The woman's expression was unsettled. She treated him as an enemy of the Shentu family clan that had been lurking for many years. He knew her family well, or else how could he expose the old coachman's background?
The man said with a sarcastic smile, "The reason why I'm saying this is to tell Madam Shentu something. If you cause trouble and delay my time, it really won't be difficult to wipe out a small general's residence."
The woman sucked in a cold breath.
She sat up straight and removed all pretense. She turned her head and asked in a deep voice, "Sir, do you really only want two maps? You won't kill me, and you won't kill anyone in the city? "
The man nodded and then closed his eyes to rest.
The carriage stopped outside the general's residence. Madam Shentu had planned to let the old coachman retrieve the maps while she remained in the carriage as a hostage. However, the strange man was conceited enough to let her get out of the carriage. He only needed a servant to bring the maps, and did not even need her to appear again. The woman could not help but be speechless. She told the two weak scholars who were supposed to be the new male companions to scram. She silently walked into the residence, and in less than five minutes, returned with two rolls of Beimang military maps. She respectfully handed them to the man who was still sitting in the carriage. The latter opened the maps and looked through them carefully.
Madam Shentu gathered her courage and secretly sized up the man. His face had a softer outline than the men of Beimang and Norland, but compared to the men of Jiangnan in the central plains, he had more edges. Therefore, he could be considered handsome, but at the same time, he did not give off a feminine feeling. Especially his beautiful phoenix eyes, when he squinted to look at the maps, they were especially captivating. After the man finished looking at the maps, he closed his eyes and went through them in his mind. After confirming that he had not missed anything, he opened his eyes and handed them back to the woman. He smiled and said, "Madam Shentu is very trustworthy. The forty or so private soldiers in the residence did not make any secret movements. I don't have anything to thank Madam for lending me the maps, but I believe there will be opportunities to express my gratitude in the future. "
The woman felt a lingering fear. Fortunately, when she left her man's study, she decided to avoid trouble. Otherwise, today would have been the death anniversary of many people in the residence.
Just as she was feeling emotional, the man suddenly disappeared like a land immortal.
The woman suddenly smiled and said, "It is said that the King of Beiliang is not only one of the best masters in the world, but also very handsome. I think this young master is not too far off from the King of Beiliang, right?"
If she knew that this man was the King of Beiliang, Hsu Fengnian, she would have been scared to death.
At first, Xu Fengnian was searching for a needle in a haystack within the borders of the Northern Mang and Southern Dynasty. However, he soon realized that he and Sweet Potato's child might not have chosen to go south to avoid disaster. Instead, they might have gone the other way and entered the Norland first. Then, they would have waited patiently and looked for an opportunity to die peacefully. But even if the child was really in Norland, he did not know whether the child was on the prairie or in a city. Hsu Fengnian could only rely on his remaining intuition to search. It was very likely that everything would be in vain. In fact, if he searched Huxiao City and Stone Tablet City, even if he still could not find the child, he would have to return.
Perhaps the child was no longer alive.
But this was actually the most likely "maybe". Hsu Fengnian did not dare to think about it. He did not dare to think about it.
Xu Fengnian strolled around Hujia City, stopping every now and then. One moment, he could be standing under the eaves of a secluded restaurant, looking at the people on the street. The next moment, he could be in an alley where children's laughter could be heard. Then, he could be standing on the roof of an inconspicuous building.
From the scorching sun at noon to the setting sun, until dusk came, Hsu Fengnian sat on the steps of a dilapidated ancient temple in a poor market in the northwest corner of Huxiao City.
Along the way, he had hoped thousands of times and been disappointed thousands of times. Even so, he had not given up hope.
Hsu Fengnian told himself that his child must be waiting for him somewhere. Waiting for him, the father who had wronged them so much.
The ancient temple behind him had been abandoned for many years. It did not exude any Buddhist aura. All that was left was a gloomy light.
There was a large open space in front of the temple.
Hsu Fengnian was about to stand up when he saw a group of children running towards him. Some of them were three or four years old, while others were seven or eight years old. They were all dressed in the most ordinary Beimang clothes. They were carefree and most of them were holding low-quality bamboo paper kites made by their parents. Seven or eight children were playing kite fighting. In the Jiangnan region of the Central Plains, children, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, also liked to fly kites. However, they were all flying kites, unlike this group of children who were playing kite fighting. It was enough to show the bravery that flowed in Beimang's bones. The kites in the children's hands were long and thin boards. They were tied from the back into tiles. The drawings were simple and crude. The strings were not tied to the tails, but to the strings. They were released into the air by running and the strong wind. They buzzed and dashed left and right, colliding with other kites. If they were entangled, they would cut each other's strings. The loser could only watch as the kites fell far away and then scampered to pick them up. Hsu Fengnian raised his head to look at the kite fighting in the sky. He was lost in thought. A few kites had already fallen from their strings. A child cried out and ran to look for them. Unfortunately, the kite was hanging high on a branch. He cried his heart out under the tree.
