This was Liu Ruiying's first time riding in a carriage, which made him very unaccustomed to it. Although the ride is more bumpy, a person can follow the horseback to jump up and down with the movement of the horse's back by stepping on the stirrups with both feet and holding the reins with both hands. But sitting in the carriage, everything seems involuntary, and you can only passively bear this bumpy feeling, even if you sit firmly under the buttocks, it is difficult to change this situation. What's more, the three people crammed in the carriage always seemed a little crowded...... The faint fragrance from Zhao Mingming's body made Liu Ruiying a little distracted, and she had no choice but to look out the window to distract herself, but the window opposite him was blocked by Hua Nong on horseback, and she couldn't see the rest of the scenery at all.

The obscured scenery in front of you has become irritable and irritable, and the fragrance behind you is more intense in contrast, not that the taste is thick and nasilous, but just a faint fragrance of flowers and plants, which is crushed by the breeze as the base, adding the unique smell of all kinds of plants and trees themselves, filtered by clear spring water, leaving only one-tenth of the taste.

The small space was filled with the smell, like soft hands, rubbing back and forth on Liu Ruiying's face and neck, and the snort was even more unbearable, he didn't dare to inhale hard, for fear that the secret incense would send his disturbed thoughts to the extreme.

They had already left the mine next door. After sending the silver back to the hostess's inn with the little clever spirit last night, the sky was already bright, and Liu Ruiying and Zhao Mingming discussed it, and decided to set off without any stops.

Yuedi wanted Liu Ruiying and Liu Ruiying to stay for a few more hours, and it was best to wait for Shangguan Xuyao, the king of Zhenbei, to wake up, and then ask in person before leaving. But Liu Ruiying only smiled and did not agree. He did everything he had to do, but the ones he saved could completely let Yuedi do it for him. Yuedi also knew that Liu Ruiying's mind was no longer here, and there were still injuries on his body, so there was no one to say anything if he left quickly.

Before leaving, Liu Ruiying asked Xiao Jiling why Jin Ye didn't go back with him. The little wit said that Jin Ye drank a lot of wine last night and went to bed very early. What's more, if the matter of paying money here is satisfactorily resolved, he still has someone to deal with. That person Liu Ruiying has also seen it, but this matter involves a private matter in his Qingfu, and Liu Ruiying can't help it, so he has to let the little clever man seal the letter to Jin Ye: Come to Japan for a long time, see you in the capital.

I don't know why, since I saw these four words written by Gao Ren on the table with blood that night, "the coming day is long" has been spinning in Liu Ruiying's mind, and he can't leave it behind. The carriage was too stuffy, and he couldn't get up because of the injury on his left shoulder, so he looked a little depressed.

Sugar-fried chestnuts drove the car, not fast or slow, and walked steadily. He yawned uncontrollably, muttering that he needed something sweet to refresh himself. After hearing this, Liu Ruiying persuaded her to see the road first, and when she arrived in the town, she went to the market to buy her fried chestnuts with sugar and food. Who knew that this little girl was a dead eye, and she kept saying that she couldn't go to the middle capital, but she no longer ate fried chestnuts with sugar. This is understandable, the best is waiting in front, so what is the need to eat for these other indiscriminate ones?

She was thinking not only about sugar-fried chestnuts, but also about chestnuts, which were three, six, nine, and so on, unpalatable, average, delicious, and superb.

It will be, there are hundreds of chestnuts she has tasted, and naturally she has to go on the road of deliciousness, the skin is thin, the inner layer is not sticky, there is this oil, it must be a complete pulp, not dry or watery, the surface is rustling, with a slight sweetness, and the most important thing is not to overshadow the chestnut fragrance itself.

However, hearing such firm words as sugar-fried chestnuts, Liu Ruiying was a little nervous...... At the beginning, it was just an unintentional statement. The middle capital city is indeed prosperous, but it is not necessarily true to say that there are really the best fried chestnuts with sugar. The most prosperous place does not necessarily have the best food, which is the same as living in the most luxurious guest room in the Xiangteng Inn without having a sense of home. Liu Ruiying thought that he would not have any nostalgia for Zhongdu City or Zhongdu Investigation Division, but he didn't expect this trip to come out, but at this moment, he was like an arrow...... I couldn't help but smile, feeling that I was very unproductive!

