"Even if they are looking for help, the choice of location is very important. If it were up to me, I would rather choose a road than a pine ridge."
Ning Que looked at the eye-catching ink marks on the hand-drawn map and said, "They chose to take the Northern Mountain Road, but they didn't realize that it was a one-way road with dense forests on both sides of the seven-mile road, which was very easy to set up an ambush."
After saying this, he kept silent for a moment and put the hand-drawn map into his clothes. He shook his head and said in a self-mocking tone, "It seems that the so-called guide, besides leading them to the Northern Mountain Road, is just trying to confuse the enemy. That idiot princess has never trusted General Ma, so naturally she won't trust me. "
"An idiot leading a group of idiots." Thinking of the possible ambush on the Northern Mountain Road and the possible reinforcement, he became more and more depressed. He lowered his voice and said fiercely, "She hasn't become smarter after staying on the grassland for nearly a year. I really don't know where her reputation comes from."
Ning Que pulled out the three rusty knives from the sheaths, opened the water bottle, and wet the grindstone. He began to sharpen the blades silently. There might be a series of bloody battles after entering the Northern Mountain Road. It might be a little late to sharpen the knives, but at least he could calm down.
"If we are separated from them after entering the Northern Mountain Road, what about the things you want to ask that old man?" Sangsang asked in confusion.
"Survival is the most important thing." Ning Que lowered his head and sharpened the knives slowly but firmly. "As long as we can reach Chang 'an alive, there will always be a chance to learn those things. If we put our lives in the hands of those idiots, there will be no chance."
…
…
The further south they went, the warmer it was. Logically speaking, the scenery outside the window should be more vibrant and lush. However, as the team entered the vast Min Mountain, the grass around the team gradually disappeared and turned into tall trees. The leaves were not fully green yet, and there was still a sense of killing accumulated from last autumn and winter.
As the temperature dropped, a tense and depressing atmosphere enveloped the whole team. Everyone knew that if the bigwig in Chang 'an who dared to murder the princess wanted to stop the princess from returning to the capital safely, then the Min Mountain between the frontier fortress and the county would be his last chance.
After several days of intense vigilance and searching, the caravan finally arrived at the periphery of the Northern Mountain Road. Looking at the dense forest that covered the sky, most of the people in the caravan were not as worried as Ning Que. Instead, they seemed to be much more relaxed.
The pretty maidservant spent less time chatting with Sangsang these days and spent most of her time in the second carriage. When she got off the carriage this evening, she had a faint smile on her face.
When she decided to leave the grassland, she had already sent a messenger to the empire. Although she could not reach Chang 'an in a short time for the imperial court to send a large number of troops to meet them, she had enough time to contact her loyal subordinates.
After receiving the urgent reply from the Gushan Commandery ten days ago, she decided to go straight to the Northern Mountain Road without hesitation. She believed that the young Senior Captain of the Gushan Commandery, Hua Shanyue, should have led his personal battalion to the southern exit of the Northern Mountain Road.
She had left the Tang Empire for less than a year, but she firmly believed that her loyal subordinates were still loyal to her. Even if some of them had been bribed by the woman in the imperial palace, Hua Shanyue would never be bribed, because … his eyes were always so gentle when he looked at her.
When they were more than 30 miles away from the appointed meeting place, the team began to pitch camp and rest in the dusk. It was very risky to travel through the dense forest in the middle of the night. Some bodyguards even suggested that the team should simply wait outside the Northern Mountain Road until Hua Shanyue's troops came to meet them.
She was still thinking about this suggestion. However, no matter how she looked at it, she and Butchie were now very safe, so a smile appeared on her pretty face again. The songs and laughter that had been suppressed for several days returned to the campsite.
In the twilight, a simple and crude tent was set up alone outside the circle of carriages. The head of the princess's bodyguards had raised a question, but the owner of the tent insisted and refused to move into the carriage formation made up of five carriages and chests.
"If we don't stay away from their carts, we won't have enough time to escape if something happens."
Ning Que explained with slight mockery. He tied the big black umbrella with a straw rope and asked Sangsang to carry it on her back. Then he tied the knot of the straw rope into a very beautiful flower.
Sangsang raised her head and looked at his pale blue chin, where stubble had just appeared. She asked, "What about them if we escape?"
Ning Que was checking whether the bow tendons were damp. After hearing this question, he turned his head and quietly looked at the little handmaiden's dark face. After a long silence, he said seriously, "You may have forgotten what happened when you were a child, but I haven't."
"I dug you out from a pile of corpses. I survived when I was a child, and I also experienced tragedies that ordinary people can't even imagine."
"Sangsang, you must always remember this. We have worked very, very hard … and even risked our lives to continue to live in this world. Since we have worked so hard to survive, we can't die so easily. "
After saying this, Ning Que did not give any further explanation. He sheathed the sharpened podao back into its scabbard, then used a straw rope to tie it a few times. After testing the distance between the scabbards was just right, he carried it on his back.
Sangsang did not ask any more questions and began to pack silently. She used her little hand to test the flatness of each arrow. She knew that the moment night fell, it would be the moment for her and Ning Que to seek refuge in the vast Min Mountain. She was not afraid, because when she was a child, she had traveled through such dark mountains and forests countless times on Ning Que's back.
At this moment, Ning Que's hand holding the sheath slightly stiffened.
The curtains of the simple and crude tent were lifted by a hand and the maidservant walked in. The smile on her delicate face immediately turned into an icy cold expression.
She had intended to chat with Sangsang, but did not expect to see the scene of the master and handmaiden packing their luggage. She easily guessed that they wanted to leave.
"What do you want to do?" She coldly stared at Ning Que's face and said, "At this moment, it's hard not to be suspicious of your behavior."
After a moment of silence, Ning Que laughed and was about to explain. Suddenly, his ears trembled slightly and the dimples on his cheeks disappeared, replaced by a solemn expression that had not been seen before. He quickly carried the three knives on his back, pushed aside the maidservant and walked out of the tent rudely.
The camp was outside the entrance of the Northern Mountain Road, and was bathed in the last twilight. It was warm and extremely comfortable, but at this moment, it seemed to be stained with a layer of blood red.
The wind passed through the forest that had just woken up in spring, whistling low, as if there were ghosts crying. Ning Que frowned and looked into the depths of the forest, carefully listening to the details of the whistling. Suddenly, he shouted loudly, "Enemy attack!"
The murmur in the forest finally revealed the truth. A feather arrow struck from the forest like lightning, whistling mournfully and shooting at the luxurious carriage in the array of carriages!
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