After they left the old man to get married, they walked in the direction of Huaizhou City, passing by other people's courtyards, all of which were closed doors, they quickened their pace and entered Huaizhou City before dark.

The two of them had no money on them, they were already hungry, and it was getting late.

"What are we going to do now that we don't have any money?" Xu Hening felt that he was going to sleep on the streets tonight.

"Let's go and ask if the store would take us in for one night." Xu He'an plans to give it a try. I really can't do it, so I can only sleep on the street, but fortunately, it's not very cold at night now.

"Let's go, try your luck." Xu Hening said, looking for the street inn.

The two of them walked and stopped, walking along the avenue all the way in. The streets and alleys are dark, and there are few people.

Finally, the two saw a large inn and walked in.

"No money? I don't have money to stay in any inn. You think I'm here as a hospice. Billowing. When the innkeeper saw the two guys coming, he greeted him with a smile, but they said that they were staying overnight and had no money, so they immediately changed their faces.

"We'll make it up later." Xu He'an added again.

"If you don't have money, you don't have money, after talking about anything. I see that you are also handsome young men, and you want to eat and live for nothing. The man looked them up and down, and hurried out.

The two were embarrassed to be sent out of the inn.

The two sighed, continued to walk, walked to a relatively remote alley, saw an inn in the corner, thought, go and ask, maybe someone would be willing to take them in for the night.

As soon as the two of them entered, they found that the furnishings of this inn were very simple, the store was dark, there were five or six seats on the first floor, and there were only two children in the store.

"Our store is closed today, let's go back." When the two saw someone coming, they stood still and sent the two away.

"You don't look like you're not open, why don't you welcome customers?" Xu He'an stepped forward and asked.

"Let's go." The little two urged.

Xu He'an and Xu Hening glanced at each other and turned around to leave.

"The two sons are going to stay in the hotel?" This is an elderly man with a rag in his hand.

When he saw someone coming, he seemed to want to keep them.

"This uncle, we are going to Liaokai, but the money is lost on the way, can you spend the night overnight, and the money will definitely be made up in the future." Xu He'an stepped forward and said.

"Is that so? I'll ask the store manager. You wait. The old man went up to the second floor, and after a long time, finally a woman came down. The woman was short and fat, and she walked with a pinched and twisted skirt, and her skirt swayed, but her face looked very kind.

"Where are you from?" The woman smiled, looking the two of them up and down.

"We came from Nancheng and the money was robbed. Can you stay overnight for one night and make up double for the next day. Xu He'an honestly confessed, hoping to meet a kind person and stay with them for one night.

"Come up with me." The woman didn't say much, but took the two of them up to the second floor and opened a room for them.

"You will live in this room." The woman opened the door and motioned for them to enter.

"Thank you." The two said in unison.

"No thanks, remember to make up the money in the future." The woman asked, going away and then turning around and asking, "Do you want dinner?" ”

"No, you don't." Xu He'an

"Yes." Xu Hening

The two said in unison.

"Then I'll have someone bring it to you later." The woman glanced at them and left.

"The owner of this shop is so nice." Xu Hening sat on the dusty chair.

"But I always think there's something weird." Xu He'an felt that this shop didn't seem to have any customers, it was very dark, and this proprietress didn't seem to be as it seemed to be.

"It's because you think too much, people are very good, send us in, and give us food." Xu Hening felt that there were still well-wishers.

"I hope I'm overthinking." Xu He'an's intuition seems to be quite accurate.

After a while, the food was delivered for nothing, three to the dish, two bowls of rice. After the two finished eating, they went downstairs and begged for water to wash their feet.

"Why are you so sleepy today?" Xu Hening stretched his waist and was about to go to sleep.

"We, maybe they drugged us."

Xu He'an is still reading at this point, he is very punctual every day, and he never gets sleepy, but now he feels weak all over his body, his eyelids are heavy, and sleepiness hits his whole body. Obviously, it was the medicine that worked

"So what to do, we are too careless." Xu Hening also got it.

