The young man nodded at me, and he pushed open the door to the large kitchen and walked across the courtyard to the inn lobby.

I stayed by the fire, looking in a trance for a moment.

Where the hell did that weird guy go?

I think this inn is a "feng shui treasure"?

One freak went, then another.

It seems that I was afraid that the life of the people staying here would be too dull, but I only stayed for a short time.

I thought of the thief in the inn who targeted the Wu family, and the question was still unsolved, and there was one more person to disrupt the situation.

Did the weirdo really leave, or did he leave for a short time and go upstairs?

Will he come out of nowhere?

I hesitated for a moment, then walked to the door.

In the cold wind, I looked over the corridor upstairs of the inn.

Because the backyard here is facing the promenade of the inn, the view is unobstructed.

If someone were walking around the inn's corridor, it would have been easy for me to spot it.

It was the middle of the night, and when I looked up, let alone a person, not even the cat in the inn.

I muttered to myself and walked back to the stove.

The young man hadn't come back yet, so I asked him to check it out, and by the way, it was also time for him and the innkeeper.

The two of them could discuss how to tell me the truth.

I withdrew my gaze to the door and turned to lift the lid.

The steaming soup will be ready for now.

I stirred slowly with a spoon a few times, then found a few small bowls in the large kitchen to hold the hot soup.

When I'm busy doing things. The guy I sent to the front to check on the situation has returned.

"There was no sign of the man in the lobby." He grinned and said, "Maybe the soup has been boiling for a long time, and he can't wait." ”

His tone was light-hearted. Just kidding me.

"Or maybe the soup you cooked smelled unappetizing, and he gave up!"

I glanced at the young man speechlessly, not wanting to think too much, and directly lowered my head and put the small bowl of hot soup into a tray.

For the sake of prudence, four servings of hot soup were prepared.

The young man joked back to jokes, and he didn't do anything sloppy, and he carefully carried the tray for me. By the way, I also took a few steamed steamed buns and walked to the lobby of the inn.

As I walked through the courtyard, I suddenly felt as if a figure was passing by on the other side of the corridor.

My ears are sharp. But the eyesight has not yet reached such a sensitive point, of course, most of the reason is because it is late at night.

I slowed down and stayed in the courtyard for a few seconds.

The young man who had walked out of the long section turned his head to look at me, and I followed. "Did you just notice something was wrong?"

The young man still had a tray in his hand. As he asked, he looked in the direction of the corridor.

There is no anomaly. The young man turned his head and said, "The shopkeeper is still waiting for you, so it's better to go over first." "Okay, the soup will be cold every once in a while, and it won't taste good if it's cold." I answered, and quickened my pace

There were no more idlers in the lobby of the inn, and the shopkeeper stood by the door and looked at us.

I approached, looked at him and said bluntly, "I was interrupted just now, and now that person walks away." Can we talk about the samurai family? “

The shopkeeper nodded slightly and motioned for me to sit down.

I picked the table in front of him

Come down from the mountain. At dawn, we arrived at the boundary outside Suzhou City.

The two guards passed through the woods outside the city.

After the guard Ah Lai hesitated, he decided to stay and rest for a short time.

The companion's eyes looked at the stuffy gourd that dismounted in the distance.

After several hesitations, he finally made a decision.

Alai reached the forest before him, and his companion dismounted and walked to the man who had stopped under the tree.

Anyway, they came out to do things together, and it was because of themselves that they missed the opportunity!

Although the third young master of his family has always been uncertain and has a lot of ideas, it cannot be denied that he was indeed negligent when it was his turn to be on duty in the middle of the night.

At this moment, the conversation is more appropriate, and it will be too late to discuss it when the time comes to enter Suzhou City!

Steward Fu is still an old mansion in Suzhou City at this time.

Before leaving, the young man explained to him clearly, and after there was accurate news from Nanhua Town, he would definitely send someone back to deliver the message in the future.

When he saw his companion approaching, Ah Lai raised his head and withdrew from his thoughts, his expression slightly stunned.

He guessed that the other party was probably still struggling with explaining the whereabouts of the third young master to the Fu steward.

Walking up to Ah Lai, his companion turned his head and looked at the path in the forest.

