Because Xiao Chengjun was traveling in a carriage with salutes and servants, he naturally walked slowly. Calculating the time, he should not have reached Minzhou yet, so Lou Jing wanted to hurry up and catch up.

They followed the mark left by Yun Jiu, crossing from the capital to Qingzhou. Now they had just arrived at the boundary of Jiangzhou, and they had lost track of Xiao Chengjun!

Even if we travel slowly by carriage, we should have reached the south of Jiangzhou within half a month!

"Master, I'm going to explore the path again. Maybe I took the path." Yun Yi was held up by his collar, showing no signs of panic.

Lou Jing let go and looked around. They were walking on the official road. It was noon and there was no one on the spacious road. "What's the nearest town to here?"

Yun Er, who is good at memorizing terrain, immediately stepped forward, "This is the south of Yunyang County, the nearest county is Zhoushan County, and one hundred and twenty miles further is Xunyang County, which is across the river.

"

Lou Jing took a deep breath, "Yun Yi went to the nearby trail to look for signs, and Yun Ba went around to see if there was anything unusual."

"Yes." The two got on their horses and took the order and left.

From the moment she stepped into Jiangzhou, Lou Jing felt that something was wrong. Not only was the official road too quiet, she always felt that the situation around her was a bit unusual, but she couldn't tell what was unusual. She frowned and thought for a long time, and Lou Jing stood up suddenly.

He quickly walked into the woods behind him.

There are small woods planted on both sides of the official road, and through the woods is a field. It is the end of March, and the wheat in the field has already headed, but it is not yet mature, and it is green.

However, this green area is almost entirely made up of wheat stalks, and they are swaying here and there, and the immature wheat ears have disappeared!

Lou Jing picked up a handful of straw that had been thrown on the ground, and finally understood what was strange. There was a lack of water in the north of Jiangzhou, and rice was not grown. He was rushing along the way without paying attention, and then he remembered that since he entered the boundary of Jiangzhou,

The wheat fields around the official road are almost not intact.

Most of the wheat ears are empty in March, and it is impossible to harvest them now. What happened? Even if the bandits caused trouble, the fields would not be ruined.

"Master, the nearby village has set up a fence to prevent outsiders from entering. There are young men with knives guarding the entrance of the village." Yunba quickly ran over on horseback and dismounted to report, "Many people in rags were crowded in the Tu Tu Temple outside the village.

Here, my subordinates didn’t dare to come close.”

Although the nine of them were said to be highly skilled in martial arts, there were at least hundreds of them there. To be cautious, Yunba did not step forward to inquire, but watched from a distance for a moment before riding away.

Lou Jing's brows gradually frowned. Looking at the fields that looked like locusts passing through, there was no doubt that there were people fleeing here, and there were a lot of them! If there were a large number of refugees in Jiangzhou, the road would indeed be difficult. Although Xiao Chengjun's carriage

They don't look very luxurious on the outside, but they are definitely made of good materials. Walking like this in Jiangzhou where refugees are everywhere, one can imagine the dangers they face.

The bandits can estimate the officers and soldiers, and the refugees are extremely hungry, but they don’t care who you are.

"Master, behind the stone monument on the dirt road ahead, I found Yun Jiu's mark." Yun Yiyi ran over with a solemn expression, looking a little embarrassed, "Your Highness and the others are heading to Xunyang."

Lou Jing nodded slightly, but she couldn't let go of it, "Let's follow."

"Master," Yun Yi wiped the sweat from his face, "the dirt road is full of refugees. I went to investigate and were almost surrounded by them. We have to leave the official road quickly. There are refugees chasing us this way."

Lou Jing looked at the dusty Yun Yi, made a quick decision, got on his horse and said, "Go to Xunyang."

Since Yunjiu would leave such a specific mark, it must be because the official road was full of refugees at that time, and they took a small road ahead of the refugees to Xunyang.

Although she believed in Xiao Chengjun's strategy and had the Eighth Guards of Youyun by her side, Lou Jing still couldn't help but worry. She had never thought that the one hundred and twenty-mile journey would be so long.

