Da Qiao stopped before him and said with a smile, “My sister left in a hurry and didn’t have time to say goodbye to Mr. Zong. She asked me to pass on a message that she was very grateful to Mr. Zong for his help several times before. She will return the favor if there is an opportunity.”

Zong Ji said, ” You are too serious. I am just returning the favor. It’s nothing to mention.”

Da Qiao said, “I heard from my husband that Xue Tai is coming this way, and I am afraid there will be a fierce battle. My sister already left this morning. Why don’t you also leave as soon as possible? The one Xue Tai wants to deal with is my husband. You don’t have to get involved for no reason.”

Zong Ji said, “Why did you say that, Madam? Your husband saved me that day. Even without that day’s incident, Xue Tai and I are at odds with each other, and I would like to kill him. Since there is a battle, I should be the leader. I dare not take it lightly! I know Madam is well-intentioned, and Zong Ji understands.”

He bowed to Da Qiao, turned around, and walked away.

……

Bi Zhi has lived in Lingbi long enough and knows the road well. He took a shortcut and sent Xiao Qiao out of Lingbi the next day.

Xiao Qiao knew Xue Tai might attack at any time, so she urged him to return as soon as possible. After leaving Lingbi, Bi Zhi was no longer refusing and asked Mr. Jia to take care of her on the way. He stopped at the roadside, and after seeing Xiao Qiao and her group off, he hurried back immediately.

The news from the scouts yesterday was evident. Xue Tai had lost Xiao Di. He had to save his face and feared that Bi Zhi’s power would expand again, so he packed up the remnants of his army and was impatient to attack Hu Village again.

According to the marching distance, he would arrive in three days.

But Bi Zhi does not feel the slightest fear.

Xue Tai dared to attack him with the remnants of his army after he had just suffered a defeat. Obviously, he did not put him in his eyes.

In Xue Tai’s eyes, his side’s men and horses are just a bunch of rabble. The only reason why they have survived so far was a lucky chance.

Bi Zhi was not panicking and was not busy.The more Xue Tai looked down on him, the more prepared he was.

This time, if the heavens were on his side, he decided to seize this opportunity to reverse the passive situation before.

He was fortunate enough to marry the daughter of the Qiao family of Yanzhou with his lowly origins as a horse slave.

To be worthy of her and make her proud to be his wife. It was Bi Zhi’s greatest wish.

……

Bi Zhi was traveling fast and finally getting closer to Hu Village.

The sunset was hanging in the middle of the distant hills, radiating its last dusky afterglow.

It was a warm southern winter evening. Fortunately, the iron hoof of war had not yet trampled the quietness.

It hadn’t rained for many days. The yellow dirt road to Hu’s Village was covered with potholes and became very dry. When the horses’ hooves stepped over it, it would bring up a nest of flying dust. On both sides of the roads, the harvested fields were empty, leaving only some rotting rice stubble in the ground. One or two black-headed birds that were foraging for grass seeds were startled by the sound of his horses’ hooves and fluttered their wings and flew into the forest.

When he was about ten miles away from the Hu Village, at a fork in the road ahead, Bi Zhi saw two horses stopped by the roadside and two men on the horses’ backs.

One was more than twenty, still very young, roughly the same age as him. The other was older, twenty-seven or eight.

Even though they were both in ordinary clothes, BI Zhi knows they were not ordinary people.

And, the older one, apparently following the orders of the younger one.

He was immediately alerted. But instead of slowing down his horse, he sped past the other’s side.“Excuse me!” Someone behind him suddenly asked loudly, “Is the Hu Village at the front?”

Bi Zhi stopped his horse and slowly turned his head back.

……

The man who asked for directions was Lei Yan. The other one, naturally, was Wei Shao.

After arriving at Lingbi, Wei Shao referred to Qiao Ping’s information about Hu Village and inquired about the direction. He left the rest of his entourage waiting at the intersection and took Lei Yan. The two immediately rushed over.

This journey to the south has many twists and turns. Several times he thought he would be able to see her, but in the end, he missed.

Only he knew the disappointment in his heart and his desire to see her had been piled up to the point that he could not tolerate it.

If he still couldn’t find her here, Wei Shao may lose control and burst out on the spot.

He arrived at this place in one breath but encountered a three-way street. He was uncertain about the direction and did not see passers-by nearby, so he stopped temporarily. Suddenly, a person came in the distance, and Lei Yan immediately opened his mouth to ask for directions.

The man stopped his horse and turned his head back.

Wei Shao looked at a green eye flickering in the dusky sunset with a strange light.

“Green eyes!” Lei Yan called out, turned back, and quickly looked at Wei Shao. Wei Shao sat on his horse, not moving.

” Are you the Green-Eyed leader of the stragglers?”

He turned back and asked in a stern voice.

Bi Zhi stared at these two outsiders who appeared here at such a moment and held a hostile attitude towards him. He quickly decided in his heart.

Kill them as soon as possible.

He slowly leaned down, took a crossbow from the saddle, turned towards Lei Yan, and fired three arrows.

The sharp arrows left the string and tore through the air, emitting a faint whining sound as if carrying the force of ten thousand pounds, running towards Lei Yan.