Li Hongji and Li Guo took the two waist knives sent by the Gao family, wrapped them in cotton cloth, and made them look like umbrellas, although it was snowing outside, but the snowflakes melted, and the rain produced was not much, and the wind was particularly strong, and the umbrella was difficult to hold.

It's still winter in Hulu Mountain, far from the farming season, and on such a snowy day, except for the two of them, there is no trace of people in the wild, and no one asks about their whereabouts.

After Li Hongji finally looked back at the Gao brothers and sisters and said goodbye, he couldn't help but speed up his pace, they had to rush to Huailai Town, more than 20 miles away, before dark, otherwise, they would have to sleep in the snow at night.

The two ran for more than ten miles in one breath, and there happened to be a big tree on the side of the road, although the big tree had no leaves, but there were many branches, and there was a dry open space under the tree.

There is no sunlight, no clock, and the dark sky can't tell the time, Li Guo estimated that it was already noon, so he said to Li Hongji: "Second uncle, let's rest for a while before leaving!" ”

"Well, take a break and eat something by the way!" Li Hongji leaned on the trunk of the tree, took out the fire from his arms, probably because of his underwear, the fire seemed to be a little warm, and in his hand, it was not as hard as he imagined, he took out two and handed them to Li Guo.

Li Guo was not polite, grabbed it and stuffed it into his mouth, bit off a small half of the two bites, and couldn't help laughing: "Second uncle, my aunt is really infatuated with you, there is a lot of pork hidden in this fire, and I only took two bites, and my mouth was full of oil." ”

"Eat more if it's delicious, and hurry when you're full!" Li Hongji said as he grabbed a handful of freshly fallen snow and stuffed it into his mouth.

They didn't bring a kettle when they went down the mountain this time, and in such weather, they brought clear water, and they were afraid that it would freeze, and there was a lot of snow anyway, so they didn't have to worry about being thirsty.

These four fires, although they are bigger than the usual fires, but in front of the two men who have been on the snow for a long time, it is really not surplus, in the blink of an eye, there is only an empty cloth bag left, Li Hongji put the cloth bag into his arms, "Double happiness, let's go, hurry early, get to the town, have a night's rest." ”

"Hmm." Li Guo patted the snow on his body, loosened the cotton jacket on his body, let the heat lose some, and hurried continuously, the heat generated on his body was too much, and he was about to sweat, but in such a snowy day, the north wind was whirring like a death, he didn't dare to untie the button, if he was filled with the wind, even if he was strong, he would be sick.

The snow is getting more and more energetic, as if it is a competition with Li Hongji's uncle and nephew, the sky is becoming more and more obscure, and the sky seems to want to vent his boundless anger on the world, if it weren't for the snow on the ground reflecting some light, Li Hongji would have thought it was night.

He had just rested for a while under the big tree, and his face had regained some sensation, but he was hit by the hail caught in the snowflakes, which seemed painful, and he put down the brim of his hat to cover most of his eyes, and could barely see the path clearly.

After walking for more than two hours, Li Guo suddenly exclaimed: "House, second uncle, Huailai Town has arrived." ”

Li Hongji raised his eyes and looked into the distance, in front of the right side of the avenue, there were indeed many houses, disorganized, the roofs were covered with snow, a white expanse, almost integrated with the snow on the ground, but the walls were all exposed, and the black color was very eye-catching in a white vastness.

"Haha, we don't have to camp in the snow." Li Hongji walked a few steps, but found that Huailai Town was still far ahead, and after walking a few steps, it was still the case, only to realize that he was too anxious, and the goal was still far away!

Located near the foot of the mountain, nestled in a valley, the town of Huailai is the only bazaar in the area, the town is not large, including the common people, but only a hundred and ten households, and there is not even a wall outside, in fact it can only be regarded as a slightly larger village. Except for the side near the road, the other three sides are surrounded by trees, and with these trees, the cold wind is less, and it is not as cold as in the wild.

In the southeast corner of the town, there is the only inn - Huailai Inn, which is far away from the official road, and there are not many pedestrians who usually pass by, so on such a snowy day, there are even fewer people staying in the hotel, Li Hongji They are still the first guests of this inn today.

This is a mom-and-pop shop, the store is also the second child, he smiled, enthusiastically welcomed Li Hongji's uncle and nephew into the inn, when registering his name, Li Guo used his real name, but Li Hongji is now a fugitive, his real name naturally can't be used, he thought about it, and reported the name of "Li Zicheng" in later generations, the store didn't understand the handsome and kind future life in front of him, but Li Hongji himself knew that Li Zicheng, who turned the world upside down at the end of the Ming Dynasty, finally appeared in Huailai Town.

The shopkeeper led the two of them into a secluded room at the back, and asked the aunt to bring hot water, "The guest officer washes with hot water first, warms his body, and if he needs any food, just say it." ”

"Six white flour steamed buns, two side dishes, and a spicy soup!" Li Hongji threw the "umbrella" on the table, although he was very careful, but the "umbrella" was unusually heavy, and the dull sound was obviously different from ordinary umbrellas made of bamboo frames.

