The two carriages were traveling slowly on the official road, and the surrounding scenery gradually changed from unfamiliar to familiar. When the dense forests were replaced by fields, it meant that Fenghua County was not far away from here.
"We still have half a day's journey at most, don't be in a hurry," the coachman said in a thick native accent. "As long as it doesn't rain suddenly, I guarantee that we can get you to your house before evening."
"Thank you." Wei Wushuang cupped his hands and got back into the carriage. This is the fourth time in one day that he asked the same question: how long it will take to reach Fenghua County.
"We have been walking for five or six days, so why bother to spend half a day." Xia Fan rubbed his forehead and said feebly, "Since you don't get motion sickness, why not use this little effort to guide your qi and practice."
Although he called two carriages, he basically crowded with his fellow villagers during the day - not that he didn't want to travel with the fox demon, but because he was worried that Wei Wushuang might find something wrong when he came to chat with him when he was bored.
Traveling long distances in this era is definitely a time-consuming and labor-intensive chore. Even if you ride a carriage, the experience is still not much better - the only buffer between the carriage and the potholed road is the passenger's buttocks, and the carriage can shake at a slightly faster speed. It feels like it's falling apart. If it weren't for the alchemist's excellent physical fitness, he would have probably vomited several times.
"Brother Xia laughed, I'm just a little nervous." Wei Wushuang rubbed his hands.
"Why are you nervous?" Xia Fan straightened up and changed into a more comfortable position, "You are already a well-known alchemist in the Privy Council Palace, and the lowest is an eighth-rank official. Your father must be very happy."
"Brother Xia doesn't know something," Wei Wushuang showed a wry smile, "I have a group of friends... No, I should say a group of acquaintances, the kind... colleagues that we often meet when doing business."
"I understand, Fenghua County's business circle." Xia Fan immediately understood. Those who can hang out with Wei Wushuang must be of the same age. Which merchant does not have a few young masters
"Business circle? It is indeed that interesting. No, this is not the point." Wei Wushuang shook his head, "In the eyes of ordinary people, my father's grain store may be considered a big business, but to them, it is actually just ordinary. Pass."
Xia Fan nodded silently, which probably meant that the man looked ordinary.
"In addition, my talent is limited, I have more than enough to keep track of, but I don't have enough to achieve success, so my achievements are much lower than theirs, so they usually make fun of me. As for taking the military examination this time, they all agreed that it is impossible for me to pass… "
"But you passed." Xia Fan asked strangely, "Wouldn't this just destroy their prestige?"
"That's the problem." Wei Wushuang rubbed his head in worry, "We were just named by the Privy Council, and there is nothing that can be used as evidence. The official appointment and removal order will not come out for another half a month. If I say They won't believe me if I'm chosen. I've been thinking about how to convince that group of people. If I don't explain well, will I be laughed at even more..." He raised his head at this point, "Brother Xia. ... If they hold a banquet, can you go with me and prove it for me?"
Xia Fan rolled his eyes in his heart, "So what you're nervous about is that you want to show off, but you're afraid that no one will believe you?"
"Ahem, Brother Xia, you are too straightforward."
"I won't go." He said flatly, "You are a member of the circle after all, what about me? Why should they believe what an unknown person says?"
Wei Wushuang's expression suddenly became depressed.
"And I suggest you don't bother thinking about how to explain it." Xia Fan continued, "Just tell the result. Don't answer the rest and let them guess."
"Wouldn't I become their laughing stock..."
"Laughing spreads quickly. Only when they want to treat you as a laughing stock, they will try their best to spread it. I think it will take less than a week for the entire Fenghua County to know the news." Xia Fan sneered, "But they also You can laugh for up to half a month. No matter how loud you laugh, the backlash will be huge. As long as you can bear it and handle it properly, they will never raise their heads in front of you for the rest of their lives."
Wei Wushuang was stunned, "Are you sure?"
"I'm pretty sure." Xia Fan crossed his arms and said, "I have experience in this."
"Brother Xia, teach me!" Wei Wushuang quickly came over, "What should I do to handle it properly?"
"Simple. The appointment and dismissal order will be sent to the government first, right? First of all, you secretly say hello to the government and ask them not to send it immediately when they come, but to agree on a time and then make a plan..." Xia Fan said in a seductive manner, "In short, when everyone laughs at you with the test, the door suddenly opens, and the official arrives with the appointment and dismissal order, and hands it to you in front of everyone. Isn't that kind of transformation very impressive? ?”
Wei Wushuang had never received such systematic guidance on fork installation, and his eyes lit up when he heard it.
"From that moment on, all the ridicule will be transferred to the person who mocked him. At the same time, the incident itself is popular enough, so it will spread faster and wider than before. You just need to be careful not to add insult to injury." Xia Fan concluded. , "The more calm and calm you are throughout the whole process, the more you can highlight the level gap between you and the other party. Turn around and leave, leaving your back to them, that's enough."
"Brother Xia..." Wei Wushuang took a deep breath, "You really know everything!"