In fact, there is more than one road to Suzhou in this area, and there are many forks in the road.

They approached the boundary of Suzhou and chose the nearest path.

This road was stumbled upon when I was on a mission in the past, and few people except the local villagers would pass through.

Because ordinary people don't have the opportunity to know the complicated routes that pass through the mountains and forests, they are not so bold as to dare to try it easily.

It's risky to try unfamiliar routes!

Ah Lai was about to speak, when suddenly there was a sound of horses' hooves in the distance.

He glanced at his companion, and the thought that had just arisen in his mind was dispelled.

They looked in the direction of the sound of horses' hooves with serious expressions.

Not long after, a small group of men and horses was seen passing through the forest.

Ah Lai made a look, and his companion immediately understood.

The two men walked straight to the edge of the stream and bowed their heads to wash their hands.

The horses they were riding, and their attire were not very eye-catching, and they had already squatted down, and half of the trees on the bank by the stream were thick and half obscured.

Of course, the passers-by saw the two men resting in the woods, and after a short look, they didn't notice anything to be wary of.

In addition, they have important things to do, although the Lord went south, the news was still transmitted to Suzhou one after another.

After searching for no new clues for a long time, he could only rush to the northland and continue to investigate along the way.

No one dares to slack off on the commands of the Lord.

The sound of horses' hooves came from far and near. Stay away again

By the stream, Ah Lai raised his head and looked in the direction where the small group of men and horses had left, turned his head to his companion's thoughtful gaze and asked, "How many times have you done tasks before?" Have you ever encountered something like this? “

There are some remote and inconspicuous villages scattered among the rolling hills, and the surrounding dense mountains and forests cover the sky.

These kinds of places are locals who are familiar with the terrain.

Ah Lai asked because he saw that the people who rode through the forest on horseback had a very different appearance and temperament from the local in Suzhou.

The companion thought for a while, shook his head and said, "I've never met the nearby villagers, and I know it at a glance." "Another time I ran into someone who had strayed into the woods," the companion recalled, pausing to continue. It just so happened that we were also passing by, a caravan, and we showed them the way! "Those guys just now. Look at a little, "the companion wants to talk and stops."

Ah Lai said in a low voice: "They are all practitioners, and their kung fu is not low." “

He looked back in the direction the group had left, and continued to mutter, "The riding skills are very good, if we go head-to-head with them." There is not much chance of winning. ”

"The other side has a lot of people."

"Hey. Don't let others be angry and destroy your own prestige! ”

The companion glared at Ah Lai and complained, even if it is the truth, it is still hurtful to say it.

"I'm telling the truth, and I can't do anything if I don't listen to it."

Ah Lai said coldly, and after a while, he walked back to the bank of the stream and got back on his horse.

"What are you going to say when you see the Fu Steward?"

His companion asked behind him.

Ah Lai did not answer, and crossed the forest path. Turning the fork in the road, the east of Suzhou City is not far away

Wang's team had been marching northeast one after another along the established route.

From the capital city to the mountains near Nanhua Town. The speed of the team slowed suddenly.

The spies of the pioneer battalion who took the lead in the team, those people went first.

In addition to exploring the way, the most important task is to observe the situation of the town ahead.

The Empress was walking in the woods when she received the news, and the letter was delivered to her.

After reading it quickly, the empress pursed her lips and walked in the direction of the hot spring valley.

She crossed the path at the entrance to the valley guarded by the guards, and saw the familiar carriage from afar, and for a moment she was a little excited.

She had the urge to see the man sooner, but as she walked, she slowed down.

The empress's gaze occasionally skimmed over the bank of the stream near where the carriage stopped, looking at the flowers and plants that were still growing well in winter, and lost her mind for a while.

The place with the most flowers and plants in the Sealand Palace, in addition to the flower garden, is the Lin De Palace.

The man in the Lin De Temple

The Empress's gaze lingered on the bank of the stream for a moment, then moved her gaze back to the carriage.

The valley is very quiet, and the people in the car have not shown up, starting from the national capital, the people who have spoken are all Mo Yan.

Other than that, there doesn't seem to be any movement.

