Shao Yu raised his head and looked at the fading colors in the sky. He swung his legs quickly and ran wildly on the street.
Tianming followed closely behind, also running with his eyes closed.
During this period, Songhai City has been implementing strict curfew measures. No one is allowed to stay on the street after dark without permission from the government. Once caught, those who dare to violate the law will be arrested without even a warning. If you have money,
Spend money to pay for your sins, and if you don’t have money, you go to do corvee labor.
If there is any escape or resistance during the process, you can kill them on the spot.
Now that the mirage is here, you don't need to think about it to know that the intensity of the curfew will only be strengthened, not weakened, not to mention that Tianming and Shaoyu are not allowed to investigate at all. If they are caught, it will not be a matter of spending money, but straight away.
p>
The two of them were running very hard, but darkness was actually the same as dawn. It felt like a long process, but in fact it was a very short process, especially around summer when the days are long and the nights are short.
Before the two of them ran out of half the street, the city that was still dusk just now was completely covered by darkness.
It's still far from being invisible in the middle of the night. Tianming and Shaoyu can even see the street clearly without the help of additional light sources, but...it's useless.
The key is not whether it will be dark or not, but when the curfew will begin.
According to regulations, as long as the sun sets below the horizon, it is considered night.
In other words, the curfew has now begun.
Shaoyu even saw a group of patrolling soldiers.
At this point, you can no longer run wildly and rush for time. You can only hide carefully and sneak back to Xiaoshengxian Manor in a roundabout way.
There are two routes. One is to go west, directly into the mountains, and return to Xiaoshengxian Village over several hills. They took this route by mistake when they first went to Xiaoshengxian Village.
The second is to go north and go back through the mountain gate of Xiaoshengxianzhuang.
Let’s talk about it...Both routes are a bit difficult.
The distance the latter needs to travel around the city is too far, and the risk of exposure is too high.
The former does not require them to stay in the city for too long, but the mountain road at night is not easy to walk. They don't even have a torch, and they may fall to death accidentally.
The two of them had already fallen badly last time.
Shao Yu couldn't make up his mind as to how to go specifically, so he had to take Tianming and take a detour to another street to avoid the patrolling soldiers at the intersection.
At the same time, the sky above Songhai City also became noisy and lively. A large group of flying units with mechanical bat wings were flying around in the sky, condescendingly monitoring the city below.
Apart from anything else, the empire's army's execution efficiency is indeed first-class. It was already dark and before even half a stick of incense was burned, the aerial reconnaissance units were deployed.
Judging from the number of bat wings in the sky, the arrival of the mirage has indeed further affected the intensity of curfew supervision - it has doubled several times.
Shao Yu and Tian Ming also noticed the dark shadows in the sky.
The two of them are quite familiar with this thing. They recognized it as early as the first day when the mechanical bat wing appeared.
"Let's go, watch the sky!"
The road ahead is long and difficult, so take it one step at a time.
The roads in Songhai City are not complicated and are crisscrossed in an orderly manner, but there are many streets, which gives the two of them room to hide in detours.
After a preliminary trial and error, Shao Yu also made a decision - let's slowly go around the city in circles!
Although the curfew is strong, there cannot be so many patrolling soldiers that there are people on every street at all times. Patrol blind spots can be said to be everywhere. The real trouble is the bat wings in the sky, but you only need to stick to the wall as much as possible
Just leave.
As long as you are careful, the security is okay.
In comparison, going up the mountain is much more dangerous.
At night in the forest, it's really hard to see where you are. Without a light source, it's just a matter of luck.
………………
Above the mirage, there are dim lights.
Even though it was night, the ship did not have the quiet atmosphere that it should have at night. Instead, people were still coming and going, but it was not noisy. Everyone kept their mouths shut and worked silently.
Fusu Lisi and other important figures had already disembarked from the ship, and it was time to go back home and rest.
They just came for a simple inspection, which was a show in a sense. In fact, the person responsible for controlling the quality of the ship was Gongshuqiu.
There is nothing we can do about it. We cannot really expect a few laymen to point fingers at such a legendary ship.
Just come up and take a look, and listen to the chief designer Gong Shuqiu brag about it.
The busy scene on the ship now has nothing to do with those big shots, but is preparing for the real mission of the mirage - to go sailing and search for fairy mountains!
With Fusu's arrival at Songhai, it marked that the initial preparations for Yingzheng's eastward patrol plan had been completed. The next step was for him to leave Xianyang and head eastward.
