To the west of Saltwater City is an ancient road paved with reddish-brown sandstone, called the Road of the Northerners, which extends to Shaoye City in the Northern Desert Province, with a length of about 700 dragon steps, and is the longest road built by man in the Ruifeng Continent. After the founding of Yougu, the construction of this ancient road began, and after more than 200 years of intermittent repairs, the northerners' road finally became what it is now, and the manpower and material resources consumed can be described as innumerable.

The village of Niubei sits on the edge of the Northerners' Road, backed by reddish-brown sandstone hills, but the snow season turns large areas of exposed rock Thai and half white. Beneath the sandstone lies a hot spring, which slowly melts the translucent ice nearby, and the water becomes the villagers' winter water. The villagers came out of the village in horse-drawn carts, filled the meltwater in half-human-high wooden barrels, and transported it back. Yu Jian went all the way to the west, and when he saw this scene, he couldn't help but be amazed.

After leaving the path of the virtuous king, he looked back from time to time to see if there was a suspicious carriage following him. After a while, he knocked on the carriage, said a word or two to Dai Lan, and asked about the situation in Niubei Village, or the towns along the Northerners' Road, which he did not know, and also used it to make sure that she was safe.

Most of the business travelers passing through Saltwater City took the north-south direction, and few horse-drawn carriages came to Niubei Village in the west. It's a small place, and it attracts outsiders with its hot springs, but the snow season is not suitable for hot springs. Dai Lan was reluctant to speak, but she couldn't stand his repeated inquiries, so she said that the village was basically a farmer, and in addition to the farmland, there was probably a small plantation. Of course, this was the case two years ago, and it is unknown whether there has been a change now.

After running for almost half an hour, Yu Jian arrived at this low hill. Most of Niubei Village is surrounded by sturdy arborvitae, and the road turns between the trunks of white-clad trees and the branches that struggle to stir up the snow and hide behind the hillside. They are not far from their destination.

Just as they approached the bend in front of them, Yu Jian heard a rapid sound of horses' hooves coming from behind them. He looked back and saw that it was an ordinary caravan, and the snow on the roof of the car slipped and flew from time to time. Under the broken snow, the body can be seen to be a brown tarpaulin, slightly old, with a few patches. The coachman was an ordinary middle-aged man, dressed in a gray cotton jacket, wearing a white winter hat, and a scarf around his neck that circled the area below his nostrils.

When he turned the corner, Yu Jian slowed down, and the carriage behind him quickly overtook him and whizzed past him.

The roads are lined with farmland on both sides, and the winter snow has covered them in a thick white coat, and the horizontal and vertical roads in the fields outline the outlines of the plots. Rows of tall chimneys from the sloping low roofs of the village's farmhouses were emitting gray-white smoke, and the smoke was blown away by the north wind when it left the chimney mouth. Only then did Yu Jian remember that the stove time had come, and it was dinner time. As soon as I thought of this, I felt a little hungry, and I couldn't help but speed up again.

At the entrance of the village, there is a two-storey house with a mixed brick and wood structure, and the owner has built a sandstone windbreak wall in the windward area. After Yu Jian went around to the windbreak, he found a stable, and the brown caravan that had overtaken earlier was parked inside. Through the carved wooden windows, you can see the dim light of the oil lamps lit. The exterior walls of the house are covered with snow, and the ornaments on the walls are faintly visible, depicting steaming hot springs and bathing guests, and although there is no sign at the entrance of the house, there is no doubt that it is an inn. So it seems that the hurried coachman was not a villager from Niubei Village, but a guest who came here to run errands.

Yu Jian drove the mule cart to the stable, beckoned Dai Lan to get off, and then extinguished the stove in the carriage. Most of the hotels in this small place are not received by waiters, and even if there is, they don't come out to park for him, so he can only solve it by himself. There was snow in the manger, and the horse in the car in front of him was gnawing hay, and he got some from the stable, and then tied the mule into it. I wanted to get some other feed, but I had to go to the hotel.