When it was dark, Lou Jing and the others finally arrived at the outskirts of Xunyang City. The official road suddenly became impassable. Dozens of men in ragged clothes blocked the road. When they saw these nine people, their eyes turned green.

Lou Jing stopped his horse and looked coldly at these people holding stones and sticks.

"Hand over all your money and food!" Seeing that these people were not afraid at all, the refugees were a little frightened and greedily swept around Lou Jing and others. Those strong horses alone were enough to feed several people.

After a pause, he suddenly became a little bolder.

"Get out of the way!" Yun Wu and Yun Liu, who were closely guarding, pulled out their sabers with a swipe.

The refugees flinched and retreated hesitantly. The leader, a man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, loudly said: "Don't be afraid of them, there are many of us, just hit them with stones!"

Everyone immediately stepped back and started throwing stones. Yun Wu split the stones flying towards Lou Jing with one knife. Lou Jing couldn't bear to fight with them and rushed forward on his horse, raising the whip in his hand.

A whip struck the nearest person hard on the face.

The man immediately howled and fell to the ground, and the powerful front hooves of the sweaty horse galloped forward unimpeded. Those people were frightened by Lou Jing's fierceness and fled in all directions, wailing.

The wall of Xunyang City is three feet high and is indestructible. It is just dusk now, and the city gate has been tightly closed. A circle of officers and soldiers armed with spears have tightly surrounded the city. The dark refugees were driven to an area three feet away from the city, or sat down.

There are thousands of them, their faces are like vegetables, their eyes are either desperate or malicious, and it’s very scary.

The Eight Guards of Youyun all drew their sabers and surrounded Lou Jing. Some people who were ready to make a move did not dare to approach after seeing the evil aura on their bodies.

"Master, Xunyang City has been closed for more than ten days. No one is allowed to enter." Yunba went to ask for news and learned that these refugees were all from Qingzhou. They walked south along the road. When they arrived at Xunyang, they were unable to cross the river. They were all crowded.

Outside Xunyang City, the county guard of Xunyang did not dare to open the city gate and mobilized officers and soldiers to defend the city.

Under such circumstances, it may be difficult to enter the city, but it is not completely impossible.

Lou Jing narrowed her eyes and looked at the heavily guarded Xunyang City, "Go and find the mark."

Thirty miles outside Xunyang City.

"Your Highness, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it back to Linjiang today." Yun Shi looked at the terrain around him and rode forward.

Xiao Chengjun nodded slightly, "Let's find a place to rest."

They were now in a small village. It was supposed to be the farm of a wealthy family. Unfortunately, it was deserted and the doors and windows were broken. It was probably ransacked by those refugees.

"Your Highness, this kind of big house is most likely to attract the attention of thieves, so it is not suitable to stay for a long time." Yun Jiu said cautiously.

When refugees cross the border, this kind of farmhouse and mansion will naturally bear the brunt. Whether they are thieves, robbers or hungry people, they will definitely come to explore this house when they see it. It is the most dangerous thing.

Yun Shiliu, who was going to explore the road, ran over and said, "Your Highness, there is a City God's Temple five miles ahead."

The City God's Temple is very spacious. Because it is built behind a dense forest, not many people find this shelter from the wind. The courtyard wall is dilapidated. There is a bonfire burning in the main hall, and seven or eight haggard-looking people are surrounding it.

Together, they stared at Xiao Chengjun and his party with vigilance.

Yun Shisan and Yun Twelve went in first, swept out a clean area on the west side of the temple, pulled off the red cloak from the statue, spread it on the ground, and put a layer of fur blanket on top, and then invited Xiao Chengjun in

Rest.

Xiao Chengjun sat on the blanket, and the Eight Guards of Youyun quickly raised the bonfire, took out the dry food, and roasted it on the fire.

Seeing the attitude of these people, the refugees did not dare to offend, so they consciously shrank into the corner.

Looking at the almost omnipotent Eight Guards of Youyun in front of him, Xiao Chengjun couldn't help but feel a little emotional. The eight people including command, terrain, assassination, bow and arrow, wound treatment, pathfinding, and two guards together were almost invincible.

