“Chen Ji, do you have a prejudice against me?”

“No.”

Zhang Xia glared with wide eyes: “Then why were you so polite and kind in front of the county lord, but here you don’t give me a good look? I asked if your cat eats food given by strangers, and you asked if it eats strangers, like words?”

Chen Ji leaned against a big tree, propping his knife, silent. The mountain forest fell into a dead silence.

Earlier, there were still sounds of fighting from Mr. Feng and Tian Ma on the mountain from time to time. The sound of wood fibers tearing as trees fell could be heard from far away.

And now, the fighting sounds also disappeared.

The four people looked at each other, their faces covered in burning ash, black as if they had just come out of a coal kiln.

Shi Zi suddenly spoke to ease the atmosphere: “Bai Li, I’ll help you wipe your face.”

Saying that, he pulled up his sleeve to wipe.

Bai Li weakly pushed him away, annoyed: “You want to write ‘King’ on my forehead again, right?”

They looked at each other, and as they looked, they started to laugh.

Shi Zi looked at Zhang Xia to his left and Chen Ji to his right, then suddenly sighed: “We’ve gone through life and death together anyway. If there was really any barrier before, then let it go.”

Zhang Xia thought for a moment, then patted the dust off her body, came to Chen Ji, and said solemnly: “I’m sorry, I know you’re angry because I said ‘human life is more important than a cat’s life’ just now. Thinking back now, if Zao Zao was in the sea of fire, I would also try to save it. I’m sorry.”

She stuffed the oiled paper package into Chen Ji’s hand: “Eat it all.”

Chen Ji lowered his head and looked at the pastries in his hand. He hadn’t expected Zhang Xia to be so frank.

He was silent for a moment and said: “Thank you all for rushing here to find me. If you hadn’t knocked down so many soldiers and put out this mountain fire, I might not have been able to escape alive.”

Zhang Xia shook her head: “No need to say that. If you hadn’t led us to escape into the military town earlier, we would have frozen to death in the mountains long ago.”

Shi Zi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Stop, stop, why are we still being polite? You’re giving me goosebumps. Where do we go now?”

Chen Ji took out a piece of pastry and held it near Wu Yun’s mouth: “Let’s go to Lu Hun Mountain Manor as soon as possible. Scholars gather there, and both the Dao Court and the Buddha Gate are present. Presumably, even if the Liu family finds our tracks, they won’t dare to make a move there. Shi Zi, Zhang Second Miss, you and the county lord ride horses. I will lead the way in front.”

Zhang Xia said with difficulty: “But Zao Zao can’t carry us now.”

Chen Ji looked towards Zao Zao, and saw the date-red warhorse dripping with sweat all over its body, standing in the faint light of dawn on a winter day, steaming with water vapor.

After intense activity, horses fall into a state of high temperature and dehydration, and are very difficult to recover. They need a large amount of cool water to cool down to avoid organ failure.

Zao Zao had already exhausted itself carrying three people up the mountain for so long. Carrying people again would probably tire it to death on the road.

Chen Ji looked at Bai Li again, somewhat hesitant.

Earlier, it was urgent, and Bai Li was in and out of consciousness, so he could still carry her on his back.

Now that she was awake, carrying her on his back again felt a bit inappropriate.

Shi Zi quickly said: “I’ll carry Bai Li.”

Saying that, he bent down in front of Bai Li.

Bai Li insisted: “Brother, I can walk for a while myself.”

Shi Zi laughed: “You’re still feverish, you can’t even stand steadily, how can you escape? If I don’t bring you back safely, Dad will definitely hang me on the beam and beat me for a year. Quickly, listen to me.”

Bai Li softly said “Okay” and lay on Shi Zi’s back.

Chen Ji suddenly thought that the matter of the Liu family plotting rebellion might really have nothing to do with Jing Wang.

The Liu family wanted to catch Shi Zi and the county lord simply because Jing Wang cared about these two people, so they wanted to use their lives as leverage.

If Jing Wang had been involved with the Liu family early on, the Liu family wouldn’t need to do this at all.

The four people walked down the mountain. As they walked, Shi Zi’s strength failed, and he slid backward and fell. Fortunately, Chen Ji was quick-witted and fast-handed, pulling Bai Li back, preventing the two from falling to the ground.

Chen Ji said lightly: “Shi Zi, I’ll carry the county lord instead. You are an ordinary person, you can’t carry her far, nor walk fast.”

Shi Zi awkwardly turned his head and glanced at Bai Li.

Bai Li thought for a moment, didn’t mention getting down to walk, but weakly said: “Brother, let Chen Ji do it.”

Shi Zi sighed: “Okay.”

Chen Ji tied the whale knife to Zao Zao’s saddle, and he himself dragged Bai Li’s legs, carried her on his back, and walked steadily down the mountain.

Bai Li gently rested her head on his shoulder: “Chen Ji, thank you.”

Chen Ji smiled: “What is there to thank? Didn’t Shi Zi say? We are now friends who have gone through life and death together.”

Bai Li said “Okay,” and after a long time, she sighed: “I didn’t think we could survive. Right, people say that just before death, you know what your biggest wish in life is. Brother, Zhang Xia, what was your wish earlier?”

Shi Zi laughed loudly: “I’m more greedy, I have two wishes. Earlier in the iron smelting workshop in the military town, I wished that we hadn’t encountered this ambush. Like this, we should be drinking all night in Lu Hun Mountain Manor now. I heard there are quite a few strange women there too.”

Chen Ji asked: “What about now?”

Shi Zi gradually stopped smiling: “Now I want to quickly find a path to cultivate, become a line official, otherwise I can’t even protect my own sister.”

