The tinkling sound of sheep bells kept coming as the caravan moved forward.
The sky is bright.
On the winding official road in the forest, the Bai family's caravan, escorted by the hired escorts, dragged a long convoy towards Tan Yang.
Among the trucks in the middle and rear section were some passers-by who were going to Tanyang along the way.
These people are all individuals who paid money to be protected by caravan bodyguards.
In one of the oxcarts, a pretty young woman was leaning against the oxcart window with the curtain rolled up, looking out.
The young woman had a little blush on her face, her complexion was fair and tender, but there was a hint of worry between her brows.
Behind the oxcart carriage, on the edge of a freight car.
There was a young Taoist in blue clothes and white coat, carrying a round wheel-shaped strip of cloth on his back, following him step by step.
The Taoist has a strong figure, especially thick arms, and an angular face. Although he is not handsome, he has a special temperament.
These two people were Yang Hongyan and Zhang Rongfang who were traveling to Tan Yang with the Bai family caravan.
Yang Hongyan said she was going to Tanyang to purchase goods, so she brought a bullock cart from home.
Zhang Rongfang, on the other hand, accompanied him on foot.
The mountain road is rugged and difficult to walk even if there is an official road.
All his money was used to buy medicine, so naturally he couldn't afford a horse.
Zhang Rongfang glanced along the caravan. In front and behind, in all the teams, there were only a few people on horseback.
Most of them are ox carts, donkey rides, and even sheep rides...
'Sure enough, the previous TV series were all lies... In this world, the cheapest horse costs seventy taels, and the price of an expensive BMW is unlimited. At this price, the cheapest horse can buy two cows
Already.'
It is impossible for ordinary people to be willing to waste so much money on buying a horse.
Apart from pulling carts and riding horses, buying horses is really not as useful as oxen. Oxen are stronger and can also help plow the fields.
In movies and TV dramas, the protagonists often ride horses. Zhang Rongfang made a comparison and understood.
This is similar to the fact that there are always luxury cars worth RMB 700,000 or RMB 800,000 on the street.
If you do some calculations, you will know how unrealistic it is.
He looked forward.
In the carriage of the oxcart, sister-in-law Yang Hongyan had lowered her head, holding a small Yin Sheng in her hand, and was carefully wiping the pattern with silk cloth.
It was a lotus flower, and there seemed to be words written on the side.
"Your senior brother gave this to me before he left." Yang Hongyan said softly.
"He...feels something is wrong."
"Have senior brother mentioned some details to you?" Zhang Rongfang also felt that something was wrong, and he was suddenly asked to escort his sister-in-law to leave Huaxin County and go to Tanyang. This relief was a bit too unusual.
"No...he didn't say anything." Yang Hongyan shook her head.
Zhang Rongfang frowned slightly.
Before leaving, master Zhang Xuan asked him to memorize all the martial arts talismans, as if he wanted to cram all the key points into his mind.
There is something wrong with this performance as well.
"When you come back this time, Junior Brother Rongfang, if you are free, please give more advice to your senior brother. I feel..." Yang Hongyan paused and frowned, "I feel that he has a lot of things on his mind. Ask him
Don’t tell me either.”
"I'll give it a try." Zhang Rongfang nodded.
Soon it was noon. The sun was so hot that it made people sweat profusely.
The caravan found an open space under the shade of trees beside an official road and rested temporarily.
Someone from the front led the team, and together they went to a nearby fixed stream to get water.
"If you want to get water, go together. There are only two places where you can get water along the way. After this village, you can only get water the day after tomorrow. Everyone is ready."
A guy from the caravan in front was shouting all the way to the end.
"Also for convenience, men should go to the left and women to the right. The plates have already been driven out and marked. It's up to each family to make it easier for them."
The plate means the venue. The mark is a small flagpole on one side, with a gray cloth tied on it and the words male and female written on it.
Zhang Rongfang calculated the amount of water, took a few empty water bags, and then took Yang Hongyan's water bag.
"Sister-in-law, I'm going to the front to get water first and I'll be back soon. You can rest in the carriage first," he reminded.
"Thank you Rongfang. I'll have some sweet-scented osmanthus cake that I just made here later. Let's eat some together when we come back." Yang Hongyan said quickly.
"Okay, thank you." Zhang Rongfang responded, looked around, and said a few words to the two escort guards on the side.
He asked them to take care of his sister-in-law when he left, and then left with the empty water bag.
His severe insecurity made him very careful about everything he ate.
For things like water, you have to do it yourself to feel at ease.
As for the two escorts, Zhang Rongfang made an appointment with them, and when they arrived, Tan Yang gave each of them two taels of silver.
In the carriage, Yang Hongyan looked at Zhang Rongfang who was gradually walking into the woods, and sighed softly.
Compared with when she went to purchase goods alone before, I have to say that now, with Zhang Rongfang around, she does feel much more at ease.
If nothing else, just Zhang Rongfang standing there, with a strong figure, can give people a sense of security.
Just after Zhang Rongfang walked away.
The two escorts also consciously moved closer to the cart. They each carried machetes and collected money to do things. They were still very dedicated.
At this time.
It is several miles away from the official road where the caravan is located.
On a hillside in the shape of a cemetery, a dozen sturdy figures wearing old variegated clothes, all with gray cloth covering their faces, appeared on the slope.
