Li Ang slowly stopped, his boots making a soft sound as he stepped on the gravel on the ground.
The crossbow mounted on the carriage window is nearly an arm's length wide. The crossbow body is dark and dull, and the arrow clusters shine with an icy cold light.
In terms of shape, it is almost the same as the crossbow used by Zhenfu Division soldiers.
There is no shelter in the alley, with towering walls on both sides. There is no room to move around, and you cannot hear whether there are people living behind the walls.
Pat.
The driver driving the carriage flicked the reins, lowered his sleeves, and turned his head sideways - the face under the bamboo hat was none other than one of the two sword cultivators who guarded Jiao Cheng at Pingkangfang that day.
And extending from the bottom of his cuffs is a suspended, gently trembling handleless flying sword.
Tap tap tap tap.
Li Ang stepped forward, boarded the carriage, and immediately smelled the smell of herbs.
I saw that the spacious car was covered with a thick white cloth.
Sitting on the double row of seats were Jiao Cheng, Di Wu and another middle-aged swordsman.
Jiao Cheng's right lame leg was covered with messy linear cuts, as if a sharp instrument had scratched the skin.
Although Di Wu and another sword cultivator, whose hands were stained with blood, had used herbal powder and cloth to bandage the wounds, they still could not stop the blood from seeping out and dripping on the car.
"Cure him and the money will be yours."
Di Wu took a deep breath and took out a wad of flying coins from his arms with a blood-stained palm. The smallest denomination was five hundred coins.
"I know you know trauma,"
Jiao Cheng, who was pale, struggled to retract the crossbow mounted on the carriage window, leaned against the inner wall of the carriage, and gasped: "After you left with You Xiao that day, I had someone investigate. What did you do in Zhenzhou?"
People have treated trauma.
Heal me."
Jiao Cheng's tone was firm, his index finger always resting on the crossbow.
Li Ang glanced at him expressionlessly, but did not take the flying money from Di Wu's hand, and said indifferently: "The tools are not there."
"Go to Huaidefang."
Jiao Cheng lowered his voice, and the monk sitting in front of the carriage swung the reins and drove the carriage north, stopping in front of the hotel courtyard where Li Ang lived.
Jiao Cheng did not get out of the car, but asked Jian Xiu and Li Ang to jump out of the carriage together, went into the house and took out the medical kit, and returned to the carriage.
And let the carriage drive southeast.
During the drive, Li Ang did not use pure wine to cleanse his hands, but directly used silver hooks and silver thread to suture the wounds on his burnt legs.
I wonder if the herbal powder covered on the burnt legs has any special effect.
During the entire suturing process, Jiao Cheng did not cry out in pain, nor did the wound on his leg ooze a lot of blood, but his face became increasingly pale.
Jiao Cheng handed the crossbow to Di Wu and asked him to continue aiming at Li Ang.
Another sword cultivator in the carriage also always controls the flying sword, hovering above Li Ang's head.
Outside the car window, Chang'anfang City is still noisy with people.
In two days' time it will be July 15th, the Buddhist Obon festival. Both rich and poor must prepare wine and food, and paper money to pay homage to the deceased to show their memory of their ancestors.
Roadside shops have begun to sell various commemorative items, clothing and hats. In some markets, they have to hang up lanterns in advance and wait for the Bon Festival to light them to pray for blessings.
The streets are noisy, and government officials and bad people from Chang'an County and Wannian County are maintaining law and order at the intersection.
Occasionally, you can see some bad people holding thin dogs, sniffing the smell of passing carriages and pedestrians.
Li Ang remained silent and sutured the wound slowly and steadily. On the contrary, Di Wu and the sword cultivator driving the carriage became nervous first.
The carriage gradually approaches the intersection ahead.
The thin dog that was lying on the ground by the side of the road seemed to have sensed something. It barked "wooow", stood up from the ground, and looked at the slowly approaching carriage.
"Gudong."
The bald Di Wu swallowed hard, his palms holding the crossbow were covered in sweat, and his eyes seemed to be looking through the carriage to nail the thin dog.
Snap.
Jiao Cheng didn't know where he got the strength to hold Di Wu's wrist tightly, and forced Di Wu to put down the crossbow.
As for himself, he took out a packet of medicinal powder from his arms, crushed it with one hand, and sprinkled the powder in the car.
A strange, inexplicable smell filled the carriage and escaped through the windows.
The thin dog that was alert on the roadside sniffed its nose, tilted its head in confusion, and watched the burnt carriage passing by in front.
The bad guy holding the thin dog's leash also yawned and didn't notice anything unusual at all.
Surprisingly, it passed.
Li Ang's eyelids twitched slightly. The fine dogs responsible for patrols in Chang'an City were all domesticated by the Zhong family of the Zhenfu Division. They can easily smell and track the smell of human blood.
First of all, the packet of medicinal powder in Jiao Cheng’s hand must be extremely precious.
