"When I mentioned Daoist Ji, you said you didn't know anything … was that a lie?" Su Li said as he looked at the expression on his face.
Chen Changsheng could only remain silent, because he was not very good at lying.
Su Li said to himself, "Then just why did these old fellows push you out?"
Conversations often occurred, and their conclusion often did not require any answer. Chen Changsheng could not find an answer, and Su Li only used a very short time to think about it.
After confirming that the cavalry of the Great Zhou were truly far away, Chen Changsheng carried him on his back and passed through the black willow forest, continuing south.
As they continued to walk, or perhaps run, the weather gradually warmed up, and the scenery that the two saw was getting closer and closer to the true time of day. In the capital, it should be the middle of spring, and in Mount Li in the south, it should already be late spring. However, it was still rather cold here, and as far as the eye could see, they could still see the remnants of snow like stars. Fortunately, there was already some star-like green.
Seeing those green sprouts that had died last year, Chen Changsheng remembered that it had already been a whole year since he had left Xining Village. In this year, too many changes had occurred. Even though he was still a youth in the prime of his youth, every time he looked back, he could not help but feel some sorrow that only a middle-aged man would feel.
After passing through a farmer's settlement called Woli Village, there were some changes beside the two. There was an additional carriage, and the animals pulling the carriage were two healthy furry deer.
Chen Changsheng sat at the front of the carriage, pulling on the rope around the neck of the furry deer. From time to time, he would let out a few incomprehensible shouts. Perhaps he wanted to imitate the methods of those farmers, but it was very clear that the two furry deer did not understand his commands. Fortunately, the general direction was correct. In short, they were walking south. The south was still very far, but as long as they persevered, they would get closer and closer.
Su Li lay in the carriage, under his body was a thick blanket, and his body was covered with a smooth and flexible animal skin. The Yellow Paper Umbrella was placed next to him, along with wine and food. He held the bamboo flute in his hand, bringing it to his lips. From time to time, it would let out a clear and beautiful sound. He seemed extremely content, without any hint of the miserable feeling of fleeing with heavy injuries.
After walking for another two days, they could faintly see an earthy yellow city ahead of them. It was different from the military stronghold they had seen before. This was a real city. Judging from the size of the city, it could accommodate at least tens of thousands of people. It must be very prosperous and lively. If they wanted to reestablish contact with the human world, there was no doubt that this was the most convenient place to do so.
Chen Changsheng turned his head to glance at Su Li, using his eyes to ask if he wanted to enter the city.
Su Li held a piece of fur and was currently carefully wiping the holes on the bamboo flute. He did not even pay any attention to him.
Chen Chang Sheng understood, but there were still some things he didn't understand. He shook his head and pulled the rope in his hand, letting the two furry deer pull the carriage down the official road, through the slightly hardened fields, and around the earthy yellow city.
There was a birch forest in the south of the city. The thousands of birch trees were not thick, but rather thin and straight. They were like swords that grew from the ground and pierced towards the sky.
It was late spring, but the birch forest in the frigid zone hadn't grown too many green leaves yet. Their line of sight wasn't hindered in the slightest, and they were able to see the other side of the forest several li away.
When encountering a forest, one should not enter. This was not an experience that Su Li had taught Chen Changsheng to travel the world, but an old saying that he had seen countless times in those random records.
Chen Changsheng gently pulled the rope tight, indicating that the two furry deer should stop.
He did not sense any danger, and only did this subconsciously.
Su Li sat up in the carriage with difficulty. At some point, the bamboo flute in his hand had been stuck at his waist, replaced by the Yellow Paper Umbrella.
He looked at the quiet birch forest and suddenly said, "They're here."
What was here? Naturally, the enemy had come. The person that wanted to kill Su Li had come.
Chen Changsheng's mood instantly became nervous. He jumped from the carriage to the ground and used his fastest speed to untie the rope around the neck of the furry deer. He used the sheath of his sword to heavily hit their thick buttocks twice. The furry deer felt the pain and ran in the opposite direction of the birch forest. It was just that these animals had docile natures, so they actually did not run very far. They stood several dozen zhang away and looked at Chen Changsheng. They seemed very confused, as if they did not understand why Chen Changsheng had hit them.
"You're worried about their lives, but what about me?" Su Li was very angry as he looked at Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng gripped the sheath of his sword and said, "Then Senior, do you want to go in or not?"