"Let's go, let's go now." So the two of them took their swords and opened the door, but before they could touch the door frame, the door opened. Outside the door stood the woman.

"It's so late, where are you going?" The woman smiled.

"Why did you drug us?" Xu He'an immediately drew his sword and pressed it against her neck.

The woman didn't expect him to draw his sword directly, and the corners of her mouth trembled.

"Hey!! Childe, you, you, be careful with your sword. We haven't drugged us. "The woman's power just now was completely gone, and she didn't move for fear that if she was not careful, she would be wiped on her neck.

"Don't talk nonsense, bring the antidote." Xu He'an's long sword used some force.

"Okay, okay, don't get excited, I'll call someone to bring it." Xu He'an used his sword to make her turn around, but he couldn't hold on, and Xu Hening behind him had already fallen.

"Hurry up, or I'll let you die right now." Xu He'an threatened him. In fact, he has never killed anyone, and now, he is going to be killed by others.

"Okay, okay, don't get excited, I'll ask someone to take it. Lao Qi quickly gave him the antidote. The woman didn't dare to move, so she could only shout into the air.

So, two people came downstairs, seeing this, they panicked and went downstairs to find medicine, Xu He'an really couldn't hold on, his whole body, no strength at all.

"Here, antidote, here." The little second war trembled and stretched out his hand to Xu He'an.

Xu He'an untied it with his other hand, sniffed it, and fell.

"You're smart." When the woman saw Xu He'an falling, she breathed a sigh of relief and said to Xiao Er on the side.

"Look at their appearance, I'm afraid they are not ordinary children, and if they are arrested, they are afraid of getting into trouble." The one who took the medicine was the one who drove them away during the day.

"What are you afraid of, then we will say that they have just left at dawn, and it would be good if they didn't know where to go, seeing them like this, they were in a hurry to go to Liaokai." The woman took their swords and said, "Tie them up, and send them to Fang Ye's place in a while, as long as they go, it will be impossible to come out." They should be able to buy a lot of money with both bodies. ”

"Yes." So he called four men, tied them up, gagged them with cloths, put them in sacks, carried them downstairs, got into the carriage, and went north, and drove all night through the woods, and stopped at a small dealer's house. A strong man came out of it, and his attendants lit torches.

"Master Fang, tonight are two young and strong guys, this price, give more." Mafu said to Fang Ye like a dog.

Fang Ye ignored him, took a torch and glanced at the two people tied here, and asked, "What kind of drug did you give them, and when will they wake up?" ”

"This medicine works for six hours, and they wake up after dawn, and it will not affect their bodies, and when they get to work, they will definitely get twice the result with half the effort." The groom was afraid that he would discount it.

"Hmm." Fang Ye's retinue gave him two bags of silver.

"Thank you, Master Fang." After saying this, the groom got in the carriage and left.

Fang Ye ordered someone to put people into another carriage and went all the way north.

At dawn, the carriage entered the deep mountains and entered the cave, and after handing over to the people, the two were carried off the carriage and thrown on the ground, where they were splashed with a basin of cold water.

Xu He'an was splashed with excitement and opened his eyes suddenly. My head is still a little dizzy. When he was fully conscious, he noticed that there were five or six people standing, staring at him. He tried to get up, but his hands and mouth were tied and gagged.

"Untie them." The man who had just handed over to Fang Ye said to Shi Cong.

"Yes."

"Who are you?" Xu Hening's mouth was free, and he asked, "Why did you tie us up?" ”

"Since we kidnapped you, we're not good people." Answer him to the person who untied him.

"You're going to let us dig coal?" Xu He'an looked around just now, and found that this place was surrounded by low mountains, not far away, there were many people coming and going pulling wooden carts, going in and out of the cave, and there were four or five groups of people supervising and watching them. Apparently, they were also captured.

"You're smart. Now that I know, I will work in peace. "These men were much stronger than they were, with dark skin, stout builds, and large knives.

Xu He'an and Xu Hening stood up, got together, and glanced at each other.

