Chapter 97: The True State of Affairs

  Xiaolian and Ximen Qing got up and walked out of the valley. Xiaolian said, "Look at the sky, it's really not late, today may not be able to finish the road, let's come again tomorrow morning."

  Ximen Qing nodded slightly, and suddenly his face changed color. Xia Cheno immediately sensed something was amiss and followed the direction of Ximen's gaze. He saw four people jumping out from behind a large stone in front of them, running swiftly through the deep snow that reached their knees. The four men were scattered around, surrounding them, clearly targeting the two of them. All four men wore white clothing and had white cloaks on their backs, with knives in hand, already unsheathed.

  Those four people were very tacit, without discussion, two of them turned to their front and cut off their way out, while the other two rushed towards them from the sides. Xia Jiu and Ximen Qing exchanged a glance, understanding each other's intentions without needing to say anything, and simultaneously ran up the mountain slope on the left side.

  "Stop right there! Wait for interrogation."

  "Don't go, we're government soldiers!"

  Xia Jian and Ximen Qing saw that they were holding sharp blades, with a strong murderous aura, like wolves and tigers. Who would be foolish enough to stop and distinguish whether they were government soldiers or not, and what their intentions were? As soon as they heard the shout to block them, they ran even faster.

  As soon as they saw the two men, they didn't listen and ran away. Those few people were even more suspicious, and immediately exerted their strength to chase them urgently. One of the guards also took down a bow from his back, drew out an arrow, bent the bow and placed the arrow on it, and shot it into the sky with great force.

  "Wooooo..."

  A sharp whistling sound pierced the air, echoing off the valley walls and reverberating in the sky. Ximen Qing couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "Oh no, they're firing signal arrows! They still have men at hand! Hmm? This is a signal arrow, could it be that they're really government troops?"

  At that time, there were only three types of people who had bows and arrows: one was the guards' soldiers, two were local militiamen, and three were mountain hunters.

  The officers and soldiers of the Wei camp used military bows, which were divided into three grades according to different troops; The bows used by local militiamen were slightly inferior in range and quality, and they had to be stored in warehouses at ordinary times. Only when the local government's push officials, inspectors, and other judicial officers needed to mobilize the militia to capture outlaws did they open the armory for use. The third type was mountain hunters, who used hunting bows and had to register with the government. As for whistling arrows, only military personnel were allowed to have them.

  Xia Jiang ran while saying: "Who cares if they are officials or soldiers, look at their murderous appearance, do they seem like good talkers? Heaven knows what will happen if we fall into their hands. Besides, their attire is so strange, it's clear that they came prepared, maybe they're not local guards, can our matter be exposed?"

  Ximen Qing also thought it was reasonable, and didn't say anything more. The two of them just desperately climbed up the mountain slope. This side of the mountain slope had many trees that were neither thick nor thin. Because it was a sunny slope, due to the wind blowing, the snow wasn't very deep. The two of them hastily ran up the mountain, and from time to time needed to grab onto tree trunks for support. They bumped into the tops of the trees, causing the snow to fall off with a rustling sound, sprinkling their heads and faces. The two of them didn't care about this at all.

  The pursuers didn't shoot arrows, they just chased after them at high speed. The trees on the sunny side of the mountain slope were sparse and small, and the grass and trees withered in the heavy snow, unable to find a place to hide. The two people could only compete with those four people in terms of leg strength, using all their might to run up the mountain, hoping that the pursuers would be exhausted and stop to rest.

  But those people were from the military, and their only job every day was to train in martial arts, which made them far more physically capable than ordinary people who just practiced a few rounds of fist and footwork every morning. Those four people kept chasing closely behind, unable to shake them off.

  On the mountain ridge, Xufei and Daoyan heard the sound of a whistle arrow. Xufei walked to the edge of the cliff, looking at the chasing scene in the valley below, and said in surprise: "A whistle arrow has been fired? Those people are indeed problematic, Master, let's go take a look."

  She turned her head and said: "Ming'er, you rest here, sister will go to investigate the situation, and come back soon."

  On the leeward side of the mountain slope, three military tents had already been set up, and guards were busy preparing to pitch the fourth one. In front of each tent stood a large cauldron, with snow in it that had melted and was emitting a misty vapor.

  Going out to hunt, at least a few days of work are needed. Xu Fei is the daughter of a military general, familiar with archery and horseback riding, with extremely rich hunting experience and sufficient preparation. Xu Meng'er was a young lady from a big family, usually playing games that girls played at home, such as holding small dogs and competing in small running games, which she had absolutely no chance to try. Her several older brothers and sisters were raised like sheep when they were young, and their father Xu Da was still fighting on all sides. By the time she was born, Xu Da had become a high-ranking official, and the rules at home began to become stricter. He wanted to cultivate his most beloved little daughter into a young lady, so there were many rules, such as not showing her underwear when walking, not revealing her teeth when smiling, and paying attention to etiquette and demeanor in every move.

  Now she is at her sister and brother-in-law's house, not like the strict rules at home, especially on this hunting trip. The little girl has gone crazy with excitement, throwing away all the constraints of etiquette and propriety. She rarely sees the scene of cooking, especially in the wilderness, giving people a simple and primitive feeling. Seeing the flames rise, she becomes excited and immediately pushes aside a guard, sitting down beside the bonfire, putting the branches gathered by the guards into the fire one by one. The red flames reflect her rosy cheeks, playing with great enthusiasm.

  As soon as she heard her sister speak, her attention shifted immediately, and she jumped up excitedly, saying: "Sister is going to catch a thief? I'll go too."