When he had just left the hot spring in the snowy ridge, he had asked Su Li, but Su Li was not willing. Moreover, it seemed that even now, Su Li had not changed his mind. He only heard Su Li sneer and say, "If I want to go in, what if you die? I'm not willing to place all my hopes on someone else, let alone someone as weak as you. "
Chen Changsheng thought to himself, this really is reasonable. Although Senior is currently unable to fight, his battle experience and wisdom far surpass mine by several hundred times. With him at my side, he can at least help me a little. There was no movement in the quiet birch forest. He asked somewhat uneasily, "What do I do next? Should I charge into the forest? "
Su Li completely did not understand what he meant. He asked, "Why do you want to charge into the forest?"
Chen Changsheng said, "Yesterday, Senior said that the most important thing in battle is that instant when you switch from defense to offense. If you can truly catch your opponent off guard, then even the strongest opponent can lose."
Su Li stared at him and said, "So you're prepared to charge into the forest, find that person, and then kill him?"
Chen Changsheng very obediently nodded his head.
Su Li held his forehead and said, "Do you know what level of cultivation that assassin in the forest is at?"
Chen Changsheng very obediently shook his head.
Su Li angrily said, "Then you're prepared to charge in just like that? Do you want to throw away your life? "
Chen Changsheng was very confused. He did not know whether to nod or to shake his head. After thinking it over, he said, "Isn't this … acting according to Senior's instructions?"
Su Li was furious and helplessly said, "You have to understand. Those things I said before, first of all, you have to establish the foundation that your level is about the same as your opponent. Even if it's a bit lacking, it can't be too far apart."
Chen Changsheng said, "But Senior's original words were clearly … even the strongest opponent can lose."
Su Li angrily said, "Rhetoric, this is rhetoric! Do you even understand rhetoric! Exaggeration is an art of language! "
Chen Changsheng silently lowered his head. After a while, he could not help but raise his head and ask, "Then if I really do encounter an opponent far stronger than me, what do I do?"
The answer Su Li gave was abnormally concise and clear, straightforward and clear. "Flee, or kneel."
Flee? Chen Changsheng's speed with Su Li on his back was not necessarily faster than the assassin that had yet to appear in the forest. It must be known that assassins always possessed movement techniques and speed that were faster than ordinary cultivators. Kneel? Chen Changsheng and Su Li were the same. They would not completely entrust their lives to someone else, even if it was someone they trusted, let alone someone who wanted to kill them.
He could not flee, nor could he kneel. In truth, there was still one other way to deal with it: wait.
Chen Changsheng unsheathed his dagger and gazed at the silent birch forest. He gazed at those green sprouts that seemed to gradually become gloomy from afar but were very difficult to see up close. He waited for that person to appear.
That person still did not appear.
Time slowly passed. The hand that he used to hold the dagger had become somewhat sore. He yelled towards the forest, "Come out, he's seen you."
Su Li had completely not imagined that he would do such a thing. He shook his head towards the sky, somewhat ashamed to be associated with him.
There was still no response from the forest. Chen Changsheng lowered his voice and said, "Senior, it seems that the method of luring the enemy is also not very effective."
His previous conversation with Su Li could even be described as a dispute, so it was naturally not a true dispute.
Gazing at the quiet birch forest, Su Li thoughtfully said, "That person has left."
"Hm?" Chen Changsheng was somewhat surprised.
Su Li once again lay back down in the carriage, put down the Yellow Paper Umbrella, and took up the bamboo flute.
Under Chen Changsheng's summons, the two furry deer slowly strolled back and docilely allowed the rope to be tied back to their necks.
The bamboo flute rang out, and they set off once more.
… …
… …
In the following journey, Chen Changsheng became much quieter, or perhaps it could be said that he was more like his usual self — only when facing Tang Thirty-Six and Su Li would he speak more.
His current silence was obviously because of that assassin that he did not know would appear at any time.
Just like how not speaking was sometimes more powerful than speaking, an enemy that did not appear would always be more frightening than an enemy that stood in front of you.
However, Su Li was the same as usual. There was not the slightest uneasiness on his body. He continued to play the bamboo flute, continued to drink the wine, and continued to recover from his injuries. It was just like that day when he was lying in the hot spring in the snowy mountains, very contented and calm. It was as if he had not suffered any heavy injuries and was just going through an ordinary journey.
Chen Changsheng vigilantly watched all the scenery in his line of sight. The pressure on his heart was very great, and a few things he thought of made his mood even heavier and heavier.
Encountering two assassins in the military stronghold and the Great Zhou cavalry searching everywhere for them meant that it was as Su Yan had guessed. Black Robe had calculated the direction they had fled in and had sent this information to some powers in the human world. What would those powers do next? If it was the Divine Empress who had ordered the pursuit of Su Li, then did she know that he was with Su Li? If she knew, would she have those experts and assassins kill him along the way? If it was … the powerful figures of the Li Palace who wanted Su Li dead, then did they know that he was still alive? Or would the demons deliberately conceal his existence?
