Chapter 261

"I know."

Xiao Ning slowly raised her head, her expression deep.

Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xinghan was slumped over the desk, the whole person as wilted as a frost-bitten eggplant. Hearing this, she perked up, hurriedly straightened her waist, and said in surprise:

"You guessed it?"

Xiao Ning nodded, her chin slightly raised, bringing with it a sense of clear insight, a light of wisdom flashing in the depths of her eyes:

"This is a code. The clue to solving this code is not on the slip of paper, but in Young Master Wang's words."

Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xinghan had been repeatedly pondering the thirteen characters on the slip of paper, but had never thought like Xiao Ning. Hearing this, it was as if a dark room had been illuminated, and she had found a path on a lost journey! She said excitedly:

"Xiao Ning, you really are a genius! Tell me quickly! Where is the clue in which sentence?"

Sherlock Ning smiled slightly: "Madam, do you remember Young Master Wang's instruction when he handed the brocade pouch to you?"

Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xinghan frowned and recalled: "... Heavenly secrets must not be leaked?"

"That's not the sentence."

"Then..."

"The Young Master told you to open the brocade pouch after five days."

"Yes, yes!" Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xinghan's star-like eyes brightened.

Xiao Ning narrowed her eyes and held up five fingers:

"This 'five' is the key! Young Master Wang meant for you to pay attention to the fifth character on the slip of paper!"

Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xinghan gasped in surprise: "The fifth character is..."

Xiao Ning was in high spirits:

"That's right! The fifth character is indeed the 'return' (hui) character!

The 'return' in 'Dew hangs heavy, yet return, return'!

Young Master Wang wanted to tell you—

He,

Will return!!!"

Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xinghan's mouth hung open, the exclamation that was about to spill out instantly stuck, and she froze in place.

Xiao Ning had developed a "new hobby" of puzzle-solving and was still immersed in the excitement of "deciphering," clicking her tongue:

"Young Master Wang's puzzle is truly ingenious! However, the two 'return' characters used together seem to have a special meaning; it's possible it means he will not only return, but return twice!"

Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xinghan: (→_→)

"Madam, what's wrong?"

"..."

"Actually, Xiao Ning guessed it by accident; it's nothing really..."

"Go and bang your head against the quilt."

"Ah?"

"Go on, go on!"

"Oh."

Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xinghan slumped back onto the desk, feeling life was meaningless, thinking to herself that this broken puzzle was truly hateful! But she didn't know what the hateful guy who came up with this broken puzzle was doing right now...

Distant peaks hidden in mist, isolated gorges clustered with clouds.

Outside Yufu Valley, the mission stopped to rest.

Wang Yang got out of the carriage and was standing behind a large rock, stretching his muscles, while Chen Qingshan stood by Wang Yang's side holding the lance.

Lips like cinnabar-pointed swords, closed they become blades; eyes like obsidian quenching light, in an instant they pierce the clouds.

Strong waist upright and bound, not hiding the charm of the Yue woman; sharp wrists suspended and condensed, yet giving birth to the style of a Han general.

The four Wang family guards stood at the four corners, pressing their swords and looking around. Seeing Wang Yi walking over, the four guards bowed to pay respects, but did not move aside. Wang Yang smiled: "Uncle is here."

Only then did the four guards make a path for Wang Yi to approach.

Wang Yi touched the giant rock and laughed happily: "Zhiyan, why are you standing here?"

Wang Yang bowed slightly and cupped his hands:

"Nephew's body is weak, standing here to avoid the wind. Is Uncle feeling better?"

Ever since they passed the Han border and the provincial troops withdrew, Wang Yi had not come out to roam, saying he was not feeling well and staying in the carriage all day, though his mount was always led by two servants, traveling alongside the carriage.

Wang Yi's smile paused slightly, then deepened, rubbing his chest and saying:

"It's an old ailment, just making do. Your uncle's body is also not good! But Uncle is not as good as you; Uncle didn't find a rock. Look at you, you occupied such a good spot at once, blocking the wind and not delaying sunbathing..." Wang Yi's tone was envious, as if the position Wang Yang occupied was truly some cave heaven and blessed land.

