After Chai Yan made a decision in his mind, he found Pang Zhenbei and told him his thoughts.【】
When Pang Zhenbei heard this, he immediately recommended himself: "Taoist Master, let me go with you. I am familiar with this area and can help a lot."
Chai Yan shook his head and said: "General Pang, you can't go. You have to stay and lead the team. I can just take Yu Tie with me. Don't worry, I have a strong sense of direction and won't get lost."
"But the Taoist priest..."
Pang Zhenbei still wanted to speak, but Chai Yan had already turned his head and walked away.
Next, Chai Yan found Cheng Jiu and Yu Tie.
Cheng Jiu, like Pang Zhenbei, hoped to go with Chai Yan, but Chai Yan also refused and only agreed to take Yu Tie with him, just the two of them.
There was a reason why Chai Yan chose to let Yu Tie follow him, because both Pang Zhenbei and Cheng Jiu had explosive tempers. If something happened and they were not calm, they would most likely be exposed, and the risk was too great.
Yu Tie was different. He couldn't speak, so he was relatively less likely to have conflicts with others, and he was more calm and obedient. So Chai Yan felt that Yu Tie was more suitable.
In addition, Chai Yan pretends to be a young master and is accompanied by a mute servant, which makes it more reasonable to outsiders and less likely to cause suspicion.
After a while, Chai Yan and Yu Tie changed their clothes. Chai Yan still looked like a scholar, while Yu Tie's appearance was much simpler. The two stood together, and the relationship between master and servant was clear at a glance.
Cheng Jiu and Pang Zhenbei also came over at this time...
Pang Zhenbei said seriously: "Taoist Priest, there is Xiaozi Village to the east of Xiaozi Mountain. It is not far from us. You can go there for a walk, but you must not go too far."
Chai Yan said: "Now that we know General Pang, we won't go far. We will definitely get back before dark."
Pang Zhenbei nodded, and then told Chai Yan the route to Xiaozi Village. Pang Zhenbei even drew the easily mistaken places on the ground.
Next to him, Cheng Jiu repeatedly told Yu Tie to keep an eye out and listen to all directions along the way, use his brain and be smart in everything, and never act impulsively.
After memorizing the direction and route, Chai Yan took Yu Tie and walked to Xiaozi Village.
The departure time was almost at the end of the morning. Following the route mentioned by Pang Zhenbei, Chai Yan and Yu Tie walked for more than an hour and successfully arrived at Xiaozi Village at the foot of the mountain.
At this time, the sun was already high, and some villagers were farming and working in the fields. It looked peaceful. People who didn't know could never imagine that there was a war going on in Qingyuan Pass not far to the south.
Chai Yan was walking on the path to the village, observing the figures in the fields from a distance, and suddenly whispered: "It's strange, why are all the people working there old and women, and not a single young man?"
During this section of the road, Chai Yan looked carefully and found that there was not a single young man in the fields, but all were old men or women.
"Uh uh... uh uh..." Yu Tie's expression was a little angry, as if he wanted to express something.
Chai Yan thought for a moment, tried to understand, and then asked: "Are you trying to say that all the men in the village were killed by the Pitzers?"
"Yeah!" Yu Tie immediately nodded and responded.
Chai Yan had heard before that when the Piz people occupied the northern territory of Muyue Kingdom, they carried out large-scale burning, killing and looting. Now it seems that the Filial Son Village may have experienced such a disaster.
"Let's go into the village and have a look." Chai Yan said and quickened his pace.
On the way into the village, Chai Yan also met some villagers. Just like the situation in the fields, they were all old people, women, children, and some young children.
When the villagers saw Chai Yan and Yu Tie, their eyes were full of freshness and curiosity. Chai Yan tried to talk to the villagers, but the villagers all stayed away in fear. Only a few ignorant children were far away.
Follow the two of them from a distance.
Chai Yan took Yu Tie and walked around the village for a while, thinking that he couldn't wander around like this. He had to find a place where he could get information. So Chai Yan began to ask the villagers about the village chief's home.
After asking several houses, Chai Yan found out the location of the village chief's home.
The village chief is an old man over sixty years old, and it is no longer easy to walk with a cane.