Half an hour later, it was time to eat. Amidst the shouting of their parents, the children gradually dispersed. The winners of the kite fighting were like generals returning victorious from the battlefield. The losers were disheartened and wanted to go back and steal some more strings from their parents.
In the twilight, Hsu Fengnian stared blankly at a large open space.
Then, a burst of light footsteps broke the silence.
In the distance, a short and thin figure was bouncing over, carrying a slightly damaged kite in his hand.
About seven or eight feet away from the stairs, the slovenly child stopped. It turned out to be a little charcoal girl about four or five years old. Her little face was dirty. Other than the kite, there were also some withered leaves picked up from somewhere. She was most likely a child beggar. She stared at the obstacle sitting on the stairs and revealed a fleeting sense of wariness. However, she quickly recovered her cheerful and bouncing posture. She stepped past Hsu Fengnian onto the stairs and was about to enter the ancient temple. Hsu Fengnian smiled. He might be sitting in front of her "door", so it was no wonder that she was a little unhappy.
At this moment, four or five children ran over from the distance. The leader was about eight or nine years old, holding the hand of a child who had previously lost a kite fighting in the open space. When they saw the little charcoal behind Hsu Fengnian, they immediately began to make a racket. The child behind Hsu Fengnian was already vigilant enough. He almost immediately threw the kite into the courtyard. Unfortunately, it still fell into the eyes of the group of children. The few children rushed up the stairs, and the oldest one punched the little girl's shoulder. He coldly snorted and threatened, "Thief, scram and pick up my little brother's kite, then kneel down and beg for mercy! Otherwise, I'll tear down your lousy home! "
The girl who was punched fiercely staggered and almost fell. She stuck out her chest and sneered, "Who's a thief? Your whole family are thieves! The kite landed on a tree. I climbed up to retrieve it, but I didn't see any of your names written on it! "
The much older boy slapped her, and the little girl tilted her head to dodge. She lifted her leg and kicked the boy's crotch, causing him to immediately roll on the ground. How could this be allowed? The rest of the children who had formed their own cliques began to surround and beat up this girl who had always been very annoying. In the end, after a round of entanglement, they were all beaten quite badly by her. Every one of them had a bloody nose and a swollen face, and there was even one whose wrist was bitten to the point of bleeding by her teeth. Of course, the little girl who was as thin as a matchstick was even worse off. She suffered countless punches and kicks all over her body, but in the end, she still stood proudly at the entrance of the lousy temple. She didn't run away, nor did she cry.
She didn't seem to care at all. In the end, those children were not as fearless as her. They cursed her as "bastards" and "beggars" as they resentfully left, not forgetting to leave behind all sorts of harsh words.
Hsu Fengnian turned his head to look at the little girl. After everyone had left, her tender face twitched in pain. Blood seeped out from the corner of her mouth. She then opened her mouth with all her might, stretched out two fingers, and pulled out a shaky front tooth.
She carefully held it in her palm.
She glanced at the surprised Hsu Fengnian and rolled her eyes. She patted her butt, turned around, and jumped over the threshold with her feet together.
Hsu Fengnian laughed involuntarily.
Xu Fengnian stood up and continued his search in Huxiao City. He looked for any child that could vaguely recognize the woman's face. It could be someone that looked like her eyes, her nose, or her lips. It didn't matter what it was, as long as there was even the slightest resemblance.
In the dead of night, Hsu Fengnian found nothing. He stood at the top of Huxiao City and sighed. He prepared to head to the last city, Stone Tablet City.
For some reason, the image of Little Charcoal's face with its front tooth pulled out appeared in his mind. Hsu Fengnian couldn't help but smile. He asked himself, "Should I go and take another look at her?"
The gloomy temple, the house with the broken window bars, the narrow wooden bed, the crooked wooden stool, and the small pot on top of it. If you included the small bag of food hidden under the ground, that would be all she had.
However, she was still very happy to be alone. Her dinner was a small pot of vegetable stew that she had picked up from the market during the day. She felt that it was very sumptuous.
She sat cross-legged on the wooden bed furthest from the window. She raised her head and stared at the starry sky. There was a patched up cotton doll beside her leg. This was her only companion in the world that she could talk to.
She suddenly sniffed and jumped off the bed. With a creak, she pushed open the door. She stood there and narrowed her eyes. She saw a strange scene in the courtyard. The guy who had been sitting on the steps in the evening was now squatting in the courtyard and roasting meat!
She didn't go forward. She just stood at the door and looked at the guy.
Hsu Fengnian had set up a fire and was roasting a chicken. Although he didn't have any seasoning, the chicken was still golden and shiny. The oil was enough to whet one's appetite.
The little girl swallowed her saliva. However, she gritted her teeth and didn't move. She waited until the guy tore off a drumstick and stuffed it into his mouth. She still resisted.
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