Qingzhu hesitated slightly: "Only Qingzhou is like this, I also asked Lord Cen, he said that no matter which state or county now, there is no time to take care of outsiders, it is better to leave his hometown land, and the most important thing is to ......" He lowered his voice: "There are so-called good halls and good people in various states and counties, but there is no news of the displaced people after they go, Lord Cen suspects that someone has arrested these displaced people to do hard labor, or has other arrangements." ”

Xia Chen suddenly remembered the Jiang Shanren she heard about in the county seat by the Huangsha River a few years ago, and she still felt strange at that time, even if someone helped the street, there would not be a single refugee without it! Although I heard that Jiang Shanren arranged a place for them to make a living, this was simply impossible.

"Senior Brother Qingzhu, I heard that Master Cen is sick, have you been to see him recently?"

Qingzhu was a little surprised: "Sick? I haven't heard of it. But then again, Lord Cen is sick, it is strange, some people in the court are deliberately making things difficult, and the people below are also full of their own pockets, he is in a hurry on both sides. ”

Xia Chen didn't have a good idea for a while, the current environment is like this, it is better to maintain the status quo if you can't solve the problem fundamentally, otherwise it will cause many unexpected incidents.

"It's not too early, I still have to hurry, and I'll come back from the Western Regions to see you and Lord Cen."

"Well, be careful all the way! I heard that there has been some turmoil on the Xuanguo side recently. ”

Xia Chen entrusted Xiao Chongyang to Qingzhu, and asked Qingzhu to send him to his grandfather's house first, and when he returned from the Western Regions, he would pick him up, and then he would definitely stay here for more time to accompany his grandfather and grandmother.

She and Qingzhu couldn't do anything about paying taxes, and Qingzhu sent her to the door: "Chen'er, don't worry." I will do my best to restrain my men and get them not to push too hard. ”

Xia Chen didn't want to discuss this matter anymore, so he took out a letter from his sleeve: "Give it to my grandfather for me." There were five hundred taels of silver tickets inside. After this time, she also got some warnings, Qingben is not guilty, but she is guilty. This money is enough for them to use for a while, and if they do more, it may hurt them.

"Don't worry, I'll send it myself."

As she walked westward, Xia Chen spent the next few days almost sleeping in the open air, and she deliberately avoided those villages and counties. Only the picture is out of sight.

After leaving the customs, she found that the situation in Xuanguo was not much better, it is said that those nobles wantonly enclosed land to build pastures and hunting grounds, and the common people, especially those who were originally in the Great Cloud Kingdom, were even more dire. And the Xuanguo bought and sold slaves. These slaves were often inferior to cattle and horses.

Walked to the north for two days, turned to the west and walked for three days, Xia Chen came to Xuanguo Xiguan Lintao, out of this city, there is a grassland with fertile grass and beautiful water, but the wind in this city has the fierce and violent atmosphere of the desert.

The city was heavily guarded. Everywhere you look, you can see generals wearing goggles, leather armor or chain mail. Occasionally, you can still encounter merchants from the Western Regions and caravans from the Central Plains, and these people get along well with each other, and there is no rejection or hatred in sight.

Xia Chen sneered secretly, it seems that for the sake of profit, many people can put aside their prejudices, to put it bluntly, ordinary people have any thoughts of winning the world, they just want to live in peace and stability.

I found an inn and asked for a room, took a comfortable shower, took a nap, and came to the street to buy supplies. Adequate food, especially water, must be prepared.

In the evening she returned to her inn room. Out of the ring took out two sets of clothes, and a few ingots of silver, and wrapped them in a bag along with the day's food and water. She has always avoided using rings outside as much as possible, and it is easy to attract attention when she goes out without bringing something.

After packing up, she brought a hat to shelter from the wind and went downstairs, found a corner and ordered two side dishes and a bowl of rice. While eating, she listened to the guests at the other table chattering, so she could use it to find out if there was anything big going on here.

Suddenly, a man dressed as a soldier whispered, "King Ge returned from Kyoto yesterday. ”

Another soldier said: "I heard about it, but didn't King Ge return to Beijing to get married?" How did you come back so quickly? ”

Another soldier said, "Hehe, you don't know this." He lowered his voice: "It is said that the princess-to-be is sick and the marriage has been postponed, but in fact, the daughter of General Hei has escaped from the marriage again." ”

"Really?"

"Of course it's true, don't forget that I'm feeding the horses for General Hei!"

"I've heard that this Miss Hei escaped twice before she got engaged, and it seems that she doesn't want to marry King Ge as a concubine."

"I really can't figure out what this woman thinks, is there any other prince in our Xuanguo who can compare to King Ge!"

"You can't say that, after the death of the commander, King Ge was transferred to the border to guard, and it sounds good that King Ge is a general, but it is obvious that he is squeezed out, and now the red man around the emperor is King Hailing!"

"Anyway, it has nothing to do with us, it's hard to come out once, drink and drink."