He was carrying a large package from the carriage on his shoulder, and when he saw Long Dailan's filial piety clothes, he felt that something was wrong, so he said, "It's too eye-catching, change it." ”

Long Dailan didn't say anything, re-entered the carriage, and when she came out again, she had already changed into a set of fur coats that looked a little old. This set of clothes was prepared by Long Fence City, and she probably told her to dress more ordinary, otherwise Mo Xu would definitely give her a luxurious coat.

The inn doesn't look like a hotel on the outside, but it looks like it on the inside. On the ground floor is a narrow hall with a few old wooden tables, and the layout is quite compact, which looks like a canteen. Yu Jian imagined that if it was full of people, it would be inconvenient to get in and out. But it's unlikely that this small place will have such a good business now. The stairs up the stairs are just next to the counter, and there is a cracked wooden door on the right side of the dining room, which is probably the kitchen and firewood room, so the dining room is very small, and the guest rooms are all upstairs.

A man in his fifties, wrapped in a cotton coat that didn't look very fit, wrapped tightly like a zongzi, was sitting at the counter, and looked a little surprised to see another guest come in, but there was no welcome in his tone: "Are you here to stay at the hotel?"

"Yes, boss, we want two rooms, a table of hot meals, and hot soup. ”

The boss looked at the two guests strangely and asked, "Isn't it a room?"

"One. Dai Lan stepped forward and said, "He was careless and forgot that the coachman was sick and he drove here." ”

Her face was pale and she couldn't speak, and the boss rolled her eyes, "Madam, it seems that you are not in good health, and your husband has not taken good care of you." It's snowing, but be careful. What kind of food do you want?"

"Just plain dishes, not spicy. Let's make a pigeon soup. When he entered the door, Yu Jian saw a cage pigeon.

"Ah Guang, four dishes, non-spicy, pigeon soup, let the guests eat warmer. The boss shouted to the kitchen, and a rough male voice answered him.

"Come with me, you two, and show you the room first. The boss walked out of the counter and led them upstairs, with a large bunch of keys hanging from his waist, rusty and jingling.

"Are you alone here?" asked Yu Jian.

"I'm alone except the cook. This is not Saltwater, and there are not many guests on a regular basis. "On the second floor, there was a cleanly cleaned walkway, brown planks washed and white, three rooms on each side, and small wooden signs with numbers on the doors. "I have a lot of things to do, dusting up, putting away the dishes, checking the doors and windows, and taking care of the stables and stoves. And, of course, leading you into the room. ”

The boss took them to the second room on the left, the sign hanging on the door said "weak willow", Yu Jian glanced at the door number opposite, and wrote "fine bamboo", it seems that this boss is an elegant person. The elegant man took out the keychain and fumbled for a long time before opening the door, and a somewhat damp smell came to his face. The room is small and simply furnished, with a double bed with a landscape painting hanging at the head of the bed, and a small fireplace on the wall opposite the bed, with a pile of charcoal piled up next to the fireplace. A wardrobe was placed opposite the door, and on a square table with a window there was a pot of pink plum blossoms, two wooden chairs on the side of the table, and a dirty sofa against the wall of the door.

"Now there are two rooms with guests, and counting you, there are three rooms in our hotel, which is not a common occurrence, especially for the snow season. The rooms are like this, it's a little damp, but you can burn the fireplace while you eat and open the window to let it through. Questions?"

"No problem. There is also a carriage at the door, which has just arrived at the store, is it here to do business?" Yu Jian asked.

The boss squinted at him and looked up and down carefully for a while. "Listen, I'm not going to ask where you're from or what you're doing here, and I'm not going to ask anyone else. So, I can't answer your question. ”

Yu Jian smiled, said no more, and entered the room with Dai Lan. "We packed up, we were tired from the journey, and we had to go to bed early. I'll come down later. ”

"The meal will be ready immediately, but you have to be quick, otherwise it will be too cold to eat. I will not inform you again. The boss turned and walked away, the keychain on his waist clanging.

