The crowds of people and horses soon arrived at the foot shop on the roadside.
The foot shop was indeed very simple, with only two low rooms and a stable. At this time, the doors and windows were closed, and only the cover was fluttering in the wind and snow.
The door was knocked open, and the old man in the foot shop looked surprised.
"It's such a heavy snowstorm, and the officials are still on their way." He said, greeting warmly, but also a little embarrassed, "My shop is small and can't accommodate so many people. Oh, sir, the car is even more..."
Regardless of what he said, Zhang Yuan and his men not only came in, but also opened the door and pulled the prison van in.
"We're not too crowded." Zhang Yuan interrupted, taking off his hat and looking at the store, "We will never be separated from the car."
The shopkeeper was squeezed away, and Zhang Yuan waved his hand again without waiting to speak.
"Check inside and outside." He said, "Be alert all around, and eat during shifts."
The soldiers dispersed as promised, some rushed into the room and some scattered outside the store.
The kitchen door was pushed open, and a girl who was making a fire inside shouted "Grandpa" and raised her head. When she saw that it was not her grandfather but a soldier, her eyes widened with fright. The soldiers looked at her and left, looking through the cupboards and jars.
Not even the firewood pile was left alone.
The old man who ran the store outside was worried and uneasy: "Master, this old man has been doing his business for so many years."
Zhang Yuan sat down on the chair and said to the old man: "Don't be afraid, store owner. We have our own affairs to take care of and be careful. Please forgive me."
Soon the soldier leader came over and reported, "We have checked everything and there is only one girl lighting the fire."
The old man in the store hurriedly explained: "She is my granddaughter. The past two days have been bad, and I have no intention of doing business. My son-in-law has gone back, and my granddaughter and I are staying here just to look after the store."
Zhang Yuan nodded to the soldiers and then called to others: "Everyone, sit down and have a rest -"
The officers and soldiers then took off their clothes one after another, shook off the snowflakes, and gathered around the charcoal fire to smoke.
The old man in the store also breathed a sigh of relief: "Sir, I'll boil the water, what do you want to eat?" He also said apologetically, "The weather is bad, and the store doesn't have all the things, so I can just cook some noodles."
Zhang Yuan looked at him, smiled and raised his hand to interrupt: "No, shopkeeper, you don't have to do anything, just sit here." Then he waved to the guards on the side, "You go."
The guards responded, took off the baggage and water bottle they were carrying, and carried them back. Not long after, the girl was driven out from behind and threw herself into the arms of the old man in the store in fear.
The old man from the store held his granddaughter in his arms to comfort him, then looked at Zhang Yuan with an even more puzzled expression: "Master Chao, what are you doing?"
"We bring our own food and drink, and make our own food," Zhang Yuan said, stroking the water that had melted from the snow on his palms. "It's dangerous when you're on duty, so you have to be careful when going out."
This is too much. The old man in the store didn't know what to say, so he could only smile: "That's really hard work." He pulled the girl and said, "Then, I will go and feed the horses for the men -"
Zhang Yuan raised his hand to stop him again: "No, you don't have to worry about people or horses." He pointed to the side, "You just sit here and wait, you don't have to do anything."
The old man from the store responded, holding the girl and squatting down against the pillar, watching the people in the room resting and laughing. Not long after, the cook from the kitchen came in with hot soup and hot pancakes.
"The pots have been washed, and the dishes and chopsticks have been cooked," the guards said loudly.
But Zhang Yuan still didn't let everyone eat immediately. He pointed to the old man in the store. The servant understood, scooped up a bowl of soup and came over.
"Store." The clerk said with a smile, "Try our craftsmanship."
The girl shrank into the old man's arms with some fear. The old man understood what he meant and smiled bitterly: "Master, you really treat us as a black shop." After that, he took the bowl and drank heavily.
Zhang Yuan held the water bag and drank cold water. He waited quietly for a moment and saw that the old man in the store was fine. Then he waved his hand: "Eat."
The officers and soldiers sat down and ate and drank.
Soon this group of people finished their meal and their clothes were almost roasted in front of the brazier. Then they added charcoal to the brazier and exchanged it with the people on guard outside.
Another group of people came in, took off their clothes and weapons, and had a lively meal. After eating, Zhang Yuan got up and walked to the prison car with a bowl of soup.
The old man from the store looked over curiously and saw that the cover of the prison car was not opened. Zhang Yuan just lifted a corner and put both hands in, seemingly grabbing the person in the prison car.
"Eat!" Zhang Yuan shouted in a low voice, "It's not that easy to die."
There was a low whimpering sound in the prison car, and the car shook slightly. After a while, Zhang Yuan took back his hand, and the soup bowl was empty. He snorted coldly, covered the prison car, threw the bowl back on the table, and looked at the old man in the store.