By the time he arrives at Songhai, it will be the time for the mirage to set sail.
Therefore, all preparations that need to be made must be put on the agenda and cannot be delayed.
The most important thing is the five hundred boys and girls requested by the owner of the mirage ship, Yun Zhongjun.
Naturally, everyone has been prepared for a long time. They are all in the city, just waiting to get on the boat.
Now the ship is preparing for the arrival of these thousand people.
These five hundred boys and girls need to be properly settled to ensure that there are no problems with food, clothing, housing and transportation after going to sea. After all, according to Yun Zhongjun, these people are of great use, but they cannot be like the triangular trade of later generations.
There are more dead than alive when the sea comes over.
There was a lot of commotion on the boat, but it still did not disturb Concubine Yan and her son.
The mirage is so big that even if it houses a thousand more people, it will still be empty. There are many hiding places for the mother and daughter.
However, they were not completely undisturbed, as someone still discovered the mother and daughter.
"So...why did you live on the boat with Qiantaki?" Gu Xun sat on the stool, one hand resting on the table next to him, and the other hand patting his thigh rhythmically.
Chitaki had already fallen asleep at this time, lying quietly on the bed, the quilt covering her body rising and falling with her breathing.
Yan Fei sat next to her daughter, put her palm on her body, brushed her gently, and responded casually, "Why, can't I and Qian Taki stay on this ship?"
"I definitely want you to live there. The question is...how long do you plan to live there?"
In theory, rich emotional experience will make people more comfortable when dealing with women. However, Gu Xun has not been able to deal with women for more than ten years and can only ask dry questions.
Concubine Yan also understood the virtues of her men and did not take it seriously. She still focused her eyes on her daughter and replied softly, "When it's time to leave, I will leave naturally."
Seeing her attitude, Gu Xun couldn't help but raise his hand and rub his eyebrows, "I thought you took Qianlong away from Xianyang because you were extremely bored and wanted to relax and teach her onmyoji. Now it seems that it's not that simple...
”
"Are you unhappy?" Concubine Yan was finally willing to turn her head and look at her husband, but her tone was not kind.
Gu Xun scratched his hair with a headache, pointed at the Toad Palace at the highest point of the mirage, and asked with a wry smile, "You don't really still care about those things, do you?"
"Isn't it possible?" Concubine Yan blinked and asked matter-of-factly, "That one belongs to Qiantaki!"
This answer made Gu Xun's expression become serious, and he stood up and paced back and forth in the room, "What are you thinking!?"
"My daughter has nothing to do with those messy things!"
"She is also my daughter." Faced with Gu Xun, who rarely got really angry, Concubine Yan had no intention of giving in. Her tone was calm, but her attitude was very tough.
"Have you forgotten that this was a fate that you personally chose to resist, a fate that you chose to resist at all costs?" Gu Xun looked at Concubine Yan, with annoyance on his face, but more of a puzzlement, "Why have you chosen to resist now?
Don’t you want Chitaki to jump in?”
He really didn't understand what Concubine Yan was thinking. The key was that he had never shown any signs of having such thoughts before, it just felt like it came out of nowhere.
】
Gu Xun's words touched some little thought in Yan Fei's heart, causing her face to darken a little. She turned to look at her daughter again, and then asked:
"Would you be unable to protect your daughter?"
Gu Xun's brows were completely knitted together, and he twisted his voice to suppress his anger and replied, "It's not a matter of whether I can do it, but it's not a matter of necessity!"
"Qiantaki doesn't need this, she just needs to be happy and live according to her own wishes!"
"The two of us should have reached a consensus not to interfere in our daughter's life before, right?"
Yan Fei lowered her eyes and no longer looked directly at Gu Xun, but she still did not give in in her words:
"You took it upon yourself to prevent her from being exposed to these things. Isn't that an interference?"
"Hey! Is it interesting for you to argue with me here?"
"I don't mean to make excuses." Concubine Yan shook her head, "If you don't accept it, you can wait until Qiantaki wakes up and ask her what she means and whether she is willing to be exposed to all this."
Gu Xun waved his hand, a little annoyed, "What do you think I should ask!?"
"Tell her that her parents don't agree with each other now, and ask her if she would like to listen to me or you?"
There is no way Gu Xun could force his children to choose between their parents.
In fact, after Yan Fei took the lead in taking action, Gu Xun fell completely into a passive situation.
