Dong Zheng: "Let's go the official way. It's safer and faster. If we hurry up, we might catch the evil spirits without even going to the village."
Ren Heming agreed with his suggestion, and the two walked onto the official road on the right. The road was smooth and wide, but there were no people. There were lush weeds and bushes next to them. The wind blew the forest tops and made rustling noises. From time to time, there were a few bird calls in the distance. .
Dong Zheng's unease after meeting the cave gradually calmed down. He recalled what the merchants said, and estimated how many of them were true and false, and how much it had to do with the tasks they were going to accomplish.
After walking for two hours, the sun had already set in the west. Unlike the scorching heat of noon, the light of the setting sun burned most of the sky red. Dong Zheng heard the sound of gurgling water in front of him. Sure enough, he turned over the small hill in front of him. Beside the official road, a small stream flows.
There was a series of small footprints on the bank of the stream, which seemed to belong to a little girl. The footprints led from the dirt road beside the official road to the stream, and finally disappeared. From the direction, the girl walked into the stream.
Ren Heming stopped his horse. He looked at the other end of the stream, which was still the continuous mountains, and frowned at the string of small footprints.
"The footprints are very fresh, obviously they were left not long ago." Dong Zheng came to him and whispered.
Ren Heming took out the talisman paper to determine the position of the evil spirit again, and the falling paper ash pointed to the other side of the stream, which was the direction the girl's footprints had gone.
"It went over there." Ren Heming dismounted, he took the reins and said to Dong Zheng, "Get ready to cross the river."
Dong Zheng dismounted and went to the stream. He squatted down and checked the series of footprints. According to the size, it should belong to a thin child less than ten years old. But such a big child - Dong Zhengchao looked at the rushing stream that was almost deep in his thighs - could he pass through such deep water
Ren Heming led the horse and stepped into the water with one foot first. The stream was probably produced by the melting of snow in the mountains. It was extremely cold and even biting. The soles of his feet were on a smooth rocky beach. Dong Zheng shouted: "Be careful! The bottom of the river is too slippery!"
The horses followed behind him with the reins. Perhaps the water was too cold and too deep. The brown horses were reluctant to go into the water at first.
The shoe was very slippery on the rocky beach. While Ren Heming maintained his balance, he also had to pay attention to the hard work of the horse. The rush of the river made it difficult to control the direction.
Ren Heming walked to the middle of the stream, where the water was the deepest and most urgent. He took a deep breath, and he had to be extremely careful with every step he took. Dong Zheng was waiting on the shore, seeing Ren Heming's body swaying in the current, he couldn't help but feel He was sweating.
However, at this moment, it seemed that something they could not see suddenly swept past, and the horse following Ren Heming was suddenly frightened, and suddenly raised its front hooves and was about to turn its head and run away. No one expected such a situation to happen. Ren Heming was concentrating on his feet with all his heart and mind. When he was pulled by the force from the reins in his hands, his body shook violently, losing his balance and the soles of his feet slipped. The whole person fell into the water with a "wow" sound.
"Brother!"
Dong Zheng shouted, the water between his thighs could drown a person who fell in the stream. In a blink of an eye, Ren Heming was swept away by the rushing stream water for five or six meters, and the horse was finally unable to stabilize his body. Shaped, crashed into the water, and was swept away behind Ren Heming screaming.
Ren Heming's posture of falling into the water was not very good. He threw twice, but the bottom of the river was too smooth to stand up. He could only struggle to get his head out of the water. According to his thrashing posture, Dong Zheng could see that he was not watery. Well done.
Ren Heming was up and down in the water, and the moment his head was out of the water, he tried his best to turn his head to look at Dong Zheng, and shouted, "Old Seven!"
"Keep your balance! Don't be so fast!" Dong Zheng shouted at him. In just a few breaths, Ren Heming was already ten meters away. At this critical moment, Dong Zheng decided:
△ Catch up on land → skip to chapter 242
○Go into the water to chase → skip to chapter 243