They did not find the carriage inside, so the two climbed out and continued searching ahead.
This time, they did not go far. After casually checking a few pieces of luggage on the road, they soon spotted a relatively intact carriage. The two immediately approached it, one behind the other.
The carriage was half tipped over on the roadside slope. Its wheels had burst, the shafts seemed to have been smashed by rocks, and the horses had run off somewhere unknown. But the carriage body itself remained in fairly good condition.
The two rushed to the side of the carriage and were about to climb in to look when both felt surprised. They noticed this carriage was somewhat different from the others.
In the other carriages, the doors were just doors, at most covered by a curtain. But here, someone had repeatedly crossed ropes diagonally through both sides of the door frame, creating a simple barrier net. It was probably to prevent luggage from falling out during bumps along the way.
Now things had come to this, what was the point of blocking anything? Xu Fei simply swung his knife and cut the ropes open. Several pieces of luggage, belonging to who knows whom, immediately rolled out.
After a quick look, they did not seem to be their own. As Xu Fei reached in and pulled out a few more pieces, Yu Qing suddenly pressed his hand down, pointing at a large cotton-quilt-wrapped bundle underneath two other pieces of luggage.
Xu Fei had not noticed at first. After this hint, he immediately detected a subtle abnormality. The large cotton-quilt bundle appeared to be trembling slightly. If you were not paying close attention, you really would not spot it. He had to admire Yu Qing’s sharp eyes.
The two exchanged a knowing glance. Yu Qing reached out to remove the two pieces of luggage pressing down on it, while Xu Fei held his knife in both hands, ready to strike at any moment.
When the pressing luggage was lifted, the cotton-quilt bundle shook even more violently. At least now it was clearly visible.
Get ready! After a final look at each other, Yu Qing suddenly grabbed the quilt and yanked it hard. A person tumbled out with a sharp “ah” scream.
Xu Fei’s raised knife did not come down, and could not come down. Both were stunned in surprise. The person who emerged was none other than Chong’er. He had probably suffocated himself quite badly hiding inside the quilt. His face was flushed red, and he was covered in sweat.
Chong’er huddled and trembled, completely unable to recognise the two people in front of him. Both were covered in blood and looked almost like ghosts.
Xu Fei quickly comforted him. “Chong’er, don’t be afraid. It’s us.”
The voice was too familiar. Chong’er froze, slowly coming out of his terror. His ability to distinguish gradually returned. He recognised the knife in Xu Fei’s hand and the sword in Yu Qing’s hand. Then he made out their facial outlines and cried out in surprise, “Young Master!” He nodded repeatedly at Yu Qing. “Young Master.”
This was an unexpected delight. Both Xu Fei and Yu Qing were pleased. Chong’er was actually still alive and appeared completely unharmed. He really had a tough life.
Xu Fei asked in astonishment, “How did you end up hiding here, kid?”
Yu Qing, standing to one side, was the happiest of all. Since Chong’er was in this carriage, his own luggage must be here too. Effort had not been wasted. Fortunately he had not given up, or those two thousand taels of silver would have been lost for nothing.
He tugged at the rope on the door frame that had just been cut, already able to imagine what happened. This carriage was probably the luggage cart where Chong’er had rested. The ropes at the door were likely tied by Chong’er himself. After all, the reason he was allowed to ride was to watch the luggage. Chong’er had clearly taken it seriously.
The truth was roughly what Xu Fei had asked. Chong’er had not expected disaster to strike from the sky. Later, when he saw many rats appearing, he did not know how to deal with them. In panic, he pulled a cotton quilt from someone’s luggage and wrapped himself tightly in it. Somehow, he muddled through the calamity unscathed.
No matter what, he was truly fortunate.
Yu Qing asked, “Where is the luggage?”
“On the carriage.” Chong’er turned back to look and climbed up to search.
Xu Fei gave a wry smile. He discovered that this fellow really cared most about that. Yet his words always twisted around it. One moment worrying about Chong’er, the next looking for luggage, but never stating his real purpose outright. Put nicely, he was still mindful of appearances. Put bluntly, he was the type who wanted to act the whore while still building a memorial arch.
While eagerly waiting to find the luggage, Yu Qing did not forget to glance around. People who practised the Observation Character Technique easily developed this habit, especially in abnormal environments.