At dusk on a certain day, eight hundred li from Tianliang County, the deer carriage once again stopped to rest. The twilight was as thick as blood.
Chen Changsheng completely revealed his unease to Su Li. Right now, no matter what problems there were between him and Su Li's camp, since he had not abandoned Su Li in the snowy mountains, then there was no reason for him to abandon Su Li midway. They were currently sitting in the same carriage, so they naturally had to face the oncoming gales and great waves together.
"There won't be too many people who know that I'm heavily injured. I already told you the reason a few days ago. Let's analyze the assassination we encountered in the military stronghold … if we take that crude and laughable act as an assassination, then associate it with those several hundred Zhou cavalry, then we can see very clearly that whether it's them who want to kill me or me who is about to be killed by them, neither of them wants the entire continent to know of this matter. "
Su Li took up a branch and drew a map in the mud. Pointing at a straight line, he said, "They don't need to surround us and attack reinforcements, so there's only one reason why they haven't made a move until now. Our speed is too fast, so much so that after we broke through the northern front line, those people still didn't have enough time to send people strong enough to kill us. If we view this as a war, then their main force is currently on the way … "
Chen Changsheng squatted on the side, attentively listening.
In the past few days, this sort of scene had occurred many times. Normally, Su Li would appear extremely frivolous, but at times like this, he was extremely serious. He taught Chen Changsheng how to distinguish between the traces of beasts and people, how to distinguish which plants could be eaten, which fungi were poisonous, what was most important in battle, and even taught him how to arrange an army.
Besides the sword and cultivation, he taught Chen Changsheng many other things.
Chen Changsheng asked again, "Senior, just why are you teaching me these things?"
To choose a future Pope for the southerners? This might be the true answer, but it was not enough.
"Because, I taught Qiushan."
Su Li threw away the branch and said, "He studied with me for a month. If we had enough time on the road, I would have also taught you for a month. You returned the Yellow Paper Umbrella to me, and I took you away from the snowy plains, so the two sides are even. However, you did not leave the snowy mountains, so I owe you a favor. Just treat it as me returning the favor. "
"Favor?"
"In the future, you will inevitably begin to compete with Qiushan. I hope that you will not fall too far behind, and try to be as fair as possible. This is me returning the favor to you."
After the hot spring in the snowy mountains, Chen Changsheng was once again moved by Su Li's demeanor as an expert. Then he seriously said, "I did not return the Yellow Paper Umbrella to Senior, I was only lending it to Senior."
Su Li calmly looked at him, then suddenly laughed. "You're not used to this warm scene, so you intentionally broke it?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "Yes."
Su Li said, "I'm also not used to it, so don't ask me similar questions in the future."
Chen Changsheng looked at him and said seriously, "Senior, you really are a good person."
Su Li looked at him and said seriously, "Also don't say such things in the future."
"Why?"
"Because in the future, you will know that I have never been a good person in the traditional sense. I am temperamental, and with a single word of disagreement, I will explode and kill."
"But I really can't tell … fine … Senior, although I said those words on purpose, in reality, the Yellow Paper Umbrella really is mine."
"Eh, it seems like you really don't believe that I will explode and kill!"
"Senior, if you could still explode and kill right now, why would we only dare to move in the middle of the night?"
Since they could not see eye to eye, there was no need to say anything more. In the growing dusk, Chen Changsheng began to prepare dinner and tools for sleeping in the open.
Su Li looked at the youth busying by the fire and slightly narrowed his eyes. He slowly stroked the bamboo flute in his hand, thinking about something.
The dusk gradually retreated. After a simple meal of roasted meat, Chen Changsheng extinguished the fire, ensuring that it would not become a lantern in the night.
After a night without words, morning arrived. The morning breeze was slightly cool, carrying with it the scent of dew and grass, making people feel relaxed and happy. The two furry deer happily strode forward, and in a short while, they had already traveled over ten li.
On the vast plains grew green plants, probably sorghum. However, these sorghum plants had only just begun to grow, so they did not have the green gauze canopy of the legends, and were even less capable of concealing one's figure.
As a result, Chen Changsheng saw the person in the field with a glance.
It was a handsome man, covered from head to toe in armor. On his back were seven long blades, incomparably bright in the morning light.
No matter how he looked, he did not seem like an assassin.
… …
… …
The next chapter was to strive for before ten o'clock.
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