Xia Chen listened to the whispers of these people word for word, she couldn't help but think of He Lanyong, I heard that after the death of his father, the former commander of the Xuan Army, Helan Zongfu, their former glory gradually disappeared, and King Ge's mother was originally a county lord of the Great Xia Kingdom, but now that the Great Xia Kingdom has been destroyed, no one will take her seriously, or even look down on her.

She also heard that the commander's wife and the prince's mother had already moved out of the palace to become a nun, and she didn't know whether it was true or not, after all, in the eyes of many people, she was already an insignificant person.

"Brother, do you know what Miss Hei looks like? I've heard that the person who found her whereabouts last time won a lot of silver. ”

"I know where to go! However, I have heard that she is as beautiful as a fairy on the heavenly mountains, but her temper is like that of a fiery horse. ”

"Haha, I just like women with strong temperament, and it's hard enough to get to bed! A few years ago, when I was playing Beiyan Pass, I ran into a ......"

Xia Chen couldn't listen to the next words, turned around and went upstairs to his room. There are not many two-story buildings here, and you can see far away when you open the windows. The sky is thousands of miles, and the city walls are towering. The sunset is lonely and falling, and the wild clouds are faintly dim. The sound of the night is broken.

The sun had just risen, and there was already a hint of heat in the wind, and yesterday's bleak and desolate evening scene was like a dream. Xia Chen knows that the temperature difference of a day in the grassland desert is very large, and it is not an exaggeration to wear cotton in the afternoon and cotton in the evening.

Count what you need on the road again. She withdrew from the room and rode towards Chengguan. The gates had just opened, but there were not many people entering and exiting the gates, and it didn't take long for her turn.

The soldier guarding the customs looked at her paperwork. Raised his eyes and said, "The hat is off." ”

It's not the first time Xia Chen has gone out of the customs, every time he reads the paperwork and releases it, he wonders why he has added rules this time. And there was no talk of checking the photos in this era, and she asked curiously, "Is there anything wrong with my paperwork?" ”

The soldier said impatiently: "No problem, it's just that a new order has just been issued from above, I'll check the age." ”

Xia Chen took off his hat and raised his face to look at the soldier: "Okay?" Seeing the other party's eyes staring straight at herself, she really wanted to ask if she had seen enough!

"Ugh. Ok ok. Then the soldier came to his senses and handed her the paperwork. I didn't forget to advise: "You go out alone at such a young age, you have to be more careful along the way." ”

"Thank you." Xia Chen said that he would get on his horse and walk out of the city. Needless to say, she knew to be careful, but what he said made her feel like she was cursing herself!

The soldier watched Xia Chen leave. Turning around, the horse hurried back to the city.

Waving away the uneasiness in his heart, Xia Chen began to speed up his way. Everywhere you look, there are yellow and green fields, this scenery is vast and magnificent, not inferior to the sea, but also a little more wild and desolate.

The sunset sinks in the west. The night quickly enveloped the vast wilderness like a black carpet covering the ground. Xia Chen found a leeward slope. Prepare to spend the night here.

A hook of cold moon is cold, and the jackdaw is a little late. From time to time, a few wolf howls came from afar, and Xia Chen, who was no stranger to this, still felt as if his blood was about to freeze. After a long day's journey, she wrapped herself in a blanket and fell into a deep sleep.

Another day passed, and it was no longer the grassland, but the Gobi Desert. The days are as hot as fire, and the nights are as cold as frost. After drinking some water and eating a few pieces of crispy jerky, Xia Chen looked up at the Milky Way starry sky around the blanket, maybe she was tired of her trip to the Western Regions. A large part of the reason is that there is a vast sea of stars that can make people forget themselves.

As soon as the sky turned white, she began to hurry again, and she was about to reach the Yellow Mist Valley. She must be vigilant.

The Yellow Fog Valley is named because of the perennial strong winds, the wind and dust and sand flying all over the sky, and it looks like a piece of yellow mist from a distance. The wind howls like a ghost crying, and the cliffs on both sides of the valley are ten thousand feet high, leaving only a line of sky, and the road twists and turns make people always feel that there is a dead end in front of them. And places that seem impossible to hide are often full of dangers, and there may be bandits around every corner and behind every craggy rock.

This is the Sanzhi Zone, for the caravan merchants, the Yellow Fog Valley is more like the Valley of Death, and Shun Lìtong Guò is equivalent to saying that most of the journey is completed.

Xia Chen stopped at a bend, and she keenly sensed a hint of murder hidden in the wind.

"Come out!"

With a cold snort, five figures swept down from the cliff in front of her and half-surrounded her in the middle of the road.

"You have discovered this, and you have some ability to dare to walk this road alone!"

Xia Chen took out a knife from his waist and pointed at the woman in a black power suit who was talking in front of her: "You are a black scorpion?" ”

"I didn't think you knew about me."