As he looked left and right, Yu Qing’s gaze suddenly froze. He called out in a low, urgent voice, “Something is coming. Chong’er, cover yourself with the quilt.”
He pulled Xu Fei along, ran to a nearby dead horse, dragged Xu Fei down to lie flat on the ground, and even conveniently grabbed a piece of bloody shredded horse meat to place on his own face.
Xu Fei, who had been pulled down to squat, immediately understood his intention. Was this not exactly the “play dead” idea he himself had mentioned?
Yu Qing went even further. He swiftly lay flat on the mangled horse corpse.
Xu Fei was just a little puzzled. He had not noticed anything himself, so how did Brother Shiheng know something was coming?
Little did he know, if Yu Qing did not have this level of skill to rely on, how could he dare run around in such an environment?
The clothes they wore were stripped from the dead, already stained with blood.
Chong’er hurriedly wrapped himself in the quilt again and huddled inside the carriage, not daring to move.
Yu Qing had not even closed his eyes yet, still glancing around.
The firelight all around grew increasingly obvious. The mountain fire had finally started burning. Under the effect of high temperature, the thick fog had actually thinned quite a bit.
Suddenly, the mist surged. Several black-clothed figures darted out. Yu Qing immediately widened his eyes and stayed completely still, looking like someone who had died with grievances.
Playing dead was a last resort. He knew his cultivation was not high. In a clash in such a situation, encountering them meant risking his life. Those who dared attack the Sinan Prefecture’s people were no joke.
The black-clothed figures did not linger. While staying vigilant of their surroundings, they also flew past over the heads of the two “corpses” and headed toward the main direction of the caravan.
Yu Qing checked the surroundings again, then quickly crawled up and called to Xu Fei, “It’s clear.”
At that moment, intense fighting sounds suddenly erupted from the direction of the caravan’s main group.
The sudden white-hot slaughter made Yu Qing realise they could not stay here long. He swiftly leapt toward the carriage, yanked off the quilt covering Chong’er, and urgently said to him, “Hurry and find the luggage.”
Chong’er nodded repeatedly and quickly started rummaging through the luggage.
Yu Qing, who was highly alert to the surroundings, suddenly looked up again and called out in a low, sharp voice, “Chong’er, hide well.” He flashed aside in an instant, lay down again, and played dead.
Chong’er hurriedly pulled the quilt over his head.
Xu Fei, who had just stood up and walked over, needed no prompting. Seeing the situation, he immediately dropped down again.
Above, the mist suddenly churned violently. A huge black shadow dove down abruptly. It was a giant eagle with a wingspan of two zhang. It glided low along the official road. Before gliding far, its claws suddenly dropped, directly grabbing the carriage where Chong’er was hiding. With a powerful flap of its wings, it stirred up a massive gust of wind and abruptly lifted the entire carriage into the clouds and mist above. Soon, both the eagle and the carriage vanished into the fog.
Xu Fei, lying down, had not even had time to close his eyes before he witnessed the whole scene clearly.
Yu Qing was also somewhat stunned. His Observation Character Technique was far inferior to his master’s. He had not reached the level where a casual glance could tell in advance what was coming. He needed a little time to observe carefully. Otherwise, he could only roughly sense that something was about to appear.
He had not expected it to be a giant eagle, and that it would actually snatch away the entire carriage.
The spiritual rice they had just found was snatched by a stupid bird?
Two thousand taels of silver carried off by a bird? What kind of nonsense was this!
He was just about to sit up when he quickly lay flat again. The mist churned violently once more. Another giant eagle broke through the clouds and appeared, gliding low overhead with a whoosh as it passed above the two of them.
Yu Qing turned his head to look around, then suddenly sprang up. Without a word, he swiftly darted into the nearby mountain forest.
Xu Fei immediately got up and followed.
Yu Qing dashed through the mountains for a while, reached a mountaintop, found the largest tree, leapt up, grabbed a branch for leverage, pulled himself higher, and leapt again.
Xu Fei, who had chased after him in a rush, looked up and found Yu Qing’s figure already gone. He was stunned once more. With this kind of movement skill, yet he still claimed the heavy sword was just a personal accessory? He had been blind to believe it. Brother Shiheng was clearly a true expert!