"What are you thinking?"

Zhao Mingming asked softly.

"I'm thinking about it. ”

Liu Ruiying said.

"Homesick?"

Zhao Mingming asked.

"Sort of......

Liu Ruiying said.

Zhao Mingming pursed her lips, obviously dissatisfied with Liu Ruiying's answer.

If you think about it, you think about it, and if you don't think about it, you don't think about it. Sort of, what kind of answer is it? It's also a man who wields a sword and drinks and beheads people, why do you talk so twisted......

Liu Ruiying didn't care about the change in Zhao Mingming's expression, but when he said this, the longing for the Zhongdu City in his heart became more and more profound.

"How many hours will it take to get from here to Taishang River?"

Zhao Mingming asked.

She wanted to talk to Liu Ruiying, otherwise the atmosphere in the carriage would only be more silent.

"If nothing else had been delayed, it would have arrived by this time tomorrow. ”

Liu Ruiying said absentmindedly.

"When we first met, the "Bifang Wine" you sang to me was not finished yet. ”

Zhao Mingming said.

"That thing...... If you don't drink, you can't sing!"

Liu Ruiying said with some embarrassment.

"I hear a story in that song?"

Zhao Mingming asked.

"Yes, yes, but I can't remember everything......"

Liu Ruiying said.

"Remember to say as much as I want, I want to hear it. ”

Zhao Mingming said.

"Let's wait until I'm drinking. ”

Liu Ruiying excused.

Zhao Mingming stared at Liu Ruiying and blew up, took out a small wine jug from under the car box and handed it over. Liu Ruiying didn't know what it was, and was about to take it, when Zhao Mingming suddenly shrank her hand again. It turned out that he remembered that the wound on Liu Ruiying's left shoulder had not yet healed, but it was not suitable to drink.

"Bang dang!"

The carriage suddenly skewed to the side, Liu Ruiying's body was unstable, and he almost flew out of the window, fortunately, at the critical moment, Zhao Mingming reached out to help him, which made him not make a fool of himself. However, the wound on the left shoulder was broken open again, and in the blink of an eye, it soaked through the clothes again.

"What's going on?"

Zhao Mingming asked sharply.

"Miss...... I don't know...... There was a ditch and a big pit in the ground! I tried to avoid the ditch, but I accidentally dropped the rear wheel into the pit......"

Sugar-fried chestnuts said very aggrievedly.

"Did you doze off? I told you a long time ago, if you doze off, you have to make a noise, and I will drive instead!"

Zhao Mingming said.

The sugar-fried chestnuts didn't dare to reply with a sad face, and hurriedly jumped out of the car to investigate.

"The axle is broken!"

Hua Nong said.

He had stood on the edge of the pit and had a good look. The sugar-fried chestnuts knew that they were in trouble, but they stood in place, fiddling with the corners of their clothes, their little faces were flushed, and they didn't say a word.

After Zhao Mingming settled the mysterious little girl in the car, she wanted to get out of the car with Liu Ruiying to check. Unexpectedly, this little girl seemed to have recovered a little bit of her senses, and when she saw that Zhao Mingming seemed to be leaving, she was alone in the car, so she reached out and grabbed Zhao Mingming's clothes. It wasn't until Zhao Mingming gently patted the back of her hand and smiled that she let go and sat in the car obediently and waited.

"Hey, hey!"

Liu Ruiying laughed when he saw that the rear wheel of the carriage fell into the pit and broke the axle, but he was blinded by Zhao Mingming, he immediately put away his smile, there was more helplessness in his eyes, and then the corner of his lips pulled out a smile.

It's not hard to get the wagon out of the pit.

Huanon can do it alone.

