Cao Ming, who had just left Dongjun, forgot a very important thing, this is an ancient time when there were no planes and high-speed rail, even if it took seven or eight days to ride a horse from Dongjun to Chang'an, so the time of the ancient people was on the road.

Along the way, Cao Ming relied on his memory and sense of direction to touch Luoyang, at this time Luoyang City was still in ruins, occasionally a few crows fell to the ground, pecking at the bones between the rubble.

Seeing this, Cao Ming had to wear a scarf to cover her mouth and nose, one of the reasons for the frequent epidemics of plague in ancient times was war, and the bodies of dead people and soldiers were not buried in time, which eventually caused very serious cholera.

After four days of continuous travel, Cao Ming was getting closer and closer to Xijing Chang'an City, and the nearby villages and county towns also became more and more.

At this time, Cao Ming felt tired like she had never felt before, and the days of eating and sleeping in the open had consumed too much of her energy, and now she just wanted to find a place to rest for a day.

It didn't take long for Cao Ming to pass by a village where the people were cooking lunch, and judging from the smoke of the cooking, there were about 100 households, and it seemed that this was a place of abundance.

There is a huge rock at the entrance of the village, on which are also engraved with three big characters 'Huofeng Village', and there are also six or seven men stationed there, apparently to prevent bandits.

"Stop! Who are you? Because Cao Ming was carrying a sword, after these people saw Cao Ming, they would inevitably be hostile to her in their hearts.

Cao Ming was dressed in men's clothes, but she looked like a white-faced handsome student: "Don't get me wrong, big brothers, I just inadvertently passed by your place, hoping to spend a night here." ”

A man was surprised: "I didn't expect it to be a girl, I thought it was a gangster who came to explore the way, we were guarding here on the order of the Lady Sato, if the girl wants to stay overnight, she must get the consent of the Lady Lee." ”

Cao Ming really admires the thinking of these ancient people, didn't this woman be a villain, if she was really a villain, she would easily pass the test.

"Then trouble this big brother to lead the way!" Cao Ming led the horse and the man into the village, and the children in the village were very curious when they saw the living, and looked at Cao Ming vigorously.

Cao Ming asked curiously: "I don't know what the eldest brother is called, and why is this place called Huofeng Village, it can't be that there is really a divine bird, right?" ”

The man replied: "My name is Niu Zhuang, there is a reason why this place is called Huofeng Village, it is said that when Emperor Gaozu established the Han Dynasty, this village once came to Huofeng, so this place is called Huofeng Village." ”

Cao Ming couldn't help but laugh when she heard Niu Zhuang say this: "Haha! This story is quite like that, I guess someone made it up for a blessing, if there is a fire phoenix, I would like to see it, to see if it can bring me good luck. ”

Niu Zhuang was a little unhappy and said: "The girl's attitude is disrespectful to the gods, Huofeng Village has been established for hundreds of years, and these stories are all handed down by the ancestors, not made up by others." ”

Cao Ming realized that she had lost her temper, and hurriedly apologized and said: "Brother Niu is really sorry, I don't know much about the affairs of your village, and you just said it nonsense." ”

After listening to Cao Ming's apology, Niu Zhuang's attitude softened a little, "You just need to stop talking nonsense, otherwise the old people in the village will definitely drive you out of the village if they listen." ”

Cao Ming wrote down Niu Zhuang's instructions, if he was driven out, he would have to run away again, and maybe he would have to sleep in the wild.

Cao Ming then asked Niu Zhuang about the Xiliang Army, Niu Zhuang said that he had not met the Xiliang Army, and the two chatted for a while and soon arrived at the Li Chang's house.

Niu Zhuang first said hello to the chief, and then explained Cao Ming's situation to the chief, and the chief nodded in agreement after listening, after all, it is not easy for a girl to travel alone.

After leaving the chief's house, Niu Zhuang said to Cao Ming: "The house where my mother lives is very large, I can live in another person, I think the girl will spend the night at my house." ”

Cao Ming felt that Niu Zhuang's character was okay, and immediately agreed: "Since Brother Niu is kindly invited, then I might as well be respectful." ”

Niu Zhuang's house is a little more shabby than Lichang's, but it is already a paradise for Cao Ming, after all, there is no need to live in a cave in the wild for the night.

"Daddy!" An eight-year-old boy threw himself into Niu Zhuang's arms, and saw that Cao Ming was all kinds of envy, jealousy and hatred, God, why do you always stimulate my heart.

"Xianggong is back!" Niu Zhuang's wife belongs to the bird-like type, which is in line with Cao Ming's appetite, but unfortunately Cao Ming can only sigh now.

As for Niu Zhuang's father, he was recruited to be a soldier, but he has not been heard from for decades, and nine times out of ten he died in battle.

In the end, there was a son like Niu Zhuang left, and a wife who became a widow at a young age, which can be regarded as a hard-working family.