Chen Ji said: “That might not be possible, Shi Zi.”

Shi Zi said dismissively: “If it’s not possible, then it’s not possible. My dad is only forty-five years old. It’ll be at least another twenty years before it’s my turn to be Jing Wang. If he lives long, he might even outlive me.”

Bai Li said angrily: “Aren’t you cursing our dad to only live to his sixties? Quickly, phooey phooey phooey.”

Shi Zi: “Phooey phooey phooey.”

Bai Li looked at Zhang Xia: “Zhang Xia, what’s your wish?”

Zhang Xia led Zao Zao by the reins, walking down the mountain and saying casually: “My biggest wish now is to prepare a large wooden bucket and take a good hot bath.”

Bai Li thought for a moment, then suddenly asked Chen Ji: “Chen Ji, my dad said earlier that he owes you a favor and can grant you one request. Have you thought about what you want to ask him for now?”

Chen Ji laughed: “I want to ask Jing Wang to find the best craftsman to make a sheath for my knife. Wang Ye just said that casually at the time. If I open my mouth too wide, it will seem like I have no sense.”

Bai Li gently said “Oh” and after a long time, she spoke: “This matter is not difficult. I will find someone to make this knife sheath and send it to you.”

Chen Ji was a little startled: “Okay.”

Speaking of the whale knife, Shi Zi curiously said: “Chen Ji, where did this knife of yours come from?”

Chen Ji smiled and replied: “I picked it up in the mountains. Since it was quite handy, I just brought it with me.”

Shi Zi sized up the whale knife. He saw that the blade was bright as snow, without any trace of rust, and the gold tiger on the swallow-mouth was lifelike. It didn’t look like something ownerless from the mountains at all.

Just as he was about to ask further, he heard Wu Yun lightly meow.

Chen Ji’s body instantly tensed up. He led Shi Zi and the others to hide behind a clump of bushes.

Zhang Xia didn’t ask any more questions, but led Zao Zao to lie down.

Chen Ji whispered: “Whatever you do, don’t speak.”

The next moment, Mr. Feng leisurely walked out of the mountain forest, and Jiang Yan followed behind, limping, leading two horses.

Seeing the two people, Chen Ji’s scalp instantly felt numb, and his whole body felt like it had fallen into an ice cave.

He carefully looked towards the mountain forest behind the two people, but did not see Jin Zhu and Tian Ma!

Dead? Or ran away?

Chen Ji couldn’t have imagined that after escaping so far, they would actually meet here.

Were they pursuing him, or did they just happen to be taking the same road?

At this moment, Mr. Feng hummed a small tune, passing by not far from them without turning his head, seemingly not noticing them.

That small tune was a bit strange: “Build, plan things, marry, Gen palace Fuyin, Kun palace Fanyin, Xun palace enter tomb, Zhen palace receive Ke, endless cycle of life.”

Chen Ji suddenly doubted whether the other party had come to pursue him. Could it really just be a chance encounter?

Yes, there were not many roads in the mountains that could avoid the fire, and it was understandable that they were taking the same one.

Fortunately, Wu Yun’s hearing and sense of smell far surpassed humans, otherwise they would have just run into them.

He carefully looked over. Jiang Yan’s left shoulder had a bloody hole, which should have been shot through by an arrow from Tian Ma.

And this Mr. Feng had no wounds. His blue shirt didn’t even have a single wrinkle.

Jiang Yan led the warhorse with a blank expression, as if the wound on his body didn’t hurt at all, like a puppet doll, with nothing but cold killing intent up and down his whole body.

Just as Chen Ji wanted to look carefully, he saw Jiang Yan unintentionally sweep his gaze towards the mountain forest. He quickly bent down before the other person looked over.

Everyone held their breath, not daring to even take a breath, only feeling as if a mountain was pressing down on everyone, incomparably heavy.

After an unknown amount of time passed, the sound of Mr. Feng’s humming gradually faded away.

Chen Ji carefully lifted his head to look out, the bushes outside were already empty.

He exhaled a long breath, and whispered: “This Mr. Feng looks like a weak scholar, but when facing him in person, there is a kind of unclear sense of pressure. I completely don’t know what he is thinking, or what he is preparing.”

Zhang Xia said: “I heard that this Mr. Feng’s original name was Feng Zhang. He was the second place in the Ji State imperial examination in the eighteenth year of Jianing. He was born into a humble family, but had a good hand in writing. His clear style was particularly outstanding. At that time, many people said that he would definitely gain His Majesty’s favor during the palace examination. As a result, in the spring of the following year, he ranked at the end of the first C in the palace examination, and then resigned from office and disappeared without a trace.”

She continued: “For six years, Mr. Feng was like he had evaporated. Seven years ago, he reappeared, already the first advisor under Grand Secretary Liu, with great power, and inexplicably became a line official.”

Chen Ji sighed: “To compete with this kind of person, one must be careful, careful, and even more careful.”

Saying that, he carried Bai Li and stood up, walking out of the bushes, planning to take a small road down the mountain.

However, just after walking a short distance, he heard Wu Yun meow again.

Chen Ji’s stiff body slowly turned its head, only to see two horses tied to a tree, casually stomping their hooves. There was no one beside the horses.

Mr. Feng and Jiang Yan were both gone.

Chen Ji asked in a low voice: “Wu Yun, are there still people nearby?”

Wu Yun meowed: “None. Only these two horses.”

Chen Ji lightly said “Huh,” why did Mr. Feng leave, but leave the two horses here?

Was it because he disliked the trouble of leading the horses down the mountain… or did he discover their tracks early and deliberately leave these two horses for them?

.