Xu He'an went straight to the big knife on the back of the strong man in front of him with one hand, dodging the big knife, at this time Xu He'an also took a knife, and the strong men in front of him reacted and waved the knife at the two of them, and the blades collided and made a sound.

The two of them were no sharper with their swords than with their swords, and the two of them could barely retreat four strong men, and with their burly stature, they could throw them to the ground with a hard push.

The four of them kept attacking, seeing that they were menacing, and the knife was deadly, Xu He'an's eyes were sharp, and he went straight to the point, holding the big knife in both hands, silently reciting the Qinghua swordsmanship mantra in his heart, and waving the knife to meet him. Moving very fast, dodging quickly, slashing at their arms, calves, and backs, the two tacitly agreed, and the five strong men were injured all over their bodies, so that they did not dare to step forward.

So the two took the opportunity to flee.

Suddenly, Xu He'an's calf was wrapped and fell, and Xu Hening fell down. Then, they were surrounded by patrolling people.

"Do you think you can escape from this mountain with your little sword technique?"

Around them, the strong men and the patrol made a way, and a middle-aged man, more than eight feet tall, holding a long whip in his hand, and wearing a black round-necked robe, walked in slowly, his eyes full of disdain.

"You know the sword technique, and you dare to catch us." Xu He'an was held up and faced the man.

"Is the Qinghua Sword Technique very powerful?" The man's disdainful gaze was evident.

"We are disciples of Liyang, you arrested us, the good days are over." Xu Hening struggled.

"Liyang? Even the emperor Lao Tzu, I don't let go of my eyes, just Liyang, what is it. ”

Xu He'an listened, his eyes flashed, and he didn't say a word.

"Who the hell are you?" Xu Hening asked.

"It doesn't matter who I am, you will work hard in the future, don't think about running, you can't run away, come in, don't think about going out." The man ignored the anger in their eyes.

"You don't tell us your name because you're afraid we'll get you in trouble in the future?" Xu He'an said lightly.

"Ridiculous. It doesn't hurt to tell you, my name is Ling Ben, and I am a Changwen person. The corners of the man's mouth curled.

"Okay, take them to Line 9, watch them well, and if they don't obey, they will be beaten to death." Ling Ben raised his feet and walked away without looking back.

"Master, if they are really disciples of Liyang, what should they do?" The entourage on one side asked Ling Ben.

"In this world, there are many people who pretend to be disciples of Liyang, didn't they also arrest a few purple people who claimed to be Liyang three months ago, besides, if they come in, they won't be able to get out, and no one knows that they will be here." Ling Ben knew how powerful Li Yang was, but only by entering this coal cave would it be impossible to get out. I don't have a chance to settle accounts with him.

Xu He'an and Xu Hening were taken to the place where the wooden carts were stacked, and the leader asked them to pull a wooden cart and go to the cave.

There was no light in the cave, and the faint light came in from the outside, and there were several copper mirrors that reflected the light. The hole was not deep, and there were five or six men in it digging coal and putting it in the car. Dressed in tatters and unkempt. There are two deep ruts in the ground.

"See, like they did, get these coals down, then fill the cart and pull them out." One commanded both of them with a knife.

He was separated all the way until the men walked away to see the others.

"We were brought here last night, and I'm afraid it's hard to go out." Xu Hening whispered while knocking on the tool.

"There are about 30 people here, but there are also more than 30 people guarding outside. We're going out, I'm afraid it's going to be difficult. Xu He'an said: "Moreover, we may not be able to beat Ling Ben." ”

"What now?" Xu Hening thought he was unlucky, first he was robbed of his money bag, and then he didn't want to catch the ghost place.

"Let's wait a few days. What's more, when the masters found out that we hadn't arrived at Liyang for a few days, they would definitely go down the mountain to look for us. Xu He'an got a piece of carbon, and his hands were already blackened.

"I didn't expect that Huaizhou is so chaotic now, thinking that it is already a big deal to have a bandit, and now, he is openly arresting people in the city to come here." Xu Hening said.