After entering the house, Niu Zhuang introduced each other: "This is my mother Chen, this is my wife Yin Yi, and my son Niu Le, this Cao girl who came to our house to spend the night!" ”

Chen Shi exclaimed slightly: "The girl is really magnificent, graceful and luxurious, she must be the daughter of a rich family." ”

Cao Ming said: "Thank you for the old lady's praise, I can't hide it, my father is the Taishou of the local county." ”

"Too much of a daughter!" Niu Zhuang didn't know what to say for a while, the biggest official he had ever seen in his life might be the county magistrate of this county, but now he saw Taishou's daughter, which was also an honor.

Cao Ming was a little unaccustomed and said: "Brother Niu seems unfamiliar to call me like this, so it's better to call me Ming'er." ”

Niu Zhuang agreed: "Since Miss Cao has ordered so, then I am not welcome, I don't know where Ming'er is going, I can send someone to escort you." ”

Cao Ming declined: "I'm going to Chang'an City to do some things, as for sending someone to escort me, there is no need, if you want to deal with me, you have to have dozens of people." ”

Cao Ming's words were not bragging for himself, if he dealt with five or six enemies with his bare hands, it would be fine, but with weapons, it would be very different, dozens of armor soldiers could easily deal with it themselves, but they were afraid that the other party would have archers.

Niu Zhuang admired: "I can't see that Ming'er is still a person who practices martial arts, but I don't know if I have promised to marry someone, we are here."

Chen glared at Niu Zhuang: "People are the daughters of big families, of course you have to find someone who is the right person, so don't tell the boys in the village." ”

Cao Ming was already used to this, and thought to herself that she really had to find a cover, so that she would not be asked this and that in the future.

Cao Ming lived with Chen that night, fortunately, the bed in the house was big enough, and the two of them did not look crowded when they slept together, so they had to pay attention when they turned over, because Cao Ming lived on the outside, and it was easy to roll out of bed carelessly.

After blowing out the oil lamp next to the bed, Cao Ming soon fell asleep, and what awaited her in the dream was a lake.

Cao Ming thought to herself that it seemed that she was having a strange dream again, the last time she dreamed of two dragons fighting, and she didn't know what she encountered this time, I hope it wasn't a scary monster.

The lake in front of me is glowing with golden light, and there is a waterfall that is pouring water into it, and the surrounding vegetation is very luxuriant, giving people the feeling of paradise.

Suddenly, a chirp broke the silence, and Cao Ming followed the sound to look over, and it turned out to be a fire phoenix that can only be found in mythological stories.

The fire phoenix climbed on the bluestone by the lake, and seemed to be dozing like Cao Ming, but Cao Ming was awake now, or Cao Ming was awake in her dream.

This time, Cao Ming didn't plan to back down, after all, the size of this fire phoenix was much smaller than that of the dragon, even if it wanted to attack itself, it would have a chance to fight back.

Cao Ming cautiously came to the fire phoenix, and at this time, the feathers on the fire phoenix caught her attention, which was simply dressed in gold.

Cao Ming thought to herself that this fire phoenix should not be considered a national protected animal, so plucking a feather should not be in the way, and the tragedy happened.

"Ahh Cao Ming felt that his hands were about to burn, and this fire phoenix was really covered in flames, and he almost set himself on fire.

Fortunately, Cao Ming's goal was achieved, and she successfully plucked one of the feathers of the fire phoenix, and this feather was not so hot.

Cao Ming looked back at his hand again, fortunately this hand is fine, it is estimated that because of the reason in the dream, all the pain is just illusory.

At this time, the fire phoenix had also woken up, and it did not seem very angry about Cao Ming, an uninvited guest, but spread its wings and flew above the clouds as if it had completed some mission.

"Girl?" Cao Ming felt that someone was shaking her, so she opened her eyelids with difficulty, only to find that the person who woke her up was Chen.

Cao Ming yawned and said, "Granny Chen, why don't you sleep, what are you doing waking me up in the middle of the night, I have to get up early tomorrow to hurry!" ”

Chen said with concern: "Did you have a nightmare just now, I heard you talk in your dreams all the time, as if you were saying that you got some feathers." ”

Cao Ming was stunned for a moment and said: "I did have a dream just now, but it was not the nightmare you said, I dreamed that I was by a lake, and I saw a fire phoenix falling on the bluestone. ”

After hearing this, Chen sat up: "Girl, I think this matter is not ordinary, you must remember carefully, what happened after seeing the fire phoenix?" ”

Cao Ming thought about it carefully and said: "After I saw the fire phoenix at that time, nothing happened, I just walked up to it cautiously, plucked a feather from it, and then the fire phoenix flew away by itself." ”

Chen thought for a while and said with a smile: "It turns out that you got the feather of the fire phoenix, this fire phoenix feather is a precious thing, it seems that you will definitely get the treasure when you go to Chang'ancheng, you must cherish it when the time comes!" ”

Cao Ming thought to herself that there must be gold to be obtained, or Wang Situ would reward him with some other treasures, such as the Night Pearl and other superb products, so it seems that this errand is quite oily and watery.