The person at the front was tall and burly, with a black beard on his face that even the mask could not cover.
It was the Qishan Taoist who brought people here to rob them.
"I have secretly coordinated with the caravan. The escorting Black Wolf Escorts will cooperate secretly when they see us passing by.
Don’t touch the truck, and leave as soon as you catch the person, do you understand?”
"clear!"
The others responded one after another.
Most of them are servants of Qishan, and the other half are martial arts monks from Qinghe Palace.
The group of people took out thick wooden sticks from behind.
Qishan himself also took out a wooden stick as thick as his forearm. He majored in the stick method passed down from his family, supplemented by Qinghe Palace martial arts, and was born with great strength.
So even if the Black Wolf Escort Agency really resisted this time, he would still be sure to capture the person regardless of prior discussions.
"Let's go. Move quickly!"
In a moment, the group of people rushed towards the location of the caravan.
*
*
*
Gulu gulu.
A series of bubbles slid downstream along the stream.
Zhang Rongfang soaked the water bag in water and washed the outside of the water bag while filling it with water.
The location to collect water is about two miles away from the caravan resting place.
While fetching water, he was thinking about the strangeness between Zhang Xintai and his master Zhang Xuan.
They definitely had something to hide from themselves, and they wanted to take their sister-in-law away by themselves, with a vague intention of settling down their worries.
After filling the bottle with water, he put it on his lower back and stood up.
At this time, not far away, several guards were carrying water together. One of them suddenly threw out the machete in his hand and hit a fat rabbit running in the forest.
Several people laughed, walked over, and grabbed the gray rabbit that was knocked unconscious by the handle of the knife.
‘How about I also get some local products to eat on the way?’ Zhang Rongfang thought.
With his physical skills, it is not easy to get some mountain goods.
Watching those people carrying the rabbit with smiles, they immediately started skinning and removing the internal organs.
Zhang Rongfang immediately decided to hunt some prey nearby.
Holding the water bag, he turned and walked towards the woods on one side of the stream.
Of course, before that, he still followed the old rules and walked around to check if there was any danger.
After all, I promised my senior brother that I would protect my sister-in-law.
And this time his senior brother and master's reaction was so strange, so he naturally had to be more careful along the way.
Walking into the forest, Zhang Rongfang took off the wishing wheel with his backhand and hung the wrapped cloth on a tree branch.
Swish.
He flicked it gently, and the sharp blade of the wish wheel immediately began to spin.
The two newly engraved words gradually blurred with the light in the forest.
Ding.
The wheel body suddenly stopped, and the word "Li Shang" appeared.
Before the sound fell, Zhang Rongfang's figure had disappeared from the spot, disappearing into the forest silently.
*
*
*
In the mountains and forests.
Qishan quickly led the team towards the direction of the caravan.
Tall trees passed by him, and the outline of a caravan's oxcart could be faintly seen in the forest ahead.
"Just ahead, get ready! Don't stop after you grab someone. Anyone who robs goods or money will be severely punished!"
Qishan gave one last order.
"yes!"
The others responded one after another.
At this moment, a person suddenly rushed out from the side of the forest in front of him.
It was a young Taoist with a strong build and carrying a strange round weapon.
The Taoist saw Qishan and his party at a glance.
"Huh?" The other party was confused for a moment, "Senior Brother Qishan? What are you...?"
It's not because of his good eyesight, but because Qishan's figure and iconic big black beard are too conspicuous.
So Zhang Rongfang recognized the other person at a glance.
Qi Shan was also stunned.
He subconsciously touched his face, but luckily the mask was still there.
"You've got the wrong person. I'm not Qishan."
He retorted instinctively.
"..." Zhang Rongfang was speechless. He stared at the other person's beard without saying a word.
Qishan immediately understood his flaw.
His face turned red and he angrily pulled off his mask.
"Cao! It's useless to wear this mask! If you wear it, it means you don't wear it!" Qishan Huo Dao.
"You all took the towel off for me. It's useless anyway!" He felt it was unfair to take it off by himself, so he waved his hand and yelled at the people around him.
A group of people looked at each other, and no one made any move.
Are you kidding me? With Qishan’s body shape and beard, it really doesn’t make any difference whether he wears it or not.
But they are different.
Even if they wear it, they can still hide their identity.
Seeing that no one was listening, I got up and wanted to have a fit on the spot, but I saw Zhang Rongfang right in front of me.
He stopped talking nonsense.
"Forget it, I don't know how you came here, but now that I have met you, then..."
He suddenly raised the wooden stick and pointed it at Zhang Rongfang.
"If you don't want to die, just come with me."
"Senior Brother Qishan, are you going to... fight me?" Zhang Rongfang looked at Qishan and the people behind him in surprise.
*
*
*
Near Huaxin County, in a valley called Dilongpo.
At this time, a dozen men and women in different clothes gathered together.
Chen Lianqing, whose face was covered, stood on a stone and scanned the audience.
"We have just received the news. All other counties are well prepared, and only our county is left."
"On our side, there are about two hundred people who can be mobilized in the city, and they are scattered throughout the city." A man who looked like a scribe said.
"Thousands of people can be mobilized in the villages and towns outside the city. But there are not enough weapons. It will be a big loss if we really want to fight." Another person said.