After leaving the capital, Yun Shiyi, who specializes in assassination, discovered that someone was following them. Xiao Chengjun asked Anshun and a group of servants to follow the carriage, and Lu Zhao and the twenty people escorted him to leave first. He stayed in Qingzhou with the Eight Guards of Youyun

After waiting for a few days, those people were completely gone before heading to Jiangzhou. Unexpectedly, as soon as they entered Jiangzhou, they encountered refugees blocking the way...

"Get out of here!" A powerful voice came from the courtyard, with a bit of killing intent.

"Oops, we encountered bandits." Those refugees were lying on the windows looking at them, scared to death. However, this small temple only had one door, so there was no way to escape.

Not long after, five or six burly men walked in. At that time, two of Youyun's eight guards went to place the horses, one went to find ingredients, and Yunjiu went to mark the area. There were only four people guarding Xiao Chengjun.

The group of big men either held big knives or hammers, and carried two live chickens flapping their wings. The leader of the group had a dark complexion and a face full of flesh. From his forehead to his cheeks, there was an ugly scar.

A bit fierce.

The man with the scar walked back and forth between the two groups of people in the temple. As soon as he raised his hand, an eight-foot-tall man next to him walked over to the refugees and shouted loudly: "If you want to survive, give up whatever valuables you have on you."

Take them all out."

"Uncle, we are on the run, we don't have any money..." Before one of them could finish speaking, the man kicked him in the heart and kicked him ten feet away. He screamed and shrank into a ball.

"Sir, please forgive me, that's all we have." The other people didn't dare to say any more. They dug around for a long time and found dozens of copper coins.

Xiao Chengjun signaled to Youyun Guards to be calm and looked at the bandits calmly.

Scarface looked back and forth at Xiao Chengjun, who was dressed in luxurious clothes, and at the four well-dressed guards beside him. He seemed to weigh it, and said in a cold voice: "You guys, please hand it over quickly.

Here comes the money!”

Yun Shisan, who was in charge of the close guard, pulled out his saber and scratched a deep mark on the ground with a shake of his hand. The temple was paved with thick bluestone floor tiles, but Yun Shisan felt like cutting tofu.

The scarred man's pupils shrank, and the four people behind him immediately picked up their weapons and looked at him fiercely.

Xiao Chengjun raised his chin towards Yun Shili. Yun Shili understood and took out a kit, "Heroes, my young master passed by this place to have a rest. I don't want to get entangled with you. This knife mark is the boundary and has nothing to do with each other.

"

Saying this, he threw the kit in his hand towards the scarred man.

This is a combination of kindness and power. On the one hand, it scares them not to act rashly, and on the other hand, it gives them some sweetness. It means that we have strong military force here, but we are too lazy to argue with you. We have taken money and will not interfere with each other.

The Youyun Guards are so skilled that only two of them can take down these people. However, Xiao Chengjun has a distinguished status and is under special circumstances. He cannot reveal his identity and does not want to make the matter bigger.

Scarface weighed the silver in his hand, it was heavy at least twenty taels, and he suddenly showed a somewhat satisfied look.

"Boss, he's a fat sheep." The man holding the hammer whispered.

"The fat sheep must live to eat." Scarface understood the importance, and waved his hands to let the brothers sit on the futon under the statue, and lit a fire to roast the chicken.

Yun Jiu hadn't come back yet, but the two men who tied the horse did. Xiao Chengjun took a bite of the baked dry steamed buns. He didn't have much appetite, but he still managed to eat a whole piece.

It was very quiet in the temple, except for the crackling sound of flames burning tree branches.

The man with the scar had been looking at Xiao Chengjun. He saw that there were six guards around him, and he exchanged glances with the others. This man had so many subordinates. If they were all so capable of swinging swords at each other, why would they bother him?

Their money, perhaps, is only as good as that one person.

Looking at the sword on Xiao Chengjun's body and the mutton-fat jade buckle on the single sword tassel, which was worth a hundred taels of silver, the eyes of the bandits couldn't help but be a little red. After a moment of silence, the big man holding the sword and the big man holding the hammer suddenly

They jumped up and attacked Yun Shisan, while the scarred man rushed directly towards Xiao Chengjun.
Chapter completed!