It's just that the car with the broken axle is useless in this place where there is no village in front of the village and no shop in the back. Even if it is carried out of the pit, it will not help.

However, Liu Ruiying went around to the other side, squatted down, and began to carefully look at the ditch that the sugar-fried chestnuts said before. If it weren't for the existence of this ditch, the sugar-fried chestnuts would not have fallen into the pit in order to escape.

When Liu Ruiying finished investigating, he walked around Zhao Mingming and gently pulled her aside. Zhao Mingming, who was blaming the sugar-fried chestnuts, was confused by Liu Ruiying's sudden move, but after thinking about it, he understood that he seemed to have something to say to himself.

"The ditch and the pit were dug by man. ”

Liu Ruiying said.

"What do you mean?"

Zhao Mingming asked puzzled, but she didn't understand.

"Do you know that there are strongmen robbing the road in this world?"

Liu Ruiying asked.

Zhao Mingming nodded as if she didn't understand.

She'd seen it in books and heard it in stories, but she hadn't experienced it herself.

"In the past, those guys were strong, and they were all hard. If you ask for gold and silver, if you don't give it, you will be fighting with swords, but now they are wiser......"

Liu Ruiying said.

"What the hell is going on? Can you explain it more clearly?"

Zhao Mingming asked anxiously.

"They dug this ditch first, and you see this ditch, which occupies about two-thirds of the width of the road, and when the chestnuts find it, they are anxious to dodge, so that the rear wheels of the carriage easily fall into the hole. ”

Liu Ruiying said.

Zhao Mingming looked at it before and after, and also quite agreed with Liu Ruiying's statement.

It's just that she still doesn't know what this has to do with the strongman Liu Ruiying said.

asked again, but Liu Ruiying smiled and didn't answer, just let her wait a little longer.

Sure enough, after a while, five or six people came out of the woods next to them one after another, and when they saw Liu Ruiying and others and the carriage that fell into the pit, they all surrounded them with great enthusiasm.

"Brother, is this stuck in the car?"

The first person broke the position and politely arched his hand and said.

"That's right, Fang just accidentally avoided the ditch, but he didn't notice that there was a deep pit here. ”

Liu Ruiying said.

He already knew in his heart that these people must be the initiators of the ditches and pits on the road, and their behavior was nothing more than asking for a high fee under the pretext of helping. Presumably, the former strongmen were really a lot smarter, and the government was difficult to manage. After all, others came up to help with pleasant faces and ancient ways, and it was understandable to ask for silver taels. If you don't want to give, someone else can just leave. It's just that in this wilderness, it is difficult to meet pedestrians. If you wait, I don't know how many hours it will be delayed, so this method can be tried again and again.

"They are all people who travel, so it's easy to say, but my brothers have no balance in hand recently, I don't know if you can help one or two......

The leader rubbed his hands and said.

Hunched back, full of guilt.

It was as if he had said a lot of humiliating things.

"Can't!"

Before Liu Ruiying could reply, Hua Nong refused as soon as he opened his mouth.

As soon as this person heard what Hua Nong said, his face changed suddenly.

"This little brother, my brothers happened to pass by and kindly helped each other, just to ask one more question. You are guilty of talking like that, but you must know that it was not my carriage that fell into the pit, and besides, you have a woman with you, and it must be very inconvenient without a carriage!"

Said the man at the head.

"The inconvenience is also our own business, and it has nothing to do with you. Moreover, the axle of the rear wheel had been completely broken, and even if the carriage was to be pulled out, it would not be able to move. Why do we bother to do that?"

Hua Nong said.

"Okay! What you say is reasonable, it's all because our brothers are so talkative and nosy!"

Said the man at the head.

After speaking, he stretched out his hand to say hello and led everyone to make a gesture of wanting to leave. He thought that Liu Ruiying would speak out to stop him, but he didn't expect him to look at this group of people with a smile and pretend to be a gesture.

"Forget it...... But if I help you carry the carriage out, there will be a market not far ahead, and there will be a craftsman who can repair it in good condition. It's just that these girls have to work harder, walking. After all, the axle is broken, but it can't bear the load. ”

As soon as he walked out of the two parts, the person in charge turned his head and said.