"I've never heard of anyone doing coal business, so I'm afraid it's not easy." Xu He'an is usually in Liyang, and he often goes down the mountain with his senior brother and brother, and encounters a lot of things, but this time, I am afraid that something big will happen.

"When my master was young, he sent two senior brothers down the mountain to check a batch of goods, which may be related to this." Xu Hening remembered that a few years ago, when he met the senior brother who went down the mountain, he asked casually, and they said that they were checking a batch of goods whose whereabouts were unknown. He didn't care about himself at the time, so he didn't ask any more questions.

"Looking at the start of construction, mining is estimated to be less than four months. The timing is right, too. What kind of goods, you ask? That place's? Xu He'an knew that most of the people who could use carbon were high-ranking officials and nobles, and it could also be used for weapon smelting and even for war.

"I don't know, I didn't ask at the time." Xu Hening should have asked a few more words.

"I watched them for me and came to remind me. I'll go over and ask. After Xu He'an finished speaking, he took the tool and asked the person who was digging coal.

"Big brother, I want to ask you, do you know what kind of place this is?" Xu He'an looked at the man in front of him, he was in his forties, not tall, and thin.

"This is near the lower basin of the Gexiang River." When the man saw that someone was coming, he lowered his head and worked more diligently, and when he saw that the person who came was not from the patrol, he took another look and found that the people were not here, so he replied to Xu He'an's words.

"Did you get caught too?" Xu He'an saw that he was very scared and helped him to beat coal together.

"yes. Hey—"

"Uncle, what's your name?" Xu He'an didn't know what to call it, so he asked first.

"Call me Uncle Chen."

"Uncle Chen, do you know where this coal is going?" Xu He'an asked again.

"To be shipped to Aspo." Uncle Chen said very quietly.

"Aspo?" Xu He'an knew that Aspo was a neighbor of Deyin State, covering a small area and not having many mineral resources, but the people were self-sufficient, the country was peaceful and peaceful, the army was elite, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and had always lived in peace with Deyin State.

"How do you know?" Xu He'an asked again.

"They said it when they first brought us here." Chen Bo said.

"Uncle Chen, how long have you been here?" Xu He'an asked

"It's been another three-and-a-half months."

"Do you know how long they've been mining coal?" Xu He'an asked again.

"More than three months. It is said that Bhutanese Dan was given to Aspo, and it was sold to nobles at a high price. Uncle Chen found that this little boy has an extraordinary temperament, his gestures are full of nobility, and he is handsome and soft-spoken. I think it may be a big family, talk more, maybe someone will really save them that day.

"The lower basin of the Gexiang River has always been under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, how dare they start construction. And arrest people to come here. Xu He'an said.

"The imperial court, if it was thirty years ago, there would still be someone in charge, and now, who will be in charge. What's more, the emperor is far away, and he doesn't know which emperor he is. Uncle Chen said disdainfully.

"What do you mean by that?" As soon as Xu He'an heard him talk about the imperial court, the emperor couldn't help but stir up waves in his heart.

"You may still be young, you don't know, now the biggest in the court is not the emperor, it is the prime minister, it is rumored that he killed the emperor, but he has not been enthroned as the emperor, people call him the prime minister. When he first came to power, he was still managing state affairs, but now, the country is falling apart and falling apart, that is, it belongs to the imperial court, but the emperor is far away."

Xu He'an didn't say this, he knew.

"Do you know who their boss is?" Xu He'an asked.

"I don't know. Q was caught in for three months, working every day, day after day. ”

"You know how many people they've arrested, you know?" Xu He'an asked again.

"I don't know about this, sometimes one is caught in five or six days, sometimes two are caught in three or four days. It's all men. Uncle Chen told everything he knew.

"Thank you." Xu He'an walked back. The men on patrol came in with large knives again.

"Hurry up, swallow it slowly, how long has it been, and I haven't gotten a few pieces yet." A man pointed a knife at Xu He'an.

"Big brother, I'm not very good, slow down, don't be angry." Xu He'an immediately sped up.