By the time the clothes were completely dry, it was already dusk.

Seeing that the night was approaching, Xu Jizhong was even more anxious. hurriedly got dressed and took Xu Pu along the river bank all the way downstream. While walking, I kept looking, hoping to see the traces of Zhang and others. But all the way down, there was no trace of it.

After walking for more than half an hour, the sky gradually darkened, and the two finally came to the North River Estuary located in the river bend. This is far away from the South River Estuary, which is the end of this section of the north-south river and the end point of the South River Estuary ferry. Xu Jizhong's boat was originally going to dock here.

The two hurriedly ran to the riverbank ferry, stood on the shore and looked around, and saw that there were several boats parked in the ferry, and there were occasional people coming and going, but there was no trace of Zhang and others.

Xu Jizhong also asked the boatman who stopped at the ferry whether he saw a capsized boat drifting here, or if a person who had fallen into the water went ashore here. The people who asked shook their heads, and they never saw any overturned boats, nor did they see anyone who fell overboard.

Xu Jizhong thought that if his wife really landed here, he would definitely settle down in the inn, so he took Xu Pu to the inn in the town to ask. There are only two inns in the town, and the guys at both inns say that they have not seen the people described by Xu Pu come to stay.

Xu Jizhong's heart was cold, and he secretly thought to himself: Could it be that Mrs. Fei and they were captured by Jinyiwei? Or was the ferry boat hit by a reef, and Mrs. They had nowhere to rely on, and they had drowned? The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became, and the more I thought about it, the more worried I became.

Xu Pu shook his father's and said, "Daddy, I'm hungry, let's go eat something first, okay?"

Now that his wife's life and death are uncertain, Xu Jizhong is worried and has no intention of eating. It's just that the father and son first paddled in the icy river for half a day, stopped for a while after going ashore, and then ran more than 20 miles on foot, already exhausted. If you don't eat something now and replenish your strength, I'm afraid it will tire your child out. So he nodded and took Xu Pu into a restaurant on the side of the road.

At this time, just after the meal, there were not many people eating inside, Xu Jizhong took Xu Pu and found an empty table in the corner and sat down. As soon as I sat down, a guy came over to greet me. Xu Jizhong asked for two dishes that Xu Pu loved to eat, and asked for two taels of wine. The guy agreed, first gave Xu Jizhong two taels of wine, and then ordered the kitchen to cook.

In a few moments, the meal was served.

Xu Jizhong was like a fire, he couldn't swallow it, while drinking wine and barely eating food, he considered the whereabouts of his wife: there was no other fork in this section of the river, and if his wife did not arrive at the ferry here, she must have gone ashore elsewhere. Pu'er and I came all the way from the west bank, and there was no trace of them, so they could only go to the east bank. After eating, I will take Pu'er along the east coast to find it. As long as the lady is still alive, I will be able to find it. If you can't find it again, if you can't find it again......

If he can't find it again, Xu Jizhong can't think of what to do next.

Just as he was thinking about it, he saw two figures sit down on the empty seats at the table, without even saying hello. Xu Jizhong was very dissatisfied, and said in his heart: Why are the people here not educated at all? There are so many empty tables here, why do you want to pick this table? Forget about picking this table, why don't you even say hello? I was not angry, I wanted to have a seizure when I raised my head, and when I raised my head to see the faces of these two people clearly, Xu Jizhong was stunned for a moment.

These two people, one is He Jiuxiao, the envoy of Jinyi Weizhen, and the other is the yellow-shirted man who made a double sickle seen on Wulipo.

He Jiuxiao smiled and said, "Young Lord, I didn't expect us to meet again so soon." ”

Xu Jizhong was shocked, and said secretly: Why did you run into them again? Then I thought: He Jiuxiao was originally in the same boat as us, since he is here, then Madame...... Xu Jizhong blurted out, "Where is my wife?"

He Jiuxiao said: "Mrs. Zun has been rescued by us, and she is waiting at the mouth of the Nanhe River at this time. Young lord, will you go with us by yourself, or will we arrest you?"

Xu Jizhong looked at him and couldn't guess whether what he said was true or not. But after thinking about it again, at this moment, there are only our father and son, and in the face of their two martial arts masters, there is no room for resistance. Rather than being defeated and captured, it is better to follow them openly, and then slowly find an opportunity on the way to let Pu'er escape.

Having made up his mind, Xu Jizhong snorted and said, "You don't have to be strong, when our father and son finish this meal, we will follow you on the road." ”

He Jiuxiao smiled: "Two of you, please." Brother He and I are waiting here. ”

Xu Jizhong snorted and said to Xu Pu: "Pu'er, don't be afraid, eat with peace of mind." ”

Xu Pu glanced at the two of them, lowered his head and gulped down to eat.

Xu Jizhong picked up his wine glass and continued to drink. After drinking, Xu Jizhong suddenly had an appetite, asked for a bowl of white rice, and ate the dishes on the table. After Xu Pu was full, Xu Jizhong ate all the remaining dishes, and then put down the dishes and chopsticks.

He Jiuxiao didn't wait for Xu Jizhong to speak, took out a piece of silver and put it on the table, and said, "Young prince, this meal will be made by He." Let's hit the road, shall we?"

Xu Jizhong didn't thank him, he picked up Xu Pu and walked out, and He Jiuxiao followed behind with the yellow-shirted man. The group left the restaurant and went out into the street.

At this time, it was nearly two watches, and a waning moon rose in the night sky.

He Jiuxiao said: "Young Lord, if you want to go to the mouth of the South River, we have to go to the ferry first to take a boat to the opposite bank, and then go up the river bank upstream." ”

Xu Jizhong didn't speak, and pulled Xu Pu towards the riverbank ferry.

When he came to the ferry, He Jiuxiao said to the yellow shirt: "Brother He, you accompany the young prince to wait here, and I will hire a boat." With that, he jumped on a ferry, summoned the boatman, and negotiated the price.

Xu Jizhong stood on the riverbank and thought to himself: he said that his wife had been captured by them, and he didn't know if it was true or not. My wife and I have been married for many years, and we have a deep affection, how can I let him suffer alone? Whether it is true or not, I should go with him. But in this way, it will hurt Pu'er again. After thinking about it, he could only find a chance to let Pu'er escape. But these two people are strong in martial arts, what should they think of to let Pu Er escape safely?

While he was thinking hard about what to do, he suddenly found a ferry boat coming from the water and slowly mooring into the ferry. When the boat had docked, two men disembarked and talked in a whisper as they walked along the riverbank toward the town.

At this time, the moonlight was hazy, although Xu Jizhong couldn't see the appearance of these two people clearly, but the voices of these two people, as well as their figures and clothes, were very familiar.