The Lingshan Mountains are thousands of miles long and hundreds of miles wide, separated into two sections, with high mountains and deep forests, and a dangerous terrain.
Wild beasts are rampant in the mountains, foreign objects are infested, there are miasma in the swamps, and steep cliffs.
Even some mountain people who live in the mountains all year round live on the periphery of the mountains and dare not go deep.
Only the herb collectors, hunters, etc. who relied on the mountains would selectively go deep into the mountains, and then over the years, they would build mountain roads running from north to south, and establish temporary footholds in the mountains.
As time went by, the demand for commerce in Lingnan and Lingbei increased, and these mountain roads began to work. Then they gradually became simpler and simpler, leaving some easy-to-travel mountain roads, and finally formed an official road running from north to south.
and some easy-to-travel trails.
The mountain road that Lu Zheng followed Luo Jin's caravan this time was such a small road.
"We walked relatively close on the first day and stopped at a stopping point for the hunters." Luo Jin introduced, "On the second day we stopped at an inn."
"Inn?" Lu Zheng was very surprised, "Is there an inn on this road?"
"Hahaha!"
He knew that Lu Zheng would be surprised. Without waiting for Luo Jin to reply, the man named Zhang said, "The distance between the inn and the official road is only two hills. There is also a mountain villager's village nearby. There is a family here.
I opened an inn and started my own business, making a lot of money!"
Luo Jin nodded, "The intersection of this road and the official road is a mountain stream. There is a suspension bridge on the official road above, and we also have one at the bottom."
"Okay." Lu Zheng expressed understanding.
"The road on the third day is the most difficult. There is only one cave where you can rest at night. But if you walk quickly, you can go out of the mountain on the fourth night." The man surnamed Zhang said, "But the road at night is difficult, so most people still can.
I will spend one night in the mountains and leave the mountains at noon on the fifth day."
"This is the closest mountain road, and there are almost no detours," Luo Jin said.
"Indeed." Lu Zheng nodded. He had also passed through Lingshan Mountain. Of course he knew how thick the mountain range was. He could walk out in five days, but it was not easy at all.
…
The mountain pass where they entered the mountain diverged from the official road for a mile. They entered the mountain halfway up the mountain and followed a path overgrown with weeds.
One guard leads the way, one guards behind, and two guards stand guard in the middle to provide support at any time.
Luo Jin followed the convoy, and the other seven cartmen pushed the wheelbarrow very fast, traveling all the way on the mountain road without any bumps.
Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan were at the rear of the convoy, not far from the man named Zhang who was leading the formation. The road in front was cleared, so they walked relatively smoothly.
"Not bad!" The man named Zhang gave a thumbs up and praised, "I'm not lying, he is really used to walking on mountain roads!"
Then he looked at Lu Zheng and said, "You too, he seems to be just an ordinary scholar, but he's quite amazing, unexpectedly."
"You're welcome," Lu Zheng said with a smile, then glanced at Luo Jin in front of him, "If we follow you, can you get more money?"
"Take more money, we are paid per person, and there are at least ten people in one trip." The man surnamed Zhang said, "Lao Luo only has eight people, so he said to wait at the mountain pass to see if we can meet him.
If you take two people who are in a hurry to cross the mountain, won't you just run into each other?"
"No wonder it's called Luo Laoji." Liu Qingyan pursed her lips and chuckled.
…
Everyone went into the mountain at noon and walked through the mountain all afternoon.
On the first day, we were close to the outside of the mountain. The road was easy to walk and everyone walked quickly. They walked nearly thirty miles in one afternoon.
Towards evening, we crossed a narrow stream and walked another mile before we found a wooden house in an open space near a cliff.
"We're here, let's take a rest, light a fire to cook, and then go to bed early!"
The coachmen piled the wheelbarrows not far from the door of the wooden house, and then gathered dry firewood not far away in order to light a fire.
Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan walked into the wooden house hand in hand and looked around.
As expected, it is a temporary stop for Orions.
Although the house is not small, there are not many things in it.
There was a bed of hay, a jar of water, a few dried bacon hanging on the wall, some dry firewood piled in the room, and a pile of extinguished bonfire.
"It's sunny today, so we don't need other people's dry firewood. We can just pick up some ourselves." Luo Jin followed up and said, "When it's evening, we'll light a fire in the house, and the two of us will deal with it on the hay bed.
How about a night?"
"What about you?"
"We also brought a tent, just stay outside." Luo Jin said with a smile.
"Then you're welcome." Lu Zheng nodded. His two dollars were not in vain.
"It's easy to talk about!" Luo Jin said, "I asked the guy to make soup. You two can do it together."
"Thank you, but no, we have food we brought with us," Lu Zheng said.
He and Liu Qingyan came to visit the mountains and rivers together, and they both had good cultivation skills. They just spent the night as if they were experiencing life, and they didn't care. However, they couldn't wrong themselves when it came to food.
Stuffed green plums, roasted chicken, sesame cakes, and apples and oranges after dinner.
Done!
…
"Ouch——"
"Chirp——"
In the middle of the night, the sounds of wolves howling and eagles chirping in the distance are endless.
Two bonfires were burning inside and outside the house, and four guards kept watch in pairs. Lu Zhengye and Liu Qingyan chatted with the man surnamed Zhang outside the house for a while, and then went back to the house to rest.
A night of silence.
Early the next morning, Lu Zheng stretched out and found that Luo Jin and his party had packed up and were ready to set off.
"Master Lu, did you have a good rest last night? We still have three days of travel left."
"Well, it's okay. I slept well." Lu Zheng nodded, "Shall we set off now?"
Lu Zheng looked at the sky, and it was suddenly bright.
"Hurry as early as possible so that you can reach the inn at nightfall and have more time to rest." Luo Jin said, "Today's trip is not short."
Lu Zheng nodded, and seeing Luo Jin's caravan getting ready to set off, he took Liu Qingyan to follow.
Luo Jin's caravan was rushing along this way and only had dry food at noon.
The four men surnamed Zhang carefully guarded them along the way, killing three big snakes, driving away a lynx, avoiding a group of wild boars, and hunting a pair of golden pheasants and a hare.
As for Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan...
We picked twelve kinds of wild flowers, viewed seven scenic spots from a distance, admired five strange rocks, visited two waterfalls and springs, and took a bath in a clear mountain stream.
At this time, even the most stupid person discovered something unusual about Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan.
After walking all day, everyone was exhausted and out of breath, but they were still calm and not even a drop of sweat.
Could it be...a stranger?
Of course, not to mention Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan, Luo Jin and the man named Zhang would not point it out, but they would be more respectful when facing them.
Along the way south, everyone also met four small caravans coming from the north, all pushing wheelbarrows, with as many as twenty people and as few as seven or eight people.
From this point of view, Luo Jin is indeed a small caravan running a small business.
Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan chatted about these small caravans with great interest, about what kind of business they could make money by communicating with each other, and they also talked about the scenery along the way, traveling around and enjoying themselves.
It got dark early in the mountains, and it had already darkened at the end of Shen Shi. Everyone hurriedly hurried and slowly arrived at the inn.
"We've arrived at the inn!" Luo Jin said, pointing to a three-story building in front of him.
Lu Zheng looked at the gloomy inn ahead and was stunned, "You want to stay here?"