Outside Beishan County, the three riders came out of the city and galloped at top speed. There were fields on both sides of the official road, and the seedlings were growing beautifully.
Passing through the fields, the official road went straight into the forest. The three riders had just run into the hilly area when they suddenly heard a whistle. The three turned around and saw Lei Zongkang standing on a hill to the side, waving at them.
Black Peony, Duan Hu, and Wu Sanliang hurriedly reined in their horses and ran back down the hill.
Black Peony raised her head and asked, "Why did you come here?"
Previously, Niu Youdao had told her to come to Beishan County to find Duan Hu and Wu Sanliang, but the place where they parted wasn't here. There was still some distance ahead.
The sound of hooves could be heard from the hill. They saw Niu Youdao swaying on the back of his horse beside Lei Zongkang, looking down at them from above. His legs kicked the horse's belly, and the horse rushed down the hill with him.
On the hill, Lei Zongkang turned around and left. Not long after, he also rushed down on a horse.
"Daoye!" Duan Hu and Wu Sanliang cupped their fists together, the joy of reunion on their faces.
Even though they were still Loose Cultivators, unknowingly, as long as they saw Niu Youdao, they would no longer feel that they were bitter Loose Cultivators.
"You've had a tough journey!" Niu Youdao smiled at the two of them, then raised his chin at Black Peony.
Black Peony immediately replied, "Daoye, I've seen it. Other than the lanterns, the most eye-catching thing under the inn's eaves is a big red flower."
Niu Youdao nodded.
Duan Hu continued, "Daoye, we saw it on the way to Beishan. Some relay stations are arresting people. After asking around, they seem to be the spies hiding in the relay stations."
"Let's go!" Niu Youdao smiled slightly, turned his horse around, and left. The others followed.
As for what Duan Hu said, he had also asked around at the relay stations along the way. Just a little bit of money was enough to get information from the courier. Many relay stations had cases of people being arrested.
Hearing the commotion, he knew that Hai Ruyue had done as he was told.
In fact, he could have contacted the local officials at that time, but the officials were too complicated. Who knew what was going on? Who knew how loyal they were to the Zhao court? Who knew if there were factional disputes among them? Who knew if they would report to the court in time? Who knew if they were like the couriers? Seeing the miserable lives of the local people, he had no confidence in them.
In addition, the local officials could not make too big of a decision. Many people did not dare to take responsibility. How could they just casually receive a report without clarifying it? Niu Youdao had no confidence in them. It would be troublesome to report to the higher-ups and it would waste his time.
Without a clear understanding of the situation, it was better to look for Hai Ruyue to play it safe. Hai Ruyue definitely knew who in the imperial court could quickly solve the problem, and the facts proved that she was right.
All the way to the end of the world, the few of them blindly followed Niu Youdao day and night.
Even though they estimated that the couriers were safe, they did not rest at the couriers during the journey. They slept in the wilderness or in the forest, and only rested at the couriers when it rained. They tried not to have too much contact with the people at the couriers.
It was raining cats and dogs. The group entered a small couriers and asked for a room to rest.
Outside, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Niu Youdao was soaking in the bathtub with the window open. He lay down and watched the wind and rain outside. Beside him was a pot of wine and a sword. From time to time, he would pour a cup and drink slowly.
When the pot of wine was finished and the water was no longer warm, he got up.
After changing his clothes, he knocked on the wooden wall twice. After a while, Black Peony opened the door to take a look and left again. She called for the couriers to carry the bathtub away and then took a comb to comb Niu Youdao's hair.
"It's raining heavily outside. Why didn't you close the window?" Black Peony asked. Actually, she wanted to say, "Why didn't you close the window when you were bathing?"
But then she remembered that she could bathe in the open and swallowed her words.
Sitting there with his eyes closed, Niu Youdao said slowly, "Listening to the wind and the rain, watching the wind and the rain."
Black Peony was speechless. She finished combing his hair and then took his clothes to wash. She was used to serving this person, and this person enjoyed it as if it was natural.
The others also tacitly thought that it was natural and that there was something going on between the two of them.
After refreshing himself, Niu Youdao lay on his side on the bed with his clothes on. He propped his head up with one arm and pretended to sleep.
Not long after, Black Peony came again after washing his clothes. She knocked on the door and entered. She placed a bowl in front of Niu Youdao.
Niu Youdao opened his eyes and asked, "What is it?"
Black Peony said, "Frosted candy."
Niu Youdao flicked his fingers and closed his eyes again, indicating that he had no interest in eating.
Sending the frosted candy was just an excuse. Black Peony said, "This rain comes and goes. It's not fixed. Why don't we rest here today and leave tomorrow?"
Niu Youdao opened his eyes and looked at the sky outside. His gaze fell on the bowl in her hands. He paused for a moment. "Ask the relay station if there's any fat meat."
"Fat meat from a pig?" Black Peony was suspicious. She thought she had heard wrong.
"Mhm!" Niu Youdao nodded.
Black Peony said, "Yes, I just had them slaughter a pig."
Niu Youdao got up and walked towards the door. "I'll treat you to a meal."
"…" Black Peony was confused. Treat us to a meal? Was there a need for that?
After that, she understood what he meant. She followed Niu Youdao to the relay station's kitchen. Looking at his posture, it seemed that he was going to cook personally.
Black Peony hurriedly tried to dissuade him. "Daoye, how can we let you do this? Let the relay station people do it."
Niu Youdao looked at the people who had followed him and joked, "You're lucky. I'll teach you a secret that only two people in this world know."