The old man in the store quickly looked away.
The girl was still young, and fear came and went quickly. She was sitting next to her grandfather, already grabbing stones and playing with them, chanting "one, two, three"
Zhang Yuan withdrew his gaze and walked out the door. The wind had calmed down a lot, and the snow was still falling. He had just eaten, and his body felt so comfortable that people couldn't help but want to stretch themselves to relieve the fatigue of the journey.
Thoughts flashed across his mind, Zhang Yuanzhen expanded his chest and raised his hands, but at the same time his mind was shaken and he shouted "No -"
But the sound only reached his mouth, and the man stumbled forward. Sleep swallowed him up like a sea. With the sound of falling to the ground one after another in his ears, and the girl's counting, he fell into darkness.
"Nine, ten." The girl said, clapped her hands, stood up, and looked at the soldiers and officers in the room who were either lying on the table or lying on the ground.
"They came in in two batches. If they came in three batches, it wouldn't be enough." The girl said, "I just said they didn't bring enough."
The old man in the shop complained: "Add charcoal to stimulate the medicine and the effect will be greater, enough to make them collapse at the same time. Stop nagging and come and help."
As he spoke, he hurriedly walked towards the prison car, and the girl hurriedly followed.
The old man in the store pulled open the cover with force and saw that there was not one person lying in the prison car, but four people.
There are actually guards in the prison car? The defense is really tight.
The old man in the store was looking for the door lock, but he saw the four people lying down raising their heads. Their faces were covered with a piece of cloth, covering their mouths and noses, and their eyes were like eagles and owls.
The girl screamed: "His grandma's is actually a trap——"
Accompanied by the shouts, the old man in the store stretched out his arms to hug the girl and retreated. At the same time, the four people in the prison car jumped up, the prison car split into pieces, and they rushed towards the old man in the store with gleaming swords.
The narrow shop was like a whirlwind.
The skinny old man in the shop swung away in the blink of an eye, and at the same time he pulled out the knife from the officers and soldiers lying on the ground, with a harsh impact and sparks flying.
But the old man in the store was still surrounded tightly by four people after he opened the knife.
The four of them were like one body, cutting up, down, left, and right at the same time.
The old man in the store was unable to defeat four people, not to mention holding a girl in his arms. He stepped back step by step, quickly approached the door, and threw the girl out the next moment.
"Seize the horse."
Accompanied by the old man's shouts, the girl was thrown out of the door. The girl rolled on the spot, then got up and rushed towards the nearby horses like the wind.
But the next moment there was a cry of pain from behind.
The girl turned around and saw the old man from the store falling out of the door and hitting him on the shoulder with a knife.
"Grandpa—" the girl screamed and turned around.
At the same time, the four people also jumped out from the door, like eagles spreading their wings and pounced on the old man and the girl in the store.
The old shopkeeper who fell to the ground jumped up, swung his long knife back, knocked back four people, took the opportunity to catch the girl who was rushing towards him, and ran towards the horse.
Behind me, a strong wind blew like rain.
"We have to explain here." The girl shouted, "When the King of Hell meets grandma, he will definitely be scolded for not being good at learning."
The old man from the store shouted: "Just scold me, how many times am I afraid of that old woman scolding me?"
He no longer cared about what was behind him. Although his body was old and old, it was enough to protect his granddaughter from wind and rain.
As long as the girl is thrown onto the horse, she will be able to escape with her agility. As long as she escapes from here, even if she is just an orphan, she can survive with the help of Mo family.
"Ah Mao." The old man in the shop shouted, "Get on your horse——"
He threw it hard, and the girl flew towards a horse. He did not follow but turned back, and with the girl's scream "Grandpa--" he resolutely faced the oncoming sword light.
At this moment, a sword light struck in the wind and snow, and the thick snowflakes on the ground suddenly turned up, like a barrier.
The four people who were approaching suddenly froze, and the knives in their hands could not be cut down.
"There are allies——" "It's sword energy——"
Accompanied by the shouts, the four people retreated and waited in a circle with their swords in hand.
Sword light flashed across the ground, wind and snow rose from the ground, and snow flew from the sky to the ground, making people's vision blurred.
You can't see where the visitor is at all.
One person held a knife to split the wind and snow, but the lightly fluttering snow stirred by the sword light seemed to turn into an ice blade, which hit the knife, making a clanking sound, and stinging when it hit the face.
All this happened in an instant, and the old man in the store was stunned until the horse neighed and a cold female voice sounded.
"Mount."
He turned around and saw that his granddaughter had already mounted the horse, and someone appeared next to him at some point.
She was riding on a horse, with a cape and hat covering her whole body, carrying a big long bundle on her back, and her hands were held in front of her, as if she was holding a sword, but it seemed as if she was holding nothing.