Wang Yang smiled: "I just happened to run into it. When the wind is stronger ahead, it's hard to say whether there will be rocks or not."

"Aren't there plenty of rocks? Your eyes are so sharp, just finding one is enough to avoid the wind. Uncle can't do it; Uncle's eyesight is not good, can't find a rock, so I have to stand and let the wind blow."

Wang Yi shook his head and sighed.

Wang Yang said solemnly: "Uncle, this is the demeanor of a general. Let the wind blow from the east, west, north, or south, I remain unmoved. Uncle doesn't need to find rocks; the rocks will come to find Uncle! Uncle is still high!"

Wang Yang also spoke in an envious tone, adding a look of admiration.

Wang Yi almost couldn't hold it, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he stabilized his emotions:

"Actually, the wind from the east, west, north, and south is nothing. If there's a sudden violent thunderstorm or something, even if there are rocks, it's useless. Both of us uncle and nephew are not in good health and can't withstand the thunder and rain. Sigh, let's each take care of ourselves."

Wang Yang looked sideways and smiled: "How about, Uncle take me to take care of ourselves together?"

Wang Yi gave two dry laughs:

"Uh... this, it's not easy to take you; Uncle doesn't even know if he can take care of himself... How about, you take Uncle?"

Wang Yang raised a wicked smile at the corner of his eyes:

"I'm afraid of leading Uncle into a pit; Uncle, you must think it over!"

"Dew drips, and returns, unlike light catkins flying past the curtain."

The mission walked and stopped, advancing according to the plan every day, and even the rest time was fixed. They never walked more distance, nor did they slack off by walking less. Five days later at noon, after passing a large area of green camphor forest, they gradually approached the Tiger Head intersection.

Inside the carriage, Wang Yang tucked away his dagger and tied his waist sword. Chen Qingshan knelt on the cushions, focused, carefully wrapping the ramie cloth around Wang Yang's right wrist, instructing him incessantly:

"... It's easy to enter the door of the sword, but difficult to master. It's difficult to enter the door of the sword, and even more difficult to master. You have always practiced fist techniques and already have some foundation, but your sword technique can't even be considered a quick success! So, unless it's a matter of life and death, you must never draw your sword to fight! If you encounter a situation that isn't right, run away immediately; you must never try to be a hero! Don't worry about anyone else; you are only responsible for running..."

Wang Yang smiled: "That's assuming there's a place to run to—"

Chen Qingshan's hand tightened, she looked up at Wang Yang, her phoenix eyes filled with a determination that was almost stubborn: "There is, there definitely is!"

Wang Yang was slightly startled, then showed a big smile: "Of course, I'm best at running away!"

Dang dang dang, dang dang.

Five knocks came from the carriage wall.

Wang Yang and Chen Qingshan looked at each other, their expressions becoming solemn. Chen Qingshan said quickly: "Remember my words."

Before the words fell, the sound of a horn tore through the sky! The carriage stopped abruptly, and the surroundings became noisy!

Chen Qingshan immediately pulled Wang Yang out of the carriage. Wang Yang held Chen Qingshan's wrist and didn't get out, but instead lifted the carriage curtain at the first moment and looked at Wang Yi's carriage on the left. Then he saw an extremely wonderful scene—

Wang Yi pounced out of the carriage window straight like a big fish, was neatly caught by two servants outside the window, one supporting his shoulders and one lifting his legs, and with a push, Wang Yi was pushed onto the horse's back. As soon as Wang Yi touched the horse's back, he urged the horse to rush out of the carriage team, and then turned the horse's head and ran back at full speed! More than ten riders followed Wang Yi closely. The whole process was smooth and extremely neat; if you count the time, it was no more than seven or eight seconds.

The barbarian soldiers swarmed down from the high slope on the west like a pack of wolves, black shadows pouring down, raising bursts of dust.