Hearing this, they immediately chased the couriers out of the kitchen.
Niu Youdao then had them go to the relay station and ask for ginger and garlic. After Yuan Gang's investigation, he discovered that the kitchen didn't have these things. There was some in the pharmacy, but it was used as medicine and not as food.
For example, when they had arrived at the relay station in the rain, there had been boiled ginger soup served to them.
He rolled up his sleeves and held a knife in his hand. He cut off the fat meat and sliced it. He had used his sword so beautifully, so cutting off a little was a small matter.
At the same time, he instructed the others to start the fire, wash the vegetables, and clean the kitchen utensils.
Once the pot was red hot, the fat meat went into the pot. The spatula smashed it a few times, then he ignored it. He cut the streaky pork into pieces and prepared the ginger and garlic seasonings.
Black Peony and the others looked at each other. His movements were clean and efficient, and he used the kitchen utensils methodically. They wondered if he had been a chef in the past.
The fat meat in the pot boiled into oil. The dregs were scooped out, and the oil was poured into a bowl. He crushed some sugar and poured it into the remaining oil in the pot.
Black Peony and the others were speechless. What was he doing? It was disgusting to mix sugar and oil like this. Could it be eaten?
The spatula stirred in the pot. After the sugar had simmered in the oil, Niu Youdao poured in a pot of meat, stir-frying it and coloring it. Then, he added ginger and garlic and stewed it.
Soon, a strange fragrance wafted out of the kitchen. It was a fragrance that no one had smelled before, and it whetted their appetites.
Their nostrils flared, and their expressions were solemn. They were starting to believe that this was a secret. Black Peony said to Lei Zongkang, "Keep an eye on it. Don't let anyone get close."
What she meant was that they couldn't let anyone steal it.
After a glossy pot of red braised pork was done, he fried a fish and used the meat to stir-fry some of the green vegetables available in the kitchen. He used lard. It couldn't be helped; there was no other oil available.
As Niu Youdao cooked, he gave Black Peony some pointers and taught her how to do it.
After he was done, Niu Youdao walked away like a shopkeeper.
"This is a road to riches. Clean it up and don't leave any traces!" Black Peony warned Duan Hu in a low voice. She was afraid that others would copy him, so she took the dishes and left with the others.
In the main hall of the relay station, a group of people had long since smelled the alluring fragrance. They looked curiously at the things that the group had brought out.
What followed was naturally to watch the group of people gorge themselves and drink in large gulps. Black Peony and the others couldn't stop eating.
Niu Youdao only took a small taste. To him, the taste was only passable. He and Yuan Gang definitely wouldn't make such unscrupulous things to deal with his mouth.
But to Black Peony and the others, it seemed to be an exceptional delicacy. Each of them ate until their eyes lit up, and they almost swallowed their tongues. Meat dishes aside, they never thought that green vegetables could be made so delicious.
The people in the relay station kept watching, suspicious. Was it really that delicious? But it really smelled so good!
The relay station master secretly asked Chef, "Can you tell how it was made?"
Chef shook his head. "I don't know. I only know that they put a few herbs in it."
The relay station master was speechless. It didn't matter if they didn't taste it. How could medicine be eaten indiscriminately!
The cutlery on the table was all cleared. Duan Hu and the others rubbed their stomachs, looking as if they hadn't wasted their lives and wanted more.
Black Peony smiled bashfully. She was embarrassed by the way she ate just now, but it was really satisfying!
Wu Sanliang, who was rubbing his stomach, couldn't help but remind, "Daoye, Korea's Beizhou is not far to the east."
This reminder wasn't without reason. It seemed like they were going north to Korea, but if they really were going to Korea, the east side of Beizhou, which originally belonged to the Yan people, was now Korea's territory.
Niu Youdao smiled faintly. "You'll know when the time comes." With that, he stood up and left.
It wasn't without reason that they would rather take a detour. It was said that the current Shangqing Sect was in Shao Dengyun's territory in Beizhou. The less trouble, the better. They would try their best to avoid meeting people from the Shangqing Sect.
Black Peony turned around and scolded Wu Sanliang. "Can't you shut your mouth with food?"
Wu Sanliang was stunned. "Did I say something wrong?"
Black Peony: "Why did you mention Beizhou out of the blue?"
Wu Sanliang was surprised. "What's wrong with mentioning Beizhou?"
Black Peony lowered her voice and said, "It's not like you don't know Daoye's identity by now. Haven't you heard that rumor? The leader of the Shangqing Sect is now in Beizhou. If that rumor is true, aren't you just rubbing salt in his wound?"
The so-called rumor was spread by the Song family. It said that Tang Yi married Niu Youdao and that she had swindled Niu Youdao out of his position as the leader. The people involved didn't say anything, so outsiders couldn't tell if it was true or not.
Wu Sanliang was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly apologized in a low voice, "It was a slip of the tongue."
The next day, after the rain, the group set off again. Niu Youdao, who got on the horse, was a little dumbfounded. He saw that Lei Zongkang was carrying a black pot, Wu Sanliang was carrying a sack, and Duan Hu, who was walking briskly, was stuffing things like pots and pans into Wu Sanliang's open sack.
Were they going to move someone else's kitchen? Niu Youdao frowned and said, "What are you guys doing?"
Black Peony, who ran out later, threw a bag of things into Wu Sanliang's sack and said with a chuckle, "Take it with you. It'll be useful on the road."
"…" Niu Youdao rolled his eyes. These guys really didn't find it tiring. He was really speechless. He whipped his horse and rushed out first.
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