Two fine horses are galloping across the mountains.
The sky is getting brighter, and a piece of blue and white slowly rises in the east. The morning glow did not bring dew to this land, it was more like a brocade that was crushed and swayed randomly, spreading sadly at the end of the gray sky.
Walking along the road, starving to death everywhere.
Starved corpses can be seen everywhere on the side of the road, leaning in a mess in the wilderness jungle. The stench is mixed in the dry and hot air. Those who are not yet dead are next to their family members, lingering on their last breath, even if they hear the sound of horseshoes, I don't bother to give extra eyes.
Yun Wan couldn't bear to look more, the sight in front of her was weighing on her heart, like a stone had fallen, it made her breathless.
Shen Tuwei obviously slowed down the speed of the horse, said nothing, said nothing, just quietly stared at everyone lying here.
Yi Dynasty was once a prosperous age.
The mountains and rivers are thousands of miles away, the country is peaceful and the people are safe, and there has been no catastrophe in the world for a hundred years; now the people are miserable, and the people are in dire straits, and even surviving is not easy.
"drive."
Shen Tuwei clamped the horse's belly lightly, speeding up a little.
Yun Wan withdrew her gaze and quickly followed, "Is there a famine today?"
Shen Tuwei hummed lightly.
Yun Wan was very puzzled: "The emperor didn't provide food for the disaster?"
Judging from the situation, the disaster should last for a long time, but those who are officials and do something for the people will not be reduced to this.
"Disaster relief?" Shen Tuwei sneered, "The silver from the treasury has long been used to build Xiantai."
"Ask Sendai?"
Shentu Wei said slowly: "Three years ago, the emperor was seriously ill. After waking up, he suddenly wanted to ask the immortals for Taoism in exchange for longevity. For this reason, he built the Asking Immortal Terrace near Yandu."
Sendai is a thousand feet high and covers an area of more than three hundred miles.
In order to build Xiantai, the emperor mobilized people, recruited craftsmen from all over the world, imposed taxes, and seized people everywhere. Shen Tuwei's father was forced to become the person in charge of Wenxiantai.
The Shentu family has guarded the frontiers for the country and the people for generations. His father and brother could not bear the suffering of the people and risked their lives to admonish them. Because they offended the imperial power, they were stripped of their titles and imprisoned in the Judiciary.
The original Zhen Guo Gong's mansion became a prisoner overnight. Shentuwei still held the last Tiger Talisman in his hand, it was a legion trained by the Shentu family himself, the number of people was small, but all of them were elite. In order to force him to hand over his military power, the commander-in-chief of the imperial city, who has never been used to him, tortured him day and night. If he hadn't met Yun Wan, he would have...
Thinking of this, Shen Tuwei couldn't help but take another look at Yun Wan.
The veil he found for her was thick, but even so, she could still see the beauty of the city from those eyes.
He tightened his grip on the reins: "If there are any merchants in Yangqing Town, let's change to a bamboo hat."
Yangqing Town is far away from Buji City, and due to the terrain, the Yi Army should not be able to reach there. Shen Tuwei's deputy general Sang Qi and his teacher Wei Huailin are hiding here for the time being. The purpose of Shen Tuwei's trip is to find them and jointly prepare a big plan to rescue his imprisoned father and brother, as well as the laborers trapped in Wenxiantai.
At noon, the two had already seen the gate of Yangqing Town.
It was clear that the sky was bright and bright, but this village was extremely quiet, the streets were empty, traces of fighting could be seen faintly on the ground, and there were bloodstains sprayed everywhere.
Xu Shi all escaped, and they didn't meet a living person for a long time.
Yun Wan tied it to a wooden stake, and asked in a low voice: [Do you have the breath of my senior sister? ]
Xuanling quickly replied: [It's nearby. ]
Yun Wan was about to search carefully when a familiar breath entered the tip of her nose.
—It’s Senior Sister!
Yun Wan's eyes lit up.
She was just about to get ready to meet Liu Miaomiao when Shen Tuwei grabbed her wrist. The young man was as swift as an eagle and pulled her away from the approaching figure, only to hear the cold sound of soldiers clashing in her ears, Shen Tuwei drew his knife Aiming ahead, ready to kill.
Liu Miaomiao: "...????"
The three of them looked at each other, and the atmosphere froze.
Looking at the face in front of him that was almost the same as that of Xie Tingyun, the three words "Xie Tingyun" almost blurted out. Liu Miaomiao's expression at this moment was exactly the same as Yun Wan's last night, she was dazed for a moment, and glanced at her in confusion.
What, what's the situation? ?
Shen Tuwei gripped the long knife tightly, looking vigilant.
Yun Wan hurriedly stood in front of Liu Miaomiao, and explained to Shen Tuwei: "You misunderstood, this is my senior sister."
He silently withdrew the knife.
Liu Miaomiao finally came to her senses at this time, and dragged Yun Wan out of a certain distance, afraid of being heard, deliberately lowered her voice: "Who is this person?"
"I knew his name was Shen Tuwei." Yun Wan whispered, "I don't know the rest."
After speaking, he looked around, but found no familiar figure, "Where are Xie Tingyun and Chu Lin?"
"They were all lost when they came out of the barrier. I will draw a talisman to let them come over later."
The places where they fall from the barrier are not fixed, but they are not too far apart.