"It's great, but we don't have the money. ”

Liu Ruiying spread his hands and said.

The face of the leader turned pale, and finally gritted his teeth, and without speaking, he and the others directly lifted the carriage out.

"Take out the market just so that a few of my brothers are also going to go sharp, and after they get there, they repair the wheel axle, why don't they have a meal together?

Said the man at the head.

Liu Ruiying nodded in agreement.

The sugar-fried chestnuts drove the carriage forward slowly, and a rear wheel kept making a "squeaky and twisting" sound, which was very harsh on the deserted road.

"What does a brother do for a living?"

The leader asked.

"Running around, begging for food. ”

Liu Ruiying said.

"As soon as you hear it, you are a big dealer!...... In this world, it is not easy to do anything. My brothers were originally from the Pingnan Domain, and not long ago, they heard that there were wolf riders in the Dingxi Domain, so they thought about coming here to eat while they were in chaos. Unexpectedly, it was a false alarm, so I could only take advantage of the fact that the coil in my hand was not used up, and hurried home. ”

Said the man at the head.

Although his accent is really vividly imitated, but occasionally a few words and sentences are revealed, but it is still the dialect of the Zhenbei Royal Domain, and such a lame cover certainly can't escape Liu Ruiying's ears. However, it just so happened that this trip was also quite boring, and Liu Ruiying had just finished a major event, so he was very leisurely in this return, so he chatted with them sentence by sentence.

His sword was placed in the car, and he strode forward, a little like a noble son. In this way, he has become a fat sheep to be slaughtered in the eyes of these people.

They weren't lying about the market.

Less than an hour after the crowd walked, the shouting in the market was clearly heard.

"What's this town called?"

Liu Ruiying asked.

Before leaving, he had carefully looked at the map, and there was no indication here, but it was so lively and obviously did not match what was drawn on the map.

"It's not a town, it's just a market, open three hours a day. It was all people from the neighborhood who came to sell some farm goods, and occasionally those who were running around with a troupe or juggling were passing by. However, this usually has to be celebrated during the New Year's holidays, and it is difficult to see it in ordinary times. ”

Said the man at the head.

Liu Ruiying nodded after hearing this, it was the first time she had seen such a market, and she thought it was quite interesting.

However, Zhao Mingming has her own plans in her heart......

I think she and the sugar-fried chestnuts also passed by such a market.

Just ate a bowl of tofu noodles, but someone stole a lot of silver taels. Now when I see such a market, it evokes memories, and I feel a little unhappy in my heart.

"Miss...... This smell is so familiar!"

Sugar-fried chestnuts suddenly turned his head and said.

"Yes, it's familiar!"

Zhao Mingming said with a cold smile.

Liu Ruiying felt that Zhao Mingming's tone had changed, and she was about to ask, but she didn't expect her to walk forward quickly with sugar-fried chestnuts, leaving Liu Ruiying and the others far behind.

I don't know why Zhao Mingming walked so quickly, Liu Ruiying glanced at Hua Nong, and then walked forward quickly.

Zhao Mingming and sugar-fried chestnuts plunged into the market and blended into the vast sea of people. The market is extremely lively, with people rubbing shoulders and shouting one after another. Liu Ruiying wanted to follow the flow of people slowly and make the city transparent, but she couldn't rest assured of Zhao Mingming and Sugar-fried Chestnuts, so she had to squeeze forward.

Not long after doing this, I saw Zhao Mingming and sugar-fried chestnuts standing together, looking fixedly at a stall diagonally opposite.

"What's wrong?"

Liu Ruiying asked.

"Look at that stall!"

Zhao Mingming said with a pout.

Liu Ruiying looked over and saw that it was just a very ordinary stall selling tofu noodles, which was not unusual. Compared with tofu noodles, Liu Ruiying prefers to eat wonton noodles. However, when Zhao Mingming said this, he thought that the eldest lady was hungry and wanted to eat.