The empress didn't know why the feeling in her heart was always not good.

She sighed and looked up at the northwest sky, a habitual move.

After a short while, before I even reached the position of the carriage, I suddenly heard the sound of birds flying through the woods.

A white dove descended from the sky and stopped on a bluestone beside the stream in front of it.

This group of pigeons is different from the usual carrier pigeons, which are carefully selected and trained by the guard battalion.

Every time it appears, it means that there is the most important information to be passed directly to the empress herself.

Her face changed, and she immediately went forward to inspect it, and with a few movements she quickly took down the letter that was tied to the pigeon's leg.

There was a sign of the army stationed in the Northland, but if the mark seen in front of him was different from the pigeon that sent the letter, the letter must be presented to the empress.

The movements of the Northland are always in the memory of the empress.

Even if the place where the pigeon stays is wrong, no one will be bold enough to open it directly.

This time, the letter was delivered accurately to the empress.

She bowed her head and opened the letter.

As mentioned earlier, the letter paper tied to the legs of the pigeon that delivered the letter was specially made by craftsmen, and it was extremely light and soft.

Because it is necessary to take into account the amount of serving.

The Empress looked down at the letter, unable to look away for a moment.

Her face was gloomy, and after looking at it for a quarter of an hour, she turned and walked out of the valley.

If there is some abnormal movement, the information will always be sent in time, and this time is no exception.

But the situation seems to be getting more and more tricky!

The letterhead said that the men and horses sent to the front by the pioneer battalion of the Northland garrison had not returned, and no useful information had been returned.

What does this mean?

It means that so far, it has not been possible to fully control the movements of the Northland, especially since there are still some people with special identities in the opposing team.

Those people are the biggest variable in this battle!

The mission carried out by this group of people in the Northland Pioneer Battalion, except for the empress, is known to only a few people, and the target is the hidden forces in the opposing army.

Mission failed!

It's a pity that the physical condition of the National Teacher is not guaranteed until he arrives in the Northland.

There was no one to discuss, and the empress instantly felt helpless to hit the cotton hard.

People who have always had a strong personality rarely showed a little frustrated look

Drinking the hot soup, I looked up at the innkeeper.

After thinking about it, he said: "Doctor Wu has a good reputation in the town, and generally I don't want to mention his eldest brother's affairs. ”

"Although I am not close friends with Dr. Wu, many people in the town have been healed by him."

I nodded, and half of the young man's concerns were also inseparable from this matter.

They suspected the thief of stealing, but they did not chase after it, did not investigate deeply, and the only thing they did was to strengthen the security in the inn.

Even the innkeeper personally inspected at night, an obvious move.

"I heard that there is something strange about that person, what does that mean exactly?"

As soon as I spoke, I said with a little apology: "I will leave Nanhua Town tomorrow, shopkeeper, you don't need to have any worries, I promise you, I will never mention it to anyone easily." "That person from the Wu family, that is, the elder brother of Doctor Wu, came to Nanhua Town together many years ago."

The shopkeeper's fingers tapped lightly on the table, and he whispered, "At the beginning, that person also opened a shop in the town. “

I looked at him and listened intently.

"It's the most common dry goods store here," the shopkeeper patiently explained to me, "Relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, there are many such shops in Nanhua Town because of the mushrooms produced in the mountains." ”

"Some of them were opened by people from the town, and some of them were driven directly by mountain people from nearby villages."

The shopkeeper paused for a moment, and then continued: "At that time, there were already a lot of customers coming and going from the Northland, so even if the business of the shops in the town was not the best, it was enough to maintain food and clothing. ”

Sounds like a normal life, at least in my eyes!

How did that person become that virtuous?

I muttered to myself.

"Five years ago, he went to the mountains in the north of South China to buy dry goods from the mountain people, and it was that time that something happened."

When the shopkeeper said this, he glanced in the direction of the wooden staircase in the lobby, and the corners of his mouth suddenly moved.

As soon as he did this, I almost thought that the weirdo who had followed us to the big kitchen had returned!

I quickly turned my head to see where there were people by the stairs!

I exhaled, met the shopkeeper's gaze and urged, "You go on, what about later?" (To be continued.) )