Yu Jian unloaded the package, opened the half window away from the fireplace, and added charcoal to the fireplace to make a fire, the charcoal was also a little damp, and it was finally ignited. When they came down, the dishes were already on the table, and the boss ignored them, still sitting at the counter, his head bowed as if he were manicure.

The dishes on the table are simple, a stir-fried yam with lettuce, a pan-fried eggplant with garlic sauce, a stir-fried shredded lentils, a grilled pork chop, and a bowl of stewed pigeon soup. Yu Jian didn't call for wine, although he didn't have much appetite, but now he had to eat enough and get a good night's sleep. What will happen tomorrow and after, he doesn't think about it, but he has to keep his spirits up.

He did not forget the habit of serving Long Jun for many years, and took out a golden needle for drug testing and tried it in all the dishes. After what happened to Saltwater, he had to be careful. It is said that it is a golden needle, but in fact, it is only to meet the needs of the royal title, and it is not made of gold itself, but a mixture of many metals and minerals, and even some precious and rare potions, made by alchemists through extremely complex procedures. After the test, Yu Jian was still not at ease, so he ate some first, and felt safe, so the two of them started to eat.

There was silence during the banquet, Long Dailan ate very little, ate some pigeon soup and rice, and went upstairs. Yu Jian didn't taste good when he ate it alone, but he still forced himself to eat the whole grilled pork chops and fried eggplant. When he also went up to the second floor, the window was closed, the room was already warm, and Dai Lan was lying on her side on the bed, not knowing if she had fallen asleep. Somewhat apprehensive, he took out a thick blanket from the large package and threw it on the sofa. He said to himself, "Rest well, you need to get enough sleep." I sleep here. ”

Dai Lan didn't speak, and seemed to be asleep. He inspected the doors and windows thoroughly, then took off his coat and got into the blanket, which he put on the blanket again, and the dragon mark was beside him, with his back to the bed, intending to sleep.

He couldn't help but feel blessed to be away from the whistling wind in the fields and on the road, and to avoid the whip of the north wind whipped on his body. The snow season is harsh, and his life is like the snow season. He was born a peasant child, fatherless and motherless, and he was fortunate enough to be in the palace, but he did not belong there, and in the end he had to go back to where he belonged, to the cold and hardship. This may be a God-given test. The path of tranquility is hard to reach, but that's exactly what it's about.

I don't know how long it took, but drowsiness gradually crept into my head, and my eyes became heavy. Sleep, sleep, get a good night's sleep. In a haze of consciousness, he heard himself say this.

Kela. It seems to have gone somewhere. It's just the sound of the wind crashing against the window. The unstable wooden windows had locks, and they were blown by the wind. Then, the wind pushed the wooden window against the windowsill with a slight creak. The wind poured in, and his skin shuddered, and he woke up from his sleep. There was the sound of the wind, and there was wind flowing in the air.

That's gas. An aura emanating from some kind of power. His hand touched the dragon mark.

Sharp air pierced like the tip of a needle. He raised his hand. "Ding!"

Something hits the scabbard. He sprang out like an arrow from under the blanket.

Three winds. Three kinds of gas. Three people. The dragon scar was unsheathed, and the scabbard came out of its hand, rushing straight towards the nearest person. He waved his hand and shook a sword flower, and there were a few more "ding" sounds, and the sword body was hit with a crisp sound.

Three shadows. A blood-red shadow stood silently by the fireplace, a gray shadow swirling around him, and a shadow he couldn't see. But he could feel the shadow hiding behind the blood-red shadow. The scabbard of the dragon's mark landed at the feet of the red shadow.

The blood-red shadow was shrouded in a haze, like an unreal reflection in the water, and a cold light flashed in his hand. He could see clearly that it was a blood-red blade, and the slightly curved tip of the blade shimmered with a strange light, like dark green, and like jet black.

Bloody Blade. The word popped into his head. So without the slightest hesitation, he immediately let go. A stone pill as broken as a grain of rice carried his qi and threw himself towards the shadows.