"Look further, there may be something even better!"

Liu Ruiying said.

Zhao Mingming was angry and laughed after hearing this...... This stall selling tofu noodles is the same place where he conspired with others to defraud him of silver taels. Not only does the taste of tofu noodles be exactly the same, but even the stall owner is still the seemingly loyal but treacherous and cunning Lao Li.

Liu Ruiying felt that Zhao Mingming was very strange, as if there was something wrong, but she never mentioned it. Zhao Mingming was hesitating whether to tell Liu Ruiying about that deflated meal...... He was afraid of jokes when he said it, and if he didn't say it, he couldn't explain it. The original thing is in the past, and it really doesn't matter. However, in this huge world, as the leader behind Liu Ruiying said, the meeting of Pingshui is fate! Their carriage fell into the pit dug by these people is fate, and Zhao Mingming lost a lot of silver money last time he ate this tofu is also fate. However, this second encounter is not such a simple thing as fate, it just happens that he is bored and idle because of the hurry, this is such an exciting thing! Zhao Mingming feels that his ancestors are really blessed, and he must have calculated that his younger generation has a boring future in his life, so he will arrange such a reunion for himself.

After thinking about it for a long time, Zhao Mingming still talked about this matter with Liu Ruiying in detail from beginning to end. Liu Ruiying immediately wanted to laugh after hearing this, but she seemed to think that it was too rude to be so much, so she had to hold back...... However, the corners of his mouth still betrayed him. Zhao Mingming looked angry, threw down the sentence "If you want to laugh, laugh!" and then pulled the sugar-fried chestnuts and walked towards the tofu noodle stall.

"Brother, there is wine and meat in front! This tofu sells noodles, what is there to eat!"

The leader came to Liu Ruiying's side and said.

Liu Ruiying didn't care, but just told Hua Nong to let these people lead the way, and now find a craftsman who can repair the car in the market.

The leader wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Liu Ruiying had already passed through the flow of people and followed Zhao Mingming's figure to the tofu noodle stall.

Hua Nong followed them and walked forward, these people kept whispering, and still glanced back at the sword at Hua Nong's waist.

"Little brother, your sword is very distinctive!"

Said the man at the head.

Liu Ruiying ignored him, he could only get close to Hua Nong, trying to find a suitable time.

"I'm not a sword, I'm a toy!"

Hua Nong said with a smile.

Because of this sword, after he came out of Bogulou with Liu Ruiying, he had been ridiculed all the way, but now it is commonplace. Instead of letting others continue to gossip, it is better for him to be the first to speak and laugh at himself. It's just that those who dare to underestimate the "toy" on his waist will not end well.

The person in charge smiled wryly after hearing this, but did not delve into it, and led Hua Nong shoulder to shoulder and continued to walk forward.

Seeing that this market was about to come to an end, and there was no craftsman who could repair cars as they said, Hua Nong couldn't help but be a little irritable. First, he was also hungry, and secondly, he had been with Liu Ruiying for a long time, but he also had some energy, but he didn't have the heart to deal with these idle scoundrels.

Liu Ruiying and the other three walked straight over, without saying a word, and after finding an empty seat and sitting down, Zhao Mingming opened his mouth and asked for ten bowls of tofu noodles. When everyone next to them heard this, they were all surprised and looked this way, wanting to see what kind of girl could eat so much......

After Zhao Mingming finished speaking, she didn't care about these curious eyes, and sat here dignifiedly, waiting for her tofu noodles. The stall owner heard that someone ordered noodles, it was still ten bowls, and there was no other action, so after answering, he began to fry tofu, below.

"This is really not a serious businessman......"

Liu Ruiying said.

"How so?"

"It's in the Xiangteng Inn, if you order ten portions of a dish, it is estimated that the shopkeeper will be very curious to say a few words. But in such an open-air market, and such an ordinary stall, someone ordered ten bowls of tofu noodles in one go, but he was calm as usual, which proves that his mind is not on the business in front of him at all. ”

Liu Ruiying said.