The wind passed through the extremely silent mountain village, making a whistling sound.

The willows hang low and their branches flutter in the wind.

Green buds emerge from the branches and form a string of tender green.

The two sat quietly under the willow tree, silent to each other.

"Aqing, your Qiguo speaking skills are pretty good." Lin Heng started to find something to say.

"Ah...after all, I have stayed there before." Cheng Muqing explained.

What Cheng Muqing just said was in Qiguo dialect.

When it comes to acting, you just have to do it all.

In the sky and the earth, men are naked from the waist down, planting rice seedlings and hoeing the ground, all in perfect order.

The sun was not too hot at this time, but they were covered in sweat from the work.

"My lord, do you think it's strange?" Cheng Muqing lowered his voice, "Why can't we see women in this village?"

"Perhaps, their husbands are not allowed to go out." Lin Heng said calmly.

"Then it's impossible for everyone not to come out..." Cheng Muqing elaborated on his doubts, "At this hour, it's time to have dinner. Won't their family members bring food over?"

Lin Heng didn't answer her words. He looked around blankly, and there wasn't even a sign of someone delivering food.

"Maybe... they ate late? Besides, we came early?"

"No..." Cheng Muqing shook his head, but did not say why "no".

When these men worked, they worked together very well.

Moreover, when they were working, they couldn't talk, they just kept their heads down.

I don't know if this is an unwritten custom or... because she and the prince arrived, so she didn't speak.

The two of them waited for the group of men under the shade of the tree.

Unexpectedly, the wait would end at night.

The sky darkened, and the originally blue sky seemed to be suddenly sprinkled with a layer of dust. The sky was no longer clear, and it became a bit hazy.

"They are deliberately stalling for time." Lin Heng suddenly said.

At this time, the two of them had already dismounted and were leaning against the poplar tree.

"Hold on." Cheng Muqing said nonchalantly. She took out a dagger from her waist and handed it to Lin Heng. "If there is danger, you must protect yourself."

"Yeah." Lin Heng slowly grasped the dagger.

During this period, he and Yan Yinian learned a lot. Thinking about it now, their minds are still filled with all kinds of boxing techniques.

If only one day I could stand in front of her and block everything for her...

Looking at the dagger, he thought silently in his heart.

"Aheng, why are you so dazed?" Cheng Muqing touched him with his arm, with a smile on his face, "Are you scared? Don't worry, I will definitely protect you."

"No..." Lin Heng muttered, "No need."

"Ha~" Cheng Muqing smiled, "Then~ I'll wait for you to protect me."

Lin Heng heard the joke in her words, but still nodded silently.

Time passed little by little, and the two of them waited until dark.

As night fell, the bronze-skinned man came.

"This is too much work, and we haven't finished it yet." The man yelled, "How about you two come to my house and stay overnight?"

"Okay." Cheng Muqing nodded in agreement without hesitation.

"Aqing..." Lin Heng frowned and subconsciously pulled on her sleeve.

"What's wrong?" Cheng Muqing looked at him and smiled.

Her smile was filled with confidence from the inside out, making Lin Heng want to believe her from the bottom of his heart.

She has always been so bold, but she has the confidence to be bold every time.

Lin Heng suddenly remembered that she asked Jin Xi to go to the nursing home of Prince Qi's Mansion, and he hesitated in his heart, had she already made a plan? That's why she dared to bring him here alone?

"No." Lin Heng shook his head.

Cheng Muqing stood up, his smile unchanged, "Then I'm going to bother this big brother. May I ask your name?"

The man tasted it carefully and then realized that she was asking what his name was. He smiled and said, "My surname is Li. You can just call me Brother Li."

"Brother Li!" Cheng Mu called him crisply.

The man scratched his head in embarrassment and turned around to lead the way.

Cheng Muqing took two steps and found that Lin Heng hadn't followed. She turned around and looked slightly confused.

Seeing the young man's sad face, he looked at her with melancholy eyes, "Brother Li..."

"..."

"Let's go." Cheng Muqing waved his hand, "Don't worry about these details!"

She spoke in the Qiguo dialect, which Lin Heng could understand, but he still felt uncomfortable. But he still understood that this situation was not the time to be petty.

He pursed his lips, walked over with a sullen face, and stood sideways between Cheng Muqing and Brother Li.

He seemed like a wall. Whenever Brother Li wanted to talk to Cheng Muqing, he blocked his view.

In the end, Brother Li simply stopped asking.

A few people walked all the way to a hut in silence.

The cabin was pitch dark, and Lin Heng involuntarily moved closer to Cheng Muqing. He held her hand and his eyes became very cautious.

"Are there no candles?" Lin Heng asked.

"How can there be something new like candles in our village?" Brother Li smiled, walking in front and pushing open the courtyard door.

It was so dark that Cheng Muqing couldn't see clearly the layout of the courtyard, and his steps subconsciously paused.

"You two, please come in quickly." Brother Li said, and shouted into the courtyard, "Cuilan!"

There was a sound on the door.

Then, a dark shadow appeared.

The black shadow was holding a long stick in his hand, with a cloth bag tied to the end of the stick. The cloth bag emitted a faint light. The halo of light cast on her face, giving it a somewhat soft look.

The woman looked to be in her thirties or forties, with a haggard face, tired eyes, and a few wrinkles on her face.

"Hello, auntie." Cheng Muqing greeted.

The woman was stunned, glanced at her, and said nothing.

This glance was full of complex emotions. Cheng Muqing even saw a trace of sympathy in this complex emotion?

The courtyard is located in a remote location. The man repeatedly invited the two people into the house. The woman said nothing and stood at the door with her head lowered.

The night was deep and pitch black, as if the god had covered it with a layer of black cloth.

The night wind blew, causing the branches to fight with each other and make a rustling sound.

"Let's go." Lin Heng felt a little uneasy and wanted to pull Cheng Muqing away.

But faced with such a strange scene, he didn't want to stay any longer.

"Wait a minute." Cheng Muqing held his hand and lowered his voice, "If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't get the tiger's cubs."

"It's too dangerous for you to be like this..." Lin Heng pursed his lips, feeling like a stone was pressing on his chest, which was very depressing.

"Perhaps you should try to get out of your comfort zone." Cheng Muqing said, then took the lead and walked forward, "Do you want to stay here tonight? But it seems there is no room..." She narrowed her eyes slightly, stretched her neck, and looked towards

Looking into the room.

"Of course..." Brother Li suddenly showed a smile. He stepped back step by step and fumbled for a wooden stick.

"Please come in." Cuilan suddenly said, "Have you eaten? I'll get you some..."

"No need, we brought dry food." Cheng Muqing smiled and shook the food bag on his waist.

"The house is too small to accommodate you." Cuilan's voice trembled, "Since you have brought the food, go out!" With that, she symbolically threatened the two of them to leave.

Cheng Muqing glanced at her with no expression on her face and backed away little by little.

"Cuilan." Brother Li suddenly spoke, his voice was heavy and somewhat piercingly indifferent.

Cuilan's Adam's apple slid up and down, and a trace of cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

"What's wrong, auntie?" Cheng Muqing asked, blinking twice curiously. Her ears twitched slightly, and the ground shook slightly, as if someone suddenly ran in this direction.

The dark environment actually made her ears more sensitive.

"Come on!" the woman suddenly screamed, "he's going to eat you!"

Cheng Muqing subconsciously grabbed Lin Heng's wrist, but she still suppressed her urge to run.
To be continued...