In the second half of the night, the snoring of the roommates began.

Bai Ling was still vigilant - although he was pretending to sleep with his eyes closed, he must not really fall asleep.

In retrospect, this concern is simply unfounded.

The snoring of the other two was like thunder and fire, intertwined and almost made people's ears explode and their brains surge.

Bai Ling secretly opened a crack in the door—the lights in the hallway of the official residence had gone out a lot, but there was an official dozing off at the corner of the stairs, and there were constant whispers and laughter in the lobby.

She closed the crack in the door slightly, and then quietly walked to the window, where the room she lived led to the backyard of the official house.

Bai Ling jumped lightly, climbed over the window edge, and landed gently on the eaves of the next floor.

There was no one in the place at the moment, but there was the light of torches moving outside the back door—apparently someone patrolling there for the night.

Bai Ling watched from the eaves for a long time, and then slid down the columns.

As soon as she landed, she heard a familiar voice from nearby, "You slipped out too?" ”

She was startled to see that Li Yiru had already changed her clothes and was standing by the pillar in the backyard.

"You're here?" Bai Ling asked first.

“…… The people in the room with me were snoring too loudly," Li Yiru sighed, shaking his head, "It's so noisy that people can't sleep." ”

Bai Ling chuckled softly, "Me too." ”

It's the truth.

"I heard movement in the kitchen in the house, and I'm a little hungry at this time......" Li Yiru looked at Bai Ling, "Did you also get up and look for food?" ”

Bai Ling nodded.

"Let's go—" Li Yiru took a few steps forward, then gently pushed open the kitchen door, and before Bai Ling could catch up, Li Yiru's body froze there.

He slowly raised his hand and stepped back step by step.

In the kitchen, a figure hidden in the darkness approached step by step, slowly walking out.

The figure was slender and slightly bowed, holding a short knife in his left hand and his right hand in front of his chest, ready to meet the opponent's counterattack.

In the dark, Bai Ling and Li Yiru couldn't see each other's faces clearly, but this fierce killing intent was enough to make their nerves tense.

Bai Ling's hand reached for the dagger behind her, and she bowed slightly, ready to meet the enemy.

Until Li Yiru retreated into the moonlight.

The short knife that had rested on his shoulder was suddenly withdrawn.

“…… Why are you? The shadow said unnaturally.

Bai and Li both reacted, isn't this voice just Fang Cai's middle-aged catch?

Sure enough, the man took two more steps, and the moonlight finally reflected on his face—there were still a few grains of rice on the stubble at the corner of his mouth.

Li Yiru breathed a sigh of relief, "Startle me, I'm ...... I'm here in the kitchen to find something to eat......"

The middle-aged catcher quickly withdrew his hand, and the short knife disappeared suddenly, and I don't know where it was collected.

This action made Bai Ling feel really familiar, but for a moment he couldn't remember where he had seen it.

"There are no ready-made ones anymore." He replied softly, "You'll have to do it yourself." ”

"This ......," Li Yiru was in trouble, "Which of the two of you can cook?" ”

"I'll do it." The middle-aged catcher quickly rolled up his sleeves, turned around and walked into the darkness again.

Li Yiru and Bai Ling followed into the kitchen.

Middle-aged people have very few words, and the knife work is extremely good. After lighting the fire, he took a kitchen knife and smeared two handfuls on the whetstone that had passed through the water, and then began to cut the bean skin.

The water boiling in the pot over there was already boiling, so he temporarily stopped the knife in his hand and threw the bean sprouts and leafy vegetables that had been washed on the side into the blanching water.

I turned around and continued to cut the bean skin, without delay.

He chops quickly, but his voice is not heavy—you can see how well the force in his hands is controlled.

After the vegetable leaves passed through the water, he immediately showed a certain kind of beautiful Qingcui, he took the long chopsticks and stirred them in the pot a few times, and two or three chopsticks scooped a pot of bean sprouts and vegetable leaves into a large bowl.

The shredded bean skin over there, he also put it in the big iron colander and shook it slightly, and then a spoonful was buckled in the bowl.

Except for Bai Yi, Bai Ling has never seen a man with such craftsmanship here - soon, the aroma of sesame oil and balsamic vinegar came from the air, and a large bowl of mixed three silk was handed to Li Yiru, he was amazed, but he still took the chopsticks and a small bowl gently, and then ate the small bowl.

The fire under the stove had not yet been completely extinguished, but the charcoal fire and the dim candle in the kitchen were lit, and the three of them sat around with a small bench.

"After eating the food you cooked, I haven't asked you what to call it," Li Yiru looked at the middle-aged catcher.

“…… Mu Cheng. The middle-aged man replied.

"It turned out to be Brother Mu," Li Yiru smiled, "If only I had such good skills as you, my grandfather used to muttered that I wanted to learn some kung fu to defend myself, but I didn't want to endure hardships when I was a child, so I didn't learn." ”

"Who is your grandfather?" Mu Cheng asked.

"Li Yuan." The young man smiled, "Have you heard of his name?" ”

A sense of familiarity rose up again.

This name, she must have seen it somewhere......

But where......

Mu Cheng shook his head directly.

"When my grandfather was young, he traveled south and north, traveled most of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and wrote several travel notes," Li Yiru said with a smile, thinking of this, he suddenly sighed, "But he has never been to the north of Yanzhou until he is old, and he regrets it very much before he dies." ”

Bai Ling looked at the young man, and always felt that there was a bit of meaning in the young man's words to fulfill his grandfather's wish.

“…… So, are you planning to go to Yanzhou? Bai Ling asked.

"Yes, I've been following my grandfather's old route for a while," the boy nodded, "what about you?" ”

"Zhuozhou." Mu Cheng replied, "I have to rush to Zhuozhou before the end of the year to take office." ”

Both of them looked at Bai Ling at the same time.

"Me too, but I'm looking for relatives, and I only know that they're in the north, so I don't know where they are...... Bai Ling said softly, "so I might go a little further." ”

Mu Cheng's eyes darkened.

"Then let's go on the same road!" The young man was pleasantly surprised, "I haven't met many people who want to go north of Jiangzhou along the way, and I'm worried that I'm not safe on the road, so we can go together!" ”

Bai Ling and Mu Cheng did not speak.

Both of them felt a certain kind of prudence and caution in each other similar to their own.

No one spoke rashly.

Mu Cheng was thinking about the previous entanglement between Bai Ling and the scar man in front of the inn, and Bai Ling was thinking about Mu Cheng's reaction to opening the door just now - even if Li Yiru's rash entry into the door scared him, but a normal catcher, would he directly pull out the knife on this occasion?

The two made the same judgment - the person was clearly a little problematic as well.

"Let's wait until we get to Jiangzhou." Mu Cheng said softly.

"Yes, yes." Bai Ling nodded.

Li Yiru just wanted to ask why, but suddenly his expression changed, he stopped the chopsticks in his hand, and looked out of the door with some confusion.

"What's wrong?" Bai Ling and Mu Cheng asked at the same time.

“…… The snoring has become weaker. Li Yiru's brows furrowed, "And...... There were a lot of footsteps outside. ”