The coarse war cries were soul-stirring, like rolling thunder! Looking from afar, it was a sea of black, and no one knew how many there were!

It looked chaotic, but it was orderly in the chaos, like tributaries in a rushing river each following its own path, but all returning to one place; it was also like countless tongues of fire splitting when a wildfire spreads, each curling into flames, but gathering to burn together.

The mission was in great chaos. Many people didn't even know that the chief envoy had already run away, either drawing bows and lining up to prepare to meet the enemy, or subconsciously shrinking toward the center of the carriage team, or cutting the reins to steal horses, or shouting to stay calm, wanting to find an interpreter to negotiate with the barbarians. Among the servants, there were already those who were panicked and scattered. The soldiers were afraid of military law, and no one dared to act rashly without the order of the chief officer. The chief officer went to the carriage and couldn't find Wang Yi, and also panicked, not knowing what to do. Just then, he heard Wang Yang roar: "The chief envoy has already retreated to the Green Camphor Forest! Everyone protect the chief envoy!"

The four Wang family guards shouted in unison!

This sentence was truly popular! If he had shouted for everyone to run away quickly, everyone had the Emperor's edict on their heads, and they all had futures and families. Without orders, who would dare to run away without authorization? But once the banner of protecting the chief envoy was raised, then don't blame everyone for being loyal to the country!

The crowd suddenly scattered and rushed toward the way they came. At first, some people shouted "Protect the chief envoy!" "Cover the chief envoy's retreat!" but soon everyone shut their mouths and ran for their lives with all their might...

Seeing the mission fleeing to the south, the barbarian army turned their direction and chased after them. At the same time, Wang Yang, Chen Qingshan, and the six riders took advantage of the chaos to head east, straight to Tiger Head Beach.

Wang Yang's shout certainly had schemes, wanting to lure the barbarian soldiers to chase the large group of people to help his own escape, but at the same time, there was also compassion. According to his calculations, there must be an ambush in the Green Camphor Forest. But since Wang Yi went to the Green Camphor Forest without hesitation, it shows that there is a way to live there. This way to live was probably not pointed out wrongly. As for whether he can escape alive in the end, it depends on how well the way to live prepared by Wang Yi was prepared.

From a normal terrain point of view, with so many people fleeing together, Wang Yang's small team carrying the horse flow and turning east would not be noticed by anyone. But it just so happened that the west of the Tiger Head intersection was a high slope, and it just so happened that the barbarian ambushers were not all out, and there was still a barbarian general leading a small part to stay behind, looking down from a high position, observing the battle situation, and soon noticed that six riders did not run with the large team, but quietly slipped toward Tiger Head Beach, and immediately led his ten subordinates to pursue, and also ordered the archer squad to run and follow.

At this time, Wang Yang and the others ran to the side of the Ju River, seeing the river vast and the muddy waves surging, where was the shadow of any ship? He couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

However, Wang Yang was also mentally prepared, because he specifically instructed the fleet not to arrive too early, so as not to attract attention. This was to prevent the barbarians from being prepared on the water route. Once the supporting ships were discovered, or if they sent messages to the ambushers on the road, or warned the fleet to gather and surround them, then the mission would not have arrived at Tiger Head, and they wouldn't have picked up the people, but the ships would have started fighting first. Regardless of victory or defeat, once the big battle started, wouldn't Wang Yang's side be delayed?

So Wang Yang let the fleet calculate the time, not to be too early. After setting sail, they advanced all the way, rushing fast and going fast, not allowed to stop and absolutely not allowed to love fighting. In this way, even if someone intercepted, there was no time to pass the message. As long as they broke through one ship, they could come to support. Perhaps because of this reason, the ship hadn't arrived yet?

Wang Yang's six riders reined in their horses by the water, unable to advance or retreat, and just as they were hesitating, the sound of hooves rose from behind, and the barbarian riders rolled with a fishy wind, whistling and arriving...