But when he saw that a young gentleman from outside was visiting, he went out to receive him.
The village chief asked Chai Yan to sit down in front of the house and asked, "Sir, why are you here at Xiaozi Village?"
Chai Yan smiled and said harmlessly: "Village chief, I am ashamed to say that we wanted to go to Yuanhe Fort, but we were not familiar with the road, so we ended up here after wandering around."
"Oh, it turns out we are going to Yuanhe Fort. That's easy. Just go north from here, then west, and keep walking." The village chief enthusiastically pointed the way.
Chai Yan quickly thanked him and said he remembered it.
The village chief kindly reminded: "Sir, there is a war going on over the Qingyuan Pass right now. You must be careful on the way to Yuanhe Fort and avoid the Pitz soldiers to avoid being captured by them.
."
Chai Yan immediately asked: "By the way, village chief, when I came here just now, I saw that the village was full of old people, women and children. Could it be that all the men in the village were taken away by the Pitz people as strong men?"
"Alas!" The village chief sighed heavily, and then said: "Yes, there are only dozens of men in the village, and they were all kidnapped by the Pitzers. Now there is no one left to do farm work."
Chai Yan asked: "Do you know where these people were taken?"
The village chief folded his hands and pressed the head of the cane, and slowly shook his head: "I don't know, the Pitz people come to arrest people in a ferocious manner. If the people in the village dare to disobey, they will kill them. No matter which family has more people, they will kill them."
If you ask, they will also punch and kick you...sigh..."
Having said this, the village chief paused for a moment and sighed heavily.
"You can't have no news at all, right?" Chai Yan asked.
The village chief said: "When the men in the village were taken away, a Pitz man said that he asked everyone to build houses and walls, and they would be released in less than two months."
Chai Yan hurriedly asked: "Then when did the people from Pitz come to the village to arrest people? Do you still remember?"
"Of course I remember, it was just a month and a half ago." the village chief said angrily.
Next, Chai Yan asked some more questions to inquire more deeply, but the village chief's knowledge was limited and he gradually couldn't answer them.
Upon seeing this, Chai Yan did not stay any longer. After expressing his gratitude, he took Yu Tie and walked out of the village.
When Chai Yan came, he entered the village from the south, and when he left, he chose to leave the village from the north.
When he walked to the entrance of the village in the north, an inconspicuous wine flag that had been there for a long time caught Chai Yan's attention.
"Is there a wine shop here?" Chai Yan stopped and began to look at the house where the wine flag was.
Chai Yan stood for a while, and suddenly smelled a hint of wine, and said to Tie Dao: "If this wine shop is still open, maybe we can find out something."
"Yeah." Yu Tie immediately nodded and agreed.
Immediately, Chai Yan took big steps, opened the door and walked into the wine shop.
The furnishings in the wine shop are very simple, even a little crude.
There was no one in the wine shop, but the aroma of the wine was still very strong. Judging from the smell, the smell should be caused by newly brewed wine, which meant that the wine shop was still operated by someone.
"Is anyone there?"
Chai Yan called out and continued walking inside without stopping.
"If anyone has someone, just come..."
A woman's voice immediately sounded from the backyard, and she heard the voice coming this way quickly.
Soon, a woman who still had the charm of a mature woman appeared in front of Chai Yan.
The woman was sweating. She must have been working behind the scenes just now. When she saw the handsome and refined Chai Yan, her eyes immediately widened and she was stunned.
Chai Yan maintained his demeanor and asked politely: "Madam boss, do you have wine and food for sale here? My servant and I have been on the road since morning, and we haven't even eaten a grain of rice yet."
The woman immediately came back to her senses, quickly straightened her temples and clothes, smiled shyly, and said: "Young master, you are joking, I am just a village woman selling wine, how can I be a boss lady..."
....”
Chai Yan asked: "Madam boss, do you mean that your store only sells wine and not food?"
The landlady shook her head hurriedly and said, "No, no, we have food and wine. Please sit down, sir. I will help you make whatever you want to eat right away..."
Chai Yan took Yu Tie and sat down at a dilapidated table and said, "Madam boss, our master and servant are in a hurry, so we can just eat whatever we want. Just watch and do it."