Secondly, no matter what they are plotting, they don’t want the outside world to find out - otherwise there is no need to be sneaky and use kidnapping to threaten treatment.
Li Ang is a student who is going to take the final exam of the Academy. If he suddenly disappears the day before the exam,
Even if some people think that Li Ang is abstaining from taking the exam,
There will also be students from the same hometown and academy personnel looking for him in the city, causing commotion - after all, it is necessary to prevent students from wanting to eliminate competitors, and the academy will definitely attach great importance to this.
They may even send monks to search the city together with the Zhenfusi people.
At this point in time, holding Li Ang hostage...
‘What is it for?’
Li Ang gradually sped up his sewing movements, and the carriage successfully drove out of the intersection and continued eastward.
Guangdefang, Xinghuafang, Lanlingfang, Jinchangfang...
The carriage headed southeast until it entered the wall of Qinglongfang and stopped in a hidden bamboo forest.
"It's sewn and bandaged."
Li Ang used the gauze bandage in the medicine box to wrap up Jiao Cheng's injured leg.
I put away the silver hook and silver wire myself, and wiped the blood on my palms and surgical instruments with the white cloth from the medicine box.
Jiao Xiang seemed to feel no pain. He reached out and pinched his right leg that had been tightly wrapped with bandages several times. With the support of Di Wu and the middle-aged sword cultivator, he stepped out of the carriage.
The breeze lifts the window curtains, and through the shade of bamboo leaves, one can see a flat-bottomed boat slowly sailing in the river not far in front of the carriage.
On the side of the boat, there is the sign of a certain building in Pingkangfang - not Lianhua Building.
The boatman in a bamboo hat standing on the bow of the boat, holding a bamboo pole, parked the boat on the shore.
Jiao Cheng turned around and said to Li Ang, who was still in the car: "Li Xiaolangjun, will you come with us?"
"Where to go?"
Li Ang did not ask why the other party was holding him hostage, and whether the other party knew the possible consequences of holding him hostage. Jiao Cheng was a smart man and there was no need to talk nonsense, "I have cured your leg injury. I will still have it tomorrow."
The final exam of the academy."
"I know that if things go well, Mr. Li Xiaolang, you will be able to return to Chang'an in time to take the final exam tomorrow with a reward of 10,000 yuan tonight. Now, I just ask you to come with us."
Jiao Cheng said hoarsely: "Please."
Jiao Cheng was so determined that he even risked the wound on his right leg to burst and refused to rest.
'What they were planning must have been planned for a long time, and the situation was extremely urgent. This boat sailed from Jinchangfang in the northeast and headed to the southeast. In other words, its destination was... Huangqu
.'
Li Ang's thoughts raced in his mind, 'They are leaving the city?!'
The water system of Chang'an City in the State of Yu is collectively known as the Eight Rivers and Five Canals.
The eight rivers refer to the eight rivers around Chang'an City, such as Dianshui, Jishui, Jingshui, etc.
The five canals refer to the five main channels built artificially to utilize the water sources of the eight rivers and introduce water from outside the city into the city. They are Qingming Canal, Longshou Canal, Yongan Canal, Huang Canal, and Cao Canal.
The Yellow Canal is located in the southeast of Chang'an City and is the main channel of Qujiang Pool. Along the river of Qujiang Pool, you can go directly out of the city - there are too many painted boats traveling on Qujiang Pool every day.
Now it’s the Obon Festival again, and there are a lot of tourists.
Even if the city's government officials, bad guys, and soldiers from the town's police department come out in full force, they may not be able to take care of every corner.
According to the usual rules, on Qujiang Pond, only ships going into the city need to be searched carefully, and ships leaving the city can be scanned. Not to mention it is a high-end painting boat from Pingkangfang.
Pingkangfang has always had the lingo of "walking a horse" and "taking a bath". Staying here means staying overnight, while walking a horse means traveling with a prostitute——
Especially going out for a horse walk in the city, which is not a shameful thing in Shilin, on the contrary, it is very chic.
Many literati and dignitaries would do this.
The soldiers responsible for the security patrol on Qujiang Pond naturally would not let themselves get into trouble and search for a Pingkangfang high-end painting boat that was about to leave the city——
Wouldn't it be embarrassing if we found a certain prime minister or minister there?
In a flash of lightning, Li Ang guessed where Jiao Cheng and others planned to go.
His face remained calm, he picked up the medicine box and stepped out of the carriage.
Under the gazes of the two sword cultivators, I stepped onto the painting boat.
In the beautifully carved boat, there were several men with tattoos on their foreheads, and several Pingkangfang women who looked a little nervous.
Li Ang glanced at them, then found a place to sit down, holding the medicine box.
"Little doctor Li, please."
Jiao Cheng and others also boarded the boat. Di Wu stepped forward and handed over a black square scarf. Li Ang glanced at it, then took out the handkerchief with green seams from his arms and covered his eyes.