The shopkeeper saw it, but he didn't dare to ask more, but lit the charcoal brazier, and only said when he went out: "Wait a minute, the meal will be ready soon." ”

Maybe it was the meal prepared for their own family that was given to them first, and when it was time to sneeze, the store sent the food, "The guest officer uses it slowly, and if you need anything, let the little old man know." ”

"Thank you, I'll come to you if you need anything."

After eating and drinking, Li Hongji stretched his waist and moved the charcoal brazier to the kang again, "Hey, I can finally lie down and rest, after a day's walking, my body seems to be falling apart." ”

At this moment, there was a faint knock on the door in the front yard, as if there were tourists coming to the store, Li Guo smiled and said: "It's a cold day, it's snowing outside, who else will be in a hurry like us?" ”

Li Hongji frowned, listened attentively, raised his eyes and asked, "Shuangxi, tell me, in such weather, who is in a hurry to go?" ”

"Maybe it's a businessman," Li Guo wiped a handful on his belly, "It doesn't matter who he is, now I'm going to rest on the kang, as long as I don't make noise to sleep." ”

Li Hongji was still sitting at the square table, his face contemplative, "With such a big snowfall, do businessmen want money and don't want to die?" It's not a metropolis either, so how can there be many businessmen? ”

"Maybe it's for a kiss!" Li Li Guo didn't care, he just wanted to sleep beautifully, recuperate enough, and hurry tomorrow.

"Defection? Now that the new yuan has just passed the Lantern Festival, it will not be a person who has returned from a long distance, as for visiting relatives and friends, there is no need to step on the snow, this heavy snow has been falling for several days in a row, almost without interruption, who will come out at this time? ”

"Second uncle is ......" Li Guo suddenly became nervous, his face turned pale, and he was no longer as relaxed as he was just now.

"I don't know, but I hope I'm too careful." Li Hong basically just said casually, in fact, people invested in the store, and it had nothing to do with him, but he went down the mountain this time with an ulterior motive, and naturally he had more ideas when he encountered things.

"Second uncle, I'm about to go to the toilet, by the way, go to the front to have a look, don't be confused......" Li Guo saw Li Hongji's grim expression, and only said that he guessed well, if he didn't find out the identities of these people, I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to sleep well tonight.

In the hall, eight big men all took off their fur hats and gathered around a table to eat wine, and another short man in a torn jacket looked flattering, smelling the delicious food emanating from the hot pot in the middle, and couldn't help but take a deep breath, "It's so fragrant!" ”

The store diligently sent some hot pot condiments, and said with a smile: "A few bad masters, it's really hard to go out on this snowy day!" ”

"Who's to say it isn't? If it weren't for Li Hongji's ......" a young poor man was about to brag and fart, but found that the person opposite was glaring at him fiercely, he lowered his head in fright, closed the conversation, but poured down half of the liquor in front of him.

The shopkeeper knew that he had leaked his whereabouts, and he couldn't hear these words, so he put down the condiment, "A few bad masters use it slowly!" "I went away.

When the shopkeeper came out of the hall, the leader-like person taught a lesson: "Talky, the master promised us five taels of silver, if the silver flies, go back and make you look good!" ”

Li Guo hurriedly returned to the guest room, closed the door, slowly opened it, poked his head out, and saw that there was no one behind him, so he closed the door again, and said in a low voice: "Second uncle, it was a messenger from the county government who came to arrest you!" ”

"Poor? Catch me? Li Hongji was shocked, but his face did not change color, but he frowned, "How do they know that I am here?" ”

"I'm afraid they don't know that the second uncle is here, otherwise I'm afraid they would have come to arrest someone a long time ago!"

Li Hongji was uneasy, so he said to Li Guo: "Double happiness and wait here, I'll go and see what is sacred!" ”

Li Guo hurriedly stopped: "Second uncle can't go, if they are sent by the county government, I'm afraid they all know you." ”

"It's okay, they're in the dark and I'm in the dark." Li Hongji put his ear on the door, listened for a while, and felt that there was no sound outside, so he gently opened the door through a crack, flashed out, and covered the door with his backhand.

The sky has already darkened, the room is dim, several candles in the hall, the people who eat and drink are illuminated very clearly, Li Hongji shrunk in the shadow of the candle, slowly lame along the corner of the wall, raised his eyes and looked, there were two people sitting opposite, one was bowing his head to eat vegetables, and the other was sweating profusely, and water stains flowed out of his face, I don't know if it was sweat, or the snow on his face melted.

Li Hongji felt familiar, thought about it, and sure enough, he was the errand of the county government, when he was a post officer, he often went to the county government to deliver letters, this bearded man, he must have seen it, but he couldn't remember his name for a while.

Coupled with what Li Guo heard, things couldn't be clearer.

Li Hongji listened for a while, but because he was too far away, he couldn't hear the content of the speech clearly, he quietly retracted his body, returned to the guest room lightly, and plugged in the door latch with his backhand.

Li Guo immediately came over, "Second uncle, how is it?" ”

"Double Happiness, they really came to catch me." Li Hongji sat down at the square table, took a sip of tea, and his mind was thinking quickly.

"Second uncle, what should I do?" Li had guessed almost too early, but after listening to Li Hongji's words, he was still very nervous, there were nine people on the other side, and they were wearing knives, and there were only two people on his side.