"It's an honor to meet the black scorpion of the daimyo." Xia Chen said lightly.

The black scorpion raised his eyebrows slightly: "Listening to your voice, you are very young and have such courage, it's a pity to die, hand over the money and things and I'll let you go." ”

Xia Chen threw the burden on his shoulders over: "Take it." She didn't want to get entangled with this black scorpion, it was rumored that she had at least thirty kinds of poisoned secret weapons on her body, and she also had two comrades, one named Red Bat and the other called Hungry Wolf, these two people were afraid that they were more difficult to deal with than the black scorpion.

The black scorpion opened the burden and took a look: "Just a little silver!" You didn't go out of your way to see the scenery, did you? Hand over all the money on your body, and don't wait for me to do it myself. ”

Xia Chen shrugged his shoulders: "I only want to contact a few merchants on this trip, and I am not going to buy goods, otherwise I will also bring some goods with the caravan, right?" ”

The black scorpion still didn't believe it: "There are thousands of difficulties and dangers in a trip, how can you not take the opportunity to make a profit, aren't you a businessman?" Say! What exactly do you do, and what is your purpose? ”

"Even if I have a purpose, what can a person do? If you feel like I'm telling the truth, you can treat me as a fugitive or an explorer with a bit of a brain problem. Xia Chen secretly complained in his heart, this woman was not so easy to let herself go.

The black scorpion giggled: "You are quite interesting, I accept the reason why you are a fugitive, and I can provide you with a shelter to eat and drink, you can come with me." With that, she slowly walked towards Xia Chen.

"Thank you, I've always hated rules, and I prefer to wander around by myself."

The black scorpion's eyes lit up, and his hand raised three cold rays to shoot at Xia Chen's face door!

Xia Chen had already taken precautions, turned around to dodge, and then felt a strong wind sweep towards her head, and she dodged only to find that there was a black whip in the black scorpion's hand at some point.

"If you really give me all your belongings, you will definitely go back with me, you should know that it will take five or six days for people to go forward or turn back, and you will definitely die if you have no water or food!" The black scorpion played with the whip in his hand and said slowly, as if the person who attacked Xia Chen just now was not her at all.

Xia Chen said: "Although there are no people, there are hares and birds, and I think I can catch a few." ”

The black scorpion raised his eyes: "You seem to be very experienced, and you still know me, you are by no means the first time to get out of the customs, your so-called contact with merchants is clearly lying." After that, the whip in her hand rolled towards Xia Chen like a snake: "Could it be that you are ...... Let me see your face! ”

When Xia Chen heard this, she suddenly remembered that the last time she killed someone, that person had said before he died that unless she stopped taking this road, she would let her die without a place to be buried, and she didn't take his words too seriously at that time, but at this time she became alert.

After a few rounds of fighting with the black scorpion, she only responded with moves and did not set off the wind, and she was sure that if she injured the black scorpion, she would be in constant trouble.

The black scorpion has not been able to gain the upper hand, and there is a burst of anger in his heart, and he dances with a whip in his right hand, and several hidden weapons are sent out in his left hand at the same time.

Seeing this, Xia Chen didn't dare to take it hard, and flew up on his toes: "A fugitive in the lower district, can't you make it convenient?" ”

The black scorpion snorted coldly: "Your skills alone are enough to set off a lot of waves, how can I let you go lightly, and besides, I haven't searched your body yet, to see if you are one of the people we are looking for!" ”

Xia Chen fell down two feet away from her: "Do you want me to take off my clothes for you in front of so many?" ”

"Less poor mouth! Look at the moves. The black scorpion unfolded and swung its whip to attack again.

Xia Chen looked at the heavy whip shadow and said in his heart, this woman's martial arts are so high. And when she was judging which way was false and which was real, she saw the black scorpion's eyes bend slightly. Xia Chen's heart was shocked and secretly said that it was not good, and at the same time, she had seen a black mist enveloping her.

She was busy holding her breath, but her body slowed down by half a beat, and the black scorpion's whip had arrived, blocking the top of her head and sweeping her hat off, and at the same time slapping Xia Chen on the chest with a backhand.

Xia Chen felt a burst of blood churning in her chest, her eyes were dark, and she didn't care that the poisonous mist had not dissipated, so she took a sharp breath and waved her knife to make a thunderous sound......

The black scorpion was stunned when he saw Xia Chen's face, and he didn't expect that Xia Chen would be able to counterattack after being poisoned and taking another blow. She was shocked to find that this attack was many times more powerful than before, and she would never be able to retreat with her whole body. She hurriedly swung her whip to block it, but how could the countless blade qi that came from nowhere be blocked, and she suddenly felt as if her body was being slashed and pierced by sharp blades......

"Poof!" The black scorpion spurted out a mouthful of blood, and its body flew out like a kite with a broken string, and then fell heavily to the ground. She struggled for a moment and stared at Xia Chen's pale but handsome face: "Really...... It's you! "Then pass out. (To be continued......)