There is no doubt that Qiantaki is still willing to listen to her mother's words. In this case, Gu Xun cannot rashly tell her not to listen to your mother - saying so would still be equivalent to forcing the child to choose between his parents.<
/p>
In this way, unless Gu Xun gives Qianlong enough reasons so that she can choose to support her father with peace of mind.
This reason is not impossible for Gu Xun to explain, but it involves too much. For a little girl who is not as big as Jin Chai, it is a bit too complicated, and she may not be able to truly understand it.
So Gu Xun's only solution now is to persuade Yan Fei to give up her plan.
I guess it won’t be too easy...
"Huh..." Facing the indifferent Yan Fei, Gu Xun let out a heavy breath, blinked his eyes quickly, and then asked earnestly, "What is the purpose of insisting on doing this?"<
/p>
"Take back what you said should belong to Chitaki?"
"To be honest, I don't really believe this reason. These things are meaningless to Chitaki, even if she can really gain something from it."
You are not a capitalist. No matter how much assets you have, it will not be enough. You will always be focused on making money.
What Chitaki has is enough.
However, Concubine Yan may really have different opinions on this. She actually shook her head and said bluntly, "No, it's not enough!"
"What's not enough!?" Gu Xun raised his eyebrows and wanted to jump out of the Tianling Cover, his eyes widened and asked her.
"You don't know?" Concubine Yan asked Gu Xun at this time.
"...Should I know?" Gu Xun asked, which stunned her for a moment, and her head was filled with questions.
"If you don't know, then wait until you know before you persuade me." Concubine Yan said nothing to Gu Xun's confusion. She calmly turned around to look at her daughter, making it clear that she did not intend to continue arguing with him.<
/p>
"Ha!" Gu Xun couldn't help laughing angrily when he saw her attitude of serving tea to guests, but after laughing, he couldn't think of what to say.
Why are you so stubborn for no reason?
Did something happen that I don't know about?
Because he was confused and Concubine Yan really didn't want to talk anymore, Gu Xun left after hesitating for a while.
Let's find another chance to resolve this matter. Anyway...it's not too urgent.
After Gu Xun left, Concubine Yan's attention was entirely focused on the sleeping Qiantaki.
No matter what, the old father loves his daughter. If he quarrels with his wife, he has to use his zhenqi to block out the sound so as not to wake his daughter up.
Concubine Yan gently stroked her daughter's hair with her palms, sighed quietly, and murmured, "I'm sorry, Qiantaki, I hope you can forgive my selfishness..."
………………
"Hey! Shaoyu, look, there is a portrait of the uncle!"
On the streets of Songhai City, two sneaky black figures swayed from one street to another.
And on this street, Tianming saw something interesting.
A notice board was placed against the wall, and it was covered with various portraits. One of them was of Sword Master Gai Ni, which caught his eye.
This kid was also very ambitious, and he didn't forget to have fun while running away. He immediately went over to take a closer look, and even asked Shao Yu to come with him.
Shaoyu turned his head when he heard the voice and glanced at the notice board. Then he ran away in no hurry and walked to Tianming calmly.
Anyway, I can’t walk very fast. Even if everything goes well, I will probably have to wait until midnight before I can return to the foot of the Little Saint’s Village. It’s better to relax and take my time to avoid being too nervous and making mistakes.
"Wanted order, let's see who's there... oh! Mr. Guy, Xiao Gao, Big Hammer, Miss Snow Girl... and me, we're all here!"
"It's a pity that I didn't draw my handsomeness, it doesn't look like me at all!"
Shaoyu folded his arms, stood in front of the notice board, glanced at it, and commented cheerfully.
Tian Ming had already browsed through it roughly and said with a smile, "Ho ho ho ho! It seems that except for me, all of you are on the list!"
Young people like to be independent to some extent. As long as they can become the most special one among the crowd, they are worthy of happiness.
Shaoyu didn't care about this, "It's just being wanted, it's not a big deal. Your eldest brother and I were on the wanted list eight hundred years ago, so what!"
"Besides, being wanted means that the empire values you. A little guy like you will naturally not be targeted."
Tian Ming doesn’t like hearing this anymore. Who can’t afford it? Why am I a little kid!
He glared at Shao Yu and tried to refute the other party, but his tone was dry and a bit lacking in confidence, "What are you talking about? Who are you?"
"Okay, let's go!" Shao Yu didn't bother him, raised his hand and waved to Tianming to leave.
Tian Ming has no choice but to figure out how to get on the wanted list, and he must pay a lot of money!