the field of vision, and the two roads in front of him, one leading to Chang'an, while the other could bypass Chang'an and point directly to Luoyang. The convoy slowly came to a halt on the side of the boundary monument, and the exhausted horses finally waited for time to rest, their heavy wheezing all around.

"Big brother, don't you really have to let me accompany you?" Although Yuan Zhize had already said it very clearly, Yuan Zhiyu, who was standing on the side, was obviously surprised, and still asked unconvincedly.

"No need, you better go back early and ask your father to marry the two of you, as for the affairs of Chang'an, I am enough to deal with it alone. A gust of autumn wind blew, and Yuan Zhize's sideburns hair was a little messy, but there was still that fascinating smile on the corner of his mouth.

Yuan Zhiyu's initial panic had disappeared, replaced by a solemn face, and he was silent for a long time, and he decided to stick to his opinion: "There is such a big thing over there, in case you have three longs and two shorts, big brother..."

Yuan Zhize smiled faintly: "I have already informed Lord Taishou Wang in advance, so there is naturally no need to worry about safety." Yuan Zhize looked at the carriage Wanyun was riding in front of him, and his eyes were a little more melancholy: "You are going to get married, I hope Wanyun can happily be a bride, and I don't want other things to stimulate her..."

Yuan Zhiyu still insisted, and before he could speak, Yuan Zhize raised his hand violently and signaled: "Okay, this matter is so decided, let's separate here, and the two of you will go back to Chang'an first." Seeing that Yuan Zhize had made up his mind, Yuan Zhiyu couldn't say anything, so he had to retreat in disgust.

"Sister Xiaoxiao, let's go first, I'll wait for you in Luoyang!" After a short break, the team was divided into two teams, Wanyun stood in front of the car and waved goodbye to us, her eyes full of reluctance and worry.

"Zhize, you are really careful enough, you think so thoroughly. Seeing them disappear into the vast wasteland, I said to Yuan Zhize on the side without looking back.

"Actually, I was going to make you a happy bride too. Now, though, it seems that it may not work. Yuan Zhize smiled mockingly, hugged me in his arms and said softly: "It's not too early, we should also go on the road." ”

Approaching the mountain gate, the surrounding scenery gradually became familiar, it was still the same, the road down the mountain had not changed, and the trees and rocks beside the road were still standing quietly, waiting for my return.

Looking back at the beginning, this mountain road was full of my happy memories, full of me and my brothers and sisters fighting, and the mountains seemed to echo with my unbridled laughter. And Yuan Zhao and I said goodbye to everyone and went down the mountain as if it happened yesterday. Everything is interpreting a state of mind to me - things are not people.

I once read a sentence that the so-called tragedy is like making a sculpture, painstakingly making a flawless and ingenious work of art, and then throwing it to the ground and shattering it when everyone is amazed by it. Returning to the once cosy surroundings and making sure that all the good things that had been there before were gone for me was like stepping on the debris of the ground a few more times.

Zhi Ze didn't say anything along the way, just watched everything around me silently beside me, and grabbed my hand tightly, letting me feel the blazing temperature emanating from his body.

I quietly turned my back to my face, gently wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes, and suddenly felt that I was actually very happy, even when I was isolated and helpless, there was still someone standing firmly next to me, with a shoulder that I could lean on.

When I finally arrived at the mountain gate, the huge rock was still there, but the small stone that once stood on it and waved goodbye to me was gone forever, and was replaced by a group of officers and soldiers who were waiting for me.

A soldier stepped forward from the ranks and signaled for the convoy to stop. "Chang'an is too obedient to the order, no passerby is allowed to go up the mountain, and those who violate the order will be killed!" The loud shout produced a huge echo under the action of the stone walls on both sides, startling several birds perched on the cliff.

Zhi Ze stretched out his hand and took out his token and handed it to the guard on the side, and the guard immediately stepped forward to reply: "The person riding in the car is His Royal Highness the King of Hanzhong, and there is a token as proof!"

After verifying that he was right, the other party hurriedly knelt down and bowed: "Lord Chitose Chitose Chitose!" Please wait a while, and the villain will go to inform Lord Taishou." Then he got up, got on his horse, and ran up the mountain.

After a while, the group rode from the mountain at a gallop, and when they saw the charioteer, they hurriedly dismounted and walked forward. "Chen Wang Lin greets the prince!" A thin old man bent down in front of the car to bow, revealing his gray hair under the scarf on his head, after all, he was old and weak, and after riding a horse for a while, his body was undulating greatly.

"Lord Wang doesn't have to be polite, please get in the car, this king has something important to ask for. Yuan Zhize bowed slightly in the car and ordered the attendant to put the ladder next to the car.

When the Taishou got into the car, he found that there was actually someone else in the car, and he seemed very surprised. I hurriedly stepped forward to salute, Wang Taishou hesitated for a moment, nodded slightly in return.

The guest and host exchanged pleasantries, and then got to the point. According to Wang Taishou, the bloody incident occurred late at night on the 20th of last month, when someone at the bottom of the mountain discovered that a fire had suddenly ignited on the mountain, and then reported the case to the government, and the officials of the government immediately dispatched to go up the mountain to extinguish the fire. But the fire was too strong to extinguish for a while, and it was not until the next morning that the fire burned all the houses to ashes.

During this period, the government found that there were many corpses at the scene of the fire, some of which had been burned by the fire and could not be identified, and a total of 54 corpses were cleaned up afterwards.

"Aren't there any survivors?" I couldn't help but ask softly. Lord Nawang sighed and said, "There are a total of fifty-six people registered in the Feng Mansion with the government, and it is said that only two family members who went to other places to participate in the martial arts competition escaped this catastrophe..."

I couldn't help but shake my head and smile bitterly when I heard this, the people who stayed at home had already been killed, and Yuan Zhao's life and death are unknown now, what about me? If it weren't for Zhi Ze's accidental rescue, I would have been in the mountains and wilderness by now.