  Xu Fei's face was stern as she said, "Don't be ridiculous, on a road like this, it would be strange if your physical strength could keep up."

  Xu Meng'er wasn't afraid of this elder sister-like figure at all, and excitedly ran to her side, holding her hand, jumping up and down as she said: "I can keep up, I can keep up! Catching people is so much fun, more fun than catching foxes! Take me with you, you have to take me with you!"

  Xu Fei had no choice but to bring Xu Ming'er along, taking a shortcut along the mountain ridge towards the peak where Xia Jun and Xi Menqing were climbing.

  On a winter night, it seems like just a moment ago was bright, but suddenly becomes dark.

  Fortunately, the sky suddenly darkened, and Xia Xian and Xi Menqing were able to escape along the mountain ridge to another peak as they were being pursued by a group of people who had been ambushed. The two men were exhausted from this climb, having expended too much energy, while their pursuers seemed to have endless stamina.

  Looking ahead, it's a steep slope, white and shiny, that's the reflection of accumulated snow. Looking back again, there are torches in three directions, unfortunately this mountain peak is not big enough, there's no place to hide.

  Ximen Qing changed his expression and said, "It's all over, there's no way out. If I had known it would be like this, I'd rather have been caught earlier. This escape of mine is like smearing mud on my pants - whether it's shit or not, it's still shit."

  Xia Liu said with a bad temper: "Nonsense, do you think we were originally innocent? Unless these people are the guards of Lu Long Pass, otherwise, surrendering would still be the same ending."

  He spoke while carefully observing the surroundings, a bold idea was secretly taking shape in his mind.

  "What are you people doing? Sneaking around, why did you run away as soon as you saw us?"

  The pursuing soldiers have arrived, a robust man holding a torch asked loudly with full energy.

  Ximen Qing stiffened his scalp and said: "What kind of people are you all, why are you chasing us for no reason?"

  "That man said: 'Less nonsense, tell you early that we are government soldiers. You still dare to disobey orders and escape. Speak! What kind of shameful things do you want to do?'"

  Ximen Qing immediately cried out in grievance: "It's unjust, sir! You're holding shiny steel knives and not wearing military uniforms. How dare we stand still to identify your identities? We two... uh... are actually guests..."

  Ximen Qing, in a state of urgency, came up with an idea and brought out the identities of Gu Zhou and He Qiong. The man sneered coldly: "Good excuse, with such heavy snow, you're going up the mountain to dig ginseng? Nonsense! Why didn't you say you were going up the mountain to cut trees?"

  Ximen Qing hastily climbed up the pole and said: "Right, right, we... cough, cough, we actually came to cut down trees on the mountain... um... build a house... marry a wife."

  "Shut up! Stop your clever words and deceitful excuses, bring out your road map!"

  As the big fellow let out a loud shout, "Hullah!" four torches were flung out with a sudden movement, revolving like fire wheels in the night air, and stuck slanting into the ground to the left and right of Hsi-men Ch'ing and Tai-ts'ung, illuminating their figures.

  "Oh? So it's you guys!"

  Xu Ming'er, who had run until her legs were weak, was already being carried on the back of a guard. She lay on the shoulder of a guard and saw the appearance of the two people, couldn't help but be surprised, hurriedly struggled to get down, and excitedly walked forward.

  What kind of environment did this little girl grow up in? Although she is extremely intelligent, she lacks many basic life skills and knowledge that ordinary people should know. It's like a small historical story: An emperor asked a minister what he had for breakfast, and the minister replied that his family was poor and only ate four eggs for breakfast. The emperor was shocked and said, "One egg costs ten taels of silver, four eggs would be forty taels of silver, I wouldn't dare to indulge like this, how can you say your family is poor?" It's not that the emperor had an IQ problem, but he never had the chance to come into contact with these things from a young age. The eunuchs lied to him about the price of eggs in order to embezzle money, and he naturally believed them.

  The authenticity of this story is unknown, but it illustrates a point: sometimes the common sense that everyone knows, he just doesn't know, not because he's stupid, but because he grew up in an environment completely different from the general public, and had no opportunity to come into contact with such common sense. Xu Ming'er belongs to this kind of person. In her mansion, if a servant has stolen or committed any other wrongdoing, once discovered by the manager or master, they would not dare to resist, but immediately kneel down and beg for mercy. She thought that when officials caught thieves, the thieves would naturally surrender, so she didn't hesitate at all. When she saw these two men, who were actually the same two guys who had refused to sell her the fox fur, she ran out excitedly.

  Xu Fei never thought that her sister would be so ruthless and sinister, and she ran out without any precautions. She changed color and shouted: "Ming Er, come back!"

  Those guards only noticed the front, and unexpectedly, the young lady slipped out from behind them. In a state of shock, they even forgot to catch her. Xia Liu and Xi Menqing were surrounded by a group of fierce men, when suddenly they heard a soft and delicate voice of a little girl, and they also froze for a moment. At this time, Xu Man'er had already run over.

  The four torches inserted into the ground, the flames swayed by the wind, were blowing in her direction, and the hazy red glow was changing and flashing. A small servant girl with a powdered face and painted eyebrows, looking like a painting, ran out, delicate and charming, innocent and carefree, as if she were a legendary little fox spirit. Ximen Qing looked at her with wide eyes.

  Xia Liu didn't have time to be surprised by the little girl's appearance, nor did he have a free heart to appreciate her beautiful posture. "Good opportunity!" Xia Liu secretly shouted, his legs fiercely kicked the ground, his arms spread out, and his fingers were wide open, like a fierce tiger pouncing on its prey, he rushed towards that tender little servant girl!