Lei Yan was surprised and did not expect the other party suddenly attack. The sharp arrow quickly reached in front of him. He hastily waved his sword. He blocked the first two arrows, but it was too late for the third. A sharp shot towards his chest, and he fiercely leaned back. The arrow passed through the top of his hair, broke the hair knot, and the pin also broke in half.
Lei Yan looked at the other side furiously, clanked his sword, and urged his horse to go up, but the other side was faster than him. Bi Zhi whistled, and the horse suddenly threw Lei Yan.
The other side dismounted and waved a knife to cut down in a few steps.
This series of actions was fast and ruthless, barely giving people time to react.
Wei Shao flew down from the back of the equally frightened horse and lunged. His sword scabbard blocks his opponent’s blade.
” Clang.” A sharp clash of gold and iron. And the two separated.
Wei Shao stared at the green-eyed man, narrowed his eyes slightly, slowly pulled his sword from its sheath, and said to Lei Yan: “I’ll fight him for a while.”
Lei Yan realized this green-eyed rogue had a strange body, striking with simplicity but ruthless, different from his style. He feared he was indeed no match for him.
Bi Zhi didn’t say a word and pounced straight toward Wei Shao. After ten rounds, he turned the blade with his backhand and cut Wei Shao’s arm.
” Marquis, be careful!” Lei Yan was startled.
Wei Shao looked at his arm, which oozed with blood, and his eyes shot out a sharp light. He took a step forward, and the blade of his sword went straight to Bi Zhi’s throat. Bi Zhi hurriedly leaned back, but his neck was injured. At first, it was just a thin red line like a bloodstain. Slowly, the blood dripped down from the cut.
Within seconds, they saw blood one after another, and each took a step back.
“You are the leader of a stray bandit. Why would you show up here?” Wei Shao’s sword pointed and coldly asked.
Bi Zhi said word by word: “And who are you? What are your intentions for coming here?”
As the two men looked at each other, the air became explosive.
In the distance, under the afterglow of the sunset, several people rode in horses led by Qiao Ci. He shouted: “Eldest brother-in-law! Second brother-in-law! What are you doing?”
Qiao Ci came back from patrolling nearby, saw them from afar, and rushed over. After coming closer, he recognized them and hurriedly intercepted them.Wei Shao and Bi Zhi glance at each other, a touch of surprise sweeping through their eyes.
Qiao Ci flew off his horse and ran over, seeing that both had blood on their bodies. Obviously, they had fought each other earlier. He said to Bi Zhi: “First brother-in-law, he is my second brother-in-law!” And to Wei Shao: “Second brother-in-law, he is my eldest brother-in-law, the Hu Village in the front! I heard that the second brother-in-law was still in Shangdang some time ago. Why are you here and fighting with my eldest brother-in-law?”
Bi Zhi withdrew his weapon.
Wei Shao also slowly withdrew his sword.
Lei Yan was dumbfounded.
He could never have imagined this green-eyed bandit would be his Marquis’ brother-in-law!
Wei Shao secretly let out a breath and said: “How come you are here too? I am here to pick up your sister. Is she here?”
Qiao Ci was stunned and said, ” Is that so? Second brother-in-law, you are a step too late. My first brother-in-law just came back after sending Sister out of Lingbi yesterday. Sister must be on her way back north right now.”
……
Wei Shao almost vomited blood!
The misunderstanding had cleared up. Bi Zhi apologized and invited him into the village to wrap his wounds. But Wei Shao was not in the mood to stay, and after a few words of response, he only asked if he needed to stay to help.
Bi Zhi politely refused. Wei Shao then said no more, did not even enter the village, said goodbye to Qiao Ci, and immediately left for the road.
He made his way north with his entourage. He finally arrived at the ferry crossing of Wu Chao a few days later.
What was waiting for him was another bad news.
The other day, it was cold and snowy. The river was frozen yesterday, so the ferry could not travel, and the ice could not support the people and horses.
Since yesterday, a lot of travelers had waiting to cross the river. Nearby inns and lodges were gradually full of people. Fires built in the halls, and the travelers talked about not knowing when they would be able to cross the river, and all of them sighed.
It was already late at night.
The sky was dark, but the snowflakes scattered in the air.Wei Shao stood at the ferry that stopped swinging, looking ten feet away from the darkness of the opposite bank and lost in thought. Lei Yan came behind him and said: “Report to Marquis. We searched the nearby inn but did not see Lady. I think she already crossed the Yellow River.”
Wei Shao expressionlessly said, ” All of you have worked hard on the road. Tonight, we will spend the night here. Tomorrow we will go to the next crossing to see if we can cross.”
Lei Yan said: “There is no good place to stay nearby. The nearest post house is 50 or 60 miles away. It is late, cold, and not convenient to go there. But there is an inn nearby. I gave the owner some money to vacate his house and reorganize the inside. Marquis can spend the night for now and go on the road tomorrow morning.”
Wei Shao was lost in thought for a moment, turned around, and went to the inn. Lei Yan followed. The two stepped through the door, which had a lantern that fluttered in the cold wind.
The master, knowing the young man’s noble status, went to greet him personally.
Wei Shao walked through the hall and passed the sleepy travelers sitting or leaning by the fire. There was a sudden sound of carriage wheels grinding over the crumbly road beyond the gate behind him, and then it stopped.
Someone had arrived at the inn at this hour.
” Innkeeper! Is there a room available?”
Someone entered with a big step and shouted at the owner.
The sound woke the sleeping travelers in the hall, who opened their eyes and grumbled.
Wei Shao stopped dead in his tracks and jerked his head back.
The man who came in looked up and was surprised to see Wei Shao that he lost his voice and exclaimed, “How can Marquis also be here?”
Lei Yan turned his head and was stunned.
This man was Mr. Jia, who was escorting Lady!
He thought their group was in the front and had crossed the Yellow River. But it turned out Marquis was faster and left the Lady and her party behind.
Wei Shao’s eyes fixed on the carriage at the entrance, and his figure remained motionless.
Mr. Jia Ying followed his line of sight and said, “Lady is in the carriage. Today, I was in a hurry. I wanted to stop, but Lady was worried about the freezing of the Yellow River, so she kept pushing the line, and we arrived here……”
Wei Shao left Mr. Jia and strides toward the outside.
……
Xiao Qiao closed her eyes and leaned against Chun Niang’s warm arms. Suddenly there was a cold breeze in front of her. The carriage door seemed to be pulled open. A cold breeze swished in at the back of her neck, and she couldn’t help but shiver, shrinking her neck and hugging Chun Niang tighter, muttering, “Is there no place to stay?”
Chun Niang raised her eyes. She was surprised to see Wei Shao unexpectedly appear on the opposite side and couldn’t react. There was a pause. She noticed his eyes fell on Xiao Qiao, who was still shrinking in her arms and clinging to herself. She couldn’t tell whether it was happiness or anger, and she became worried. She hurriedly shook Xiao Qiao gently, whispering, ” Lady, we have arrived at the inn, and Master also arrived …… “