315 Danger
The two of them groped around in the dark as they advanced.
There were also bandits keeping an eye on this part of the road. They did not dare to take the official road, so they took a detour around the mountainside.
Fang Tianliu was in charge of leading the way.
Every time Zhao Zhan discovered a trap, he would stop the other man from advancing.
“Wait.”
Fang Tianliu immediately stopped in his tracks. “What’s the matter?”
Zhao Zhan pointed at the figure in front of him.
At this moment, there was already a faint light in the sky.
“Judging from their clothes, they should be the people from yesterday.”
It seemed that Shang had made up his mind to kill him on the way to the city.
Zhao Zhan was suddenly a little worried about Yue Jiaojiao.
“If we go through the small path in front of us, we’ll be able to reach the edge of Hushui Town,” Fang Tianliu gritted his teeth and said.
“They’re really persistent. How many people are there in total here? Zhao Zhan, look, there are only four of them. Why don’t we sneak over and knock them out when they’re not paying attention? Then we’ll ride their horses and escape. Once we enter the town, they won’t be able to catch up to us.”
Zhao Zhan shook his head.
“This way, the others will know that we’re taking this route, and more people will follow us. Is there any other way?”
Other than the breakfast he had yesterday, Fang Tianliu had not eaten anything. At this moment, he was hungry and sleepy, but he still racked his brain to think. “There is, but we have to take a longer route.”
“How long will it take?”
“If we take another detour, we will reach town by noon.”
Zhao Zhan was burning with anxiety.
“That’s too late.”
A person like Shang, who had paid such a great price this time, must have already thought of a plan to kill him.
He would definitely make a move on the workshop.
His lover was still in Willow Village.
“Then what do we do?” After hearing what he said, Fang Tianliu scratched his head. “Jiaojiao is so weak. I’ve never seen her intervene in the workshop’s matters. Will something happen to her if she goes against Shang?”
“Zhao Zhan, why don’t we go back? I think your wife should be more important to you, right?”
Zhao Zhan’s face was dark.
He stared at the four men in the distance, his hands clenched tightly, and his eyes were full of hostility.
“We can’t go back.”
Fang Tianliu was puzzled. “Why?”
Zhao Zhan, don’t tell me you …
He had just been stabbed in the back by Li Xiangjun, so his faith in others was shattered.
“No. Shang must have set up a big net near Wangshan Town. If we go back now, there’s a high chance that we’ll fall into his trap.” Zhao Zhan’s mind was spinning quickly. “If we stay here and deal with them, Shang will have scruples when he doesn’t receive the news that I’ve been killed.”
When they came, he was accompanied by four people. The four of them were wearing western clothes and had mixed in with Wagler’s group. When the chaos broke out, Zhao Zhan had them follow Wagler to the north of the city to gather information in order to prevent them from being too big a target.
There were two people left beside Yue Jiaojiao.
“Fang Tianliu, it’s too late to take a detour and rush to Hushui Town now.” Zhao Zhan looked around behind the tree. “The courier station will send out a batch of letters after noon. A small place like Hushui Town might not have a letter sent every day.”
Zhao Zhan still didn’t dare to take the risk.
What if he could make it today?
If the letter was sent out a few days later, it might be half a month late when it reaches Yue Jiaojiao’s hands.
“I know.” Fang Tianliu’s eyes lit up. “There’s a village nearby. There’s a river in the village that leads to the edge of Hushui Town. Let’s swim there. That river isn’t deep, and even if it’ll be a little cold, we will make it in time.”
At this time, he couldn’t care less about the cold.
Zhao Zhan immediately nodded in agreement. “That sounds good. I have some silver notes on me, we can change our clothes in town.”
Before they set off, his lover lit an oil lamp and sewed a few silver notes under his clothes.
His lover didn’t know how to sew, and she accidentally poked her hand when she was sewing.
If she hadn’t called out to him, Zhao Zhan wouldn’t have immediately woken up and discovered this matter.
Fang Tianliu looked at Zhao Zhan with a complicated expression.
“I heard from Madam Qin that Jiaojiao only had three stitches. You stitched the rest yourself.”
The two of them had almost reached the village.
Zhao Zhan’s expression relaxed for a moment, and his eyes became gentle. “Jiaojiao sewed this up for me.”
Fang Tianliu suddenly felt that not all feelings were fake. Since he had encountered it, it could only mean that he was the unluckiest one.
After crossing the river, they arrived at Lakeshore.
“Fang Tianliu, let’s find the bookstore first.”
The two of them first went to the bookstore to borrow a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. After Zhao Zhan quickly wrote a few pages, he couldn’t wait to rush to the courier station.
It was already noon, the horses in front of the inn were already loaded with luggage.
The messenger mounted the horse and whipped it, ready to set off.
“Wait a moment.”
Zhao Zhan quickly crossed the street and rushed over. He held the reins tightly, and his hands were rubbed by the strong force, instantly leaving deep blood marks.
“Do you want to die!”
The messenger was so shocked that his face turned pale.
He was just an emissary in a small town, and it was rare for him to send out letters a few times a month. In all these years, this was the first time he had encountered someone who did not care about his life.
Zhao Zhan immediately handed over an ingot of silver.
“I’m really sorry. The letter was urgent and it just so happened that you were about to leave, so I had to do this in a moment of desperation.”
An ingot of silver was presented. It was worth half a year of hard work.
The messenger’s expression instantly looked better. “You still shouldn’t have done that. My horse is very fierce. If he kicks you, do you think he’ll blame me or you?”
“Of course it’s my fault.”
Zhao Zhan followed his lead and handed the silver to him. “There are many people here. You should keep this for now.”
That person’s hands were itching for a fight. Using the slope as an excuse, he immediately stuffed the silver into his pocket.
“Excuse me.” He cleared his throat. “Where do you want it mailed? Give it to me, I’m in a hurry to leave.”
“Here.”
Zhao Zhan immediately passed the letter over.
The messenger sized him up.
“I’ve already applied the wax, so there’s no need to trouble you. My family wants me to report that I’m safe. If I’m late, I’m afraid something will happen.”
The messenger immediately put away the letter with an expression that all men understood.
“I understand.”
After he finished speaking, he whipped his horse and left.
“Has it been sent out?”
Fang Tianliu rushed over with two sets of clothes in his arms.
“Where are we going now? I’m not going to the inn.”
Hushui town looked even more dilapidated than Wangshan.
“Let’s go to the West of the city and find a place where we can temporarily stay.” Zhao Zhan held the clothes in his hand. “There are many people living in the West of the city. It’s a mix of good and bad. We won’t be suspected if we walk in. When the time comes, we’ll find a kind-looking and poor man, give him some money to rest for a day, and then we’ll continue our journey at night.”