"...Isn't it good for the two of them to meet?"
Xie Tingyun is easy to say, if Shen Tuwei sees Xie Tingyun like a mirror, there is no guarantee that he will misunderstand something.
Liu Miaomiao obviously also thought of this, choked slightly, "Then let him avoid it for a while?"
The two murmured for a long time, and decided that this was the only way to go.
After the discussion, they came to Shen Tuwei hand in hand, Yun Wan's expression was unnatural: "This is Liu Miaomiao, the senior sister who studied medicine with me."
Shentu Wei nodded slightly, with a distant yet polite expression.
He was still thinking about the lieutenant general and his mentor, and without exchanging too many greetings, he led the horse straight to the private school two streets away, pushed the door open and entered, the inside was empty, the tables and chairs were scattered all over the floor, and the precious handwriting of the mentor was also covered with footprints.
Shen Tuwei bent down to pick up the few sheets of writing, smoothed the wrinkled paper cherishingly, his drooping eyelids covered the emotions in his pupils.
Wei Huailin used to be the teacher of Shentu's family, and several children of Shentu's family studied with him. After Wei Huailin retired from office, he opened a private school here. He thought that Yangqing Town could temporarily settle down, but he never thought of it. Still got murdered.
Shen Tuwei took a few deep breaths, and continued to search in the courtyard.
Yun Wan and Liu Miaomiao kept following behind. Seeing him looking for things over and over again, Liu Miaomiao scratched her head and couldn't help asking: "Are you looking for someone?"
Yun Wan said, "It seems that he is looking for his mentor."
Liu Miaomiao pondered for a moment: "When I came, I happened to meet officers and soldiers arresting people. We put all the women and children in the town in a cave in the back mountain. I don't know if there is anyone you are looking for there."
Although Yangqing Town is a small town, it is not big, with only a hundred residents.
The men were all taken to serve as strong men, and those who were still able to walk left earlier, and the last ones left were women, children and the elderly who were helpless. Before he came out, Liu Chen had specially explained that cultivators should not meddle in human affairs. Liu Miaomiao couldn't bear it, so she hid those poor people and set up a barrier.
The person Shen Tuwei was looking for might be among them.
Hearing this, he became excited and rode his horse towards the back hill.
"Mr. Wei, Sang Qi, I'm Ziyi!"
Shen Tuwei was riding on the horse, calling loudly for his mentor and helpful friend in the silent mountain forest. The sudden movement disturbed the crow and bird, and there was a lot of singing, but no one showed up.
His lips were pursed tighter and tighter, and the little hope left in his heart slowly fell through.
At this moment, there was a sudden rustling sound from behind the tree, and a little girl in ragged clothes and dirty body came out from inside, "General Shentu..." She called out to him timidly, her eyes widened. Zhongman is cautious.
Shen Tuwei was stunned for a moment.
Another person appeared in front of him, this time it was a white-haired old man: "General Shentu."
"General Shentu, you are back..."
More and more people walked up to him, clustered around him, and called "General Shentu" one after another.
Yun Wan and Liu Miaomiao watched the scene in front of them quietly, the people trusted him, even though they had just experienced a catastrophe, the moment they saw Shen Tuwei, the sparks in their eyes lit up one after another.
Shen Tuwei's throat was tight, and the hands holding the rein slowly retracted, and the corners of his eyes were already a little red.
He turned over and got off the horse, his rough big hand was hooked by a small palm, the little girl raised her head, only a pair of bright eyes on her skinny cheeks, black and white, she looked at him obediently and said: "Vice General Sang Qi is well protected by us." Alright, General Shentu will come with us."
Shen Tuwei followed her, walking forward step by step.
Liu Miaomiao also wanted to follow her to have a look, but Yun Wan grabbed her back and shook her head disapprovingly. The people here have a deep relationship with Shen Tuwei, so rushing over here will disturb their relationship.
Liu Miaomiao stopped immediately and watched the two figures go further and further away.
"Let's go, let's go see if Xie Tingyun is back."
Yun Wan took Liu Miaomiao and didn't take two steps before feeling a familiar aura sweeping around.
The figure stopped suddenly, Yun Wan looked up.
The scorching sun cut the shadow of the tree into small and mottled pieces. He hid his breath and sat calmly on the tree trunk, with long eyebrows and cold eyes, the tails of his eyes drooping slightly. With a smile, the deserted face became much gentler in an instant.
Xie Tingyun jumped down from the tree, and the shadow completely enveloped her.
Liu Miaomiao looked at Yunwan and then at Xie Tingyun, walked a few miles away wisely, and left space for the two of them.
Yun Wan blinked and regained her senses: "When did you come back?"
Xie Tingyun: "Not long ago."
Yun Wan was silent for a moment: "...Could it be that you have been following us?"
Xie Tingyun neither admits nor denies it, since that is the case, then it is.
Everyone in Yangqing Town knew Shen Tuwei, and Yun Wan was afraid of being discovered by the sharp-eyed townspeople, so she hurriedly dragged him away and set up a barrier.
She pursed her lips, and it took a long time before she spoke: "The person walking with us, you... see clearly?"
Xie Tingyun responded lightly: "Yes."
Xie Tingyun's overly calm performance made her scratch her heart and lungs, and finally asked the question that troubled her all the way—
"Why does he look so similar to you?"