"Harm, this is just the most basic."
"Is there something more powerful? What should we do?"
"This one is called the Mo Bully Youth version, and that one is the retired God of War version... It doesn't suit you very well. But I can tell you."
"Brother Xia, please speak!" Wei Wushuang nodded repeatedly.
"There was a God of War in Daqi. After returning home many years ago, he found that his family had changed drastically. He ordered a hundred thousand soldiers to rush to him..." Anyway, idle time was idle, so Xia Fan simply started to harm his fellow villagers.
During the serious and lively fork-installation teaching, the carriage slowly drove into Fenghua County.
…
"Brother Xia...you really don't want to stay with me?" Wei Wushuang reluctantly said at the street entrance, "I have a lot of empty rooms in my house."
Xia Fan returned to his carriage and cupped his hands towards the other party, "I'm used to wandering and don't like to be restrained. In addition, you will probably continue to criticize me during this period, so I won't cause you any trouble." If you can Bai Bai It would be nice to live and eat for free, but unfortunately there was a fox demon in the carriage that needed to be accommodated, so he could only reluctantly refuse.
"Brother Xia has a free and unrestrained nature, so I won't force him. When the storm subsides, I will treat you to dinner." Wei Wushuang said solemnly.
"It's easy to talk, let me take the first step."
"See you later!"
After bidding farewell to his fellow villagers, Xia Fan asked the driver to take him directly to "Yingsong Inn" - the house price there was moderate and it was not in the center of the county, so it was very suitable for hiding someone quietly.
With the resettlement fee reissued by the Privy Council, he directly booked a large wing with an attached courtyard. There were three rooms in the suite, and there was a bamboo forest outside the courtyard. Even if the fox demon was discovered, he could easily use the courtyard. Wall escape.
"Before taking office, this is our temporary residence." After sending away the store, Xia Fan found an opportunity to bring Li into the house, "You can choose one of the three rooms. If you need anything else, you can just tell me Just say it.”
Li took off the layers of cotton wrapped around her head, stretched her body with her arms stretched out - obviously this long journey was not very comfortable for her, so she had to lie as still as possible in the carriage to prevent the coachman from noticing her. The "luggage" is different, and at the same time, the cloth strip on the head cannot be removed, so that in case of an accident, there will be no room for Zhou Huan. In this way, you can imagine what it feels like to be in a small, bumpy and hot space.
But the fox demon's recovery ability is equally surprising. Although her wound has not yet healed, she is already able to walk, and the prognosis is very good, with no inflammation or infection. In his day, it was absolutely a 100% medical miracle.
Li looked around the room and said, "I usually drink and eat outdoors, so it would be nice to have a place to hide from the rain, so there's nothing to be picky about."
No... at least you have to wear new clothes, Xia Fan couldn't help but think to himself.
He didn't pay much attention to the other person who had been lying down and covered in blood before. Now he realized that the fox demon's figure was indeed a bit proud. Not only was he tall and slender when he stood, but his exposed arms and shoulders were not as weak as those of ordinary women. Instead of bones, it has natural muscle outlines, and it is well-proportioned with a touch of tough beauty.
There are also those bare feet, with clearly defined fingers and harmonious and rounded arch curves. Just looking at them is pleasing to the eye.
You must know that women in this era covered their feet more tightly than their bodies, and were wrapped in rough cloth socks at all times. There were only a handful of people like the fox demon who didn't mind being barefoot.
If she always wandered around the room in this shabby outfit, he was afraid that he would be iron deficient in a few days.
"What are you looking at?" Li suddenly asked.
"Ahem, it's nothing..." Xia Fan quickly looked away, "I was thinking about what to eat at night."
"Hmph, that doesn't sound like the truth."
Can you tell the truth? He was about to change the subject, but Li spoke first, "Okay, don't worry about me, go about your business first - I remember you once said that one of the reasons for taking the alchemist exam is to redeem your master?"
Xia Fan nodded.
"You have completed the first step. Now you can't wait to rescue him, right? Compared with this, we can talk about dinner later."
Indeed... It took almost a month to go to Qingshan Town to take the exam. Master is afraid that he has suffered a lot. Although he was a cheap master picked up on the roadside, he at least brought himself into a new field. This alone made him a master and disciple, and he couldn't leave it alone. It would be better to free him from the evil forces as soon as possible.
I hope that after this lesson, Master will no longer be as prone to gambling as before.
"I understand. Then you wait here for me to come back."
Li said "hmm".
When he reached the door, Xia Fan stopped again and turned around with a slight hesitation, "About what I said before about going to Gyeonggi..."
"Isn't this normal? With your ability, I didn't have much hope." Li shrugged, "Don't worry, as long as you are still an alchemist, you will always have a chance to get the news I want."
Sure enough, it still smelled familiar... Since she was in the mood to ridicule people, it seemed that she really didn't care too much about it.
Xia Fan also felt relieved, put his money bag on his back and left the room.