.
The painting boat sailed again silently, and the sound of silk and bamboo music and the sounds of drinking and drinking came from the boat, just like an ordinary painting boat.
Li Ang, wearing a blindfold, silently felt every turn of the ship, calculating in his heart the speed of the water and the speed of the ship.
The painting boat left the stream and sailed into the Huangqu River.
Gradually, the sounds of other painted boats gradually came from the river.
‘Out of town.’
Li Ang felt the course of the ship, and with a jolt and sway, the boat docked at the shore.
Swipe.
There were voices standing up around him. Li Ang took off his blindfold and saw Jiao Cheng, Di Wu and others walking out of the boat and coming to the bow.
This seems to be a hidden forest, and horses have been prepared in the clearing in the forest.
Li Ang walked off the bow of the ship with Jiao Cheng and others, and watched the painting boat slowly sail away, moored in the middle of the river with other painting boats, and lit candles for evening lighting.
"Li Xiaolangjun's first exam at the academy, he ranked first in the imperial subjects. Riding horses should be familiar to you, right?"
Jiao Cheng raised his chin, and with Di Wu's support, he got on the horse and tied the bamboo crutch that he never left around his waist.
Li Ang glanced at him, said nothing, and chose a horse to ride on.
The corners of the eyes of the two sword cultivators always shrouded me.
Li Ang had no doubt that as long as he made any changes, the two sword cultivators would use their flying swords and stab him quickly.
"Can your legs still hold on?"
Li Ang asked lightly, and Jiao Cheng grinned, "I don't need to worry about this, Mr. Li Xiaolang. Let's go."
Jiao Cheng flicked the reins and galloped away.
The two sword cultivators, Di Wu, and the tattooed men who got off the boat and met in the forest all followed on horseback.
The road in the forest was quite bumpy, and Jiao Cheng’s legs were wrapped with gauze, but his speed did not slow down at all.
Half an hour later, everyone stopped on horseback in a mountain col. Di Wu took the lead to dismount, and after a while to determine the direction, he walked straight to a withered pine tree, squatted on the ground and swept away the fallen leaves, revealing the tree hidden under the pile of fallen leaves.
square planks.
Di Wu pulled the copper ring on the wooden board and lifted the wooden door.
There is a hole half a foot in diameter hidden under the door. Looking down along the hole, you can actually see a staircase diagonally downwards.
If you listen carefully, you can faintly hear the sound of gurgling water below.
‘Chang’an Ghost Market...’
Li Ang let out a breath of air that was imperceptible. He had thought that the destination of Jiao Cheng and others was here, but after seeing it with his own eyes, the doubts in his heart became even greater.
‘Chang’an Ghost Market is a place for underground trading, selling demons, aliens and other prohibited goods. Based on Jiao Cheng’s status, connections and financial resources in Chang’an City.
You can completely let your subordinates go out of the city, conduct transactions on your behalf, and then find a way to transport it back to the city through other means.
There is absolutely no need to put yourself in danger - there are countless desperadoes and defected monks hiding in the ghost market.
If a conflict occurs, even the two sword cultivators may not be able to save him.
Unless...he didn't come here to trade in the ghost market.
But for something else.’
Di Wu took the lead and walked down the steps in the dark, using the fire stick he took out from his arms to light the torch on the tunnel wall.
Jiao Cheng limped forward, leaning on a bamboo crutch. When his head disappeared at the entrance of the cave, he glanced at Li Ang.
‘Do you still want to keep an eye on me?’
Li Ang frowned slightly, walked forward with the medicine box in his arms, and had countless guesses in his heart.
The risks and benefits of holding him hostage are out of proportion. Jiao Cheng is a rational and calm person and will not deliberately retaliate for taking Song Shaoyuan and You Xiao away six days ago - especially after he found out that the money he had was from the Duke of Yan's Mansion.
After getting it.
This time I came to the ghost market, there must be something extremely important.
Treat the man behind the ghost market?
Or...
Li Ang looked at the burnt right leg in front of him - there was faint blood seeping out from under the bandage.
‘The injury suffered by Jiao Cheng was not a slashing injury with a sharp instrument, but a laceration with a sharp instrument. That’s why the injury looked horrific, but it did not damage the main arteries or veins, and it was able to be sutured.’
Li Ang held on to the cold and damp tunnel wall and walked down, 'There are two possibilities for causing such large-scale scratches with a large number of sharp objects.
1. The sword master’s flying sword.
Two, the innate strong wind.’
The congenital wind only exists at high altitudes. Six days ago, Jiao Cheng's subordinates suffered from plateau cerebral edema that should not occur in a flat environment...
Li Ang stared at Jiao Cheng's back and went down to the bottom of the steps.
This is an underground river, and three wooden boats are tied to the river bank with iron chains.
The river flows endlessly, leading to the depths of the cave, into the deep and unknown darkness.
This chapter has been completed!